Homeowners, does your bathroom still feature the same bathmat, towels and countertop accessories you decorated with when you first moved into your house? If so, it might be time for an update to your bathroom interior design!
This time, think beyond decorating your sink countertop. Choose to exchange the sink itself and even further customize. Try this trick in powder rooms, which will cost less than a master bathroom remodel and impress any guest. From every angle, “powder rooms are a good choice for a good return on your investment of time and money,” Henderson interior decorator Christine Ringenbach says.
Want to learn how a remodel can benefit any small bathroom? Take a look at these before-and-after photos for a powder room makeover. Then read Christine Ringenbach’s top three tips to bring a professional, personable design to your home’s bathrooms.
Before:
BEFORE: This bathroom aimed for Asian inspiration, but the theme was lost amid the standard issue bathroom look.
After:
AFTER: With its custom features, this bathroom fully features its Asian inspiration. Note the bamboo-style doors on the sink chest, leaf-pattern wallpaper, custom mirror, new lighting and bamboo arrangement on the toilet top.
Tip #1: Replace the standard sink.
Start your bathroom remodel at the sink. Remove the pedestal sink found in many tract homes. Then add a sink chest to benefit the design with its furniture-like appeal and optimum storage space.
Tip #2: Remember any reconstruction.
To bring a new look to your bathroom, you may need to consider a couple construction changes. For example, if you exchange the pedestal sink for a sink chest, you may need to retile the floor as the new sink chest exposes the floor beneath it.
Tip #3: Emphasize the theme.
Infuse the room’s inspiration into every element, from permanent features to accent pieces, to bring the bathroom’s “wow factor.” Customize the wall mirror. Add new vanity lighting. Warm the room with printed wallpaper, and include a coordinating floral arrangement.
With these three tips, you’ll find the ideal updated look for your home’s bathroom interior design. Want to see more styles for your bathroom makeover? See these images for more sink chest styles.
Would you like to customize your home’s powder room? Call interior decorator Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741 for a complimentary design consultation in Henderson or Las Vegas, Nevada.
Author: Allyson Siwajian with inspiration by Christine Ringenbach © 2013
Luxurious Look: Indulge with contemporary dining room décor
Luxurious interior design isn’t just for traditional homes anymore!
This season, contemporary styles offer just as much luxe, complete with the clean lines, metallic accents and minimalistic prints well-known to contemporary design. Now homeowners can keep a lavish look and also enjoy an updated design in their dining room décor.
This contemporary dining room offers all the design elements of contemporary style with a luxurious twist.
Want to learn what makes this room work so well? Take a look at today’s interior design tips from interior decorator Christine Ringenbach.
WALLS
For the best neutral look, contrast the paint colors. From top to bottom, this dining room’s gray-green walls contrast perfectly with the crisp white of the crown molding detail and upsized baseboards.
AREA RUG
To define the dining area, add an area rug. This dining room’s area rug also warms the stone floor space with its softness, and its pattern adds visual interest.
LIGHTING
Give guests plenty of light with a contemporary chandelier. In addition to this lighting fixture, this dining room also includes two wall sconces for ambience lighting.
WINDOW TREATMENTS
Draw the line of sight up the wall with vertical side panels. This room’s window treatments also add detail with the contrast fabric banding on the panels’ leading edges.
COLOR SCHEME
Tie together each design element with a common accent color. In this display, the same shade of gray is included in the area rug, the side panel drapery and the wallpapered wall niche.
ARTWORK
Polish the room with a piece of eye-catching artwork. While framed art works well, this room accentuates its contemporary flair with a circular wall mirror.
ACCESSORIES
Skip usual dining room accessories, such as the traditional dish-filled hutch. Instead this contemporary style opts for a dining buffet, complete with metallic accent pieces.
With these features, the contemporary dining room exudes a sense of luxury and a complete design that’s ready for just about anyone’s dining style.
To include these design elements in your home, contact Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741 and schedule a complimentary design consultation.
Author: Allyson Siwajian, with inspiration by Christine Ringenbach
House builders have started a trend, and they’re including dining room wall niches in more and more homes. While these niches automatically add depth and architectural intrigue to rooms, they can be difficult to decorate.
Before:
BEFORE: This home includes a builder’s recessed wall niche on the dining room’s far left wall.
Fortunately, interior decorators are up to the challenge, and they’ve discovered creative ways to make this wall space pop with color and dimension!
After:
AFTER: With an interior decorator’s expertise, this wall niche became the dining room’s focal point with textured wallpaper squares, metallic accents and rich hues of color.
For contemporary dining room design, skip the traditional hutch to fill this space and forego building in a unit you can’t take with you when you move. Instead start your contemporary niche décor with a sleek buffet.
