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Home Design Trends // Driftwood

The casual look of driftwood continues to “wash up” as a strong trend in home fashion. Mix in a driftwood table or lamp for an easy, updated look for home or office. The soft colors, textures and natural shapes look relaxed and timeless.

End Table, Crate & Barrel
Driftwood Lamp, Regina Andrew
Driftwood Mirror, Urban Outfitters

Chameleon Design Featured Project // Artis, Plan A1- Echo Park

Perched on the edge of Elysian Park, Artìs is ideal for those who want a bit of a suburban feel without being removed from the hustle-and-bustle of Sunset Blvd. Within walking distance of unique local restaurants and shops, Artis is a small community of fifteen new homes with the latest in energy efficiency and modern architectural design.

We had the pleasure of designing the model for Plan A1, a three bedroom/two and a half bath home with a super modern vibe. We used a lot of white with pops of bright colors for a fun and clean look. Mike Hixon of CADO Real Estate Group stopped by to check out the models and emailed us that he thought they were “memorable, engaging, emotional and perfectly targeted for the area buyer profile.”  Thanks Mike!

Front

Front

Great Room

Great Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom

Office

Office

Home Design Trends // The Modern Wingback

Timeless and modern, the wingback chair has stood strong for hundreds of years. Developed during the 1600’s in England where cold weather made the roaring fireplace the gathering spot of the house, the original purpose of this chair was to keep warm. Although the functional need to protect ourselves from drafts on chilly nights is long gone, the design of the ancient wingback chair has withstood the test of time. While some people may prefer a vintage mid-century piece, there are many options on the market- old and new.

 

Photo: Hamilton Chair, BoConcept

Photo: Harrison Wing Chair, West Elm

Photo: Papa Bear Chair, Hans Wegner

Photo: Milo Baughman Recliner, DWR

Simple Design Tricks to Make a Small Bedroom Look Bigger

Your bedroom is the one room in the house that should feel like no other.  It’s the place you go to relax and unwind from a long day and, most importantly, to get a good night’s sleep. If you’re challenged with a small space it can sometimes feel cave-like and uncomfortable, but it doesn’t have to. Your bedroom can go from cramped to cozy with a few simple ideas and tips. You’ll find that not only will your bedroom look larger, it will also be more functional. Here are a few tricks to help make the most of the space you have:

Let in natural light: While you should avoid blocking natural light in a small room, sometimes the only place that makes sense for a bed is right in front of the window. If that’s the case, try a low or see-through headboard to make the most of your sunlight.

Use a daybed: A daybed can help create the illusion that the room is more of a small sitting area, instead of a small bedroom that’s been taken over by a bed. Daybeds often have storage built in underneath too — another bonus for a small room.

Paint the ceiling: Painting the ceiling the same hue as the walls can help to erase the shadow lines that visually define a space. A white ceiling against a darker wall immediately shrinks a space — your eye can sense the room’s size right away. When the walls and ceiling are the same color, it’s harder for your eye to tell where the room’s parameters start and end, so the room looks larger.

Install pendants: Don’t take up precious bedside table space with bulky lamps and oversize shades; install pendant lighting instead. Hanging pendant lights from the ceiling creates a focal point while providing task lighting on each side of the bed. Pendants lights are also very on trend and you’ll have no problem finding a wide selection of stylish options.

Find Creative Uses for Storage: To help keep your bedroom clutter free, use decorative baskets in a bookshelf or wall unit to keep small items that don’t need to be seen tucked away. Storage bins under the bed are easily accessible, inexpensive and can store just about anything. And don’t forget to use your imagination when it comes to storage.  A small bedroom benefits greatly from multifunction pieces.  If you have room for a furniture bench at the foot of your bed, opt for one with a flip open seat with storage space inside.

 

 

Chameleon Design Featured Project // The Rows, Plan A

Plan A at the Rows in Milpitas, CA was designed for a young professional couple with a baby. The look is fun and fresh, with a new modern country design and a color palate that includes shades of blues and orange accents, as illustrated in the art grouping in the stair well. We incorporated lots of white and naturals to ground the scheme, such as the pine washed flooring and white horizontal paneling in the living and dining rooms, and the updated paneling detail with raffia wallpaper in the inserts!  These elements all lend to a very light and comfortable feel.

Family Room

Family Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Desk Detail

Desk Detail

Entry Detail

Entry Detail

Chameleon Design Featured Project // The Rows, Plan G

The Rows in Milpitas, CA is a townhome community is close to Silicon Valley. Plan G was done in a more natural style than the other plans, and it has a masculine feel to it. We called it the “dudes house” as its neutral tones, textures and wall treatments make the space fun and memorable.

