Classic kitchen
It’s no secret that white kitchens are my favourite…white cabinets combined with white countertop and backsplash looks fresh, clean and classic.
elle décor
marthastewart.com
White cabinets with black granite looks lovely too if the black is repeated. Love the floor in this pic and the black lighting. Combined with the glass doors and warm wood, it is stunning.
eric roth kitchen
Either way, you won’t regret going with a classic white kitchen. When choosing hard surfaces, it’s important not to fall victim to trends and fads. While you want to have a current look, you don’t want to be oh so 2013.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Is your home set up for calm?
If you hadn’t noticed, it’s a crazy world out there.
www.woldcnews.com
Rush hour traffic, demanding jobs, child and elder care, combined with higher and higher expectations to do everything perfectly…whew…it’s exhausting. Not to mention overstimulating. It seems everyone wants to de-stress, go slow and calm down. Diet, exercise, spiritualism, these are all important…but the most important to me is ‘home’.
houseplansandmore.com
Think about what the idea of home means to you – a safe haven, a calm retreat, a place with love and laughter? Does your home provide you with this? The difference between a house and a home is vast.
feefeern.blogspot.com
Home has cozy chairs, books, good food and contains our favourite things. A house is basically just a dwelling. Anyone can live in a house, but making a home takes a bit of work.
indulgy.com
If the place where you live doesn’t make you feel good, then you are missing out. Crafting a home that reflects who you are and how you live is so worth the effort, especially in today’s crazy busy world. As Dorothy says, “there’s no place like home”.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Every room needs the unexpected
Sometimes it’s a pop of colour, other times it’s a differing texture. Every room needs a bit of the unexpected. It’s what makes it pop.
elle décor
The good thing is, it doesn’t have to be much. A few bright cushions in a neutral room, or a rustic stool beside a velvet sofa, is all it takes.
house beautiful
Rooms shouldn’t be perfect – they need tension. If there’s nothing just a bit off, it can look placid and dull.
house beautiful
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Hang grandpa’s old skates on the wall, recover a footstool in bright pink and put it in a room full of browns. It’s the surprise that’s exciting.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
5 easy steps
January is always the month I want to organize and freshen up the house. The Christmas decorations get packed away and I love getting back to normal. I walk around the house thinking how cozy it looks, and maybe, if I just added a few more cushions, or cleaned out the book basket, it would look even better.
Here are my 5 easy steps to create a beautiful home.
1. Organize / Remove Clutter / Clean
iheartorganizing.blogspot.com
2. Rearrange furniture to create balance
elle décor
3. Paint and add wallpaper
zoffany
4. Introduce fabrics with texture and pattern
brunschwig and fils
5. Surround yourself with authentic accessories
elle décor
January is the month to get organized and be creative!
Wishing you a happy 2013!
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Give it a jolt
It usually starts with a phone call, ‘my house is missing something, it’s just not quite right’. So off I go to see what the problem could be. As soon as I walk in, it’s obvious that it’s missing the jolt…the wow factor…the edginess. Call it what you want, but it’s the opposite of matchy matchy.
warm brown bedroom
Have you ever been in a room that’s done all in warm tones and you literally feel choked up? Really…sort of like you can’t breathe. It’s over saturation with the browns, reds and rusts. Then there’s the opposite problem. Usually in the newer homes, all greys, whites and iciness. You immediately feel the chill.
house beautiful
What’s needed in both cases is the jolt of the opposite. There has to be a balance between warm and cool. That’s what makes a room feel comfortable.
elle décor
Every warm room needs a good dose of cool colours, be it cushions, wall colour, area rug or accents. Warm up greys with a punch of yellow, purple or magenta. If you have brown, keep it current with pops of bright colour. Mixing white or cream in lightens everything up.
via decorpad.com
Toss cushions are the layer that first catches your eye. Try adding some new colour this way. If it’s working for you, then think about changing the paint colour. It makes a huge difference to a space if there is a good balance between warm and cool.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Staged to sell
Your home is probably the most expensive thing you’ll ever own. When it comes time to sell, getting top dollar is important. It pays to surround yourself with people who can make this happen. Most people know the benefits of using a realtor, but they don’t realize the value in having their home professionally staged.
