Old world luxury home design, Clive Christian

Clive Christian is probably more well known for being the company that sells the world's most expensive bottle of perfume.

They also have a reputation for high end cabinetry based home interiors.

Most of their designs are based off of old world designs but done with a modern cabinetry layout scheme.

Something of note with most of their designs is that they incorporate three elements. Crystal chandeliers, lots of wood molding and mirrors. When you break that down these are relatively inexpensive materials available at any big box home improvement store.

Crown molding either stained or painted to match the walls is a fairly easy project even a beginner could tackle. Basic cabinets could benefit from added crown or base moldings stained to match. Front molding and finials are also readily available and could be added to the front of cabinet bases or open shelving. Crystal chandeliers can frequently be found at garage sales, flea markets and house fixture reuse stores. Walls can benefit from frames made of molding that are mounted to the wall. When doing so on a painted wall, painting the frames to match makes them look built in. The bedroom pictured could be mimicked using a love seat and two wardrobes. A used hotel furniture warehouse would be an idea source for a pair of matching wardrobes or armoires. The heavy use of mirrors is another features that is relatively easy to recreate. Standard unframed mirrors from a big box home improvement store could be installed on the wall and framed out with the finish moldings to blend into the wall.

The Victorian indoor pool, Sutro Baths San Francisco

The Sutro Baths were officially opened in 1896. Adolph Sutro, mayor of San Francisco created the project that was the largest indoor baths at that time.

The baths had seven pools, all but one fed with ocean salt water of varying temperatures. The building was styled similar to a large conservatory with intricate iron framework and hundreds of thousands of panes of crystal glass.

Sutro was a populist and wanted his facility to be accessible to all. Entrance included use of a suit, locker and of the amenities on site. The building had 500
changing booths.

The decor was ornate Victorian with Grecian influences. The building held a large population of palm trees, ferns and other plants.

The baths also had a theater, multiple restaurants, automata displays, mummies and many other strange and exotic items on display.

The baths were a marvel at their time. Recreating them today would be a monumental and expensive
task. This makes their creation in the late 1890's even more amazing.

Find out more about the Sutro Baths at these websites.
Historysmith.com
Western Neighborhoods Project
SutroBaths.com
1897 Edison Mfg. film of the baths

Crosley reproduction radios and phones

You might have seen some of Crosley's retro turntables at national retailers. Crosley has a much larger line of reproduction audio and telephone products.

All of their items have current technology inside including USB connections, CD recorders, XM radio depending on the model.

Items range from Victorian to 50's in style so finding items to fit your decor should be easy. Their products make more design sense when your trying to finish a room with a historical design or other decor where modern items just do not work.

The line of phones will work on any system that provides a normal phone jack. So VoIP with a router hooked into your home wiring or other systems that provide a normal land line connection at the end should work with their phones. With an adapter you could even use these phones with free services like Skype. Find out more and see more products at the Crosley website.

Home Theater Design

When I go off work and go home, the first thing I do is sitting down on the sofa and turning on TV in the living room. So the background wall of tv is important for a house. Some like hanging tv on the wall, while others like put TV on the TV cabinet.No matter how you put your TV, the adornments should cohere with the basic design.

Home Theater Inspiration is a new collection of inspirational pictures for those who want a home thearer in their home. Either way, the home theater is becoming increasingly popular. Equipped with the latest digital video and surround-sound audio technology, home theaters can transport you to another world without your ever having to leave the house. So this is the first set of home theater inpiration pictures.

Metallo Arts, artisan metal kitchen finishes

Metallo Arts creates custom metal finishes for kitchen cupboards and appliances. Pictured to the left is a finished dishwasher integrated into a custom kitchen. Metallo can also create artisan metal finishes for refrigerators.





Metallo's key business is in their unique range hoods. These old world styled metal hoods are certainly not your typical big box store fare.

Metallo has also begun a venture with French range manufacturer Delaubrac to do their magic on this high end range line.

Find out more at the Metallo website.

Paint Your Home

Color like a out wear of a house,a bright color let you feel young and dynamic, while a dark color make you calm and reasoned. People who paint their house according to their age, disposition,favor and so on.Here are some tips for home color decoration:

1.Chosen paint colors may look different in different lights, at daytime and at night. So, you may want to access the look of the room in different lights and according to the function of the room.

2.Colors can look darker or lighter over a large area depending on the colors of the surroundings and lighting in the room, so keep that in mind while choosing the right tint or shade of the color.

