New from Kravet – Introducing Grand Bazaar by Brunschwig & Fils

Grand Bazaar by Brunschwig & Fils is an exciting line of furniture, new from Kravet, that includes new fabrics flavored with influences from Turkey, India, and Thailand.

Brunschwig & Fils takes you on a journey through Turkey with its newest collection, Grand Bazaar, inspired by the alluring charm of Turkish culture. Established by the Sultan of the Byzantine Empire over 500 years ago, the Grand Bazaar was and is known as a trading place for jewels and textiles – a melting pot of the old and new. The beguiling history, architecture and atmosphere of the market inspired this exclusive collection of gorgeous prints and coordinating wallcoverings. Let’s take a deeper look at this stunning new collection!

The colors and patterns in this collection transport you to exotic locales and traditions of the Grand Bazaar markets with blue and white hues, paired with pops of pomegranate and balanced with sophisticated jewel tones. In the spirit of the patrons shopping the enchanting market, Brunschwig & Fils scoured its archives to conjure up a Middle Eastern spirit and design elements associated with the Ottoman region.

KATIBI and MONTGUYON, Brunschwig & Fils archive favorites, have been updated to suit today’s interiors. KATIBI was inspired by an 18th century Indian Palampore and features a beautiful tree of life pattern. MONTGUYON is another revival design, first introduced in 1961, featuring antique French needlework reinterpreted in a broken warp print effect. 

KARABALI, named after a Sultan’s private garden, is an extraordinary design depicting exotic florals and foliage extracted from traditional Indian textiles. This dramatic pattern was printed in Thailand and is destined to make a grand statement in any interior.

Take in all the exotic traditions, culture, and colors this region has to offer with Brunschwig & Fils’ latest collection, Grand Bazaar.

We remain open for business and ready to support you in any way we can. We will continue to share the design trends, like lines that are new from Kravet, that we believe will benefit you most as either an interior designer or furnishings retailer. Click here to… Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Helping Your Clients to Be Master Entertainers

Though not directed at interior designers per se, an insightful article at the website PopSugar.com offers some hints to the sharp designer about helping clients make their homes more guest-friendly. Titled, “What Guests Really Notice in Your Home,” the article presents a To-do list for homeowners expecting guests. While some of these tips are well beyond your abilities to help, you would do well to keep a few of them in mind if you have a client who likes to entertain.From the scent of the home to displaying fresh flowers and eliminating clutter, the homeowner’s responsibilities are minimal but effective. Obviously, sharing such tips with your client would be to your long-term advantage. For the rest of the list, you can certainly offer solutions as you work to reimagine the spaces in the home:A Well-Stocked BarWhile it is not your responsibility to ensure that the bar is “topped off” and ready to serve the needs of any guest, there is nothing that says you can’t make it an interesting conversation piece, and even a focus of the designated entertainment space.A Well-Appointed Guest BathroomFocus on the spaces that will see the most traffic during a party. The guest bath is obviously one of these spaces, and it has the potential to make a statement on behalf of the homeowner; at a minimum, that she cares about the comfort of her guests. An Organized EntrywayFirst and last impressions – well – make a lasting impression. Keeping this area welcoming yet well-organized can be quite a challenge but, in the long run, it will pay off for the homeowner.Again, while actual party-prep is not your responsibility as a designer, helping your client feel comfortable in their home, and in the ways they use the spaces you design for them, certainly is. Keeping these few points in mind when working with clients who enjoy entertaining can only help you help them make their guests comfortable.Looking for more new design trends, tips, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Hot New Design Trend – Things are Becoming Less Edgy

According to the Home Section of the Washington Post, and writer Lindsey M. Roberts, the latest hot design trend is to eliminate hard edges, straight lines, and sharp corners in home furnishings and accessories.“There is a big shift happening in residential interiors right now”, the article claims," to a look that is comfortable, livable and most important, accessible.”The feel of this trend is softer and warmer; the look is still very fashionable.“People want almost a sanctuary space where they can decompress or chill out, and that goes to more pieces that have more rounded edges,” says Lisa Puchalla of LilyMae Design in the District (DC).Although the trend in rounder forms began in the lighting industry, we can see from the images below that the softer look has expanded to include more furnishings. 