Jan Kabatoff
It’s all about creating a lifestyle for prospective buyers. You need to speak to their dreams and show them the wonderful life that awaits them in this home.
Jan Kabatoff
This is a home that I staged in September. The owners were a young busy family, and over time their home became infused with their life. I was called in to help arrange the furnishings so that buyers would be able to see themselves living happily in this space.
Jan Kabatoff
Staging a home does not have to make it cold or phoney. Your home just have to have breathing and dreaming space. When doing staging, I use a lot of design psychology so that prospective buyers feel at ease and can see the beauty of the home.
Jan Kabatoff
This home was on the market only a few days when they received an offer. The homeowner was thrilled and said it was well worth the consult fee of a few hundred dollars! Not only did she get an offer over her asking price, selling quickly limited the disruption in her family’s life.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Let it snow….
As the snow pours down in Calgary, I feel so lucky to have chosen today to work at home. With the fire going it’s so cozy in the family room. If your place isn’t feeling warm, cozy and safe, try adding in some new toss cushions. Honestly! Whether they’re custom fabric or Home Sense, new cushions add so much to a room. A nice throw helps too…and maybe a new lamp…
ralph lauren fabric wallcovering
zoffany.com
Surround yourself with what you love. Colour is so very important, but so are textures. During the winter months it’s nice to be surrounded by velvets, wools, chenilles and cable knits. It’s all about the warm and fuzzies.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Freshen it up
There are many ways to freshen up a tired space without throwing everything out and starting again. New toss cushions on an old sofa will bring some life into a living room. Add in some interesting accessories, a great ottoman and tons of texture. The character quotient will skyrocket.
houseandhome
Perhaps the most overlooked styling tool is the use of texture. In order for a room not to fall flat, there needs to be a variety of textures. The hide ottoman is such a stand out piece that makes the rest of the room look amazing. Keep in mind that every room needs a mix. In easy terms, just remember that a combination of rough, soft, shiny, and flat will pull together a room.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
Colour or not?
All the decorating magazines are raving on about colour…it’s back, you need it and neutrals are so over. Hmmmm…this may well be the way they see it, but many of my design clients are not surrounding themselves with loads of bright colours. And that bright red velvet sofa…they’re taking a pass.
elledecor
So often I hear clients say that they want their home to be a retreat, a quiet oasis from the craziness of the world. Colours such as creams, warm greys, soft aquas and wheat are what they are choosing.
countryliving
As much as I love colour, I just can’t live with it. Sure, in a showroom, I’ll be the first to run over to the pair of chartreuse chairs and drool all over them. But in the end it’s not what brings me tranquility in my home. I say if loads of colour is your love, then go for it. But if colour doesn’t do it for you, don’t be afraid to buck the trend.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.
A Pair of Chairs
Adding a beautiful chair to a room is the finishing touch. It’s equivalent to adding a sculpture or an oil painting. It’s unexpected, personal and adds a layer that elevates a room from nice to simply stunning.
house beautiful
Well if one chair can do all that, imagine what a pair of chairs can do. Chairs can be so much more than just seating. They are expressions of taste, and it’s their job to be the style maker in a room. Most living rooms have a sofa, but it’s the occasional chair that adds the flair.
decorpad
It’s an opportunity to be a little bolder. Because a chair takes so little space, it’s okay to go large with the fabric choice. Combining classic form with wild fabric is always a show stopper.
house beautiful
elle décor
Whether the look is modern, classic or traditional, a pair of chairs will always work.
elle décor
Today the best looks are combining styles and mixing it up. Check out consignment stores and antique markets for really interesting shaped chairs. Taking them to a good upholsterer for a fabric change is usually required, but it’s what makes the pair one of a kind.
house beautiful
Buying a matching sofa, loveseat and chair just isn’t the way to go. A sofa and a pair of chairs will give your room the designer look.
If you would like to make good design a part of your life, email me.
Karen Fron Interior Design is a Calgary based design firm. We believe that a well functioning and beautiful home makes life better. It’s not about how much you have, it’s about using what you have to create beauty.