The Value and Variety of Good Lighting Effects in Interior Design

We paint with pigments but we can also paint with light. We can actually color a space or surface with a color of light or we can illuminate a color of a space or surface with the addition of light. Accenting items or areas in a space or exterior environment is an exciting element of interior or exterior design. We know that the fact that light exists in a space allows us to visually “read” that space. It makes me think though of the clever Kohler ad with the blind guy at a party coming back to his date from the restroom and exclaiming something like “Wait ‘til you see that bathroom!” Not the manner that most people experience a room – but like the last blog about lavender…there are many senses that comprise the effective or ineffective design of a room.
So lighting in this instance is of key importance. With short days of winter still ahead, the nights are longer and the need for artificial light is not just a design element, it is a functional requirement for utilizing or experiencing the space. Differently from ambient daylight however, artificial light offers many opportunities to manipulate, accent and create special effects.
Shadow and light the two opposing forces in the drama of lighting. The absence and the presence, the voids and depths versus the illuminations, accents and “pops” all contribute to the balance and effectiveness of the area’s influence. It gives us the opportunity to enhance, accent, draw attention to, and remove from the focus.
Inside, bring forward the things to emphasize and send back to the recesses of light or the lack thereof those that you choose not to place in importance. Accent a painting on a wall with a spotlight. Cast an ambient glow around the room from a translucent lampshade. Multiple light sources are often the best. They add variety, interest and balance to a scene.
Some light sources are decidedly decorative and they may or may not contribute greatly to the scene. Decorative fixtures can be chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps, wall sconces, or surface mounted ceiling fixtures. They are selected not just for the illumination that they provide, but for their design influence in the scheme. How they play a part in the illumination of the space is another story – and variable.
People are best viewed from a light source at the face level rather than down from recessed or track lights in the ceiling, which is why table lamps are an asset when creating a setting in which people gather. Social settings differ from display settings. Lighting from above as an exclusive source can be limiting if not ineffective. The shadows cast are not attractive – rather, they can be ghoulish. It’s like the effects of a flashlight either from above or below on your face in a mirror – test this – you will never want to be on a date sitting beneath a light source glowing down from over your table. Scary.
To set the stage of an interior, determine where you want the viewer to go -where you want the destination of the “read” of the space to be. There are these accent spots – points of interest…and then the harmony of the entire area takes shape. Find the attractive features in various parts of the room…a plant in the corner might be lit from beneath to cast shadows on the wall – an inexpensive and dramatic effect. Buy an “up” light at Home Depot or Lowes – a local lighting store might have a greater price range and variety of lamping types and fixture styles. Also, a spot direct down onto a plant or sculpture on a pedestal or vase on a table – the drama of highlighting amidst the otherwise low-light is powerful.
Lighting creates mood, alters perception, and has subliminal as well as obvious effects. Use it to change the feel of a space. You want someone to linger, soften the light – you want them on edge and ready to leave – up the lighting to an unpleasant range. Restaurants and residential dining rooms are perfect examples of soft lighting providing a relaxed atmosphere – in those same rooms where the light levels are higher, notice the less relaxed sensation that is experienced. Likewise, if you want someone to feel welcome, soften the light rather than blasting it.
Light up you life with really good light!

Casita soft and soothing www.casitadecolorestucson.com

Sheer-shaded chandeliers and wall wash spots

Clean Smells Good and Lavender is a Wonderful Scent

Refresh with elizabethW’s lovely lavender line of products for your interior!

