Layering with Metrie : Architectural Interior moldings

A lot of my clients come to me with an idea of what they want their spaces to look like , they describe the style , the colors, materials ,  but they rarely mention the moldings and the treatments of the walls or ceilings.... that's usually my job to show them and educate them on what makes a finished interior space.  We interior designers layer spaces .  We layer materials , textures, color and MOLDINGS.  Moldings is a BIG factor in the layering process, it adds depth and dimension.  It gives spaces their architectural landscape and makes the room /space complete.

Last week , I was invited by Modenus and their wonderful sponsors to attend the KBIS /IBIS show in Orlando Florida along with 24 other influential interior designers and bloggers for an Educational/  FUN packed 3 days of everything Kitchen,Bath, and Construction and lot's of shop talk .

It's taken me a week to decompress from all the information I obtained ... my brain has been on sensory overload .  So much to see and experience.  Lot's of great new (to me) product and new advances in technology made for an amazing show.  And now,  I would love to share with you , some my inspirational finds Starting with one of our sponsors.  ( more KBIS blog posts to follow )  

 If you don't already know about Metrie, they are a wonderful source for interior trims, moldings and doors.  Not only are they the largest manufacturer of interior finishings for North America, they have been around for 90 years.   For those of you who already know about them, spec them and use them,  Bet you were excited to see the latest product solution they just debuted,  It is one of my Favorites !  For those who don't know,  It's called Option M .  

Option M is a curated selection of baseboards, crown moldings, trims, casings, doors , All perfectly packaged into 5 different styles - Bohemian, New Traditional, Modern Farmhouse , Shabby Chic & Vintage Industrial to make it easy for the homeowner, builder or designer to spec & use.  

We use trim moldings in all of our projects , even the most contemporary homes we do .  Moldings add that layer I was talking about earlier.  It gives the space it's architectural style and makes the space complete .

I Invite you to visit Metrie's website and see the wonderful product they have.  Option M is just one of their many collections. They also have decorative doors.  Go and Explore the possibilities.

Here are some photos of the little vignettes of their KBIS Booth in Orlando that I took last week .

You can see how instantly a space is transformed and defined by a style.

Ship lap for your next Modern Farmhouse or Beach house project

 

Applied trim molding to walls.

And DON'T forget the 5th wall ! Metrie and their talented designers did a beautiful job at KBIS on their displays/ vignettes at their booth with ceiling treatments! We just recently did this in our award winning kitchen project too ( see previous Blog post) .

Peek a boo! Loving all the displays of Metrie's Ceiling

Metrie Ceiling photo

Here's an example of how we used molding in one of our projects.  The Pasadena Showcase house (below) we did the Cloakroom and Lavatory where the walls were plain, lacked any architectural style and the proportions/ scale was off .  By adding molding we solved both these issues. 

See our before and after.  

This before photo below shows you that not even this tapestry or large mirror could help this space feel proportioned... if anything... this homeowner made it worse / amplified with the over-scaled items in a narrow space . 

BEFORE

Molding height strategically placed 3/4 of the way up in Cloak room brings ceiling down /wallpaper by BlackCrowStudios

 

You can still hang things on wall Overlapping molding like this mirror

Wainscot Molding in the Bathroom instead was lower than the cloakroom for better proportion

So the next time you start an interior design project , don't overlook using moldings.  It can be done simple or over the top , what ever your preference .  That layer is not just an added detail,  it is a foundation for great design.  Give your space the architectural detail it deserves. 

 

  THANK YOU Metrie for the wonderful tour of your Booth ! It was inspiring !   

#sponsoredpost

 

BLOG TOUR KBIS 2018 Orlando

Kicking off 2018 Right ! So thrilled to announce that I have been invited to join Modenus on BlogTourKBIS 2018 in Orlando this coming January .

As a designer who designs and builds a lot of Kitchens and Bathrooms throughout year, I enjoy nothing more than seeing new products and spotting trends at trade shows.  But this experience is going to be so much more amazing because I get to experience KBIS2018 with an incredible group of influential design bloggers .  I am in fabulous company and I can't wait to share all the cool finds with you. 

 Are you ready to be inspired?

Follow my colleagues and I on Social Media as we bring you the latest and greatest from KBIS 2018.

 

Light and Airy Kitchen Reno

I LOVE a good Kitchen Reno. 

AFTER

I LOVE a good Kitchen Reno.  Especially when you are dealing with a VERY old layout!  In today's day and age - Open floor plans are very popular ,  especially in the kitchen and dining areas.  They are functional , inviting and they let light flow from room to room.  As you can see in this space below (in the before image) the Kitchen was very Dark and
Dated. 

