Killa App

Does your office need a makeover? Well if it does, this FREE widget I found can definitely help you out. This widget provides useful information about how to “feng shui” your office.



I have already shared a lot of information of office interior design but this widget has even more to offer! It is not only a nice overview of topics I have addressed such as clutter and lighting, but also has new tips that will undeniably help improve any office space.

Before I delve into how I discovered this tool, let me address a question some of you might be wondering…what exactly is a widget? To put it simply, widgets are viral applications that can be shared on blogs or websites. There are even websites entirely devoted to offering different types of widgets. After browsing through the widgets offered on sites like widgetbox, it quickly becomes obvious that there is widget every topic imaginable.

Although this widget is available on sites like widgetbox, I found it at LocalHealers.com. LocalHealers.com is a site that allows schools and health professionals to create profiles that promote their programs and represent their practices. LocalHealers.com is also the leading alternative health widget provider on social networks. This website offers powerful viral exposure for its’ members. To better understand how the website functions, watch this video…





People can easily share LocalHealer.com’s widgets on virtually EVERY social network available...


These social networks are powerful because they not only have millions of members, but they also continue to grow. In addition, over half of active users return daily. This picture below shows some of the other widgets LocalHealers.com has to offer.


So now that you know the background, you will be excited to hear that this particular widget is actually very easy to use. By clicking on either the images in the main picture, or the arrows located at the top right corner, you can read tips on how to improve your office. The topics addressed in this widget include: plants, storage and clutter, air, decoration, electrical equipment, furniture and even ergonomics.

Although ergonomics does not fall under the feng shui umbrella, an undeniable association between office ergonomics and office feng shui exists. Ergonomics is the study of how your body interacts with your environment when you perform a task or activity. Office ergonomics focuses on arranging your work environment to fit your needs while you do your job.

There are millions of widgets floating around on the Internet, and the key is to find the ones that offer information that is not only interesting but also helpful. What I like about this widget is that whether you work at home, in a cubicle or in a spacious corner office, this widget has information applicable to the many varieties of office environments.

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Although I practically lectured you all about the office Feng Shui widget I found at LocalHealers.com, I truly believe that everyone can benefit from using this widget, especially if you are already interested in interior design. Think about it…if implementing a few Feng Shui guidelines to your office can make the difference between dreading your morning commute to looking forward to your career…why wouldn’t you make some simple changes? Although the task of redecorating an office may seem daunting, fear not! This widget it very straightforward and clearly outlines quick ways to effectively improve your office. In addition, it is not necessary to use every single bit of advice offered on the widget. Whether you use one tip, or all tips, every office can be enhanced. Simply pick and choose which aspects of Feng Shui and office ergonomics offered in the widget you want to apply and tah dah! You have a new and improved office!

While browsing through the various blogs on my blog roll, I came across an example in one of my favorite blogs that reveals how you can effectively pick and choose the information offered in this widget. Copy Cat Chic’s writer, ReichB, shared pictures of her home office with her readers and used a central characteristic of office ergonomics for the position of her computer.


As you can see in the picture, ReichB used a cake stand to keep her laptop at the appropriate eye level. Copy Cat Chic shows that you not only can pick and choose what aspects of this widget you want to apply, but you can also infuse your own personal style while doing it. If you want to learn more about office ergonomics, click on the image of the person sitting at the computer on the widget.

Even though there has been some skepticism surrounding office ergonomics, evident from these cartoons below, it has overall been successfully accepted as a method to positively improve an office environment. As more people become knowledgeable on the topic of office Feng Shui and ergonomics, the less questionable people become and fewer eyebrows are raised.


These cartoons should not be considered limitations or in any way decrease the validity of the widget because these cartoons are a product of people not being well informed on the immense power Feng Shui and ergonomics can have. Therefore, these cartoons should be viewed as inspiration for producing even more widgets on Feng Shui and ergonomics to further inform others. As of now, this widget is the ONLY one offering information on this topic. And although this widget provides ample amounts of information to improve your office, there is even more information just waiting for you to convert it into another helpful widget. For example, there could be a widget that focuses entirely on color. An article titled, Work Got You Down? It Might Be Your Chi: Bring Positive Energies to Your Office with Feng Shui, discusses the area of color in detail. For even more information on Feng Shui, check out a book titled, Interior Design With Feng Shui by Sarah Rossbach and Lin Yun.

This widget should not only inspire others to create other feng shui widgets but also other types of interior design widgets. Interior design is a creative field, so use those creative minds to ultimately help out others! How awesome would it be if there was a widget that could help you choose an appropriate color scheme for your home? And remember, interior design is not limited to the indoors… there could even be a widget about landscaping! Clearly, the possibilities are endless. Check out sproutbuilder.com if you have an idea for an interior design widget. This site allows people to set up an account for FREE and build your on widget.

As you know, interior design blogs constantly refer to other interior designers’ work by posting pictures or referencing articles. Now just imagine how useful it would be if interior designers created widgets with helpful information about their design tools or rules. These widgets could then be shared and posted on blogs.

So go on, use those creative juices and create a widget. Who knows, maybe I will be raving about your widget just as I have been raving about this widget…

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So hopefully you have all tried and now love the awesome widget I found about office Feng Shui and ergonomics. This widget offers both helpful and easy tips to help improve your office environment. When the advice given is as simple as fixing the position of your computer or placing a plant in the corner of the room, how can you not take it!

In case you have any doubts or questions, I have made a presentation that will explain what the widget has to offer, and hopefully entice you to actually use it.

Whether you own your own business and work at home, or work for a major corporation on the 56th floor of a teetering skyscraper...this widget can help! So check out my presentation and find discover the benefits of office Feng Shui and ergonomics.

Another Widget!

So if you have been reading this blog, you already know all about the widget I found about office feng shui and ergonomics. Since you are now an expert on how to improve your office, I found another widget that can teach you even more about the topic of feng shui.

You can learn more about these aspects by clicking on any of the buttons along the circle.


There is a button under the title, “The BaGua Energy Map” that helps users learn how to implement all this information.

My New Favorite Blog

I came across this blog, Copy Cat Chic, and absolutely love it! I actually went through EVERY one of the blog posts in one sitting! My favorite part of this blog are the "room redos." ReichB, the blog's writer, posts an inspiration photo and then finds a way to "redo" the room using inexpensive finds. Here is an example:





Another great way ReichB helps her readers out, is by sharing what she calls "chic finds." She posts pictures of designer furniture and then finds a nearly identical piece for a reasonable price. One "chic find" from March 22 is this beautiful black chest:


Another awesome aspect of this blog is that the writer accepts "challenges" and special requests for room redos!

