Today Judy, Britt, Katerina, Hilaire, and I had a Design Throw-Down for one of our clients. Working together, we threw down all of our ideas and came up with three great color stories in a soft, yet sophisticated palette.
Check it out!
Room 1: teals & warm neutrals
Room 2: greens and browns
Room 3: grays and warm neutrals
-Robert
As promised….an update on my client’s nursery project – here are a few shots from our install last week!
Hot pink and butter yellow are the pops of color in this bold gray nursery. I wanted to give my client a flexible design that could grow with her baby through the years. (Color scheme blog post here.)
Now we are just working on the final touches – art and accessories – so stay tuned, more pictures to come!
-Ashley
images: DLL
Here is a pictorial journal of the trends we saw recently during our Fall trip to High Point Furniture Market. What trends are you seeing?
images: Taken all by DLL
Have you seen the overdyed rugs currently flooding the home decor market? It’s hard to resist the bright, saturated colors and unique character of these rugs! Several years ago, I was given a 50 year-old wool rug with a traditional oriental design, but the old-school navy blue & maroon color scheme just wasn’t doing anything for me.
I needed something fresh and new, but I wasn’t ready to buy a new rug — And that’s how I decided to try a DIY approach to overdying my rug.
***A note of caution: the dyes and chemicals below can be harmful and you should only perform the following steps in a well-ventilated area while wearing a respirator.
Supplies you’ll need:
1. A 100% wool rug.
2. Long rubber gloves and a respirator.
3. For Rugs 6ft x 9ft or smaller, buy the largest plastic storage bin you can find. If your rug is larger, you’ll probably need something much bigger. For my 9ft x 12ft rug, I used a collapsible pool from Home Depot.
4. A bucket heater (to keep the dying solution warm). Jon-Don Chemical supply is a great source.
5. Thiox and Soda Ash from Pro Chemical. This if for bleaching your rug. How much you need to use depends on the amount of wool in your rug. As a rule of thumb, you will need 10grams of thiox and 10grams of soda ash in 10L of water for each pound of wool. However, if you rug is dark (like mine) you may need up to twice as much to remove enough of the original color. More detailed instructions on these products can be found here.
6. Acid Dye and Citric Acid from Dharma Trading Company. Again, the amount you need depends on how much wool you are dying. I used 3tsp of “Brilliant Yellow” dye and 1tsp of citric acid per pound of wool and got a good result.
7. Synthrapol (a detergent) from Dharma Trading Company. Follow the directions on the bottle for how much to use based on the volume of solution.
Here’s what to do:
1. Fill container with water, soak and rinse your rug. Then drain water.
2. Fill container with clean water and synthrapol detergent. Move the rug around to wash it.
3. Rinse the rug again. Put it aside.
4. Fill container with water again, and using the bucket heater, warm water to 130-140 degrees, or as hot as you can get it.
5. Add Thiox, Soda Ash, and rug to the container. Agitate thoroughly for up to 30 minutes. You’ll see the dye begin to come out of the rug and into the water.
6.Let the solution work for about 30 minutes, then add more Thiox and Soda Ash as needed. Soak for another 30 minutes or longer until much of the color from the rug is gone. The rug will never bleach completely, but that’s OK. The underlying design will remain an interesting part of your rug.
6. Rinse the rug in water. This is how mine looked at this stage:
7. Repeat the above steps, but use your Acid Dye and Citric Acid instead of Thiox and Soda Ash. It is a good idea to first mix the dye in a separate container with a gallon of boiling water before adding to your rug. The dying solution should be kept as warm as possible with the bucket heater — but make sure not to leave the bucket heater unattended at any time. You can let the rug sit in the dye solution overnight for the most brilliant color. You can also add salt, which some say helps to exhaust the dye solution.
8. Drain the rug, then wash with Synthrapol.
9. Rinse the rug thoroughly to remove all excess dye. You may need to wash with Synthrapol a second time.
10. Hang the rug to dry.
11. Enjoy your new rug!!
After two days of hard work and about $175 in supplies, your rug will have a new look that you’ll enjoy for years to come!
Let us know how your DIY overdye rug turns out in the comments section below.
Good Luck!
-Robert
image 1: lahidesign.com
image 2: pinterest.com
all other images by Design Lines Ltd.
This weekend, Katerina, Rob and I traveled to Charleston, South Carolina where we attended the ASID Carolinas Chapter conference and award ceremony. While there, we got a chance to explore the sparkling city and get inspired. Here’s what we saw:
Katerina’s friend and mentor, Jill Muti, gave us a tour of Ashley Hall, a historic all-girls school located in the heart of Charleston’s peninsula. There, we discovered a preserved mansion from the antebellum era, currently in use as an administrative center. But our favorite part of the school was a former aviary, a small outbuiling completely covered in local conch shells. Delightful!
During the day, we explored Charleston’s extensive street markets and antique stores. Among the treasures we discovered were ancient Italian artifacts and local artisan-made goods.
As the sun set, Charleston became even more majestic. With gourment restaurants and world-class bars, there were endless opportunities for entertainment. Among our favorite eateries were Husk and Magnolia’s, where we indulged in local fare.
