Art in the Home Exhibition

Come check out our Diverse Dining Room at

Art in the Home!

At Bloomington Theatre and Art Center, the Inez Greenberg Gallery will be divided into five living spaces designed by guest interior designers/design teams. Each "room" will feature handcrafted furniture and home accessories by local and regional artisans.

What kind of room am I doing? Read on!

Where does family gather? Where do guests gather when they come over? Where do you sit to read the paper? Where do the kids gather to study, draw, practice their musical instrument? That's right...the kitchen eating area! My room is based on the diversity of the family eating area whether an eat-in space within your kitchen or a separate dining room near the kitchen. Nowadays, that is where all of the hubbub occurs. With the help of my assistant, Kelsey Jacobucci, I have designed a room where family and friends can gather at the table, lounge in the rocker to read, practice an instrument or give a one person musical performance. There is storage in the cabinet for the family art supplies as well as linens and accessories for the table. Having an eclectic style only makes the space feel more personable and inviting so family photos and art can easily be displayed. I selected artists whose style, technique, and pieces would comfortably integrate with the feel I wanted to convey in this room. Enjoy!

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 20, 2014 6-8p 

If you can't make the opening, the displays are viewable for 6 weeks until April 4, so come at your leisure!

Support the arts! Susan

Eclectic Vintage Color, Part 2 -- the Dining Room

Hi, and happy holidays to all!!

Welcome to Part 2 of my "Eclectic Vintage Color" home showcasing the Dining Room. I discussed the KITCHEN as well as project goals in Part 1 here, so check that out if you want a refresher.

For the BEFORE PICS:

And the AFTER PICS:

We started with an existing blue/gray handmade paper wallcovering we chose to keep. As in the kitchen, we continued the bamboo floors and painted the trim white. My client had inherited a beautiful vintage Henredon dining set I thought would be lovely and fulfill her vintage-love, so we reupholstered the chairs with a modern yet vintage inspired F. Schumacher fabric. We selected orange to bring in warmth, contrast with the blue walls, and give the room energy. We kept the existing and truly amazing chandelier. I believe it is a vintage Venini! Definitely a keeper! 

Bringing in more light and dark orange to coordinate with the chair upholstery, custom silk draperies with a darker accent trim were incorporated. For the wall, my client fell in love with a textile art piece found on Etsy, utilizing hand dyed fabric strips, and strengthening our blue/orange concept.

My client had purchased the artist made metal mirrors quite a few years earlier while traveling. At that time, we put them in the dining room, knowing someday when we revamped the dining room, they would be incorporated, and they worked out splendidly!

The small pillows made for the two extra arm chairs incorporate all of our colors...light and dark blue, light and dark orange, and tan hues from the floor.

For the floor, the perfect wool rug...again incorporating all of our colors. The beautiful artisan vase my client loves, now blends in with the new color scheme back at front and center in the middle of the table.

I hope your holidays have been pleasant and your New Years is fabulous!! XXOO Susan

A Contemporary, Colorful Living Room

Hello my fabulous blog followers!

Below are pics of a living room I recently completed. It is in the same house as the kitchen from my last post. The final piece for this living room took awhile. It was finding just the right table for the corner in between the two purple sofas. With those high arms on the sofas, we knew the table had to be fairly high for function, but if it was the same height as the arms, it would look awkward...happy balance time! We also really wanted a pop of copper on top (say that 5 times fast :) to tie in the chairs and complement the purple sofas. I really like the Asian art and the Asian feel of the table lamp. Both of those features soften or take the edge off of the contemporary lines and add more visual depth. Enjoy!

 Keeping everything very geometric for a contemporary feel...also the nature of the architecture of the house.

 I love the windows in this house! Beautiful dichroic glass art on the coffee table by Designs by Shoshana. 

Looking into the dining room...tying the rooms together with red.

Off set wall hung shelves provide a nice place for art, family pics, and mementos.

Later, Susan

Finished Kitchen!

I'm sharing with you a kitchen I recently finished.  The home is a wonderfully designed architectural gem, and clients I have worked with for many years. The home has high ceilings, fabulous large windows, and an open but very warm and inviting environment...I love it! Enjoy!

 Stainless steel tile backsplash and granite countertops. I love how my woodworker Walt McHenry decided to continue the maple top trim of the cabinets around the cooktop hood!

 White laminate and maple cabinets with maple floors

 A look into the adjacent family room

 A closeup of the backsplash tiles and granite countertops

 Stainless appliances and cabinet hardware

 I can't decide if I like the pic better with the undercabinet lights off or...

on! So thought I'd include both! Now to find the perfect table and chairs!

Later! Susan

Decorative Glass in the Kitchen

Decorative glass used in remodeling has become so popular over the past few years that I thought I had seen it all.  But NO! I'm excited to introduce Shahab Shokouhi, my guest author today, discussing and showing fabulous ways to use glass in the kitchen.  Enjoy!

 

Kitchen Remodeling via 

Kitchen overhauls are not the easiest remodeling jobs out there, but there are definite trends you can utilize to make your kitchen look stylish. In this post we are going to look at various examples from back-painted glass backsplashes, to glass kitchen counter tops, to kitchen islands, all of which will make your kitchen a modern cooking oasis! Glass backsplashes and colored glass panels are a perfect way to not only add light and a beautifully modern shine to your kitchen, but color-coordinating is also extremely easy.

