One of the things I like to do when I design a modern space is to add more layers for depths and architectural interests. Therefore, the space will not look too plain, cold and boring.
For San Gabriel Valley project we did, I added a white TV panel above the client’s existing white TV stand and float about 1″ from the wall, then install LED light behind of the white panel.
Here is the Before:
Here is the After:
So, here are 3 steps we did to achieve the look:
Use 2×4 wood strips to build a frame onto the TV wall. The length and width of the frame are 2″ less than those of the TV white board cover. Get the materials:
Wood Strips
2. Wrap LED tape light around the wood frame.
Get the materials:
Soft White LED Tape Light
3. Install the white cover on the top:
You can paint it in white or cover with your favorite wallpaper. You also can use white hardboard from Home Improvement store and use end-cap around the wall panel.
Hi, guys, I hope your new week started with a positive tune. As usual, I love to share some rooms that I came across over the weekend. The reason I share them here is not only because they are beautiful but also they are quite unique with full of good ideas and personality. Often, the rooms that touch our hearts are not the rooms that are highly polished, but rather approachable yet with some surprises.
Love this cream-on-cream neutral color palette. The low-back sectional with performance fabric here is comfy, practical yet chic and stylish. The chandelier hanging over the coffee table here is quite quirky and playful. The blush and orange patterns on the throws add a touch of softness.A Frenchy Living Room Full of Match-and -mixingS from Different Periods.I love the contrast between the classical chinoiserie wallpaper with the abstract artwork. Also an IKEA lime color chair truly shows off the master skills of mixing high and low here.
Dusty rose color on this couch is quite romantic and unique.The lines in above design are quite neat while the round shape of the ottoman softens the interior a little bit.When a classical mural pairs with casual yet a clean white couch, the result is quite striking.The sophistication of wall panelings contrast with super casual comfy Moroccan rug.
Flooring-to-ceiling bookshelf with artworks and upholstered arm chairs in the frontThe curve.The round artwork above the fireplaceA Vintage Fashion Show with sexy colors.
We like to take a casual walk at a neighborhood coastal resort after a long run on Sundays. the late afternoon glow, the Mediterranean architecture details, french cafe, rose gardens, the sea not that far and the sunset…etc. are just like a dream to me. Wouldn’t be nice to take a little get-away over the weekend to recharge once a while?
I always like the Meditation stonework.Lush rose garden always make me feel greata coffee moment with some fresh flowers
late-afternoon lazinessNow, it is sunset time.Candles make me expect a romantic and peaceful evening
In case, you would like to incorporate some aged Mediterranean pieces for your interiors, here are some of my picks:
Couple of weeks ago, we went to visit Louis Vuitton X pop-up exhibition in Beverly Hills. It is about an immersive journey through the House’s 160-year history of creative exchanges and artistic collaborations. Discover over 180 items from Louis Vuitton’s archives. Well, it is a quite a show and very interesting to see how they put up a fashionable color-palette , showcase their production process, iconic designs over the years and artworks. Please join me for a short tour.
Avocado Green and Pink —Very Youthful Color PaletteThe high-polished flooring creates a great backdrop to showcase LV fashion.LV Leather Materials—Love those colors!Craftmanship
Iconic
The favorite part for me is actually the patio lounge area. And when we got there, there were not many people. So I can really checked out all of the details.
First of all, I love how they use pink on the floorings and chairs—-such a cheerful color that light up everybody’s mood immediately.
Cheerful Pink!
And different shades and patterns of yellow and white on pillows give eye a rest and also create resort-like casual atmosphere.
Love those tassels on the white pillows–very playful
Now you get some ideas to style your patio party with some dramas.
You may already see Turmeric color from runway, cars, objects, etc… The color is kind of catch your eye now—fresh, fashionable, youthful and exciting.
Turmeric is an enlivening orange that infuses a hint of pungency into the palette (Color descriptions by The Pantone Color Institute).
I guess we may have stayed millennium pink and pastels too long and truly need something different or something to break through to. The more I look at this color, the more I fall in love with.
