Holiday Storage

With the holidays quickly approaching, people are beginning to get our their decorations and seasonal accents. These items are precious not only to your current guests, but to your family’s future generations; which is why storing them properly is so important. Simply throwing everything into a box and putting it into the attic won’t suffice. This year, consider trying a new storage method for your holiday items. Instead of that old cardboard box that has somehow lived over a decade, try a sturdy storage box with handles and labels. The Container Store offers a great variety of storage options, including the Natural Canvas Boxes. These boxes, although soft in appearance, are surprisingly sturdy, providing a great place to store valued holiday items. Their exterior even allows them to be stored in the house, as they have a clean design. The labels further the organization of these storage boxes. Separating seasonal decorations by room, item, or holiday can really save you time in the long run. This season, take time reorganizing your storage when you put everything away, and see how much easier your next holiday season’s set up can be!

The Container Store’s Natural Canvas Boxes

My Fox LA Hotlist 2009!

Thanks to all the people who voted on the My Fox LA Hotlist. We won 3rd place this year!

Pick of the Month: November

This month we turn our focus to lighting. The Dandelion, designed by Richard Hutton, is a Moooi light fixture that exemplifies modern living. It’s repetative circles create a visually pleasing pattern that draws your eye within the piece entirely. Hutton placed circles not only on the outer sphere, but also on the arms that hold the imaginary sphere together. This allows the pattern to seem more 3 dimensional. It is a mistake to overlook lighting as a key design element. A light fixture can make or break a room. Lighting not only brightens the space, but can have a powerful hold on the attention of observers. It is important to make sure that a light fixture respects and upholds the design of the entire room. When selecting a light fixture, consider the angle of light that is appropriate for the space–should this be a table lamp, floor lamp, chandelier, etc. Once you have decided the right kind of fixture, it is then time to thing about size and shape. A light that is too small will make a room feel dim and unfinished. A light that is too big will overpower and drown out the rest of the design. Style and color are the most superficial, yet necessary, aspects to picking out a light fixture. The Dandelion is a great example of how little color, clean lines, and pattern can create a beautiful modern light fixture that will compliment a contemporary space nicely. The Dandelion deserves to be shown in an area that will allow its multi-dimensional shape to shine through.

Cozy Modern

It is a common misconception that modern design is not cozy. The clean lines and simplistic design do not have to seem so cold if given the right amount of attention. In modern design, it is the textiles and accessories used that will bring out the warmth in a room. The simplistic design allows for one to pick textiles that are appropriate for their family and home. The textiles used have a huge impact on the “cozy warmth” of a room. For example, when picking a textile for the main sofa, if you are concerned with the room feeling too cold, it might be a good idea to go for a softer, more rich fabric. Making a room feel cozy depends not only on the visual expression, but also the physical; the touch and feel of different pieces in the room can either add or take away from that cozy feeling you’re looking for. Rough, thin textiles can make a room feel very uptight and restrictive, which will in the end make a modern room feel “cold.” When in actuality, modern design can be brought out in a very warm way. The benefit of the clean lines is the wide opportunity for accessorizing–pillows, throws, artwork, pottery, lighting etc. Without any major conflicting edges or lines, modern design can handle a variety of different accent pieces. Picking the right accessories depends largely on color. Warm tones, such as reds, oranges, yellows, and neutrals, can instantly add warmth to any design. Colors can be added in many different ways; through paint, carpets, art, and accessories. When picking a color for a design, it is always important to look at all of the pieces together. It is not necessarily the goal to have every color match, as that would become visually boring, but it is important that the colors compliment each other–whether it be because they are within the same color scheme, or contrast nicely to showcase interesting focal points.

Above design by Shirry of A.S.D. Interiors

Simply put, modern design can be just as cozy as any other style of design. The key is to pay attention to the color and texture of fabric and accessories. We are accustomed to perceive a cozy home as a traditional style, hardwood floor, white molding, brick fireplace kind of design. Today, we have so many different styles of design available to us, it would be a shame to continue these preconceived perceptions of what design is cozy versus another design being cold. The outcome of a room is completely dependant on the designer and homeowner. Every style of design can achieve any kind of feeling.