Design Tips and Trends | Home on the Range Blog

Design Tips and Trends

Ski and Snowboard Storage Ideas

As an interior design firm, Home on the Range understands that one important aspect of being a designer is helping people create functional, practical spaces for their lifestyle. A home should not only be beautiful, but also livable—all while reflecting the personality and style of its inhabitants.

Since Steamboat is renown for its skiing and snowboarding, and our clients love to spend time enjoying all the outdoor sports Steamboat has to offer, they naturally need a place to keep their winter gear. We are always looking for storage solutions that suit the different spaces we have to work with. Here are three ski and snowboard storage options we found for one of our current design projects :

Chinook four-pair boot and glove dryer

Del Sol Ski Rack

Del Sol Snowboard Rack

There are many options for storing winter gear, which is a necessity in Colorado homes. If you’re interested in both stylish and practical interior design for your home, contact Home on the Range to find out how we can help. Just click the “Like what you see?” button on the right side of the blog to send us a message.

December 19, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Changing Your Room to Suit the Season

Homeowners often want to change their home’s décor with the change of seasons, and happily, this interior design switch doesn’t have to be too costly or involved. At Home on the Range Interiors, we suggest starting with a neutral base and creating a seasonal look through accessories like area rugs, flowers and wreaths, drapes and throws, duvets, candles and pillows.

Area rugs:
Incorporate a deep-toned area rug for fall and winter, and then use a lighter-weight option for spring and summer.

A red area rug and throw pillows transform this otherwise neutral room into a great fall and winter space.

Flowers and wreaths:
As they often reflect bits of nature, flowers and wreaths are perfect for seasonal looks. You can use evergreen wreaths during the holidays, and seasonal blooms the rest of the year.

Drapes and throws:
Lighter-colored curtains work well during the summertime, while heavier materials such as velvet or corduroy work well for winter drapes and throws.

A dark velvet throw draped over your arm chair offers warmth and comfort during the winter.

Duvets:
Seasonal decorating works in every room in the house, including the bedroom. Just switch duvet covers for an instant change, and add extra blankets for fall and winter.

A textural fur blanket adds to the wintry effect of this neutral bedroom.

Candles:
Add candles. A few bright candles work well during summer. Use reds and golds to make the room feel warmer during the winter.

Pillows:
Bring in different pillows in seasonal colors not only in the living room, but also the bedroom.

Café Mom also offered some wonderful “summer-to-winter” design tips, so you can read her piece for more advice. Contact Home on the Range to find out how we can help you enjoy your home design through every season.

Photos: 1 via Better Homes and Gardens; 2 via ehow.com; 3 via House Beautiful

December 1, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration and Must-Have Products

With Thanksgiving arriving next week, people are already thinking about decorating ideas for their holiday table setting. We want to offer inspiration with a look at some of our favorite decorated tables as well as a list of products perfect for Thanksgiving.

HGTV has put together a wonderful slideshow of “15 Stylish Thanksgiving Table Settings,” and we narrowed them down to our favorite four.

This Tuscan-inspired dining space looks gorgeous.

A turkey centerpiece surrounded by autumnal acorns make this a beautifully themed table.

These white pumpkin place card holders add seasonal fun.

Deep purple works well for fall, and the gourds and pears bring in a bit of nature.

Park Designs has a number of products we love for Thanksgiving decorating. Here are a few must-have items:

A stylish candle holder

Colorful leaf placemats and fall napkins

And a Thanksgiving dish towel that reminds us of what the holiday is all about

Click the “Like what you see?” button on the right to contact Home on the Range Interiors and find out how to purchase these products for your holiday table.

Photos: 1-4 via HGTV; 5-8 via Park Designs

November 15, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Using Lighting in Design: New Lighting Technology

New lighting regulations set to begin in January 2012 have resulted in an emergence of lighting technology beyond incandescent bulbs. Since lighting is such an integral part of interior design, Home on the Range Interiors has kept up with these changes and innovations.

One New York Times article explains the new regulations as well as the difference in all the bulbs out there in layman’s terms, and we love that the author discusses how this technology fits into home design, pointing out the best options for each room in the house.

