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Kitchen Craftsmen
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help for budget kitchen refurbishment
Comments (18)Hello Marcelle, I am an interior designer . I can tell you a simple inexpensive way to change the look of your kitchen. Looking at the photo you sent the different cabinet heights , and all the objects on the stove wall are very busy . Your modern house is wanting a cleaner , simple look. I would lower the small cabinets so that the top is at the same height as the others in the room. And put doors on , that will hide the clutter. Next I would do a tile backsplash above the stove , up to the same height. The whole kitchen will be pulled together by the continuous top line. There is a small light wood cabinet with baskets in the foreground . I would paint it white , or the same dark accent color of the cabinets you have. I don't think you would need to change the beams then , they would add interest and drama once everything else was subdued. Lisa...See MoreANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE WITH MY LONG DARK HALLWAY
Comments (5)Hi eclipse 66 I'm sorry to hear about your break in. This is quite tricky to picture as I wasn't certain which walls related to which, but I will give this a go. I wonder if your ceilings are around the 2.4mtr mark, as your doors suggest. Although you have many windows that are probably floor to ceiling, each room is sectioned off by this central corridor, so no real natural light gets down there, is that right? The little natural light that might filter through would be absorbed by the walls, and the colour you have on these walls would not be easily seen. Without. Sounding too mainstream here, I would absolutely paint an offwhite wall the entire corridor and each adjoining living area off that, with exception to your kitchen. All ceilings purest ceiling white along with the window frames and all internal doors. The walls in a satin finish to help the light reflect a little, and move around the wall without being too shiny. You haven't mentioned your floor? Try to keep it consistent in all the living areas including your hallway, and only carpet the bedrooms as these doors would be closed often. With the door filled hallway being a white gloss finish, and a white ceiling in a flat white, the walls will feel a little warmer in comparison, although still a white, perhaps something like a hog bristle 1/4 strength by dulux. In your main living room, and kitchen, paint the hog bristle in full strength, so it feels warmer, as these spaces flow onto each other, feeling larger as a whole. With your doors being so tall, (or the ceiling being comparably low), hang your window rods if any right at ceiling level, use a sheer curtain that even when partly closed let's light filter through, they dress the window but won't block light, for that install roller blinds that will roll right up exposing as much daylight as possible, and if privacy is a factor, the sheer will provide a buffer and still seem light filled. Even if these are never used, framing the window will place an emphasis on the window frame, and more importantly the light they provide, swell as an illusion of vertical space even without it. Aother suggestion for that hall is to use this principle to heighten the ceiling, visually, is to use lining boards vertically, or a wallpaper with a strip or vertical print. Drawing you eye upward toward the end, with a wallpaper, I'm thinking of one I've seen many times over, it's a white or cream background, with an image of birch trunks, the base or top of the trees arent revealed in the picture so it doesn't make the space feel from a low or high perspective. This would provide a creative distraction to the corridor, evoke a feeling as you have walking through a beautiful place, and is graphic but still very neutral. You can even paper you doors so when they're closed, the hallway won't feel so busy. I would remove carpet in the hall if you have any, because a warm closed in space without proper airflow, or light feels stuffy, and carpet absorbs sound and lint, where floorboards or hard surface atleasts has a sound walking down it, which amplifies noise and feels bigger again by comparison. Against this neutral, cohesive space, your furniture andpersonality pieces can really stand out, particularly the red. I would also use this in the kitchen somewhere, maybe a gingham check fabric on the kitchen window or just your accessories. The less is more theory also extends to colour, particularly in smaller busy spaces, minimize these elements, like the repeat of doors and architraves on your walls, by tying them in with single colour, and keep your decorations either in a theme or single colour hue. Scatter your colour around so visually you have somewhere your eye is drawn to around the space. If you get pictures I will know if I'm way off track, but if any of them resonate with you, then great. Good luck. Ml design...See MoreAwkward lounge nook
Comments (26)Well, for lack of a better idea, since you find it a drafty little space. I'm assuming the draft comes in on the right? Most of the necessities in the area are located of the left side; i.e. vent, thermostat, light switch etc. What I would do I think is caulk up the drafty spots, maybe even add sized poster board wrapped in batting I covered in a gorgeous fuscia with diagonal grosgrain ribbons every which way covered with a heavy velvet to be attached to the area above & below the window. (Of course remove the drapes that are hanging in there). This for the purpose of using it as a pin-it board for notes. Attach a table height board covered in felt to carry across the full width of the little room. Leaving just enough space for a comfortable little antique desk chair. Paint the back wall a bright cobalt blue, paint the ceiling a silvery pearlescent white. Find a way to attach a clip-on task lamp. And stretch a heavy duty enough wire across the top of the opening and complete it with a heavy doubled velvet drape with a drooping valance. Place a swag with fringe & jewels on it to be closed when not in use. Voila intrigue is yours!...See MorePrepping For Change in a Covid Lockdown
