Interior Design Archives - Decor Isabelle

August 29, 2019 By IO

Free your inner flamingo this summer!

Not ready to say “buh-bye” to summer? You don’t have to! Now is the perfect time to score some great deals on seasonal décor.

Don’t be afraid to add colour with textiles! Add pop to your patio with pillows and blankets in bright reds and coral — some of summer’s hottest colours — or walk on sunshine with an area rug in lemon yellow. These are some of the easiest ways to mix up your summer décor without completely blowing the budget.

Smell the Flowers

Don’t forget the small touches. From a new vase filled with tropical fresh flowers or a new beachy-scented candle, these finishing touches help extend those summer vibes.

Enjoy Your Exterior

Summer is prime time to update your exterior living spaces. From your front porch to your back deck, selecting outdoor accessories is as important as your interior decor. Try some new lantern-style lights and new cushions for outdoor seating. Add bold patterns and bright colours with cushions and an exterior rug to liven up your space and have the whole family enjoying the summer sun!

October 11, 2017 By IO

3 new ways to create wall-to-wall “wow!”

Decor Isabelle wall mural blog image Transforming a space often starts with the walls. You can take a room from “ho hum” to “va-va-voom” with a few brush strokes of new paint or the perfect wallpaper. Both are excellent options that offer immediate results. As an interior decorator, I’m always on the lookout for the latest trends that help elevate my clients’ projects. This includes new ways to look at walls.

I’m excited to tell you about three innovative wallcoverings that help create wall-to-wall “wow!”

Digital print wallpaper

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a wall mural is a great way to start a conversation. This isn’t your dad’s “deer in the woods” mural from the 1970’s. Today’s digital print wallpaper injects hi-res impact. Select imagery from a curated image library, or from your personal photos to create a space as unique as you.

Dry erase wall covering

Boost brainstorming and productivity by turning your entire wall into a dry erase board – REALLY! There are options for high gloss, low gloss (works great with LCD projectors), and even magnetic dry erase wallcoverings. Dry erase is a great option for the office, in a classroom, or for a busy household.

Dry erase wall paint

Dry erase wall paint is an excellent alternative to the dry erase wallcoverings described above. Apply it directly over your current wall color to convert a traditional wall into a dry erase board. A bonus benefit is that it also avoids the health hazards and mess associated with chalkboard paint.

Whether your goal is high impact or interactive idea-sharing, these are three excellent options to consider.

Ready to transform your walls?

If you’d like to learn more about incorporating one of these wall coverings into your design project, let’s connect. You’ll also save 20% if purchased by Nov. 15, 2017!

Thank you to Prime Walls, a company whose materials and techniques are redefining excellence in wall coverings, for contributing their expertise and imagery to this article.

January 31, 2017 By IO

Our Expert Interior Decorator Takes on Some Common Decorating Myths

The holidays are finally behind us and a new year is unfolding before our eyes. Now is as good a time as any to take a look at some common decorating myths and try to lay them to rest so that we can start the New Year off with a fresh perspective. Decorating and home interior design myths are like any other kind of myth; if you don’t nip them in the bud they take on a life of their own. So in order to set the record straight we’ll address as many of these myths as we can in this humble blog post.

Decorating Myths that can Undermine Home Interior Design

We’ve already set the stage so let’s just jump right in with our list of interior decoration myths.

Myth #1: Thou shalt not break the rules – While ‘the rules’ of decorating and home interior design exist for a reason, one of those rules is that your space should reflect your individual nature, tastes and personal style. Adhering to ‘the rules’ at the expense of yourself will produce a calculated look rather than something that naturally and comfortably says “you”.

Myth #2: Small rooms need small furniture – On the face of it this seems to make intuitive sense but the reality is that a room full of small furniture will have a bizarre, dollhouse feel to it. Certainly you don’t want to stuff a king size bed into a tiny room and push all the air out of the space, but that doesn’t mean you go tiny. Instead, think full-sized but practical.

Myth #3: Patterns and prints don’t mix – Why not? There is no better way to plant your personal flag on a space than to mix prints, patterns, textures and colours that appeal to you. Certainly your choices should be well-considered (and this is where your decorator can help) but simply shying away from mixing things up altogether is a mistake.