Selecting the correct Kelvin temperature is of especial importance since this affects the color of light emitted. So in Western style homes where designing with warm colors is king, light with a lower color temperature—around 3,000 Kelvins—will illuminate a space with a soft glow.

Incandescent bulbs are often energy inefficient, which has led to the popularity of compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs. Now, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are offering even more energy savings, and new technology has led to LED options that can illuminate in every direction, The New York Times reports. The other advantage to the LED light is that it is green and doesn’t present the same disposal issues as the fluorescent bulbs.

For an excellent explanation of new lighting technology and how it will affect your bulb shopping come January, read this New York Times piece.

If you’d like help illuminating your space to show off its interior design in the best light, contact Home on the Range in Colorado.

Image by dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

November 8, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends,Featured

Where Should You Start When Designing a Room?

A great place to start your room can be with an oriental carpet, a favorite piece of art or a fabric that you love. At Home on the Range Interiors, we have even used stone walls as our starting point! Once you have the key element selected, it will become the inspiration for the other colors, fabrics and finishes in the room.

In this Western Mine Style Home, designer Lynne Bier started with the purple moss rock the clients had selected and that was used throughout the house. The fabrics and finishes she selected to complement the rock were blends of the colors in the rock. The soft moss green, purple hues and red flecks of garnet made a beautiful color palette for this home.

In this Pioneer Homestead Home, we began with the colorful rugs and weavings the owner had collected from areas as diverse as Morocco, South Africa and the American Southwest. This bright, bold palette cried out for fabrics and wall colors that were neutral and that would create a backdrop for the colorful textiles. The color was then pulled back out in key furniture pieces.

The vibrant turquoise paint on the sofa table repeats the turquoise color in the Moroccan rug.

Our client in this home is an artist, and we used the piece of art she selected to hang in the entry as the color inspiration for this space.

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. Pick something you love and then create your room around it — give it a try, and let us know how you do!

–Lynne Barton Bier, Owner/Principal Designer, Home on the Range

Images: Interior designs by Home on the Range; Photos by Tim Murphy; Architecture by Joe Patrick Robbins, AIA

November 8, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Do You Need More Glam in Your Life?

Style at Home has a great article explaining ways to go glam that reflect the Home on the Range approach to this design tool beautifully. They mention the following lighting and decorative accessories products as ways to add glam to a room:

• Mirrors
• Luxurious fabrics
• Chandeliers
• Candles
• Feathers
• Heavy metals
• Pearlized finishes

This photo from Amoroso Design in Houzz shows how glam can be added to a dining room with the selection of a chandelier and the choice of glass and metal accessories on the sideboard.

The reflective surface of the lamp and the stainless hardware on the bedside table add glam to this bedroom by Jodie Rosen Design that we found on Houzz!

We also love these glam products:

This Schumacher burnished bronze chevron wallpaper and Currin antiqued mirrored sideboard have a rustic-glamorous look.

A dark silver-and-brass end table and a whimsical bronze pendant, both by Arteriors, offer a gorgeous metallic sheen…

…as do these antique silver glass decanters and antique silver nesting boxes, also from Arteriors.

For mirrors and accessories, this antique gold mirror with burnished edges and mirrored panels and these antique silver leaves on a dark background from Uttermost really caught our eyes.

Incorporate some glam into your finishes with glass tiles and light fixtures. Glass pendants, a glass Vitraform sink and glass tile on the walls and shower add glam to this Contemporary spa bath by Home on the Range Interiors.

Oceanside glass mosaic tile adds a shimmer to the wall of this Rustic Contemporary master vanity by Home on the Range.

How will you add glam into your life?

Click on the “I like what I see” button on the right to find out more about any of the products pictured here – or to see how the designers at Home on the Range can help you add glam to your home!

Photos of Home on the Range projects by Tim Murphy

October 24, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends,Featured

Color Use Across the Centuries

I have always been fascinated with color and it’s use in design, so on a recent trip through Europe I began to take pictures of eye-catching color combinations that repeat themselves in every country. I hope you’ll enjoy these photos as a visual reminder of how color use transcends both time and space.

