Monthly Archives: June 2013

Interior Design Colors: Spring 2013 Trends

Using color shouldn’t be daunting. Far from it! Color, used correctly, can make the difference in a room. With a good set of base colors, a few brighter hues can really spice things up.

At a Loss for Inspiration? Look in Your Closet

Interior Design Colors for Spring 2013It may seem like an odd suggestion, but it is very likely that you have already developed a preference when it comes to color—just take a walk over to your closet and look inside! The shades and seasonal changes you see on display can provide you with an idea of what is in your comfort zone, but will still make for a bold statement in your home.

Make Color “Pop”

Spring 2013 Interior Design Colors from La Maison InteriorsUse color in your home to create a “wow” factor. Making sure the color really “pops” is important, but you do not need to use a lot to achieve this impact. The added element of color can be as simple as a rug, a throw, or a pillow. By ensuring you have a good set of neutrals to function as the base of your palette, you can switch out the elements of accent color as the year goes on, making sure that guests in your home will keep walking away impressed, season after season.

We’ve already written about grey coming on the scene as a neutral color, and before adding those brighter accent colors, you might want to think about other ways to complement the grey in your room. Warmer taupes or cooler ivory, when paired with the right grey, can give a room a relaxed, serene feel. You can also layer yet more shades of the same neutral tone to give a modern, monochromatic look.

Interior Design Color Trends for Spring 2013

Interior Design colors with a vibrant yellow, a Spring 2013 trendAs we move into the summer, it is worth taking a look at some of the trends from the Spring. If you looked in your closet and found some tropical tones—a tangerine orange, or a pineapple yellow, perhaps—you could choose those and other complimentary vibrant tones for an elegant, contemporary look. A nice plum can add a regal touch to a room, while a lipstick red can seductively draw the eye. Add in a citrus or kelly green, and you can nicely ground those bold colors.

Century color example photo for interior design colors at La MaisonAnother trend you might have been able to anticipate by glancing at your wardrobe: watercolor. In fashion as much as in design—particularly with interior fabrics—watercolor has become increasingly popular. In your room, it could take the form of a pattern that suggests hand-painted floral scenes, a great way to introduce a graceful, feminine touch.

With this and every trend, La Maison Interiors is always happy to help create a blend of interior design colors that will bring out the beauty in all the pieces in your home.

Trends in Interior Design Colors: Grey as the “New” Neutral

Decorating circles agree: grey is the new neutral color. While this will not come as a revelation to those paying attention, more and more designers are beginning to harness the many positive aspects that the many shades of grey provide over beige and white. For those who do not follow the field professionally, it might seem like an odd choice for a base color—given all of grey’s rather dreary associations—but with an attentive eye, grey can serve as a great base that will allow your interior design color choices to shine.

Sam Moore sample of grey as a part of this rooms interior design colors

Shades of Grey

The real reason that grey need not be a bore is just how many shades it comes in, and all that can be accomplished by creating the right palette of interior design colors. A good way to think of it might be considering a natural instance of a rich combination of hues found in nature all centered around a grey tone. Take a handsome piece of driftwood, for instance: there will be shades of everything from taupe to lighter browns and, of course, soft dark greys as well. Upholstery can be a great place to start considering how to use grey in a room, since the browns and taupes found in many “grey” fabrics will help tie the new color in with wood pieces you already have in a room.

Malaga Sofa Scene using grey as the neutral in an interior design colors pallette

Don’t Fear Color

Remember, the discussion here is about a palette of interior design colors. Too much of a single neutral tone—without variation—can make a room feel bland. A good grey base will create a platform on which color will “pop” just the way you want it too. Seasons change, so the color to combine with your grey may differ based on the room, the pieces in it, and the time of year, but purples, blues, tangerine, red, along with many other options can help make a room lively.

Purple involved in the use of interior design colors with grey as a neutral base

There are several ways to involve that extra element of accent color. An accent wall can be easily painted to change the feel of a room. Pillows on a sofa also offer a great way to deploy small splashes of color that enliven a room, as in the picture above, for instance. Art is also an excellent way to employ color selectively in a room. Modern and contemporary art, focusing often on color and abstract motifs, is perfect for these purposes as well. That is why we are seeing more and more—even in older homes with more traditional furnishings—contemporary, abstract art playing an important role in adding color to a room.

Art can be used as part of a strategy for interior design colors

Interior Design Colors at La Maison

An image of interior design colors at work at La Maison InteriorsAs the lefthand picture of the entrance to our showroom makes clear, coming into La Maison Interiors offers a great opportunity to see a variety of combinations of interior design colors. Let us assist you in exploring the myriad options that grey, in combination with well used color, can provide. Whether you are looking to compliment pieces in your home already, or to create a whole new look, we can help.

