Combining Spouse Decor Styles.

Sometimes it’s hard enough to agree on what to have for dinner, much less try to design a home with your significant other. Finding home furnishings that you both love can be a challenge, but with a little compromise and creativity, it is definitely possible to find stylistic harmony under the same roof!

Here are a few ways to get past your differences and design a home that reflects both of your personalities and style preferences.

Find out what is most important to your partner.

Is it comfort? Color? Shape? Fabric versus leather? Price? Sit down and discuss what you both want and why. If your color preferences are extremely different, pick a gender-neutral color for bigger upholstered furniture pieces or window treatments. A few bold color accessories can highlight personal preferences — males typically prefer the neutral leathers and hardwoods, and women can add their own style with throw pillows, linens, and other accent pieces. Try mixing rustic styles with sleek, sensual fabrics, or contemporary furnishings with earthy, soft colors and textiles.

Give your partner the respect of listening to his or her point of view, because he or she has to live there too! You should both feel comfortable and happy with the furnishings in your home. Thankfully, with the range of options available at every price point, couples can find furniture to combine both of their preferences.

Have a plan.

If you’re just starting out and need to furnish you entire home, focus on one or two rooms at a time. This will help keep you both on the same page about what you need to shop for and help you see progress in your home more quickly. After you come to a consensus about the style of a certain piece, let your spouse do what he or she does best.

Women tend to enjoy doing some legwork at home, first by going through magazines and looking for ideas, searching for items online, comparing prices, and enjoying the shopping process in general. This helps men too, because they appreciate the more targeted approach to shopping and will be more helpful in making final decisions when you’re actually in the store.

Combine your favorite styles.

There’s no rule that says all your furniture needs to be the same style — having an eclectic blend of home furnishings is perfectly acceptable. If you both like a particular item, buy it! Combining your styles will make your home a unique place that is a reflection of both of you.

Take advantage of free services.  Many furniture stores offer such benefits as interior design consulting, room planning guides and product brochures. Working with a designer can help you coordinate new furniture with your existing pieces, or they can help you design your home from the ground up and find solutions that will please both of you.

Having a designer’s assistance not only can help you choose the right piece of furniture for your room, but he or she can help you and your spouse with space planning, traffic flow, color schemes, and coordinating fabrics. Designers also can help you find unique solutions to any unusual room layouts or space challenges you may be facing. They also have access to hundreds of catalogs of furnishings that are not on the store’s showroom floor, giving you options that you may never have considered otherwise.

In other words, they can take your home from looking like a mish-mash of items to a complete “look” that works together seamlessly.

Have fun and enjoy the process.

Your home is the place where you should be able to relax, recharge, be yourself, and nurture each other. Furnishing a home that allows you to do those things together should be a fun and rewarding experience. Enjoy the process of creating a home that is uniquely yours together!

by Lynne Black Wall

The phrase, “You’ve got to start somewhere,” can refer to a lot of different things, but when you are talking about good room design, it can only mean one thing- Focal Point.

“Just what is a focal point and how do I get one?” may be running through your mind. A focal point is the main point of interest in a room: the place where your eye is drawn to first. The flow of a room starts at the focal point and travels around the room taking in the scale, balance, textures, patterns, and proportions of all the other objects in the room. The flow is affected not only by what you put in the room but by where you place it at within the room. Focal points anchor rooms and their contents.

Some rooms have architectural focal points such as fireplaces, others have natural focal points such as a wonderful view, and some rooms have nothing but plain white walls void of architectural interest and views. It is in these spaces that contrived focal points are created. A contrived focal point is just that, contrived, made up, and brought into being by the imagination.

If you have a room with no existing focal point, it is easy to create one. You don’t have to have a large budget and undergo a major remodel either. Many simple and budget friendly things can be done to create a focal point.

One of the easiest is to paint a wall in a contrast color to the others, then arrange a collection of photographs, pictures, decorative plates, or even clocks on it, in an interesting fashion. By framing photographs in the same way, or grouping pictures with similar frames, you help to create flow in the room. It is quick, easy, and if you have an existing collection, costs only the price of a can of paint. If you don’t yet have a collection of items, you can still start and then add to it. If you just aren’t into collecting, placing a single large, very large, piece of artwork on the wall will work as well. You can also place a bookcase, console, or desk in front of the wall and hang a picture over it as another option. Even a smaller scale entertainment center against a painted wall with a few candlesticks, and a green plant on top can be utilized as a focal point.

If your budget allows, a large piece of furniture, such as an armoire, can be used to anchor your seating, plus provide storage for your television and accompanying electronics. By using a unique piece, perhaps with carved or hand painted accents, you can create your focal point, provide additional storage, and add pattern or texture to the room as well. That’s what good design is all about, function and “fashion”.

