Custom Home Office
An open landing is often underutilized space in a home. Sometimes people add a rug and a chair to fill it, but often clients don’t take full advantage of its potential.
This empty space sits just outside a master bedroom and features a gorgeous window with a view. It was the perfect place for a small home office.
Make an Impact
We warmed up the space with a rug, soft lamps, drapery, and a big piece of art. Floating the desk in the center of the room allows our client to look out the window while she works. Because the desk chair will be seen from the stairwell, we made sure to pick something with a gorgeous back.
Overcoming Challenges
The angled ceiling in this home office made drapery a bit of a design challenge that we solved with these small posts rather than a straight rod. Using this design highlights the ceiling height without unnecessarily blocking light from the window.
Keep It Functional
We like to design homes for real life meaning that they are more than just pretty! This writing desk is the perfect home to a laptop or a place to sit down with a notebook and pen keeping all of our client’s home-office things in one place.
No Detail Too Small
All of the details were thought through down to the colors of the books on display. The final touches to a room (often art and accessories) really make a space feel thought out. In this home office, we chose simple and clean accessories.
See more of this space in our portfolio.
Do you have a space in your home that you aren’t sure how to use? We would love to help!
Finding Inspiration In Everything
One thing we’ve learned in our years working in interior design is that you never know when inspiration is going to hit! Designers are faced with a ton of design decisions every day, but everything outside of practical is up to our discretion and imagination. Inspiration is everywhere…but when faced with a new design challenge, where you find your inspiration can come as a surprise.
Sometimes finding inspiration is easy and as soon as you step into a space, it speaks to you. You know exactly what you want to do to create the client’s vision and start working on it right away. Other times, you are looking for a bit of a nudge and inspiration to push you in the right direction. Just like any creative process, interior design is talent catalyzed by inspiration. Designers live their lives with their heads on a swivel, taking in all that the world has to offer. Sure, we find inspiration in rooms other designers have created. However, often, it is in much smaller, less obvious things that inspire a room.
Here are a few of the more exciting ways we’ve found inspiration for spaces we designed.
Art:
Art is inspiring. Sometimes we walk by a piece of artwork and it sticks with us. Whether its how the colors work together, or the actual object itself has caught our attention. Either way, we end up bringing a piece of it home with us and work it into the spaces we are creating.
An example of a piece of art inspiring a whole room can be read about in our blog It all Started with a Piece of Art. A client had a few furniture pieces but wanted to make her space come together as an oasis where she and her family could relax. Working with pieces she already owned, the art led the way. The bold teal, subtle cream and gold inspired the color palette used in the painting was then carried out through the entire grey living room.
Using this piece as inspiration, we were able to create a living space perfect for relaxation.
A floor pattern:
Often when searching for inspiration, you just need to take a walk! You never know when inspiration will hit! The girls at Lisa Scheff Designs are always taking photos of things we see in our travels whether it is in our own neighborhood, or from halfway across the world.
In our travels, one of our favorite things to take photos of are our feet on beautiful floors we stumble upon. We always encourage people to keep their chin up, but sometimes the most beautiful things are under our feet. If you want to be inspired, just look down! Flooring is often an outlet of expression in a room- this is especially true in old buildings.
Often times, it is floors that bring excitement to a space through the geometric shapes, varying colors, and the different textures used. If you are ever looking for a little inspiration, travel around with your head down.
Our Fabric Library:
Our fabric library is an entire room dedicated to all of the colors, patterns, and textures you could ever imagine. Every Lisa Scheff Designs project starts in the fabric library! We head up there with room plans in hand and
spend hours picking out everything that speaks to us. We collect everything we like and spread it out on our work table. We match, we pair, we toss, we grab more, and we keep going with this process until the space is complete.
Every part of the clients space comes together in our fabric room, from floors to ceilings, walls to drapery, sofas and pillows. It is a room full of endless inspiration, and one of a designers favorite places to be! It is all the pieces to the puzzle that we are putting together when creating a clients dream space.
Bonus: High Point Market!
High Point Market is where we go to see all of the latest and greatest in the design world. We spend days wandering showrooms, taking photos, and planning out our client’s spaces for them. It never fails, we always leave High Point feeling so inspired and ready to create!