More on Office Fung Shui

So hopefully you have all tried and now love the awesome widget I found about office Feng Shui and ergonomics. This widget offers both helpful and easy tips to help improve your office environment. When the advice given is as simple as fixing the position of your computer or placing a plant in the corner of the room, how can you not take it!

In case you have any doubts or questions, I have made a presentation that will explain what the widget has to offer, and hopefully entice you to actually use it.

Whether you own your own business and work at home, or work for a major corporation on the 56th floor of a teetering skyscraper...this widget can help! So check out my presentation and find discover the benefits of office Feng Shui and ergonomics.

Need an Office Makeover?

Although I practically lectured you all about the office Feng Shui widget I found at LocalHealers.com, I truly believe that everyone can benefit from using this widget, especially if you are already interested in interior design. Think about it…if implementing a few Feng Shui guidelines to your office can make the difference between dreading your morning commute to looking forward to your career…why wouldn’t you make some simple changes? Although the task of redecorating an office may seem daunting, fear not! This widget it very straightforward and clearly outlines quick ways to effectively improve your office. In addition, it is not necessary to use every single bit of advice offered on the widget. Whether you use one tip, or all tips, every office can be enhanced. Simply pick and choose which aspects of Feng Shui and office ergonomics offered in the widget you want to apply and tah dah! You have a new and improved office!

While browsing through the various blogs on my blog roll, I came across an example in one of my favorite blogs that reveals how you can effectively pick and choose the information offered in this widget. Copy Cat Chic’s writer, ReichB, shared pictures of her home office with her readers and used a central characteristic of office ergonomics for the position of her computer.
PIC
As you can see in the picture, ReichB used a cake stand to keep her laptop at the appropriate eye level. Copy Cat Chic shows that you not only can pick and choose what aspects of this widget you want to apply, but you can also infuse your own personal style while doing it. If you want to learn more about office ergonomics, click on the image of the person sitting at the computer on the widget.


Even though there has been some skepticism surrounding office ergonomics, evident from these cartoons below, it has overall been successfully accepted as a method to positively improve an office environment. As more people become knowledgeable on the topic of office Feng Shui and ergonomics, the less questionable people become and fewer eyebrows are raised.


These cartoons should not be considered limitations or in any way decrease the reliability of this widget because these cartoons are a product of people not being well informed on the immense power Feng Shui and ergonomics can have. Therefore, these cartoons should be viewed as inspiration to producing even more widgets on Feng Shui and ergonomics. As of now, this widget is the ONLY one offering information on this topic. And although this widget provides ample amounts of information to improve your office, there is even more information just waiting for you to convert it into another helpful widget. For example, there could be a widget that focuses entirely on color. An article titled, Work Got You Down? It Might Be Your Chi: Bring Positive Energies to Your Office with Feng Shui, discusses the area of color in detail. For more information on Feng Shui, check out a book titled, Interior Design With Feng Shui by Sarah Rossbach and Lin Yun.

This widget should not only inspire others to create other feng shui widgets but any type of interior design widget. Interior design is a creative field, so use those creative minds to help out others! How awesome would it be if there was a widget that could help you choose an appropriate color scheme for your home? And remember, interior design is not limited to the indoors… there could even be a widget about landscaping! Clearly, the possibilities are endless. Check out sproutbuilder.com if you have an amazing idea for interior design widget. This site allows people to set up an account for FREE and build your on widget.

As you know, interior design blogs constantly refer to other interior designers’ work by posting pictures or referencing articles. Now just imagine how useful it would be if interior designers created widgets with helpful information about their design tools or rules. These widgets could then be shared and posted on blogs.

So go on, use those creative juices and create a widget. Who knows, maybe I will be raving about your widget just as I have been raving about this widget…

Feng Shui Widget

Does your office need a makeover? Well if it does, this FREE widget I found can definitely help you out. This widget provides useful information about how to “feng shui” your office.



I have already shared a lot of information of office design but this widget has even more to offer! It is not only a nice overview of topics I have addressed such as clutter and lighting, but also has new helpful tips that will undeniably help improve any office space.

Before I delve into how I discovered this tool, let me address a question some of you might be wondering…what exactly is a widget? To put it simply, widgets are viral applications that can be shared on blogs or websites. There are even websites entirely devoted to offering different types of widgets. After browsing through the widgets offered on sites like widgetbox, it quickly becomes obvious that there is widget every topic imaginable.

Although this widget is available on sites like widgetbox, I found it at LocalHealers.com. LocalHealers.com is a site that allows schools and health professionals to create profiles that promote their programs and represent their practices. LocalHealers.com is also the leading alternative health widget provider on social networks. This website offers powerful viral exposure for its’ members. To better understand how the website functions, watch this video…





People can easily share LocalHealer.com’s widgets on virtually EVERY social network available. These social networks are powerful because they not only have millions of members, but they also continue to grow. In addition, over half of active users return daily. This picture below shows some of the other widgets LocalHealers.com has to offer.


So now that you know the background, you will be excited to hear that this particular widget is actually very easy to use. By clicking on either the images in the main picture, or the arrows located at the top right corner, you can read tips on how to improve your office. The topics addressed in this widget include: plants, storage and clutter, air, decoration, electrical equipment, furniture and even ergonomics.

Although ergonomics does not fall under the feng shui umbrella, an undeniable association between office ergonomics and office feng shui exists. Ergonomics is the study of how your body interacts with your environment when you perform a task or activity. Office ergonomics focuses on arranging your work environment to fit your needs while you do your job.

There are millions of widgets floating around on the Internet, and the key is to find the ones that offer information that is not only interesting but also helpful. What I like about this widget is that whether you work at home, in a cubicle or in a spacious corner office, this widget has information applicable to the many varieties of office environments.

Lit Review

Color is one of the major ways to influence the mood of a space. When selecting a color to paint an office, the color’s reflectance values, the amount of light a surface reflects, should be taken into consideration, according to Sandra L. Ragan’s book, Interior Color by Design: A design tool for architects, interior designers, and facility managers (Ragan 33). High reflectance leads to brighter spaces and low reflectance leads to darker spaces. If the office does not have a sufficient amount of natural light coming in from windows, it is important to choose a color with a high reflectance value such as white or beige. As John Pile outlines in his book, Color in Interior Design, artificial lighting becomes increasingly common in office spaces, therefore, the use of color is used to help create a positive atmosphere (Pile 171).

