Design Connection, Inc. Interior Design

You may love your house today as much as you did the day you moved in, but if it’s been 20 years, it may just be time to update. It’s no doubt, that older classic houses have a certain charm to them, but the interior design could be even more charming with a few changes. This is exactly how our clients felt with their current house. Design Connection Inc. identified some key design changes that would update with an impact and created a home that our clients can enjoy for 20 more years.

The hearth room is usually the heart of the home, where the family can spend time together in a relaxed way. The home already had great wall to wall built-ins, so we decided to keep their existing cabinetry and re-stain them in a darker more contemporary color.

By using neutral wallpaper, we were able to create a nice flow from the hearth room to the kitchen. The client loves this design aspect in their home. They felt like their old design had a different feel for each room, and now they have one cohesive feel throughout the whole house.

An interior designer really helps guide you through the value of updating your home. The kitchen cabinets were a great quality, so we decided to update them as opposed to gutting and putting in a whole new kitchen. This is one way to save costs and be able to spend a little more money in other areas.

Their new kitchen features the newly stained cabinets, a great back-splash, an absolutely beautiful new granite countertop, and a couple new light fixtures. It is said that remodeling your kitchen instantly increases the value of your home. And who is going to argue with that after seeing this lovely new kitchen?

Details are what make our projects look so good. The kitchen and hearth room are connected by an open floor plan. We had to be smart with our transition from kitchen to dining room to hearth room. We used beautiful wallpaper that pulled from the colors of both rooms.

One quick, easy update you can do to your home is the powder room. In our client’s powder room, we replaced the dated wallpaper with a fun, nature-inspired one with their favorite color, red. And after a fresh stain to the existing cabinet as well as a new facet and counter, the powder room is taken from the 80’s to 2012.

Stairs are always a strong and important part of a home’s design statement. Changing out the worn-out carpet was a must, followed with some paint on the railings. We decided to leave the existing spindles but added wood caps for a more modern stair design.  After new caps, carpet and a little paint on the railings, it is a sight to see when you walk into their home.

The library should be a room where you can relax in. With passing time the dated wallpaper became a constant reminder that it was time for an update. We went from a strong blue to a warm and cozy beige. At Design Connection Inc, we can take your project from space plan, to full interior design, furniture, materials and even the perfect placement of accessories.

If you’d like to bring your home into the 21^st century, we are here to help! Design Connection has been creating beautiful homes for years and we offer a full range of services and expertise for your home. Your complete satisfaction is our number one priority. Call us today for an appointment with our professional design team. Our business hours are: 9 a.m – 5 p.m. central standard time Monday – Friday Call Arlene Ladegaard at  (913) 851-8776 or email her at Arlene@DesignConnectionInc.com

Ok, I admit, I have painted a couple of walls beige, but I brought in fabulous furniture, fabric and texture to create the drama in the room. When starting a project, you have to make a choice. Are your walls going to do the talking, or is the furniture and items in the room going to make the statement?

If you want a great couch, with fun pops of color on the pillows I recommend going with a neutral color on the walls. You can bring in textures with your rug, drapery and accessories to keep the room interesting. Neutral walls also showcase art better, allowing the picture to draw your attention, rather than competing with a strong color.

If you feel more comfortable with a neutral furniture scheme, then I would defiantly bring in some color on the walls. You can create beautiful monochromatic furniture layouts, by paying attention to details and creating interest through pattern and texture. Then you can use the walls to either make a bold color statement, or more subtly enhance your room with just enough color to keep the room fascinating.

Everybody has a different definition of beautiful and that is the fun part of interior design, that we can cater a project exactly to the lifestyle and needs our clients. That is our design philosophy here at Design Connection Inc. and our clients agree.

What our clients have to say!

“Arlene and her team did a phenomenal job with our new home. They listened to what we wanted and delivered in a huge way! When we bought the home, it was traditional and ordinary and did not reflect our tastes, but Arlene was able to completely revamp it with a contemporary, fresh look that we love!

- Chris B.

What is YOUR favorite Color? You’ve heard the question a hundred times and probably asked it just as many since you learned to talk. It got me to thinking, after our recent blog posts on painting,В  why not ask? Find out what colors are on your mind. So we did just that.В  On Twitter and Facebook, we posed the question to see what colors people seem to gravitate toward and while the count has my personal favorite, YELLOW in second place, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Green is running high on everyone’s list. Seems fitting with the green movement being so popular these days.В  Other colors people mentioned included Purple and Red.