Le’s take a look from fashion inspiration first:
TURMERIC LOOKS GOOD IN THE ART AND WITH THE ARTspicy and elegantcasual and funLook Good with BlackTurmeric looks good with light blue.Turmeric looks good in the refined interiors.Look Good with PinkLook Good with Nutrals Tones
All right, let’s tour some interior spaces featured with turmeric color.
Today, I am going to continue the topic on how to choose right counter-tops for your kitchens. I talked about natural stones for countertops last week. If you haven’t read it, you can click here
Quartz
If you are the one who want modern look with less care but still want some natural elements, quartz countertops are the kind for you.
Quartz are engineered stone products consisting of about 95-percent ground natural quartz and other materials with 5-percent binding resins. Here are the main features for quartz countertops:
1.Moh’s scale 6.5—7
2.Engineered from natural materials(Quartz) and added polymers, pigments and resins.
3. Engineered to be heat, scratch, pitch and stain resistant (but not bulletproof)
Large format porcelain tiles are really hitting the countertop market with their versatile designs now thanks to the advanced digital print technologies. Composed of clays and minerals fired at very higher temperatures, porcelain is a durable surface and is on the rise for use in kitchens and bathrooms.
Slabs of porcelain can come in sizes as large as 10’ x 5’, though they can be custom ordered to be much bigger or smaller. One of the most notable qualities of these slabs that you might discover in person is how thin they are. Measuring just 6-12mm in thickness, they automatically become some of the easiest and most lightweight materials to work with.
Here are some features of porcelain countertops:
Moh’s scale: 7—9
2. Engineered material
3. The hardest, most heat, scratch and stain resistant materials of all materials used for countertops.
4. Mild soap and warm water to clean
5. Polished and textured finishes
6. Kitchen and bath applications
7. Indoor and outdoor application
8. Commercial application.
Companies such as Neolith and Florim have come out with stunning surfaces, with patterns that look almost identical to marble. Metropolitan has been fabricating full height backsplashes and full height fireplaces with large format porcelain, creating unique and beautiful spaces.
I hope you find the above information helpful
There are some protection kits. cleaning kits and pain kits you may find useful for your quartz countertop.
I have designed some modern interiors for my recent projects. People love SoCal’s airy vibes filled with natural lights. Meanwhile, they also would like to incorporate textures, geometric artworks, patterns, pops of color and earthy tones to create an inviting and warm atmosphere. For this San Gabriel modern home project we did, we add a smoke glass chandelier with a brass stem, several sky blue-pink -background geometric artworks, a grey velvet pouf, an oversized blush tufted square ottoman to bring a healthy dose of warmth , interest and depth to the space while we e keep the original motif-patterned Moroccan rug and brown leather swivel chair. Also, two elegant silver-leafed side tables we placed by the mid-century low-back sectional elevate the space with sophistication and luxury. So the end result is airy, light yet warm, modern, clean yet glamorous.
In case you are interested in the designer sider table we used for the project, now it is on our Labor Day promo and here are the details for the piece:
With double the style and twice the glamour, what’s not to love about this charming end table? Its metal frame features a Lightly Brushed Chrome finish while its signature circular top and bottom shelf are finished in Soft Silver Leaf. Thoughtfully designed, both shelves offer an integrated storage drawer for functionality and with it’s small profile, this cute number can fit just about anywhere.
FEATURES:
Metal frame in Lightly Brushed Chrome. Top and bottom shelfs in Soft Silver Leaf. One drawer in top and bottom shelves. Drawer interiors in Soft Silver Paint.
CONSTRUCTION:
Top shelf: 16″W x 17.5″D Bottom shelf: 18.5″W x 24.5″D Space between shelves: 9.250″
So often, lighting bulbs are what we often ignore. I am wondering if this is mainly because the lighting fixtures always come without bulbs. What really frustrates me sometime is that vendors couldn’t provide a complete specs sheet specially for LED bulbs. Meanwhile, consumers don’t really think that these light bulbs are that important. But in reality, they are. Just think about it, by just flipping a switch, your mood changes immediately. Also, with LED starting to dominate the market , it is a little bit complicated to choose right LED bulbs than the traditional lighting bulbs in terms of color temperatures, dimmability and compatible dimmer options. Today, I am going to share 5 tips to choose right light bulbs.
