Dorm Room Design on a Dime

As you read this article, hundreds of thousands of wide eyed teens are heading off to college for their very first out of home living experience. The transition from leaving the nest to flying solo can sometimes be an emotional and trying journey. So what can a brave and design-savvy parent do?

Help your kids create a dorm room that is a mini home away from home.

This year approximately $4 billion will be spent on decorating dorm rooms. But there's really no need to break the bank account to give your child the comforts of home. Dorm room designing on a dime doesn't mean you have to sacrifice style for function. Rather, it's about finding a budget-friendly compromise for both and giving it a personal touch.

Top tips for dorm room interior design:

• Add color 
• Create storage 
• Use wall décor 

Let's break those down now.

Add Color

Once upon a time colleges wouldn't let kids paint their dorm rooms, but times are changing! As long as it's painted back to a neutral color, many colleges will now allow it. 

But if painting is still a no-no for your school, then turn to companies like Ikea and Bed, Bath & Beyond. For the price of a gallon of paint, they have great fabric patterns that add serious style, color and drama to a room!

Feminine Color
Colorful bedding, rugs and lamps can really pull the room together. Go for stark contrast and bursts of bright color, like teal, orange, yellow and green. Use objects like throw blankets, pillows and lamps for extra pops of color.

Masculine Color
Go cool with chocolate brown, army green, navy blue and reds. Try to opt for brushed nickel, stainless and/or dark wood tones for furnishings. Remember, a dorm room can still have a pulled-together sense of style—repeating linear patterns and natural color tones can do the trick.
Create Storage

Since the average dorm room is about 200 square feet, the trick to a well-designed space is to use every square inch. So storage is essential.

Remember, when you have limited space and can't go out, you go up. Try stacking storage cubes from floor to ceiling for a fun and functional style.

More tips:

• Get bed risers and move storage under the bed.
• Look into portable zip-up closets with drop-down hangers for all those cool T-shirts.
• Opt for a closed storage desk and things like decorative desk containers that really help with de-cluttering a desk.
• Use old travel trunks as great alternative storage units.

Wall Décor
The hottest trend in dorm room design these days is peel-and-stick wall décor.

Since most dorms don't allow students to nail or screw stuff into their mostly concrete surroundings, the next best option is peel-and-stick art and picture frames that provide a functional twist. Trendy Wall Designs has everything from feminine to edgy. They even have peel and stick chalk board decals. Pretty fun! 

Photo from Dreaming in Ink

Interior Design Trend - Framed Digital Art

If it's easy, trendy, personal and beautiful - sign us up. We're talking about 'digital art' - that is, utilizing a framed digital display to showcase JPG format images, animations and graphics - even video - in your home or workspace interior design.  Unlimited possibilities, easy to change and update: sounds divine, yes? It's no wonder this is why 'digital art' is fast becoming popular as an interior design trend.

What's more - is that these pieces can be connected to your iPhone or Android so that you can swap artwork o the fly,  remotely.

Why we love the idea: What's coolest about this - is the artwork you can display.  Up and coming artists are supported. The frames are available in multiple sizes, and colors, and with purchase - you download an accompanying app. There is an app that goes along with the frames, where aspiring artists are encouraged to list their artwork. This puts their work in homes and interiors all over the world - and pays them for use.  Currently  - this concept - called "Framed" is on the crowd funding website, KickStarter:

"The evolution of technology and accessibility of the Internet has brought out a wonderful range of digital art, and now we have an innovative way of sharing that art, and presenting it in way that pays respect to the artists that created them," explains FRM Co-Founder and Creative Director Yugo Nakamura.

The HD screen and integrated computer lets users display artworks found or purchased online, or even upload their own. Framed has a Kickstarter starting price of $399.

Content and Photo - Original Article Source

Focus on Lighting

Light has intrigued man since the dawn of time. What started out as tallow candles and gas lamps in the early centuries evolved into to a plethora of light sources powered by electricity, chemicals or combustion in the modern day. Light is an essential part of our daily activities. Just like we need air, water and food to survive we need light in order to function efficiently. Gone are the days when people used to stop working after sunset. The use of light in interior spaces greatly affects the environment and mood of the space.

Here are some of the of lighting to consider during the process of interior design.

1) Natural light: The sun is the biggest source of light available. It is normally assumed that sunlight can penetrate inside a space for about 7 feet (approximately 20 meters). If the architect has taken proper care during planning of the structure, then sunlight can be a very good and free source of light. Sunlight also keeps the air clean by killing any possible bacterial attacks which might be harmful to health. Interior designers tend to love natural light and know best how to put it to use in a home.

