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Greetings from the Big Apple (and farewell Big D): Beginning a Collection Out with the old (soon enough)... Greetings from the Big Apple: Window Shopping in a Winter Wonderland Greetings from the Big Apple: I confess... I’m a Pack Rat My bags are packed, I'm ready to go... Greetings from the Big Apple: The Blank Canvas of a Dorm Room Bienvenue à Paris: Shakespeare & Company Spooktacular Skulls: The Trend of Skulls in Fashion and Design Bienvenue a Paris: Lost in Paris What a Girl Wants: Or Are Great Closets Better than Sex? Bienvenue a Paris: Shakespeare & Company Bienvenue a Paris and Life without A/C How to Turn Your Home into a Piggy Bank... or at Least a Star! A little love from our friends at D Home... Sherry's Blog featured on DG's Online Editorial 2011 TX ASID Design Ovation Awards New things are blooming on Armstrong Pkwy. Spain Part 2 - Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, and Avila Jamaica Has Never Been Lovelier Working in a Winter Wonderland Tested: How Twelve Wrongly Imprisoned Men Held onto Hope Our winning kitchen is featured on DesignGuide's blog! John Bunker Sands Wetlands Center How to Vacation in Architectural Bliss Smith, Ekblad and Associates: Architects and Engineers Still More Design Riches (Part IV) The Design Riches Continue (Part III) Sherry is featured in Dallas Modern Luxury A Little Touch of the Doge's Palace Sherry Hayslip quoted in the Dallas Morning News A Weekend in Three Acts: Act 3 A Weekend in Three Acts: Act 2 Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera |
Living Large in Small Spaces“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo DaVinciRecently I was interviewed by Hunter Hauk for an article in D Home magazine on living large in small spaces. The article, Is Small the New Big?, appears in the January 2012 issue and features some of my suggestions on how one might make the best use of small square footage.  Read Is Small the New Big? here. Small space living is something my firm works with on a daily basis; whether our client is downsizing from a larger family home because they’ve become “empty nesters,” or they’re acquiring a second home (often smaller than their main residence, but occasionally much, much larger), or we’re working with the “second generation” clients on their first home. Life in a small space doesn’t have to be austere or cluttered. Life in a small space can be elegant.The key is to see the space with different eyes. To begin decorating a small space, it helps to establish your goal for the space. Do you want to make it feel more spacious and lofty, making the boundaries disappear? Or, do you want to emphasize the coziness of your small space? To achieve that open lofty feel, use a few fabrics generously, but limit patterns. Rather, look for glowing textures because too much heavy texture can feel like a bear hibernating in a cave. Keep the feeling gauzy and open with occasional glimpses of sparkly and transparency. If a cozy space is your goal, look for fabrics that have a matte finish, like cashmeres and soft wool. Avoid overly “furry” fabrics and focus on luxurious texture instead.
Wallpaper can also be used in a small space to great advantage. Large scale pattern is very hot right now and can work well in a small space, providing it doesn’t compete with other patterns. Small patterns would also work well, as they tend to blend and become neutral in a space. Avoid mid-scale patterns though.
The example below shows how to expand a small space using a subtle and relatively monochromatic palette of lustrous cream and soft grey. The walls are enhanced with a soft, almost tea-stained, hand-painted map of the world.
You may remember the image below (featuring some of my small collection of Old Paris porcelain) from my post on Collecting.
Love, Sherry Posted: January 25, 2012 And, so you don't think I've given my Style Scout the boot... don't forget to read Tiger Darrow's latest post here.
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