Interior Design Spotlight: Century Furniture

Century Furniture is one of our favorite lines; and pieces from their various collections coupled with the right interior design can make any room look spectacular. Century Furniture is a privately owned upper end furniture manufacturer that is well known for their craftsmanship and elegance; with home furnishings for every space in your home and a style to match.

When we design with Century Furniture,  we are able to allow our client an outlet to express his or her own individuality. Century Furniture even has your outdoor needs covered with a special selection of patio and pool furniture. Century Furniture allows you the freedom to furnish your entire home, a single room or a complementary piece for your existing decor.

The craftsmen at Century Furniture will allow you to customize your home furnishing. With over 2000 fabrics to choose from and over 50 different wood finishes you can create that custom design you can call your very own. With Century Furniture you are actually purchasing a work of art that has been handcrafted for you by one or their renowned artisans.

Interior Design Ideas - Incorporating Feng Shui Part IIII

Making your house welcoming and warm is a top priority to any homeowner. We’ve covered some quick tips to implement Feng Shui in your home, as well as covered how to make the most important room in your home, the living room, more guest-friendly without sacrificing the family space.  We try to incorporate several elements into interior design - and making them comfortable and stylish is often the biggest challenge.

But what about your bedroom? Few guests see this special room, but it can be argued that this is the most sacred room in any house. So could Feng Shui be helpful there? Absolutely.

First off, use a headboard. This design element can be one of the most overlooked elements of a beautiful bedroom. Materials to look for are warm and friendly, like wood or leather. Line up the headboard in the middle of a wall, so that equal space are given for both people to enter and leave the bed.

Colors in bedrooms are equally important, so use warm colors like reds, oranges, dark greens and browns to create a more comfortable atmosphere. Spice up the romance in the room by adding artwork in pairs to reinforce the sacredness of a room for two special people.

See some examples of beautiful bedrooms in our Dallas furniture showroom. If you’re going to have a TV, computer or other electronic device in the bedroom, follow the same principles laid out in the living room: hide them when not in use.

Gorgeous Gourds Of Holiday Decor

Preparing your home for the Thanksgiving Feast can be difficult at best - there will be tons of people in your home, and busy work creating fantastic meals to be shared around a family table. It's the start of the most wonderful time of the year. Decorating with pumpkins and squash may sound funny - but it is - every year, a reliable and relevant trend in holiday decor.

There are many different ways to incorporate gourds, pumpkins and squash into your interior design during Autumn.

According to Martha Stewart (and she is in authority on this sort of thing...) Autumn is the easiest season to decorate your home because of the use of a just even a single pumpkin, some squash and a little creative thinking can make a huge difference in the entire atmosphere of your home.

Sur la table, you can clean out your pumpkin and use for a dip dish, and place on a nice platter with your favorite crackers. You can also use a cleaned out pumpkin for soup or chowder.

Use the big pumpkin for your Thanksgiving Day feast centerpiece. Place in the center of your beautiful dining table and place some small squash, random leaves scattered around it. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

The great thing about pumpkins and squash are their unique and wonderful natural fall colors. Decorating your home or work place with these wondrous fall colors such as the different types of pumpkins can not only be unique but also will save some money. You can use these decorating tips from mid-September up until the day after Thanksgiving.

Visit a Farmers Market to get some great unique and no-two alike pumpkins and squash to scatter on the front porch steps to give that inviting and warm welcome to friends and family.

Interior Design Ideas - Incorporating Feng Shui Part II

Two rooms we don’t want to neglect when applying the principles of Feng Shui to our interior design are also rooms that are quite useful: the home office and the kitchen.

HOME OFFICE

For those with a home office, it can be difficult to make this room more than just a 'storage space' for files, paperwork and computers. Implement some of these changes to make your home office more room-energy friendly.

Align your desk so that it is facing the door. It creates a presence of power, you’ll be the first to greet anyone that enters.

Eliminate sharp edges, whether that be furniture or artwork and replace them with rounded shapes and sensual objects that encourage productivity. File all of those papers! Create a storage or filing system that is easy to use and clean for those who happen to stumble upon them.