 2) Artificial filler lights: These types of lights work on electricity and are required mostly at night time, unless you live in a geographical location where the weather is cloudy for a good portion of the year. At such times filler lights are used to give the same effect the sunlight would create. As the name suggests, these types of lights "fill" the space evenly with light, eliminating any dark spaces. Of course, this is the most commonly used kinds of lighting. Think overhead fixtures, chandeliers etc.

3) Special lighting for special spaces: Special lighting is required at spaces where it is necessary to create a mood or special ambience inside a space. To achieve this use of color is done. Lighting fixtures like spot lights are used to divert the attention of the crowd at certain focused areas. This same focus effect is used in commercial showrooms to enhance the importance of the display areas.

4) Extreme lighting: This type of lighting is used in spaces where the activities have a special purpose, such as movie studios, pubs, dance floors, etc. Here the lighting used can be of movable types, or can have more sophisticated controls such as intensity, color, movement, or even controlled through music beats.

Some of these have even been put to use in homes by creative interior designers. The activities happening inside a space directly affect the type of lighting used inside a space. A properly planned lighting plan can greatly enhance the quality of a space. Working with your interior designer is your best option when it comes to determining what lighting will work for your space.

Shown: Maitland-Smith Verdigris and Antique Brass African Wildlife Chandelier, Eggshell Bowl, Leather Shades

Each Piece A Masterpiece - Christopher Guy

When we say that each Christopher Guy piece is hand-crafted, we aren't joking. Not only is each piece hand-assembled, but one might not believe the thought and innovation that goes into each design. 

Christopher Guy, is a brilliant creator and award-winning designer also noted as a 'Living Legend'. The creativity, and superior furniture crafting of each piece makes Christopher Guy furnishings a favorite among clients of J. Douglas Design, as well as Douglas himself. We're thrilled to be the exclusive Dallas retailer of Christopher Guy furniture.

We stumbled across this video below - that shows a bit more in detail, the care and attention to each and every piece of furniture that rolls out of the Christopher Guy factory.

Christopher Guy is opening a new showroom in Beverly Hills, California this very day, and has plans for a showroom in New York City later in the year. We expect to continue to see big things from Christopher Guy - including high-profile set design and celebrity styles including his pieces very soon, and we're thrilled.

Favorite Celebrity Kitchens

We recently fell in love with a celebrity kitchen slideshow over at Architectural Digest. What is it about kitchens that puts designers in a tailspin of euphoria? If we had a week of spare time maybe we could come up with an exhaustive list. The list would be massive and we're still not confident that we would be able to come up with a complete list. After all, new pieces, products and design possibilities are developed every day. That exhaustive list would become an exhaustive job as we try to keep up with the ever changing potential of kitchens. And we aren't the only ones who love kitchens. Here at J. Douglas Design, we have found that even those who are not natural born chefs, care deeply about the look and functionality of their kitchen. We think this quote sums up the reason pretty succinctly:

The kitchen really is the castle itself. This is where we spend our happiest moments and where we find the joy of being a family. -Mario Batali

Here are a few of our favorite celebrity kitchens.

Ellen and Portia's kitchen makes use of light in such a unique and enchanting way. Ditching typical wall cabinets for a hanging glass display helps to disperse the warm ambient light from the window over the sink. 

Hank Azaria's kitchen mixes rustic and contemporary elements. The reclaimed wood of the island is balanced by the sleek stainless steel appliances. Of course, a white kitchen is always a beautiful classic look. 

This minimalistic and ultra bright kitchen belongs to the one and only Sting. The inclusion of organic elements in the rattan chair and hardwood floor really appeals to us. 

What features to you love about these kitchens? What don't they have that you would require in a kitchen of your own? Tell us in the comments. 

Oh, and if you're needing help with your kitchen redesign, look no further. Our design services is just what you need.

Photography credit: Architectural Digest.

Top 5 Most Memorable Movie Set Interior Designs

Americans love movies! We love to be entertained in all kinds of ways, but a trip to the movies is at the top of that list. So today, we thought we'd share some of our favorite, most memorable movie set interior designs.

Gone With the Wind

The epic drama chronicling the Civil War from the point of view of Southern heroine Scarlett O'Hara offers some beautiful examples of traditional Southern interior design. Grand portraits, elaborate gilded furniture, gorgeous chandeliers for lighting, cozy sofas by the fireplace. What's not to love?

Something's Gotta Give

The Hampton beach house movie set of Something's Gotta Give was a huge hit and created a wave of requests for kitchens and living rooms that looked just like it. The entire house was treated as if it was itself a character in the movie. "The real challenge was to deliver the 'character' of the house - a great Hamptons house, beautiful, but not overly designed" shared Rubino. We found ourselves drooling...obviously she did her job well.

You've Got Mail

Who doesn't want a cozy, comfy home just like Kathleen Kelly’s in You've Got Mail? From the exterior of the NYC brownstone to every nook and cranny of the inside, cottage charm permeates every stitch of fabric, every wall, and every little detail.

The Help

The Help made our list, not because we love 60s pink bathrooms but because the film effectively displays several decades of interior design by allowing us to see inside several homes of the time. Celia's plantation home has a kitchen stuck in the 30s. Hilly's home, shown above, is a classic colonial style home demonstrating her obsession with perfection. Skeeter's loved and lived in house combines class with the comforts of having a home where love abounds. There's something here for everyone. The set designers Mark Ricker and Rena DeAngelo, had 47 sets to dress.

A Single Man

Set during the 1960s, in a gorgeous John Lautner house, the interior design is just superb. It boasts brilliant examples of blending the traditional with the futuristic. Resulting in a set that is both artistic and visually stimulating. It's not really a surprise to learn that the geniuses behind the Emmy winning show 'Mad Men' were in charge of production design.

The set above is the boudoir of Julianne Moore's character. Note that just this room alone includes traditional design elements like use of various textures (the chair vs. everything else), current trends (ikat print), use of focal points (the dressing table and mirror), use of targeted lighting with the window and lamps. When it comes to modern movies, A Single Man, showcases everything we love about the use of interior design in the movies. It really doesn't get better than this.

Color Theory and Interior Design - Part I

In any visual art, including interior design - color theory is a very important set of concepts that rule how the hues of a finished work impact the overall outcome of the project. Sometimes, it's also about mixing colors.

For a painter, it's very important to be so familiar with color that you know exactly what colors to mix together and how much of each color - to the colors you see in real life.

Auguste Renoir was known as one of the greatest of the French Impressionists, and for very good reason. Like the other painters of his genre and period - he rarely used black or white, rather used a never ending array of more obscure color.

He was able to model his subjects in light and shade with only the colors of his paint. Mixing and using dark, deep blues and browns instead of solid black, and simple tints of cream and other pastels instead of stark white - he, and the other Impressionists became the masters of light and shade - and 'Painters of Life'. They painted what they saw, and they knew how to open their eyes to see the world around them, and apply the simple rules of color theory to mix the colors they saw.

Certainly, when we speak of interior design, we are most definitely speaking of a visual art. Over the course of the next few months, we'll chat about some basic rules of color theory that effect the outcome of the design of an interior space, and explain why and how it applies.

Color theory doesn't just end with knowing how to mix paint like Renoir and other painters throughout history.

For an interior designer, it means knowing how to use color - to enhance the light, the shade, the mood and energy of a space. It's simply knowing how to COMBINE the colors in an area without invoking a heart attack or blurred vision.

(I promise this can happen when you mix the wrong colors! Well, ok, maybe I am being a little dramatic - maybe it won't cause full-blown cardiac arrest - but one part of color theory - simultaneous contrast - which we'll go into more detail later - can definitely blur one's vision, and is the source of many graphic/visual illusions - and must be dealt with carefully with regard to the visual art of interior design. Check out the link above for some color fun.)

So as we start on our journey to learn more about color, we should start with the basic color wheel.

Notice there is no black or white. This is because - all color - is actually light. This is why it's called a 'spectrum' of color, because it's the color of the light along the spectrum that actually allows the eye to see color.

So - from now on, when someone tells you their favorite color is 'white' - you can retort with, "hmmm.... that's funny - because white is not actually a color - it's presence of ALL light." - and likewise, if they say "black" is their hue of choice, you can say, "But black is not a hue at all! It's absence of ALL light!". It's true! Black occurs when there is NO light, and white occurs when there is ALL light. The colors in between are the 'spectrum' of light in between.

Think of a rainbow, there's no black or white on a rainbow. It's simply because there IS light, but not ALL light. You're seeing the spectrum in the middle.

The other parts of the color wheel you learned in kindergarten, but might have forgotten. You've got your PRIMARY colors (yellow, red, and blue) - these are the 'parents' of ALL colors. (Yes, even colors have families, parents and children! We'll get into parent colors and how to see them later on.) From yellow, red and blue come the SECONDARY colors: orange, green and violet. When you take the primary colors, and mix them with the secondary colors - it breaks the wheel down even further with TERTIARY colors such as red-orange, blue-green, yellow-green and so on. They can be broken down even more, into millions of hues.

Colors exactly OPPOSITE each other on the color wheel are called COMPLIMENTARY colors - and when used together in full strength (pure hue) - that's when simultaneous contrast can occur. We'll talk a little more about simultaneous contrast, tints, shades and using colors together in a space next time. This was just a primer on the basics.

So what did we learn? Black and white: NOT colors. Primary colors: they're the super-parents of all color. And Renoir: was one hip Impressionist who knew how to mix some mad paint.

Check back in a few weeks for Color Theory and Interior Design - Part II where we'll go into some more concepts, and start tying in tips and tricks of using color in an interior design.