Design Tips Archives - Page 7 of 8

Posted on June 22, 2015June 13, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Using Textured Glass in Residential and Commercial Interiors

Using glass in interior design is a brilliant way of decorating, furnishing or partitioning your space, while still allowing for a lot of light to enter and circulate. In particular, textured glass surfaces allow the light to bounce and create fascinating glares and shimmers, adding a flare of elegance and mystery to your space.

We’ve come across a few example of using textured glass for partitioning spaces, which works great in commercial, open-plan spaces:

Textured glass adds visual interest and varying levels of opacity, which makes it a good choice for residential interior designs as well. A few of our chosen examples include:

When it comes to accessories, the options are endless. The most popular ones that come to mind are the elegant glasses that feature textured design.

There’s something magical about glass, and using in decorating interior spaces results in a sophisticated, elegant and modern look.

Posted on June 18, 2015June 11, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Texture in Fashion Design

Admittedly, this post’s topic if not what one would normally expect on an interior designer’s blog. However, all this talk about textured interior designs from our previous blogs has whet our appetite, and so in this blog post, we’re looking at the use of texture in fashion design. More specifically, we’ve fallen in love with a few fabric manipulation techniques – or in other words reshaping the surface of the material:

The fabric then takes on an additional dimension and depth, and creates a very exquisite look on the clothing items. To start with, we’ve selected a few haute couture designs that have won us over:

We find the designs to be a fascinating mix of simplicity and sophistication. On a more nature-inspired note, we also liked these two airy dress designs that use colour, texture and pleating techniques:

As extravagant of these garments look, textured fashion design is not only reserved for the catwalk. So here are some of our favourite examples of prêt-à-porter textured fashion:

We think texture fabric is an excellent alternative to patters, in adding personality and elegance to an outfit, be it for the day to day wear, or that very special occasion that calls for a carefully selected dress.

Posted on June 17, 2015November 12, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Design in Focus: Exposed Brick

As we’ve been talking about textured walls this month, it’s about time we cover one interior design style that all of us have seen at some point: exposed brick walls. Most often you might be able to see these in public spaces, such as halls, restaurants and cafes. Here are a few examples:

Yet exposed brick walls can sit quite nicely in a home interior as well in most rooms: from kitchens to bedroom, from dining areas to bathrooms:

If you’re one to think that exposed brick walls come only in one colour – you are in for a treat! Either you’re looking to create a high contrast or something that easily ‘blends in’ with the rest of the room, there are plenty of creative options you can chose from. Here are some of our favourite ones:

While opting for a wallcovering that imitates brick might seem an easy option to recreate this look within a low budget, we are quite reserved about it. In our vision, the strength of exposed brick walls comes from their coarse, unfinished, rugged appearance and trying to imitate this might turn into a tacky interior design. Best to stick to the original, or try something completely different.

Posted on June 15, 2015June 5, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Creating Textured Walls

We’ve already seen that adding tactile or visual texture to wallcoverings can add a striking and luxurious look to your interior. But when it comes to using this technique, a few things are worth mentioning.

One of the most common methods is the use of textured paint, which creates the look and feel of a canvas, which can then be enhanced by using additional materials like sponges, wood, ribbon, lace, sand, leather, birch and many more. Special tools are used to create texture walls, such as putty knives, brushes, towels, sponges, rollers and combs. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to create a simple and impactful texture in your wall paint is to use a dry brush with hard bristle or even a broom:

Although textured walls do require for extra time and patience, they are very charming and luxurious, guaranteed to get your guests talking. And on the up side you don’t need to make all the walls in your interior textured, as these walls tend to be the high point of attraction in an interior, so you can keep the rest in a complementary, plain design, to make the textured wall the highlight of the room:

If you ask us, textured walls are an effort well rewarded: they add authenticity and personality to the room, allowing you to express your own creativity.