This vibrant combination of red, blue and green adds life to what must have been a dreary existence in the Tower of London.

Exquisite stained glass and colorfully painted columns – also in the Tower of London.

Great use of the red and blue again on shutters and awnings in the Montmartre area of Paris.

Bookstall on the Left Bank of the Seine in Paris. Postcards from the Moulin Rouge show the same vibrant colors being popular at the turn of the century

Below are a number of houses on the fishing and lace-making island of Burano in Italy – the houses on Burano are painted in every color combination you can imagine, and it all works beautifully!!

Another favorite color combination across the centuries has been purple, pink, blue and green – enjoy the below examples of these captivating combinations!

A shop window in the Latin Quarter and a Venetian glass chandelier.

Sign on a children’s shop in Paris.

Windowsill and flowerpot on a house in Burano, Italy.

Color inspiration is everywhere in our daily life, and, as there are endless combinations of colors, there are truly no right or wrong ways to combine colors. Each combination evokes a different emotion and the psychology of color is something we will be exploring in other posts such as our post on color in breast cancer treatment this month.

If you enjoyed this post, watch for future posts on such topics as color in Mexico and South America, the use of inlaid marble in Venice, unique staircases in Europe and things that make me smile!

And don’t forget to visit us at Home on the Range in Steamboat Springs or click the “like what I see” button to find out more about what we do.

—Lynne Barton Bier, Owner/Principal Designer, Home on the Range Interiors

October 12, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends,Featured Products

Ambient Light Fixtures: Home on the Range’s Top 5 Picks

Here are some wonderful light fixtures that can be used for ambient lighting and that transition from rustic to contemporary style. They are from one of our favorite lighting companies, Arteriors home.

This simple transitional lamp can work in many different rooms.

Arteriors’ copper clad table lamp brings the warmth of the copper color into a room.

Note the subtle addition of the crystal drop on the bottom of the clean wood chandelier.

This fun mix of big oversized crystals with metal adds a touch of elegance and whimsy to any style home.

Who else could come up with this great mix of reclaimed wood with a stylized floral motif that once again mixes contemporary and rustic?

Click the “I like what I see” button on the right, and we’ll send you more information on the light fixtures pictured here, or contact the Home on the Range designers to help you find just the right fixture for your space.

—Lynne Bier

Photos via Arteriors

October 7, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Rustic Fall Décor for Your Colorado Home

The first day of fall is just around the corner, providing a wonderful opportunity for seasonal decorating. The autumnal color palette especially suits Western homes, and we love the burnt oranges, deep greens, burgundy and chocolatey browns that are quintessential fall hues.

Decorating around a specific season is all about minor tweaks and accessory changes, not major overhauls. Put away summery knick knacks in exchange for fall-related odds and ends. Bring out warmer throw blankets, and change the pillows on the sofa to match. For more design ideas for the new season, visit Better Homes and Gardens. Their slideshow on “Ideas for Fall Decorating” offers an abundance of inspiration, from leaf pressings and wreaths to pumpkin displays and centerpieces.

Looking for fall décor for your home? Visit the Home on the Range showroom in Steamboat Springs, CO, where we offer accessories including dried and silk flowers, candles, art, hurricanes, copper pots and baskets, as well as sand cast pewter and antler accessories or click on the “like what you see” button on the right for information on how we can ship any of the products pictured here to your home!

Images: Fall décor available through Home on the Range

September 24, 2011
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Design Tips and Trends

Mixing Patterns in Home Design

Many people hear the words “mixing patterns” and immediately think it’s a big no-no. But done well, mixing patterns can be beautiful, not to mention as sophisticated as it is visually interesting. The lovely shelter magazine Elle Décor did a great piece on “How to Mix Patterns Stylishly.” Here are a couple of suggestions we especially agree with:

Staying within one color intensity is essential, as is keeping the palette consistent. In this mountain eclectic entry we incorporated pattern in the settee with a bold plaid and added a more neutral pattern on the accent pillows, tying together the patterns with similar red, aqua and gold tones.

But you can also add pattern somewhere more unexpected. Elle Décor suggests adding pattern to other areas as well, like the back side of a dining chair—precisely what we did in this dining room design: