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How to Transition Your Home From Summer to Fall

It’s always bittersweet when Labor Day weekend rolls around, as we know that means it’s time to say goodbye to summer. However, fall has an appeal all its own and the fact that it ushers in the holiday season makes it a special time. It’s also a natural time to transition your home for the cooler temps that will be here before we know it.  With simple things like swapping out textures and colors and adding natural elements into your décor, your home will be beautiful, comfortable and ready for the cooler days ahead. 

Layer Your Home
Just like we begin to layer our clothes come Fall, you can do the same with your home. Use differing but complementary colors, patterns and textures to add instant warmth to any room. Double up on pillows to make couches and beds extra cozy and try throwing sheepskins on your summery printed chairs, for texture and to create a warmer vibe.

Photo: Homepolish.com

Swap Out Your Bedding
When you feel that first chill in the air, it’s a great time to freshen up your bedding for the fall season. If you had lightweight cotton bedding for the summertime, incorporate luxe, cozy textures like cashmere or a soft flannel for fall. Fresh shams and maybe a few new throw pillows in richer tones will complete the look.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Ready Your Fireplace
Most of us don’t use the fireplace at all during the spring/summer months, so it’s likely that it could use a good cleaning to prepare for the cooler nights fall will usher in. A contractor of fireplace inspector will sweep the chimney and check for possible safety hazards, which is good to do once a year. If you prefer not to use your fireplace, you can create a beautiful and warm feeling with white pillar candles in varied sizes.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Prep Your Patio
Don’t neglect your favorite summertime space when the seasons begin to change. As fall ushers in, we experience some of the best weather of the year and evenings spent outdoors are lovelier than ever. Look into inexpensive fire pits if you don’t have a built-in and throw some machine-washable blankets on the outdoor furniture to fight that slight chill.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Pay Attention to Your Plants
One of the prettiest and most inexpensive ways to decorate for the fall season is to put foliage, flowers, and produce on display. Bring in an armful of cut branches or fill bowls with apples, pears, pomegranates, and nuts. Pumpkins and gourds are perfect in October and November.

Photo: Florali.com

Dim the Lights
Candles add a perfect touch to fall decor. As the days get cooler and we want to curl up with blankets, good books and warm cups of tea, a candle-lit room creates a perfect fall ambiance. Change the fragrance of your candles so they have more of a holiday feeling. Go for a warmer, muskier scent- we love Le Labo’s Santal 26 and Diptique Fig.

Photo: Barney’s NY

 

Home Design Trends // Layered Rugs

Layering area rugs is an easy way to add color and texture to your floors, while bringing dimension and interest to a room.  You can layer multiple rugs to create a custom size or if you can’t afford to get the large area rug you really want, buy it in a smaller size that you can afford, and put an inexpensive large rug down as the base. It’s also a easy way to incorporate mixed patterns and lend a relaxed bohemian style to a space that can easily be changed up later.There are no set-in-stone rules when creating this look- just make sure the bottom rug pokes out below the top rug to show off the layering effect.

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Photo: Glitter Guide

Photo: Remodelista

Photo: Domaine.com

Photo: Homepolish.com

 

Chameleon Design + Greer’s OC

We’re proud to announce that our very own Eve Lowey is the newest guest contributor to Greer’s OC! The site’s new “Interiors” section will feature home design trends in a section called Design by a Chameleon. Make sure you look for us in the Daily Dose of OC e-newsletter!Picture+1

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Chameleon Design Featured Project: Canvas, Plan 2 // Lakewood, CA

The Canvas collection of attached homes are conveniently located in Lakewood, near Long Beach. The architecture and color scheme of the building exteriors are contemporary and we designed the interiors to compliment that style. Plan 2 has three bedrooms and two baths and was given a clean, fresh look with light wood flooring and darker wood cabinets and furniture. A neutral paint palette of cream tones covers the walls which provide a perfect canvas for colorful pop art placed throughout the space. Bits of turquoise and mid-century modern pieces finish off this fun look.