Ravi Mehta and Rui Zhu recently conducted a study focusing on the effect of color on cognitive task performance. The 600 participants performed tasks on computers with words or images displayed against red, blue or neutral colored backgrounds. The results revealed that both red and blue enhance performances, but in different ways. Red increases performance for detailed orientated tasks and blue increases performance for creative tasks (Ravi 1).

Red not only increases performance but is also considered the most dynamic of all colors (Ragan 37). Red is a strong color, often associated with power so could be strategically used in offices of corporate leaders.

But are these findings limited? To what extent can these findings on the psychological effects of color by applied to different cultures? Especially in an environment such as an office building where people from all over with different backgrounds are thrown together it is important to make sure that design elements are going to be able to positively affect everyone.

These questions were answered in a study conducted by Ralph B. Hupka, Zbigniew Zaleski, Jurgen Otto, Lucy Reidl and Nadia V. Tarabrina. They collected data from Germany, Mexico, Poland, Russia and the United States to ensure that subjects would differ in politico-economic systems, language, history and literature (Hupka 4). Regardless of language and culture, people associate similar adjectives with the same colors. In addition, the same colors are considered to be strong or weak (Osgood, 1960). This study confirms that color can elicit strong feelings and are important to take into consideration when designing the interior of non residential buildings, particularly offices.

Another study conducted by Canan Ceylan, Jan Dul and Serpil Aytac also examines how other aspects of an office environment besides color can stimulate creativity. Managers of large manufacturing companies were asked to rate both the creativity potential, as well as the physical aspects of 25 different office environments. The results reveal that office interior design influence the creativity potential. In order to establish high creativity potential, it is important for offices to have lower complexity, more plants, bright lighting conditions, windows and cooler colors (Ceylan 1). This study is congruent with Mehta and Zhu’s findings because blue falls into the cool color category.

In addition to color, another way design can positively influence the office environment is by the specific materials used for the walls, floors or furniture. Psychologists Bradley G. Ridoutt, Roderick D. Ball and Shaun K. Killerby discovered that wood in the interior office environment has an effect on interpersonal perception. The effect of wood on interpersonal perception was assessed through the use of photo-questionnaires. Three men and three women were super-imposed onto three images of offices with varying amounts of wood in the design. Participants in this study were asked to describe their first impressions when viewing these photos. Both open-ended and structured questions were used to reveal information on five main attributes including professionalism, success, honesty, caring and creativity. Ultimately, researchers discovered that offices using wood interiors led to a more positive first impression.

First impressions are important and how an office is designed tells visitors a lot about its occupant. In addition to the use of wood in offices to establish a more positive perception of the occupant, there are additional design qualities that have been observed that impact and influence how occupants are perceived. In his study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, David E. Campbell observed the presence or absence of living things, the presence or absence of aesthetic objects, tidiness and the effect of desk placement (Morrow 646). Favorable visitor reactions and attributions were recorded in response to the presence of both living things, such as plants, as well as aesthetic objects, such as posters or wall decorations. Clutter was found to have a significant negative impact on visitors’ response. There was a positive correlation between clutter in the office and negative feelings associated with the office occupant. Campbell concluded that the impact of desk placement is recognizable only in more austere offices (Morrow 626).

Implications of my research...

When it comes to decorating, most people put a lot of thought into choosing the color and design of their bedroom, bathroom or living room. It is understandable that people would want to feel comfortable in the space they live in every day. But what about the nonresidential buildings people spend hours of their life in every day? Depending on ones’ career, people can end up spending more time awake and alert in their office than they do in their home. If people spend time and energy on decorating their homes, shouldn’t the same time and consideration be spent on their office? After reviewing studies that examine the psychological effects of color and design, the answer is undeniably yes. Décor has the ability to elicit emotions and moods so by choosing the appropriate color scheme and design, it has been found to have positive effects on not only comfort, but also success in the work place.

Whether you are a CEO in a spacious private office or a secretary in a cubicle, knowing the possible psychological effects of color and design can be used to their advantage. If changing the color of you walls can help someone be more focused or creative, why not try it? The amount of zeros on a paycheck does not determine how people respond to certain color or design. Interior design is universal and important to not only remain educated on, but also implement it. There is science embedded within interior design and once deciphered and analyzed, can have a positive impact on ones’ business.

The White House Is Getting a Makeover

Barack Obama has shared his and Michelle’s plans to “open up the White House and remind people this is the people’s house.” He said they wanted to host jazz musicians, chamber music recitals and poetry readings, “so that once again we appreciate this incredible tapestry that’s America.”

The last major make over the White House underwent was nearly 50 years ago when Jacqueline Kennedy transformed the outdated monument into a beautiful masterpiece. She even went to Congress to pass legislation to make the White House a museum and hired a curator.

The Obama’s hiring Los Angeles decorator Michael Smith is definitely a statement that the White House is going to change. Good bye stuffy antique furniture and ancient tapestries…

Michelle Obama shares that "Laura Bush has been a wonderful steward of The White House and created a beautiful residence for her family. I look forward to adding our own touch to the East Wing and creating a living space where our family feels comfortable, happy and settled. Michael shares my vision for creating a family friendly feel to our new home and incorporating some new perspectives from some of America's greatest artists and designers."

Smith studied interior design at the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. He has his own home furnishings store in California and has had his own design firm since l990. He is known for his family-focused clientele and approach and is currently on the Board of Trustees for the Otis College of Art and Design .

“I am delighted to work with the Obamas as they bring their own energy and style to the residence at The White House," said decorator Michael Smith. "The family's casual style, their interest in bringing 20th Century American artists to the forefront and utilizing affordable brands and products will serve as our guiding principles as we make the residence feel like their home."

Can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Some questions....

As I continue to study the psychological effect of color, I have formed some questions about the subject that I would like to share...

- What are the benefits for studying the psychological effects of color?
- Is the result worth the amount of effort exerted to not only study the psychological effect color, but also implement it?
- What are the implications of studying the psychological effects of color?

- Will studying the psychological effects of color result in any change? Can it apply to everyone?
- Is there is enough evidence to support that the study of the psychological effects of color is worth the time, money and energy?
- Is the study of the psychological effects of color growing?
- What has changed about the study of the psychological effects of color?

Pageflake Tour

Wouldn’t it be nice to have useful information about interior design from all over the Internet, neatly compiled in one location? Well lucky for you, I am about to make your life much easier...

I recently created a page on pageflakes to help organize all the information I have collected about interior design. The first thing you will notice on my pageflake is this blog, conveniently located at the top right corner. To the right of that window is a list of RSS feeds.