Posted on June 10, 2015June 5, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Visual Texture for Interior Walls

We hope you’ve enjoyed the previous post on tactile texture for interior walls and today we’d like to offer a few inspiring ideas for using visual texture, in creating outstanding feature walls.

Using visual texture, the wall mimics a 3D appearance by creating a visual effect of spatiality and depth. The first two examples presented below use strong colours that add a dash of dramatism to the space, while the patterns in the wallcovering design create the illusion of a texture:

The textured faux-painting technique (left) creates a rich wall that mimics the patters of natural stone, and is nicely contrasted by using furniture and accessories in neutral colours. Paint can be used to mimic natural stone, leather, wood and even pitted metal.

In more toned down hues, the following implementations also create a nice visual effect; the right one makes us think of a dreamy sunset on a cloudy summer sky, while the image on the left mirrors the flooring pattern, creating a surreal, interesting effect for the living space:

And yet another use of visual texture is present in these two interiors that use neutral colours, to mimic the appearance of unfinished room or naked tile walls and ceiling:

While we like both equally, we have to admit the concrete wall on the left would look best in a non-domestic interior, while the unfinished naked tile walls can work wonders both in the home and other office or public spaces.

Posted on June 8, 2015June 5, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Tactile Texture for Interior Walls

Walls don’t have to be flat or covered in paint to be attractive. So continuing the theme of using texture in interior design, in this blog post we have looked specifically at textured wall coverings. As with all unusual interior choices it’s best to keep the textured wall surface to a limited area, as not to over crowd the space by having all walls covered with the textured pattern.

As we mentioned in a previous post, texture can be either tactile or visual, creating the illusion of tactile texture. Naturally, wallcoverings follows these two styles as well. In this post we’re looking at tactile texture, and we start with a very exquisite example used on interior walls:

This is a creative use of ceramic tiles by David Pergier. We particularly like this wall as it conveys the power of 3D textures and the nice glossy surface of ceramic tiles. Also notice how the wall texture is broken into sections by the use of smooth vertical stripes. This further emphasizes the intricate areas, by creating a playful contrast and breaking the monotony of the wall.

One other way of using tactile textured walls is by creating feature walls in an interior space – be it at home or in a shared space. Here are two interpretations, both created using clean, plain white materials:

While adding texture to the walls may be enough to create a highlight in the room without needing to add colour variations (as in the examples we’ve given so far), sometimes colour can help go the extra mile, and create a truly unique mysterious or playful atmosphere:

These two examples add an extra dramatic effect to the spaces by using dark colours (left) and high contrast, bright colours (right). While both these examples create a powerful look for the interior, they need to be surrounded by contrasting surfaces, to help highlight them. As such, notice the plain green hue used in the example to the right, which naturally draws your eyes to the textured stripe in the middle.

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Autumn Colour Trends

We’re still quite a long way from autumn, but the season of nostalgia has its very special place in our hearts so in this blog post we’ve decided to share our views on autumn colour trends in interior design, with a Moody Monday spin.

Trying to move away slightly from the cliché red-yellow-orange, we think the blue-green-purple palette to a modern interpretation of the fall season. Just think of half-ripe grapes in the vineyard, or the Northern lights, and you get the picture on what colours we envision:

We think the mix of colours is a perfect match for the season: a mystical and wondrous representation of the autumn. In our view, interior designs incorporating these colours look brilliantly modern, exquisite and luxurious. But if you’re thinking dark colours are not as easy to fit into an interior, you’re not alone. However, if used creatively, we believe these tones can create a mysterious, contemporary and cosy atmosphere in any interior – be it a living room, bedroom or a café. Here are some of our favourite examples:

What’s more, darker colours can also be used to add spatiality to small spaces – one more reason to love them! We believe these particular hues of blue-green-purple are a perfect match for the shadowy and mysterious autumn season and we highly recommend using them in modern interiors.