Reclaimed Furniture from La Maison Interiors

A final example of reclaimed furniture from La Maison InteriorsAs with so many elements of interior design, it is often the final touches that truly distinguish a beautiful room from a merely functional one. That final detail can be an accent color, a particularly captivating rug, or perhaps a piece of furniture with some history to it. With all of these options, what each really contributes is a story to tell, something that invites a visitor into your home, projects an image of excellent taste, and makes clear that no detail has been left unconsidered. Reclaimed furniture, when placed with care and attention to the overall feeling of a room, can provide that narrative, serving as that last touch that takes things over the top.

Reclaimed furniture at La Maison Interiors of Scottsdale, Arizona

An Overview of Reclaimed Furniture

Simply put, reclaimed furniture is made at least in part from materials gathered from other sources. All the benefits of age and time—things that give wood a truly one of a kind appearance—can be found in lumber that was formerly used in other settings. Timbers that led a previous life as supports in a hay loft, with all the years of dappled sun and summer heat, will achieve a look and feel that cannot be matched in a factory. Floorboards on which worshippers walked centuries ago in an old world church can find new life in a table with the help of a skilled, attentive carpenter. The unique look, feel, and quality offered by reclaimed wood furniture will captivate your guests, and offer a feeling of connectedness with the past that new pieces cannot match.

The source of reclaimed furniture can vary, here a felled tree

Positively Green

Along with all the excellent design elements that can justify the use of reclaimed furniture in a home, there’s another element many find appealing—the minimal environmental impact. With reclaimed wood, the maker of the piece in question has reused valuable materials, often from first growth trees cut down many years earlier. Even when using additional new wood to finish a table or other item, the cost to the planet is greatly reduced. Something that looks wonderful and helps the environment might sound too good to be true, but with reclaimed furniture it really is possible to create a room that is green, without compromising on appearance or quality.

This bench, an example of reclaimed furniture, is built from on piece of wood

Why Less is More

Like most things in life, less really is more with reclaimed furniture. All the great things about pieces that reuse materials from the past—their history, their distinctive look, their particular character—can lose their lustre if surrounded by more of the same. To avoid the look of an overstuffed, gilded-age curio cabinet, using a strategic and restrained sensibility when choosing reclaimed furniture for your home will help in the long run.

17th Century Reclaimed Furniture from La Maison

Reclaimed Furniture at La Maison

At La Maison Interiors, we invite you to our showroom to enjoy a tour of some of the examples of reclaimed furniture we are proud to have in our collection. You’ll gain an appreciation for how one piece can truly create a story. Allow us to tell you the story of a beautiful dining table created from 17th Century Italian flooring or the story of a cocktail table from trees planted twenty years ago as part of a reforestation project in Mexico.  Each piece is manufactured individually using an artisan method.  Add some romance to your room with reclaimed furniture from La Maison Interiors today!

Area Rugs – 5 Helpful Tips

A Scottsdale transitional rug from La MaisonArea rugs can bring a room together, tying the furnishings together in a way that expresses both your good taste, and the overall vision you have for your home. Maybe you are seeking some contrast for your carpeting, or perhaps you are looking to accent your hardwood, tile, or concrete flooring: no matter your need, a great rug—properly positioned—can add the distinction you are looking for.

That said, whether you are looking to define a newly decorated room around particular area rugs, or you are looking for new rugs with an already furnished property in mind, the process can seem daunting. Here are five tips to help make sure you are getting the most out of the rugs in your Scottsdale home:

Rust colored Scottsdale area rug from La Maison Interiors1. Keep 18 inches of bare floor between a rug and the wall

A traditional rule states that an area rug should have at least 18” of space between where it ends and where the walls of the room in which it is placed begin. That space helps create a traditional feel in the room’s proportions, while still showcasing your floor.

2. A rug should extend at least 12 to 18 inches around a bed

If it does not, the bed can end up “swallowing” the rug, since so much of it is covered by the bed and so little is visible to the eye. The size of the border depends on the size of the bed under which the rug has been placed—i.e. 12” for a twin or full bed, and 18” for a king or queen.

Scottsdale Area Rug Advice from La Maison Interiors3. Make sure a rug goes 24 inches past a table

While this can be tricky in practice—the size of most rugs and tables being what they are—it really does help a great deal. Since your guests and family can keep all four legs of their chairs on the rug at one time, the space is easier to use. From a design perspective, it helps tie the table, chairs, and other elements of the room together into a unified whole.

4. Rugs in a hallway or entryway should cover the walking surface

When using a rug in any high traffic area, it is important—both for safety and comfort—that you can walk with both feet on the rug in question. With the right pattern, it can also serve as a way to draw guests forward into your home.

Scottsdale rugs, silk and wool from La Maison

5. Know when to bend the rules

As with all things in interior design, cleverly subverting expectation can be the best way to make a statement. Depending on the size and dimensions of your room or furniture, some of the above rules, if followed to the letter, may not deliver the results you want. You may just want to make a statement. In either event, understanding the reasoning behind each guideline is vital in how you use area rugs in your home. We at La Maison Interiors can assist in ensuring you make the right decisions to maximize the impact of your Scottsdale home’s rugs.