I personally have a dangerous addiction to interior design blogs. Once I start, I find it hard to stop. I might want to quickly check what has been recently added to a blog, but before I know it, it is two hours later and I have over 15 windows open on my poor little laptop. These RSS feeds have eliminated the insanity I once endured, not to mention the hours wasted, trying to remain updated on the many blogs I like to follow.

These feeds that I have compiled are not only popular, but also extremely informative with a lot to offer to its readers. Whether you are remodeling a kitchen, or want to spruce up the look of your dining room chairs, these blogs undoubtedly have the ability inspire the interior designer in you.

Going in order from top to bottom on my pageflake, the blogs I like to read are Material Girls, So Haute, Design Sponge, Remodelista, Bloesem, decor8, Eddie Ross, Habitually Chic, Absolutely Beautiful Things, Superuse, Apartment Therapy, and The Design Blog. This collection of RSS feeds is appealing because of the different perspectives they have to offer. Some blogs, like Material Girls, is written collaboratively by a group of people, while other blogs, like Eddie Ross, are written by individuals. Another unique aspect of this particular RSS feed is that the blogs are being written all over the country. From Los Angeles to New York and everywhere in between, different design aesthetics are easily accessible at the click of a mouse.

Thanks to this list of RSS feeds, I stumbled upon an intriguing post from Material Girls titled, Mixing Science With Design. This post motivated me to uncover more information on the psychological impact of color. The information I discovered can be found in the CiteLine window located under the heading, “zotero bilbliography”. These sources include other studies similar to the one discussed on Material Girls, as well as books and articles from Science journals and the International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management. One book in particular that I have gained a lot of information from is John Pile’s book, Color in Interior Design. There is an entire chapter on the psychological impact of color, with a section that breaks down the feelings that certain colors elicit.

Under my bibliography are my social bookmarking soulmate’s bookmarks. I found my social bookmarking soulmate, GardenCityMovement, on the popular social booking site, delicious. GardenCityMovement is constantly introducing me to new and interesting sites such as the site about recycling called SuperUse.

More sites can be found in the window located under GardenCityMovement’s bookmarks. These are my personal bookmarks saved on my diigo account tagged with “interiordesign”. Most recently, I have been bookmarking sites about the new interior designer hired to decorate the White House, Michael Smith. One of my bookmarks is a clip from the Today Show that discusses the White House’s recent décor and Michael Smith’s background. I found it on the RSS feed for the blog, So Haute.

The remaining resources that can be found on my pageflake are the universal news search and the universal blog search. Both flakes share the latest developments on interior design.

Hopefully my pageflake will not only save you time, but will also inspire you.

More readings...

Mehta, Ravi and Rui Zhu. “Blue or Red? Exploring the Effect of Color on Cognitive Task Performances.” Science 5(2009).

This article explains that in the past, there have been inconsistent findings on the effect of color on cognitive performance. Some studies have revealed that blue and green results in better performances, while other studies have found that run leads to better performances. In this particular study, they aim to reconcile this discrepancy that has existed in past research. Ultimately, Mehta and Zhu’s research proves that red enhances performance on detail-oriented tasks, whereas blue enhances performance on creative tasks.

Countryman, Cary, and SooCheong Jang. "The effects of atmosphereic elements on customer impression: the case of hotel lobbies." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 18(2006): 534-545.

This study examines the atmospheric elements of a hotel lobby to find if had any effect on guests’ perceptions and impressions. They found that out of the three main atmospheric elements they examined (color, lighting and style), color had the most significant impact on the guests. This study emphasizes the importance of knowing the powerful impact color has on people. This knowledge does only benefit future hotel lobbies, but also, other buildings, by knowing how to have a more positive impact on others.

Ladau, Robert. Color In Interior Design and Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989.

Ragan, Sandra. Interior Color by Design: A Design Tool for Architects, Interior Designers, and Facility Managers. Massachusetts: Rockport Publishers, 1995.

Some interesting readings...

Pile, John F.. Color In Interior Design. New York: McGraw Hill, 1997.

The psychological impact of color is discussed in chapter eleven in the book, Color In Interior Design by John F. Pile. When studying the psychological impact of color, it is important to remember that a clear finding under one set of circumstances, is not necessarily applicable under a different set of conditions. This is because color can be experienced in a large variety of contexts. Due to this book’s understanding of this concept, color studies are categorized as the following: studies of aesthetic preference, physiological studies, studies of environmental color and emotions, studies relating environmental color to health effects, studies relating to commercial purposes, work making use of color reactions or preferences as an element in psychological testing. This chapter also explains how color can help establish a mood, atmosphere or impression of a room.

Halse, Albert O.. The Use of Colors in Interiors. New York: McGraw-Hill,1978.

Chapter three in the book, The Use of Colors in Interiors (Second Edition) by Albert O. Halse shares useful information on the psychological effects of color. This chapter offers an explanation of what specific emotions are elicited by certain colors. Overall, it has been found that most people prefer either warm or cool colors, but their opinion is shaped by a variety of factors. Elements that influence opinions of colors include the individuals’ familiarity with the color as well as the conscious or unconscious emotional connotations the color may possess. This chapter also provides an explanation for what colors are best for different buildings including: residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and educational.

One of favorite blogs, Material Girls, commented on an interesting study published in the New York Times in the post, Mixing Science With Design. The study conducted by Ravi Mehta and Rui Zhu discusses how color in a room can influence mood and actions. According to the study, red makes people more cautious and detail-oriented and blue makes people more creative. Mehta and Zhu replicated these results in domains of product design and persuasive message evaluation to show that the effect of color on people’s cognitive tasks occur outside their consciousness.

Mary McDonald, whose amazing talent has previously been mentioned, has a blue office that was featured in an article in Domino.



Drew Barrymore’s office is featured in this post for its use of both blue and red. By painting the walls light blue and using bold red accessories, Barrymore gets the best of both worlds.



This study makes me question whether various shades of blue influences creativity to different extents.

Social Bookmarking Soul Mate

After saving a new bookmark (DesignSpongeOnline.com) to my delicious account, I came across someone who appeared to also have an interest in interior design. This account user uses the pseudo-name, Gardencitymovement. They are a seasoned bookmarker with, as of today, 983 bookmark pages. Of these 983 bookmarks, there are over 300 bookmarked pages associated with design. The top ten tags include: design, art, pknf, Amsterdam, blog, music, architecture, graphics, culture and Dutch.

