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Top 10 Interior Stylist Secrets Revealed
Give your home's interiors magazine-ready polish with these tips to finesse the finishing design touches
Hello there! I'm Erika Ward, Owner and Principal Designer of Erika Ward Interiors. It's my greatest pleasure to inspire you to live well, to live in style, and to extinguish the myth that style and budget are mutually exclusive. Read more about my design philosophy and my work at http://www.blulabelbungalow.com
Hello there! I'm Erika Ward, Owner and Principal Designer of Erika Ward... More »
It happens to the best of us. Even professional designers get stuck at times when putting the final touches on a design job. We take a moment, stand back from our work and fuss with this detail and that one until everything is perfect — at least in our eyes.
Homeowners are often thrilled with the results long before we're complete, which is encouraging. But how do designers finally find their groove and complete the job? We employ the same concepts photo stylists use when they finesse spaces for portfolios and magazine spreads. So when you hit a design dilemma when something just isn't right, try one of these 10 stylist secrets.
Homeowners are often thrilled with the results long before we're complete, which is encouraging. But how do designers finally find their groove and complete the job? We employ the same concepts photo stylists use when they finesse spaces for portfolios and magazine spreads. So when you hit a design dilemma when something just isn't right, try one of these 10 stylist secrets.
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1. Photograph your room in slices. Seeing the room in a photograph provides you with a more objective look, like seeing it in a magazine. Your eye becomes more critical, and needed adjustments become more obvious. For example, by looking at the living room from this angle, the designer may have felt the need to add glass bottles at the top of the shelf to continue the color to the ceiling.
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2. When styling multiple rooms, use a color thread throughout to bring cohesion to connecting spaces. It isn't necessary to use the exact same color in each room. Applying layers of the same color, varying the hue, makes the room feel more natural and less intentional. Blue accents in this room complement audaciously clever blue countertops in the neighboring kitchen.
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3. Add a pop of red. You don't have to be a fan of red to appreciate it in small doses. Just a hint of this peppery hue is enough to grab attention and make a room interesting.
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4. Instead of a prepackaged bouquet, buy a mass of the same flower. Buying fresh flowers every week gets pretty expensive. A group of one kind of inexpensive blooms, such as these carnations, makes a lovely, subtle impact and leaves you with dollars to spare.
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| 5. Corral tchotchkes in one place and feature them as a collection. Knickknacks scattered around a room look more like clutter and tend to lose their importance. When grouped together they make a statement and become more relevant to the homeowner. |
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6. Know that less is more. Be careful not to overaccessorize every corner of a space, especially when its functional needs are simple. Here, magazine files are mounted to the wall and camouflaged by paint. The remaining accessories are minimal, and the desk's beauty isn't diminished.
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7. Create your vignette in the store before you buy it. Auditioning potential purchases helps to save time standing in line at the returns desk. Moreover, if you have questions about a proposed look, an experienced store associate is always happy to give his or her expert opinion.
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by Shirley Meisels
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| 8. Create vignettes that reflect your personality. There's nothing wrong with mimicking a look you love, but be sure your add personal touches that give clues about who you are, not just the store you shopped at. |
by Shirley Meisels
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9. Go graphic. When a budget doesn't allow for wallpaper, painted stripes are always a high-impact, low-cost alternative.
How to get painted stripes right
How to get painted stripes right
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| 10. Add life to a room with real greenery. Thanks to the view of the outdoors and the fig leaf in the far corner, this room breathes. Real trees also help to naturally improve indoor air quality. |
Ideabook published on Oct. 25, 2012.
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I agree about carnations being a very pretty inexpensive choice (why do they get such a bad rap?), but I don't think the stylist for photo #4 does, because I'm pretty sure those are hydrangeas :).
These are also home stagers' tricks or the trait. Love grouping, adding red, less than more, follow a color through out. Whether I'm staging or helping clients with their own home designs.
Here is the link to our gallery page. You can see we incorporate most of these tips in our staging designs.
http://www.seattlestagedtosell.com/gallery/
And really, I don't want to appear ..... cranky?... and I could be up too early. But seriously, there is not a single surface left to function as a simple surface in these photos. It could be the homeowner just has a pottery "vase thing" going, but the desk top drives me a lot crazy, and I want to grab a step stool and re-do the shelving surrounding the television...like right this very second!! The whole tv wall makes me nothing but nervous. Color "links" are fine, but it takes just a teeny pop of a color to accomplish that, so the obvious "blue" thing on the coffee table makes me want to clear it off too, or a least remove the Tiffany blue box!
Photographing a room is a great way to go, it has worked for me a lot lately but you will never get a whole room into a photo so it has to be broken down in some way and sometimes 'slicing' the room can help, it depends on the uses in the room and the layout of furniture. However with digital cameras these days it is easy to take dozens of photos from many directions to find improvements that can be made.
Can anyone tell me more about the 'fig leaf' tree in the last photo please?
