The Value of a Summer Spruce: Interior design tips to refresh our homes
Summer is a beautiful time to reevaluate and refresh the home. Spring cleanings can often be a time of resetting and purging, offering a clean slate to evaluate our homes come summer and assess any updates that can help add new life and vibrancy. Seasonal changes can help create a deeper connection to natural seasonal rhythms while offering space for change without requiring significant overhauls.
Here are a few of our studio's favorite ways to spruce up our homes for summer:
1. Fresh wallpaper.
Wallpaper can be a great way to create a new aesthetic with a single change. Introducing a bolder color or pattern can help to brighten and rejuvenate the space. Look to a favorite color, texture, or decorative item in the room as a starting point for selecting colors and patterns that will work harmoniously with the current design. Pulling themes from nature can help create a peaceful home environment while adding a sense of vibrancy and color.
2. Consider the kitchen.
While we often think of bedrooms and living rooms as areas where decor and materials are seasonally swapped, we often overlook the kitchen as a space that functions differently from season to season. It can also be an excellent time to reevaluate storage solutions or aesthetic updates that have been up for consideration. A fresh coat of paint or new cabinet hardware can help dramatically change a kitchen's look and feel.
3 Curate interior greenery.
With thoughtful curation, greenery can become a central aesthetic feature of home design. Plants that create a desired visual statement, like an indoor-friendly tree in a living room, and also suit the specific conditions of the room they're in, like moisture-loving plants in bathrooms, can help to ensure plants have lasting visual benefits and lifespans. Once plants and pots are selected, indoor landscapers assemble the arrangements and can continue maintaining plants over time to help sustain greenery.
4. Update window treatments.
Window treatments, while often overlooked, often significantly impact the look and feel of a home, providing a frame for both walls and windows and helping guide the eye throughout the home. New textures, colors, or patterns can help create balance or bring more focus to exterior views. Beyond updating the aesthetics of window treatments, opting to incorporate smart home technology can help capture the benefits of natural lighting and assist with temperature regulation.
5. Opt for art.
Hanging art on the walls or installing new pieces can be an excellent way to change the visual look of a home space. A large painting or sculpture can be an eye-catching focal point that reinvents a room. Gallery walls offer more variety and can create a more playful look or feel. Beyond artwork, favorite family photos can make for wonderful wall hangings. Working with a designer to select artwork or frames and assist with layout can help amplify the impact and intention behind these displays.
When looking to update the home space, sometimes a small update is all that is needed for a whole new look and feel. Taking the time each season to reevaluate, refresh, and rejuvenate the home can keep our interiors looking new and adapting to our changing needs throughout the year.
Sarah Barnard is a WELL and LEED accredited designer and creator of environments that support mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. She creates highly personalized, restorative spaces that are deeply connected to art and the preservation of the environment. An advocate for consciousness, inclusivity, and compassion in the creative process, Sarah has appeared in Architectural Digest, Elle Décor, Vogue, HGTV and many other publications. In 2017 Sarah was recognized as a "Ones to Watch" Scholar by the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID).
Traditional Walnut Kitchen in a Tudor Revival Estate
The kitchen windows frame a view of the Pacific Ocean at this Tudor revival estate. Bespoke cabinets in American Walnut are finished with white bronze hardware and paired with deep green granite counter tops. Hand made, and glazed artisan tile flooring expands into the conservatory. The soft angles of the American Walnut kitchen cabinets guide the entry to the adjoining dining room.
Sarah Barnard designed a one-of-a-kind hood in bronze to pair with a Bertazzoni Heritage range. It provides high performance and a traditional aesthetic, punctuated by an antique Japanese teapot. American Walnut cabinets, handmade ceramic backsplash tile, and dark green granite countertops make a hardworking kitchen elegant.
The original oak coffered ceiling was restored to complement the bespoke American Walnut kitchen cabinets. The center island is outfitted in dark green granite with satin nickel plumbing fixtures by Rohl. Three by six-inch backsplash tiles were handmade for the kitchen in an ash gloss glaze.
