Everybody likes to be in on a secret, and if it comes from a top design pro, so much the better. We asked some of the country’s most creative designers, architects and design writers to share with us a favorite secret, maybe a new product most of us don’t yet know about, an accessory, design technique, store or showroom.
Paint, paint and more paint was the most popular secret to spiff up a room imaginatively, quickly and inexpensively. The paint recommended ranges from historic colors to contemporary black lacquer.
Other hot trends: smaller-scaled lighting, luxurious materials for cabinets, narrow stainless strips for differentiating flooring. Here are some more ideas from our design veterans:
BAMBOO AND SISAL
Stephanie Wohlner, owner, Stephanie Wohlner Design, Highland Park.
Bamboo blinds and sisal area rugs always add dimension, nice contrast, visual interest and work in any environment–modern or traditional. They’re a great neutral element.
WALLS AND SCONCES
Leslie Stern, Leslie M. Stern Design Ltd., design firm, Chicago.
Ginger Bath Accessories has come out with a new lighting series that can be used on either side of a medicine cabinet. Sconces are often too large, and these are smaller and not as wide, have halogen bulbs and are nice to look at. They come in different materials, work in traditional or contemporary homes and are waterproof.
IMAGING THAT
Michael Kerley, regional manager of interior design, Marshall Field’s.
A new digital imaging system allows designers to print large panels, as large as 6 feet wide by 10 feet long (or longer lengths if the material is rolled) and 2 inches thick. It can print on almost any material, rigid or flexible. It cures instantaneously through a UV process in the printer, and is somewhat like a huge version of a computer printer. You can customize wallcoverings and fabrics to match, do window panels and even the face of a door. It’s fast because you don’t have screen setups, incredibly detailed–almost photographic–and reasonably inexpensive. It’s already used in contract design and will have a tremendous effect on residential. We’re working with Baird’s Decorating, the distributor in the Chicago area for the manufacturer, Imagine Imaging. Many private designers will have access, rather than the public directly.
WALLCOVERINGS BEYOND FAUX
Darcy Bonner, president, Darcy Bonner & Associates, architecture and design firm, Chicago.
We’re using vellum or goatskin, which were used in the ’20s and ’30s for walls and cabinets. They have a natural, luxurious look because they’re transparent skins with an off-white color. They almost appear like very thinly stretched leather. A lot of decorative painters try to simulate the look, but they can’t; it’s really different when you see a room authentically paneled. We’re also using cast glass for decorative casing trim around doors and windows in the same way that decorative wood is used. We were inspired by David Adler’s work. The glass is made in Murano, Italy, and has a mirrored silver finish look.
RECESS TIME FOR LIGHTS
Jeffrey Wyngarden, president, Jeffrey Wyngarden & Associates, design firm, Chicago.
Instead of putting big recessed cans with black baffles in a ceiling, Lightolier’s MR-pinhole in the 5-inch mid-size is state of the art. Not only is there an absence of aperture glare, the source of the light is virtually undetectable, yet it lights the room and and whatever objects the light falls on. I like Lightolier’s because it’s got an all-metal trim which is more attractive.
PAINT COLORS FOR DUMMIES
Nancy Braithwaite, owner, Nancy Braithwaite Interiors Inc., Atlanta.
Benjamin Moore has two lines of historic paint colors that are based on traditional colors and are a sure bet for someone picking colors without a lot of experience. One is called HC for “historic colors” and the other is AC for “America’s colors.” Both come in flat, low-luster eggshell, gloss and semi-gloss.
METAL TO THE FLOOR
Paul Florian, principal, Florian Architects, architecture firm, Chicago.
Insert metal strips into floors wherever you have a transition between different materials such as limestone to wood, or if you even want to differentiate marble from granite in the same room. Make the strips stainless steel or aluminum and either an eighth-inch or quarter-inch wide. It gives traditional material a contemporary snap.
THE FRAME’S THE THING
Kathy Peterson, TV host of “Town and Country Crafts with Kathy Peterson” and author of “Kathy Peterson’s Great Outdoor Decorating Makeovers on a Budget of only $250” (Watson & Guptill, $24.95).
Use artist’s canvas for ceiling and wall murals and paint with oils or acrylics. An owner can take the mural with them if they move. It’s easier to paint a canvas on the floor than on a high ceiling. Staple the mural and hide the staples with molding or use a high-tech wallpaper adhesive. You can also use Velcro for walls.
IN THE CLOSET
John Himmel, director, John Himmel Decorative Arts, design firm, Chicago.
I tell clients to look in their closets and see what colors they wear to help them determine what colors they should live with. They should look at what they do subconsciously to decide what they should do consciously.
INVEST IN NESTING
Todd Haley, principal, Todd Haley, design firm, Chicago.
Nesting tables take up the footprint of the largest table and the others sit underneath until you need them. If you put them next to a bed you can pull one out for additional reading or to put a cup of coffee on. They’re also good because you can borrow them from the bedroom and put them in the living room if you’re having a party. I like ones that are clean and accent a room like cufflinks on a shirt or add some sparkle. I’ve got a stainless steel set with vellum tops.
BOOKCASES RECESSES
Jeff Bilhuber, president, Jeff Bilhuber Inc., design firm, New York, and author of “Jeffrey Bilhuber’s Design Basics” (Rizzoli, $39.95).
Paint the back of your bookcases a contrasting color to the walls and detailing to help silhouette books or other decorative objects. A dark brown, aubergine or deep red look nice in a library. If you have glass-fronted cabinets in your kitchen, you can paint the back of them a sky blue to silhouette glasses and dishes. You’ll also think more about the way you place what goes in the bookshelves and cabinets when you do this.