BEFORE

PROGRESS : DEMOLITION

BEFORE

Making sure all is correct!

This new kitchen is timeless,  Light and airy.  Simple and Classic , with a surprise pop of color at the end of the kitchen .  This Rust Orange wainscot adds warmth to an otherwise cooler pallet.  It is important to balance out the space with Cool tones and warm tones.  

AFTER

NEW Powder Room

This Newly added powder bathroom would NOT be the same had we NOT done the Rust Orange wainscot.  Although it is small it adds depth and texture to the space.  Do not be afraid to add wainscot to small spaces, NO it will NOT look too small, it will make the space SO much more interesting.

Like our style .... check out some curated items by us on the amazon shop

House Hunters Renovation Kitchen

Working on House Hunters Renovation was a blast! I am thrilled to finally be able to show you what we did ! 

BEFORE PHOTO

The Black Matte touch faucet was one of my Favorite features.

We also used black matte pulls and knobs to tie it all together.

We used a glass backsplash with a random pattern to incorporate  warm tones while we used cooler tones on the cabinets and walls.

DEMO ! MY FAVORITE PART!

BEFORE - DATED KITCHEN

AFTER - Opening up the kitchen

Ta' da ! 

Opened up the kitchen to the dining room and selected a glass island hood

We also Demo'd that awful unusable pantry and gave the client a new functional pantry with pull-out  shelves .  A counter depth fridge for a streamline look. 

Cozy Little Breakfast nook

We chose a school house pendant to add some vintage charm .  We used Sunbrella Fabric for the custom bench cushion, for easy maintenance.  Mid Century accents .

Chalk Board wall for the client who is an artist.

All "After" photos By David Young-Wolff

We picked a bevel counter edge detail for the White Quartz counter top.
The frosted glass inserts on top cabinets lighten up the space.

Hope you enjoyed watching the renovation unfold on HGTV's House Hunters Renovation.  We had a blast filming !  SHOP THE LOOK HERE!

Design Tip!

Pssst! Hey you!

Yeah, you. Design aficionado.

I want to share a little secret with you.

I usually don’t share this with anyone, but here it is:

Mosaic tile installations can be a great way to liven up any surface especially in a bathroom or a kitchen. When it comes to dealing with visible grout lines in mosaic installations, there are typically two options.

ONE: If you don't want to accentuate those grout lines you Pick a color that will blend into the color scheme of the tile.

TWO: Sometimes, you actually want to accentuate the grout lines. Isn't that part of the point of a mosaic installation anyway? In that case, you choose white or gray grout or a grout color that shows off the grout lines best with your mosaic tile.

Now, listen closely, since I'm going to let you in on this secret.

I have a THIRD option! This is an option which I use ALL the time. It's a cool little trick. Even designer colleague's of mine love it when they learn how I did certain mosaic tile installations.

Are you ready? the little secret is...

...use Clear Epoxy Grout!
 

Here's why it works: The clear grout blends in and reflects the color from tile in the mosaic. It also has an incredible shimmer to it which you can't get with a typical, flat grout.

check out these close ups on these mosaic installations where we used clear epoxy grout. 

Take a look at how the copper glass mosaic tile in ceiling of this steam shower blends. The clear grout, which is used throughout, made the job simple and clean. If we had tried to use a brown grout in ceiling, it would've created a mess on the blue tile, even if we had taped it off. Even if we had avoided that problem, the brown would’ve been a different shade. On top of that, the rest of the mosaic pattern itself has copper, titanium, gold, white and blue and if we used a blue or a gray (or even a white) grout, the lines would be really pronounced and perhaps a tad too busy. In this case, I didn’t want to see that. So clear grout was the way to go.

The blue mosaic tile is from SICIS, and SICIS loved my little grout trick too.
 

The fish mosaic is a custom mosaic design by Waterworks based on a Japanese painting my client loves.

I love that I stumbled upon this secret years ago while experimenting with and doing research on grouts and mosaics. It’s made sooo many of my projects a lot nicer! This is probably the most valuable trade secret I’ve shared thus far, so use it well!

One thing you might want to consider as well is that you should always use a professional tile installer to install glass mosaic. Because it’s a specialty, it MUST be installed with WHITE thinset (preferably Mapie). If not, the mosaic will show trowel lines behind glass mosaic tiles, just to name one of the many problems that could come up in the ensuing fiasco.

I hope you can use this little trick next time you're looking to make your mosaic tile installation look spectacular.

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