Tricks and Tips

Each night before bed my tortoiseshell cat named Princess decides she would like to have a play session. She lets me know this by running quickly by and tapping my leg with a soft paw as she jumps in the air. She will look back with great expectation and keep up this process until I pick up a toy and throw it. It is a fantastic trick that has trained me to play with her. I then proceed to pick up the toys at one end of the room and throw them to the other end of the room while she jumps in the air to grab them. Once she grabs them, she lays them down and looks at me as if to ask, “another please?” This goes on from one end of the room to the other for about 15 minutes. I would love her to return the toys like a dog does in a game of fetch and I wonder if I could teach her a new trick. They say that teaching cats any tricks can be hard but with a few tips it might be possible. The world of decorating can be like training a cat sometimes, a difficult mystery but with a few tips and tricks we can unlock
the mystery and have great success. Let’s peek into the living room of several models to see what tips and tricks created great spaces somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

  •  Design defines
This week let’s define a few words pertaining to art. The first word is Diptych which means any painting or carving that has two segments. The next word is Triptych which means any work of art that has three segments. Finally, a polyptych is any work of art that has four or more segments. These types of art are quite popular today. They are created by cutting a canvas into two, three or four parts and hanging the picture in segments. The look is very interesting and adds another dimension to the work of art. If you like the look of segmenting the art most online art sellers will take any picture and segment it for you in various sizes.

  •  Tip one
Use large art! Large art looks much better than small art. At the very least have one large picture in a room. Large art over a sofa, or in a
foyer over the foyer table adds that punctuation mark to a room that says, “Look at me I am the focal point”. In design the eye moves toward the largest wall in the room. The largest wall in the room, therefore, needs to have something on it that is amazing to look at and in scale with the wall.

  •  Large rug
Rugs should be large! The larger the rug is the larger the room will look. All living rooms need an 8’x10’ rug or larger. I usually install 9’x12’ rugs in designer home living rooms and no smaller than an 8’x10’ in a villa living room. No living room should have a 5’x8’ rug, it is too small. The rug can go under the furniture generously and cover most of the floor in a room. These are not rules but they are visual tricks to expand the space.

  •  Large lamps
I usually use larger lamps! The larger lamps look more in scale with the larger art and all that complements the larger rug. The idea is to use larger items and less of them. This larger and less idea will create a larger looking but fully finished space.

  •  Banquette seating
I use banquet seating so often because it is a space saver! A banquette is long upholstered bench that is placed against the wall. This bench allows a person to slide in and under the table without needing room to pull out a chair. This application is used in restaurants to create more space and more comfortable seating. The upholstered benches can be moved if needed but using the benches against the wall saves so much space that awkward dining rooms become amazing spaces.

  •  No dark furniture in front of window
When dark furniture is placed in front of a window the dark furniture becomes darker. The human eye will interpret anything that is in front of bright light as darker than it is in reality. For Example, when you have large sliding glass doors and a sofa floating in the middle of the room in front of slider, the fabric should be light so that the human eye will see the light fabric and therefore the space will be interpreted as light.

  •  Painting tips
Yes, you should always paint! If you don’t want much color, then re-paint the walls the same light color that was painted when you bought the home but change the finish. The same color in a satin finish rather than a flat finish will look amazing on the walls. Walls should be painted in an eggshell or satin finish to bounce light through the space. The only place to use flat paint is on the ceiling. The trim and doors should be painted in semi-gloss or gloss. Never paint walls flat or matte because these finishes absorb light, and they are more difficult to keep clean and nice.

  •  Velvet is the original performance fabric
In the design world velvet has been used throughout time for its ability to hold color and the fabric stands up to wear and tear. The thick weave makes it naturally stain resistant and crush proof. I think when people hear “velvet” they conjure images of bright crazy colors, but velvet does come in tans and cremes. It is difficult to hurt velvet and it is difficult for pets to snag it with their nails. Even though we live in Florida we can use velvet, but we use it in the lighter colors.
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