Look To The Classics When Furnishing Your Home

Posted on January 17, 2017 by blog

There aren’t many interior elements with more style choices than furniture. Take a sofa for example, what style of back, arm, and cushion should you select? Do you want an exposed leg or a skirt? If there is an exposed leg will it be wood or metal, square or round? It’s no wonder that many people have difficulty selecting appropriate furniture for their home, the options can be overwhelming.

brno-chair-white-2

We always tell our clients that furniture should not be trendy. If you purchase good quality timeless pieces, specifically those which are referred to as the classics, you will never need to replace your furniture. Classic furnishings elevate the sophistication of a space by acting as functional art. Complimenting many interior styles, these pieces are built to last, from both a structural and aesthetic viewpoint. With exceptional quality construction and a design that will never appear dated, the classics become coveted family heirlooms. They truly are timeless pieces.

212

There are specific companies that offer classic collections, such as Knoll (KnollStudio), Herman Miller (for the Home), and Cassina (Maestri). They hold the exclusive rights to manufacture these collections according to the original design, which guarantees that you are getting the real thing and not a replica. We recommend working with a qualified interior designer to select appropriate classics for your environment. There are many to choose from but some of our favorites are Mies van der Rohe’s Brno and Barcelona Chairs, Marcel Breuer’s Wassily and Cesca Chairs, and the Eames Lounge Chair.Integrating classic furnishings into your home will ensure a sophisticated quality design that will stand the test of time.

hero-living-lounge

Penny K. Bartlow, ASID
President, PKB DESIGN LLC

Posted in Interior Design | 2 Comments

All About Paint

Posted on January 12, 2017 by blog

Exif JPEG

Paint is an interior product that almost everyone uses. But how do you know which paint is right for you? There are many brands to choose from, some that we specify at PKB DESIGN LLC are Benjamin Moore, California, and Sherwin Williams. Whichever brand you choose you will need to select the type, sheen, and color.

What are VOCs and Why Should You Care?
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are carbon-containing chemical compounds. Everyone is familiar with the smell of a freshly painted room. However, most people don’t think about what they’re actually breathing in. VOCs are essentially toxins that are being released into the environment, contributing to poor indoor air quality. The paint manufacturers have addressed this issue by creating low VOC paints. When you paint a room with a low or no VOC paint, there is little to no odor, because there are little to no VOCs to off gas. Low VOC paint has been available for some time and now paint manufacturers are creating additional low VOC options as well as paint certified for allergies and asthma. Originally, low VOC paint was only available in light colors, but that’s changing. No matter what brand of paint you want to use, make sure you ask for the lowVOC option, if they don’t offer it look to another brand.

kuehl-blog-paint

Selecting The Right Sheen The sheen level you select will have a huge impact on the look and performance of your paint. The four basic sheen levels are flat, eggshell, semi-gloss, and gloss (some paint manufacturers offer more sheen options). We rarely specify flat or gloss. Typically for walls we specify an eggshell finish; it has a low sheen level to help hide wall imperfections and it’s washable as opposed to flat. We often specify semi-gloss on wood trim, doors, and windows because it is slightly more durable than eggshell and not nearly as shiny as gloss.

Selecting The Right Color Picking the right paint color is a challenging task. It seems like the options are limitless. There are three main attributes of color: hue or color family (red, blue, green), intensity or saturation (purity of color, vividness, dullness), and value (lightness, darkness).You have to consider all three when selecting the right paint color. We typically use this order when selecting a paint color for a client. First we determine the hue we are interested in and then the intensity we want. This will narrow down the choices to a few paint strips in the fan deck. Then you just have to decide on the value.

Paint is a great way to add color to your life and breathe new life into any room!

If you have questions or want an expert opinion, we can help!  Call us!

interior-paint-colors-samples

Design Team

PKB DESIGN LLC

Posted in Interior Design | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Lighting Your Space- Layers and Effects

Posted on January 11, 2017 by blog

The three types of lighting that comprise a lighting system are ambient, task, and accent.

 home-theater-night
Ambient lighting is the general illumination of a space. Many ambient fixtures are overhead, near or at
the ceiling plane, to provide a fairly uniform distribution of light.
Task lighting supplements ambient lighting to aid performance in a given task, such as reading writing,or cooking. Popular task lights are adjustable desktop fixtures and undercabinet lighting.
Accent lighting highlights a particular item or area, such as a light to draw attention to artwork or displays.
The best lit interiors incorporate aspects of each of these three categories, maximizing flexibility and control. Despite all these artificial lighting options, consumer preference is strongest for natural lighting. Daylight is the most sustainable form of lighting and should be used as much as possible. Using natural lighting as a primary source combined with artificial supplements allows homeowners to enjoy lower energy costs.
img_1536_edited-17
Lighting fixtures, or luminaires, take different forms to create various effects. Categories of  luminaries include indirect, semi-indirect, general diffuse, indirect-direct, semi-direct, and direct. These groupings describe the direction the light is channeled by the fixture; indirect fixtures channel light upward toward the ceiling while direct fixtures shine light downward to the users. The other categories shine a given proportion of light upward and downward. A space that has only direct lighting tends to have more glare and a harsher feel while incorporating indirect lighting will create a balanced softer light source. The same space will feel completely different whether direct or indirect lighting is utilized.
Posted in Interior Design | Tagged , | 5 Comments