KITCHEN

Lastly, homeowners spend a majority of their time in the kitchen. Kitchens now serve as entertaining spaces on top of the need to be a room for preparing and serving food. Use some of these quick kitchen tips to optimize your space.

Similar to the office principle, you want to face the entrance to your kitchen while you’re cooking. This can be done by hanging a mirror on the backsplash or by installing a stove top on an island.
Organize pantries, especially if using cloudy glass in pantry doors. It gives you the opportunity to present dishes as artwork.

Lighting is very important in the kitchen, so utilize warm lighting from halogen bulbs or incandescent lights to make food more visually appealing on top of being tasty!

Keep it clean. Always clean your stove top and countertops after making dishes. Nothing is more unappealing than caked out foods from dishes cooked weeks before. A quick swipe with a paper towel can often to the trick. 

Interior Design Elements: What Is Color?

There are so many different colors in the vast world; such as various shades of colors found in nature, or brighter hues and tones of paint on a canvas. But, how do we get all of these colors? Well it might surprise you to know that we actually get all colors from the way our eye perceives light and the way materials either absorb or reflect this light.

How could this be? Well it’s simple – you just combine the lights in different ratios. By changing the brightness in certain different colors you can get every color you could ever imagine. Millions.

In the world of painting, we use additive coloring to get lighter tints (basically, we mix white with the color to get a tint), and to get a shade, we would add black to produce shaded versions of the same color.

But in other industries, and in color theory itself - additive coloring is a bit different, where for example, combining all three additive primary colors in equal amounts will produce the color white itself. Good examples of this include televisions and computers.

What happens, though, when the source of your color is not light, but instead is something like a book or photograph? Well it’s easy – we just use Subtractive Coloring instead. Subtractive Coloring’s colors are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. What makes Subtractive Coloring different from Additive is that in Subtractive the three colors are used to make darker colors, and when all three are mixed together they create the color black. For all you Photoshop experts out there - this is what happens when you 'invert' an image.

In essence, all colors are made up by how we, as individuals, see them. So, in theory, colors do not exist in nature, but instead are something that we perceive as color given three different situations: white light, the way materials absorb or reflect light, and by the sensibility of the human eye. This would also mean that colors do not exist in powders and paints or fabrics.

Some eyes can be more sensible than others, though – and at J. Douglas Design we know that we have the right eye to help you combine any types of different colors that you may want in any kind of home décor.

Interior Design Ideas - Incorporating Feng Shui Part III

Feng Shui can help create an atmosphere of 'welcome' and make your living space more inviting. We laid out some quick tips to implement Feng Shui into the home in recent posts, now we’ll cover the most important room to focus on: the living space.

The living room is the focal point of the house and the center of entertaining and family fellowship. Above all other rooms - it should be the most welcoming room in all of your home. For most of us, the living room serves not only as the greeting room when guests come over, but also the main space for our families to thrive - toy trucks, video games and dolls normally lay sprawled across the floor. It doesn’t have to be hard to make this versatile space more friendly - these interior design and layout tweaks will show you just how easy it is to make a change that is very impactful.

Electronics: It all starts with the TV. Don’t make the TV or other electronics the focal point of your living room, instead hide electrical equipment from view when not in use by using cabinets and other furniture for storage.

Face to Face: It’s also a good idea to “marry” furniture together, meaning set up furniture to face each other so that conversations can happen naturally within the room. Make sure that the furniture in your living room is appropriate to your own personal style, so browse the best furniture lines before making a decision.

Deck the halls - but where? Hanging objects on walls at the same height, as if lining them up on a horizontal line, can make walls seem much longer and ceilings much taller. When hanging artwork, look to create grids or shapes with pictures that can make the hanging frames art within themselves.

Go light on the doo-dads. Stray from using too many decorative items  or small home accessories outside of your main furniture or small collections or items grouped together. A side note, too many pillows on a couch can be downright overwhelming!

How have you made your living space more 'inviting'?

Interior Design Ideas - Incorporating Feng Shui Part I

We all want a home that looks beautiful - but it must also feel right. A home with personal energy flows well from room to room, with each room offering it’s own personality.