Two great things about this latest design trend toward a rounded look are, social proof that there is a place for investing in furniture that can withstand changing styles; it does not require a full-on redecoration of a home to implement. Instead, your clients can simply add and/or take away a bit at a time until their interiors feel refreshed and comfy to them.

Looking for more new design trends, tips, and ideas? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

How to Sell More High-End Upholstered Furniture

While upholstered furniture sales will likely generate the biggest tickets and highest revenues for your interior design business, they may not come easily. Simply presenting your offerings as “The Best” will often create a question in your client’s mind – “The best, as compared to what?” Do you have an answer for this?

Home fashion has become a rapidly shifting target, with statements ranging from traditional to transitional to contemporary. This takes place not just from client to client and from home to home, but even from room to room within the same home! Staying current with these shifting home fashion trends is a challenge that all of us must face. With the right approach, these shifting design trends can be dealt with effectively.

Descriptive Language is the Key to Luxury Furniture Sales

Capturing the imagination of your clients – and reinforcing their choices and tastes – is the key to growing your luxury furniture sales. Using descriptive language to distinguish your offerings will go a long way toward helping your clients realize that you have their best interests at heart:

1. “Subtle, labor intensive decorative details include hand-sewn welting, double top-stitched seams, and pleating.”
2. “Our bespoke furniture includes 8-way hand-tied and handset coil springs, as well as sustainable materials and components.”
3. “Tailored from traditional materials to create a sumptuous yet modern (or contemporary) mood that speaks volumes.”

While it goes without saying that you can rarely make an overt appeal, it is also often necessary, and effective, to subtly appeal to your client’s ego; their sense of self-importance and discernment. This can often be done by engaging them in conversations that include more sensuous language, such as stylish presentations, opulence, custom tailoring, sumptuousness, gratification, curvaceous upholstery, lavish covers, artisanship, craftsmanship, bench-built, and hand-crafted.

Understanding your client’s needs, and speaking to those needs in terms that elicit an emotional response, will allow you to close more high-end upholstered furniture sales – and satisfy your client completely and repeatedly.

Farmhouse Design Ideas

From retro design to “modern,” there is a strong trend toward farmhouse design ideas in homes across the country. The reasons for this trend are as varied as the personalities involved: from those seeking a more “homey” feeling that brings back memories of times gone by, to those who find the look “kitschy” and cool.

Whatever your client’s reasons may be, being able to offer a farmhouse feeling to them may make the difference in closing a sale for your design services.

From the exterior to the interior, the farmhouse feel of a home can make a powerful statement of what the owner values. Even location makes a statement. In other words, your client does not have to live in the country to enjoy the farmhouse look in their home. This home is an adaptation of a traditional farmhouse in their open, rural settings, place within the denser urban context of a small town.(RobertBaumann.com)

Urban Farmhouse Design Ideas

Of course, if your client does choose to live in the country, the look and feel of living in a farmhouse does not preclude the installation and use of modern amenities and contemporary design ideas. In fact, innovation may be the most important area of the design challenge you accept when your client is looking to live in a modern farmhouse. (DesignNW.com)

Modern Farmhouse Design IdeasIt’s hard to argue with the results of this farmhouse kitchen look. The slate gray paint, alder cabinets, and stressed oak make this kitchen look as if it had been renovated in stages, while the open shelving offers a practical, at-your-fingertips feel. (Houzz.com)Beautiful Farmhouse Kitchen is also PracticalFor a truly innovative farmhouse design, taking them out to the woodshed at first makes one’s head spin (a bit). However, “the project is conceptually inspired by the vernacular woodshed, a familiar and iconic element in the Vermont landscape.” And, while the look may be the very definition of rustic, there is no doubt that comfort and modern amenities were at the forefront of this design. (BirdseyeVT.com)Dual Woodshed Home DesignLooking for interior design trends and tips? Get in touch with TD Fall today.

