When is a kitchen not a kitchen? That is the question I’ve been asking myself recently. It’s been prompted by several things. First, as consequence of the pandemic, we all have been forced to use our homes in ways we had never previously considered. For example, in my son’s family both dad and mom are...
Kitchen lighting is a challenge in the best of conditions. Lighting levels, fixture spacing, ambient lighting, task lighting and decorative lighting are all in play. In my last post, I alluded to a particular challenging lighting challenge relating to the placement of a soffit crown moulding above a row of kitchen cabinets. The underside of...
At the end of my last post, I promised I would talk about the online kitchen design portion of our consultation with our Houston client. ONLINE KITCHEN DESIGN CONSULTATION: THE AGENDA Our clients’ questions seemed to be straight forward. Comment on the current layout. How might the upper cabinets engage the ceiling and crown moulding?...
Last week, I concluded an online interior design consultation with a client living in Houston. They are designing a new home and the online consultation addressed their concerns about the 24′ wide x 50′ long room running across the back of the house. The room consisted of a kitchen, dining area and family room area. They...
The thought of doing an E-Design interior trim package was not in our wheel house in January. Today, it seems we’re doing all our design work remotely. (Along with everyone else.) It’s seeds were sewn rather innocently last Fall – because of traffic. With projects on Cape Cod and Cape Anne, the thought of spending...
Periodically, we are asked to help a client upgrade the interior trim in their home. For instance, they might be a family with a newly purchased home. The clients love the location, but the interior of the home lacks character. It has no Gravitas. No Bones. What can be done? Another example is the family...
Interior Design Trends are something that Sally and I usually don’t pay much attention to. We write them off to media and marketing hype. Having said that, discussions about emergning 2020 Interior Design Trends in several private FB Groups I am a member of caught my eye in December. The first was a conversation about...
Design a French style master bedroom suite in a Colonial style home? Convention would dictate a New England style interior if you’re renovating a New England Style home, or perhaps today’s mid-century modern look with it’s rooms stripped of detail. On the other hand, “Why not French?” So many clients tell us, “We love to...
You’d think creating a small kitchen design would be easy. What do you need, really? A small fridge, range, dishwasher, microwave and some upper and lower cabinets. Declare victory and move on. Not so fast my friend. In reality, it couldn’t be farther from the truth. You see, you can cheat when you have a...
I was reminded of the effort it takes to create timeless design as a big stack of great design ideas fell on the floor while I was emptying the DXV Design Panel plan file drawer in preparation for our move from Salem to Northborough. Sketch after sketch, doodle after doodle, lay there staring up at...