By learning the principles of Feng Shui, a Chinese system of harmonizing environments and elements - you can create any desired atmosphere in your home.

Let’s start by covering some simple things you can do to implement Feng Shui into your home today:

Be Clean 
Simple. Clean your home. Nothing makes a home look more inviting and welcoming than a clean living room with some magazines laid out upon a coffee table. Keep the clutter out, by organizing your things and keeping things where they belong.  Dust the floorboards and ceiling fans and change the light bulbs on the porches to create a more safe and visible atmosphere.

Be Strategic and Open Channels
Don’t leave furniture or items in the middle of rooms or entryways, these can block the "flow" of energy that moves into the home. Do you have a wall or dead end in your home that seems out of place? Add a floor-length mirror to create an illusion of a bigger room or space.

Add Shapes and Colors
Shapes and colors are both core elements of design and can do wonders to a home to revamp the interior design. To stay strict to Feng Shui principles, use rounded or oval tables and white plates to allow the food to be the focal point of the meal and room. Opt for wooden tables and soft fabric chairs instead of glass counter tops or metal table tops.

Have you tried any of these in your home? Stay tuned for more Feng shui principles you can incorporate in your home today to help create a personal energy in your living space.

Halloween Decor - Interior Design That Is Classy AND Creepy

Halloween is the first opportunity of Fall to decorate your home and your home's exterior, and participate in a fun and frightening annual tradition. Some entertain in their homes for this haunted holiday, and others more likely just entertain themselves by looking at the spooky settings and hair-raising handiwork of those in their neighborhood.

But has Halloween gotten too scary?

We personally aren't big fans of the super-gory, but every-popular Halloween trend of putting brains, blood and guts on the front porch to terrify the children of the neighborhood. What happened to the cleverly creepy use of pumpkins, wood and webbing?

We were poking on Pinterest - and found several 'classy but creepy' design elements that fit beautifully into our idea of ghoulish greatness - without compromising your interior design.


Decorating a staircase (above, left) or a mirror (below) with wood, webbing and lighting can add major drama to an entry way. You don't need the terrifying torn and bleeding body or the lifelike human organs to feel the spirit this Halloween.

This year, send a message that Halloween doesn't have to be that scary. Keep it fun, keep it light - and keep it simple. Stick with mummies, skeletons, spider webs and jack-o-lanterns; it's in the details - but skip the entrails.

(all images from Pinterest)

Dining Through The Holidays

The dining space of any dwelling often represents the real heart of the home. Dining rooms bring together family and friends for sustenance, celebrations, and are a place or warmth and connection that nourish the body and the soul. The dining room is a unique place that reflects your family heritage, and makes new friends feel at home.

Choose your décor for this special space from the heart. You can create a warm, but fashionable room that invites and excites.

The dining table is the natural focal point of the dining area. You could choose from a world of shapes, styles, sizes and even materials when selecting your dining room table. Make use of fresh florals as your centerpiece for a stunning display of nature in all its elegance. For efficient use of space, and an extra-close dining experience, try replacing one side of your dining chairs with a bench. This ‘communal seating’ is a trick of the trade in the interior design world to add more space.

Lighting creates the ambiance for the room. Whether your space is filled with flecks of reflected light from a distinctive chandelier, or is less formally and more dimly lit by trendy wall sconces, your lighting can be flexible. Depending on your lifestyle, or the occasion – you might opt for the glow of an alabaster light or choose to make full use of natural light, if you have windows in your space.

Your furnishings, fabrics, accessories and lighting can transform your dining area season to season, reason to reason for a charmingly elegant space to gather.

Image from Christopher Guy (Dining Rendering) for more details on this collection click here or contact J. Douglas Design.

Celebrity Bedrooms We Love

Hours in front of the camera, being chased by the paparazzi, signing autographs for adoring fans...of course, every celebrity needs a swanky place to recharge after a long day. The private spaces of these stars are as diverse as their talents, taking high-end interior design to a whole new level of style and comfort. Last month we took a turn through some kitchens with famous owners. Today, we're strolling through a few celebrity bedrooms we love.