Posted on June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Texture Variations in Interior Design

Texture in interior design is often used to add highlights to specific areas of the space. We also perceive texture in relation to the adjacent surfaces, the viewing distance and lightning of the area. For example, to highlight a rough surface, this is best placed next to a smooth surface. The roughness is emphasized when the surface is viewed up close and grazed with light (lit from the side), which highlights the texture through shadows and light spots. Moreover, changing the angle from which light hits the textured surface, and the view angle, creates a different visual effect. Here is an exemplification:

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Textures in design can be of two different kinds, either tactile or visual. Tactile texture refers to the actual feeling of a surface – smooth, rough, soft, hard, etc., whereas visual texture appeals to our perception, what a texture might feel like. Oftentimes, through the use of visual texture, a surface can create the illusion of a specific tactile texture or an added depth. Here’s one great example, of how lighting is used to create a different visual effect when looking from a short or longer distance:

In practice, all these textures can be used in interior design to add distinctiveness to the room, and visual textures in particular can create a stunning effect. Some of our favourites (exemplified below) include the use of patterns (left) and tactile textures (right):

Adding textures to an interior is a sure fire way of creating a visually interesting space, but we also recommend using caution, as too much texture can create a cluttered and over stimulating appearance to the space.

Posted on June 1, 2015May 15, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Using Pattern & Light In and Around Dining Areas

Exquisite dining – in your own home. Who’s to say you need to head downtown for a memorable, fine dining experience? While we will not be making dinner menu suggestions, we would like to give you a few tips on how to arrange your dining area to create an elegant and luxurious atmosphere.

Low hanging light solutions over the dinner table really bring the area into emphasis, and we find them to be a great way of enhancing the dining experience. They also add a flare modernism to the space. Our favourite ones look like this:

Pattern at the dinner table: to add a subtle yet outstanding note to your dining area, we recommend using high quality design place mats and coasters. These will serve a double purpose, protecting the surface of your dining table, and adding a dash of personality and an accent note to the table:

If you would like to see our entire collection of tableware accessories, they are available on our website: coasters and placemats.

After-dinner relaxing

For the after-dinner lounging area, we prefer low intensity lighting and even candle light, depending on the context and guests you’re entertaining. This will help create a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. Add a glass of wine, and you are bound to be a fabulous evening in. Here are a few examples:

Comfortable, visual textures as patterns: According to designer Abigail Ahern “soft furnishings are the five-minute face-lifts of the decorating world, instantly perking up your room with an array of different textures”. You can sue these either as stand-alone statement pieces, or bundled up to create contrast and play, using different visual textures. Recommended materials are silks and cotton, and our own collection offers luxurious cushions in daring patters and texture, ideal for adding a subtle yet outstanding note to your dining area:

From top to bottom, cushions suggested are:

Black Keys cotton cushion, black & white
The Dance cotton cushion, Turquoise blue
Modulate with Feeling cotton cushion, black & white
O What Sweet Delights silk cushion, purple

Posted on May 28, 2015May 15, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Designing for Outdoor Spaces

When you’re looking to arrange an outdoors living space, sky is the limit, right? But this also means there are so many options, it may become daunting to choose the best ones for your space. In this blog post, we aim to show you a few of our favourite arrangements and decorations, and hopefully offer some inspiration to help you design your outdoor space – just the way you want it.

Furniture: The choices you make in picking the outdoor furniture will have a great impact on the feel of the space. For example, we recommend using a monochromatic colour palette adorned with sumptuous cushions and throws for a more glamorous look:

Alternatively, if you’re going for an urban style, choose contemporary designer & luxury outdoor furniture, which we recommend you enhance with bold accessories for a pop of colour:

Lighting: Whether it’s still daytime or getting dark, we think the use of different levels of lighting adds a special ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the outdoors living space. In line with the overall style of your space, you may decide to go for more contemporary or sumptuous options – below are a few suggestions. As interior designer Shelly Riehl David says, “Nothing flickers like real flame in a gas lantern”. Looking at these pictures, we could not agree more:

Category: Design Tips