If you are looking for a little help finding some inspiration for a space in your home, give us a call! We would love to help.
Room Refresh in 2019!
Happy New Year!
2018 brought a lot of great things! It was a busy year here at Lisa Scheff Designs, and for that we are thankful. We are lucky to have a loyal and growing client base and look forward to what 2019 brings! New trends, new rooms, and new challenges are what we are looking forward too!
At Lisa Scheff Designs, we love the Holiday season as much as everyone else! The decorations, the desserts, and the time spent with family and friends around the table. While we love the season and all the joy and love that comes along with it, we would be lying if we didn’t mention that we are also pretty excited when the hustle and bustle are finally over. January 2nd, all our routines fall back into place, and life re-enters its normal pace. We all head back to work, turn our auto-replies off, and settle in for the winter months.
January 2 is also the first test day for those New Years Resolutions. Whether it’s cutting your hair, shedding a few pounds, or even taking steps to refresh one of the spaces in your home with a unique facelift. You may have noticed after hosting this holiday season that your home could use a bit of a refresh. There is nothing better than starting a new year with a new look, and that includes updating one of your favorite spaces! You know what they say: New year, new room! After all, what is more, important than creating a space that you and your family love to come home to?
If your resolution includes some new furniture, a paint refresh, and you’re dreaming of a brand new space to ring in 2019, we are here to share some inspiration for you! This is one of the latest living rooms that we completed, and we love it so much, we are sharing it as inspiration for all your New Years Resolutions. It is simple, inviting, and stunning. It is the kind of space that makes you want to come home, kick your shoes off and relax in this sun-drenched room, curled up with a good book. Or chatting with friends over a game of cards.
So what do you think? Are you ready for a room refresh? If so, give us a call!
Highpoint Market Trends | Fall 2018
While you are relaxing on your Thanksgiving evening, dosing in and out of that turkey induced nap, and plotting your Black Friday plan of attack, it is the perfect time for us to share what design trends have recently popped up on our radar!
Twice a year, the Lisa Scheff team takes a trip to High Point Market-the largest furniture and design market. On these trips we seek out the latest trends and get inspired by other companies and designers. The previous spring market sent us home with our creative juices overflowing. This Fall trip was all of that and then some! We love walking through High Point, head on a swivel, taking it all in. We keep our client’s projects in mind, look for the perfect pieces to complete the vision, and take ideas home to share with all of you!
Here are three of the top trends we spotted throughout the entire market, and have big plans for in 2019!
Trend | Shades of Grey:
Every time we visit High Point, we notice the colors that continuously pop up in each display, and we take note. Last year, I remember writing about the colors dark green and blush being used in almost every display. But this year those colors were nowhere to be seen. That just goes to show that trending colors come and go just as quickly as the seasons (literally).
However, this market was different. High Point Fall 2018 was all about shades of gray. To be honest, we have always had a soft spot for grey, so we were happy to see this! Grey is classic, timeless, and trend-proof. From moody and stormy to soft and delicate, grey is one of the most versatile colors in our palette. We saw it on couches, in blankets, artwork, lamps, and even rugs-and we loved all of it!
Trend | Bold Geometrical Patterns:
While we saw the safe grey all over High Point, we also saw the use of bold geometric patterns as accent pieces. Benches, lamps, wallpaper, credenzas, you name it! These patterns, when used correctly, give a room personality and add an element of surprise. Plus, when you have a room that needs a little bit of contrast piece with a geometric design is the way to go.
The clean lines and simple color palettes recede into the background but provide the perfect visual texture in any room. We are all about this trend, when used correctly. When it comes to adding geometric patterns, scale is everything. Too much of a good thing can be dizzying, depending on the size of the space. Interested in incorporating a piece like this into your home? We can help!
Trend | Making A Statement:
We are big fans of using a statement piece in a room. Something that draws the eye and keeps the space moving and lively. A statement piece is the perfect middle ground between bold patterns and neutral tones. Not too much, not too little-always just enough.
Statement pieces provide a functional wow-factor, remain timeless and add some eye-catching excitement to the room. These are a great way to let your style really shine through in the room you are designing. When it comes to planning the inside of your home we always suggest showing your personality through parts of the design.
At High Point Market this year, we saw great ways to make a bold statement through a single piece of furniture. There were side tables with eye catching patters, chairs with shiny, new age design, and benches that look like metal weave! We are excited to incorporate some of these ideas into our designs!
If you are considering treating yourself to a room renovation this holiday season, perhaps these trends will persuade you to do just that. And if you need help incorporating these grays, geometric accents, or statement piece trends into your home, give us a call! We are here to help with all of your design and inspiration needs. Contact Us Today!
Accent Wall
An accent wall, also referred to as a feature wall, is a wall that stands out and is different from the rest of the walls in the room. You can create an accent wall with the use of different paint colors or even a completely different material. There are decorative paint techniques or faux finishes, wallpaper, wall murals, decorative wood paneling, and stone or tile. Check out one of our kitchen renovations where we incorporated a wallpaper accent wall into the built-in eating area.
So what are some reasons you might be inclined to create an accent wall in your home? They can be used to break up a large room, highlight or emphasize a unique architectural piece, make a room appear larger to the eye, or even be used as an alternative to trying to fill the wall space with art or photos.
Now with any bold design choice there are always important things to know and be mindful of.
Choosing the Right Color
Warm colors tend to make a room appear smaller as they pull the eye towards the wall where as cool colors pull away. So say you have a smaller or narrower bedroom and you want an accent wall behind the head of the bed, you might consider choosing a cooler color (blue, green, purple) to widen or elongate the room.
Balanced Transition
While white walls on the side of your accent wall can be bold and beautiful, they can also go the route of being to stark bright or harsh on the eyes. Try to balance of the transition of colors/material by using neutral colors on the side such as grey, beige, greige.
Have a wall in your house you can see getting transformed into a unique accent wall? Struggling to decide what paint or material would be the best choice? We’d love to help. Call us today to book your in-home consultation.
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Autumn Design Trends | MA Interior Design
Today’s drop in temperature really confirmed it – autumn is here! It is the time of year when New England really shows its true colors. Oranges, reds, and yellows come together in perfect harmony. The colors change on the trees and it becomes time for pumpkin spice everything, bonfires, hot apple cider, and sweaters. We, at Lisa Scheff Designs, really love fall decor and a lot of the design trends we are seeing this fall. As we head into Highpoint Market in the coming weeks, we are trying to do our research on what we may see there in trends.
Dark Green & Blush
We mentioned it in a previous blog post, but it is worth mentioning again- dark green is so in right now. Making a comeback from the 80-90s, dark green was all over High Point Market in the spring and it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. It is a perfect statement color, when you are looking to make a bold statement, simply. It is dark, it is moody and it gives a feeling of royalty.
Another color we are keeping an eye on is blush. We see it everywhere but are wary. Pink is a color that comes and goes as often and as quickly as the seasons change. We love using this color as an accessory or a pillow because these can be easily replaced next time blush goes by the wayside. We are not entirely sold on painting a wall, cabinets or tiling a bathroom in this color.
Velvet
Now, we’ve always loved velvet. Velvet is popular right now in both fashion and interiors (wake us up when Juicy Couture suits are back in style). Velvet is a great way to make a bold statement with both color and texture. It can be used in many different ways around a room.You could go big with a velvet couch drenched in luxurious color, or you could go small and incorporate a velvet poof in the center of your room. Velvet drapery is also an interesting way to add subtle excitement to any room. Let’s be honest, velvet is also a great way to instantly add a luxurious vibe to your interior. It looks great and its oh-so-soft. Who wouldn’t love snuggling up with a velvet pillow and their pumpkin spice latte.
Nailhead
Using nailheads on upholstered furniture is nothing new and we do it often at Lisa Scheff. Nailheads are a great way to add an extra design element to your upholstered furniture. Often we will outline the interesting shapes of a chair with a nailhead, but you can take it one step further and add a design to a piece that doesn’t already exist. We have also put nailheads on mirrors, tables, an ottoman, even a desk!
Have we piqued your interested? If you need help incorporating any of these trends into your home, give us a call! We are here to help with all of your design and inspiration needs.
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Custom Room Design
Find Your Inspiration
Custom room design starts with a point of inspiration – that could be a piece of art, a fabric, a rug, etc. Some projects begin with inspiration from something already in a client’s home. We’ve built off of family heirlooms, a favorite blanket, a wall color already in the room, a piece of art and so much more. Other times we are beginning from a completely blank slate in which case the first thing to do is find one piece that the client loves and build from there.
Build From the Ground Up
We often tell clients to build from the ground up building from a rug selection and moving from there.
This Room is no different! We fell in love with this blue and white geometric rug. Isn’t it beautiful with a dark hardwood floor? It has a great blend of geometric design and lots of texture which will be great for hiding those parts of everyday life like dog hair or toddler snacks in a family room. We say it often, good design takes into consideration the family’s lifestyle as well as desired aesthetic.
Pick your Big Pieces
The next step in custom design is to pick your big pieces – the sofa, the chairs, the tables. We will specify their finishes later, but first we need to fall in love with their feel. This family room needs a comfy sofa, chairs, cocktail table or ottoman and side table. This ottoman/cocktail table is a great solution because it serves a dual purpose with a soft place to put your feet, but also a center tray for food.
Design your Palette
Using the inspiration point, fabrics begin to layer in more color, texture and pattern to create the room scene. Here we have a color and fabric board beginning to pull together that look. Where these fabrics will live is yet to be determined. The room will need a drapery fabric, pillows on the sofa, a chair fabric, a sofa fabric, and a fabric for the ottoman. Things too consider in making that placement is durability, comfort level and how busy or bold a pattern feels.
Help us finish the room. Which fabric would you make the pillow? Drapery? Sofa? Chair? Ottoman? We would love to hear your feedback.
Want more interior design inspiration and tips? Subscribe to the Lisa Scheff Designs Newsletter.
Want more interior design inspiration and tips? Subscribe to the Lisa Scheff Designs Newsletter.
So many rugs, so little time. Let us help!
Rugs are one of the items in a room that have the power tie together a cohesive design or look very out of place and mismatched. And I think we can all agree that not many things ruin a room like an old dingy rug does. But, choosing the right rug can be very difficult! Between the color and pattern options, the material choices, the manufacturing styles, and different weaves,navigating the rug world can be very intimidating. But let us help! In this blog we’ll break down our three most popular rug manufacturer options for indoor rugs, what their features are and where they land on the price point scale.
Hand-Knotted Rugs:
Hand knotted rugs are the cream of the crop in the rug world. This style rug is the most labor intensive out of all the rug manufacturing processes. Each hand knotted rug is constructed by specially-trained artisans who work meticulously off a rug map. The artisan ties individual knots to build the rugs design, one row at a time! Considering each artisan can tie about 10,000 knots per day, you can imagine how long it takes to create an entire rug. Especially if it is a large one!
Because of the intense labor, hand-knotted rugs tend to be more expensive than any other manufacturing technique.
While hand-knotted rugs do take much longer to manufacture, they also last upwards of 20 years. It is a labor of love that lasts!
Here are a couple of ways to tell if your rug is hand knotted: The fringe is tied on the ends as part of the construction of the rug and not glued on after the fact. In hand-knotted rugs there is often uneven knots that are visible on the back of the rug, in the pattern that is visible on the front.
Hand-Tufted Rugs:
Hand-tufted rugs require individual tufts of yarn to be punched through a pre-made, patterned backing with a special tufting gun. Picture a Lite-Brite! Once complete, the hand-tufted rugs often have a canvas backing glued on to hold the knots in place.
Because the hand-tufting process is less labor intense, these rugs have a much shorter lead time and cost a fraction of the price while looking similar to it’s hand-knotted counterpart. Hand-tufted rugs can have a lifespan of 10 or more years and do well in high traffic areas.
How to tell if your rug is hand-tufted: Often, hand-tufted rugs have a canvas backing glued on to hold the knots in place.