Interior Design is about all the senses. It’s not just about how a scene looks. Sure, the pleasing appearance is most of what we consider when thinking about interior design, yet what about the sounds, the smell, and the tactile elements? The environments in which we live work and play involve our perceptions based upon what we see, the acoustics of a space, the scents experienced and how it feels when we touch certain surfaces.
As I enter a space I always notice the smell. For better or worse it’s a key feature to what I am to expect and what I am about to experience. The delicious smells of a fresh bakery make me want to indulge in a delectable pastry. The stale grease permeation of a less than responsible eating establishment makes me want to leave and make an alternate selection. The blends of fragrances I experience as I pass by a perfume department entice me to buy a new scent. The chemical assault of a nail salon makes me not want their services. And as I am in a variety of people’s homes during the course of my consultations, homes say a lot about the inhabitants. Shame on me – as I am guilty of having my pets define that sensory experience on more than one occasion in my abode!
Yes, pet odors are unacceptable. Yet there are other unidentified odors that define a home in a negative fashion – often a combination. Residual cooking odors, smoking, and unclean fabrics emit odors.
So first and foremost – CLEAN. Pet problems – remove tainted items, use warm soapy water extraction when possible on carpets, upholstery that cannot be removed or replaced (See Blog November 5, 2010). Clean litter boxes, and flooring around them. Wash linens and draperies. Open the windows and air it all out!
When it’s all clean, you can add your favorite fragrance. I’ve said before this is NOT to mask odors and is only advised after all is fresh and clean. We have found a wonderful collection from the elizabethW line. What turns a house into your home? It’s your personal touches. As intimate as the perfume you wear, with the right scent, you can easily impart your personality into your home.

Light, refreshing Room Sprays, Perfume Candles, and Room Diffusers are all great delivery systems for your scent. And I love what we’ve found with elizabethW – offering much more. Using only the finest silks and linens, as well as sensual, aromatic oils and flowers, they design and craft unique gifts such as drawer and pillow liners, sachets for closets or drawers, and an expanding collection of tissue box covers and roll tissue bags filled with fragrant lavender buds – all handcrafted in their San Francisco workshop. We also love their big spray bottles of linen water – the naturally fresh lavender sprayed on your bed linens and upholstery refresh with an aromatically sensuous scent that is sure to enhance the enjoyment of your home.
Start the NEW YEAR crisp and clean with the natural aromatic scent of lavender! Here’s to a fresh 2012!
See more! http://www.patriciandesign.com/retail/product_description.php?product_ID=685

Posted On January 2, 2012 By pattisays In design, design trends, DIY design /

Festive Floral Arrangements Are Just Moments Away

Punch up your Pink Carnations with holiday greenery!

I wish that I was better organized and in my “new” approach to that end, I will be better organized in the coming year. But for now, suffice it to say I am slammed as usual preparing for Christmas! Having just returned from a tropical escape on the 12th and hitting the ground running to get caught-up at work, receiving a dear friend as a house guest as he visits for a few days on business, I am running out of time.
I have given myself a “bye” to NOT put up a tree this year, allowing the two wreaths on the front doors to honor the season, but inside it is not beginning to look a lot like Christmas. However, yesterday my dear husband arrived with a bouquet of pink carnations.
I now have pink carnations – not the bright bold poinsettia plants, the noche buenos of the Christmas season, but pink carnations. So what does one do? Get creative. My husband loves carnations. They are a very happy flower, sturdy and durable, long-lasting and come in a variety of colors and sizes. They might not say “Christmas” at first glance – but what does are the pine branches that grow in our yard. We have fragrant mugo pine, spruce and juniper. We even have a couple of holly bushes and the photinia that I enjoy using in every season.
So my point here is that if you venture outside, you might have just the right filler needed to create the perfect holiday centerpiece! If you don’t have a yard from which to harvest these treasures, go to your local Christmas tree lot and ask for scraps – for free or at small cost. Maybe approach a family buying their tree and ask if you could snip some of the lower branches – something most people end up doing when they go home in order to make room for the skirt and presents.
Don’t panic, festive floral arrangements are just moments away.

Posted On December 18, 2011 By pattisays In design, design trends, DIY design, seasonal interior design /

Caribbean Rum, Words, and Relaxation

Cruzan island rum with limes and mango – cheers!