3.Dark and warm shades make rooms look smaller such as red, orange, yellow and even dark shades of navy blue while light and cool colors make the room look larger and more spacious such as light shades of blue, green and even violet. Best colors for small rooms are white and light and pale neutral colors.

4.For an open, spacious and airy look in a room with chair rails, paint the portion below the chair rail in a dark shade and the wall above it in a light shade.

Generally, ceilings are painted in pure white, off white and tinted white colors to make them appear high and make the room look open but if ceilings are high enough, one can use medium to dark colors to make the room look cozier as they tend to make the ceiling advance to the eyes of the viewer.

5.Since colors affect the mood, choose relaxing muted colors for bedrooms and stimulating colors for kitchen and dining room.

6.Taking furniture, window treatments and accessories of the room into consideration, determine the color scheme of the room.

7.Flooring color:From a sales perspective, neutral coloring flooring can add value to your home and make it seem more homely to prospective buyers. It is important also to consider the style: does the wood-grain finish correspond with other design features, or should you go for a fully colored laminate flooring?

Neutral colors (such as white, taupe and beige) give you a beautiful canvas to work upon when it comes to home décor. Limited use of colors and patterns help you to create a sophisticated environment along with interesting focal points in rooms, garden and living area. Natural fibers are available in these colors too and have quite different textures for experimenting. The variety of texture in neutral natural colors infuses peace and calm in the home environment.

The best office suite in DC.

The office suite pictured to the left is in the Old Executive Office Building, Washington, DC. It was the background of a recent interview with outgoing VP Dick Cheney. This piqued my interest in the location that served as the backdrop for the interview. The office used by the VP, is the former office of the Secretary of the Navy. The office suite has had multiple uses over the years and are currently the official offices of the VP.


If you look in the background of the first two images you will notice a solid black Belgian marble fireplace mantle. In an up close view it is heavily carved. The room still has the original, now restored highly detailed paint scheme and plaster work. The paint scheme features classical ornaments with nautical themes worked into the green and burgundy color palette. The large light fixtures are the original gasoliers that provided for both gas and electrical lighting.


The original state of the room shows a detailed wood floor patterned with multiple species of wood. This image also provides a good view of the ceiling detail work.




A close up of the restored wall motifs between the windows. The designs are extremely detailed but due to the color choices don't become busy or distracting when viewed in the room as a whole.




You can see in the image to the left the intense level of not only painting detail but plaster work detail, much of it finished in gold leaf. The office suite is a significant departure from the typical federal style light colored rooms of the White House and similar official locations. It is enough to make you consider running for office.

Find out more about this building at the Navy's history page.

Shower Enclosure, A Elegant and Useful Bathroom Accessories

When you design or renovate your bathroom you will want to add both saleability and desirability to your home while creating your own personalised bathroom retreat.

Shower Enclosures are the perfect embellishment for any bathroom. Shower Enclosures, not only make look bathrooms elegant, they are also one of the most useful accessories in a modern bathroom. Buying a shower enclosure is however, a tedious job particularly, if you are not sure what to look out for. It is something, which you would go for a replacement, perhaps in a decade. So, first make your choice on the quality of the glass, colour, texture, clarity and of course, your preferred Brand.

Modern bathrooms boast of bathroom shower stalls made up of durable material instead of or in addition to a bathtub. The materials range from tempered glass to acrylic fiberglass. Standard bathroom shower stalls are usually 3' x 3' but can be customized according to your bathroom size and choice and can even accommodate a sit down bench in the shower stall. Glass block or bathroom shower stall made from molded or etched glass is one of the bathroom renovation options that are easy to install and give an instant facelift to your regular bathroom.

A solid shower door or bathroom shower curtains in bold colors and patterns can add a personal touch to your bath space. For smaller bathrooms, choose a clear glass shower door or a shower curtain that can be pulled back, when shower is not in use and add space to the bath. Classic or custom shower curtain rods look elite. While folding doors look elegant but may take too much space in a small bathroom. In ancient Greece, there were pull cord showers with only cold water supply. In 80s, new technology saw an upsurge in the bathroom remodeling industry and the shower and bath sales saw a sharp rise.

