Music and Design

This blog is about inspiration for designs. Inspiration comes from many places for me - art, fabric, nature.... but I have always had a special place in my heart for music. But music as an inspiration? Come on! Yes ~ music. Perhaps it is because I always have an association to the music I listen to or if I am hearing it for the first time - it evokes a feeling. And from a feeling, a design can emerge. Last night for example, I saw Bruce Springsteen in Washington, DC. It is not the first time I have seen him, or the last. What I noticed first were the bald keyboard players flanking the other members of the band. How symmetrical. They all wore black - nice unity - but many of them played several intruments - how diverse - the epitomy of harmony in good design. Bruce sang some old favorites and soon to be new favorites. As I was listening to his endearing voice, I started to think of interpreting it with texture. As I danced and listened -for three hours - I actually thought of many fabrics that interpret his voice. The one that stands out - mohair - soft but slightly coarse, luxurious, timeless, easy on the eye - and always fabulous. Bruce Springsteen sofa anyone?

Wallcovering Continued

Lillian Weist sent me an email reminding me of National Guild of Professional Paperhangers, Inc. I actually knew about this organization but completely spaced out. Thank you Lillian for keeping me focused.

Here is what they offer to consumers - this is directly from their site:

"The National Guild of Professional Paperhangers is an organization of wallcovering installers dedicated to superior craftsmanship in the hanging of every type of wallpaper. We are an industry leader for the advancement of the use of wall coverings in residential and commercial environments. Founded in 1973, this association of independent wallpaper hangers and vinyl contractors has been instrumental in maintaining high standards in the hanging of historic wallpapers, scenic murals, silk papers, bamboo, grasscloth, English pulp papers as well as traditional fabric-backed and paper-backed vinyl materials. We work closely with interior designers to insure the proper installation of hand prints, English wallpapers, and untrimmed screen prints. Our members pride themselves in staying current on state-of-the-art methods for wall paper installation and wallpaper removal while still preserving the time-honored practices of installing historic wallhangings."

Now there is a resource anyone can get their head around!

Wallpaper Removal

Vikki asked about wallpaper removal and noted committment issues. Yup, those are heavy issues. My client whose dining room you saw in my last entry was terrified of wallpaper. She trusted me though. Now she would like to use wallpaper MORE! I think the best way to handle commitment issues is to only do an accent first - one wall, shadow boxes, to back shelving, etc. You don't even need to adhere it yet - just place it with blue painter's tape. Live with it for a few days. If you don't like it - no bothers - all you lost was the bit of money spent. If you can get a large enough sample of the paper then you wouldn't have spent any money at all. I give the same advice for paint - by the way. These days you don't even need to by paint samples anymore. Most paint companies offer large paint swatches. I have clients place them all over the room and live with it for several days to see it in the different lights it will live in. Same for wallpaper. Ok, removal. I started to type but them thought, 'this must already be published.' Yes, it is. The Natural Handyman has it step by step for you. There are also companies that are for hire. I would recommend this if there is a lot of wallpaper to remove. Thanks for the question!

Silver and Gold on Your Walls

In today’s market, we have incredible choices for wallcoverings. One may choose from glass, cork, granite, silk, grass, bamboo…. the possibilities are endless. Classics are being updated – larger scale motifs are coming of age. I like new and different. I also like the classics – updated. My favorite wallcoverings involve metallic. I can look at silver and gold, in particular, endlessly. They also will likely be in style longer than coverings with non-neutral color. Every few years, the en vogue color palette changes. We’re enjoying hues of purple, eggplant, and fuchsia right now. But in 3-6 years, we’ll see. Wallcoverings can be changed, true, but not as easily as a pillow or other portable accessory. Below is my design I named ‘Feminine Dining Room.' I placed handcrafted gold wallpaper in the shadow boxes – one doesn’t need to use it everywhere in a room – an accent will do. I have used a wallcovering on one wall in many of my designs. The wallcovering I use is based on the desired effect – to anchor the focal wall, to provide contrast, to add texture and or pattern, to sparkle (the Swarovski Crystal selections from York add beautiful sparkle to any room)…. In the design below, the goal was to add pattern, texture, and sparkle. Sparkle was the primary goal for the whole design (note the chandelier and sconces adorned with crystal, the cut mirror accessories on the buffet, and the twinkling goblets used as candle holders). Two wallovering companies that I use often are York and Phillip Jeffries. Phillip Jeffries has an amazing line of silk coverings that add unsurpassed richness and elegance and yes, they come in silver and gold.