Meg Ryan's Master Bedroom

We love the glassed peak in Meg Ryan’s light infused bedroom on Martha’s Vineyard. The simple charm of the barn style sliding door and the heavy custom-made trunk create a rustic feel. We love the white-washed walls that lend a feeling of never ending light. What we especially love is the very personal touch of a stack of favorite books at the end of the bed. We can just imagine grabbing one and climbing into that comfy bed at the end of everyday.

SJP and Matthew Broderick's Retreat

Clean white curtains and walls, and an over-sized bed that brings to mind big fluffy white clouds makes Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s nightly retreat a heaven on earth. What we love are the punches of color reflected in an aqua Christopher Spitzmiller lamp, a blue vase, and apple-green vintage armchairs. That pile of pillows looks especially inviting.

Nightly Escape of Ellen Pompeo

After a long day on the set, sometimes you just want to escape to new worlds. Ellen Pompeo of Grey’s Anatomy enjoys a well-traveled look for her Hollywood Hills bedroom. Pompeo found the bed at one of her favorite Parisian stores, Caravane Chambre 19. The true magic in this room is in the details: an antique Egyptian wall hanging, Moroccan-style brass lamps, an Indian throw, and 1950s West African pillows from Hollywood at Home. Five countries represented in one room-now that's an escape!

What do you love about these rooms? Anything missing that you just couldn't do without? Share with us in the comments.

If you're ready to create your own personal escape, you can't go wrong with enlisting a little help. Our interior design services are just what you need.

Story inspired by an MSN feature. Photo credit: Elle Decor

Interior Design Trends - The Simple Modern Kitchen

Few places in your home can bring together family and friends like a kitchen can. Your kitchen is where you roll out those delicious holiday desserts and tasty dinner dishes - and the place where you sip on your morning coffee before beginning the day ahead. All in all, your kitchen is an important place isn’t it? So what would the interior design of your dream kitchen look like?

Some of the growing trends in kitchen design are a mix of vintage and modern space accents. Open shelving is becoming a more popular alternative to conventional cabinets and are used as opportunities to present kitchenware and accessories to guests.

Simple, clean and elegant white kitchens are becoming of a trend since they are so easy to design. Customizations can go from lighting accents like vintage lamps, chandeliers or other lighting fixtures.  Of course, anyone who knows me, knows I love a Jean-Richard Chandelier.

Other popular customizations are stainless steel and sleek appliances that reinforce the modern aesthetic.

What would you do with a dream kitchen? Are there any particular styles or accents that you would want to use in your home?

Popular Master Bedroom Accents

Master bedrooms are among the most luxurious areas of any home - and they should be! After all, this is where the house “masters” spend their time sleeping; it’s a private place.  Just because it is private doesn’t mean it can’t use some extra attention to detail; a lot of time is spent in this space. There are some simple additions to the interior design that can be made to any master bedroom to give a bit more personality and add more focal points.

Ledges
This feature is often found in larger living spaces but can be just as practical. Adding a ledge above a headboard on the main wall can present photographs and art in a much more relaxed way by leaning them against the wall. Interested? Add the ledge on the focal wall about six inches from the top of your headboard.

Mixing Styles
Matching all furniture styles in a bedroom is no longer a necessity. Mix and match the styles that you love for a comfortable room. There are a ton of home furnishings that you can mix and match safely. Vintage dressers and mirrors alongside antiques blend together to show off the personality of the household master.

Exposed & High Ceilings 
High ceilings have been a popular household addition for the past few years, but only recently have unfinished ceilings become more popular. Install wooden beams to give the appearance that rafters are exposed from your ceiling without the true exposed feeling.

Have you used any of these design styles in your home? Which are your favorite?

Bathrooms and Interior Design - Exposed Sinks

Exposed sink lines are all the rage now in popular home design and new modern, classic styles that show off plumbing.   The interior design of the modern bathroom has taken on a new, chic trend.

Varied Styles Regardless of what style pipeline you have below your sync, the materials can be used to match other features in your bathroom. Look for copper, brass, stainless steel and nickel for popular coordination opportunities.
  