“Choose a buffet that fits nicely into the space,” interior decorator Christine Ringenbach suggests. Keep the buffet’s design sleek and simple, and opt for a rich wood that will complement the dining room table.
Next, select the best way to draw attention to this space: Create an accent wall. While paint certainly is an option, this dining room design (see above) favors wallpaper. “It is not the usual wallpaper, but one that is more textured and that comes in squares,” Christine says of this design. “Look closely, and you can see the blocks of paper where the texture is running one way on one block and the other on the next block.”
With this eye-catching feature, it’s time to accentuate that texture with further accent pieces. Try cool metallics, add aesthetic wall art, and group decorative pieces in threes. Now, homeowners, you’ve transformed that awkward recessed wall into a dynamic piece of your contemporary dining room interior design!
Want to learn more about what makes this room’s décor work so well? Check back next week for the complete room makeover with dining room decorating tips!
For a dining room makeover in your home, contact interior decorator Christine Ringenbach of Decorating Den Interiors at 702-914-3741.
Shades of Spring: See this spring season’s new interior design colors!
The winter blues are fading away, just in time for spring! Pantone recently released its Spring 2013 Color Report, and Emerald tops the charts for this season’s best color pick! “You can expect to see it everywhere,” interior decorator Christine Ringenbach says of the jeweled Emerald shade.
Joining Emerald as a top color pick, Monaco Blue provides a deeper hue of classic blue than last season’s shades. “This spring, you’ll see lots of greens paired with various shades of blue,” Christine shares about the latest color combinations. “I just opened a box of upholstery fabrics from the new spring line and, predictably, it’s full of these greens and blues.”
With such a rich color palette, this season’s fabric swatches for pattern and texture are just as eye-catching. “There’s something for every taste,” Christine says.
For a classic design, aim for stripes in cool blue or green tones.
For a contemporary look, go for a bold design, like this trellis pattern.
For traditional style, try a paisley pattern.
For an eclectic style, play with a nature-based pattern, like this contemporary leaf design.
For those who don’t like patterns, look for a textured surface.
For ethnic inspiration, try the popular Ikat pattern, which results from a color-dyeing technique most likened to batik.
Would you like to include this spring’s colors and patterns into your home interior design? Contact interior decorator Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741.
Author: Allyson Siwajian, with inspiration by Christine Ringenbach
Seven Ways to Spruce up your Dining Room Decorating
Want to update your dining room décor without a complete makeover? Now you can!
Homeowners, take a look at these photos to gather inspiration for your dining rooms. Note what design elements you like, and review today’s tips to kick-start your creativity.
Before:
BEFORE: This homeowner enjoyed these cool colors in her dining room, but this year she was ready for a new neutral color palette and a more formal finish.
After:
AFTER: With reupholstered chairs, fresh wall paint and updated accessories, this dining room still reflects the homeowner’s eclectic style. But it does so in a whole new way!
For dining room decorating tips to update your own home, try these ideas:
1. Reupholster dining room chairs.
For a custom look, use several different fabrics. Try one fabric for the side chairs, and try another complementary fabric for the host and hostess chairs.
2. Swap out side chairs for a bench.
Give the room even more personality with unique dining furniture. Replace two side chairs with a comfortable bench chair, or replace the host and hostess chairs with new chairs of a complementary style.
This buffet and its coordinating accessories give the room a custom, contemporary edge.
3. Change the chandelier.
Don’t feel like you have to keep the brass chandelier the builder installed 15 years ago. If it doesn’t fit your décor style, exchange it for a custom look that ties the whole room together.
4. Add an area rug.
Add pattern, texture and warmth to the room with an area rug. Place it directly beneath the dining table, and make sure you find the best area rug size for your space.
5. Include an accent wall.
Bring new dimension and depth to the room with an accent wall. Paint one wall a contrasting color, or even better, wallpaper one wall in the dining room.
6. Replace a hutch with a buffet.
While a hutch holds a lot of dishes, so does a buffet. Consider exchanging your old hutch for a buffet that’s a different wood than your table. Then accessorize it for a completely custom look.
7. Update the accessories.
Share your personal style with new accessories, like accent pillows or decorative centerpieces. Don’t forget wall space: Play with artwork, such as one large piece to make a statement.
Would you like to update your dining room in these custom ways? Then contact Henderson interior decorator Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741 for a complimentary design consultation.
Authors: Christine Ringenbach with Allyson Siwajian
Contemporary or Modern: What’s the difference in interior design?
If you want a simple, clean and polished design for your home décor, you’ve likely aimed for contemporary or modern styles. But which one do you really prefer? While many people tend to use these terms interchangeably, each term reflects a distinct, different style.