Sarah Barnard designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that are deeply connected to nature and art.
To learn more about Sarah Barnard Design, please visit www.SarahBarnard.com.
Photos by Steven Dewall
Elle Decor: Designers Reveal Their Favorite Kitchen Paint
Sarah shares one of her favorite paint colors for kitchens.
FARROW & BALL CABBAGE WHITE 269
"It's a delightful, versatile neutral that pairs brilliantly with blues, greens, and grays. The hint of green elicits thoughts of the first days of spring and the taste of fresh garden vegetables."
Kloss, Kesley. Designers Reveal Their Favorite Kitchen Paint Colors. Elle Décor. April 2016
http://www.elledecor.com/design-decorate/color/tips/g3027/best-kitchen-paint-colors/
Sarah Barnard designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that are deeply connected to nature and art.
To learn more about Sarah Barnard Design, please visit www.SarahBarnard.com.
Small Kitchen Design : Interior Strategies for Petite Spaces
Small kitchens have a terrible reputation for being cramped and undesirable. By improving your kitchen’s layout, you can maximize its performance and visual appeal. You can further enhance the function of your small kitchen by making smart design decisions when selecting appliances, surface materials, and architectural details.
Combining your appliances will optimize the total function of your kitchen when working with limited space. Take into consideration the Work Triangle of the refrigerator, sink, and stove. Make sure there are no obstructions, such as an island, and separate the household traffic from intersecting the triangle. Use your backsplash as storage with a stainless rod to hang kitchen utensils. Use appliances such as over range microwaves with built-in ventilation to save space. Reducing the number of required devices help your kitchen look less cramped.
Surface features along with architectural details add character and depth to your small space. When using the color white, whether it be on cabinetry or walls, it will reflect light giving the illusion of a larger area. Incorporating earth tones or low contrast color schemes on cabinets, backsplashes and flooring gives a textured look for added depth. Large windows can provide more natural light, which can allow your room to feel more spacious. A tip when choosing textures is always keeping in mind their aesthetic purpose. Consider using reflective materials as in stainless steel to expand the space visually.
Small kitchens can rise above their reputation of being cramped and cluttered when considering a few key elements. Optimizing the functionality to maximize your space will improve the layout as well as give it a starting point from which to work. Choosing the correct appliances to incorporate in the Work Triangle for your kitchen will help the layout take shape. Small kitchens can be impeccably designed making you almost forget the desire for a larger kitchen.
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Working out of her Los Angeles based studio, Barnard works on interior design projects big and small, from sprawling corporate headquarters to cozy beachfront cottages. With a contemporary approach that employs traditional vocabulary, she defines her range of style as “innovative yet time-honored.” Sarah is intrigued by clients who have unusual requests and lives for a challenge and has yet to meet a client she doesn't like. Sarah loves designing for anyone with pets! She adores people who are avid collectors of anything they fancy.
Sarah is often retained by clients who have never worked with an interior designer because they thought designers weren’t for them (until now). She is known for delivering, on time, all the time. Sarah is incredibly down to earth, and people love her for her frankness. Sarah and her staff will go above and beyond for a client: build a custom sunroom for the kitties, organize and alphabetize boxes in the garage, take the kids out shopping for their bathroom tiles…etc.
Sarah Barnard Design undertakes residential interior design projects, commercial spaces and, even single rooms. She can assist you with space planning, color counseling, kitchen and bath remodeling, historic preservation, and all aspects of green design and healthy living: organic, non-toxic, sustainable and fair trade materials, energy and resource conservation, air and water purification, natural furnishings and fabrics and much more!
Story by: Claudia Casas Interiors by: Sarah Barnard
Sarah Barnard designs healthy, happy, personalized spaces that are deeply connected to nature and art.
To learn more about Sarah Barnard Design, please visit www.SarahBarnard.com.
References:
Small Kitchens by Jeffrey Holloway in Residential Design & Build Volume 77, Issue 5, 2012
ASID Design Research Database: http://www.asid.org/content/research-resources