What are your favorite holiday decor ideas? How crafty do you become with your holiday decorations? Are you a DIY person or do you like to purchase most of your decor? Feel free to post pictures of your holiday decor as they become available.

Here are a couple examples of how this works…

It can be as simple as what size of rug to purchase for a space that may allow an individual to keep from softening their spaces. It is the fear of the unknown and of making a mistake. My clients constantly tell me these exact reasonings behind why they have lived for x amount of years uncomfortable and dreaming of how their homes could look; just not knowing how to get to the desired look. When in doubt, check with an interior designer. This will help you avoid mistakes, wasted money, and time.

When I think of design, a myriad of colors come to mind automatically. We are all influenced by the colors we see daily. Do you believe that the trends viewed in magazines, stores, clothings, etc affect what colors we are drawn to at any given time? Some believe highly in color forecasting. This can also be known as color brainwashing in a sense. Not in a negative way, by any means, but we are all so bombarded with the new trends and forecasts that at times we forget to notice that our interests have possibly changed to what is “in” at the momment. I know I have done this myself.

Not all colors are for everyone. There is a school of thought that colors actually create emotional reactions from people. For example, if someone loves green, then they are feeling more calm when they are around this particular color group. I do believe that colors provoke emotions, but I also believe that design can break some of these emotional barriors depending on how the colors are used together. For example, I am not a fan or red. I have not been for as long as I can remember. But, I design for my clients using red as the primary color constantly. I have found many pleasing palattes and cohesive designs based along a red color scheme. None of which have made me feel the negative feelings I usually have for the color.

My advice would be to try and enjoy colors for what they are, inspiration. It is amazing how every color we have seen in the numerous fan decks we have acquired, actually have their roots in nature. So, walk around and take in what you see.  No matter what city, state, or country you may be residing. Colors are all around us, influencing us, and creating new ways to work harmoniously together one design idea at a time.

Below are some inspiring examples of mixing colors, patterns, and textures. Enjoy and feel free to share some pictures of your own!

Historical interior design is an interesting facet of the design world. Interior design by nature is using one’s creative skill set and style to produce beautiful interiors. Interiors that are set apart from all others through the work of the interior designers’ interpretation of their clients’ personal style. This all becomes more of a challenge when working specifically on historical interiors. I have had the privilege to work on Frank Lloyd Wright homes, along with other known historical home styles. These projects were inspiring to a point, but also limiting to a point. After all, I am the interior designer of a project whose job is to design a specific space historically accurate of what another designer/architect would have done. This seems that it would lend itself to some stifling of creativity, and in part, it does, but it also lends itself to reaching further than I had ever before reached into my creative fault and bring out something that makes the client, myself, and the original designer/architect proud.

Designing for historical residences has a couple of inherent challenges: 1) The homeowner has chosen to live in a historic home for a reason. They love the design of the home and want to keep the original concept alive. This includes the designer doing much research into the time period, designer/architect, and clients’ sense of style. How do they want their personality to show, along with the historic intent? 2) How does the designer create a historically accurate, yet fresh concept for the homeowner? How will others be able to see the designers style shine through while meeting all other criteria? 3) Are there restrictions placed by the city or village where the property is located in terms of the design of the home? Will the designer have to propose and have approved their design intentions to a committee in order to begin work?

Along with the challenges, come the rewards, of course. The designer becomes an investigator into the past. Into another time period and the intentions of past designers and architects. The designer is able to discover past inspirations that are able to be spotted throughout the home. Mouldings, casings, paint color, built-ins, radiator covers, door styles, location of rooms, etc…all have intentional designs and locations. Finding out these intentions is fun and becomes such an interesting challenge to incorporate the new designers interpretations.

I must say that I have had many intense and amazing historical design projects throughout my career that give me joy to think back on. One of the best compliments a client has given me was to say that many of their guests asked if the additions I had incorporated into the home were original. I told the client to start saying, yes, in fact they are. Why not, keep the mystery alive!

