Blog

November 6, 2012

Chameleon Design Featured Project: Belmont Plan 3, San Diego

With Belmont Plan 3, Chameleon Design’s aim was to create a warm and memorable home that would appeal to young buyers with a family. We anchored the design with grey, weathered wood furniture and paired it with traditional upholstery, French flour sack accent pillows and dark iron and metal accents. Warm wooden plank floors and cabinetry rounded out the look.

For decorative accents, a collection of white pottery and plates were placed on the open shelving and mirror in the dining area. Botanicals created a headboard in the master and playful fashion sketches made a great back drop in the girl’s room.

Living Room

Family Room

Family Room Detail

Kitchen

Dining Room

Dining Room Detail

Master Bedroom

Girls Room

November 6, 2012

Home Design Trends: Designs for the Digital Age

Furniture designers are finding many creative ways to adapt to new forms of technology and the common household uses of devices like the iPhone and iPad. The traditional alarm clock of yesterday has become irrelevant and there’s always a need for another USB charging station. Welcome to the modern home!

JonasDamon.com

This alarm dock turns an iPhone into a nightstand alarm clock.

Rich Neeley Designs via Etsy.com

The book acts as housing for a charger (it’s a solid unit), and means there’s no losing the cord behind your nightstand or desk.

cb2.com

This table flips open to store a laptop or iPad inside, and is low enough to use as a work surface while sitting on the couch.

October 24, 2012

Home Design Trends: Colorful Front Doors

Homeowners are less afraid of color these days. Experimenting with color on your interior walls is one thing, but a little pop of color on the exterior will give your home an instant splash of style. We’re talking about the front door! And you don’t have to worry that it will turn off the neighbors, or potential buyers if your home in on the market. If you’re not sure where to start, look at your plants and pots for color ideas. Also consider your architecture, as not every color works with everything. Lastly, always use a high-gloss finish if possible.

October 24, 2012

Chameleon Design Featured Project: West Grove, Anaheim

For West Grove, we wanted to create a functional space for an established family. The style we used was clean, mixed with a “West Elm” sensibility, which is appealing to buyers. We used a simple, clean soldier-course tile layout, alternating mirrors on the long entry wall and neutral backgrounds. All of those helped to expand the space, which has a living and dining room that’s on the smaller side and no established entry. Organic elements and hints of goldenrod color added pizazz and special attention to the scale of furnishings helped with the size challenges. We also paid special attention to details such as Mom’s office in the kitchen and the “launch pad” re-charging station in the mud room.

October 24, 2012

Bringing in Nature

Chameleon Design has been always inspired by nature in our design work. Natural elements contain a unique beauty that can’t be replicated and we love to integrate them in our home design projects. Natural design lends to a clean and modern feel and works well with many styles. Even in modern spaces, a touch of nature can introduce a certain softness and balance to sleek surfaces and angular corners. Some of our favorite elements to use are reclaimed teak and stone, which pair nicely with glass and forged steel. We also like to work with natural woods, textural fabrics, natural concrete, and patina metal.

For an interesting take, pair industrial finishes with natural elements and organic textures. For example, nature-inspired accessories and organic textures against a metal coffee table and muted gray walls would look amazing. Linen and linen-like fabrics on windows, pillows, and furniture also convey a natural feel. Houseplants add a little color and help the room lean more toward organic than industrial. Homeowners can also bring in just a touch of nature by using various woods, seashells and natural grasses in their decor.

October 9, 2012

Home Design Trends: Argyle

An argyle pattern is made of overlapping diamond shapes, and comes in any color combination you can dream of. It dates all the way back to 17th Century Scotland where it was commonly used for kilts and socks. Today, though we still love a good argyle sock, the diamond design is popping up in everything from light fixtures to landscaping. We love the sense of three-dimensionality, movement and texture it lends to any space.

Photo: Houzz

Photo: West Elm

Photo: Houzz

October 9, 2012

Chameleon Design Featured Project: Lexington Plan 3, Valencia

The design and decor of Lexington Plan 3 in Valencia was geared towards the entertainment industry buyer. The plan is a family home with great rooms but no formal spaces. Chameleon Design took a modern eclectic approach with styling, which we know is great for active families.

The red brick wall in the flex space study creates a focal “moment” upon entry. Brick is already on the exterior and repeated inside as well on the family room fireplace. Concrete looking tiles, light taupe walls, warm espresso wood tones and lots of color pops create a modern, spunky, eclectic design. This home is perfect for a family with teenage kids, for it lends to a vibe that’s elegant and casual at the same time.

Family Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom Sitting Room

Office

Teenager’s Bedroom

Bonus Room

October 9, 2012

A New Spin on Laundry

Laundry rooms off the kitchen or in the mud room used to be the norm in home design. However, more and more new residential designs of today are mixing things up and putting the laundry room upstairs instead!

Thanks to new and quieter machines, the upstairs laundry room is pefect for homeowners who want their laundry as close as possible to the dirty clothes and bed linens. The linen closet is often built directly into the laundry room so that you don’t have to take your bedding and towels into another closet area. Home builders are always looking for new ideas like this that make homeowners’ lives a little bit easier.

Photo:Lennar Homes

Photo: Houzz

September 26, 2012

Folding Glass Walls

Looking to commercial designs of residential developments for new trends and ideas that are happening is always a good indicator of the next big thing in home design. We talked about outdoor living rooms in our last blog, and another aspect that we’ve been seeing like crazy are folding glass walls.

Often called Nano Doors (which is actually a popular brand who manufactures them) they are doors that can either be slid into a pocket wall, or into an accordion. At first glance the walls look like floor to ceiling glass windows, but each panel is actually attached to a hidden overhead track that allows the panels to easily slide open. A pocket wall will allow them to disappear from view once opened, resulting in a very cool effect. There are endless colors and finishes to work with including wood and aluminum, making them a great fit for a modern or traditional home just the same!

Photo: Pinterest

September 26, 2012

Chameleon Design Featured Project: Lexington Plan 2, Valencia

One of the newest trends in the housing industry is multi-generational living. Lennar has answered the demand by designing a home within a home that allows extended family to all live together- with private, separate living spaces. The unique floor plan includes a one bedroom apartment with its own entrance, bedroom, bath, kitchenette and living area. The apartment also has a lockable door that connects it to the house.

Chameleon Design was brought on to design the Lexington Plan. The challenge was to create a comfortable spacious feeling, while about a third of the space on the first floor is taken up by the apartment within the home. We were able to strike a balance between crisp and cozy with an updated farmhouse style. The home is designed for a young family and a live in mother-in-law, so we liked the idea of being drawn in by the worn-in pieces, but didn’t want a flea market look.

We accomplished this by devoting some space to modern display. The bonus room upstairs had clean framed game boards and the physical graffiti (this happened organically from pencils we left for the kids to draw with). Mom’s desk in the kitchen is a nice feature too.