by Diane Plesset | Archive, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Colors and Decorating |
Express Yourself With Bathroom Artwork!
If you’re remodeling your home, or just freshening up, don’t overlook bathroom artwork! It doesn’t have to be an expensive original, but art can establish or complete a theme. It can be a personal expression of something you care about. Or it can be simply art for art’s sake: the colors and textures that complement, contrast, or add the pizzazz you want.
If you’re unsure about what art to use in the bathroom, it’s important to determine first who will see it. If it’s the master bathroom that only you will see, you can choose anything. But if it’s a bathroom that others will see, it’s best to err on the side of “politically correct,” unless you desire to start a conversation.
Years ago, an architect friend of mine redid two bathrooms in his home. He and his partner had been collecting autographed photos of famous people for years. Tom decided to get all of the 8×10 black and white pictures put into simple black frames, and he hung them next to each other on all four walls of the powder room. His bathroom artwork was a fantastic effect! But he once confided to me that when they would have a party, guests weren’t allowed to “camp out” in the bathroom while they looked at all of the photos. (more…)
by Diane Plesset | Archive, Accessibility, Function, Safety, Sustainability, Technology, Additions and New Homes, Appliances and Plumbing, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Building and Remodeling Plans, Colors and Decorating, Contractors, Countertops, Lighting and Electrical, Tile |
Improve An Ugly Basement With A Beautiful New Bathroom!
This is a home built in the 1950s, with the living room, formal dining room, kitchen, small bathroom, and bedrooms on the main floor. Only one person could occupy the bathroom at a time. For a family of three, that presented a scheduling problem. There wasn’t enough room to expand the existing bathroom, and the full basement was under-utilized,. The Homeowners wondered if it would be possible to have a new basement bathroom with a two-person shower that looked and felt luxurious. They had an idea, had done some research, and had talked with a couple of contractors, but they were still confused about what to do.
The best location for the new bathroom was below the main-floor bathroom, so plumbing supply, drain, and vent pipes could be extended.The unfinished basement had enough space to comply with ceiling height codes, but there was a large furnace duct that hung below the bottom of the joists. If left like this, it was going to look awkward. An HVAC specialist verified that new wider and shallower ducts would maintain the required air flow. Most pipes and wires wouldn’t be a problem, but the main drain had to be re-routed so it would comply with the slope required by the plumbing code. (more…)
by Diane Plesset | Archive, Additions and New Homes, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Colors and Decorating |
A Monochromatic Color Scheme Can Be Many Things — Except Boring!
People may think that a monochromatic color scheme is boring. After all, it’s only one color. Yes, it’s one color, but it includes the darkest shade to the lightest tint of the same hue. For a monochromatic color scheme to be effective, there should also be a contrast in texture, smooth to very rough. Every color in the world can be the basis for a monochromatic color scheme. Color psychology has been studied for hundreds of years.
Color Names Are Purely Marketing
Have you ever wondered how paint manufacturers come up with color names? It’s amazing! Most of the major manufacturers have in excess of 2,000 color options. There are very few colors that have the same names from one company to another. It’s nothing more than a marketing ploy. The names are supposed to make us feel positive about the color, and the manufacturer. No one in their right mind would select a color if its name was “Baby Poop”! Here’s a very short explanation about how professionals describe colors: (more…)
by Diane Plesset | Archive, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Colors and Decorating |
A Kitchen Focal Point Enhances Your Life
It’s much easier to concentrate on appearance in other rooms, because there isn’t the constraint of function and safety required by kitchens and bathrooms. Appearance is very important, and a kitchen focal point definitely adds visual interest. A focal point can be anything you want:
- The shape and style of an island or peninsula
- A beautiful view
- Light fixtures
- Interesting architectural feature (often a ceiling, or columns)
- Artwork
- Unique cabinetry
- Appealing backsplash
- An appliance (often a “professional” range and hood)
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by Diane Plesset | Archive, Accessibility, Function, Safety, Sustainability, Technology, Additions and New Homes, Appliances and Plumbing, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Building and Remodeling Plans, Cabinets, Colors and Decorating, Countertops, Flooring, Lighting and Electrical, Tile |
Your Kitchen Style Must Complement Your Home and You
Whether your home is traditional, transitional, Craftsman, contemporary, or some other style, your kitchen must have 
architectural integrity with your home. Why? Because your kitchen is the heart of your home, it needs to blend with and complement the surrounding rooms. You may like many different styles, but you chose the style of your home because it represents and fulfills you. With emphasis on ROI, it makes sense to have your kitchen style be consistent with your home, so you can sell it faster and for a higher price. Can you imagine how out of place the kitchen project featured in this tip would be in a traditional home — or as out of place as a cat at the Westminster Dog Show!
Generally speaking, the cabinets, countertops, backsplashes, and flooring determine your kitchen style. Accent lighting can also be a visual cue. Here are some characteristics of different architectural styles, and features that will help your kitchen style blend with your home, with links to show examples: (more…)
by Diane Plesset | Archive, Accessibility, Function, Safety, Sustainability, Technology, Additions and New Homes, Bathrooms and Kitchens, Colors and Decorating |
Warm Colors: Red, Orange, and Yellow
Warm colors at the outside edge of a rainbow
Warm colors and cool colors affect everything we do, because they’re part of light’s energy. We cannot see the colors of light rays, but we see colors because of light’s spectrum. When the atmosphere intervenes, becoming a prism, we can see light in the form of a rainbow. Rainbows are meaningful because they contain seven colors that evoke emotional responses: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This article, Part 1 of 2, will discuss only the warm colors.
During a heavy spring shower, traffic slowed to a crawl. “Smart drivers” was my second thought, after the usual thought (you get the drift!). But people weren’t slowing down for just the raindrops. They were slowing down to look at a very bright double rainbow! The colors were glorious! How do you feel when you see a rainbow?We use colors to describe our moods, “In the pink,” or “Green with envy,” or “feeling blue.” We say, “I’m seeing red” when we’re angry, or “He/she is yellow-bellied” when we think someone is cowardly.
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