Chameleon Design

Monday, February 4, 2013

Home Design Trends: Vertical Gardens

Vertical gardens and green walls are a beautiful and environmentally friendly way to add a little life to your home- indoors or out! Green living will be a key factor in design and architecture this year and this idea can bring a fresh touch to any home, apartment or public space. The approach is not only healthy, but also original and pleasing to the eye. Also, if you're working with a small space, green walls allow you to make good use of vertical space.

Photo: WoollyPocket.com

Photo: Pinterest

Luxury Upgrades- Flooring

If you've purchased a new home, or you're thinking about doing some upgrades to your current home, you may be wondering where to start. Cabinets and appliances? Landscaping and a swimming pool? Gorgeous new kitchen counter tops?

If you ask builders and real-estate agents, they will likely tell you floors. They're an expensive upgrade but it will make such a difference, you might surprise yourself by walking through your house staring down! If you're looking at carpet options, splurging on a more expensive carpet is a good idea, as it will last longer. But make sure to install tile in high traffic areas. Another thing to consider when thinking about flooring is to keep it as consistent as possible. You might think you're being creative with some slate in the kitchen and travertine in the entryway, but you shouldn't just because you can. You want the tile everywhere to be the same.

Photo: Chameleon Design

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Chameleon Design Featured Project: Avant at Escena Plan 1, Palm Springs

We're so happy with the outcome of the Avant at Escena Palm Springs models, that we wanted to share another plan we worked on in the same community. Plan 1 has the same mid-century aesthetic as Plan 2, which we shared recently, and also includes a large master suite with a walk-in closet and gourmet kitchen with upgraded stainless steel appliances and slab-granite countertops.

Kitchen

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Backyard/Pool

Home Desgin Trends: Quilted Pieces

Adding both texture and pattern to any item from fabric to flatware, quilted home decor is an exciting new trend this year. Elle Decor calls it "the motif that’s popular from haute couture to hunting gear" and it's showing up in many forms. Here are a few that caught our eye:

Photo: Roche Bobois

Photo: West Elm

Photo: Hampton Forge

Balancing Textures

The balance of textures in a decorating scheme is as important as the balance of colors and tones. A room full of the same thing is boring. Instead, you could combine surfaces, finishes, and even periods. Magic happens when elements with diverse qualities are brought together. Just as you blend and contrast colors with care, you need to consider including a good mixture of textures over the various surfaces in the room. To some extent, this happens almost as a matter of course as you decorate and furnish a room, matte walls, glossy woodwork, soft carpet and a mixture of wood, metal and glass furniture all collaborate in the overall impression.

While there's no real formula on adding texture to a space, there are several different ways to do so. The following are great examples on how you can incorporate a little bit of texture into your own home:

Kitchen