Ask The Expert: Going Global WIth J. Douglas Design

J. Douglas Bradford, owner of his namesake furniture and accessories showroom, J. Douglas Design, has a reputation for stocking a vast variety of uniquely divine pieces that keep his clients coming in on a regular basis. With that in mind, Bradford has a handful of design predictions that will have his followers right on trend. With the recent resurgence of patterns and textures influenced by global design elements, he says. “Creating an atmosphere with a taste of other cultures and a very unique style is easy, and each influence can have a different effect on your interior space.”

For furniture, “rich, ethnic-inspired pieces,” Bradford says, add an unexpected touch of exotic and luxurious elegance. He suggests using wall hangings and antique blankets to add pattern, texture, shape and definition to your walls or sofa and chairs. His global outlook foreshadows the use of Moroccan and Indian-themed fabrics, prints and textiles in furniture. Aboriginal, Native American and African tribal patterns, he says, are stunning when used sparingly and correctly. “Never go overboard with pattern, use pattern to accent your space, not dominate it, Bradford advises. Asian, South American and European-inspired pieces are steadily gaining in popularity as well.

For full article on the Design Guide click here.

Green: Lucky Interior Design?

Is green the color of luck? It's certainly associated with the American version o the holiday St. Patrick's Day, along with the four-leaf clover and pot o' gold. But what about using the cool color as the base of your interior design?
From a an interior designer's point of view, (ours in particular) green is a wonderful color. All shades of it, too - from muted gray-greens, to blue-based teal colors, to limey and pea greens that lean more on the yellow side - are quite calming and beautiful. But for some reason, to us - they seem to work better as a compliment, or accent color, as opposed to a highly-saturated focus color for a space.
Of course, one of the colors of the year for 2012 is a nice soft green color called Margarita. We'd love to use it in a design, we just don't want a margarita couch, carpet and window treatments in the same space.
We put some images out on Facebook to our fans, and the response on the green design we put out there was pretty clear: a lot of green doesn't work. Why? There were several reasons, mostly for the image we chose to ask about it was a very soft sea-foam green, and reminded respondents of a hospital room. The overall feel was sterile, 'too' cool, and there was no dynamic or pop to the room.
Green can, however - do many GOOD things in a design. It can bring nature indoors, and is well-suited for nearly any room in the house as an accent. It can bring a feeling of freshness, cleanliness and cool, light beauty to a space when used in conjunction with other colors, or not as the main focus of the room. Pair it with white, black, gray - and let it twinkle in and around the design to accent the rest.
Yellow-based greens like limes, chartreuse - seem to naturally pair with woods, and the contrast of a deep darker wood tone has an especially nice appeal.
For the softer blue-based misty greens, these bring calming effect to the space, and nearly blend in nicely with any palette.
If you're just a green kind of person, and you must have green as your focus color - pick one of those green's that's not EXACTLY green - such as an olive or gray-green. The grays and browns in these greens pull the neutral tones out of the green, and the green sort of takes the backstage. It's there - but very subtle and not overwhelming.

Dark Walls Mean Major Pop - Interior Design Dallas Ideas

Are you daring enough to paint your walls really dark - or even black? We are! Dark walls make for great contrast and ambiance in an interior design - considering the lighting in the room, the furnishings - and the overall look that you want to achieve.

If you love drama, (and we do!) then dark walls can really bring out the space in a beautifully bold way. Here are some things to consider if you are feeling really spunky and thinking of painting a room dark.

Lighting: Do you have plenty of windows in your space to lighten things up? This is imperative really, before you paint too much of the room dark. If you paint a space completely dark, and lighting is insufficient - then you will make the space appear much smaller. But don't be afraid to paint a room dark - even in a small room, with enough natural light - it can add the unique feel you are trying to achieve.

Trim & Moulding: do you have chair rail moulding or crown moulding? Are baseboards white? Sometimes, and depending on your design and the architecture - to achieve nice lines and contrast - if you have bright white, clean moulding and trim alongside dark walls - the effect is interesting and bold. If there is no trim or moulding really in a very dark room, then one must offset the stark darkness with lighting and wall coverings, or art of some sort. The whole idea of a dark space is to create illusions and theatrics - so contrasting pieces and colors and shades are key.

Furnishings: Are your furnishings dark too? If they are, then this is not really an option. Your dark pieces will melt away into the background and the stark contrast between items and area will not be achieved. Choose an accent color, a nice light and bright one - and pair it with your furniture in the form of window coverings, pillows, throws, lampshades, accessories - and other smaller areas. But don't go overboard - there is a 'right amount' of 'stuff' to have sitting around and in interior design - you can 'over accessorize'. Remember - the whole idea with a dramatic paint job in your space is to make everything else POP.

Can there be too much POP? You bet, we could also call it busy, mind-boggling, or capable of causing heart conditions of seizures. But you won't get this from simply painting your room a dark color to create contrast and depth for your furnishings and art pieces. This typically comes from mixing scary patterns and simultaneous contrast of pairing the wrong hues of complimentary colors - or over accessorizing with too many unnecessary doo-dads.

Feeling bold but want to chat about it? Call us at J. Douglas Design - your premier source for Dallas Interior Design and fine furniture!

Photo from CasaSugar