Gardencitymovement’s good bookmarking practices are evident from the amount of tags used to identify the bookmarked pages. For every page that has been added to this delicious account, there is consistently more than one tag attached to it. The page, Livingetc, for example has inspiration, magazine, shopping, interior and home as tags. Another page bookmarked, Apartment Therapy, is tagged with blog, inspiration, interior, furniture and apartment. In total, there are 870 tags used to organize Gardencitymovement’s pages.

Although the amount of tags might help the delicious account’s owner find pages, it could complicate finding pages for others. One way Gardencitymovement could improve on their bookmarking practices is by using tag bundles. This would benefit both the user as well as others who view the bookmark page to make tag bundles. The more I explore other user pages, the more useful tag bundles appear to be. Tag bundles help narrow down bookmarked pages because sometimes a string of random words are sufficient to correctly explain the subject of a page. Although Gardencitymovement has done an excellent job using multiple tags for every page, when the amount of pages reaches over 900, tag bundles become a necessity.

Another way Gardencitymovement could improve on their social bookmarking skills is by adding their own comments on the sites they bookmark. This would help others understand what makes them like the sites they tag and perhaps how they came to discover them.

Gardencitymovement introduced me to a site called Superuse. This site is tagged by Gardencitymovement with art, blog, activism, innovation, sustainable, recycling, sustainability, products, environment, green and eco. What makes this website unique is how it combines recycling and design. Architects and designers from all over the world come together to share innovative ways to recycle. The site features an interesting home accessory made by recycling a computer and making it an aquarium: a MacQuarium.



Another site that I discovered from browsing Gardencitymovement’s main page is actually a website for the magazine, LivingEtc. This site has a lot to offer its’ visitors. There are list of links that include: a gallery of photos of beautifully decorated rooms, a forum for users to ask and answer each other’s questions, buyers guides, property advice, blogs, shopping spots for interior design fans, locations for furniture that is featured in the magazine and advice from established interior designers.

Being able to be exposed to sites like LivingEtc is what distinguishes using social bookmarking sites from blog rolls when trying to find other sites with your similar interests. I have added Gardencitymovement to my network in hopes of uncovering new interior design pages.

Blogaroma

Welcome!

I have a confession. I love watching HGTV. Although I am a 21 year old girl who doesn’t even have her own home or garden to cater to, I still adore learning, watching and hearing about interior design. I am that girl who sits in the aisle at Barnes and Noble, reading the pages of interior design magazines such as Country Living, Dwell, Elle Décor, Domino or House Beautiful. I will pick a longer line at the grocery store just so I can browse the pages of those same magazines while I wait to be rung up. I will even go so far as to confess that I actually get excited when I receive a Pottery Barn catalog in the mail, and of course I immediately peruse each page looking for more creative decorating ideas.

Although you might not be willing to admit it, interior design relates to everyone, regardless of age, gender, class or race. Even if you are a college student who has a room full of mismatched furniture, it is that same mismatched furniture you see, feel, sit on or perhaps trip over everyday.

I hope to inform my readers about the world of interior design. I want to show how different styles can be used to express individuality, personality and taste. By sharing a large variety of styles, such as Asian, contemporary, country, eclectic, English country, Mediterranean, mission, modern, romantic, traditional, transitional, tropical or even Western, I want to ensure that there is something to inspire everyone.

Designers that have inspired me personally include Rachel Ashwell, Thomas O-Brien, Jamie Drake, Alex Papachristidis, Steven Gambrel, Candice Olson, Kenneth Brown, Phillip Greenberg and Angelo Surmelis to name a few. Each of these designers’ have cultivated their own unique aesthetic that allows them to maintain their own point of view. I truly respect their ability to illustrate their unique vision no matter what type of room they design.

I want to share these renowned designers’ work not to set an unreachable standard for my readers, but to inspire them. I want to show that beautiful furniture, drapes, bedding, pillows or flooring does not always have an expensive price tag attached. Although it might take a disposable income to hire the top designer and afford custom made furniture, it is important to remember that style is free. As long as you are willing to be creative, anyone can surround themselves with functional and inspirational design.

It is also important to realize that interior design is not restricted to the home. Interior design is essential for hotels, apartment buildings, restaurants, stores and bars. I want to share the ways the look and style of buildings can elicit a feeling or mood just by their interior design.

A major trend that has started to infiltrate the design world is the notion of “going green”. There are a plethora of ways people can be environmentally friendly when designing a room. There is even a television show on HGTV titled “Red, Hot and Green," which focuses on designing with the environment in mind. Each episode features an eco-friendly room makeover. I want to share ideas I have gathered from the show and other articles to help inspire others to be more green.

Whether it is that Dallas Cowboys wallpaper you remember having splashed all over your walls when you were growing up, or the antique desk you inherited from your grandparents, the items that make up a your interior design signifies a part of you. What you surround yourself with not only represents your life, but also influences it.

Blog Lust


Need home decor tips? If you do, I found an amazing interior design blog, Material Girls, that will undoubtedly inspire you to instantly start sprucing up your apartment, house or dorm room. Even if your space is already beautifully decorated, you will feel an uncanny desire to re-frame that old picture, re-paint your bathroom or change the pillows on your bed...I am telling you, this blog is just that good!

The blog’s contributors include Lauren, Abby Baldwin, Emily Johnston , Jill Seidner and Julia B. Edelmann. All of these contributors are talented, well established interior designers. Their offices are scattered across the country, including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Brooklyn and Chicago.

Everyday, the Material Girls’ 172,718 readers are provided with new information on interior design. The blog’s readers are given the opportunity to comment on the daily posts. The readers’ comments reveal that the blog’s audience can be divided into two main subgroups. One subgroup includes professionals with careers as interior designers. The other subgroup, which includes me, is made up of people who do not necessary work in the interior design business but have an interest in it. Because Material Girls’ blog posts are short and simple, the blog is able to effectively cater to both of these subgroups and be enjoyable for the readers regardless of their experience in the interior design industry. You could even be inspired inspired by the comments readers' post. They offer additional links to other websites as well as helpful design tips.

Although the blog’s writers share their personal opinions, the readers are still provided with a broad, valuable perspective on interior design. This is made possible by the contributors’ combination of different backgrounds and aesthetics. By offering a diverse range of interior design styles to its’ readers and by posting articles from other established sites and interior design magazines, the blog is able to maintain its credibility.

Domino, a reputable and well-respected interior design magazine, was referenced on a post from January 15. The article was about interior designer, Mary McDonald. As Emily Johnson writes, McDonald “does not care if a piece is "high" or "low", she isn't afraid to paint zig zags on the floor, nor does she hesitate when pairing colors like navy and rose”. McDonald is considered “one of the most daring designers out there”. Johnson praises McDonald for knowing “how to dress a space- no matter how unpredictable, glam, bold, ornate, bright, geometric, dressed up, or casual it is, she nails it every time”. The post shares McDonald’s design tips as well as reveals pictures from Domino of some of her work.