As the white dots of cyber snow float across my wordpress screen, I realize that it’s telling me that its winter. Unlike real snow however, it does not accumulate lest it make it impossible to write the text necessary to post this blog. So rather, it dissipates as it cycles – nice. But it does conjure up cold and that’s when I long for the warmth of southern climes.
What says vacation…relaxation – some might say iced tea and a hammock -sounds awfully nice. As a foodie and partier I like the booze and food of the local environment to accompany my activities. The context of it all – like “when in Rome”…it’s blue agave tequila in Mexico and it’s sugar cane RUM in the islands and in this case, the US Virgin Islands. Rum punch or, for me, just rum and water – with a squeeze of lime if available…it’s much of the history of the Caribbean. Here our very own St. Croix “Cruzan” rum – along with that lime and a couple of ripe juicy mangoes on the side – just for good measure- and it certainly makes a gorgeously colorful photo op!
And BTW, that’s CARIB-BEEEEEAN – stressing the EEEEEEE! Yes, the Carib (Care-ib) Indians…have you read about them? Try Mitchner – a lengthy beach read. It was not a British affectation to start the Carib (accent on the rib)ean falling off the end. Actually, even in the BVI, back in the day, everyone clearly said Carib-beeean with that lovely accent.
No, at some point, it was decided by some to make the change. In the case of the Caribbean, was it Carnival Cruise Line and/or some marketing upstart behind some “new” pronunciation campaign to design the “new” image of the islands? Hmmm…thought it sounded British?! ”You say tomato and I say tomatto” as the song goes!
When you listen to Bob – Marley, that is – need I say? He sang and his recordings still sing today “In the heart of the Caribbeeeeean. ” He sang it loudly and clearly with his magnificent, melodic and authentic Jamaican accent – old pirates! Weren’t they listening?
So you go to the sun…feel the balmy breeze – “Christmas wind” – greet you as you climb into a cab at the airport and the question that has been puzzling you for some time in advance of this trip comes out…and you ask the driver “Down here do you say Ca-RIB -ean or do you say Caribbeeean”? To which he answers “We say West Indies.” Ha – what a great answer – to keep above the fray!
Perhaps you’ll put on some music and relax with your mind adrift – just design your holiday getaway around what is fun for you. Cheers!

Posted On December 14, 2011 By pattisays In context of interior design, food and interior design, seasonal interior design, travel and design /

Rewarding Creativity – Positively Reinforced With Prosperity.

Amphibious shoes!

Some funny things land in one’s email. This came with a collection of fantastically creative shoe designs. I doubted the validity of several including this one so I Googled it. And sure enough, there is a site – but no guarantee that they really sell shoes – http://www.hightideheels.be/Leer.html .
Design – this seems to be the perfect project assignment. Fashion to the extreme – but here, in this instance, it’s a novel thought…from work to play – or a seamless transition…if you live by the water. So let’s try for office to hiking boots where the fine finish of leather is replicated with weather-proof materials suitable for the outdoors! Or bicycle shoes with removable heels – ride to work and stick on the heels when you get there! “Think outside the box” the instructor will council his students. You can hear him now…hearken back to those days in class when you had to design a box to house a raw egg that you could successfully drop from 5 stories up and NOT break the egg. Yes, those were the days…
Clothing – if form follows function – is to cover, provide protection, and to make a “statement.” To make that “statement,” FASHION enters the picture. The function is often a spoof as well as the form – but what fun!
And then there’s The Emperor’s New Clothes – that timeless tale told by Hans Christian Anderson that exposes the farce and illuminates the innocent observation of the child who won’t buy into the idea. But we buy it season after season – the fashion industry that must continue to create in order that we make new, want new, further the industry and the economics that surround it and trickle down from it. It’s a major element of our free-market system – of our capitalistic society. It’s a beautiful thing – creativity – positively reinforced with recognition and perhaps even prosperity.
It’s in the eye of the beholder and the one with the largest pocketbook as to whether honesty in design is perpetuated or merely the idea. Whether real or shock value, humor, farce or frivolity – fashion’s validity is assessed in the present and in the future for generations. From the fashion design of hair styles and clothing, furnishings and decorative accessories to vehicles, industrial design, and architecture- all constantly in motion and time usually validates or not the true merit of that design.

Posted On December 7, 2011 By pattisays In design, fashion and design /

Designed for Adventure or a Study in Self-Introspection

Usually I think of a beach read as something through which to escape – designed for adventure, intrigue, romance…but by stark contrast, I find myself immersed in Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. My thinking now is that “what better time to “sharpen the saw” and gather and organize priorities than the down time that a beach escape affords.

