Design Elements Archives - Interior Design Scottsdale, AZ by S Interior Design

How To Turn Your Space Into An Industrial Masterpiece

June 29, 2018 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

Below is a guest post from a provider of epoxy flooring (full disclosure….). S Interior Design agreed to share the post because it contains good ideas on how to introduce the style of industrial design into your home.

The Industrial Revolution is the age of steam engines, smoke-belching machines, and large factories. When companies started moving their operations elsewhere, these large factories were left to rot. To make use of these wide spaces, some people chose to convert the warehouses and offices into homes. This was the birth of industrial interior design.

The industrial interior design focuses on taking notable shapes and features used during the Industrial Revolution and turning them into something modern. This does not mean that that your entire place should look like a warehouse, instead, interior designers will strive to add a modern twist to the industrial feel of a room.

If you’re wondering how you can do this without the help of an interior designer, then follow these tips.

Find your inspiration

The Industrial Revolution brought a lot of mechanical pieces to the world and you can add them to your home. But before doing this, it’s best to know the inspiration behind a room. What do you plan to do with the room? What is it supposed to be? How is it supposed to function?

Once you figure that out, you can search for inspiration online or from magazines about the industrial interior design. You don’t have to copy them piece by piece, but you will at least have an idea of what kind of industrial feel you want to portray in your room.

Design your floor

One of the most notable parts of your room is your floor. If you want an obvious industrial look, then you might want to change the type of floor you have. Usually, an industrial look has a cement floor with an epoxy coating to make it shiny and flawless. An epoxy coating adds extra protection as well.

You don’t also have to stick to the color of cement. You can paint your floor the shade of gray you want to resemble a metallic look or you can go for monochromatic colors of black and white. Tip: if you don’t want to change your floor, you can paint the walls instead. You can either have a bricked brown wall, or a silver-painted one.

Mix and match metal and wood

When it comes to mixing modern and industrial styles, you don’t have to be cautious about having metal and wood in the same room. Some people think that these two do not go together as metal items give a sleeker look to things. However, with the right match, you can still make use of that old wooden table you may have.

Keep it minimalistic

Despite having accessories on your wall or mechanical clocks and lights, an industrial interior design is still supposed to be minimalistic. This means that you have to shy away from over-decorating your space or adding too much fluff to it. As a guide, always ask if it’s bulky or the color scheme is too loud.

Put these tips together and you can already design your own industrial-inspired room. If you are having a hard time, you can get cut-outs of the things you want to put and try putting them together to know if they will look good in the space you have.

Ideas To Design a Symmetrical Kitchen

May 26, 2015 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

We are hard wired to appreciate a symmetrical balanced design style, or one that is asymmetrical. S Interior Design strives to understand which direction their clients lean prior to our development of their design plan. This post deals specifically with symmetrical design ideas for kitchen design.

A formal definition of symmetry: having sides or halves that are the same : having or showing symmetry
You describe something as asymmetric when it lacks the mirror-image quality of symmetry.

Below is a guest post specifically on achieving symmetrical design in a kitchen.

How to Achieve Symmetry in Kitchen Design

Symmetry creates visual balance, which brings with it a sense of order and peace. Striving for symmetry in your kitchen design can make your kitchen a more relaxing and enjoyable space to work in. This is especially important, considering the kitchen is often the most used room in the house. The following design ideas can help you bring much-needed symmetry to your own kitchen’s design.

Look to the Light

Lighting is one of the first places where asymmetrical choices can affect the mood. Begin first by balancing the overhead fixtures. Replace a single off-center fixture with two evenly spaced fixtures, or use a larger center fixture. This will add balance to the room.

H/T thekitchn.com

If your kitchen has a large window at one end, hang a mirror at the other end or use mirrored tiles for a back splash opposite the window. This will help balance the light from the window.

Rooms with additional lighting, such as task or under cabinet lights, also benefit from symmetry. Make sure these lights are used evenly throughout the room, or that the fixtures are hidden away when the lights aren’t in use.

Shelving and Storage

Your storage solutions are another simple way to add symmetry to the kitchen. If you have exposed shelves or storage, opt for two of each. For example, frame in each end of your pantry with exposed shelves. If you run shelves above the sink, use an even number. The goal is to keep everything balanced.

Seating Strategies

A large kitchen island doubles as an in-kitchen eating area, homework station, or just a place to relax. This means you need seating in your kitchen.

The amount of seating depends on the size of your island. Generally, you can easily fit up to three stools along one side of an island. One stool will look unbalanced, while two or three provide more symmetry. Make sure the stools all have the same color and design so they can carry the symmetrical look to completion.

Cabinet Balancing

Cabinets are a more costly change, but they will provide the most bang for your decorating dollar. Make sure the cabinets you choose are all the same height. You can select cabinets of different widths, but balance them on either side of a focal point. Generally, the focal point is the sink or oven range.