Want to know which is which? Take a look at today’s ways to tell the difference between modern design and contemporary design. Then you’ll know exactly what to look for as you update your home décor.
MODERN DESIGN
Modern Living Room: Note the low-slung chairs, neutral tones and simple mid-century design.
Remember the Rat Pack? They were iconic to Las Vegas, and their signature style extends into interior decorating. Modern design reflects that mid-century period.
Think simple, sleek and too cool for much embellishment. Furniture, like low-slung armchairs, is lifted from the floor to maximize the open space. Colors are muted in favor of neutral tones, and natural materials (such as wood and linen) are mandatory.
Las Vegas even continues to display this ode to an era in its design. Most notably, “the historic Tony Morelli House in Las Vegas, which is now owned by the Junior League, is a good example of mid-century modern design,” Las Vegas interior decorator Christine Ringenbach says.
While modern interior design can be customized for 21st-century homeowners, its style provides a much more calm, collected and uniform style than its fanciful counterpart, the contemporary design.
CONTEMPORARY DESIGN
Contemporary Living Room: Look for curved edges, reflective surfaces and warm splashes of color.
If modern décor resembles the post-war 1940s and suave 1950s, then contemporary décor plays with the fun-spirited vibrancy of the 1960s. This design style is also simple and clean, but it’s open for personalization to almost any degree.
Imagine warm splashes of color against a neutral backdrop. Add geometric patterns on the fabrics, and play with various shapes in accessories. Then exchange sharp lines for rounded edges, even for the layout of furniture and overall design structure.
Polish this look with reflective surfaces: mirrors, glass tabletops and metallic accents. Contemporary interior design uses more manmade materials. So Lucite, plastic and stainless steel provide the perfect touch for contemporary décor.
This style is well-known in Las Vegas’s newer hotels, such as in the CityCenter, and it’s making its way into homeowners’ personal spaces as well. Contemporary design is all about a progressive look with futuristic flair while modern design prefers to have its heyday with retro inspiration.
TRY THESE STYLES IN YOUR HOME
Modern or Contemporary: Can you determine this custom living room’s simple style?
Homeowners, now that you know what you like, try these styles in your home. For a complimentary design consultation, contact interior decorator Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741. She’ll help you identify your needs, personal style and the best products for a custom design that’s all your own!
Author: Allyson Siwajian, Inspired by Christine Ringenbach of Decorating Den Interiors
Relax with Coastal Cottage Kitchen Interior Design
Be inspired by beachside lifestyle and welcome a relaxing atmosphere into your home for more creativity in the kitchen. Homeowners, if you love the classic cottage kitchen style, then today’s interior design tips are for you!
While the coastal theme is a cottage classic, today’s kitchen interior design shows how to make it modern, functional, fresh and clean. Then you can enjoy your favorite style with all the contemporary conveniences!
This coastal cottage kitchen features a classic color scheme, coastal accents, and a fresh, open space to maximize culinary creativity.
1. Choose a Classic Color Scheme.
This kitchen keeps it classic with a blue and white color scheme. Then to add depth and a contemporary twist, the decorator included a charcoal-gray countertop and metallic appliances. This combination instantly communicates the coastal theme in a polished way.
2. Think Low Maintenance.
To be truly coastal, you can’t be high maintenance and neither can your kitchen. Bare it down to the basics: simple white cabinetry, clean countertops, and easy access to often-used appliances. This kitchen’s tile backsplash even makes its wall surfaces easy to clean. And, of course, its colors add to the coastal atmosphere.
3. Embrace Open Space.
Small kitchens often have straight lines and sharp angles. This keeps the kitchen looking modern. But while it’s a creative touch, also aim to open the space for a light, airy feel. To do this, add soft curves. This kitchen uses a modern ceiling fan, tabletop display plate, and scalloped edges on its traditional window treatments.
4. Add Coastal Accessories.
Decorate with coastal accessories. Place shells within a glass vase on the countertop. Include candles for a fresh scent and warm light. For a crisp look, add glass or metallic accents. Or for traditional cottage inspiration, try ceramic or wooden accents. To break up the monochromatic look, even add a bright splash of color.
5. Finish with Fresh Flowers.
Choose your favorite flowers, and place these within the kitchen. It’s the best way to bring a carefree coastal spirit into your home. This kitchen includes fresh white roses on its tabletop tray. Be expressive with floral arrangements to reflect you!
Would you like to experience coastal interior design in your home? Then contact Henderson interior decorator Christine Ringenbach at 702-914-3741 for a complimentary design consultation for any room in your house.
Author: Allyson Siwajian