Funny that I love to see those snippets of “what they’re reading” and ponder if they really ARE reading that particular selection or are “they” just prepared with some fascinating tome in case the inevitable question is posed to their celebrity selves. In this case – albeit NOT the celebrity status and who cares what I’m reading anyway – for those of you who DO – on my list for quite a while and long overdue, this book was a recent gift by a friend who KNOWS me and my habits. It’s a pen in the teeth, jot notes and mark pages book. It’s a good read and loaded with opportunities for self introspection, reflection and maybe even slap your face silly as you recognize all too familiar patterns, and read the painfully obvious suggestions and recommendations that flow forth from each fascinating page. Easy for him to say!

The uninterrupted hours available – when I’m not writing about reading the book- are making progress swift. But as the author reminds the reader, this is not a book to read and leave – rather, it is a book to which one should constantly refer, use to keep on track, reinforce and guide for the rest of the reader’s life! Whoa! This certainly isn’t that frivolous beach read that I was so eagerly anticipating.

Yet on the shelves here – amidst all the Jimmy Buffet books – GREAT beach reads, the old tattered John D. McDonald mysteries, Erin Hilderbrands absorbingly enjoyable Nantucket novels, even Tim Dorsey’s goofy Floridian tales, I will find the perfect beach read upon which to veg in the after days of the self realization chapters that will no-doubt never be finished –not to mention his sequel of new-found observations – just set aside for a good vacation escape.

Posted On December 6, 2011 By pattisays In travel and design /

Simple Ornaments Make Signature Style Design Statements

We are greeted by a Caribbean Christmas season in the tropics! This is how one McDonald’s decorates for the holidays – their signature Happy Meal boxes dangle from a palm tree! What better ornaments than these happy red boxes – a brilliant contrast of eye-catching red marketing material and the fresh green of nature. Environmentally visual – those little cardboard art pieces dance in the breeze.
During the summer months, we created a play area beneath our large blue spruce tree. The low branches provided an eye-level decoration area just the right height for the smaller kids. So we drew images and colored them with crayons and cut them out and laminated them between two pieces of waxed paper – like you would when pressing fall leaves in autumn. We then punched a hole in each and tied them to the branches with a loop of ribbon. They created a lively, colorful personalization art exhibit in this secret hiding place and defied the weather there in the protection of the big tree for a remarkably long time.
We have wild gourds in our area of the high desert in New Mexico. They are nearly perfectly round and about the size of tennis balls. After the magnificent white blossoms have passed, the new gourds each harvest season are hard and fresh, but the previous years’ forgotten fruit nestled amidst vines are in varying stages of drying out. These dehydrated orbs are perfect for painting, decoupage, or applying decorative embellishment. I preferred to paint a simple red poinsettia on them –using fast-drying and easy clean-up acrylic paint – leaving the background color of the natural gourd exposed and then glossing them with gel gloss medium. Drill a hole in the top and glue in an eye screw and Voila! The finished ornament weights practically nothing and is quite durable. I’ve even used a hair pin – not a bobbie pin, but the old zigzaggy hair pins that when squeezed together and forced down into the drilled hole spring back with just enough tension and held by the zigzag of the metal make an even easier hanging mechanism! An ornament hook or a ribbon and you’re ready to hang!
What creative homemade ornaments might YOU create as your signature style?

Posted On December 5, 2011 By pattisays In art as gift ideas, DIY design, exterior - outdoor design, seasonal interior design, travel and design /

ART Beneath Your Feet

: Art beneath your feet

It’s an expensive finish material, so we don’t see it a lot, but terrazzo floors are beautiful, wear like iron and fascinate me. Yes, in larger urban centers and often in major airports the artistic treatments that are designed into the matrix of stone chips, and other materials are fantastic. The colors are now endless as the manipulation of the materials and additional materials have expanded the medium. Once rather common and often now considered dated – I take exception – and so do the many who participate in the design, fabrication and installation of these fabulous floors!

