A well thought-out and choosy implemented loft doesn’t diminish the sense of space
Lofted room
Archives
Train as home
A railway carriage can be conjured to a cosy home in classic style
Dotted
Dotted materials are in fashion again in interior design
Purple
Purple is derived by mixing to primary color, blue and red – by this, we call it as a secondary color. The complement is yellow.
Physiological effect: strong hues of purple release energy, help creativity and memory. Pastel hues are relaxing, provide the feeling of protection, work against insomnia. In symbolism, it is associated to knowledge, mystique and wisdom. In movies and storybooks, dark hues are often displayed on the clothes of wizards, while light hues can be seen on dress of fairies. Reminds us to splendour and richness. Long ago it was a color of mourning of the French royal house.
Purple can be cold and warm color depending on blue or red component predominates. Relatively new color in interior design, nowadays it is very popular. Darker and stronger hues can be perfectly combined to white, black or grey. Light hues look good with crème or light green. Combining purple with silver results a luxurious effect. It can be perfect in bedroom, child-room or playing room (light hues), or in wardrobes, home office or movie room (dark hues). Lavender is a favourite color of romantic, country styles. Since it is not a food color, we can use it carefully in kitchen, dining room, maybe on the accessories. Purple is the most loved color of 75% of the children under the age of 13.
According to feng shui, purple strengthens in changes and provides spiritual help. Assigned to the 6th chakra (third eye).
Since this color is a little bit “too much” in itself, and it can have strong, dramatic effect, for implementing a tasteful purple interior, ask help from an interior designer.
Patchwork
Patchwork is in fashion again – choose an old, hand-made piece for the unique look
Built-in attic
Building in the attic is one of the best methods for increasing the useful floor space of a house. Such a reconstruction raises not only the value of the property but very comfortable living space can be created with applying some rules.
Pay attention to the quality of insulation because it can largely affect the costs of heating-cooling in the future. Take care of the latter, because these rooms have to be more intensely heated in winter and cooled in summer. The livability of the attic depends on the proper amount of light. If it is possible, more or bigger windows should be built in. If they can be placed only on a high level, let’s choose pieces with handles on their lower part. Since sunshine can be a problem in summer, proper shading should be provided. Mostly roll-up blind or light-reflecting window-foil might be the solution but common curtains shouldn’t be neglected either because of the sloped roof! It can be just as elegant as in an ordinary living room or bedroom, with clever solutions. Attic might be darker in winter than other rooms, so the proper implementing of artificial lighting has to be attended already at the beginning of the works.
A built-in attic can be suited to several functions. In the case of a bedroom, the bed shouldn’t be placed under the skylight because it can disturb the calming rest. If the wardrobe will be here, dehumidifying is a very important task. In the case of children’s room or playroom, safety is a must, especially if there is a balcony also. It’s worth to use additional sound-proofing in the case of a movie or TV room. The proper darkening can be solved here easier. This kind of space can be good for a hobby room or home office also. Take care of placing the desks for avoiding hitting the sloping roof when standing up from the chair. A wider tabletop can be used for this.
Always ask for help of professionals for building-in an attic. Consult with an interior designer for optimizing the final furnishing and for the best usage of the space.
Yellow
Yellow is considered to be the most happy color. One of the three basic color, its complementer is purple.
As a physiological effect, yellow decreases depression, increases brain activity and strengthens the neural system. Helps learning improving the concentration ability. We can associate on sunshine, gold and spring by it, therefore its presence makes us glad. In symbolism, yellow is the color of honour and loyalty, at the same time cowardice and envy is assigned to it. Combined with black, it is used for attention signs such as mother nature (e.g.: wasp, spotted salamander).
A warm color. Makes spaces shiny and warm. If there is not enough natural light, this problem can be solved with it. In design, combined with white it results a light, combined with brown it results a classic interior. With grey, the result will be elegant, with blue it gives youthful effect. In a black and white interior, yellow is a perfect focus point on smaller accessories or furniture. Vivid hues of yellow are ideal for dining room or kitchen, while pale hues can be applied in any room. Fits correctly to country style. A very light hue of yellow is cream, which is popular and widely used.
