Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Fab Finials- Dress Up Your Windows

So, you've spent all this time and money picking out window treatments and they're finally here!  Then you realize, you've gotta hang them somehow.  We've found that picking drapery hardware can be the hardest part about completing a drapery job.  There are thousands upon thousands of choices out there and if you measure wrong, you're back to square one!

While I can't measure and hang your curtains from behind the keyboard, I can give you some direction in picking the most important part of all drapery hardware- the finial!  Below, I've browsed KAID's library and the web to pick some of the most cutting edge finals out there.  

As always, if you'd like help customizing your windows, contact us at kim@interiorsbykim.com or (214) 500-0600



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Trending- Faux Bois Is the New Floral

Who is sick of chevron patterns and florals!?  Well, I'm not quite sick of them, but I must say I'm excited for a new pattern to get some hype!  Faux bois, from the French for false wood, is just that, imitation of a wood grain on different sorts of media (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faux_bois).  

Recently featured in Elle Decor as a hip new print, I will bet big money that it'll be all over the shelves by Spring in extremely awesome hues.  So, luck you to get the heads up!  Go grab some faux bois before everyone has it!  Check out these products I've found below... faux bois oohhh la la!   
 

1.  Fake wood print acryclic accent table- Find it HERE

2.  Faux bois rug- Find it HERE

3.  Printed wood lamp shade- Find it HERE

4.  Velvet faux bois fabric in blue- Find it HERE

5.  Textural fake wood pillow in gray- Find it HERE

6.  "Knock On Wood" Print- Find it HERE

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Brass to the Past

Here are KAID, we do a lot of custom pieces because we like things to be PERFECT!  Oddly enough, doing custom pieces is often cheaper and quicker than purchasing from a vendor... who knew?  Anyway, in the process of creating some MAGENTA Louis XIV commode pieces, we needed to find hardware and ormolus for the piece.  Searching all over the internet, we found some great antique ormolu pieces, but finding vintage-esque handles and escutcheons was proving to be nearly impossible.  We did some research and discovered you can age brass...  Soooo, with lots of trial and error, we discovered the most efficient was is as follows:

1.  Make sure your brass pieces are REAL!
2.  Most newer brass pieces have a coating on it.  We got lucky and had the kind of coating that comes off with acetone.  If you have the stubborn coating, you're on your own!
3.  After removing the coating, rinse off the hardware with water and dry.
4.  Once dry, you'll need to submerse the pieces into Brass Darkening Solution J-3499.  Buy it HERE!
5.  It has all the directions on the back of the bottle, so just follow them from there!
6.  If you leave it in too long, all you have to do is polish it up a bit.  We always use Brasso, you can buy it at Lowe's or Home Depot in the cleaning department.
7.  Let us know how this works for you :)

RESULTS 

By Kim Armstrong Interior Design

Monday, September 10, 2012

Bohemian Bedroom and Tone on Tone Theater Room

Here are some room concepts we are preparing to bring to life for a client here in Dallas, Texas.  Kim Armstrong Interior Design developed these spaces through a detailed interview process and a customized questionnaire.  While this images are just a taste of what the finished products will be, these digital designs really help people visualize how the elements will relate.  It's also a lot less time consuming than doing a hand or computer-generated rendering!

Here is a Bohemian bedroom design with focus on having a place for everything.  Organization and clutter free design are always a must no matter what style you're going for.  We created storage in unique ways like putting shoes in the china hutch, using an old vintage desk as a makeup vanity, and attaching lace to ornate frames for jewelry display.

This tone-on-tone media room was designed with a masculine feel, but no woman would turn down watching a movie in this space.  By keeping the color minimal (on pillows and a chair) the rest of the room generates warmth with its color palette of grays, browns, tans, and creams.  Because the space's purpose is to watch movies, the focus should not be the rooms aesthetic, but to bring family and friends together to enjoy movies, reading, and each other's company.