This year, look for home interiors to become more personalized."Each home, though it could be vastly different than the one next door, will feel more uniquely American than ever before," said C. Davis Remignanti, lead design consultant at
Furniture.com.He stressed that designing a room is about striking the right combination of colors, materials and silhouettes. However, there are now two other factors that play into the scheme."The coming year will be about lending the two most important ingredients for any well-designed interior: style and comfort," he said.He said the focus is also on homegrown heritage and moving away from global influences."The desire for typically European or Asian furniture design is waning as people discover a new appreciation for designs, new and antique, with a 'homegrown' heritage -- even if those designs, like most Americans, might trace their lineage to other continents and cultures," Remignanti said.
Cozy Decor
One of the dominant styles lately is a cottage-style look and feel. He said the desire for the relaxed but ultra-stylish cottage look has really taken off."Even the trendiest pieds-a-terre in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles are starting to take on a lake retreat attitude as people realize that they can incorporate the feel of vacation into their everyday lives," Remignanti said.
How To Approach The Purchase
Before filling a room with furniture, take into consideration the space -- its features, shape and character."First things first. Identify any major room features that you can't or don't want to change -- the color of woodwork, the brick in the hearth, those custom drapes -- then decorate with and around them," Remignanti said.After a taking a visual inventory of the space, work upwards. He recommended that if you're starting with an empty room, begin by selecting a rug or floor covering first.He said people are more likely to match walls and furniture to a rug and that the colors in the rug will provide good choices for wall and accent colors.
Get Inspired By Planning, Drawing
Choosing pieces to fit a space involves some planning. Think about how the room is going to be used and what the lifestyle is like.Remignanti recommended that consumers find inspiration through research by clipping photos from magazines, watching design shows and asking friends."Start small, build your confidence and learn from mistakes. The best designers did the same," he said.Several Web sites have free sophisticated online tools that help plan the layout of rooms and pinpoint a style of furniture.
Furniture.com's room planner lets users pick specific furniture pieces, place them in the room and then adjust the furniture's dimensions on the fly. Users can then print, save or buy items from the layout."Mix, as well as match, your furnishings to add variety and increase your design options. Use accent pieces to introduce new colors, textures and shapes to prevent your room from becoming monotonous," Remignanti said.
The American Home Furnishings Alliance's Web site has a room planner that comes with prebuilt rooms and do-it-yourself plans and allows users to save them. It also has a style finder and style profile quiz to help people narrow their tastes. The Web site's furniture finder will give users' links to manufacturers based on criteria they pick.
Choosing Comfort
If your furniture is uncomfortable, it's likely the room won't be used."Remember, no one is impressed by a beautiful interior that holds you off at arm's length," said Remignanti. "Part of the attraction of any well-designed interior will be how readily it welcomes you, how easily it encourages you to be relaxed and comfortable.""The notion that, in the end, every room should be a 'living room' will encourage new freedoms from decorating restraint," he said.
Test Drive Furniture
Before looking at a piece's quality, think about where the piece is going and how it's going to be used."If the furniture is going to be used daily, shoppers want to look for higher-quality pieces," said Patricia Bowling, AHFA's communication director.She said a lot of people make the mistake of skimping on children's furniture. Since children's furniture is expected to last a long time and will get rigorous use, she suggests parents search for higher-quality pieces.AFHA recommends test-driving furniture in the showroom."You want to sit down. We suggest sitting in it as you would do at home," Bowling said.When looking at tables, find out how all of its parts work. Bowling said many people buy tables with leaves but they don't know how to operate them. Look at how leaves are stored and how they fit in.
Details To Look For
Bowling suggested looking at how drawer fronts are attached, that high-quality pieces have dovetail (or interlocking) joints and hardware is attached securely and straight.She said the inside of the drawers should be smooth, not splintery and that higher quality pieces have dust panels in between drawers.Bowling said to gently lift one corner of a sofa to see if it sways or sags. Its frame should feel sturdy and should not wobble.She suggests looking at the foundation to see how it is made. For example: "Are there hand-tied coils, and are they installed by hand?"A poor foundation won't last or will wear out faster than the owner would like.With tables, check out how the corners are reinforced. Turn chairs upside down. Look at joints to see how they are attached and whether they are snug.Remignanti said the popularity of wooden furniture endures because it's practical, long-lasting and can be beautifully carved and crafted."The structural integrity of wooden furniture comes from the legs and frame that support the weight of a piece," said Remignanti. "A properly built chair, table or cabinet will not rack or twist when you lift it from one corner.""The inside of drawers and the undersides of furniture tell how pieces are joined -- different methods include dowels, mortise-and-tenon and the famous dovetailing that revolutionized the manufacture of furniture in the 17th century and remains popular even today," he said.Those who are overwhelmed by design speak should not feel like rooms need to be furnished all at once."Don't expect to go from blank canvas to finished interior in one fell swoop," Remignanti said. "Interesting interiors are created in layers over time. Don't try to get it all at once."
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