Many furniture retailers carry electric fireplaces, which not only provide an architectural focal point, but also serve to provide additional warmth and ambience to the room. Newer models have flickering flames that are hard to distinguish from an actual fire flame and have remote controls. You just set it in place, plug it in, and sit back to enjoy your new focal point. Hanging a picture or mirror above it, as well as, adding a few accessory pieces to the mantel, finishes it off nicely.

Because focal points have visual weight, other items in your room need to be placed so that they balance that weight. Each room should have only one focal point, but it can have other areas of interest or emphasis. If you have an architectural point of interest on one wall, such as a fireplace, and have a contrived point of interest on an opposite wall, such as a large entertainment center or projection television, it is best to create two separate seating areas, each with their own “focal point”.

Another thing to consider in good room design is the facing wall. This may or may not be the wall on which the focal point is located. The facing wall is the wall opposite the entry into the room. Because it is seen first, it makes a good location for a contrived focal point, but in rooms with architectural or natural focal points, it should be treated as a point of emphasis. It is important that this wall create interest and excitement, after all, first impressions of your room shouldn’t be boring.

In summary, remember, focal points are what the eye is drawn to first, and around which seating is arranged. It can be architectural, natural, or contrived and created by you.

Color, it with light! Using lighting to add additional layers of design to a room is often overlooked. Yet, there is nothing that sets the mood more in a room than lighting does. Today,  many designers are beginning to use colored lighting to add the ambiance to a room that no other element will add. The reflective balls hanging from the ceiling and gathered on the floor in this photo give off a glow that adds sparkle to this room. The effect is reminiscent of bubbles. Colored light adds the additional atmosphere that would not be present without its addition to the decor.

Points of light in various sizes give a starlight effect to this ceiling. At night time when all other lights are dimmed the impact of this lighting is huge. Using lighting to bring the outside inside changes the entire feeling in this room.

Colored lighting can completely transform a room. In settings such as the one above, the lighting is designed in such a way as to allow for color changes. The purple lighting is relaxing and soothing. A blue, red, pink, or yellow lighting design completely changes the look.

Translucent tables let the light show through. The same technique works with all types of furniture that will allow the light to glow through. Here bright pink gives a party mood. Changing the color of light of the room would create a whole different feeling in the room.

Day to day living takes on a whole new feel when colored lighting is added to the decor of these spaces. Even a daily shower takes on new appeal and becomes an experience rather than simply a daily grooming task when colored lighting is used in the space.

The glow comes from within these garden pots positioned by the pool area of this home. The lighting is subtle yet highly effective in adding a night glow to the pool area. White light at night is striking as well as enchanting.

Do try this at home. Adding some color to your life can be as easy as changing from an ordinary light bulb to a colored one, or as sophisticated as using specialized LED or fiber-optic lighting. Whatever method is chosen, adding color with light adds a whole new dimension and personalization to decor. One that is most definitely worth adding.

by Heather Osmond

1. Spring is here! Nothing elevates a mood more than a new candle with a summer scent, a fresh pair of pillows on a tired sofa and boxing up a dark, heavy, winter quilt and replacing it with a light weight throw blanket.

2. Your home is a reflection of you! Select your furnishings and accessories to tell your personal story through their colors and style.

3. Cool colors like blue, purple and green are considered tranquil colors. Use them in bedrooms, bathrooms and family rooms designed for relaxation.

4. Warm colors like red, orange and yellow are stimulation colors. Use them in spaces for activity and conversation, like dining rooms.

5. Blend and layer multiple shades and textures of the same color for a monochromatic look.

6. If you desire a visually energetic room, follow the color wheel and use contrasting or complementary colors in your design.

7. If you desire a serene room, follow the color wheel and use harmonious colors or those close together on the color wheel.

8. Consider your lifestyle when choosing fabrics. Remember to combine patterns, colors and textures to give a room interest.

9. Be eclectic in your style as you select furnishings. Styles can be compatible but a little different.

10. The MOST IMPORTANT work you will do will be within the walls of your own home. Make it a beautiful and enjoyable place to be!

Heather Osmond
Osmond Designs

In this post we are Spotlighting Kathy Cope one of our talented Osmond Designs Interior Designers. Kathy became a part of our Osmond Designs family in 2008, when Kathy met Heather through a mutual friend. It quickly became apparent that Osmond Designs and Kathy were a perfect fit. Shortly after that time Kathy became one of Osmond Designs Interior Designers and has worked with Osmond Designs ever since.

Kathy endears her clients by listening to their ideas, tastes, and preferences and by creating design focused on personalization of their design and space. After all, it is what the client loves that is the most important, and Kathy understands this, working to give a voice to the expression of her clients tastes. Kathy does this by creating a cohesive environment that is attractive, proportional, and within budget.

