I must apologize for not writing for nearly three months. It’s been a very trying three months for me. After twelve years, we have sold our home and downsized. With three boys, our 3,700 sq. ft. suburban home was spacious with a huge deck that commanded a fabulous view of the Olympic Mountains and Seattle in the …
Our Downsizing Story – From 3,700 sq. ft. to 1,190 sq. ft. Read More »
High ceilings bring about a sense of grandeur. Ballrooms, theaters, arenas, cathedrals, and castles all come to mind. These are all public spaces but how do high ceilings feel in a residential setting? How do you feel in a home with a tall ceiling? Are you impressed? Do you feel cold? Many people rave about …
Spring is here and I’m finally feeling Pantone’s color of the year – Radiant Orchid. It’s fresh and uplifting. However, I would prefer to call it a clean, intense lavender. By clean, I mean it’s not muddied, there is no strong influence of yellow, red, blue, or black. Maybe it’s just me, but the name, …
Summer time is when we have the opportunity to work on our homes and paint is one of the easiest ways to give any room a facelift. Going to the big box home improvement store is often the most convenient and cheapest place to get paint. But, before you go, please think about the toxic …
For those who follow the Lunar Calendar, Happy Chinese New Year! With the New Year comes a new color trend. The 2013 Pantone color of the year is Emerald. Coming from the “Emerald City” Seattle, I am all for green. It’s one of my favorite colors. Although I love green, for interior design purposes, Emerald Green is …
I must admit that I take water for granted. Hot water for baths and showers, adjustable temperatures for laundry, and filtered iced water from the refrigerator are all conveniences that we enjoy with the push of a button or turn of a knob. As the end user, I don’t really think about how this all …
Here in our home, with the holiday season winding down, the dust has finally settled and the boys are back in school. Over the holidays, our house felt like a massive transit station with boys coming and going, all day long. It was hard to keep track of who was home or which friends were over. This level …
As the temperature drops, we are reminded that the cycle of seasons always come. As in nature when the bright colors of summer make us feel cheerful, fall colors are warm and comforting. In the beginning of the year I posted a blog on the Pantone color of 2012: Tangerine Tango. Click here to read. …
Photo by deviantart.com The modern Japanese aesthetic design is based on a minimalistic approach stemming from the fact that space is a premium. If you have lived in a small space, you understand that with just a few items scattered around the room, it looks messy. This is because with a limited area, the focus …
Modern Hardware that Matches a Japanese Aesthetic Read More »
In the design world, I have heard many Westerners talk about the Japanese wabi-sabi (侘 寂) aesthetic. It’s difficult to describe many traditional Asian terms in English because not only is there no direct equivalent word, the Asian definition itself is very vague. Many times, Westerners are confused as to why Asians can’t explain something …
The 2012 Pantone color of the year is Tangerine Tango. This vibrant and exciting reddish orange that is sure to shake up your emotions! I don’t know who comes up with naming these colors but I think this one works well. The imagery of a woman in a tango dress will always come to mind. …
image from iloveindia.com I once met a realtor, who, as soon as she heard I was a feng shui consultant said, “I had someone come and feng shui my house!” She then went on enthusiastically, “she put red in my career corner and it’s really done wonders for me!” Now I need to find something …
Instead of shopping for art for your walls, why not create your own. As I was spring cleaning and changing our calendars to 2012, I was feeling that it was a shame to throw away some of the beautiful black and white photos of famous architecture from around the world. So, before I threw them …
image from pixabay Arranging your living room furniture can be a challenge. One must always understand the relationship between the size of the room to the size and number of furniture pieces. The other day I was trying to help arrange the furniture in a client’s living room when I noticed that each piece they …
With such a large variety of kitchen faucets in the market choosing a kitchen faucet can be very confusing. Faucets are tactile. We touch the handles multiple times on daily basis so it is important to think about how they feel in your hands. I tell my clients that looking at faucets on the internet …
If you’re in search for some fresh interior design ideas for your floors, consider Asian style floor design. In order to achieve Asian-style design, stick to a natural color palette of browns, reds, greens and tans when it comes to home decor. You’ll also want to stick to natural materials for your floor. Stone tiles, …