McDonald’s design tips (summarized by Material Girls):

1. Define a room with hardware store bought molding



2. Pair classics with the "ridiculous"
3. When designing a room in a monochromatic scheme, add a shot of contrast
4. Don't be afraid to go bold on the floor



5. Don't be afraid to get a little funky in areas that normally lend themselves to the expected
6. Start neutral, then pile on the accessories
7. Cheat by using both high and low end items



8. Collect objects (from around the world) in all the same hue to form unified and sophisticated displays

The blog benefits from being written by working interior designers because it can share information that only professional have access to. For instance, on January 19th, Emily Johnson posted pictures from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center. One of Johnson’s favorite showrooms is Global Views. She writes that “lots of glitz and glamour adorn their vignettes” and it is filled with “sunburst mirrors, metallics, and graphic prints”. Here is a picture from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center and the showroom.





Although I do not have access to showrooms that a professional might have, I can offer a unique point of view to my readers. Since I do not work in the interior design industry (or own my own house to decorate), I have not cultivated a personal, distinctive style yet. I will be able to provide my readers with a young, fresh, open-minded and uninhibited view on the interior design world. Ultimately, I can only hope that my blog will inspire others the way Material Girls has inspired me.

Eddie Ross

What stands out in Eddie Ross’s self titled blog is his style of writing. Post after post, his voice remains consistent and distinctive. He undoubtedly has his own point of view, which he has acquired through the years of experience in the interior design industry. Eddie Ross has served as the Associate Decorating Editor at House Beautiful, Senior Style Editor of Martha Stewart Living, appeared on Bravo’s reality show “Top Design” and is currently the owner of Eddie Ross, LLC, a company which offers interior design, event production and styling services. After browsing through his posts, it is undeniable that Eddie Ross has learned a lot about the interior design industry and he is willing to share his insightful opinions and ideas with his blog’s readers.

When analyzing Eddie Ross’s voice, what initially stands out is his sentence style. The post titled “Goodbye City, Hello Country” from January 28th, provides examples of Eddie Ross’s use of sentence structure.

Well, everyone—after six years of living in our small but beloved sliver of Manhattan, the time has come for a newer, better and far more beautiful chapter in our lives, and if you'll join us, in yours as well! If ten years in the magazine business and a short six months of blogging have taught me anything about what it takes to create pretty things, day in and day out, that (I hope!) inspire and delight you—furniture and table settings, flowers and food, glittered webs and ornament wreaths—it's space. And I mean S-P-A-C-E. For us New Yorkers, it's everywhere and nowhere.

Eddie Ross constantly uses dashes to connect his ideas. These dashes are significant to mention when examining his voice because it gives his posts a rhythm when they are read. The dashes serve as a casual break between thoughts and make his posts conversational. The conversational nature of his writing is useful because it draws the readers in. Conversational phrases, such as "I hope" also give this post a personal touch. These personal touches make the readers feel a connection to the blog writer. This connection is important to establish because it allows the blog to attract a following. Another conversational phrase that reiterates Eddie Ross's distinctive voice is when after mentioning space, he spells it out. This is just another example of how his writing feels personal. When I read his posts, I don't really feel as if I am reading something he has written, but rather feel like he is speaking to me.

Eddie Ross’s use of questions is another factor that makes his of voice, or style of writing, conversational. By asking his readers questions, he lures them in, enticing them to respond and interact. Throughout the blog, he has asked the readers to share their flea market finds, their favorite Christmas decorations, and what silver they need to polish.

The use of fragment sentences is also a characteristic of Eddie Ross’s distinct voice. His January 28th post continues with:

Now I just want to be able to cook, craft, garden, decorate, and entertain in a way that's my own version of Fabulous. With silverware, china and linens. Hydrangeas, lilacs, and clematis. I want to have garden parties and dinners by the fire. A butler's pantry and a linen closet. A room for guests (frequent) and a room for Jaithan when we're at odds (infrequent). I want a washer. I want a dryer. I want a letter box on the street. I want a dog. I want five dogs! But most of all, I want to be able to share it all with you! So guess what? In a modest, 1760s farmhouse in Millerton, New York, nestled on a 70-acre working farm with horses and sheep, cows and ponies, we found it all. Here's a picture of our new home shortly after it was built.

He writes fragment after fragment as he expresses his desire to leave the city and move to the country. Although fragments are not necessarily proper writing technique, when used creatively, they are effective in establishing a writer’s voice. These fragments also add to the conversational quality of Eddie Ross’s posts. When I read the previous post, I almost felt as if he was causally talking to me on the phone.

Another post, titled, "More to Come: Art That Fits," reveals Eddie Ross’s voice is from January 22nd:

When it comes to our homes, I bet we all have something in common we'd rather not admit—walls, somewhere or another, left woefully bare. If you just haven't gotten around to hanging what you already own, what are you waiting for? It's the New Year, so get to it! On the other hand, if you're anything like me, still searching for that perfect piece—traditional but with a fresh, new look that's sophisticated and modern—check out the new Biltmore Collection from my friends over at Artaissance, my favorite online source for beautiful, affordable art.

It this post, Eddie Ross’s use of dashes, exclamation points, questions and italics all are examples of his writing style. The exclamation point, in particular, is a positive contributor to his voice. Explanation points allow the posts to convey an emotion. Each post has an upbeat, positive, feeling that radiates through Eddie Ross’s voice. This emotional excitement is made possible by exclamation points.

It is important to mention that Eddie Ross does not just use dashes, fragments, exclamation points, questions and italics in these particular posts, but throughout the entire blog. His voice is consistent. As I browse through previous posts, I feel like I am listening to story moving backwards. Since the posts are filled with personal accounts of events, people and objects Eddie Ross encounters day to day, the entire blog feels connected and cohesive. There is not a major disconnect from post to post but a seamless connection that has a story-like quality to it.

The combination of the conversational quality of his posts, his opinionated point of view on interior design, and his personal account of events (including pictures) make this blog unique.

After discovering the benefits of using social bookmarking sites, one site in particular, Delicious, stood out with the potential to help other interior design enthusiasts. Delicious was founded in 2003 and currently has over five millions users with 150 million bookmarked URLs. By default, all bookmarks posted to Delicious are public and can be viewed by anyone.