Machine Made Rugs:
Machine made rugs are often made on a power loom operated by a machine or computer in order to produce them quickly. Because they are made on a machine, these rugs can be produced in large quantities, several color combinations, and with very complex designs. Machine made rugs can be completed in hours, rather than the months or years it takes to complete a hand-knotted rug.
Machine made rugs are good for high traffic areas. Not only because they have a long life span, but because they are bought at a much lower price point and easy to replace.
These rugs have the quickest turnaround time and are often much less expensive than both hand-knotted and hand-tufted.
How to tell if your rug is machine made: These rugs have uniform stitching visible on the back (handmade rugs show a more irregular construction). In addition, often the fringe is glued on, rather than being a part of the rugs foundation.
While there are other rug manufacturing methods, these three are our most popular and often the only ones considered in our projects at Lisa Scheff Designs. Are you looking to redo a living room that needs a beautiful rug that Fido can’t ruin? Give us a call!
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Glamorous Bedroom Design
A glamorous bedroom design starts with bold colors and finishes with metallic details. Deep purple walls ground this space providing contrast to the soft cream carpeting.
The skinny windows behind the bed did not scream “glamorous,” which is why we employed an optical illusion. We trick the eye by hanging drapery wider than the window, and only covering the window frame to create the illusion that the windows are large and fill the wall.
The showstopper in this room is the gold leaf flower wall art. A photo doesn’t do this piece justice – gold foiled sculpture mounted on lined boards and placed in acrylic shadow boxes. Yes please! Plus the plush and comfy swivel chairs provide a place to sit and enjoy this one of a kind piece.
No detail was overlooked in this space. Using French natural nailheads, a Greek Key pattern adorns the side of the upholstered headboard. We like to think of nailhead as the jewelry of a room.
That Greek Key pattern is mimicked in the benches at the foot of the bed. The gold base of the benches add to the glamorous bedroom design. These benches serve as a functional foot-board where you can sit to put on shoes or your favorite pup can curl up on at night.
A lighted nightstand highlights the gold decor pieces, and a beautiful gold bedside lamp amps up the glamour. Short drapery rods allowed us to dress the windows without distracting from the upholstered headboard with a rod that spanned the length of the room.
Rich fabrics used for the duvet and pillows bring the glamour home. Gold and grey play beautifully off the deep purple walls.
Would you like to call a room like this home? Call us today to book a consultation and we will help you bring glamour into your bedroom!
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Master Bedroom Design – Creating Your Oasis
Creating Your Oasis
After a long day, every couple needs a place to retreat from the world and recharge. A well designed master bedroom gives you that escape. See how we took this master bedroom design and turned it into a retreat for this client.
Whether your room is expansive, like the one we are showing here, or only has room for a bed and a two night stands, you can make it your oasis.
Master Bedroom Design
To begin, let’s talk about the bed. Your bedding doesn’t need to be overdone to be beautiful. Less is more when it comes to pillows in a master bedroom design. This neutral palette is soothing which adds to our relaxing oasis vibe.
Because this room was long and narrow, we chose to place the bed in front of a window. To do this effectively, it was important that our headboard had holes in it to allow light to still enter while defining the bed separate from the windows.
Pop that Purple and Gold
For the most part, we focused on neutral colors for this master bedroom design. We like the adaptability of a neutral palette; you can add a pop of color, and change that pop over time as trends change.
We added a pop of purple and gold in this space – and only in a few key places.
Sitting Area Retreat
This master bedroom’s expansive size allowed us to also introduce a small sitting area.
The tailored sofa and swivel chairs provide a place to unwind at the end of the day with a good book, conversation, or a movie.
Notice the continuation of our pops of gold on the cocktail table and in the lamp tables.
The only thing we’re missing is a piece of art to go over the sofa. Often client’s choose to search for their own art, or hang family photos after our projects are complete.
Television Console and Dresser
Because this sitting area is in a bedroom, and not the living room, our TV console serves dual purpose. It is both a dresser and a TV console. The drawers provide a place to store clothes, but its height allow us to place a TV on it for easy viewing.
Notice the reintroduction of purple and gold tying our pop throughout the space.