The leading edge designs with walk-in showers rapidly replacing the typical bathroom showers make bathroom accessories easy to match with their polished chrome frame.Walk-In Showers are typically cumbersome free-standing units which come supplied with a specially designed shower tray which features a drying area and large shower section. While these Walk-In Showers might have an open access they certainly are minimal or chic.That is where Wet Room Walk In Shower Screens come into play. The latest Walk In shower trend, these contemporary and minimal shower screens are becoming more and more popular, especially in small bathrooms where space is a premium.

Choosing Bedroom Flooring

Bedroom is a private space for host relaxation and rest, the flooring is the important factor for the bedroom.The most important consideration while making the choice of the right type of flooring is the look and comfort. Here, it becomes of prime importance to ensure that the kind of flooring you are planning to go in for is not just attractive, but useful also. Just going by the look won't suffice your purpose. So, it is vital to apply your analytical skills and judge as to which option is the best for your bedroom.

If you do not have much time to take care of your floors, then go in for such floorings that don't require much of maintenance and are durable. It is always a good practice to do your part of homework about the flooring type you are planning to shop for. Your budget is also to be considered, because that will act as a major deciding factor. If your bedroom experiences high trafficking, then it is preferable to go in for laminate flooring.

My personal favourite for a bedroom (any room in fact) is laminate flooring. It is practical, clean, isn't too hard to lay, lasts for years and isn't that expensive. With laminate flooring you can change the colour of your walls as many times as you like without having to buy a new carpet to match. All good DIY stores sell laminate flooring. Checkout Home Base they have a wide range to choose from

Bedroom floors can also be carpeted. Carpeting is available in many different colors, patterns and different length loops or pile. You can find the carpet that feels the best under your feet and appeals to your senses most. Whether you choose a throw rug or wall-to-wall carpeting, take your shoes off and see what it feels like on your bare feet. Your feet will be feeling this carpeting on those cold mornings when you roll out of your nice warm bed.

Whichever bedroom flooring you choose, make sure that it makes you feel good. Don't choose flooring based on what others are doing, but choose the flooring for your bedroom based on what makes you feel warm and secure. Wood flooring, natural stone tile flooring, and carpeting are all great choices for any room, but research all of your options to see which one is best for your bedroom. Then you will have made a choice that will make your bedroom into the sanctuary that it should be!

Dark Style.....at JcPenney's

JcPenney recently came out with the Linden Street product line.

I was very surprised to find these kind of old world industrial style items at JcPenney. They are reasonably priced for the level of quality and right now most of the items in their Linden Street line are half price.

The items are available via the catalog, online and in stores, plus JcPenney is currently offering free shipping on orders over $25.

Discover the whole Linden Street line at JcPenney.

Kitchen Remodel & Additions

A new (remodeled) kitchen is an opportunity to introduce a dramatic, hand-crafted aesthetic into the heart of your home. Effective work triangles and modern appliances are important, but the secret to a stand-out kitchen's success is achieving a space that reflects honest materials and well-crafted detailing at every turn. This is where Rob Sanders Designer can help you with your renovation dreams. Achieving a stand-out kitchen project may require sourcing diverse craftspeople to undertake every aspect of the job – but this can be costly in terms of time and money. A more effective approach may be to choose a designer that offers skilled experience to every aspect of the project!



BEFORE

From Llamas Remodel

AFTER

From Llamas Remodel

Kitchen Remodel & Additions

A new (remodeled) kitchen is an opportunity to introduce a dramatic, hand-crafted aesthetic into the heart of your home. Effective work triangles and modern appliances are important, but the secret to a stand-out kitchen's success is achieving a space that reflects honest materials and well-crafted detailing at every turn. This is where Rob Sanders Designer can help you with your renovation dreams. Achieving a stand-out kitchen project may require sourcing diverse craftspeople to undertake every aspect of the job – but this can be costly in terms of time and money. A more effective approach may be to choose a designer that offers skilled experience to every aspect of the project!



BEFORE

From Llamas Remodel

AFTER

From Llamas Remodel

Book Review: The Queen Anne House, America's Victorian vernacular

I picked up this book over the summer, it now has a key spot on my reference shelves. The book covers 22 Queen Anne style Victorian homes in the U.S.

The examples in the book are quite different from many historical home books, the examples are more ornate and lean more toward the darker colors and more masculine styles of the period. The rooms are generally large with emphasis on woodwork and architectural details.

The photography in the book is of extremely good quality allowing for minor details within the rooms to be much easier to see. There is also plenty of historical information on construction, hardware and the evolution of home building during the era.