BURNISH THE THOUGHT
Bonnie Knudsen, interior designer, Toms-Price Home Furnishings, furniture store, Wheaton and Lincolnshire.
You can take a new, maybe too bright or too gaudy, piece of [wood or hard-surfaced] furniture and give it an antiqued, richer, softer look. Take burnt umber oil paint and mix it with linseed oil. There’s no formula for the amount. Rub it on with cheesecloth or an old rag. I told a client to do this on an armoire. It was painted a light mint green with darker green trim and rose accents and she didn’t like the look. You can do it with gilded mirrors that are too shiny.
METALLIC CURTAINS
Chris Casson Madden, president, Chris Madden Inc., home furnishings design company, Rye, N.Y., and author of design books, including her latest, “New American Living Room” (Clarkson Potter, $35).
I am passionate about the new metallic silk curtains that I just put up in my new American living room. They’re from JC Penney, called “La Scala,” and come in red, bronze, ivory, gold and green. They’re $55 per panel.
THE BLACK DOOR
William Atkinson, owner, William Atkinson, design firm, Chicago, and owner, 0609/Lakeside, an interiors shop in Lakeside, Mich.
I don’t coordinate colors and don’t work out of a paint book. I might use mustard, beige, black and white in a room. I paint all interior doors black lacquer, which looks great. I also use a lot of chocolate brown for interiors and exteriors. Whether I use black or chocolate depends on the light. In my weekend cabin in Michigan, I used brown on doors and trim.
CREATING YOUR OWN ART
Denise Caringer, executive editor, Decorating and Home Design, Meredith Books, publications, Des Moines.
A lot of people don’t know what to do with really big walls because they seem intimidating. But you can think of it as a mat for pictures. Take some basic 1-inch-by-2-inch lumber, paint it a great, bold color and hang the molding as a picture frame. You may even paint the wall inside a different color or leave it as is or white. Inside, hang a couple of posters, prints or even objects.
CUT IT UP, PUNCH IT UP
Frank Roop, owner, Design Interiors, Boston.
Take white coral, dye it different intense colors such as red and blue using fabric dye and put the coral in big glass vases. You can even put as many as 10 pieces in one vase. The result: a big punchy display, which doesn’t look like fake flowers but is a lot more sculptural and nicer. Another idea is to take grass-cloth wallpaper or any textured wallpaper with lines in it and cut it into squares. Apply it to the walls like parquet, so the grain goes one way on one square and another way on another square. You won’t see traditional wallpaper seams, but these seams will look more natural.
FLOWERS EVERYWHERE
David Spathen, visual designer, Room & Board Home Furnishings, Chicago.
Fresh flowers are the best way get a great new look without changing an entire room, any furniture or even the paint color. If you’re a modernist, use some big leaves. If more of a traditionalist, use a tightly cut arrangement in a bowl. You can’t go wrong. When you mass flowers from several bunches rather than one–including orchids–you make much more of an impact and add a lot more color. Never skimp or be cheap when you buy them. When I remove flowers from the store or from my home, the rooms look flat.
LET THERE BE LIGHT
Mary Beth Rampolla, principal, Design Collaboratives Inc., contract design, Chicago.
We’re doing a renovation of a two-story building with basement. The client will live on the second floor and have a business on the main floor and a reference library in an extension of the basement. Because there’s very little natural light on the basement level, we plan to cut a 1-foot-wide strip adjacent to the wood floor on the main floor and put in glass tiles. Light will filter down through the glass tiles to the dark level below, and the main-level floor will have a much more interesting look.
MIXING THE DISSIMILAR
Robert Marinelli, president and owner, Robert Marinelli, design firm and showroom, New York.
When I arrange furnishings, I prefer to create symmetry from asymmetry, what I called mixed metaphors, and not have pairs or matched items. With lamps, I prefer to use an architectural drafting lamp that’s mid-century in style and made of metal, and as a counterpoint to that I use a classic, smooth, fluid Murano glass fixture from the 1950s. The different aesthetics work wonderfully together and are more interesting than matched pieces.
THE SKINNY ON THINNER
Eric Prokesh, owner, Eric Prokesh & Associates, design firm, Dallas.
Mix one part oil-based paint and three parts paint thinner and use it to paint wood furniture or a primed wall. It’s best to use intense colors like a deep red underneath and a green or blue on top. You’ll see the color and the wood graining underneath. You can apply a varnish or polyurethane on top. If you’re nervous about what the final color will look like, experiment on a block of lumber. The more intense the colors, the better.
LIGHT THE CANDLES
Nina Hancock, president, Hancock + Hancock Inc., design firm, Chicago.
One of the most beautiful products out now is the “Bridle Hanging Light” with electrified candles by Kevin Reilly at Holly Hunt Ltd. It offers a dramatic lighting effect for a dining space or foyer because of the real waxed candles, which have 25-watt bulbs inside. The candles are handmade, yet because of the bulbs you have no drippy mess. The chandelier is iron.
OLD TILES AND BATIKS
Martin Horner and Shea Soucie, partners, Soucie Horner Ltd., design firm, Chicago.
Using antique textiles in a contemporary fashion adds interest in both a modern or traditional setting. Antique batiks combined with clean, crisp linen add visual contrast to a bed for coverlets or pillows. One favorite place to find antique batiks is at Textures by Lynda O’Connor, 208 W. Kinzie St., by appointment only.
