Scheming with color !

Color selection and color scheming is increasingly important in developing residential and commercial interiors. Design of Residences, office spaces, restaurants and medical facilities all are carefully schemed by designers and architects.

Color combinations or schemes have a major impact on all interiors . Colors enhance and effect mood, work and play habits and contribute a subliminal role in influencing our desires; like fear, passion, anger, anxiety, happiness and more.

Creating a successful color scheme is both an art and a science.

Residential and Commercial spaces alike, including industrial, educational and medical environments often are designed with a color scheme that that is calm, comfortable, and harmonious. They are often inspired by nature, that is to say, posses a gently harmonious, natural and generally neutral palette.

Inspiration from nature is a common starting point for many designers and architects. Desert based designers in Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage are particularly fond of drawing from the rich color palate of the surrounding area.

Desert color schemes Sand tones, light grays, beige and warm browns are a solid foundation for a typical “desert” color scheme. Pale greens, rust and golds may be introduced, adding interest and impact. Use of textural elements like wood, stone and fabric can add texture and contrast, while providing harmony within the framework of the scheme.

Earth tones are colors we see in nature like browns, umbers, terracotta and brick tones. These colors tend to be harmonious, rich in color and depth and impart a feeling of solidity and permanence. Used well, earth tones complement most other color values.

Integrating earth tones into your environment allow a sense of approachability and connection. These tones are part of our everyday lives, they are familiar and comforting. Incorporating earth tones into your environment by using natural materials such as stone, wood, and granites not only introduce accent and texture to color schemes, but integrate warm elements into your living space. Variety with harmonious coordination, adds interest and uniqueness to any space.

Color schemes – Keep it simple

Whatever color scheme is your favorite, here are a few basics to remember:

1. Keep it simple. Combine colors that enhance each other.
2. Evaluate the effect you want to achieve and the use of the space .
3. Use color along with texture to create a balanced scheme.
4. Be aware of which colors influence which emotions.

The key to picking the perfect wall color is finding a color that goes with everything. Think of it as a background to which you'll add more layers or accents, such as flooring, furniture, paintings, fabrics, accessories, plants and lighting.

You should love the colors you live with. So don't live with someone else's taste—pick colors you like! For inspiration look to your favorite paintings, a piece of furniture or, fabrics, pillows or even fresh flowers. These personal color selections will make you happy.

International Style Influcences In Interior Design

The earliest examples of this revolutionary style date to the 1930s , and this style ushered in a bold new approach to architecture that would revolutionize commercial and residential building for decades to come. The movement originated in Europe, emphasizing the use of modern materials and building techniques, and placing function first over ornamentation. Until the advent of this new trend, the practice had been to create houses and buildings inspired by past architectural themes. Proponents considered International Style the most elemental form of Modernism. Architects did away with many traditional classical details, such as decorative molding over doors and windows, eaves, and pediments.

These Modernists designed buildings with flat roofs, smooth facades and generous bands of windows. The most influential leaders of the style were European and brought their ideas to America in the 1930s. Key figures included Le Corbusier in France, Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in

Germany.

In large architect-designed houses, walls were not used for structural support, but rather hung like curtains over a structural steel skeleton. This allowed facade treatments that had previously been impossible. Bands of metal casement windows could now wrap around corners or extend from floor to ceiling. Buildings tended to be asymmetrical, sometimes with rounded corners. Landscaping that accompanied these structures were also minimal.
Glass, steel, aluminum, concrete and plaster were favored building materials. Following World War II, the high-end residential style morphed into a contemporary vernacular that deviated from true International Style, although flat roofs were retained and simple or no detail is a hallmark of contemporary style. Palm Springs, Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage neighborhoods have many examples of this contemporary style which is also known as “desert contemporary." While much of the interior design projects at William Miller Design fall under this category, we also have produced homes for clients that are Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern and California Tuscan.

Interior walls became simply partitions, which permited much greater flexibility in room layouts. Former emphasis on specific rooms gave way to a much looser sense of overlapping spaces. Thus was the birth of the “open floor plan”. On walls surfaces became smooth and un textured- wall surfaces bare, and colors tended to be in black, white, gray or beige. The monochromatic color scheme was the fashion of the day. Travertine marble and polished stone were favored for interior surfaces. Furnishings were stark and low with accents of chrome, glass a the newly fashionable Lucite. Upholstery and accents were simple in keeping with the architectural trend.

Outdoor Is IN!

In the Palm Desert and Palm Springs area, the feeling of summer is in the air. Interior design styles this summer highly influence outdoor living and outdoor furnishings. Popular pieces such as lounges, chaises, armchairs as well as dining tables and lounge chairs are striving to be more unique in their use of materials and sense of style.

This year in outdoors interior design all things outdoor are taking on a whole new look, texture and shape. From traditional to contemporary all types of styles are emphasizing “style” as the operative word. Materials in outdoor furniture range from teak craftsmanship to woven resin. Meanwhile, outdoor living moves beyond the expected to present unique pieces to enjoy outside.

A very popular style is the woven resign fiber look in a dark chocolate finish. Many companies such as Brown Jordan and Dedon are manufacturing beautiful and durable pieces in their collections from dining sets to lounge furniture.

Outdoor fabrics have also made huge strides in their look and feel. Companies like Kravet fabrics with their extensive “Kravet Soleil” line offer everything from plush chenilles to tailored prints, all perfectly water resistant and sun fast for the rigors of summer and the intense light associated with the season. Consumer desire to bring the indoors outdoors has prompted the availability of outdoor chenille. Companies such as Chella offer a plethora of comfy outdoor chenille in an endless variety of colors and weaves.

Outdoor furniture is not your average aluminum and vinyl straps anymore! Materials such as woven resin, mesh, teak frames with upholstered seats, and even molded acrylic are catching the eyes of many savvy consumers this spring.