Modern Furniture

If you are fortunate enough to have a window seat, give it the same respect you pay your living room sofa. First, hang shades or curtains in a neutral color and style, so your window seat will be the star. Have the seat cushion made fat— like a 3- to 4-inch thickness with a crown, or a graceful bulge, in the middle. Run contrasting welting or moss fringe along the seams. Order a bolster for either end.

In the nineteenth century, to accommodate the many people who could not afford a broad piece of land on the avenues, urban builders put up apartment buildings on long narrow lots. These apartments became known as railroad flats, one room wide and three or four rooms long. To reach the bathroom at one end, you have to go through several other rooms. Though railroad flats are large in terms of square feet, their proportions are extremely awkward—they are much too long for their width. Railroad apartments violate the attributes of human scale and proportion.

When you encounter a space or an object with awkward proportions, whether it’s too long for its width or top heavy, you will feel a certain uneasiness. For example, it is never appropriate to cut out a rug around a hearth. The cut-out area violates the proportions of the rug, causing you to feel uneasy. A rug should be a smaller version of the room’s dimensions, echoing the overall shape of the room. Always scale down the rug size so you maintain the classic proportions of the rectangle.

When people see objects that are offensive to their eye due to poor proportion, they often become frustrated and tune out because they don’t know how to make it better. They shut their eyes and turn their backs. But flawed proportions can be corrected in many instances.

Using Mirrors to Correct Bad Proportions
Unlike our bedroom, stuffed with a modern furniture, the entrance hall of our apartment does not have gracious proportions. The space measures 8 feet      inches X 23 feet 5 1/2 inches, much too narrow for its length. The ratio of height to width is also a problem: The width of the main hall is less than its height by almost a foot. (Whenever possible, the ceiling should never be higher than the width of the room.) By multiplying the actual width by 2, the visual measurement becomes 17 feet 3 inches X 2 3 feet 5 1/2 inches, a fat rectangle satisfying to the eye. When we have receptions in the apartment, everyone likes to gather in the hall because it is pivotal to entering and leaving other areas of the apartment such as the library, living room, kitchen pantry, and bedroom hall. The mirrored wall is a brilliant way to create a golden mean of proportion, fooling the eye to achieve a feeling of harmony.
Here are some other ideas for using mirrors to correct awkward proportions:
♦ If you have a long narrow hallway, place a mirror at the end of the hall to bring in light and visually widen the space. You can either hang a traditional mirror in a frame or mirror the whole wall from cornice to baseboard.
♦ If you have a long dark room, place a mirror or pair of mirrors on the long wall to break up its length. Windowpane mirrors will fool the eye into believing that you have two additional windows, creating more space and light.

Basement conversion.

Dank and dungeon-like, our image of the typical unfinished basement is less than compelling. But if you can get past the creepy-movie associations, you may have found a large private space for your office. Split-level homes are prime candidates, as one or more walls may open out to light and an access door.

Moisture-proofing is crucial. Masonry walls should be sealed, insulated, then covered with gypsum wallboard or paneling. Build up the floor in the same way. If you can’t get rid of heating ducts and plumbing pipes, paint them jazzy colors or simply box them in with more wallboard.

Garage conversion.

With a little insulation, a weathertight door, a skylight, and a built-up floor, a garage—especially one that’s detached from the house—could make a great home office. You could even add French doors and a sunny pocket deck.
Logistically, though, a garage remodel may prove daunting. Routing wires, pipes (if necessary), and heating ducts can be expensive. And where will the car go? In some communities, you’ll have to add a new garage or carport to make up for the off-street parking space you’ve lost.

A detached office.

For some, there’s nothing like grabbing a mug of coffee and a snack, then “commuting” to a secluded backyard office or pool-house studio. Perhaps a little-used guest house or revamped potting shed could become the place to hang your shingle. Or you could start from scratch, and get it right the first time.
But while a new building is the ultimate office solution, it could prove an especially expensive option. Besides the labor of building a separate foundation, walls, and roof, you’ll have to extend utilities to the site. You’ll probably wish (and may be required) to include a bathroom, which means routing both supply and waste pipes. You’ll need an independent heat source. If this is your first experience working at home, you might want to try it out on a smaller scale first.

EVALUATING YOUR SPACE
Before you rush off to empty the linen closet or dry out the basement, work out a wish list for the kind of office you’re looking for. Some of your requirements will be structural or equipment-based; others will relate more to your own personal work style. As plans take shape, test them against the questions listed below (each of these is explored more fully later on).
â–  Are the area’s heating, cooling, and ventilation systems adequate to handle your office needs?
â–  Will you have to add electrical circuits or extend phone lines?
■ Is the lighting—both natural and artificial—sufficient? Are there problems with glare? Do you need a view, or would one cause needless distraction?
â–  What about privacy? Will you be disturbed by family members? Will household noise be transmitted over the phone? Will you be able to concentrate with loud traffic or neighbors outside?
â–  Do you need a separate area for a postal scale, copier, project bins, or sample books?
â–  Do you need extra bookshelves or space to display products?
â–  If clients call on you, will the space project a suitable image? Is there room for a conference table and seating? When visitors approach your office, will your entire house (and family) be on display?
â–  Do you need a separate outside entrance?

Imagine not having to get out of bed to raise the blinds—or to lower them, if you want to sleep late. Motorized blinds, which work by remote control, are an intoxicating luxury.  Dressing for bed, you would click to lower the blackout shades; in bed, with the lights out, you would click to raise them, revealing the sparkle nighttime skyline. Finally, at daybreak, husband or wife would wake up, grab the remote, lower the shades against the sun, and go back to sleep.

With modern furniture in your room it’s a luxury, but worth pricing, as more manufacturers catch on. And the possibilities are tantalizing. (Go to a window-covering specialist, not a hardware store.) Consider it a worthy investment if your bed is a command center for reading, writing, talking on the phone, and relaxing.

Traditional is a decorating term that describes the general characteristics of the period styles. Traditional implies certain design influences that can be seen in the graceful shapes and stylings of classic furniture designers such as Chippendale or Sheraton. Traditional decorating schemes are not exact re-creations of period styles, but are combinations of an individual’s favorite motifs, colors and patterns from different periods. Lavish and detailed, traditional bedrooms feature rich woods and patterned fabrics in distinctive colors.

Traditional bedrooms are cozy and comfortable, often decorated with a mix of patterns on walls, windows and beds. These bedrooms are the perfect place to express your own personal taste with favorite antiques, family photos and collections of personal memorabilia.

Traditional bedrooms are lavishly decorated with various fabrics, from elaborate tapestries to sateen, with long draperies that flow luxuriously onto the floor. The bed is often dressed with layers of bedspreads and bed skirts. Furniture of rich mahogany or cherry, with intricate details, is common in traditional rooms, as are brass lamps, bishop sleeve curtains, ruffled pillow shams and four-poster beds.

English traditional reflects the cold, damp climate and the warmth that is desired in an English home. This warmth is found in English tweed, as well as hunter green, royal blue, crimson and mustard. Warm English colors also include natural browns, grays and creams, as well as the bright colors of garden flowers.

English traditional style includes Victorian cabinetry, Regency furniture in black and gold, Edinburgh or Waterford crystal and Chippendale desks. A traditional English country bedroom is large and spacious.

French traditional has some similarities to English traditional, but the character and flavor is much different. Since the climate of France is warmer and less rainy, French rooms don’t focus so much on a central fireplace. Pastels don’t work well with the deep, ruddy shades of English traditional, but a French style can be flavored with more subtle shades, such as peach, rose, beige, pale lemon, Wedgwood blue, muted green and rich cream.

The materials used in traditional French rooms are more lush and luxurious. There is much more use of fabric than in traditional British decor. French traditional also includes intricately detailed Austrian shades, with lots of molding, trim and borders.

If there is one universal traditional style, it is wicker. In the East and West alike, the internationally known willow is bent and twisted to a desired shape. Wicker furniture can be found in traditional styles as well as modern, country and Oriental.