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Design Guide: Interior Design Online Editorial and Ideas for Color Trends Style Decorating Tips Events.
Design Guide Online Editorial
Interior Design Blog and Interior Design Ideas
Ask the Expert: RiverCity Cabinets Shares Three “P” Trends In Cabinetry
There are three “P’s” in trends emerging in the world of custom cabinetry: pre-finished, paint grade stain and personalization.
Pre-finished high-end cabinets are an up and coming trend in the Central Texas market. Typically, most custom cabinetmakers will just design, build them to spec, deliver and install them with the wood raw and ready for a stain.
Randy Hardin, owner of RiverCity Cabinets, believes unfinished cabinet installation will soon be a thing of the past, as pre-finished installation is becoming a bigger push in the world of interior design.
“It’s what’s driving the market; mainly due to interior designers who are driving the more high-end custom market,” he said.
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Legendary Artist Dale Chihuly Brings His Iconic Artwork to Dallas Arboretum
Renowned artist, Dale Chihuly, has brought his dramatic sculptures and installations to the award-winning, 66-acre Dallas Arboretum, and they will be featured May 5 – November 5, 2012.
Chihuly’s monumental designs appeal to people of all ages and have been seen in more than 200 museums, gardens and other venues around the world. Presented by AT&T, and made possible by Bank of America, the Dallas Arboretum hosts Chihuly’s spectacular exhibition.
Inspired by nature, Chihuly’s spectacular installations are specifically designed to respond to the vistas architecture and magnificent gardens at the Arboretum.
“AT&T is proud to support this world-class exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum,” said Holly Reed, regional vice-president, AT&T. “Chihuly at the Dallas Arboretum will provide a memorable educational and cultural experience not only for the children and adults in North Texas, but visitors across the state and beyond.”
Glasshouse Goes Sky-High with Dallas' Museum Tower
Museum Tower is the hottest high-rise residential project going in Dallas. It is 42 stories just along the north edge of downtown overlooking the new Woodall Rodgers Park and performance park.
Glasshouse has been commissioned to design and install all the mirrors and frameless glass showers in the Museum Tower condominiums, along with some white laminated glass partitions, back-painted glass and sandblasted glass in its public lounge areas.
Austin ASID: CEU - "Translating Artistic Design Principles to the Practice of Interior Design"
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Don’t miss out on Austin ASID’s upcoming CEU "Translating Artistic Design Principles to the Practice of Interior Design," on March 15, which will be presented by Amanda Hill of Hill Design + Gallery.
The program will take place between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at Hill Design + Gallery, 1623 Rivery Blvd., Georgetown, Texas 78628. Lunch will be provided. The lecture will be followed by an artist panel discussion. The panel will include Interior Designer and Artist Maria Martin, Architect and Artist Baron Wilson, Art Professor and Artist Sue Bishop and Watercolorist Carol Light.
Please RSVP to Amanda Still: (512)-212-4865 or amanda@hilldesignstudio.com, if planning to attend.
Save the Date: Next month's Meeting CEU/hors d'oeuvres will take place June 19, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Architectural Granite & Marble (AG&M), 19012 Highway 71 West, Spicewood, Texas. Co-Hosted by Architectural Granite & Marble (AG&M) and Renaissance Stone Works. Hope to see you there!
Outrageous Gallery: Remarkable Sculptures by 82-Year-Old Austin Artist
Regardless of whether you're a Longhorn fan or not, you'll come to appreciate these one-of-a-kind handcrafted sculptures created by Tom Wuertz, found exclusively at Outrageous Gallery.
Wuertz, an 82-year-old Austin artist, is embarking on a second career at a time in life when most people would be content to spend their days playing golf or gardening. Arising from an initial interest in stained glass and sculpture, he has combined these two art forms into an exciting interpretation of old west themes and incredible craftsmanship. He has developed a new technique in sculpting by combining actual skulls of buffalo and longhorn into some of the most innovative and intricate lampshades and sculptures ever created.
Banks Fine Art: "Mid-Century Modern" is the New Buzz-Word
The Mid-Century Modern Home
Design trends are certainly changing, and so is Banks Fine Art!