So, you love the look, but don’t quite understand it?  Your sink trap is what your sink uses to keep air from the sewer from coming back up into the home. In restrooms that aren’t used as frequently, the water in the trap evaporates.

Sink traps come in different shapes that are often referred to as different letters: the “P-trap” and the “U-trap”.

The P-trap is most used in areas where there needs to be some room saved underneath the sink. Use it in vanities for some extra storage for towels, or other bathroom necessities.

The U-trap is one of the most common used for commercial and industrial purposes.

Neither option do the trick for you? Check out creative options like water slides, sinks that simply shoot the water down a slide-like accent and into either the toilet or shower to conserve water.

Iconic American Design Styles - Part 3

In the past two posts we’ve covered two of the most iconic American design elements found in homes starting from the 18th century all the way to homes today. Different elements have been taken from different styles across the globe and integrated to modern styles today.

Many of those elements are in today’s featured iconic American design style, which happens to be one of the most recognizable and popular styles in American history.

Ranch Style
 Ranch style homes are among the most recognizable home designs in history today. Ranch style homes were built to be an escape from the city life of long hours and hard work so the homeowner could come home and relax with loved ones in the “great room” floor plan. Made popular in the 1950's, and especially in the Preston Hollow area of Dallas interior design s and homes.

Ranch style homes have unique floor plans. Rarely does a ranch style home have more than one story because it’s designed to stretch across the property horizontally. The design highlights large rooms as “family rooms” and places special emphasis on the kitchen and other rooms that will be used for entertainment. In Texas - we'd call it 'sprawling'.

Sliding glass doors, panoramic views over the backyard and large overhanging roof lines all contribute to one of the most popular styles - and especially in Dallas interior design - in all of American history.

Do you live in a ranch style home? What are some of your favorite elements of this design?

Iconic American Design Styles - Part 2

American homes, both interior design and architecture - have stood with proud columns and elaborate moldings, have been modern and minimal, some traditional - while others sat tucked away in the hills - a log cabin with a western or rustic style.

In our first post, we featured the Iconic American colonial-style design that draws its roots from the 13 colonies. In our second post of our Iconic American Design Styles, we’ll discuss a 19th century style that can still be found in older neighborhoods today: Tudor Style.

Tudor Style

Tudor-style homes are still popular and are mostly found in the older neighborhoods sprinkled throughout the country. Tudor-style homes are symbolic for their stucco, wood and stonework exteriors that build up to highly steeped roof lines and facades.

Tudor-style homes take their inspiration from European medieval homes in England in the 19th century and create a true storybook feeling home.

Create your own Tudor Style design by first tackling some exterior work that will distinctly associate it with its medieval inspiration. Consider adding in wide windows that feature plenty of light and some old-world furniture.

Iconic American Design Styles - Part 1

Homes and interior design styles have changed throughout history, and across cultures. Did you know that there’s been many iconic American designs that have been replicated all over the world? 

American 'design styles' have taken some of the best features from cultures everywhere - and included them in their layouts, floorplans and designs. These popular styles have passed the test of time, and many can still be found throughout many countries today.

American homes have changed drastically over the years, and we’ve seen some beautiful design styles come from it. In our first feature of Iconic American Design Styles. We’ll feature one iconic style in this three-part series and dive into some of the most popular styles of American interior designs.

Colonial Style

Colonial-style homes take their roots from the original American 13 colonies. Colonial homes often have wide porches, entry-facing columns and shutters bordering the windows.

The interior of a colonial-style home is quite notable also. Most are two-story with wide and open floor plans that feature the rooms all centering off a main room, hallway or stairway. The focus of a colonial home is on the entryway where moldings, built-in bookcases and stairwells all draw back to the nostalgic 18th century. Simple, traditional furnishings typically accompany this architecture style, along with muted and simple coloration. Embellishments in the form of grand columns and moldings steal the show.

Interested in creating your own colonial-style home? It’s not too difficult. Adding a taste of elegance in your furniture can help create your own distinctive space. Browse our Dallas furniture showroom to take a virtual tour - to see how you can create your own colonial masterpiece.