The living and dining rooms have stacked stone walls, as does the powder room. Metallic wallpaper covers the accent wall in the guest room and an affordable decal applied to the wall in the large guest bath makes a bold statement. The study and comic-con themed boys room both have cork walls, and in the master we used an oversized, painted wood planking. Keeping with the neutral colors and fun textures, we chose a reclaimed teak root ball table for the living room that makes for the perfect centerpiece. The cork walls that are repeated throughout the home suggest a bit of a wine theme, so we when came across antique wine barrel tops we couldn’t pass them up and re-purposed them as art in the stairwell!

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Powder Room

Powder Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Boys Room

Boys Room

Office

Office

Office Detail

Office Detail

Living Room Detail

Living Room Detail

Guest Room

Guest Room

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bathroom

Stairway Detail

Stairway Detail

 

Design Tips for Guy-Friendly Spaces

It can be tricky to decorate a space with a guy in mind. The definition of “masculine” means different things to different people but doesn’t have to mean a pool table, big screen television and brown leather furniture. Design is personal and it’s impossible to narrow one gender’s style down to a handful of characteristics. One thing we do know for sure, and we’ve learned this with years of experience, is that whether a space is designed by a man or for a man, there are always a few things that stand out as being necessary to incorporate. It’s not a catchall for guy style, but here are some tips gleaned from stylish bachelor pads and other guy-friendly spaces that should make designing your masculine space a little bit easier:

Be Functional: Men are utilitarian, as they love to think in practical terms. That’s why functional spaces that incorporate things such as multi-purpose spaces and versatile storage units are the keys to any guy space.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Pinterest

Define your space with something surreal: Maybe it’s an abstract painting or sculpture. Or maybe it’s turning a Manhattan high-rise into a wood-like setting with forest wallpaper. Either way, adding something outside the box will help give your space character.

Photo: Pinterest

Photo: Chameleon Design

Find the perfect chair: Every guy needs that one spot where he can kick back and enjoy a book, a movie, a glass of scotch or soda, or great conversation. Keep in mind there are a lot of amazing chairs out there that are just as comfortable as a Lazy Boy, but won’t be an eye sore in your living room.

Lounge Chair & Ottoman, Eames

Hans Wegner, Papa Bear Chair

Home Design Trends // Wallpapered Accent Walls

Sometimes a room just gets better with a little pow of wallpaper. This is why the wallpapered accent wall has become such a big trend in design. Just as with a painted accent wall, a wallpapered accent wall can completely make a room. Just make sure that the accent wall you choose is the main wall in the room, such as the wall behind the bed or sofa. It should be the first wall you see when you walk into a room, and a great wallpaper will immediately draw your eye. Here are a few examples of wallpapered accent walls done well:

Photo: Pinterest

Photo: Houzz

GuestRm_Photo: Chameleon Design

Photo: Pinterest

Home Design Trends // Plywood Furniture

Plywood furniture pieces are typically contemporary, straddling the line between simple and sculptural. They have an overall minimalist modern nature, but their statement-making details are what we love. We’ve noticed a huge trend in furniture design gravitating toward plywood and particle board products. Why? Well, plywood is flexible, cheap, workable & recyclable. It is also resistant to cracking, shrinkage, and twisting/warping. And last but not least, it’s more eco-friendly and sustainable than hardwood. Is plywood the new hardwood?  It just may be…

Cherner Armchair

Eric Pfeiffer Mag Table

Plywood Office End Table

 

Chameleon Design Featured Project // The Rows, Milpitas

The Rows town homes in Milpitas, CA were designed with a bohemian feel to appeal to a young, hip buyer as a first residence.  The close proximity to Silicon Valley means that buyers will likely be a mix of busy professionals, working couples and starter families, as well as a variety of international ethnicities. To attract those types, the builders chose Urban Craftsman architecture and we designed the interiors with a contemporary flair. We used smokey greys, browns and creamy textures as our base colors, such as with the rug and brick wall in the living room/dining room.  We also added a lot of bright pops of color like purple, citron green and fuchsia which made the models feel youthful and modern.

A fun challenge we faced with the space was the narrow living room/dining room area. As a solution, rather than using a small dining table in the dining room, we extended the living area by adding an armless piece and pushing a table and two chairs up against it. That trick expanded the seating while upping the inviting factor of the space at the same time. The other issue with narrow spaces is that they tend to have less natural light and can feel dark. To remedy that we painted the brick a light color and added track lighting to brighten things up.

Living Room

Living Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Dining Area Detail

Dining Area Detail

Entry Detail

Entry Detail

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Office

Office