   

Different Colored Glass Painted Kitchen Backsplashes via 

At Dulles Glass and Mirror, custom-colors are offered based on most major paint manufacturers including Benjamin Moore and Sherwin-Williams color codes, as you can see above.

   

Green Glass Backsplash via 

There are many styles of glass backsplashes. You can get a whole glass panel custom-cut for your kitchen wall, or you can use individual tiled glass backsplashes like above. And if you're looking for a bit of a modern flare, there are a lot of backlit options when it comes to glass in the kitchen.

   

Textured Backlit Glass Casing Island Countertops via

Above is a glass casing kitchen island countertop with backlights. Similar to glass backsplashes with installed LED lighting, this island is decorative, functional, and injects a unique vibrant light into the kitchen; the ultimate in modern technological decorative flare. Another common, often overlooked style of glass in the kitchen are glass kitchen cabinet doors.

   

Glass Kitchen Cabinet Doors via 

Glass kitchen cabinet doors are perfect to show off your most interesting of items, giving your kitchen a contemporary look. If you're looking for a more traditional look, white colored backsplashes are available as well.

   

White Colored Kitchen Backsplash via

Often times with back-splashes, it's a good idea to match your switch-plates and outlets to the color of your backsplash.

   

Hand-Made Glass Countertops via

When it comes to the kitchen, there is a lot of functional hand-made glass art available, like the hand-made glass countertop above. There are glass art houses that are creating masterful glass kitchen countertops, producing a one-of-a-kind look that will clearly turn heads. 

   

Kitchen Island via

Not everything has to be a full-on overhaul. One easy way to add a new bit of flare to the kitchen is a kitchen island. While this one pictured is a very high-end and rustic kitchen island, there are a lot of kitchen island options available for you. From the DIY low end IKEA models, to designer models, it's absolutely the easiest way to add countertop space to one's kitchen. Follow these trends and your kitchen will be a brighter, easier to clean, and more productive cooking space.

About the Author Shahab Shokouhi is a Writer at Dulles Glass and Mirror-- a manufacturer of commercial and residential glass products including glass table tops, vanity mirrors and glass sheets.

Susan here again! I can't decide if my favorite is the Textured Backlit Glass surrounding the island OR the Rustic Kitchen Island with a glass insert on the top.  I think I'm going to have to go with the latter.  I love contrast!!  Ready to use some glass in your kitchen now? Tell me your ideas!

Toodles! Susan

Eclectic Vintage Color, Part 1 -- the Kitchen

Hi All!

Time for after pics!! This post is focused on a kitchen from a multi-room first floor project.  I'm calling this project Eclectic Vintage Color because those are three adjectives the homeowner really wanted to incorporate into the finished designs.  The entire project included the kitchen, laundry room, powder room, family room, living room, and dining room.  I think I'll do different posts for each room.  How's that sound? First up -- is the kitchen -- which probably isn't as vintage, eclectic or colorful as the other rooms.  After all, we did need function here.  I posted before pics of the below kitchen here and did progress posts as we were selecting finishes, etc. here and here.  So now, drumroll please...check it out!

Eclectic Vintage Color

Maple cabinetry, granite countertops, mosaic style backsplash with glass, stone, and marble, stainless fixtures, stainless breakfast table, vinyl chairs

I absolutely adore the backsplash/granite combo.  The swirl of the granite combined with the structure of the tile is just divine!

I really like all of the coordinating textures in this image, particularly the charming basket shelf.

In addition to the island, there is a large peninsula -- see the three pendants -- with three stools for additional seating or to watch TV in the family room.

Didn't my client do a fabulous job finding baskets for the shelf with the perfect shade of grays and cream liner to tie in with all of the varying colors we brought into the kitchen?

A little personalization with knob icons for the four family members:  grapes, baseball, books, and butterfly

But wait, we can't forget about the adorable family dog, Milo!  He gets a personalized knob too...

I know, not the best pic, but it's a dog head knob identical to Milo's breed.  How fab!

And of course he also gets his own little eating/food storage station!

Stay tuned for Room #2!

Susan

Thanks Midwest Home magazine/ASID!

Check out my client's kitchen in Midwest Home magazine's "Guide to Good Design" on newsstands now! Thank you Midwest Home and American Society of Interior Designers/ASID!!!

~~~ Best, Susan ~~~

MH Living Room Progress

Hello!  I'm excited to share with you progress on a living room I'm working on.  It is in the same home as the kitchen we were working on back here.  We recently installed quite a bit of the new furnishings, pretty much everything you see in the below pics.  We still have a couple more custom pieces as well as accessories in the works.  Enjoy, and stay tuned for more!

Coming together nicely, if I must say so myself!

 The gold etagere is so scrumptious -- I'll have to take some close ups of the wonderfully, layered on gold finish!

 What?!  But Milo, how could something outside be more interesting than all of the gorgeous furnishings???

 I love the style of this chair!!

Aaahhh...bliss...

~~~Susan~~~