Here are some other examples of metallic and metallic-like wallcoverings courtesy of York.

Getting to know Paula Grace

I am thinking you may want to know a bit more about me before you commit to my blog. I will let you further in by sharing some great folks with you – I will do that from time to time - and by inviting you to my 2008 Christmas Party – so to speak – hey, there is always the 2009 party….

I mentioned in my last blog about our family photo over the fireplace. The photographer who took that is very talented artist who I adore. Her work is stellar. Her name is Bonnie Horseman. She is based in the Washington, DC area.

She has taken all of my personal pictures on my website and all of the family photos in my home. She is amazing. I am not very photogenic. It is a fact. I’ve learned to live with it. However, Bonnie seems to bring out the best in me. Got to love that! Here I am with my daughter, Lauren. Lauren is beautiful, beautiful. That means on the inside and out. I will try not to talk about Lauren too much over the course of time, but I cannot make any promises.

Let me introduce you a bit more to Bonnie via the 2008 Paula Grace Designs, Inc. Christmas Party. Bonnie came to the party and took pictures. What a night! Food, drink, wonderful people. I am very fortunate to have the best clients! Fun, fun, fun!

Ms. Christy and Me.

The Mahoneys with their latest addition. Adorable.
















Bonnie took a picture of her work. This is in my family room. It is the wall that is not seen in my last entry. Again, Lauren. The many faces of beautiful Lauren. The vase in the corner is on the 5” shelf.

Ashna, Vikki (clients and friends) and my daughter’s wonderful teacher, Jill.

W&P.

W & Me.

The handsome man on the right is my husband, Jim. Lovely lady in the middle, Tammy.

This is Eddie Mason – my trainer. What a great guy! He is a former Washington Redskins and now professional trainer extraordinaire. I love the design I did for their home.

This is Dr. Judy Hanley (on left) and Julie Hoyt.

I am on the Board of Directors of the Loudoun Abused Women Shelter (LAWS). It is a very well-rounded service delivery agency for victims of abuse. Dr. Hanley is the Director of the Loudoun County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) – which falls under the umbrella of LAWS. Julie Hoyt is a wonderful artist / muralist.

When I first heard about the opening of the CAC, I knew I had to be involved. I asked Judy what I may do to help. She gave me a tour of the windowless space. She did not have any office furniture, there was no art, there was minimal storage, and Judy’s legs ached from the counter height chair with no foot rest she had to do her work on. There was also no money in their budget to solve these problems.

The actual interview room was small by design but there needed to be some way for children to display their drawings. Judy had an easel but when the easel was in the interview room, the room shrunk to an uncomfortable size.

“Hmmm, I can fix all of that,” I said. First we discussed what lamps (light bulbs) Judy can use to help with the lack of sunlight. Next, enter Kris, my painter / carpenter, (not pictured at the party – a family emergency occurred the same night as the party). I asked him to put magnetic paint on the walls of the interview room, underneath the beautiful blue hue Judy had chosen. When drawings need to be displayed, they could simply hang them on any wall with a magnet. Next, Judy and I worked together to select furniture, art, and storage. All of that arrived and was placed. Thank you to my wonderful vendors who stepped up to the plate to help with this – Paragon Arts, Zagaroli, and Office Source. My framer, installer, and a local paint store all pitched in too. We were quite a team.

However, there were still no windows. Enter Julie. Julie is fabulous! I asked her if she could paint a scene for the waiting room that would be seen should a window exist – “Sure!” I asked Kris if he could build a window – “Sure!” What a guy! And a window was born. Here is a link to a story in the Washington Post about the CAC.

You can see Julie and Kris’ great window in the photo gallery. Please also read about the CAC.

In the interview room, there was also, no window. Art was difficult to select as it could not be evocative in any way. Really what we wanted to do was to comfort. Julie painted beautiful clouds on the walls. It was just the touch that was needed.

Everyone one involved did a great job. Judy does a great job everyday with the CAC.

You will hear more about LAWS in future blogs.

Julie’s company is called Embellish and she can be reached at 703-930-8402. She works in the greater Washington, DC area. Here are some pictures of other wonderful work she has done. If you have looked at my Interiors page, you may recognize this as my home.

Julie both stenciled and free-handed the silver wall art. The picture does not do it justice – the detail is incredible and she used her signature crystal studs to emphasize many of the curves. At night with the lights on, the wall shimmers and sparkles. Simply beautiful.

In my daughter’s room, Julie completed a mural with trees, flowers, a rainbow, and clouds. You can see her magnificent clouds here. This is where Judy got the idea for the clouds in the interview room at CAC. Julie really delivered.

But the crème-de-la-crème is below. I have a typical basement. It is a walk-out, yes. But, it what the heck does one do with those pesky little windows at the ceiling line. Well, I have a trick or two. For my basement, I created symmetrical large faux windows. I needed scenes for my windows. For the faux window with the pesky little window, Julie painted an outdoor scene should there actually be a window there incorporating the bush seen though the window. For the other faux window, there is no better scene than my daughter – now I have her looking in from the outside. Please excuse the crudeness of these pictures – I took them myself with my little Canon.

There's my window.













There’s my girl. Julie is really amazing.

Another short story - this time about Judy. I had lunch with Judy the other day. I enjoy our lunches so much. I get to use descriptive language from my previous professional and she understands it – wow! Anyway, Judy told me about her bedroom. She originally had a queen size bed in the room with little else. “But the room is so big,” she thought. So Judy and her husband bought a king size bed complete with head & foot boards and several accompanying pieces. Judy reports, “There is not a day that goes by that we don’t bump ourselves on the end of the bed, we are black and blue all the time.” I may need to look at this room – I don’t want my friend to be black and blue everyday. This is a story about scale and proportion.

Back to the photos-

This is Bob Narod. Since I oo-ed and ah-ed over Bonnie and her work, it is only fair, I introduce you to Bob Narod. He does my architectural photography. Most of the pictures on my website were done by Bob. He is a lot of fun! He also is an amazing photographer.

If you ever need someone to take photos of your home, he’s the man for the job.

Ok, so now you have met me, my daughter, my husband, my trainer, some clients, friends, photographers, one of my artists, and even my daughter’s teacher. You also know I am on the Board of Directors of LAWS.

Another fact about me – it is on the Working with You page:

“Paula Grace Designs, Inc. has a conviction in recycling and giving to the community. When you engage in specifications and purchasing services, on your behalf, we will make the suitable furniture you no longer need available for reuse. We will transport upholstered furniture (e.g. sofas, love seats, ottomans, etc.) and case goods (e.g. end and coffee tables, dining furniture, chests, etc.) to a local charity and provide you with the receipt for tax purposes.”

And another fact - it is on my Beautiful Home Store page:

"Paula Grace Designs, Inc. has a conviction in giving to the community. When you make a purchase through Paula Grace Designs, Inc. Beautiful Home Store, a percentage of the profit is donated to charity. Paula Grace Designs, Inc. supports charities specifically focused on the welfare of children."

Yes, I feel that strongly about these things.

“All right, all right… but can the chick design and tell us important stuff?” That is what I’d be thinking right about now if I was reading.

Yes, I can and will.

Principles and Elements of Interior Design

I have written on Interior Design previously. I wrote “The True Art of Successful Interior Design” in April of 2005. I just re-read it. Pretty good. I use words to describe the principles and elements of quality design. I gave written examples to illustrate along the way. That’s all fine but pictures would likely be more useful. Thus, in beginning my blog, I will incorporate two of the things I love to do – design and teach.

My clients know this about me, design and teach, so do my friends and family. Long term clients are quite a bit like family after a while. We get to know each other so well that when I refine, refine, and refine (which really means add to or edit), I smile when I find a piece I know one in the couple will love and other will completely dislike.
I was selecting art for clients the other day. I met with her to review them. I put a ringer in the selections – I knew she would love them and he would not. When she looked at the selections, she purposefully held up the art the former sentence described. She looked at me and smiled and I smiled back. “I love these. _______ would say he could do this scribble so why would he pay for them?” I laughed. “But you knew that didn’t you,” she said. I took them and said, “These go in this pile – the ‘not to show ______’ pile.” She enjoyed that I knew her but that I also knew it was a joint decision and that one would never fly. No worries, the ‘ones’ were in the selection I had for them. They chose my favorite two pieces. Sheer joy.

Another client could not describe what he wanted, or give words to his style when I started working with him. He is a fantastic man. You should hear him describe his home today. He speaks about his home with such elegance it makes me tear up. I didn’t drill him with lingo. He simply looked at some photos with me, told me what he liked and listened – he listened all the time – when we were speaking and when I spoke with others about his home. He listened so intently, he learned everything about the design process, the furnishings, and yes, even about the principles and elements. Now that’s what I call attentive! I wonder if he is still single. I have a girlfriend or two I’d like for him to meet.

I won’t reprint the whole article,“The True Art of Successful Interior Design.” You may read that any time.

For my blog though, I will revisit the principles and elements so we may have a common language when we discuss design as I know we will. I consider these the theory behind quality design. Will knowing these magically make you a good designer or decorator? No. What the theory, I believe, does is help give direction to the creative process. I think of it very much like the psychological theories I used as a therapist. Theory helps to organize and understand information; it helps to formulate hypotheses and structure interventions (or in this case, designs). Oh boy, she’s getting deep. Should I put on some boots? You can stop rolling your eyes now. I actually do believe my background helps me in this profession too, but yes, that is how I think about it. The theory doesn’t tell you what to do. It just informs you. Any who, I’ll use a picture to illustrate components of the principles and elements so hopefully the words and the pictures will jive with you and you’ll put them into practice. Just so you know, I will digress from this ‘serious’ topic from time to time. But for now, let’s get down to business.

Design Fundamentals
The Principles The fundamentals are known to most professionals as the principles of design. They are scale, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, balance, and harmony. These principles evaluate each element in a design (magnificent vs. mediocre – right vs. wrong). When you are making selections and / or arranging furnishings, keep these in mind.

Scale – the entire perspective. The objective with scale is for objects to be alike or harmonious in dimensions or mass.

Proportion – evaluates the relationship or ratio of parts to the whole.

Rhythm – speaks to the flow within a room and throughout your home.

Emphasis – is the important focal point(s) in a room.

Balance – is equilibrium though symmetry (mirror images from a center point), asymmetry (optically varying items from a central point to achieve balance), or radial (equilibrium based on the circle).

Harmony – is creating a feeling of suitability through unifying elements and objects and adding variety for interest and diversity. The objective is to create an agreeable, appealing whole that won’t tire in the long-run.

Design Elements
The elements discussed here are used by artisans of all types — painters, sculptors, photographers, interior designers, etc. They have been discovered and refined over the course of history and are considered elementary and critical to all fine-art. They are space, shape, form, mass, line, texture, pattern, light, and color.

Space – as humans, we need both large and small areas to please our psyche. Both, or the appearance of both, need to be in your home. There also needs to be a comfortable balance and proportion of positive, filled area, and negative, unfilled area. Traffic paths are negative space in a room yet functionally important.

Shape and Form – Shape is the two-dimensional outline while form is the three-dimensional configuration.

Mass – is the actual or optical density of an object.

Line – is used to create width and height, or the appearance of activity, movement, or flow. The psychological effect of line ranges from secure (horizontal line), free or expansive (vertical), action-oriented (angular) to soft and comforting (curved). The most pleasing effect will have a balanced mixture of lines with one taking the lead role. The dominant line will be chosen dependant upon what feeling or image you would like to portrait.

Texture – is the actual physical feel or surface appearance of a furnishing or treatment.