Ellen-gance of a California Ranch - Celebrity Interior Design Feature

Ellen DeGeneres and partner Portia de Rossi show off their beautiful Santa Monica ranch where they’re able to both escape - in a Celebrity Home post on Elle Decor.

Even though we aren’t all able to move to a breathtaking cabin in the foothills of gorgeous mountains, we can still take some design principles and apply them to our own comfortable home.

Find Your Outdoor Space

On their property, DeGeneres and de Rossi have a pergola that sits on a pasture under a tree with seating arrangements underneath including a daybed and wicker sofa. This gives them a chance to “escape” from the norm and to take in the surrounding landscape.

Find Your Style

A cabin kitchen in their home features industrial lighting that is both rustic and antique and bring in a barn-like feel to their cabin. Add in some leather or a cowhide rug to create a truly authentic feel to the interior design of any room.

Find Your Comfort

One of the most remarkable things about the property is how genuine it's period setting feels - 18th to 19th century - while keeping a modern style appearance. They chose each of their cabins to have a different mood, and it’s much demonstrated in how contemporary some feel.

Find what makes you comfortable inside your own home and make the most out of it. While we may not have a sunset outside our balcony window, it’s possible to make each glimpse around the home to feel that special.

Stop by our Dallas furniture showroom and browse some of our most popular furniture options to give you that special "Ellen-gance".

Gracefully Aging With Interior Design

Getting older shouldn't mean you compromise your style – in fact, there are various ways to use interior design to make your home safer and more comfortable without sacrificing what makes your living space unique. 

Public health and safety officials agree that the way your home is designed can be a major contributor to complications in aging at home.

So how can you decorate for safety? Change the way you think of interior design. Interior design isn’t simply aesthetics. Proper interior design allows the homeowner to live freely in a house that fits their needs. It’s about functionality without losing personality. It's about choosing the right home furnishings. The right furniture. It's about accessorizing and adding your own style and decor to the things you must have; to the things you need to get by day to day.

Although there seems to be a negative connotation from the public regarding 'aging design' elements, those feelings are often ill-placed. Normally when we think of designing for aging, products that are sterile or unattractive seem to come in mind. But truly, you can opt for high quality, strong and sturdy furniture or even specialized furniture, or home accessories and appliances that are made for special needs - without compromising your style.

Contact a Dallas interior designer who is well versed in aging in place design. It doesn’t take much to transform a room to a safer area; just some quick changes in furniture placement, flooring and lighting can be a true game changer for safety.

Have you thought about how you would redesign your home for aging? What features do you feel you’d need to include?

3 Tips for Designing in a Small Interior Space

In today’s financial world, times can be tough. It's a tough economy out there. The way this seems to play out the most is when people are led to sell their home and move into something smaller - like an apartment or townhouse. It's about the "D" word: Downsizing.

These changes can be very difficult to adjust to, but with proper planning and interior design, you can create a cozy and stylish living space that will help you overcome the challenges that downsizing can present.

Tiny Size Technology
Today’s technology can work wonders in helping you downsize. Gaming onsoles and gadgetscan double as home entertainment system by playing movies (either streaming or DVD/Blu-ray) and music from a variety of services. Small and portable tablets like the popular iPad can replace bulky desktop computers, which often require their own desk or “area” in order to use.

Small Space Accents
Positioning of home decorating accents like curtains and doors can make a smaller space feel much larger and bright than it really is.  Floor-to-ceiling doors can give the appearance of tall ceilings. Long curtains that drape to the ground can create a longer wall space which opens up many more options to display with artwork or family photos or memorabilia.

Shared Spaces 
Do you really entertain often? Do you have guests all the time - ? If people aren’t coming over and staying as often as you had hoped - it might be time to drop the guest bedroom and opt for a pull out sofa instead. If you don’t have room for a desk, plan accordingly and opt for some gadgets to make that aspect of your life more portable.

Come by and see why we were nominated AGAIN for Best Furniture by WFAAlist (oh, and click here to VOTE NOW!) and let's pick a style that suits you from our Dallas Showroom. How do you make your space feel larger? Share your tips in the comments below.

