Mood Boards: A great communication tool

After your interior designer has a good idea of what you have in mind for your project, they will put together a design concept for your home.  One of the tools they might use is called a 'mood board'.  A mood board is a communication tool that uses visual language to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the colors and 'mood' wanted in the newly decorated room.  

Mood boards are not meant to be interpreted literally.  There is no need to nitpick the board and say that you don't like the arms on the chair or that you don't actually own (in the case of this board) a chocolate lab with it's own set of pearls.  You want to step back from the board and decide if the feeling, the essence it suggests, is the feeling and essence you want to live with in your new room.

This mood board was created to communicate the feeling of a 'vintage chic' style. 

The next picture shows one of the areas in the home that grew out of the mood board's concept.  Can you see the relation in the color scheme and feeling between the board and real life vignette?

There is no reason why you can't create a mood board for yourself, too!  If you are planning on working with a designer, most will welcome the advance time and thought you put into the dream and vision you have for your room.  And if you are paying your designer by the hour, you save money, too!  Don't worry about making it perfect, or even about things matching.  It can be a pile of clipped images that may not seem to relate; your designer can often distill your design style from vary disparate images.

On the other hand, if you are do-it-yourselfer, a complete mood board is a great tool for making sure that as you are out shopping you don't stray too far from the feeling you want, and you are more likely to end up with a cohesive, finished room than if you shop without this kind of a map and just buy on impulse.  Impulse shopping usually just leaves you with more stuff and a still unfinished room, crying out for cohesion.  So try your hand at a mood board.  Let your imagination run wild with the room you'd Love to have.  Clip images from home magazines, off the internet, from your own photos, and even from travel, fashion and cooking magazines.  This is about setting a mood with texture and color - the details of the arms on the chair will be worked out later.

Green is the new Black

I attended a seminar the other day at the Seattle Design Center by Bob Margulis of Ravenworks Joinery. For those looking for truly green, truly beautiful cabinetry, I highly recommend making an appointment with Bob!

Sustainably built kitchen cabinets by Ravenworks Joinery.

The seminar was designed to educate interior designers on "green building" and how they can educate clients and sway them towards "green" choices. What struck me was a comment Bob made about working for some of the wealthier clients in the Puget Sound area. When asked if it would violate his "green" principles to work for a client with a 10,000 square foot home, he said no, that he'd certainly take the job. Is he looking to cash in on a big project? While I am sure that the paycheck is nice, he had a more important reason for this choice. If he didn't take on the work, someone else surely would, and who's to say that that contractor would be using sustainable practices in his or her work? Regardless of Bob's (or my) opinion of living in that large of a home, making the cabinetry in such a home out of FSC wood is a great big checkmark on the side of the environment! It also gives Bob a chance to educate the customer or his contractors on other green choices that could be made in that home.

Bob made one other (I think) fantastic point. As environmentalists we *must* be careful about getting too high and mighty about our green choices. As he points out, what's "green" today may be "black" tomorrow. Take bamboo, for example. Just a few years ago this was touted as a fabulously green option for cabinetry, flooring, and other uses. Since then we have recognized that while it does *grow* sustainably, it is engineered using glues that off gas toxic fumes and it is also shipped halfway around the world, requiring enormous amounts of carbon based fuel to export. There is very little black and white in "green" - maybe green is the new gray.

Where to start with an interior designer

So you've decided to have a designer come over to look at your decorating dilemma.  If you've never worked with a design professional, you may not know what to expect.  This article is meant to give you some tools for making the most of that first meeting in terms of communicating your design wishes (please see "Up Front Budgets" for help on the financial side of that first meeting).  

A clean and contemporary bedroom featured on eurofurnitureonline.com

You've probably decided to hire a designer either because you feel that you 'have no style' or that this particular room is outside your problem solving comfort zone.  Regardless, please don't tell the designer to do "what ever they want" because you may not get what you want, but you'll have to pay any way.

How do you direct the conversation?  Do your homework.  My clients start one of three ways.  Either they have an inspiration piece they want to use to focus the room, they have a collection of images from the internet or magazines to share, or they get handed "The Book", my own collection of images for those too busy or uncertain to have started before I arrive.  