Due to Delicious’ popularity and easy to understand and use interface, there were already a large variety of interior design sites bookmarked. To be exact, there were 34084 search results for “interior design.” To make it easier for visitors to sort through and decide which site to visit, every bookmark has tags attached. These tags help tell the Delicious user more about the site. Popular tags included: home, furniture, art, inspiration, apartment, green, environment, architecture, blog, magazine, shopping, décor, materials, reference and tools.

I personally found this site useful because many of the sites bookmarked were blogs about interior design. I had already discovered other inspiring blogs by blog rolls, but this social bookmarking site provided so many more options. One blog I found using Delicious is Desire to Inspire.

Desire to Inspire began in January of 2007 by two women with one main thing in common: an obsession with pictures of beautiful rooms. One women, Jo, in an interior designer from Australia. Kim is a “design junkie” from Canada. They found each other through a Flickr group and were inspired by another interior design blog, decor8 to start their own.

Since 2007, Jo and Kim have stayed true to the name of their blog. They have gathered quite a following from posting pictures of gorgeous rooms. Throughout the years, they have provided readers with pictures from all over the world with all different design aesthetics.

Today, they profiled New York based architect, Galo Verdesoto. Desire to Inspire praises Verdesoto for his clean, elegant, open and airy contemporary spaces.

Social bookmarking sites such as Delicious has opened up an entire new world for me to explore. The hours of “googling” are finally over!

Check out what I found at Design Sponge,



They explain how to turn old vintage jewelry into adorable and functional drawer knobs.

This is such a great idea! Turns a simple set of drawers into a great focal point. This idea could also be applied to bed-side tables of night-stands to dress up any boring bedroom. If you don't have the time, money, or patience to find vintage jewelry and transform them into knobs, Anthropologie is another alternative. They sell a wide range of knobs with a vintage feel. Instead of buying matching ones, mix it up! Visit Anthropologie's website at http://search.anthropologie.com/?q=knobs.

Some knobs from Anthropologie,

Eddie Ross

What stands out in Eddie Ross’s self titled blog is his style of writing. Post after post, his voice remains consistent and distinctive. He undoubtedly has his own point of view, which he has earned through the years of experience in the interior design industry. Eddie Ross has served as Associate Decorating Editor at House Beautiful, Senior Style Editor of Martha Stewart Living, appeared on Bravo’s reality show “Top Design” and is currently the owner of Eddie Ross, LLC, a company which offers interior design, event production and styling services. After browsing through his posts, it is undeniable that Eddie Ross has learned a lot about the interior design industry and he is willing to share his insightful opinions and ideas with his blog’s readers.

When analyzing Eddie Ross’s voice, what initially stands out is his sentence style. The post titled “Goodbye City, Hello Country” from January 28th, provides examples of Eddie Ross’s use of sentence structure.

Well, everyone—after six years of living in our small but beloved sliver of Manhattan, the time has come for a newer, better and far more beautiful chapter in our lives, and if you'll join us, in yours as well! If ten years in the magazine business and a short six months of blogging have taught me anything about what it takes to create pretty things, day in and day out, that (I hope!) inspire and delight you—furniture and table settings, flowers and food, glittered webs and ornament wreaths—it's space. And I mean S-P-A-C-E. For us New Yorkers, it's everywhere and nowhere.

Eddie Ross constantly uses dashes to connect his ideas. These dashes are significant to mention when examining his voice because it gives his posts a rhythm when they are read. The dashes serve as a casual break between thoughts and make his posts conversational. The conversational nature of his writing is useful because it draws the readers in. In order to establish a following, it is important for the readers to feel a connection to the blog writer.

Eddie Ross’s use of questions is another factor that makes his of voice, or style of writing, conversational. By asking his readers questions, he lures them in, enticing them to respond and interact. Throughout the blog, he has asked the readers to share their flea market finds, their favorite Christmas decorations, and what silver they need to polish.

The use of fragment sentences is also a characteristic of Eddie Ross’s distinct voice. His January 28th post continues with:

Now I just want to be able to cook, craft, garden, decorate, and entertain in a way that's my own version of Fabulous. With silverware, china and linens. Hydrangeas, lilacs, and clematis. I want to have garden parties and dinners by the fire. A butler's pantry and a linen closet. A room for guests (frequent) and a room for Jaithan when we're at odds (infrequent). I want a washer. I want a dryer. I want a letter box on the street. I want a dog. I want five dogs! But most of all, I want to be able to share it all with you! So guess what? In a modest, 1760s farmhouse in Millerton, New York, nestled on a 70-acre working farm with horses and sheep, cows and ponies, we found it all. Here's a picture of our new home shortly after it was built.

He writes fragment after fragment as he expresses his desire to move from the city, to the country. Although fragments are not necessarily proper writing technique, when used creatively, they are extremely beneficial to establishing a writer’s voice. These fragments also add to the conversational quality of Eddie Ross’s posts. When I read this post, I feel as if he is causally talking to me on the phone.

Another post, titled, "More to Come: Art That Fits," reveals Eddie Ross’s voice is from January 22nd:

When it comes to our homes, I bet we all have something in common we'd rather not admit—walls, somewhere or another, left woefully bare. If you just haven't gotten around to hanging what you already own, what are you waiting for? It's the New Year, so get to it! On the other hand, if you're anything like me, still searching for that perfect piece—traditional but with a fresh, new look that's sophisticated and modern—check out the new Biltmore Collection from my friends over at Artaissance, my favorite online source for beautiful, affordable art.

It this post, Eddie Ross’s use of dashes, exclamation points, questions and italics all are examples of his writing style. The exclamation point, in particular, is a positive contributor to his voice. Explanation points allow the posts to convey an emotion. Each post has an upbeat, positive, feeling that radiates through Eddie Ross’s voice. This emotional excitement is made possible by exclamation points.

It is important to mention that Eddie Ross does not just use dashes, fragments, exclamation points, questions and italics in these particular posts, but throughout the entire blog. His voice is consistent. As I browse through previous posts, I feel like I am listening to story moving backwards. Since the posts are filled with personal accounts of events, people and objects Eddie Ross encounters day to day, the entire blog feels connected and cohesive. There is not a major disconnect from post to post but a seamless connection that has a story-like quality to it.

The combination of the conversational quality of his posts, his opinionated point of view on interior design, and his personal account of events (including pictures) make this blog unique.

I have had a lot of success finding blogs about interior design. Holly Becker, a writer and interior design consultant, writes Decor8: Fresh Finds for Hip Spaces. She created Decor8 to “catalog beautiful finds and to inspire others.” What distinguishes this blog from others is that it asks questions to its’ readers. It encourages readers to comment on the various posts making the blog a more interactive sight. For example, one post from January 28th asks…“What do you love about this look? What don’t you like? Could you live like this? Do you live like this currently?”

In less than 12 hours, there has already been 35 comments.
Another blog, Remodelista is an “online design forum” for a group of friends who share similar design sensibilities. As stated on their site, this particular blog is for...
“interiors aficionados who share the same design DNA: a genetically encoded aesthetic. You know who you are: You’re not the type to hire an interior designer: you’re not about to outsource your decor, and you don’t want a sterile, magazine-perfect environment”.
What differentiates this blog from the others is that it solely revolves around interior design. Blogs such as Absolutely Beautiful Things, by Anna Spiro, and Coco + Kelly by Cassandra, take a more personal approach, not only sharing their interior design tastes, but also their opinion on such topics such as art, books, cooking and photography.

Apartment Therapy is another blog I came across. From its many advertisements speckled across the pages, it is clear that it is a more established blog than some others I had been reading. This blog also has a different set up, where each new post is just a small sample and in order to read it, you are redirected to a different page. What I like this sight is that they supply related links for each of their posts.

Material Girls

Material Girls is another interior design blog that provides home décor tips for its’ readers. The blog’s contributors include Lauren, Abby Baldwin, Emily Johnston , Jill Seidner and Julia B. Edelmann. All these contributors are talented, well established interior designers. Their offices are scattered across the country, including Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Brooklyn and Chicago.

Everyday, the 172,718 Material Girls’ readers are provided with new information on interior design. The blog’s readers are given the opportunity to comment on the daily posts. The readers’ comments reveal that the blog’s audience can be divided into two main subgroups. One subgroup includes professionals with careers as interior designers. The other subgroup, in which I would categorize myself in, is made up of people who do not necessary work in the interior design business but have an interest in it. Because Material Girls’ blog posts are short and simple, this blog is able to cater to both of these subgroups and be enjoyable for the readers regardless of their experience in the interior design industry. The audiences’ experience and interest on the topic of interior design is evident through their comments because they often offer additional links to other websites as well as helpful design tips.

Although the blog’s writers share their personal opinions, the readers are still provided with a broad, valuable perspective on interior design. This is made possible by the contributors’ combination of different backgrounds and aesthetics. By offering a diverse range of interior design styles to its’ readers and by posting articles from other established sites and interior design magazines, the blog is able to maintain its credibility.

Domino, a reputable and well-respected interior design magazine, was referenced on a post from January 15. The article was about interior designer, Mary McDonald. As Emily Johnson writes, McDonald “does not care if a piece is "high" or "low", she isn't afraid to paint zig zags on the floor, nor does she hesitate when pairing colors like navy and rose”. McDonald is considered “one of the most daring designers out there”. Johnson praises McDonald for knowing “how to dress a space- no matter how unpredictable, glam, bold, ornate, bright, geometric, dressed up, or casual it is, she nails it every time”. The post shares McDonald’s design tips as well as reveals pictures from Domino of some of her work.

McDonald’s design tips (summarized by Material Girls):

1. Define a room with hardware store bought molding



2. Pair classics with the "ridiculous"
3. When designing a room in a monochromatic scheme, add a shot of contrast
4. Don't be afraid to go bold on the floor



5. Don't be afraid to get a little funky in areas that normally lend themselves to the expected
6. Start neutral, then pile on the accessories
7. Cheat by using both high and low end items



8. Collect objects (from around the world) in all the same hue to form unified and sophisticated displays

The blog benefits from being written by working interior designers because it can share information that only professional have access to. For instance, on January 19th, Emily Johnson posted pictures from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center. One of Johnson’s favorites showrooms is Global Views. She writes that “lots of glitz and glamour adorn their vignettes” and it is filled with “sunburst mirrors, metallics, and graphic prints”. Here is a picture from the Home and Gift Market at The Dallas Market Center and the showroom.





Although I do not have access to showrooms that a professional might have, I can offer a unique point of view to my readers. Since I do not work in the interior design industry (or own my own house to decorate), I have not cultivated a personal, distinctive style yet. I will be able to provide my readers with a young, fresh, open and uninhibited view on the interior design world. Ultimately, I can only hope that my blog will inspire others the way Material Girls has inspired me.

Welcome

I have a confession. I love watching HGTV, the Home and Garden network. Although I am a 21 year old girl who doesn’t even have a home or garden to cater to, I still adore learning, watching and hearing about interior design.

Although you might not want to admit it, interior design relates to everyone, regardless of age, gender, class or race. Even if you are a college student who has a room full of mismatched furniture, it is that same mismatched furniture you see, feel, sit or run into everyday.

I hope to inform my readers about the world of interior design. I want to show how different styles can be used to express individuality, personality and taste. By sharing a large variety of styles, such as Asian, contemporary, country, eclectic, English country, Mediterranean, mission, modern, romantic, traditional, transitional, tropical or even western, I want to ensure that there is something to inspire everyone.

Designers that have inspired me personally include Rachel Ashwell, Thomas O-Brien, Jamie Drake, Alex Papachristidis, Steven Gambrel, Candice Olson, Kenneth Brown, Phillip Greenberg and Angelo Surmelis to name a few. Although all these designers’ work differs from one another, they all have the uncanny ability to maintain their own point of view. I respect their ability to illustrate their unique vision no matter what type of room they design.

I want to share these renowned designers’ work not to set an unreachable standard for my readers, but to inspire them. I want to show that beautiful furniture, drapes, bedding, pillows or flooring does not always have an expensive price tag attached. Although it might take a disposable income to hire the top designer and afford custom made furniture, it is important to remember that style is free. As long as you are willing to be creative, anyone can surround himself or herself with functional and inspirational design.

It is also important to realize that interior design is not restricted to the home. Interior design is essential for hotels, apartment buildings, restaurants, stores and bars. I want to share the ways these buildings can elicit a feeling or mood just by their interior design.

A major trend that has started to infiltrate the design world is the notion of “going green”. There are a plethora of ways people can be environmentally friendly when designing a room. There is even a television show on HGTV “Red, Hot and Green”, which focuses on designing with the environment in mind. Each episode features an eco-friendly room makeover. I want to share ideas I have gathered from the show and other articles to help inspire others to be more green.

Whether it is that Dallas Cowboys wallpaper you remember having splashed all over your walls when you were growing up, or the antique desk you inherited from your grandparents, the items that make up a your interior design signifies a part of you. What you surround yourself with not only represents you life, but also influences it.