Starlings

Have you listened to Elbow yet? You should. If not for their poetic lyrics, than at least for their music that seems to enter the listeners ears, then roam throughout their body. Take a gander.

Paintings by John Constable

Seascape Study with Rain Cloud

Sure he doesn't have the most creative names for his marvelous paintings, but John Constable makes up for the lack of written creativity with his rich colors, sharp textures, deliberate brush strokes and, a must have for any artist on my list of favorites, the abundant amount of blacks in each of his paintings. Mmm mmm.

  A Farm Cart with Two Horses in Harness

Willy Lott's House

Michaelis Boyd Associates

Most girls who have seen Anastasia or Lion King know that it is possible to have crushes on things that seem uncrushable. Dimitri? Simba?

Well, I have made an addition to my list of weird crushes, an addition that will fit nicely on the shelf along side the work of Roman and Williams. They are a design firm by the name of Michaelis Boyd. Formed by Alex Michaelis and Tim Boyd in 1995, Michaelis Boyd Associates has established itself as a practice producing simple, elegant architecture with an environmental emphasis. They are based primarily in London and do both residential and commercial work. And boy, are they good. Take a looksy.

 

Pizza East Restaurant

 Byron Burgers - High Street Kensington, London

Eastcourt House - Private Residence

Byron Burgers - Canary Wharf

Do you think they are crush-worthy? They had me at the lighting.

Baby Baby

Disclaimer: Yesterday I got to hold my cousin's baby boy. Hence these thoughts that I am nowhere close to needing to have.

Nurseries!

When I used to babysit my little cousin, Cassidy, I always loved spending time in her nursery. It felt like a sanctuary in the home - accent lighting, a cohesive scheme, and always the perfect temperature. At the end of the day, once all the kids in the cul-de-sac went home and I fed my responsibilities dinner, I'd allow the older kids to finally watch television - probably Power Rangers - while I'd sneak away into the cozy nursery and take way too long putting the little blonde baby to bed. That's when I knew I would have accent lighting in my bedrooms and I'd always let the air conditioning run at 72.

Tips and Tricks

1.   Use as many non-baby items as possible. Ease the burden of needing to redecorate in a few years and make the room capable of changing and growing with your little one. 

2.   Everything is more chaotic and difficult to manage when that adorable little baby is screaming. Make those times easier by making the nursery serene in your lighting choices, calm with your colors and patterns, and very user friendly. You'll appreciate the organization later.

3.   My favorite type of design is the unisex style - the kind where men can feel like men, what with all the natural woods and basic shapes, and woman can still enjoy beauty. Try to keep the nursery gender neutral so it can easily transfer between boys and girls. It will save greatly on costs and need for storage.

4.   One of the easiest ways to make an otherwise sophisticated nursery into a playful and young environment is through the accessories and wall art. Consider shadow boxes of baby items. Create a memorable nook by framing pictures of your family members as children. Etsy is home to an overwhelming selection of baby-friendly artwork. Frame artwork from your older children and display them in the nursery. All those things are easy to replace and take down but will significantly change the feel of the space.

5.   If you are going to paint, do so early to avoid your baby breathing in harmful VOC's. Plus, it will then give you time to live with the color and be sure that it is exactly what you want.

Pictures from Simplified Bee, Project Nursery, Oh De Doh, and Honey and Fitz

Principles and Elements of Design

I have no pretension when it comes to my education in interior design. Though a formal education in the subject truly ups your knowledge, I believe that the ability to design your home in a way that is fitting to you can be acquired through your own learning, studying and practice. Yes, I am aware this thought could potentially put me out of a job, but so be it. 


I suppose that in order to help those who find this way of thinking to be all too kind and somewhat naive, I should teach you the basics I learned in ID 104 - no tuition necessary. May I present to you: the Principles and Elements of Design.

Principles

Balance, Harmony, Rhythm, Dominance, Variety, Proportion

In design, balance creates a feeling of equality. It is achieved through the proper use visual weight (of colors, patterns, shapes, and textures) and measurable weight (positioning, size, and mass)

Harmony is created when the separate elements in the room dance together to form a unified picture.

The rhythm of a room is similar to that of music - it has some repetition, some emotional value, it provides the illusion of movement, and provides a "beat" to the design. Think in musical terms - is it legato, staccato, forte, pianissimo?

Dominance is created with contrast, size, placement and line direction. Feature that which is most important as the dominant feature, be it a view in the living room, a bed in the bedroom, a color in the kitchen, etc. Each room needs something to be the foundation for all of the accessories to grasp onto.

Variety in the Elements of design creates visual interest. Remember, Variety + Harmony = Unity.

Proportion refers to the relative size and its physical relationship to other objects. Playing with proportion can completely change the room - compare the grand and proper feelings within a cathedral to the comfort of a treehouse. Playing with proportion, be in in a pattern on a fabric, a piece of furniture or the architecture of your home, can result in a sassy attempt at adding personality.

There you have it, the Principles of Design. Next up, Elements

Elements

Form, Scale, Texture, Pattern, Color, Light

The form is the basic configuration of an object and is typically 3-D. The four characteristics of form are line, shape, planes and volume.

Scale is similar to proportion, but it considers each individual element one to another before the whole proportion is taken into account.

There are two types of texture, 1. Tactile - something that can actually be felt (velvet), and 2. Visual - something like a small pattern on a fabric that gives the allusion of depth.

Patterns are repeated elements within the appearance of the room. Was that obvious enough?

Color has the most control over the feel of the space. Keep in mind that nearly every emotion can be felt through color so choose wisely.

A mix of natural and artificial lighting is preferred in every space, but that is not always possible. Lighting can be used both practically and as a way to add emphasis and helps create the feeling you are going for.

Here is a helpful hint to remember the difference between the Principles and the Elements. The Principles of design are the laws that will create what our eye considers to be the best design possible. The Elements, however, are the things that will help those rules come to life - they are the single ingredients that, when molded and prodded, will assist in creating the Principles.

What is so great about having a knowledge of the Principles and Elements of design is that once learned, they can be applied to any blank room and put into practice. Much like an artist needs paint in order to begin his masterpiece or a violinist rosin on his bow, a person needs an understanding of the principles and elements of design before a room can be completed. And remember, once you learn and accept the rules, you are then qualified to stylistically break them.

Balance, Harmony, Rhythm, Dominance, Variety, Proportion, Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, Scale, Texture, Pattern, Color, Light

Happy 4th of July

I hope you enjoyed your holiday as much as I did. I spent mine in the company of good friends and family hiking, shooting, getting dusty, and eating well in the setting of Zion National Park. Very American, right?

"I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives.  I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him."

Abraham Lincoln

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table"

Ronald Reagan

"Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance.  It is also owed to justice and to humanity.  Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

James Bryce

"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy."

Paul Sweeney

Elements of Style, Desire to Inspire, Elle Decor, Elle Decor, Flourish Design and Style, Pinterest, We Heart