But the main purpose of our trip was to recieve an award on behalf of Design Lines for our work on the Chancellor’s Residence at NC State University. We were honored to be chosen as winners among our talented peers from the ASID Carolinas Chapter.
We look forward to visiting this gem of the South sometime soon!
-Brittany
These days the trend is to buy local. It seems farmer’s markets, backyard fruit and vegetable gardens and even chicken coops are popping up everywhere. For us this has translated into clients requesting us to use local resources, American made products, and even using reclaimed material.
This lifestyle not only enriches everyday life but also simplifies it by knowing where and products are made.
Raleigh has even embraced this localization with a Chicken Coop Tour that showcases all the coops in their glory!
Katerina’s family receives a box every Thursday with fresh seasonal produce from local farmers. This is perfect for the working family who doesn’t always have time to stop by the supermarket. This box is left on the front porch; it is always a surprise to see what produce is inside.
Can’t get enough produce? Surrounding area farmer’s markets provide endless options for your culinary desires.
Downtown Raleigh Farmers Market , Western Wake Farmers Market, Midtown Raleigh Farmers Market, Carborro Farmers Market , Durham Farmers Market
Local restaurants in and around the surrounding Triangle area even promote that their ingredients come from local resources. Rob and Judy recently ate lunch at the Umstead and Herons has a menu devoted to everything local.
Brittany’s farmers market is in Carborro. She particularly loves the Chapel Hill Creamery Cheese Products and their Fall flowers – Dahlias and celosias are her favorites.
The crew at Design Lines doesn’t think this trend will end anytime soon, if anything we predict this trend will grow. How do you buy local?
images: 1-4: Carolyn Scott Photography-for Downtown Raleigh Market 5. Pinterest 6-10: Personal 11: The Umstead Pinterest 12: Personal
Our clients recently relocated from Italy to a home located in North Raleigh’s Bedford community. It took six months for a hole in the ground to become a 3 story home , fully furnished and accessorized for an active family of four. A six hour time change and our client’s location an ocean away brought Judy and me (Brittany) the opportunity to use technology like Sykpe and Basecamp, an online project management site, to communicate and present design concepts to our clients.From selecting fixtures and finishes, to furniture presentation and procurement, to move-in, our client’s gave us full creative license to design every detail of their new home in the United States. The client’s international roots give the home a distinctive aesthetic, with a European sensibility and we’re excited to share with you the project photos!
Photo above: the Dining Room with aqua leather chairs, a sisal rug, and metallic silver wallpaper is a study of textures- both casual and formal. Below: sun pours into the guest suite that accomodates family members who come to stay frequently.
Photo above: The eat in kitchen area with walls painted in Glidden’s Onionskin Tan. Below: The Media Room- with it’s blackout roller shades serves as a hangout space for the two teenage boys who live in the home.
Above: The swivel chairs upholstered in a Rock & Roll black patent leather sit in the music room for all of the family to become musical. Below: A teen boy’s bedroom
Check out some furnishings and fabrics used in the project and the final outcome of a teen boy’s bedroom, the Master Suite, and the patio (one of my favorite spaces) !
-Brittany
Designing a nursery should be fun and an adventure! I always tell clients once you know the gender, begin gathering ideas on different color concepts or themes for the nursery. If you plan on waiting to find out the gender that is okay too, not to worry.
Today’s color trends tend to be more modern and bright; but this doesn’t mean you can’t go for the soft pinks and blues. These days there are a tons of inspiration on blogs, etsy, and Pinterest. Design Lines has even created a “children’s room” board especially for the mother to be, so take a look.
For a current client of mine, I designed the nursery using a bold gray on the walls and then pulling yellows, pinks, and creams in the window treatment, chair and crib bedding fabrics.
Once the room is complete I will be sure to share the final look, so stay tuned!
Another thought to consider…is you must have a COMFORTABLE chair. As a mother you will spend a lot of time in the nursery so be sure you find a chair you love. I would even splurge on buying a cool ottoman too that compliments the chair, plus who doesn’t want to put there feet up. Those first couple of weeks you need all the rest you can get, so make it comfy for yourself!
Have you thought about accessorizing the nursery? While you want to steer away from the small trinkets that the kids can easily put in there mouths…these accessories offer great solutions depending on your color scheme.
Frames hold great family photos. Need some trinkets to hold valuables? Boxes and trays are always an option or consider a side table next to the chair like this one from Lucy Smith Designs. Interested in purchasing any of these accessories? Give us a call! 919-852-0570.
– Ashley
I was first introduced to Ben Ham’s work after my aunt bought a piece of his work to go above her sofa inside her beach condo. I immediately fell in love with the black and white photographs and Ben’s ability to capture the soul of the low country in and around Charleston. As a young child growing up vacationing on Kiawah Island, South Carolina my childhood memories are filled with angel oak trees and sweet grass blowing in the wind.
Using a wooden camera he is able to use sheet film to capture his photographs of natural landscapes not just from the low country but also out West. Ben has an amazing talent that is worth checking out!
-Hilaire
image: 1. Google 2. Ben Ham’s Facebook Page
