Use Professional Design Tricks to Create Unforgettable Spaces

Everyone loves to visit model homes, design centers and showrooms. You get to see and touch and experience a home you probably don’t live in – but could!  (Who hasn’t envisioned having a gorgeous gourmet kitchen or a luxurious spa bathroom or an adorable themed children’s room?)  

While living in an ultra-designed home may not be on your horizon, you can use some designer “tricks of the trade” to create memorable – and welcoming – spaces in your home.

·                 -Timeless design can be updated or adapted to a growing family.  Beware of anything that’s too trendy. 

           -Make a statement with furnishings, art, and accessories.

·                 -Choose classic finishes and colors for anything permanent (i.e. flooring, wall paneling).

·       Regardless of its design, your home should reflect the family that lives there!

The Kitchen.  While today’s kitchens tend to be 

heavy on large stainless steel appliances, you can soften things up a bit with comfy banquettes, warm wood tables, soft, plush area rugs, and warmer colors like reds and oranges.  Keep a bowl of fruit and a basket of granola bars handy for starving children and guests.

The Family Room. Usually the heart of the home, the family room should be sturdy and comfortable, allowing roughhousing, sleep-overs, movie nights and daily life with equal aplomb. This room needs: comfortable sofas and chairs, squishy, fuzzy, fluffy pillows and throws, durable floor coverings, and lots of personal touches like family pix or kid art on the walls.

The Master Bedroom. Next to the family room, the master bedroom is probably the most common family hub. Kids, pets, laundry, broken toys, stacks of books, art projects… everything winds up here at some point. Yet this space can also be your oasis. Choose serene colors, nice fabrics, an upholstered headboard – anything that can help you find some peace and quiet, while everyone snuggles in your bed at once!

The Master Bath. The bathroom is a great way to give yourself some luxury. Elegant materials like marble and onyx, used in interesting ways, offset with cool blues and greens and interesting accessories, can make your master bath feel like it’s in a 4-star hotel.

The Kids’ Space. Children have obsessions – racecars, panda bears, comic books, outer space, Barbie dolls, singing & dancing, bugs, Harry Potter. Gather one or two special items that feed into their fixation – posters, pillows, lamps, area rugs – and balance it all with some neutrals so it doesn’t get too overwhelming.

The Nursery. Who says everything has to be drowning in pastels? Go for charm and elegance with sophisticated neutrals (grays and beiges), and add a little sparkle with crystal light fixtures and interesting wall art.