Interior Design Trends - Spring 2016 High Point Market Report

For those who were unable to attend High Point Market in April, and for those who did make the trip but were simply too busy to see all that was on display, we offer this short recap of the interior design trends that many are talking about.First, it must be said that the energy level was high at Spring High Point this year! As was the enthusiasm shown by designers, suppliers, manufacturers, and buyers; with everyone optimistic about the potential for growth during the remainder of the year.Compact & Multifunctional – For consumers who are just short on space, products designed for small spaces – yet which serve a variety of functions enable people to maximize their spaces with furnishings that support their busy lifestyles. This need is being met with lightweight, yet durable pieces that present a narrower profile.Livable Luxury – A luxurious look and feel is fine for those who seek such, yet today’s consumer also wants to ensure their spaces a livable. Durable fabrics, forgiving woods, and low-maintenance finishes are being introduced in greater quantities in the brands and product lines that offer luxury.Feminine Finery – The feminine edge is an emerging trend; offering flowing lines, lovely curves, floral patterns, and intricate details, a soft cushion on a sofa, the subtle curved front of a chest, and pinks and purples that bring a breezy lightness to every detail of the space in which they’re utilized.Mix ‘n Match – For several seasons, manufacturers and retailers we’re playing it safe; fearing they could be left with a stockroom or warehouse full of inventory, showrooms were often filled with easy, and sometimes, boring options. This is beginning to change, as vendors are being bolder with their options and mixing materials, color and shapes with abandon.    For more on emerging trends that we saw at this year’s Spring High Point Market, click here to download the High Point Market Style Report (pdf).

Texture - How to Generate Character

Let’s face it, texture is generally not at the top of mind for most clients when they consider the look of a room. It’s up to you, the designer, to consider the feel that you can create for any space that is changing, and that includes a variety of texture choices you can make: from walls to floors to window treatments.This can include anything from rich and sensuous to rough and unrefined, depending on the purpose of the space and the comfort level your client is looking for. If it really is true that “Form follows function”, then grain, nap, feel, and finish will all be defined by how a space will be used. Since it will be your imagination and creativity that will determine the character of the space on which you're working, you must understand the essential qualities of every room you design, moving beyond mere pieces and color choices to consider textures that enhance the overall feeling conveyed.

Use texture to make any room “POP”

As an example of the use of texture to enhance an otherwise neutral look, the wallcovering in the image below, borrowed from HGTV.com, clearly illustrates the point. As explained in the image caption, “The texture of the grass cloth wallpaper in this space designed by Jenny Norris offers both warm tones of beige and cooler tones of gray. The beige tones help the wallcovering relate well to the gold accent tables and wooden couch legs, while the cooler tones mix well with the navy sofa.”In the image below, we see a stunning example of how texture can be used to re-imagine an otherwise uninteresting room. While the space retains its clean white look, the variety of textures employed adds real depth and character, making a strong statement on behalf of the homeowner. You can see more at EllieColeInteriors.com.Needless to say, commercial spaces can also benefit from the feel conveyed by the effective use of texture. No customer who steps through the door of Rocco’s Pizza in Belltown, Washington, near Seattle, will be confused by the down-to-earth atmosphere conveyed by the use of original brick in the walls, or by the 100-year-old wood that was pulled from the original ceiling to create the tables. (Image from SeattlePI.com.)In short, do not let texture become an afterthought when it comes to reimaging interiors for your clients. Our reasoning for this is simple: texture is the thing that can make a room pop. It can easily be what brings an otherwise fine design up to levels that are envied.

Treat the Windows – Not the Window Treatments

Not all windows are created equal, so why treat them as if they are?In some homes, the windows scream out for treatment. In others however, the view, the light, and the detail of the windows themselves can provide you with unique opportunities to use light and open views creatively. For many homeowners, the view is the deciding factor in where they choose to live. In such cases, hiding behind draperies or curtains makes little sense.Instead, if a room you're working on has beautiful natural light streaming in, or if the frames and sills offer uniquely beautiful architectural detail, simply painting the trim removing rust and refinishing may be your best option.

Focus on natural light and openness

In the images below from HGTV for example, the windows are left bare to emphasize the beauty of the surroundings and the gorgeous flow of light into the spaces.The window frames in this kitchen have become accents rather than distractions, preserving natural light and the view for the homeowner. Covering these gorgeous portholes to the outside world would have been a shame.A view like the one below should never be covered. By painting the window trim, rather than covering these large picture windows, the panoramic view is preserved, allowing the homeowner to feel a part of the nature that surrounds the home.Once again, the emphasis in this room has been placed on natural light and an open feel. These steel window frames add elegance to a modern look, while also being wonderfully resilient and durable, as well as easy to care for.Have you been able to use existing windows to make a creative statement for your clients? How has that worked for you in the past? Please share your own ideas for the creative use of bare windows to provide natural light and openness for your clients in the future. Would love to hear from you!