Other materials, such as the shell flecks strewn through the dark matrix of stone that is the primary surface of several concourses of the Miami airport, make a contextual statement – here, the context that shells are found scattered on the sandy beaches of sunny Florida. The brass inlay suggests shell skeletons embedded in the black sand – sounds more like the lava beaches of Guadalupe than Florida – but that’s the artistic license of the artist(s). The shine of the brass and the iridescence of the shell chips add bling against the high contrast of the dark background. It also, upon closer inspection, looks like a star constellations amidst the galaxies and myriad particles of twinkling lights in outer space. Maybe they are floating in an abyss in the dark depths of the sea. Especially here with the explosion of the flash reflecting against the hard, smooth glossy surface you can imagine either scenario – that of deep space with a burst of light penetrating the blackness or the ocean depths and a light source attempting to capture the existence of the creatures – a dark glittery scene with weightless, floating images.

Look down next time you are waiting for a Sky Link or rushing to your gate…you might be surprised to see the art beneath your feet.

Posted On December 4, 2011 By pattisays In art and interior design, context of interior design, design, design trends, travel and design /

The Art of Collage as Architectural Motifs

Pat Forbes builds layered paper collage for her series Architectural Motifs.

Pat Forbes builds tippy towers, cantilevered blocks and layers of geometric shapes to create her series Architectural Motifs.

Geometry layered with cut paper pieces constructing resemblances of architectural forms are the signature theme of a new series of compositions by New Mexico artist Pat Forbes. She comes from other places where tall buildings loomed and urban density was the tapestry of her world. But now, here in the desert, she has abstracted those forms and intensified the colors resulting in hallucinations of those urban scenes to hang on the wall.

Whether on wood or stretched canvas as seen here, Forbes likes squares. She builds tippy towers, cantilevered blocks and layers of geometric shapes to create her series, Architectural Motifs. The contrast between the brilliant colors and fluidity of the open spaces of New Mexico and the rigid over-lapping planes and cubes of color fragmented in the urban architecture join to make her bold statement. See more of her fine work at www.PatriciaForbesArt.com.

Art is about observation and interpretation. Knowing your medium and using it to produce an idea, expression, emotion…the abstraction of an artist’s thoughts and ideas can be most intriguing. Using expressive abstraction in Interior Design brings bold color and conversation to the personality of a space.

Posted On November 14, 2011 By pattisays In architecture, art and interior design, art as gift ideas, design, design trends /

Roden’s Pastels – Sparkle and Joy

Watching Susan work, beginning with her blank paper/boards with their varying colors and fine sanded texture is like watching something being born – a flower unfolding, a sunset growing with fiery intensity, a precious pet or special person coming to life and the luscious pastry creations that have such delicious personality of their own.

Unlike most pastel artists, Susan doesn’t blend her colors. Rather she carefully layers them working the sticks broadly and loosely at first, then gradually details with the sharp broken edges and blunt points until she has refined the piece with her complex combinations of colors.

White isn’t white. And if it is to be, she starts with an off-white color only punctuating real white-white at the very end – otherwise she tells us, “it looks dirty.” Her whites are actually comprised of so many diverse colors that it is upon closer inspection that her color genius is revealed. She works with many organized

From a photo, Susan works on a commission for a pet portrait.

drawers filled with hundreds of color sticks.

She further explains that pastels are a pure pigment, just like oil paints – only they have a different binder. They will last for centuries if properly protected. When a surface is completely covered with pastel it is called a painting. With any of the background surface left exposed, the piece is referred to as a sketch.

Visit Susan’s blog at susanroden.blogspot.com to see more of her fine work and enjoy her many projects. She (from her home in San Diego) is in a donut/cupcake “war” with an artist in Rhode Island. Every Monday they present to one another and the world a new painting of a confection. The point is to get feedback as to who’s piece is the best that week! She also has her “Kid’s Corner” where she works with kids from all over – anyone with children or working with children will be fascinated by her program to incorporate a child’s artwork as the background for a cupcake painting – returning the original art to the child and when her pastel sells, she sends a $25.00 stipend to the young artist as a thank-you for participating and as an incentive to pursue their love of art.

I am so honored to have Sue as a friend and participating artist in our gallery. Her paintings bring great delight and art appreciation to all who see her work. Thank you Susan for your sparkle and endless joy .

Posted On November 6, 2011 By pattisays In art and interior design, art as gift ideas, beauty behold it /

Author: pattisays