Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Color. Show all posts

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Fresh Ideas for Vintage Linens

flea market decor
Flea Market Collection

Has your spring cleaning left you with a load of old fabric you don’t know what do with? Expert collector of international textiles Pandora de Balthazar has shared with us her top tips for decorating with linens:

FMD: What are some of your favorite unexpected ways to decorate with vintage linens?

Pandora: I love to create a white background and apply textiles of color to recreate my favorite moods or seasons. Another is to take antique shams and make slipcovers—instant gratification! Napkins make wonderful TV-tray covers. I use hand towels to make slipcovers, bed skirts, window treatments, and as floor cloths next to my bed and as hand towels. Now, that’s recycling!

FMD: Care to offer inspirations for using textiles in a home?

Pandora: There aren’t any “wrongs” when it comes to making your home beautiful. But it is terribly wrong in my opinion to neglect the comfort and rejuvenation of body needs. Vintage textiles provide the texture, color, beauty and art you need to create a restful sanctuary in your home; they can also absorb noise, create comfortable surfaces and provide tactile beauty that a rested body can enjoy. Make sure the beauty within matches the beauty on the outside.

What are you doing with your vintage linens this spring? Share with us in the comments below!


By Jickie Torres

Post Shared By Flea Market 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

How to Make a Modern Romantic Bedroom

Bedroom
“I believe designing should be approached with passion and abandon,” says Mari Robeson, designer/owner of Mari Robeson Home. From her custom fabrics and signature banners to her interior design projects, Mari hits the mark with a spirited, romantic style. “It’s a marriage of my graphic design with my interior design,” she says.

It all starts with how she approaches the work. Mari is open, allowing inspiration to arrive organically. It can come from a piece of vintage wallpaper or tile, her garden, an old movie—even her three daughters’ whimsical drawings, which inspired her new “Elovephant" fabric design.

When working with her design clients, she looks for inspiration by discovering what they love. “I ask a lot of questions. As a designer, it’s my job to help bring their dream to fruition, while guiding and educating them about style, scale, color and so on,” Mari says. “Even when I have clients who have no idea what they want, there are clues all around them. They may have a piece of art they love, [for example]. I can build an entire room around that.”

Redecorating or designing a bedroom is no different. “It’s very important to surround yourself with things that bring you joy. When you open your eyes in the morning you want to see objects, fabrics and colors that make you happy. That's how you'll begin your day,” Mari says.

For children’s bedrooms, she shares her thoughts on her blog, marirobesonstyle.com: “I believe that a child’s room is their little corner of the world, and it should be absolutely magical and divine.”

But Mari wasn’t always this confident. Growing up in a family of engineers, economists and genetic scientists, she questioned the value of her artistic gifts early in her career.

“I used to think maybe what I did as an artist wasn’t very important, maybe I should become a doctor and save lives,” she says. But one project finally convinced her otherwise. A client, who had questioned her choices throughout the design process, was literally speechless when it was complete. “I heard the word ‘wow’ more than I ever had before. In that one moment I realized that what I did for a living mattered. When anything is thoughtfully designed it has the ability to change lives. Since then I've seen it many times,” she says. “Cultures are defined by art and architecture.”

If you want to quickly update your room, Mari suggests you focus on accessories and pillows. “Changing the color of your room changes everything. Pillows and accessories can change a room in a flash,” she says. “Of course it all starts with a good bed, and I believe that investing in a quality set of linens is worth every penny.”
She also feels that working with a good designer will save you time and money. If you do, make sure to ask for references and view the portfolio, and most importantly you should feel comfortable with that person, she says. “Working with a designer is a really enjoyable experience. Designers have a Rolodex of resources and should help your project move along in a cost-effective, timely manner,” she says.

Working with someone like Mari who has a passion to find what is best for the client will make all the difference, too. “My design philosophy? To simply bring beauty and joy where ever I can,” she says. “Be bold. And never question your first instinct.”

Photo courtesy of Thinkstock.com

Monday, January 14, 2013

How to Balance Black & White

Balance Black and White Bedroom


Q: I love decorating in black and white, but I’m finding it difficult to create balance in my bedroom. The result is always either too dark or insufficiently dramatic. Any expert tips?

A: Professional home stager and design consultant Sarah Macklem suggests “mixing patterns and textures, and combining them with soft, muted neutrals. I love to use black and white accessories to become a feature, as opposed to overpowering the room. Another way to soften the look of black and white is to combine it with natural textures like dried hydrangea, for example. Black and white décor is timeless. One way to keep a space from appearing too dark is to use a lighter complementary color, as well as white and cream, to provide contrast.”

By Rebecca J. Razo

Friday, November 9, 2012

Tips for a Mod, Romantic Look

Follow interior designer Mari Robeson’s tips to get a snazzy bedroom.

Romantic Bed Room
Romantic Bedroom
1) Make sure you have an ultra comfortable bed, and invest in good linens. Keep it cozy with a fluffy duvet cover and lots of pillows.
2) Black and white mixed with one other bold color will keep it graphic and modern. Picking a warm wall color will keep it cozy.
3) Always have fresh flowers, candles and a good book or two to read. They set the mood to relax.
4) Reinvent a traditional piece of furniture by painting it a bold  color. It will make a familiar piece feel modern and fresh again.
5) Start with a pillow or fabric that you love, and build around it
as your inspiration.