H/T modernir.blogspot.com

Opting for cabinets in a single color can provide a cleaner, more symmetrical look. Also, make sure that the knob or handle design is the same throughout the entire kitchen. For example, avoid opting for handles on drawers and knobs on cabinets; instead, use the same on both the drawers and the cabinet doors.

Finish With the Accessories

Accessories are the final key to symmetrical design. Whether it’s balancing any artwork on the walls, or centering a hanging pot rack perfectly over the center island, balance is necessary. Don’t overlook your counter tops when arranging items. For example, balance a pretty soap dispenser on one side of the sink with a lovely glass vase with a single flower on the other side.

5 Elements of a Perfect Man Cave

March 27, 2015 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

Below is a guest post on the space referred to as the ‘Man Cave’. S Interior Design has also referred to this space as the ‘Men’s Den’. In fact we just completed such a space for a client. An under used guest bedroom was transformed. It included a reclaimed wood tile wall, a custom coffee table that displayed his rifles, custom designed seating and of course—a large television.

[Read more…]

The Rule of 3- By Fresh Home

November 26, 2014 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

Great article about the pleasing use of ‘3′ items, colors, fabrics etc. when decorating and designing.

The rule of three is a guideline that can be bent. Essentially, it was put into place so that people understand that a odd-number of items is more interesting than an even-number of items. So, yes, you can arrange 5 items or 9 items into a grouping and still achieve the same visual interest.

Then again there are people who absolutely love a symmetrical design layout and 2, 4, 6 will work better for their eye.

Budget Is Not A Four Letter Word

November 25, 2014 by Suzanne Lasky Leave a Comment

We received a guest post entitled “Tricks for Decorating on a Budget”. We suggest that a better title would be “Establishing Your Design Budget”. S Interior Design has prospective clients fill out a Client Profile. One of the questions asked is how much the client is comfortable investing in their project. A list of ranges are shown to chose from. Without knowing the level of investment, we cannot make sound design recommendations. Is it an IKEA level furnishing project or a high end strictly custom project? Something in between?

Before embarking on your design project whether a professional interior designer is involved or not, it is a very good idea to assess what you are ready to spend on the project.

Photo Credit: Homebuyers Centre

As there are two sides to everything, the same goes for decorating. On one hand the prospect of having the home refreshed, bathed in new colors and equipped with several new pieces of furniture is definitely a reason for joy, on the other, the preparations are certainly not.

If you have set yourself with a task of redecorating your home and are not in a situation to spend much money, you should know that it can be accomplished according to your wishes and within budget, all it takes is some research, time and taste.

1. Stay within budget. The first thing that needs to be done is determining the budget. Once we know how much we can spend, it is easy to choose within a specific range of items. Things we will pay more for are those that we do not replace so often, like couches, sofas, dining room tables and larger furniture. These are used the most, so they must be of higher quality. However, you can save even on armchairs, dining room and coffee tables, shelves or night stands if you decide to reupholster them.

If there is nothing you can do with your furniture, before resorting to buying retail, you can visit a garage sale or eBay. You can sometimes get a bargin, especially if you go for second hand items which you can transform on your own. (are you creative and handy?)
2. Accessorizing. Guests should feel the owner’s character the moment they enter the home, which is why special attention should be paid to the entry area or hallway. It is easy to stay within the budget by placing a fruit bowl in the hallway or an interesting key stand. Coat hangers, shoe racks, framed pictures or souvenirs from the travels can tell a life story if they are the right color and placed the right way.

Home accessorizing does not have to be expensive. An affordable way of redecorating is using accessories such as cushions, covers, throw blankets, curtains, glass shelves, vases and picture frames for getting the new look of the house.

What is also gained is a possibility to change the interior seasonally or whenever we feel like it without much effect to the home budget. This is easily done by changing accessories or replacing the smaller decor items with the one of different color, but still according to our mood, season or current trend.

Photo Credit: Flickr

3. Rearrange furniture. When people get bored with the furniture they have, instead of starting with redecorating and spending additional money, redesigning the furniture layout is something to consider.

The sense of novelty can be achieved by making one piece of furniture central and organizing other items around it. Changing placement of the flower pots, decorative baskets or paintings from one room of the house to another will instantly refresh the home and give it a dash of originality.

Whenever there is a wish to change something, we can start by changing the focal point of the room. We can also do this by making some other pieces of the furniture stand out through lighting.
4. Renting appliances. If you need a new appliance and you do not have the money to buy it immediately, you can always rent it. With rent to own stores, you have the option of having an appliance for a weekly or monthly fee. There is also an option of signing a contract which will guarantee owning the appliance after a certain time period, with the amount you paid for renting deducted. On the other hand, if you decide that for some reason you no longer need it, it can always be returned.

The reasons why we redecorate are many, from moving to another home or apartment and having a clean start, to just replacing the old furniture with new. However, there does not have to be a reason for redecorating other than indulging the need for creating our private sanctuaries and expressing our creativity.