By Nancy December 7th, 2009
The attic conversion of this 1930’s St. Paul home was prompted by the forthcoming addition to the family that lives there. They simply needed a bit more space for their growing family, and the blank slate of the unfinished attic space provided a perfect opportunity for expansion. When a project is in its first stage, […]
By Nancy November 16th, 2009
I read somewhere recently that Biedermeier furniture is making a comeback. Well, I have the opinion that something that classic is never out of style, so how can it make a comeback? In any case, I thought it would be interesting to write a little about the Biedermeier style which I absolutely adore for its […]
By Nancy November 9th, 2009
For the last of the four-part series on the Sherwin-Williams 2010 color trends, we’re going to take a bit of a departure from the previous three! “Refreshed” is fresh, youthful, optimistic… a return to pretty things and romance and sunny days… it’s the 1960’s spirit with 1980’s jewel tones. (Have you noticed the 80’s comeback?) […]
By Nancy November 2nd, 2009
We’ve covered two trends so far, “Rooted” and “Simplicity”, and today’s category in the 2010 color trend preview is “Treasured”. This style embraces the growing “use what we have” mentality of re-purposing and takes inspiration from flea-market finds, artisan-made objects, and heirloom pieces. Imperfections can lend richness to our environment in the forms of natural […]
By Nancy October 26th, 2009
Last week I started a four-part series on the color forecast for 2010. I’m sure you would agree that it’s a very exciting topic! Today we’ll look at a very sophisticated, elegant palette, which Sherwin-Williams calls “Simplified”. There is nothing simple about colors called “Enigma” or “Magnetic Gray”! However, this palette embraces the concept of […]
By Nancy October 19th, 2009
There are many things I love about this time of year, but one of the most exciting is that the next year’s color trends are announced! As designers, we see colors come and go, and come back again, sometimes in slightly different shades. Based on a wide variety of factors, color trends are largely influenced […]
By Nancy October 12th, 2009
I don’t know exactly how, but I’ve ended up on the mailing list for Coastal Living magazine. As a designer, it’s important to keep up on design trends from around the country, but much of it doesn’t pertain to our particular climate and the suburban or city homes that most of our clients live in. […]
By Nancy September 21st, 2009
My husband and I spent this past weekend on the north shore, camping and hiking and generally renewing our spirits. As avid birdwatchers, we spent the better part of an hour watching an osprey preening itself atop a tree trunk high above the Cascade River. Although I’m no Thoreau, the experience gave me the idea […]
By Nancy September 14th, 2009
Back in 1760, in the French village of Jouy-en-Josas near Versailles, a cotton print manufactory was started and a design phenomenon was born. Toile de Jouy, often just called toile, was originally made to compete with expensive silks. The target market was the general public as interest in decorating had greatly increased at that time, […]