With such vibrant and diverse color preferences on my mind, I couldn’t help but get inspired to go out and find some pictures of some pretty fabulous rooms painted in those colors so that maybe you can be inspired too! Of course all of this ties in to our interactive contest on Facebook to reach out and really get a feel for what inspires you in the world of design, whether it is color, layout, texture or anything in between.В  We appreciate the input from everyone and can’t wait to see what other things are on your list of favorites!

In the meantime, check out some truly great photos from a traditional retreat to a rock star’s city pad, we think you will find some rooms and colors to get excited about! If you really want to to immerse yourself in some gloriously creative and inspired rooms (these are really over the top!), you have to take a minute to check out the website for the Hotel Fox in Copenhagen. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Click on ROOMS when you get to the website and prepare to be amazed.

Oh and we want to say a special hello and thank you to Karen S, Karen A, Tierra, Marla, Darryl, Cheryl, Kevin, Kathy, Rachel, Patty, Brian, Kami, Patti, and Keith for taking the time to say hi to us on the Design Connection Facebook and Twitter pages!В  Do you have a favorite painted room in your home? We invite you to post pictures on our Facebook page and share. C’mon over, we’ll see you there!

Have you ever painted a room with a color that looked great on the paint chip you picked up from the store only to find you hated it once it was on your walls? Have no fear, the Kansas City interior design team at Design Connection is here to give you some easy ideas to make choosing color a little less intimidating and a lot more fun!

It doesn’t take much to scare people away from color and running right into the arms of comforting neutrals. Just stand in front of a display at a home improvement store…if the incremental shades of color start to blur into one another as your pulse begins to race, RELAX. There’s no need to run screaming into the parking lot with a can of standard eggshell paint to ease your troubled walls, instead start grabbing some color chips and head home to contemplate!

A BRIGHT IDEA…
The lighting in most home improvement stores is usually fluorescent and lends a cool hue to the chips- effectively altering your perception of the color. Better to take the sample paint chips home and stick them to the wall of the room you want to paint and see how it looks in natural light. No time for that? Then walk outside and look at the colors, chances are you’ll notice a difference in the warmth of the hues and any subtle color undertones simply because you are now viewing the color in a more natural light.В  The lighting in your home and type of bulbs you use can also affect how a color looks. Also if you wear tinted contacts or glasses, that canВ  affect how you perceive the color (in which case you might want a second opinion from someone you trust or an experienced interior designer).

If you are still undecided, we’ve noticed a trend in most major home improvement stores where they are selling sample size containers of many paint colors. These are perfect for you to test the color on your walls BEFORE you commit precious time and energy to painting the entire room. As an added bonus this will enable you to truly see how the color looks in daylight, nighttime and everything in between.

A QUICK HOW-TO…
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, one of the most important tools (besides a good dropcloth) for painting a room is a really good trim brush. Often the most difficult task when painting a room is getting the trim right. You can tape it off with green or blue low tack painter’s masking tape (time consuming but effective if you wait for the paint to dry and carefully score a line along the edge before you peel it off) or you can be brave and paint it freehand or utilize a paint guard that you slide along the wall as you paint.В  The most invaluable tool I’ve found for painting trim is a really good angled trim brush. That is the one thing I spare no expense on when I tackle painting a room myself. Personally, I’m a fan of the short trim brushes with the rubber handle that can fit easily in the palm of your hand.В  It makes the job of painting so much easier for me.

WHAT COLOR SHOULD I PICK?
Ahhh that’s the million dollar question and one we’ll visit in a future post.В  In the interim, you can check out some great tools from industry leaders Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore. At the Sherwin Williams site, they have a fun Color Visualizer tool that lets you upload pictures of your room and experiment with color that’s pretty nifty.В  Benjamin Moore takes it further with a free iphone app called Ben that you can use to find a color palette based on a snapshot or use their Paint Calculator that lets you determine how much you need to paint your space.В  Lots of resources out there to make painting less tedious and a lot more fun. Let Design Connection help you with your color choices if you need a hand, we do color consultations and help you bring it all together with the latest styles, colors and accessories!

I’d like to introduce you to an old friend of mine. Reader, meet Neutral. Neutral, meet Reader. Yes, you read that right, I consider Neutrals to be my friend. Now, before you go picturing a boring room done up completely in beige, I beg you to reconsider. Neutrals (like Wallpaper) seem to get a bum rap and with the variety of colors, materials and textures out there it’s easy to overlook what is typically considered a safe and oftentimes boring choice. I beg to differ because Neutrals are always in style precisely because they are neutral!В  They go with ANYTHING.В  So when I have a client who is hesitant to choose or commit on color, I introduce them to Neutrals.

