Parquetry patterns

May28

The history of parquet flooring goes back to the Renaissance. The wooden floor tiles were laid in V-shape since the middle of the 16th century. The two oldest patterns are herringbone and chevron. These are the most popular today also but they are frequently mixed up.
Reputedly herringbone patterned parquetry was first laid by Italian craftsmen in 1539 for the French king Francis I. In this classic pattern, the pieces are in right angle so that the short side of one piece gets to the end of the other’s long side. Actually they show a zigzag pattern but its line is broken.
However, there are pointed peaks in chevron pattern (named after the V-shaped rank sign), this way the chock-shape is created. The pieces are cut in mitter, the ends are joined this way, so the pattern will be continuous. Nowadays ready-made floor and wall tiles are available.
The two patterns mentioned above are frequent not only as floor but as wall decorations also. They can be created from wall tiles (e.g. subway tiles), floor tiles or even vinyl flooring, not only from wood parquetry. They look good both in classic and modern interiors.
Luckily, parquetry is fashionable again, more and more people want to save the old wooden flooring of the building being renovated. It is really worth to spend money and time for it unless it is in too bad condition, since it will be beautiful and valuable part of the interior. It will look as good as new with gap-filling, grinding and lacquering (probably changing its color by burnishing).
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper patterns.

Dark brown furniture

May7

Light, painted furniture are more and more fashionable nowadays thanks to the popularity of shabby chic, vintage and country styles. Most of us immediately think of painting the antique and inherited dark(er) brown furniture to make them fit in the white, grey or cream interior where only the very light shades of wood are used for furnishing. But old pieces can be fitted in a stylish way without painting them, in their original pomp.
A showy piece of furniture can be a real focal point in a fashionable „white” interior. In fact, the dark color doesn’t fade into the view, on the contrary, it strikes the eye and underlines the light surroundings. So it’s expedient to choose a beautiful or a valuable piece of furniture which we gladly show to our guest also.
Using an antique piece will show a much more integrated view where the floor is made of darker wood. We can unite the sight by brown picture frames, upholstered chairs with dark legs, antique brass/black lamps, dark stair railing – depending on the purpose of the room.
Pastel colors (light blue, light green, powder etc.) used by the styles mentioned above don’t preclude placing dark, even lacquered furniture in the room. Naturally this is true in case of any color hue, if the colors of the furniture and the room are matched. If the surrounding remains light (proper lighting), the upshot will be truly sophisticated and invitingly cozy.
Really dark painted walls are braver but more and more frequent solutions in homes. An inherited piece of furniture can prevail here, in its original condition. If we choose a cold shade of color, for example dark blue, dark grey or even black, the piece of furniture will mark out from it by not only its lighter shades but its warm brown surface contrasting with the cold color of the walls. Maybe this results a more masculine style, but the coziness remains.
If we are doubtless sure of painting it white, it’s worth of combining them: leave some parts of the furniture in original color, namely dark brown. This can be the top of it in case of a chest of drawers, the tabletop of a table but any other combination looks good. This way we can show its beauty beside integrating it in its surroundings.
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing the proper antique furniture.

Botanical prints

Apr27

Botanical prints never go out of fashion, but we can modernize them with a pinch of black

Shoe-storage

Apr25

Hidden shoe storages, not for lack of space only

3D visualization

Apr9

3D visualization has an important role in the design process. The plans of the designer merged with technical plans and product samples are not always comprehensible for the client, who needs something which shows the upshot in a final state, almost in 3D visualization.
Perspective drawing was the first solution for this. The room has been drawn from the perspective of the viewer and looked like if he or she was just standing in it. It could show the relationship of the objects to each other and the scales. It needed handcraft and took a long time. More perspectives meant more drawings.
In the old times, the usual way of this was making scale-models. The miniaturized model of the building was made of paper or wood. This process took a long time also. It was followed by the acceptance of the customer. Since the building constructions themselves were very slow and the furniture was made by craftsmen, realizing a whole interior took many years. Nowadays there is no time for this. In our faster world, technics can help this process also. For example, Rapid Prototyping (RPT) is one of them, which builds the model based on plans generated by software, from several materials, in a relatively short time. This technology is rarely used in interior design.
This process became faster by the emergence and development of CAD software. The „camera” can move freely in the interior designed, so visualization from various aspects took only some more minutes. A new question arose: the quality of the 3D visualizations. The gap between pictures without rendering and photorealistic pictures is huge. All depends on the requirements of the client. Some of them need only a simple visualization to see the harmony of colors and furniture, what can be fit in. But professional visualization is a must in a tender, especially in the case of public buildings.
Most of the architectural and interior design software have a rendering module. However, a perfect result can be achieved only by an external rendering software, which has been developed especially for this purpose. We actually get a realistic picture just like a real photo by setting several parameters. This process is helped by interior manufacturers with providing 3D files of their products which can be imported to the software. This way the chosen lamp, sofa or other product can be exactly placed in the plans, not just a similar one.
Of course, visualizations are still time-consuming process, regardless to the easy-to-use software solutions. Besides, hand drawings still have great importance, because these are unique, having almost an artistic value. Interior designers provide 3D visualizations of the plans if required.

Color pairs 34.

Feb23

Color pairs: purple-yellow

Choosing pictures

Feb19

Decoration is the next thing after renovating/transforming our home, which is probably the most exciting part of the procedure. Still many people stuck here. Maybe decorating the walls intrigues the most: what kind of pictures should be put on? What should be the color, size, subject etc. of them? They are uncertain if the old pictures fit to the new look and if not, what should be purchased instead?
Maybe the most important thing is that pictures can be placed not only in rooms or corridors but also in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room and even the toilet. These can be considered as rooms as well, of course keeping their practicality in scope. They will be more inviting and will fit more to the rest of the home.
Placing the existing pictures can be a bit harder, since they have to be integrated in a surrounding even in different style. Changing them is frequently not possible because of their theoretical or real value. Reframing them could improve the situation a lot. We can establish a connection between the picture and its environment by this. Basically, the frame should fit to the picture not to the surroundings, however in this case the latter can be concerned also. For those who like eclecticism, it’s not a problem to place a totally different picture in a given style.
Firstly, the total size should be defined when choosing new pictures, namely they should be measured with frame and matboard. Cutting newspaper to rectangular or square pieces is helpful to see if the size fits for the given place, if it fills the space nicely. If you wish to place more pictures organized in a shape, try the shape on the floor first and after this, take the newspapers to the wall for testing the final order. If unique paintings are liked to be purchased, first check with this method if they fit in the place, since in this case the size is totally determined.
Defining the subject can create further problems. Many people think that only pictures of seaside should be applied in bathrooms, pictures of foods to the kitchen and drawings to children’s room. But there is no such a rule. However, it’s practical to keep the basics of Feng Shui. For example, a ship tumbling on the stormy ocean is not exactly the best choice of subject for a bedroom…
Owners manage colors much better. The new picture should be fit to either the color theme of the whole home or be a part of the additional pop-colors. The sight can be made more accented with proper lighting. Sometimes in the designing phase the interior designer has to start with the color and subject of a given picture. In this case, the picture will harmonize with the implemented interior, of course.
Ask for help of an interior designer for choosing and placing the best pictures for your home.