I got a great tip for flowers. When making a bouquet mix fake and real flowers for a more inexpensive result. Often pretty and colourful flowers are more expensive than the green bits. Of course the fake flowers have to look relatively real for this to work but because you still have real flowers in the mix you get the sent of a fresh bouquet and they look really good. I attached 2 pictures of bouquets I've done. In the first picture the pink flowers are the fake ones and in the second only the purple and green one are real. I think the result is look really "real."
Lastly does anyone know the source of the wooden floor lamp in the 8th picture?
Your home state is in for a shellacking!!! this week...how's that CALIF weather, girl! : )
Bobbi, that pewter looked so lovely in the photo, I'm not into the greys but I really liked it. Does your room not have the right aspect maybe? Aspect and lighting is so important.
Nope! Bite the "roller" ! ! You won't like it any better in a few days. Reminds of when I used to sew, and you'd make a whopper of a boo boo, get disgusted, and say I will rip it up later. Six months later and it is still wadded up in a pile waiting. Three years later you throw it away lol. CALL . A. Painter. It's one day of disruption : )
I agree that the TV area in Photo 5 needs a serious paring down, not to speak of the fact that there is little coherence.
A good place to look for original artwork that won't break your budget is the art shows at local schools/colleges. Often you can find really interesting pieces, while helping and encouraging the students.
I do know what you mean about the sewing mess! When I was in high school (before dirt) I made all my own clothes. Much less yardage than would be required today! And boo-boo's were a-plenty!
Try to educate yourself to appreciate good design concepts whether your personal preference is contemporary or traditional, abstract expressionist or impressionist. If slicing the room up does not resonate with you then get out of the comfort zone of the chair you always sit in in your living room and move over to the sofa and see what the opposite side of the room looks like. You might be surprised that that side of the room could use some work.
A thread of color throughout the house is what brings harmony to design. Don't take things so literal, the Tiffany box is beside the point. A blue lamp in the entry hall, a blue wall in the living room, blue and white print on the dining chairs in a yellow dinning room and blue porcelain collection in the kitchen continues the thread while allowing each room to make its own statement.
"Less is More" Group collections together to make a statement. Small accessories scattered about a room just looks fussy and cluttered. Avoid staged or model home accessorizing. Create tableaux of objects that have meaning to you. Erica's #8 photo is a great example of a homeowner who is showcasing a personal collection of art and pottery.
Be brave and do something graphic like a bold color in the entry hall or a powder room or a large scaled piece of art in the living room or dining room.
Last but not least - treat yourself to live plants and fresh flowers. Grocery store bouquets are usually a strident mix of flowers that have nothing to do with your color scheme. Instead as Erica suggests, purchase one or two bunches of a single flower that you love no matter how humble or inexpensive. There is nothing that brings a room to life more than fresh flowers.
And what in the heck is that purple feather thing in photo #9 ? That vignette could also use a chair with a taller back & larger lamp.
I'm all about proportion in the rooms I design.
The hats are worn by prominent members of their society and Juju dancers. They are a coveted item for many collectors and make a strong sculptural statement.
I love the clean lines of your home. Great job.
Maybe that would be a great idea for an article here, instead of showing finished rooms, take a basic room and add 1 - 2 - 3, show the things in stages that could be added to improve the feel and finish of a room. I know I would get a lot more out of that, but also if people felt a room was too over the top for their taste, they could see how to scale it back to keep everything in proportion and still look great.
Here's what I have done as a quick fix: I switched the art from the hallway with this one - they changed places, so now "the big monster" is hanging in the hallway, until I find a better solution.
See both results below (I need to hang the one in the hallway a bit higher so that it is at the same height as the one hanging opposite on the left).
I also enclose the missing part of the living/kitchen area to give you nearly 360 degrees overview.
I figured out that if I add more black accessories around the living area, they will neutralize the impact of just one very black very big piece of art. I am going to change the lamp standing next to the sofa to more modern & smaller black one.
this year: buy BRASA black lamp from IKEA to replace the one next to the sofa (more modern look & adding pops of black); replace the rug in the hallway with Massimo SilkRug grey (similar size, slightly bigger), look for some better solution for the plant(s) and next spring replant them;
next year: put the big black flower back above the sofa, look for additional 2 pieces of art on canvas to hang on the right side of it, change the curtains for sth without pattern and more neutral (I don't know yet), go for bigger area rug maybe Massimo SilkRug grey but in 300x200 cm format (but need to save for it)
I was looking for the painting to hang above the sofa which would match all the possible color combinations of pillows, candles etc. Now I have more red & yellow to stay with the season. Most of the year I have a neutral combination of black-beige-grey-white, sometimes I like adding some blue. It is difficult to find one piece of art matching them all & I have not enough storage to change art as well every time.
This is how it looked PRIOR to hanging up that enormous black painting with a rose:
I found few examples of interiors with black art in my books & it looks less dominating if there are more pops of black elsewhere.