Before: fireplace addition and historic bungalow remodel

After: fireplace addition and historic bungalow remodel

In 1901, St. Louis began constructing what would be known as the 1904 World’s Fair in Forest Park. This fair was to be a celebration of the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase. The city of St. Louis loaned Forest Park as the site for this exhibition. The only rule being that the park would return back to its natural state once the fair ended in December of 1904.

The fair opened in April of 1904 and covered 1,272 acres of land in Forest Park. This was the largest world fair to date. The fair consisted of 900 buildings, represented 22 countries, and of course, the famous 250 foot high ferris wheel transported from Chicago.

As one can imagine, this fair was spectacular to see, but what was to be done with all of the artifacts, including the ferris wheel, after the fair ended? Well, most of these artifacts were in fact buried in Forest Park by creating three makeshift landfills throughout Forest Park. Statues, parts of buildings, large vases and other goods, and the ferris wheel, were all buried in these landfills.

I am bringing all of this up now due to the fact that my husband happens to work in Forest Park and recently came across quite a find. He is the curious sort and tends to go on his own archeological digs over lunch hours. This may sound humorous, but he did discover a few artifacts. He has also determined one of the possible locations for the burial of the 250 foot high ferris wheel. A curator friend of his took a look at his findings and concluded that they were in fact from the 1904 World’s Fair.

Please check it out when you get a chance. Any feedback is welcome!

http://mmginteriordesign.com/

I recently had the opportunity to visit the St. Louis Art Museum and learn a bit more about French Design. I am drawn to this styling, as seen in previous blogs I have written. In this case, I want to focus on French design around the time of Marie Antoinette. I ran across a piece in the museum that once belonged to Marie  Antoinette herself. So exciting to see a piece of furniture that she had in her home in 1785.  The piece I am speaking of is a corner cabinet built by Jean-Henri Riesener, considered one of the best cabinet-makers of this time in France.

 This corner cabinet is one of four cabinets of identical design. These four cabinets were in one of Marie Antoinette’s private apartments in Hameau, her farm. The cabinets were never used, created solely for their presence in all four corners of the upper floor of this apartment. The piece is made of mahogany, oak, and marble with gilded brass mounts.

Choosing a home and creating a personal space, a sanctuary to call one’s own, can be such an intensely amazing, yet sometimes overwhelming experience. It can be compared to choosing what college to attend and later what career path to venture on.

A home is  where the heart is, where our personalities and quirky traits are free to run wild. I tend to feel that we are sometimes missing the true nature of what our homes should represent. They should not be designed solely to enhance future buyers or to function as a sort of museum. Homes are to be lived in and to be part of the memories we create with our family and friends. In a world that is constantly on the go, how do we find a place of calm in our homes at the end of the day.

This is where designers enter the picture. When choosing a designer, I feel it is very important to interview each other to see how well both the client and the designer click, to get a feel for the chemistry between the two. After all, the process of designing your home should be fun, so making sure the designer & client relationship is a good fit will ultimately produce the best possible results.

Once you find the right designer for you, you may want to ask yourself a few questions…

What feel do I want this home to have for both myself, family and company? How do I see the rooms functioning on a daily basis? Is there a focal point to the rooms? Do I want to express myself through lots of color or do I want to keep the overall color scheme neutral and add pops of color through accents and accessories? What do I feel is my personal style? Am I more of a traditionalist or more of a modernist?  What does that mean to me? It may also be a good time to show your designer any inspiration pictures you may have been collecting in order for him/her to get a better feel for the style direction. The design duration lasts as long as it takes to make your space exactly what you had in mind. Your dream home.

Ultimately, the designer’s job is to create peace of mind and a well-designed home that the client is proud to call their own. A home of peace of mind, relaxation, functionality, personal style, and happy memories to come.

“The living space is never unfinished and never finished. It lives with those who live within.” -Josef Frank

“God invented the giraffe, the elephant, the cat. He has no personal style. He just goes on trying things.” -Pablo Picasso