Textures like wool and silk look wonderful in neutrals and compliment a variety of woods and metals. You can have a classic and sophisticated array of neutral furniture that you can dress up with colorful walls, rugs and

accessories like pillows art, and plants. A bright orange couch might go out of style fast, but a neutral one? Never! Just paint a wall, change the rug, get some colorful new accessories and you’ll have a new look.В  Now that you’ve gotten to know neutral a little better, I’ll bet you’ll be fast friends too!

A fantastic neutral room that I love that was done by J. Robert Scott, click the image to view more pics on their wonderful website

Call it the comeback kid, this is not your grandmother’s wallpaper! (photo) As a designer, I still cannot think of a better way to complete a small space than using one of the amazing textured or hip patterned papers that are on the market today. I am often told by realtors to take down all of the wallpaper in resale homes. In some cases I can agree with them, but generally speaking I think wallpaper gets a bum rap. With the vast array of choices out there, there’s no reason why you can’t find a great wallpaper that you’ll love so much you won’t even consider taking it down!

Despite the well meaning advice of my realtor friends, I have not stopped using wallpapers – especially in powder rooms and dining rooms or feature walls. I’m a little “old school” in that I keep a large collection of sample books in my studio that I’ll crack open whenever I need a little inspiration. From natural woven textures to papers that shimmer because they contain tiny glass beads throughout, how could you NOT love wallpaper? It’s inconceivable! Trust me, there’s something out there to suit everyone. All I’m saying is give peace – I mean WALLPAPER a chance! If you love wallpaper too, I hope you’ll reach out and let me know. You can comment here or send me an Email. We need to stick together…

[Images from the fabulous York Wallcoverings collections

Children’s bedrooms are great fun to design. Kids want a space to express their personality. In our featured project the daughter had a beautiful collection of Barbie dolls that we showcased. And accented her walls with paisley shapes with strong bright colors. 

My advice is to pick a theme or color that will tie the whole look together. Then start with the furniture, replacing the big pieces first. Click here to get started with Young America for ideas and direction. Make sure to measure your room, you want the furniture to fit well, and not overwhelm the space.

DesignTipsKC: A room with lots of shelves and cubbies can help a child organize their belongings. A couple of shelves can be dedicated to displaying their crafts and trophies.

 We always have a lot of fun designing children’s spaces. If you want help with your space contact us! http://www.designconnectioninc.com/

Have you thought about adding some new fall colors to your home now that you are going to start spending more time indoors?  I found an intriguing I-Phone application that actually helps you select paint colors.  See attached link to Benjamin Moore for a high tech way to get paint color recommendations for your home.  As “cool” as this sounds if you feel more comfortable discussing paint with an experienced interior designer who has actually seen many paint color options applied to various settings and lighting conditions, please give me a call and “ask Arlene” about paint for your home.

www.DesignConnectionInc.com

We now have a new President and with that the country has new hope and enthusiasm. I believe that if we all work together we will again have theВ United States of AmericaВ that was once the envy of the world.

I lived inВ EuropeВ in the ’90s for 7 years. I was happy to be an American, but realized that we, as a country, and consumers, behaved very differently than the Europeans. They were proud to be French and loved their own culture as well as did the Italians, Swiss and the Germans. The Europeans have sales in all their stores 2 times a year and nothing in between. They may not purchase a lot, but what they buy is good quality and will last a long time. “Less quantity, more quality”. They find value in having less.

I believe we as a country are now headed in that way too. We now value more what we purchase and are buying less. In making purchases for your home, it is when I returned from living inВ Europe that I had the philosophy that it is often best to have a smaller home that you could afford and have it nicely furnished with quality pieces, good appliances and carpeting that would last. This was not the popular philosophy at that time. I believe that is where we are headed as a country and I am excited to see the change.

Design tip:

To cut down a paint color instead of having the formula cut down by the paint store, you make take a cream colored paint and cut the mixture in half or three quarter yourself. You then take the mixture you have created to the paint store and have it custom matched to this color. It works great.

visit www.designconnectioninc.com

Arlene Ladegaard IIDA

Allied Member ASID

Certified Interior Designer

Design Connection, Inc.

www.designconnectioninc.com

OfficeВ В 913 851 8776

Mobile 913 593 6919