Feng shui assigns yellow to ground element. The color of Jang, the masculin side and the 3. chakra (navel). In ancient China, only the emperor wore yellow, since it was a divine color. In Egypt, yellow is the color of mourning.
Yellow must be used carefully, since its vivid hues make the space stunning. It can be easily overdosed, so if you would like to create a tasteful yellow interior, ask help from a color advisor.
Toile pattern
„Toile de Jouy”, or shortly „Toile” pattern has a French origin. The word toile itself means linen and Jouy is the name of a small town at the East part of France. These type of fabric had produced there since the 18th century. „Toile de Jouy” means canvas from Jouy.
Patterns are printed in one color on the fabric. The base is generally white, or beige. The pattern is repetitive at the whole area of the textile. It displays mostly idyllic scenes, such as rococo noblemen dressed to shepherd or shepherdess, fishing, flower picking or picknick groups, surrounded by landscape and building parts. Colors used for the patterns are originally the black, dark blue and red, but there also were green, brown or pink versions. These fabrics were used to upholstering furniture, covering walls or curtains. The toile pattern itself can appear on wallpapers, porcelain sets, tablecloths and beddings, etc.
In the recent years, toile pattern became popular again and widely used in interior design. Colors are much more variant and vivid nowadays, designers pair practically any background color with any pattern color. The scenes remain bucolic and idyllic. In chinoiserie topic we can find Chinese related scenes instead of them.
The pattern itself is very versatile. Can be applied in country style and also in a baroque, elegant interior as well, or even in a child-room. The furniture and accessories will give the final view, we can emphasize it with choosing the color of the material.
If you love this pattern, but afraid of having it too dominant, or just want to realize a romantic and elegant atmosphere, ask help from an interior designer for planning.
Coastal style
A waterfront summer house is a regular dream in Hungary as well, not only in the countries having seashores. Many have a small house at one of our nice lakes or rivers. The interiors of these often reflects the location itself. If you cannot afford to buy a waterfront house, or would like to enjoy such an environment all year, you can realize this feeling also in the city as well.
The most simple and popular method for this to use materials and decorations that can be found near the water: ropes, paddles, river pebbles, sail-boat models, etc. By these objects, practically any rooms can be transferred to a waterfront interior. But they can be used for more beyond decoration. E.g. the shower can be covered by small peebles instead of wall tiles, or the picture frames can be made of driftwood or cane, instead of coffee table a ship box can be used.
If we would like to refer to the water more lightly, catching only the mood, we can use colors, fabrics and materials:
From colors, white, sand, grays, water blue, moss green, navy blue and red are the most expressive. For upholstering, carpet and cushion we can use striped textiles displaying the above mentioned colors, or just natural linen. We can even combine them. We can get a couple of braided (willow, rattan, bamboo) chair and table. The banister can be rolled by rope. Ship deck floor and painted wooden panels are ideal solutions.
If you are uncertain or having no idea for a change, ask help from an interior designer to get the feeling of a calm holiday in your home.
William Morris
„Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” This phrase became proverbial is the main principle of William Morris.
William Morris (1834-1896) was the leader of Arts and Crafts movement. One of the greatest British designer who created among others patterns for wallpapers, wall carpets, embroideries, fabrics and tiles, but he also designed and produced furniture and stained glass objects. The essence of the movement was to create value by bringing back the golden age of craftsmanship, opposed to mechanized mass production. In case of fabrics, he revived the vegetable dyeing techniques. The patterns he designed can be recognized immediately by their bright colors, they are rich and faithfully mimic the flora and fauna as well. He often drew inspiration from the art of the middle ages and the Arthurian legendary.
With his wife, in 1860 they moved to the “Red House” designed for them by Philipp Webb. There he could create and in addition to, he decorated and arranged their home also. The house has slowly filled by his different arts. In 1861 along with some of his friends, he established Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. company, which is still alive today under the name Morris & Co. Fabrics and wallpapers marked with his name still can be ordered, they can be a real focus point of our homes.
These patterns are very powerful, they are leading motifs in an interior. If you are impressed by this art and would like to admire it every day in your home, but you are uncertain because of the strong colors, ask help from an interior designer.