One of my clients asked me to redesign her bathroom.  She had a light fixture already chosen and purchased, and my job was to create a room around the fixture.  That was a great starting point!

Other clients have torn out 10, 20 or more pictures from design magazines and printed pictures they've downloaded from the internet.  To do something like this try typing in a search like "modern bedroom images" or "traditional kitchen images" in Google.  Then click on the "images" button right at the top of the Google search page and print out any that inspire you.  By going through these images with my client I learning what they like (or don't like) identify a common design thread and style.

Finally, many of my clients are overwhelmed before I arrive and have done practically nothing. They get "The Book."  The Book is simply a three ring binder full of images I have torn out of magazines over the years, and I have the homeowner go through with a stack of post-it notes and mark images that they love (and at least three that they hate).  From there I go through the ones marked, learn what they like and dislike, and again identify their design preferences.

I do this in addition to asking questions about their house, lifestyle, and wishes for their home.  All this is critical to making sure that 1) I understand what the client wants, 2) that my own design style is in line with their wishes so that we work together seamlessly and 3) that I am able to communicate effectively with this particular client; without effective communication the project is doomed.

Every designer that comes to your home with have their own way of running that first meeting, but the more prepared you are beforehand, the more you will get out of the meeting and the more quickly you'll know if this designer is the right designer for you and your home.

To Permit or Not To Permit... do you need a permit for your bathroom remodel?

As a homeowner you might not be sure whether you need to get a city permit for your bathroom remodel.  This information is meant to help clarify that question, but please keep in mind that this information is *only a guide* and that you need to evaluate each project individually.  There are some good resources to help you answer that question for your specific project, listed below.   Additionally, this article is only for Seattle area homes, because while the same rules may apply in other jurisdictions, they are not my area of expertise.

In all likelihood, you probably do not need a permit for your bathroom remodel.  If you do, you probably only need an “over-the-counter” electrical permit, for which you can quickly apply online, no need to wait for hours in a city office.

There are three basic kinds of permits you might face - the first is a building permit.  You might need this if you are removing structural beams or moving or resizing a window.  In a standard bathroom remodel you are probably leaving the walls alone, and perhaps replacing, but not moving or resizing a window.  No permit needed.  

The second kind is a plumbing permit.  You'll need this if you are moving around the rough plumbing, that is if you are, for example, moving the tub across the room, adding a stand alone shower, and moving the new double sink vanity to a new wall.  That is significant plumbing work and you should have a permit.  However if, like in many Seattle area remodels, you are just replacing the fixtures (and perhaps the shower diverter) but not moving the plumbing to new locations, no permit needed.

Finally there is the electrical permit.  This is the one permit that you might need, and you might need this even if there is no need for plumbing or building permits.  You want this if you are moving around the wiring (adding new recessed lighting, for example), changing the kind of wiring, or (especially) if you are running new circuits from your electrical box.  When would you need a new circuit?  In older houses it may simply not be done right and when you open the walls you may realize the circuits have too much load and need to be redone.  Or you might be adding electrical underfloor heating that should have it's own circuit.  You (or your contractor) might be tempted to skip an electrical permit, but they are not that hard to get (you can apply online!), and when you go to sell the house, you want that all in order.  Not to mention that you have no need for any new fire hazards, and having an inspector check the quality of your contractor's work is not such a bad thing.

So, what it often comes down to is what kind of remodel you are really doing.  If all you are doing is giving everything new clothes (tile, fixtures, paint, even sheetrock) but you are not changing any of the bones (plumbing, wiring, beams) then you likely have no need of a permit.  But I'll say it again, this is only a guide, so judge each project on it's own terms and, if you need more help, check out the Seattle Department of Planning webpage to learn more about building permits, read here to learn about plumbing permits, and click here to learn about electrical permits, and about applying online.

If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to help you find an answer, so don't hesitate to email me, too!  I am at design@rivalee.com.

How good is good enough?

