The essentials

One of the essentials of a life well-loved is a comforting and comfortable environment.  Whether in a dorm room, apartment, condo, home or palace, most of us long for a welcome place to be. That is why it is never a waste of time or energy to dream about what you can do to make your habitat as wonderful as possible.  Dreams do come true.  Thoughts do become actions.  We are powerful and creative.  So, we recommend that you dream big.  Don't feel limited by economics or talent or circumstance, because dreams are free.  Just start the dreams.  Write them down.  Live with your vision for your spaces.  Refine them, change them, love them!  We're here if you need us.

Tips and Inspiration

Designer Tips and Inspiration

1. Start out with a furniture plan. Sketching out where you want everything in terms of the room’s layout is vastly important

2. Filling a large room with large furniture can be unattractive. Create small spaces and zones. This makes a room more conversational and cozy. When entertaining, adapt a seating arrangement of a room. Having side chairs scattered throughout makes this much easier.

3. Lighting is key. You’ll need lamps and reading lights near sofas and chairs. By determining where outlets are before placing the furniture, you can avoid making mistakes. Overhead lights cast unflattering shadows, so the more lamp light the better.

4. Add contrast to a room by leaving at least six to twelve inches between a rug and the walls.

5. Create vignettes in underused spaces by adding a painting, a console table, or a side chair decorated with a stack of books.

Looking back......2010 Top Ten Trends

2010 Top 10 Trends:

1. Colors: Purple,Gray, Brown,Turquoise,Green

2. Metals: Metallic Finishes, Wall & Ceiling Paints

3. Texture in Furnishings: Wovens(furniture/window treatment), Recycled glass(vases/tile), knitted ( pillows/ottomans)

4.Natural Wood Finishes: Flooring (recycled barn planks), Furniture, Fixtures

5.Wallpaper: Organic , texture, Geometric, Text

6.French Decor: Text (wallpaper/curtains/furniture), Burlap, Natural Linen, Aged/Worn Furniture Accessories,Flea Market Finds

7.Aviary (Wallpaper, Table Top accessories, Window Treatment

8.Animal Print (Zebra Rugs/Leopard Print Pillows)

9.Glass (Crystal block lamps, Glass top desks, Acrylic Seating

10.Retro (Sunburst Mirrors,70's inspired chairs, Platform Beds, Fur (Pillows, Rugs)

These are the top ten trends for 2010 that we used, were inspired by or anxiously waiting to be done with!  Here's to 2011 Trends!

Here is the link to the Carolina Home and Garden article on our room in the Flat Rock Designer Showhouse.  Pictures by David Dietrich.

http://www.carolinahg.com/Carolina-Home-Garden/Fall-2010/Gallery-Flat-Rock-Designer-Showhouse/?view=slmslideshow&cp=16&play=false

Showhouse, Showhouse, Showhouse!

Cocoon Interior Design has teamed up with the Historic Flat Rock 2010 Designer Showhouse. Our selection was the Grand Salon or the "Salon des Oiseaux" (Gallery of birds").   Our goal was to "wrap elegance with comfort, celebrating the timelessness of this magnificent home." The showhouse hours are Aug. 14th through August 29th @ the Saluda Cottages in Flat Rock, NC. For more information visit www.historicflatrockinc.org .  (We will be posting pictures in the following post, soon to come)


 

Summertime Memories

Summertime.....need I say more?  People coming and going.  Family reunions.  Afternoon Thunderstorms.  Lemonade on the front porch.   Kids catching Lightning Bugs.  Wet Towels.  The smell of Cut Grass.   Stopping and appreciating a cool breeze on a sweltering hot day.  Swimming holes.   What better way to celebrate family than to create a space just for these kinds of summer memories.

On a recent project we were able to renovate and rejuvenate an old family cabin that had seen better days.  The walls filled with old, cherished memories; we wanted to continue the tradition by modernizing and making the old cabin more functional for kids and grandkids alike (and perhaps future generations to come).  The cabin had to be comfortable, fun and functional while still retaining it's old charm and character.  The following are before and after pictures.

Winter Blues

So it's February and cold...............let's not let that be the end of the statement.  How about....So it's February and cold but we're having fun with color!  It may be freezing outside; There may be a sea of white on your front lawn or just plain mud.  You may be yearning for something that pops in your life. 

An easy solution, go to your local florist, supermarket and grab some fresh,cut flowers.  Arranged in a vase on your hallway table; this a great way to give a quick jolt of color and happy hello everytime you pass it.  You could also pick up some green foliage/plant ( Something green and alive...emphasis on alive!).

You could go on a little outing and pick up some fun, patterned pillows....with color(be bold and adventurous with yellow or hot pink).  This would be a great facelift for

your living space...and should tide you over until Spring rolls around.

If you're "itchin" to do some work.....pick up some paint and tackle that hallway or bathroom you've been meaning to makeover.

No matter what you decide, a little pop of color can go a long way to make your spirit awaken and come alive...at least until the Spring comes around and works its' magic.

Have fun!

Christmas Memories

Driving down the road I see Christmas trees strapped to the tops of cars. I see decorations of all kinds. I see the reindeer in the yards grazing, lit up with strands of lights, the Santa in his helicopter (propeller spinning in the cool air), Christmas lights dangling from rooftops and every display of holiday cheer imaginable. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or another holiday this is one of the best times of year to have fun decorating and making memories.

Family tradition usually dictates how you will decorate. Usually passed down from generation to generation. My mom loved all Holidays but especially Christmas. We grew up in an old Victorian Village on the North Shore of Long Island, NY. We lived in a large Victorian home perched on a cliff overlooking the Long Island Sound. My mom had a wonderful canvas to work with! I always remember how much warmer and cozier the house felt at Christmas. The Christmas tree took center stage in our main entry "The Hall". There the tree sat surrounded by windows with views of the Long Island Sound. No other furniture to clutter the view. One fireplace with a mantel adorned with green garland, candles and 6 stockings...sometimes 7 or 8 when my Nana or Aunt/and Uncle would stay with us. "The Hall" although large and empty normally became one of the coziest and most wonderful rooms in the house to sit or lay and dream (on the floor as there was no furniture). You could dream about what kind of presents were wrapped in those pretty boxes or wonder how Santa was going to make it into the house without catching on fire down the chimney. You could dream about how your parents were going to react when they opened the gift you picked out with your 5 dollars and how your brother better not have copied you in choosing his gift! That room with the Christmas tree was the only room in the house that felt like time stood still.

Although, I do remember other wonderful decorations scattered throughout the house and the wonderful aroma of cookies baking, it's "The Hall" with the Christmas tree that stays fresh in my memory. So although we had a large house to adorn, it was one room and one main decoration that set the most important memory for me. The lesson? It doesn't matter how much money you have to decorate with. It doesn't matter how much or how little you do decorate your house. It doesn't matter if you have the reindeer in the yard or the Santa in the helicopter atop your roof. It just matters that you have a consistent theme to your holiday. A Christmas tree for me...but maybe it's the Menorah or the Kinara for you that will set lasting memories for years to come...maybe even generations to come.

In my family the Christmas tree takes center stage in my decorating also. Once the tree is set, the ornaments placed and the lights are a glow...time stands still.  I hope it does for my children as it did for me, giving them time for dreaming.