Kristin Drohan Interior Design

Free Advice Friday

This reader sent in this picture of her front room.  She has no idea what to do with it.  She already has a family room, office, and media room in the home and with two small children a formal living room isn't needed.  In addition, she is on a very tight budget. 

SOLUTION

 

1.  I suggest she make it into a library

2.  Paint the walls a warm carmel to cozy the space.  I would suggest Ben Moore Historic Color 34 Wilmington Tan.

3.  Get the Billy Bookcase from Ikea.  It has a corner unit and is very reasonably priced.

4.  Consider reupholstering the chairs and existing ottoman in an inexpensive cotton duck.  If that is too costly get some light neutral slip covers to freshen them up.

5.  Add a round table, table lamp,  and rug to delineate the seating area.  If you have a Home Goods or Pier 1 in your area this would be a great place to find those items.

6.  Add a bench or long ottoman on the angled half  height wall.

7.  Lastly, purchasing stock drapery from JCPenney or Target with some coordinating pillows will add the finishing touches.

Highlights from Highpoint Part 2

Additional Color Palettes

Dusty Shell Pink and Purple were also colors I saw at market.  In order to keep the Dusty Pink from being tooooo feminine (as if you really can), pairing it with Charcoal Gray might help to give it broader appeal.  Speaking of Gray...Grays of all shades were also prevalent, even in furniture finishes.  In fact, I heard more than once at market that, "Gray is the new Brown".  We'll see.  Personally, Black and Cream will always be my personal choices for neutrals, but I am open to Gray.  I'm working on a living room/entryway project right now in which the client chose Silver Gray, White and Icey Spa Blue Gray as the palette.  It is a very pretty combo.  Back to the purple.  The purple I saw this market was really...well purple.  Take a look below and tell me what you think? 

Purples

 

 

Pinks

Grays

 

 

Highlights from Highpoint, NC Buyers Market Spring 09 Part 1

International Home Furnishings Center

 

I have just returned from Highpoint, NC for the semi-annual buyers market for the home furnishings industry.  For those of you who don’t know what Highpoint Market is, I have provided some pictures and will explain.  There are many industry shows for the home furnishings and design trade throughout the year, but High Point is considered the pinnacle show.  Over 2000 exhibitors in over 12 million square feet of showroom space showcase their products from around the world.  It is one of my favorite responsibilities as a designer and I have attended both the spring and fall shows the past 4 years.  I usually travel with some of my fellow designers from Northern Va and this year was no exception.  In fact, my friend Paula Grace and I realized this was our 6^th show together.

 

 Buyer Necessities – Badge and Showroom Listings

 

 

 Showplace & Fellow Designers Karen & Paula

 

 

  Bus Shuttles to our Hotels

 

There is always so much to cover, so this will be the first installment of a few articles on discoveries from this spring.  When I see several showrooms repeating a similar concept, I take note.  This show was interesting because of the state of our economy--a little quieter.  I hate to call repetition “trends”, because I believe that interiors can be timeless--yet updated and current.  So I’m going to call them updates.  Today, I’ll be covering colors:

 

Spring 09 Color Updates No 1

 

I definitely saw some repetition in the color stories in the showrooms.  One of the first was Black with Kelly/Leaf Green.  Interestingly enough, I just finished a gentleman’s contemporary study in Black and Palm Green.  So recently, that it hasn’t been photographed yet.  I saw this color combo at market in fabrics, furniture and accessories.  Do you like it?

 

 Picture 1

 

 

Picture 2 

 

 

Picture 3 

 

 

Picture 4

 

Picture 5 

 

 

Picture 6

 

Picture 7

Blogging Kicking and Screaming

When I first told a friend of mine that I was going to start blogging for my business, the above picture is what immediately entered her mind.  So I thought I’d recreate the image for this introductory entry.   It really is spot on.  I have entered the social networking scene with a lot of trepidation. 

In addition to designing great rooms, mothering two children, and being a military spouse, I now have to be a writer.  This is quite a stretch.  I have been advised by so many industry experts that this is the wave of the future that I’ve been convinced.  So this blog will provide design info and advice, talk about my design biz, and digress to posts regarding my military spouse responsibilities while being mildly humorous and entertaining.  I say mildly because if you add comedian to the list of jobs, I will most certainly need valium. 

I will try and post every week or two. Twice per month, I'll have “Free Advice Fridays.”  I will post a couple of reader design dilemmas and give them advice/and or solutions.  So if you have any questions please post them for Fridays.  Also please make comments and be interactive with me.  I’m open to any suggestions and or topics you’d like to see covered.  If you are a seasoned blogger and want to explain all this Mr Linky, Stumble it, etc…stuff to me that’d be great to.  I really don’t know what the heck I’m doing.  So here’s to being a slave to my computer.

Cheers!