1. Focus on fixtures and function
Number 1 rule is to always make sure the shape and base of the bulb fits into your fixtures. Also understand the purpose of lights: general /ambient lighting, task lighting, accent lighting, entertains lighting …etc.
2. Understand two terminologies: watts and lumens
Every package has codes on it for the amount of lumens and watts the bulb emits. Lumens are the amount of light emitted from a bulb. The more lumens, the brighter the light. Watts are the amount of energy a bulb uses. In general, the lower the watts, the less energy used.
3. Invest in LEDs
Although I mentioned at the very beginning that choosing right LED bulbs can be little bit complicated than traditional lighting bulbs but LEDS are 70 to 90 percent more efficient than traditional light bulb technologies and last more than a decade. It can be a few dollars a piece, and you can end up saving $80 or more over the life of each bulb in energy costs versus a comparable incandescent. As designer, what important to me is the great design flexibility provided by LED lighting such as indirect lighting, sculpture lighting , back-lit etc.
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4. A simple guide to specify a good LED lighting for residential application
a. Soft white—(2,700k -3,000k)
b. CRI > 90. As a rule, a CRI of 90 or more is considered high and anything below 80 is considered mid-range to low. You can click here to read more
c. Dimmer-ability without flick.
5. Think smart lighting. If you have different layers of lighting and more than 5 lighting fixtures in your home, wouldn’t be nice you can just turn on lights without extra hardwares with an ease. Smart lighting bulbs have a sensor on them and usually require a hub setup. I will talk about this more in a separate blog.
If you are like me and have some hard time to find good chanderlier bulbs, here are my recommendations:
In case you want to get to know a little bit about smart lighting system, here is Lutron’s Caseta bridge system.
Here are some led chandeliers you may be interested in:
There is always a balance for a good room design. A feminine room will stay timeless with some masculine elements. Here are 5 room that incorporate a good balance between Yan and Yan.
Black-and-white -alternate Marvic stripe wallpaper inspired by menswear nicely contrasts with elegant red draperies and roman shade.“The vintage David Hicks love seat, upholstered in a Rubelli tweed and brightened by pillows by the Rug Company, is joined by an 18th-century Venetian grotto table and a 1930s gueridon by Jansen.”“The antique herringbone floor in the dining room of a Manhattan apartment designed by Penny Drue Baird is offset with hand-painted wallpaper by Gracie”Custom-made sofas clad in a Rogers & Goffigon dark navy blue wool flannel create a nice balance with the feminine cream background, elegant draperies and a round antique brass mirror over the fireplace.a sectional sofa in a windowpane-check fabric by William Yeoward nicely contrast with floral draperies.
Industrial style is still going pretty strong in Los Angeles–concrete, gray-white-black color palette, organic forms and casual vibes, …etc. A lot of objects and furnishings are mainly from local artists. So, they are very detail-oriented. This weekend, we were invited by a loft showroom opening. Please take a tour with me.
Here is where the party started. Love this all-concrete vibe and how they did the lighting design.The wall decors (mirror and lights) are very zen-like and set the tone for the whole space.
Great idea for dividing walls.High-ceiling spacious living room is filled with artwork, plants, unique lighting fixtures and beautiful crowds.Please pay attention the back of this mid-century sofa–it’s kind of cool.creative artwork
Here comes the kitchen–very industrial and kind of layback style. but check out what they got for their appliances.High end appliances–this one is True brand.
Jenn-Air microwave range wood and range.Antique polished brass faucet is such a nice touch and elevates the whole space.
LED Under-cabinet LightingVintage Coffee Maker
Ceiling pendants instead of can lights Another gathering in kitchenStylish shelving unit.
Fresh flowers always make people feel good and make space alive.book stylingPractical reading lights hanging over a super comfy sofa.Built-in wine rackThe Object
Get the materials:
2. Wrap LED tape light around the wood frame.
2. Wrap LED tape light around the wood frame.