Family Room

Family Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Bonus Room

Bonus Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Kids Room

Kids Room

Home Design Trends // Wire & Mesh

The industrial look continues to be a popular trend for interiors and recently there’s recently been a huge influx of wire and mesh furniture and accessories coming on the market. It’s stripped-back structure and subtle appeal that mixes well with any era or design style, makes it the perfect addition to any interior space. We’ve seen such a variety of pieces that we love, from woven tables and mesh chairs to light fixtures.

Wire & Glass Pendant Light, Pottery Barn

Vintage Brass Finish Iron Wire Accent Table, 55 Downing Street

Vintage Brass Finish Iron Wire Accent Table, 55 Downing Street

Woodard Wrought Iron with Mesh Settee, 1st Dibs

Woodard Wrought Iron with Mesh Settee, 1st Dibs

5 Drawer Mesh Wire Storage, Cheungs

Bertoia Barstool, Knoll

Bertoia Barstool, Knoll

Make Sure These Features Are Included in Your Plan

From the countertops to the closets to the flooring, there are many things to consider in the home buying process. You’ll find that it takes hours upon hours of working with the architect or building designer to ensure you get exactly what you want. There are so many details to check off the list, that some of the obvious items that buyers assume are included aren’t discussed and can lead to big surprises in the budget later on. Our advice is to make sure these things are specified and confirmed with the builder well in advance so you’re all on the same page. Below are a few of the main features that may be missing from your plan:

 

Flooring
The plan should specify the intended floor finish, such as wood, tile, carpet or polished concrete. Carpet is often left out of the building quote and since you’ll likely handle it directly through a supplier. However, other types of flooring, wood in particular, are a different story. Wood flooring is too general of a term, as it can include wood laminates, floating wood floorboards, bamboo and traditional strip flooring. With such a wide range of products and costs, it’s important to understand what the builder has allowed for to avoid any surprises.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Chameleon Design

Lighting
Lighting is one of the most common items to cause unhappy surprises in a buyer’s budget. The main reason for this is that an electrical plan is completed at the quoting stage. At this point, you’re likely still unaware of the lighting options available, as well as their costs. This can lead to prices being highly underestimated in terms of number and type of lights. Make sure you visit a showroom in the early stages of your project to better inform yourself about what the builder is quoting.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Chameleon Design

Woodwork
Homeowners are more and more likely to want built-in cabinets for storage and display solutions in a variety of spaces, including the bathrooms, laundry room, bedrooms and family room. Woodwork is easy to identify on a floor plan, but just like wood flooring there are so many options in terms of color, material, fittings, design detail and hardware, it’s very difficult for builders to quote an accurate cost for the item. It’s smart to enlist the help of an interior designer to develop detailed drawings for quoting or specify an allowance in your plan.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Chameleon Design

Closets
Custom closets are a must-have for many buyers these days. But there are many options for actually fitting out a closet, from wire racks and shelves to high-end custom cabinets. People tend to focus on the size of the closet and forget to consider the details of how it will be used. You can ensure more accurate quotes by including details in the drawings.

Photo: Pottery Barn

Photo: Pottery Barn

Wall tile
Wall tiling is another line item that is assumed to be included in the builder’s quote. However, it’s necessary that both the cost of the tiles and the extent to which they will be used is clear. For example, you’ll need to know the cost per square foot that has been allowed for the tiles (for both floor and wall), as well as whether the wall tiles have been quoted as full height, half height or even skirting tiles only. This may well vary from one bathroom to the next, so make sure to set out your expectations room by room.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Chameleon Design

How to Decorate an Open Plan Space

Open floor plans have become almost an absolute must in every modern home.  Contemporary homes are all about rooms that flow into one another without any visual obstacles, which can be a decorating challenge for some. The key thing to remember is that having an open floor plan does not mean that each individual area cannot have an identity of its own. Here are a few principles that can help you to organize beautifully and get the most out of your open-plan living space:

Create Spaces Within Your Space
Just because there are no walls doesn’t mean you can’t have different “rooms” in your open space plan. Smaller pockets of space, usually grouped around furniture and art, can create separate spaces within the open plan. Try using large furniture pieces for function or architectural elements as natural partitions to anchor each room.
Chameleon Design

Chameleon Design

 
Focus Your Accessories
Designing an open plan area can be challenging in that there is so much space to fill. While you might be tempted to fill every square foot with furniture, a few careful arrangements of smaller furniture pieces will complete your room-within-a-room concept.
Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Chameleon Design

Delineate the Space with Rugs
Another simple way to organize large, open spaces is by being smart about the positioning of area rugs.  Rugs bring the decor together and clearly create a more organized and curated space.

Chameleon Design

Chameleon Design

 

Statement Lighting
Another way to set a space apart from the other “rooms” in an open floor plan is to install a distinct light fixture. Defining the dining area with a great statement pendant or globe light will do the trick.

Chameleon Design

Chameleon Design

 

Use Color to Create Flow
Since an open floor plan demands one uniform backdrop for the entire floor, go with a single neutral color for the walls. Pops of color can then be added as accents in the form of throw pillows, artwork and rugs. In the kitchen, use a new material or color for the cabinets to allow it to stand out as it’s own room.

Chameleon Design

Chameleon Design

Open Up to the Outdoors
Whenever possible, extend your open floor plan even further by incorporating an outdoor room.  A covered porch or patio is extremely versatile and can be used for dining, relaxing and entertaining.
Chameleon Design

Chameleon Design

Home Design Trends // Tufted Furniture

A trend we’ve been loving lately is actually an older look “vintage” look, that’s suddenly new again- tufted furniture. Revived to compliment a modern home by using slightly modified designs along with new colors and materials, tufted furniture comes in a wide range of styles, shapes and forms. From headboards to sofas, to ottomans, pair a piece with your existing home decor to add visual interest and create a look of comfort and familiarity to any room.  Tufted furniture seems to invite you to sit, relax and even take a nap on it!

Tufted Slipper Chair, West Elm

Tufted Slipper Chair, West Elm

Tufted Round Ottoman, Cisco Home

Tufted Round Ottoman, Cisco Home

Tufted Bench, Target

Tufted Bench, Target

Adler Tufted Fabric Platform Bed, Restoration Hardware

Adler Tufted Fabric Platform Bed, Restoration Hardware

Chameleon Design Featured Project: Canvas, Plan 1 // Lakewood, CA

Canvas is a new collection of well-priced town homes in Lakewood, California. The contemporary exterior architecture and color scheme were creatively planned to appeal to the aesthetic of a younger buyer.

Plan 1 is the smallest of the three plans, with 2 bedrooms/2 baths. It has a modern style and a neutral color palette, incorporating pops of color. Walls were painted in creams and warm wood floors provide a nice contrast. White brick walls, a modern glass backsplash and white kitchen cabinets keep it looking fresh.  Bright colorful artwork collections, pillows and accessories add color.

Great Room

Great Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Design Studio

Design Studio

Guest Room

Guest Room

Front Exterior

Front Exterior

Home Design Trends // Industrial Chic

While formerly reserved for the likes of exposed brick lofts and industrial condo spaces, the industrial look has woven  its way into the mainstream and homes of both urban-dwellers and suburbanites. With simple shapes and raw materials like galvanized steel, glass and reclaimed wood, the look can be easily incorporated into your own home decor. The beauty of this look is that it’s versatile and fits in well with both traditional and contemporary spaces. Take a look at some pieces below that can easily be woven into existing designs and still make an impact.

Pub Table, West Elm

Bathroom Cabinet, Restoration Hardware

Bathroom Cabinet, Restoration Hardware

Laundry Basket, West Elm

Laundry Basket, West Elm

Wall Sconce, Luxe Home Company