Interior Designs Through The Ages - Part 1 - The 60's

The sixties - that’s right, we’re talking about the hippy-love and flowery years of America’s past that still resonates with many designers of all types - fashion, interior and even automotive - to this day.

The sixties flower passion introduced a free-love theme into interior design that is now incorporated into warm pastel colors and floral designs. The trends also noted sleek straight-line furnishings and furniture as well as bright citrus colors.

One of the main contributions that the sixties gave interior design is the use of feature walls, that is, walls that have bright striking patterns or designs that catch your eye. Most times there was one main feature wall within a room.

Other fun contributions from this special decade were colorful wall art and prints like the famous Andy Warhol or film posters, as well as bright and eccentric kitchen appliances as entertaining in ones’ home because much less formal than it had been in years past.

It was a fun time to be alive - and it brought us colorful and interesting design elements - many of which - have stuck around through the decades.

Interiors Through The Ages - Series

Our ancestors of long ago lived in caves and told their stories on the walls of their homes. Today, we learn so much about their lifestyle as hunters and gatherers - and can imagine what their living quarters might have been like. A caveman's interior design might include cold cave floors, animal furs when available, hides and stones.  Certainly it was exciting when fire was added, and tools were developed - to add to the mix of medium - wood and textiles once folks could see during the evening hours to weave.

Hieroglyphics still line the inside of caves and tunnel walls in Egypt, telling of their ancient ancestors. Carvings into stones and upholstery were how art and design were communicated through the Dark Ages. It’s no secret there has long been human desire to decorate and adorn their dwellings - and that hasn’t changed throughout the years.

In this series, we’ll be walking through modern interior design history a bit, and seeing how design trends have changed throughout the years. Tune back in - during the weeks to come where we will touch on trends from this century - the 60's, 70's and beyond.

Lighting in Rustic and Modern Homes

Home is where we rest, where we retreat after a long day. We spend all week at the office or on the road for work until the minute we are able to get home and kick our feet up. Your home is supposed to be relaxing, inviting and charming.

When the builders designed this beautiful home (called Cat Mountain, featured here by freshome), they were able to perfectly craft a modern, simplistic feel with the beautiful history of antique decorations and accents. Despite being a modern home, it sure has a “rustic” feel. 

What separates charming homes from empty homes is lighting. Special lighting can add to the beauty of a home and can make your home look more spacious, cozy and create a comfortable transition between rooms. Glass windows and hallways allow for open, natural light to enter your home and can instill a sense of luxury into your morning coffee and newspaper read.

So take some time this spring and play with different lighting arrangements for your home. Opt for recessed lighting in bigger rooms to hide bulky lighting fixtures or add tall narrow lamps to corners of rooms to draw attention away from the unlit areas.

Ital Art Designs: True Old World Craftsmanship

It can be challenging to find beautiful, high-quality furniture that will fit the décor of your home. Ital Art Designs is a large international importer of living room, bedroom and dining room furnishings that is both elegant and gorgeous.

Their European-designed traditional furniture will beautify your home and open the door to a extensive assortment of items for those who are style-conscious and seek quality and value.

Their superior craftsman put the 'art' in Ital Art Designs. They don’t compromise on quality - and proudly boast their Old World craftsmanship. Simply put, their fabrics, materials and finishes are among the best in the world.

Many of the items created by Ital Art Designs are crafted from natural elements like beechwood, alder or mahogany and produce exquisite and unique looks. They offer a wide variety of finishes - including the natural clear coating as well as premium finishes.

Just like their wooden finishes, their fabric is also artfully crafted from a variety of designer fabrics and grades that are guaranteed to suit your taste—whatever that may be.

At J. Douglas Design Fine Furniture and Interior Design, we focus only on the best lines and finest brands and we are proud to be able to display Ital Art Designs furniture in our Dallas showroom. Stop by and see what we have to offer.

New Construction Allows New Interior Design

Purchasing a new home can be an overwhelming experience but should be an enjoyable one. A new home brings with it a new neighborhood, new communities and a new opportunity to start fresh – that’s why there’s no better time to enjoy the luxury of a blank canvas inside your home… waiting for you to put a bit of “you” into it.