It came to me that I don't know precisely what I am trying to achieve in fact. Whenever I see sth great I like to buy it but then it requires changes around it, the whole dynamics of the space changes. I would like to try a "professional" approach. Making moodboards is somewhat helpful but what I really mean is using a software with the exact image of the room so I can play around with it, add/remove things, change colors etc. Otherwise trial & error but paying heavy transportcosts & not always having a possibility to return the item is a very costly way to do so...
Right now I am a bit down because if I cannot do it "right" for myself, then how will I be able to help a client? I am questioning myself & I don't have much confidence in my interior design business right now....
Guess what Joanne? Professionals don't over think it, and I will attest to that. There is always going to be light in a place you don't want it... a lack of perfection somewhere. You can make yourself crazy. You could for instance, make the photos relatively small, the mats large, and invite a closer look when you do that. A room is a feel, a mood, and sometimes it is as simple as a little THERE, there! wherever THERE happens to be.There is non glare glass, a million ways to get some THERE over the sofa. A little imperfection can be a very nice thing. People and their "eyes" will fill in the blanks.
As far as artwork, I go at it from a completely different direction than Joanna---not saying one or the other is better---but I bought my paintings and prints because they spoke to me. I don't feel like the colors have to match the rest of the decor, just blend in. My house is mostly neutrals---ivory/antique white, pale and a dark taupy gray, some light peach (the colors in limestone and sand stone) with cobalt and ruby red glass collections, so the focus in on the art and the glass. Don't have time to post photos now, but if this convsation is still going on, I might later.
I do like the other picture from the hall better in the lounge, maybe the rose was just too big. I have seen very large pictures in hallways and they look good as your rose does but I sometimes feel you need to stand back to appreciate them. Is there anyway you could put the rose where your coat hooks are? Would look very dramatic at the end of the hallway like that.
Do like the effect of the red cushions on your lounge too, but I am a colour person. To me they just lift the room so much more but of course photos don't show up the needs of a room as far as lighting and aspect goes.
Have to go paint a room - hang in there, it is coming together nicely.
You hit the nail on the head!!! When you finish a house, and the client is literally jumping up and down and then grabs you so you have to jump WITH her and you're both laughing, but you are actually even more thrilled than she is...seriously, IS there anything better? No, there is not. I know you agree : ) We love what we do, we love it more when people let us do our best at what we do, and the client loves it beyond compare when those first two things collide in their home. That IS the perfect storm.
I know, I need more self-confidence to make the right choices. Learn how to deal with to much stress, again. I thought that being my own boss will be less stressful but there are other things which make this stressful. I look at people who succeeded at interior design, at you guys, in a way like you are superrnatural, I am never going to be that good etc. I feel like I almost don't deserve to breathe the same air, stand next to a REAL interior designer...I know, shocking...I belittle myself....
I feel I need to stand back for a while and take care of myself.
P.S. changed the lamp, this is the photo of today (windows to the left & to the right are partly covered with "Roman blinds")
I have no idea your age. I just know you need fifty lashes with a wet noodle. So! Snap out of it right now. Every single seasoned professional, no matter their profession, had a day when they began. Most are ten, or twenty or thirty year "overnight successes". If you believe they never made a mistake, you are wrong. If you believe they don't ever fear the BIG mistake, you are wrong. But the one thing they DO know is that they will be able to fix it. They also realize, that to continually play a thing safe... is to never grow, or create, or make magic.
None who are successful just hung out a shingle and declared themselves experts. Most started with some projects they would just as soon cringe at, as re-visit! Almost none, got the perfect design job, or the REALLY HUGE HOUSE... on the first day.
Practice gaining confidence on small projects, help friends, and gain... some you- know- whats. Soon enough, you will know if it is the thing for YOU. But a designer without confidence, is a designer doomed and few gain confidence other than by DOING.
Sometimes people bring me down saying "it is to BIG for you, it's impossible" etc. I have proven numerous times that, when you put your mind to it and all yourself, you will achieve it.
I don't expect any financial returns first few years, I just want to build my "portfolio", learn things and do it because I have a passion for it, not because I want to be paid. Not for first few years, until I am sure I can do it. That's the goal right now...
The single thing hardest to learn in any business is to GET PAID. And to get paid your worth. I hope you've a lot of savings, I hope you've a plan with defined goals and you have devised a method to measure your progress. In the end, the business is a LOT more about money than most will ever tell you. Not just yours, but a clients. And the government's. There are MANY days, when design is the least of the job.
Let me make it simpler: Pretend you do NOT have that income. Just do that. You aren't an "artiste!" If you want to be a pro.... think like one. I am done now : )
I'm in San Diego now and looking for another designer and looking at portfolios here. I do that long before I talk to them in person. I like to see lots of examples of their work. I've found it is cheaper to hire a designer than to buy a lot of things that aren't right. If you are gifted in the design area, start off small and use those talents.
LOL... I think a tolerance for stress is at the top of the list... possibly only exceeded by the need for a very healthy sense of humor. Emphasize very!