Small Spaces, no worries!

Houzz.com

One of the design strengths that I pride myself on is my space planning ability.  I think that the deck that we designed for the DC Design House (see below photo) was a good example.  Another good example is my little sister's condo in Arlington.  Read the story on Houzz.com today about it!  It is a 600 some square foot condo that had little personality when she got it three years ago.  We just officially "finished" it up a few months ago.  Northern VA magazine did a great feature article on it this week if you live in the DC area.

Five tips on small space design:
1.  Open spaces up to each other.  Seating groups and dining areas and working areas should have visual flow.  Example, in my sister's condo it would have been wrong to have a sofa face the TV.  The back would have cut off the dining space.
2.  Keep furniture open and airy.  The bookshelves in my sister's desk area are great because you see the wall behind.  It keeps the room looking "wall to wall".  The open benches on the deck I designed did the same thing.
3.  Utilize the height of a room.  Window treatments should go as high as possible.  Storage should go tall (read the article to see my sister's closet!).
4.  Mirrors and reflective finishes bounce light around reflection around a space to help to make it seem larger.
5.  Clear furniture or furniture with legs shows floor and helps trick the eye into thinking a space is larger.

Adorable and functional go hand in hand!

It is funny that my first post in months is going to be about measuring cups.  But it is =).  If you know me well you probably know that I have a little bit of an inherited obsession with kitchenware (sorry mom, I let the cat out of the bag!).  I usually keep a fairly tight rein on it because I also don't care for mis-matched sets.  However, Amanda made a very good point while we were baking my client Christmas goodies this year, I was severely lacking in measuring cups!  Part of that is just the way that I cook.  I don't measure- a pinch of this, a shake of that.  However, when you bake you need to be precise.  So, now I had a green light to buy a necessary tool for my kitchen!

Obviously as a designer I am very cognizant of style.  But most of my clients will probably attest that I am also very concerned with practicality.  And this adorable set of nesting doll measuring cups combines those two worlds perfectly!