In San Miguel the lines are blurred between the inside and outside spaces, every house has a courtyard, large opening windows and doors and the lifestyle is casual and not fussy...
Below are several books I think every designer should have in their library. Many are awesome architecture books, some are classic interiors books while others offer basic knowledge of what a 'well designed' house should have. There's also historical books showing details and ways to identify periods...
Coromandel screen behind the sofa. It was the "Oh yeah, we're rich" item of choice for twenty years. Today they need to be used carefully so as not to harken back to those decadent "Bonfire of the Vanities" days...
My thoughts when outfitting a dining roomare to have the whole picture in mind, mood, suitability, usability, etc... I think a great chandelier and awesome chairs are primary. The chairs after all are surrounding the entire table...
Now that winter has arrived, we just want to get the hell outta town to a romantic, woodsy getaway. Lodges were originally only for crowned heads to hunt or robber-Baron's to fish...
The chandelier market is sooo flooded with zillions of shitty, overdone light fixtures, most of which are totally crap-ola that it's hard to find a good one, and then once you do, how do you determine if it's correct for your room?...
Create a special place in your home where you don't have the formulaic set-up of a sofa, two club-chairs and pair of fauteuils... A grouping of only four super-comfortable club chairs for the intimate times withgood friends...
The warmth and soft glow of brasshave come full circle, partially due to the popularity of late, mid-century interiors which now have moved from the cool chrome of the 60's to the bright, swanky brass of the 70's...
"Less Is More" means exactly that, "simplicity and clarity lead to good design;" the idea is you'll have greater impact by limiting the ensemble to the bare essentials needed to convey the message or idea. How to look at a room and decide what needs to go, or what's missing...
Movable glass door constructionis a quantum leap from 10 years ago. New, better-quality windows and doors have a very low "u-factor" which means they're almost equivalent to a solid wall when it comes to insulation and their easy-to-use hardware is mind-blowing...
It wasn't so long ago that designated 'laundry rooms' didn't exist in middle class homes. Laundry was done in dank, musty old basements, or out in the garage with the lawn-mower and bicycles as washing machines were considered leaky and wet. Your clothes deserve better...