Pattern – is forms arranged in an orderly manner.

Light – is a critical element in all fine-art. General (overall lighting), task (focused lighting), and accent (highlight and sparkle-effect lighting) are important in residential design. Colors, textures, and patterns can be true or altered primarily dependant upon your artificial lighting.

Color – is the most personal and evocative element in design. We all have our favored and least favored color(s) and many people have associations to particular ones. Colors are considered warm (reds, yellows, and oranges), cool (blues, greens, and purples), or neutral (beiges, browns, black, grays, and whites).

Scale, the first principle defined, was the one that went out the window when overstuffed, large scale furniture was all the rage. Folks went out and bought truck loads – seriously - it took several trucks to move it all. Purchases were made without considering the actual scale / dimensions of the room where the furniture would live.

A caveat – as you visit my blog you will come to know I often do caveats – here is my first - I stand in awe or marketing sometimes. I am an interior designer and sometimes I see an ad for something I would usually find distasteful. But add a spin on it that I can relate to, and I’m half way to buying it. I sometimes have to shake my head to bring myself back to reality – it is some what like a deer and headlights I think. That is how I believe much of the overstuffed furniture ended up in places it shouldn’t have.

Can you use large pieces in small rooms – of course! As we go through some pictures, we’ll see how principles and elements made it not only work but be entirely pleasing to the eye.Let’s take a look at my family room. The footprint and dimensions are below. As you can see, it is not a very large room and it has quirks. One of the focal points is the fireplace. A second focal point is a media center we already had and did not want to replace. My goal was to comfortably seat as many folks as possible. It needed to be kid friendly, store blankets, pillows and magazines, manage drinks, and of course, be beautiful. I liked the idea of ottomans for comfort and storage but not so much for drink management. Trays on ottomans are good for food – but drinks – with young kids – not so much.

Here is what I came up with – I positioned the large media cabinet first and balanced it with a large L-shaped sectional such that both focal points (emphasis) can be seen (media and fireplace). I added two storage ottomans, a magazine holder, and an end table with task lighting. What about the drinks? I also built a 5” shelf just below the top of the entire sectional back so drinks may be placed behind the sectional. The shelf is out of sight from view. How did I come up with the depth of the shelf? I took several items and measured them (cereal bowl, coffee cup, and of course, the largest martini glass we own). Five inches could hold all of these items well without subtracting too much space from the room. I have software to aid all my planning – it is imperative to my work. I know most don’t have this readily available but there are free products you can use such as Smartdraw and Sketchup.

There is also graph paper, a ruler, and a pencil. Please, before you do any purchasing, take the time to draw it out. This will save costly mistakes.Here is the family room realized. Our family photo hangs over the fireplace. We all wore chocolate brown for the picture. Hey, I am a designer – that’s what I do.

The sectional was a very important choice – large (it balanced the large media cabinet on the opposing wall) but relatively clean in shape and form and moderately scaled. It needed to be. Something with more mass would have overpowered the room since is practically covers two walls in the space. The ottomans are in proportion with the sectional. I want all those that come into this room feel comfortable, at ease. The media cabinet already had the nice horizontal line I needed, so I added the horizontal lines of the sectional and ottomans. Even though there I plenty of furniture in the room (positive space), there is also ample negative space and clear traffic paths. I also used neutral color on the furniture and walls. The neutrals are shades of the same hue. The sectional has a soft texture devoid of pattern so it is quiet and comfortable.

So I had my main pieces – the largest pieces in the room. In harmony, there is unity and there is variety. I had unity covered with the lines, balance of the large pieces, and the neutral color. Now I needed variety. I took my color palette from art I already had and wanted to use in the room. I positioned them over the large portion of the sectional – a clear view from all angles. I pulled the green and red directly from the art down to the sectional with throw pillows, and then again down to the floor with a green area rug. I selected glass tiles with similar neutrals and the pop green. Now the room was developing. I had a nice rhythm from eye level (art) down to the sectional pillows, and down to the floor (top to bottom). I also had a nice rhythm (using color and pattern) going around the room (side to side) with the pillows as they are positioned all around the sectional with the green being picked up again in the tile. I also added variety with pattern and texture for interest. The pillows and area rug have both. As I did not want to room to be too sleepy, I angled (line - action oriented) the rug. The rug guides the eye to the adjoining sun room, which is a bright and sunny room compared to the family room.