Recently built homes share little in common with those that were built decades ago. Some are larger; others are smaller but more efficient when considering energy and lighting. All in all, the features of newer, modern homes are something to be celebrated and something to consider when planning your interior design direction.

Large, Open Living Spaces

Most are much more practical for entertaining and enjoying the company of others because they feature wide floor plans and open living spaces.

No more struggling to catch a glimpse of the “big game” on TV. These open living spaces allow for entertaining larger amounts of guest without compromising on the coziness of a comfortable home.

Warm, inviting and durable furniture in an open living room is a great accent to a great atmosphere.

Lighting

The lighting in your home can make a big difference when personalizing your new home. In a new home, you’re able to pick and choose your own light fixtures that fit into your vision of each room.

Some beautiful accents in modern rooms are spotlights and lamps that feature specific locations, such as a focus over a gathering area in a living room.

Ceilings

Ceiling of modern homes are higher than their older counterparts. They provide an open feeling to those inside and give off a sense of sophistication when decorated with colors, artwork and curtains that catch the breeze from an open window.

Seize the opportunity to maximize the benefits of new construction with reference to your home accessories selection and interior design plan. 

Designing Bedrooms with Your Child in Mind

Technology is becoming the playground for our children. They maneuver smart phones, tablets and computers with ease. Parents use to be open to putting computers and televisions into children’s rooms but have recently responded with a firm stance to not.

Remember when kids would set up bedroom tents and play with little more than action figures and their imagination? Does their bedroom allow them to get creative?

Interior design specific for children can be an incredible opportunity to build a creative mind and allow children to entertain themselves into the day without sitting and staring at a glowing screen.

Gender-specific room designs are usually the first addition to be made to a child’s bedroom. People fill boy’s rooms with toy trains, fire trucks and superheroes and girl’s with dress up clothes and costumes, dolls and stuffed animals.

Design with Your Child in Mind

Each child is different and as they grow, they want to express themselves in individual and personal ways. Ask your child what they enjoy and build around them.Does your child like “teaching class” to a group of furry stuffed animal students? Invest in a chalkboard for those lesson plans. What about the die-hard football fan? Grab a green-colored rug and paint some white “ticks” on it to imitate a playing field. Make a room your child will love! 

Limit Tech in the Room

Although that iPad might keep your child busy for hours on end, find ways to absorb their attention in different ways. Lights from glowing screens can throw off rhythmic sleeping patterns for children and recent studies reveal that consistent technology use by growing children contributes to limited attention spans.

Most of all let your child play a role. Make their room their room. Allow them a say in paint colors,  furniture and other room accents so that it truly will represent what they like and who they are.

Concrete Interior Design - Using An Ancient Material In Modern Design

Ancient Romans knew the value of concrete - they used it to build their buildings (which sported gorgeous marble overlays) - which have obviously withstood the test of time.  They used concrete to build roads and markets; basically to build their great cities. 

Since then - we've used concrete as well - to build our cities too. In Mexico, concrete is used heavily, because it is efficient and durable. Lately - it's been viewed as a pretty hip material to use in interior design - as well as furniture.  Now used in artistic ways; concrete is being used in more ways than ever before.

Take the concrete pool table shown here, by furniture designer James DeWulf.  "There's something alive about concrete," said DeWulf. "You can't help rub your fingers over it. A liquid that turns to stone ... what's not to love?"  From a recent Washington Examiner article:
 
DeWulf creates high-end furniture, like his concrete Ping Pong table that doubles as a dining table and costs more than $4,000. He is among a growing number of "concrete artisans," or people trained in the decorative use of concrete, and his designs illustrate how concrete is being manipulated into home interiors.

In the last decade, I've seen stylish and sleek concrete flooring. I've seen beautiful stamped and stained concrete used to create a gorgeous outdoor living area.  The industrial and 'grunge' look is still as popular as it was in the 90's, in a more minimalistic and 'urban' way;  so to see furniture made of the same age-old and time-tested substance does not surprise me.  I'm thrilled to see artists expressing themselves with this super-cool medium - and excited to see clients getting really unique and durable furniture that stands out.

Click here for photo credit and inspiration article.