Home remodels are completed by human beings, and as such they are always going to have some flaws in the work.  So how good is good enough?  

At an open house for a newly constructed home I took a couple pictures of areas that would not have been up to my standard for my clients.  In the first photo the outlet was set crookedly, and while usually that wouldn’t bother me so much, it’s against a perfectly gridded background and so it’s glaringly obvious to my eye.  

Either the outlet or the tile isn't set straight, very noticeable with such a strong grid pattern in the tile and the white grout.

In the second photo the groutline between the granite and tile is cracked, and again, should be fixed.

The grout and caulk line at the base of this tile has already cracked.

As the homeowner it is important that from the start of the project you are clear with your standards and expectations and that you and your designer are on the same page.  If you can, try to tour some remodeled homes on the market during open houses and get a sense of what good grout lines look like and what seams look like in crown molding - familiarize yourself with “industry standards”.  

Next, remember that your standards will affect how much you pay.  If you hire the best and expect perfection, you WILL pay more for that because not only are you likely hiring a more experienced, skilled craftsperson, that person will also have to spend more time getting it all perfect.  There is nothing wrong with that, but don’t expect to pay the cost of a Volkswagon and get the performance of a BMW.

Finally, walk through and approve EVERY stage of the remodel.  Fixing grout lines in the shower is much harder once the custom shower door is installed, and rarely turns out very well.  If one of the stair risers is squeaky, that needs to be fixed BEFORE they lay the carpet!

In the end your project will have imperfections.  Decide what you can and can’t live with, and what you are willing to pay for.  And of course remember that once your home is furnished and decorated, little things will fade away.  Once the project is done and you’ve decided it’s good enough, take a deep breath, refocus your eyes, see the “big picture”, and resist the urge to obsess about that one imperfect seam in the floor in the closet - what a way to take the joy out of your beautiful new space!

Use "caution" when decorating with yellow

Alley, before consulting with Rivalee Design,

 says "Caution" instead of "Welcome"

Alley, after working with Rivalee Design,

repainted in cayenne red and butter yellow.

Yellow may be the most cheerful color on earth, but while nature usually gets yellow right, we humans often botch the job.  What is so hard abut successfully decorating with yellow?  

When I first visited the job site pictured at left I was discovered a screaming yellow that said "CAUTION DO NOT ENTER".  Choosing yellow to brighten a dark alley was not a bad choice, but the shade and intensity were all wrong.


When I created the new palette, I still incorporated yellow, but the yellow I chose looked nearly white on the paint chip.  That is one of the keys - remember that colors intensify as they cover more space and as it reflects itself.

So then how can you successfully decorate with yellow?  Here are three tips to help you bring that sunshine inside.

1. Avoid “yellow”

Choose a color more like sand, or creamy butter.  If the paint chip looks like the yellow of a crayon or daffodil, the color is way too intense for the walls.  

2. Add splashes of yellow

If you are determined to incorporate sunny crayon yellow, start small. Try a soft grey sofa with daffodil yellow pillows and a lemony throw.  Set the table with a dragon red tablecloth and deliciously yellow plates.Try new navy curtains with sheers in sunny yellow. Or add a collection of bright, shiny yellow vases to the room.

3. Use only yellow

When decorating with a bold color, using a monochromatic scheme can make it work.  If you paint the walls a medium shade of yellow, lay blond wood floors with white area rugs and hang white curtains, then splash around some intense yellow accents, the result can be sunny, lovely, and bright.

One little warning...

Whatever variant of yellow you choose, it’s likely to shock you as it goes on the walls.  Don’t panic.  The wall color is only one layer of the decorating in your room.  Try not to make a final decision on the color until your furniture, rugs, art and accessories are in.  This is especially true if you are hiring a decorating professional to create a room for you.  That person isn’t just giving you a paint color, they are giving you a whole room.  


Here’s how it was said in Martha Stewart Living: “Hold that breath when you've finished your walls, and don't exhale until the furniture goes in, for yellow is hot or cool... depending on its neighbors; nothing's as qualmish as an empty yellow room.”  


Well put, and good to remember.