Every neighborhood has one it seems, the garish purple (or pink) house that all of the neighbors complain about, and that the HOA seems powerless to resolve. Yet, while bold design choices need not overwhelm or offend, the question must be asked: Which is the right choice for your client, bold or subtle?Additionally, one might ask, how bold? Or how subtle? And of course, who decides?Clients often look to make a statement when they ask you to help them reimagine a space I their home. It’s the nature of that declaration, combined with the personalities involved, that will determine just how audacious or delicate a pronouncement your client will wish to see you offer them.While none of the examples below are particularly outrageous, the differences are certainly clear, and telling. The key to success will often be to present your client with degrees of differences that address their inclinations and vision. That way, if you happen to move beyond their comfort level, you will be able to easily pull back.Which kitchen speaks to them most clearly?Though the only difference between these two kitchens is the palette used on the walls, they have clearly different feels to them. When you consider other possibilities such as alternate flooring, lighting, and appliances for example, the opportunities for making a bold or subtle statement become much more obvious. (ParadeOfHomes.org)Which feel fits?
What would you change in these family rooms?While the layouts are identical, opportunities abound for personalizing these similar spaces, based on the desires and personalities of your clients. You could easily shift the feel of the first with different flooring, while a splash of color would transform the second. Then again, perhaps each of these homeowners made deliberate choices that reflect their lifestyles to perfection.What would you ask to learn more about their bold or subtle choices?
Personal choices like these are extremely individualized and, as we all know, homeowners can be very protective of them. Yet, if they’ve asked for your help, they are seeking alternatives and must be coaxed gently toward the direction you think best, based on the vision of the space they’ve presented. Keep in mind though that moving too far in either direction, whether bold or subtle, may cause problems in the long term.No matter how bold you believe they wish to be, it may be best to offer relatively subtle choices at first, until they tell you to “Go for it!”
Carpeting and Rugs Set the Tone for Any Room
As you work with your clients to help them reimagine a space, one of the greatest tools you have at your disposal is floor covering. From carpeting to rugs and from wood to tile, the tone of the entire room can be set by what you place beneath your client’s feet.
For example, while many of the homes you see will follow the recent trend of using an open floor plan, there are some who argue that room definition will be a hot trend for 2016. For clients who do not wish to have their homes rebuilt around them, choosing alternate floor coverings throughout will help to redefine each room.Further, you can offer your clients a more diverse flavor to their home by focusing on international designs in the carpeting and rugs you choose to present. The Tibetan Collection of carpeting from Kravet is a wonderful example of this type of diversity, with hand-woven designs in Tibetan wool and Indian silk that are inspired by natural surfaces, patinas and aerial views, while also being fashionable and sophisticated.Lee Jofa too offers a stunning collection of carpets from India, Thailand & Nepal, in an array of hand-knotted fiber contents and weaves, as well as a wide variety of designs and colors, that offer a lush and luscious feel, and that will add a delicious international flavor to any room. Whether silk or chenille, wool or cashmere; Tibetan or Aubusson, hand-tufted or machine-tufted; the possibilities are almost limitless.Finally, Brunschwig & Fils, proudly offers J.D. Staron carpets and rugs. These are a unique collection, crafted by the finest skilled professionals in the world, available in thousands of designs and patterns. Whether you’ve chosen to cover the floor of an entire room with carpeting, or would like to present your clients with rugs as an accent to the room, the J.D. Staron collection offers a wonderful variety of beautiful designs from which to choose.Are you struggling with ideas that will help you set the tone in a room for your client? Let us help. Click here to get in touch with us today.
Use Bold Colors to Make Bold Statements
Fearless and daring; clear and distinct; even excessively forward; these are all definitions of the word “Bold”. For clients who are looking for “something different”, yet have not been able to articulate that idea for you, taking a daring (and perhaps brash) approach to the use of color may be the simplest – and best – choice you can make for them.Then again, trying to be bold on a budget can also argue for the use of color to make the statement, rather than asking your client for a heavy investment in fabrics, rugs, or furniture. We all must live in the real world after all, where the client who tells us that “Money is no object,” is rare indeed. With this thought in mind, let’s take a look at using bold colors to make bold statements.In an effort to avoid clashing images, the focus here is on the use of blue, but you can of course use a variety of colors to make the statement you believe your client would like to see.As an example of the bold use of color, this image from the Interior Design Blog makes a truly bold statement in a living room yet, despite the courageous use of color here, the room remains comfortable and eminently livable. The blue wall does not overwhelm, but rather provides a somewhat audacious impression, while highlighting and blending beautifully with the variety of pieces in the room.
Using bold colors as accents
Of course, not all clients are willing to be as bold as you may think they should be, or as they implied they could be. In that case, using bold colors to accent select features of a room may be your best course. A truly unique look, as seen in the image of the freestanding bathtub below, borrowed from the Brilliant Asylum blog, can be enhanced by the use of bold colors. The portholes in the tub are not a bad touch either.
And yet, if a statement like this is not possible for some reason, the creative and judicious use of color as background can add depth and daring to the simplest areas of a room, as shown in the bookcase of a child’s bedroom below, from HGTV.
As you can see, making a bold statement with colors does not have to lead to overpowering or outrageous looks in your client’s home. While being daring can be great fun, and some of your clients may seek that from you, it is possible to be audacious – without being impertinent or presumptuous.Did this blog post help you to be more creative in your use of colors? Have you used colors to make bold statements for your clients? How has that worked for you in the past, and how do you hope to use bold colors to make bold statements in the future?