Bright Summer Whites

Liven up your summer by adding accessories in porcelain white and bright colors.
These accents can bring the lively, cheerful colors of summer into your favorite room. There are a variety of well-priced accent pieces that can add seasonal zip for summer. We decorate for the holiday season, why not for the summer season? Try a bright white bowl filled with colorful fruit like bright yellow lemons or green granny smiths.

Vases, photo frames, servicing trays are all great ways to bring bright accents into your space. Keep accent items small and in groupings or use one or two large bright pieces to add focal accents. White is a great “non-color” to work with as other colors can be added to it to suit the season and décor of your room.

Alexander Weekend: Part 4

My favorite stop on the Alexander Weekend home tour (though I may be biased because I live in it) was on Laverne Way. I really had fun with this house using so much orange inside and out. My favorite thing in the living room is the amazing Kyle Bunting laser-cut cowhide area rug. It looks spectacular in this great house! The great thing about this particular Alexander home is that it has such a large master bedroom and so many clerestory windows.

What project have you been putting off?

Have an unfinished home remodel project? Something that you "let slide" last year? You'll be suprised at how much custom design you can afford: our newest interior design clients in Rancho Mirage are getting a new guest bathroom- for under $7500.00! This includes custom vanity cabinet, color and tile selection, and white-glove project management with the security of a professional design team behind their remodel project. We love remodel projects- seeing a homeowner in love with their house again is a great feeling!

Pool Umbrellas

In the arid, perpetually sunny Southern California Desert, shade is valued, and since we lack the shade trees of the East, we are dependent on shade structures or sun umbrellas to provide protection from the damaging rays of the sun. Umbrellas are a feature found in the backyards of most homes in Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, and come in a wide range of sizes and shapes. Buying the right umbrella is important- the better the umbrella that you select, the more likely you are to enjoy your time spent outdoors enjoying the shade. Here are some tips from William Miller, Interior Designer, for selecting an sun umbrella that can be enjoyed in any backyard:

Be sure that the size of the umbrella that you select suits the location as well as its use. If you are replacing an umbrella for a dining table, be sure that the umbrella is larger than the table, and that the base will work with your table as well. If you are purchasing an entire patio set, make sure that you have measured the space and that there is enough room for the chairs and the table. You should also make sure that the umbrella will clear any landscaping when open.

Corbett Lighting

Corbett Lighting has some fabulous light fixtures on their new website. We've recently used some of their fixtures in a fabulous home in Palm Desert as well as some economically-friendly fixtures in model homes in Rancho Mirage. Take a few minutes to browse their site- really great photography on their installations! Corbett is California-based, and has been in business for over 40 years, using materials such as hand-made rice paper and rare metals in their unique fixtures.

Chinoiserie

I read a great little article about Chinoiserie, which is a French term used to describe decorative objects or furniture pieces which have been influenced by traditional Chinese design styles. The term was first used in the 16th Century throughout Europe. As travel and trade became more commonplace, Chinese imagery and artistic techniques became a fad in furniture, architecture and decorative objects. What once started as a trend hundreds of years ago has now become a classic design style. Today, Chinoiserie has been modernized and is still used in current decor. We see it so often in Palm Springs because it overlaps into so much Hollywood Regency elements. If you want to read more, check out the Designer Speak blog.

Photos: Jonathan Adler, Lonny, House Beautiful, and Katie Rosenfeld via Designer Speak

Alexander Weekend, Part 3

I love being able to share all the fun houses of Palm Springs with my readers. I feel so lucky to live in a place where so many people appreciate interior design and architecture. This post, if you remember is a snapshot of one of several homes that were on the Alexander Weekend Home Tour by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation.

My favorite thing about the exterior of this Alexander home was the addition of redwood to the atrium/breezeway area between the carport and the home. I really loved the sculpted tile in the bathrooms- I still want to find out who the vendor is! Isn't that wall sculpture above the bed fantastically space-age?

Alexander Weekend, Part Two

There were more than ten houses on Palm Springs Preservation Foundation's Alexander Weekend Home Tour, so I am breaking the houses down weekly- it was way too much to take in at one time in person, let alone through snapshots! This Alexander home is in the Twin Palms Area of Palm Springs, and was done by interior designer David Jimenez of Kansas City. I was lucky enough to meet him a couple of times while he was here in Palm Springs. I love the resort feel of his home- you really feel like you're on a fun vacation from the minute you walk in the door. I love his use of chrome and other high-gloss finishes combined with bright sunny colors.