Kathy believes it’s a false notion that a well-designed home has to cost a fortune. “I work with people on all budget levels,” Kathy says, “it’s not necessarily spending a lot on furnishing your home that makes it sing.  Often, it is knowing where to scrimp and where to splurge. A good designer can help you strategize and make a plan for achieving the most impact for dollar spent. Osmond Designs is a particularly good tool for achieving your home design dreams. Our pricing is so competitive it makes it easy!”

Kathy Cope aims to feature her clients’ personalities and tastes in every project she works on. One homeowner collects old cameras, so Kathy had a lit display space built in the new room specifically for those antique treasures. Another client has Japanese roots so Kathy designed a spot in the clients entryway where the family crest is now hung. “Putting an individual clients’ personality into a home guarantees the client will love spending time there.  However it takes more than just hanging up a family picture or gathering favorite collectibles to make it work. Good elements of design such as scale, proportion, and contrast need to be considered as well,” Kathy says.

Pictured here are some of Kathy’s latest projects. The images above and below are of a home theater room with custom mill work and upholstered walls. “Not only are the mill work and upholstered wall beautiful features,” says Kathy, “but they are also functional. The columns house directional wall speakers and the upholstered walls absorb sound.”

Lush leather seats provide comfortable seating for viewers. Tastefully chosen wall paper creates a pleasing view.

In this music room, Kathy had a muralist capture a mountain scene. The aspen trees are painted in “relief” and actually have dimension and texture. The mural is balanced with a large mirror flanked with candle sconces on the adjacent wall.

These are just a few samples of Interior Design that Kathy has created. To contact Kathy Cope for Interior Design services call 801-865-7282

Custom drapery designs this year are evolving into fresh, new, looks that are as innovative and creative as the fresh designers that envision them and bring their creative ideas into reality. Simply walking into this room feels like taking a breath of fresh air. Custom draperies hung close to the ceiling draw the eye upward. The fabric and design of these draperies keeps the feeling fresh, open, and filled with light.

Color, texture, and tastefully chosen fabrics and prints add layers of interest to these custom draperies adding soft warmth to this room. This type of custom drapery blends well with restorative styles and others such as the one pictured here.

Light and airy custom draperies help to create a fresh feeling of contemporary garden design in this refreshing room. A multiplicity of textures create a natural feeling to the room.

Whites, cool blues and dark accents create a soothing, modern, feel. Tailored custom draperies frame the view and windows in simplicity and draw the eye upward adding visual height to the room.

Elegant design is expressed in this French Provincial room. Custom draperies add to the look of this well designed room while allowing the furniture design to take center stage.

Comfortable, traditional style, is accented by these neutral custom draperies. Fringed swags dress the other window with charm.

There are custom draperies for all tastes, designs, and decorating projects. Wouldn’t it be fun to express your own vision of design with new custom draperies adapted to your tastes and specifications? Our Osmond Designs, Lehi, Designer Furniture Store, has a wide variety of fabrics available for custom design of draperies, bedding, pillows, other accessories, and yardage. Or, bring in your own fabric for design purposes.

Osmond Designs Discount Designer Furniture Stores offer full service consultation and design services from conceptual drawings to finishing touches. Come in to one of our stores or call us for more information.

Contact Kathy Anderson 801-361-6568 for consultation on creating your custom draperies and she will be happy to assist you in personalizing a custom look that is all your own.

Unique lighting Osmond Designs decorated home Saint George Parade of Homes.

Take a visual journey with us as we explore some unique lighting that is available per order from Osmond Designs.

This exquisite sconce of antique silver finish is unique and elegant adding unexpected majesty and flare to any wall. Complimentary pieces to this breathtaking lighting are available for order and purchase at Osmond Designs Orem location.

Reminiscent of silk blend, the innovative glass shade on the end of this pendant creates an eye catching finish to a bronzed down rod. Simple lines blend together to create this unique look.

Creative geometric patterns in burnished metal add interest to this unique lighting perfect for retro or restorative room design elements .

Lush European design and tortoise shell create this unique lighting presentation. Ornate metalwork gives grand presence to this beautiful chandelier complete with 18 lights. To view this unique lighting chandelier visit us at our Osmond Designs Orem Store location.

Tear drops, detailed medallion work, and gentle curves are used in this fabulous Transitional unique lighting. Soft, elegant, design describes this chandelier.

Many more unique lighting designs are available for order from Osmond Designs. Come see our lighting at the Orem Store location and talk with one of our designers about creating the perfect unique lighting for your room decor or inquire by phone 801-225-2555.

Here is the link to the article: Osmond Designs Parade of Homes