Myth #4: The couch is the most important piece of furniture in the living room – This is a well-worn myth that has no basis in practical reality. The fact is the most important piece of furniture in your Hamilton or Burlington living room is whatever you decide it is. While that piece should have something distinctive about it to justify its elevated position that doesn’t mean it has to be the couch. It could be anything.

Myth #5: Don’t overuse area rugs – Area rugs add a sense of warmth and comfort to a room that is particularly appropriate and welcome in places like Hamilton and Burlington, where winters can be brutal and unforgiving. Area rugs can be layered to add colour or keep bare feet warm on even the coldest February night, or they can be used to visually tie various pieces of the home interior design

Myth #6: A small room should be white – Or at least an appropriately pale neutral. That’s the myth. The reality is that not every small room needs to be white. Often homeowners wish to retain an air of coziness about a room and doing that using white is not going to work. Embrace the space. If small provides the warmth and charm that you’re after then by all means paint the room a darker tone and add bedding, throw rugs etc that ramp up the cozy.

We hope this list will help you gain perspective and clear the air as far as ‘the rules of decoration’ go. If you’d like to discuss an upcoming project or have home interior design and decoration questions call Decor Isabelle and set up an appointment to speak with Isabelle.

December 26, 2016 By IO

The Ceiling: the Lost Element of Home Interior Design

People spend so much time and energy trying to make sure everything to do with their interior decor is perfect they sometimes forget that the decor encompasses not just the things at eye level, but what’s overhead as well. The ceiling is one of the most underappreciated aspects of home interior design but one which wields significant influence over how a space is experienced. In this post we’re going to look at painting your ceiling something other than the standard white.

Bringing the Ceiling into the Home Interior Design Fold

If you’ve ever spent time wandering through the many renaissance and baroque palaces that dot the European landscape you’ve no doubt spent a lot of time looking up. That’s because those 16th and 17th century aristocrats (or more precisely the artisans in their employ) knew a thing or two about the value of the ceiling when it came to creating a complete home interior design. While you don’t need to invest in the full Versailles treatment for your Burlington or Hamilton home there are ways you can integrate the ceiling into the overall decor using some simple painting techniques.

Separation: Try painting the ceiling the same colour as the wall and then separating the two planes with a white trim. Crown moulding is a great way to achieve this effect that will bring its own qualities to the home interior design which you can also build on.

Colour stepping: Paint the ceiling the same colour as the walls but use a slightly lighter value of the colour on the ceiling. This will create visual logic as the values step back as the eye goes up. It will also produce the effect of the ceiling being slightly higher than it is.

Make it pop: For a room with white walls consider painting the ceiling a bold colour that will add some visual excitement (if for no other reason that no one will be expecting it). You can then introduce accessories with the same colour that will work to tie everything together.

Liven it up: Use stencils to create designs on the ceiling that will liven up the space. They can be as subtle or bold as you wish although they shouldn’t overwhelm what’s underneath them. Painting in this fashion can be tedious and labour intensive but you can’t beat the end result.

Patterning: If the idea of working overhead with stencils doesn’t appeal to you, you can create your own simple patterns on the ceiling just using a straightedge and pencil. Repeating geometric shapes, stripes and the like when deployed smartly can really bring the ceiling to life.

Embrace the cosy: A simple way to make a study or bedroom feel a bit cosier is to paint the ceiling a shade or two darker than the walls. This will create the sense that the ceiling is lower than it is which will add to the cosiness and sense of being enveloped by the space.

Tromp l’oeil: Okay so we said we weren’t going to go full Versailles but if you have the time and inclination and you can find a talented artist in the area why not introduce some tromp l’oeil features to the ceiling like a skylight or oculus. Your home interior design will take several quick steps up the ‘noteworthy’ ladder.

Home interior design encompasses the entire space not just the floor and walls. Isabelle Tremblay can help you find myriad ways of integrating your once neglected ceilings into the overall decor of your Hamilton or Burlington home. Call Decor Isabelle today on (416) 573-2301 to set up an appointment.