Comments (0)Donna White Interior Design Donna White has run her Interior Design practise from her Auckland home for many years. “Covid-19 and Level 4 lock down in NZ were a shock to me, and the whole world. I knew, in fact, as we all knew, the world was going to change forever. Interior Design for me is about meeting, listening and engaging with my clients. I love the discussions, the banter and slow immersion into their lives, and their homes. I get the best results with face to face communication not only with my clients, but with my suppliers and manufacturers. On the eve of Level 3 lockdown moving into Level 4 the next morning, I had a second meeting with a new client. Prior to confirming the meeting, we tentatively checked with each other on our health and possible contact with Covid-19 carriers. We walked through his home, discussed his brief in more detail, and even ended up at an antique shop in Parnell, Auckland. OMG, the good old days, because the next day and every day since, the restrictions of Level 4 Lockdown have been driven home. What Covid-19 is doing to me, is making me embrace social media, something I have tentatively embraced – have you seen my Instagram? Now I have time and no excuses to adapt the way I operate. Of course, I am not alone in this.I am learning how to handle the Covid-19 and the Level 4 Lockdown impact by talking to fellow creatives. In fact, three of my professional interior design friends and I have thought about how to add value to our clients. We launch a Zoom chat next week on ‘What you can do to improve your living spaces during Lockdown’. I have work to continue with pre-Level 4 Lockdown clients, both existing and brand new. What I am doing is thinking about what they need right now, and finding new ways to deliver from my little bubble. This is exciting, and positive. A looming question is how are we going to attract new business - all of us from Interior Designers to suppliers and manufacturers? Talking, and being kind will help, and E-interior design too.” Designworx Amanda Neill is the lead designer in Designworx, has run a busy Devonport Studio for many years and is now based in the Bay of Plenty, working from her Design Studio there. “The days leading up to lockdown was a race to try to complete as much as we could in amongst the uncertainty of what was to come. Once lockdown hit, there was almost a sigh of relief and a stillness that you just had to go with. Nowhere to be…. No time to be there…. We completed a client presentation over a 2 hour zoom meeting on the 2nd day of lockdown. It wasn’t an entirely new way of working for me as I had done a number of remote projects, but it was a new way of working with NZ clients. Everything then came to an abrupt halt as the industry closed its doors for all but essential projects. The first week was spent sorting out my studio and catching up on all the tasks that had put on the back burner. It has been a time for reflection and planning. The creative process has been flowing and my bubble has allowed me the headspace and time to think about how I can add value during this lockdown period. Working with 3 other design colleagues, we are going to run a series of webinars to help people with their interiors during lockdown and beyond. The key will be adapting to use technology to work within the industry. Visual graphics will be very important to help our clients visualise a project. Like the below example of a project in the Isle of Man that we completed remotely. Cuthbert Interiors Anna Cuthbert is the principle Interior Designer at Cuthbert Interiors a three-person team based in Parnell, Auckland “Currently all working from home, my team and I are continuing to source and specify projects. The hardest thing for us is that a couple of extremely large projects have been pushed out as our teams of builders and tradies are unable to go to site, and other projects are somewhat suspended in mid air. The unknown is a little scary but with technology we have been able to adapt and continue to liaise with each other, clients and suppliers. This confinement has given me time to work on my business, a luxury that I rarely have. It has also allowed me to catch up on technical webinars and learning which is neverending in this industry. I believe that that most important thing I can be doing for my business is connecting with people. As we are all becoming so much more acutely aware of our immediate surroundings, people are thinking about changes and improvements to their homes which they want to implement at the end of this lockdown time.. I’ve been using zoom to meet with clients and suppliers so that projects continue to progress and the economy wheel keeps turning. While our doors cannot physically remain open we are always here on the phone or computer. I will continue to specify NZ manufactured products wherever possible as our borders may take some time to open, however more importantly we have amazingly skilled craftsmen and women in this country and we need to support local businesses.” Michelle Bevin Design Michelle runs her design practise from her home based studio in Karaka “The Covid 19 Lockdown happened suddenly in NZ, and everything felt so surreal. I went from a week of booked colour consultation meetings, to clients cancelling. My new build clients and development work ceased. NZ owned Traillite Motorhomes where I have been the interior designer for the last 8 years temporarily closed the doors. Having the luxury of time I have been able to think about how to improve my business, how I can add value to my services, add value to clients projects, work on my new website, and keep conversations going with existing clients and suppliers. With technology it has been nice to catch up with fellow colleagues, continue my presence on social media, and be constantly inspired by all our local talented craftsman and suppliers. They are going to need our support on the other side of this....See Moresiriuskey
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