“Mid-century Modern” is the current buzz-word and designer and collectors everywhere are answering the call.
"Still Life with Bottle" by Hugo Irureta (1953)
Banks Fine Art now houses a collection of Modern Art - eclectic oils from the 1960’s and 70’s to fit all interior spaces – living or dining room, the Family Room or the den mantle piece. The gallery has even placed “A Bowl of Lemons” by French Modernist Charles Levier, in a client’s kitchen.
Palmer Todd Talks Modern Kitchen Trends
As a kitchen design professional, most of the emergences of modern trends, in my business, have been implemented in the homes of my client’s kitchens. Modern design has become much more main stream in the past couple of years than in years past. A clean line and minimalist approach define the design. The following details illustrate this in many ways.
Cabinetry – Light colored lacquer finishes combined with natural wood tones seem to dominate currently. Overly detailed door styles have been replace with slab panel doors and drawer fronts. Horizontal wood grains and textured melamine are also becoming popular as they seem to expand the perception of space.
Hawa Rooftop View Experience with Yodeling
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Take advantage of this beautiful weather before the Texas summer heat kicks in and come join Hawa Americas, Inc., for an entertaining evening. Who doesn't love a good rooftop view with an immaculate, enchanting view of the Dallas downtown skyline with free food? This has got to be one of the best views in Dallas. Be sure to RSVP!
Laura Britt: Why I am a Designer
In hindsight, becoming an interior designer was primarily just in my DNA and partly from having exposure to the opportunity. I had an unexpected and winding path, which has led me to the career I have today.
Growing up in rural Arkansas didn't provide an abundance of arts and culture. Yet, some of my most vivid memories are of my grandmothers amazing collections of art, antique furnishings and glassware. My favorite thing to do as a child was to wander into the formal living room and explore each and every piece of her collection. Her treasures had long since outgrown their allotted display space and filled every nook and cranny.
She and my mother were strong influences and they exposed me to various forms of visual and performing arts. Sometimes we traveled and other times I was content to live vicariously and just browse through her stacks of Town & Country magazine.
I always took an interest in spatial relationships, although when I was a young child, I had no idea what that phrase meant! This gene has clearly been passed down through the generations, as my mother still rearranges her furnishings and now my 5-year-old son asks to rearrange his room! I'll always remember as an aspiring designer, discovering my first childhood "floor plans" - that was a full circle moment.
Fast forward many years when I learned that there was a field of study and exploration called “Interior Design." I was working between college breaks for a family owned wall covering and window treatment business when I learned from their daughter, that she had studied interior design. I realized that this field captured all of my areas of interest.
I studied interior design at Oklahoma State and was fortunate enough to land my first job practicing what I had learned about the fundamentals of design; scale, proportion, and balance. Although this was great experience, this was not your typical high-end residential design firm... no, I was working for the United States Air Force! An unusual path, this experience provided European travel, which has become an important part of my development as a designer. My responsibilities for design and large-scale project management are skills which I still use every day.
As I learned about mid-century modern aesthetic at the Air Force Academy, designed by SOM (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill), I was surrounded by architects. This fueled my desire to learn more about buildings as an entire system. Back to school I went.
I earned my Master’s degree in Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on Sustainable design. During graduate school I traveled to Asia and was heavily influenced by the refined Japanese aesthetic. This particular experience influenced my initial furnishings designs. I learned to ‘see differently’ as I designed and then built my three dimensional ideas. This was a great learning process, which put the practical aspects of design to the test. I am still ‘testing’ them today as I work at the desk I designed and built in school.
Shortly after graduation, I landed in a firm that was frankly, a terrible fit for me. Each architectural intern sat in their cubicle working away at their computer drawings. I missed the interaction with clients and the diversification of the work. Thankfully, that situation didn't last long and I realized that my true passion is in interior design. I love collaborating with architects, and working directly with clients to create and transform space. Thus, the beginning of Laura Britt Design…
Although I clearly have a modern architectural leaning, I still maintain a full respect for the quality and attention to detail of the antiques I was surrounded by as a child. My approach to design is to listen to the client's needs and desires and then use my “design filter” to create a space which is uniquely shaped and molded to each individual.