For accessories, I added a tree to the left side of the media cabinet and a large vase with yucca sticks to the right side. These large accents are balanced via scale but add variety because they are different. Red vases sit on the mantel and in the corner on the shelf and the magazine holder, you guessed it, red – more side to side rhythm. Now for the ‘family part’ of the family room – pictures. Pictures, pictures, and more pictures of my daughter and one large family picture over the fireplace. The top of the media cabinet is lined with pictures on stands of Lauren from age 0 to 3. The short wall above the sectional has an arranged pattern of Lauren at age 5. All the pictures are the same size and are framed identically (unity); my daughter provides the variety with her many and sweet facial expressions.

One element we haven’t discussed – light. Light is a critical element in all designs. I could have designed the most magnificent family room, but if it is not properly illuminated, one may not be able to appreciate it (ok, magnificent – that’s a little grandiose but you get what I mean). Lighting is that critical and often overlooked. In this room, I have four recessed lights (general lighting), two pin lights over art on top of the media cabinet flanking the pictures (accent lighting), three tilted pin lights on the large family photo (accent lighting) and one portable lamp on the end table (task lighting). Layers. Layers of lighting to illuminate, to enhance, to focus, to sparkle.

Quick example of light –
Here is glass art I have on top of the media cabinet – accent light off - pretty:

Accent light on – oo la la – no camera tricks here – just me with my little Canon – no flash either time:
Does that help with understanding the principles and elements? Ok, maybe a little drawn out. My hope is that you now have some understanding of these factors and will recognize the language I will use from time to time when we talk about design.

Where did my pieces come from? Both the sectional and ottomans are from Zagaroli – a favorite vendor of mine. Ultrasuede covers the sectional cushions with the frame in chocolate leather. The ottomans are in chocolate leather with an Ultrasuede welt to marry the seating arrangement. Both materials are kid friendly and durable. I do not recall the brand of the media center – we bought it so long ago. Other pieces I used in the room for interest - the end table is from Worlds Away. I love the shape and form of this table. Mine is nickel plated (it comes in different finishes) with mirrored top and shelf; it is very versatile. The magazine holder and the climbing men are from Global Views. The throw pillows and drape fabric is from Robert Allen/Beacon Hill. The area rug is from Fiezy. The fireplace surround is done polished glass subway tile from Reflections at Dal Tile. The portable lamp is from Arteriors and the large floor vase is from Palecek.

A short story – early on I worked briefly with a head-strong client (I can relate to being head-strong – to a certain point). My client built a beautiful townhome and was very excited to furnish it. My client began this process by working with a designer in a very nice store. Then I was brought into the mix. A sectional and ottoman for the main seating area was already selected. I went to the store to look at them. They were enormous! ENORMOUS! I asked if the room had been drawn to scale with the sectional positioned. My client said, “The store designer did that.” Great! “May I see it?” What she showed me was a doodle – really, a doodle – not a scaled room drawing. I have never seen a store designer do that before or since. Usually they are very professional and wonderful to work with. Fortunately, I had measured the room. I stated for the record that the room and sectional were not drawn to scale and needed to be because I was grossly concerned that the very expensive sectional my client was determined to buy would simply not fit. My client looked perplexed. I asked to please, please let me draw it to scale for before ordering this custom piece. I bolded custom – you know why…. one cannot return a custom piece. I drew the room and sectional to scale. It did fit. However, there would not be any traffic path or ability to put anything else in the room what so ever as the sectional would consume the entire room. I drew several alternatives using the same line of furniture but with traffic paths, casegoods, lighting, etc. When I showed them to my client, I was fired. Oh dear. Did I mention my former client was head strong?? I do not know if the sectional was purchased. I truly hope it was not. That would have been a significantly costly mistake. This was years ago but I still think of that every time a see an overstuffed sectional.