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Designing an Eco-Friendly Home

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Many homeowners are opting for a green lifestyle these days, so what better place to start eco-friendly living than in your own living space? The Decorative Touch  is well versed in what exactly it means to ‘go green’. I understand that green never means you have to sacrifice style.

Designing an Eco-friendly Home

Designing an Eco-friendly Home

Eco-friendly interior design should not only be recyclable but also harmless. In order to successfully complete eco-friendly interior design, natural and organic materials have to be used. That means no particleboard. No chromed metal. And sorry, no plastic. Although you may spend more of your budget to design an eco-home, the natural materials are very durable, good quality, and of course safer.

Nearly every part of your home can be made ‘green’, including wall coverings and paint. Think about river rocks to decorate the walls, or perhaps wood panels, ceramic tile, cork, or wallpaper made of bamboo. For your ceilings, opt for wood panels. Flooring is not an eco-friendly exception.  It can be made of stone or wooden parquet made from European woods, bamboo or cork. The results will be stunning and eco-friendly.  Combine lighter and darker words to create fun shapes and patterns in the room.

Your furniture can come from sustainable forests, be upholstered with eco-friendly fabrics, and at The Decorative Touch  we even like to ‘recycle’ by infusing beautiful antique or vintage pieces to create a unique vibe for your home. Also, accessories can offer great choices for green home decor: glass or clay vases, rocks, wicker baskets, old chests, and dry leaves or tree branches from your backyard.

Other benefits? Lower maintenance costs, less energy usage, higher levels of occupant satisfaction, and lower Co2 emissions.

Seem like a big task? That’s what The Decorative Touch is here for. Just reach out to us, and we’ll give you a new, fresh, green start on your home.

Photo via stagetecture.com

Rope Bathroom Decor

How to Use Rope for Design

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I want you to look past the practical uses for a rope, and start to embrace the concept of using it in your design. As you know if you read my blog on a regular basis, I’m always looking for new, elegant ways to infuse the avant garde into luxurious homes. Ropes help me do just that. I understand rope would normally be considered a utilitarian necessity and not an attractive decorative element. But I’ll show you with the examples I’ve collected below that rope can really add a fresh feel and shine in many rooms.

A wonderful illustration of rope design used in the home is the bathroom. A rope-based towel holder is not over done but adds obvious style.

Rope Bathroom Decor

Rope Bathroom Decor

A living room often needs lots of light to brighten the space, and what better way to do so than a rope lamp?

Rope Lamp

Rope Lamp

A plain pair of wooden stools gets a brilliant makeover by adding simple coils of rope.

Rope Seats and Stools

Rope Seats and Stools

Are you ready to transform your space with a little rope? I can help you successfully and tastefully achieve this dynamic look. Just contact The Decorative Touch to get started today.

Photos via marthastewart.com

Leather Tapestry

Wall Décor

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Do you have blank walls? Or does the current look of your walls remind you of something straight out of a ’70s movie? Then I say it’s time for a drastic change, and The Decorative Touch can help get you — and your walls — on the right track.  If you are a do-it-yourself person, you will love the idea below.  Or, with my help, you can turn your walls into instant eye candy, as the new wallpapers of today are not what your grandmothers had.

Dress your walls up or dress them down with vinyl medallion wall decals. This material creates a classy canvas.

Medallion Decals

Medallion Decals

Tapestries adorn walls because they are intricate works of art. Admittedly, at first thought they might represent old-world decor. But when they are a  hand-painted leather tapestry like this one shown, they bring modern style  to the room.

Leather Tapestry

Leather Tapestry

Are you ready to transform your space by changing the look of your walls? I can help you successfully and tastefully achieve the dynamic look. Just contact The Decorative Touch to get started today.

Photos via styleathome.com

 

 

House of Turquoise: Living Room

House of Turquoise

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When reading a few online blogs recently, I came across a design philosophy I wholeheartedly agree with: design to celebrate life.  To help homeowners celebrate life, I have to know how my clients truly function in their homes — their reality — and still design a space the incorporates how they’d like to live — the fantasy. The combination makes for amazing results. Many times, I’m asked to include an outgoing color pallete into a home. I love challenges like these, figuring out the line between tasteful and tacky when infusing lots of color. Turquoise is a very lively color. But can it be used in a practical, real-life environment? As a design expert I say it can, and I’ve got the pictures to prove it. This cheery Cape Cod-inspired home I’ve featured below is a beautiful blend of turquoise style and function. (To be precise, the color is called Stratoon Blue.)  Glance at the photos, and be inspired to splash some exuberant color throughout your home.

House of Turquoise: Living Room

House of Turquoise: Living Room

House of Turquoise: Kitchen

House of Turquoise: Kitchen

House of Turquoise: Home Office

House of Turquoise: Home Office

Are you thinking of redesigning your home with an outgoing touch of color? I can help you design the home of your dreams. Just contact me at 913-888-1388 or decorativetouchltd@yahoo.com. Also feel welcome to stop by in person at 14111 W. 95 Street , Lenexa KS. We can help you come up with ideas that will match your home’s look, feel and style.

Photos via houseofturquoise.com

Chic Basements

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Basements can be cozy, chic and captivating as well. Gone are the days where a basement is an at-home, over-sized storage unit.  As we rummaged through designer pictures on the Web, we found some photos that are the paradigm of  enjoyable basement living. Look through these examples, showing how to take an underused space of your home — the basement — and unveil its potential. These spaces utilize stunning color palettes, cozy furnishings and functional layouts to create the basement of the homeowner’s dream.

This basement radiates warmth from the vibrant red hue on its walls that uses a chili-pepper red glass backsplash. The wide-plank hardwood is a nice complimenting, modern touch.

 

A neutral palette is the main decor for this multi-functional basement.  Here, this basement not only encourages relaxation with the comfortable furniture and media center, but the area also touts a workout zone.

Need a place for your teenagers and their friends to hang and be safe? Then this basement is ideal for you and them.

Reach out to The Decorative Touch, and we can help you transform your basement into a glamorous haven you will enjoy.

A Glimpse of 2012 Home Accents…

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Rarely do designers get the opportunity to visit a manufacturer in its own environment, but a couple weeks ago I was lucky enough to get away from my studio for a few days. I was invited to a favorite accessory supplier of mine called K&K Interiors in Sandusky, Ohio, and I got a glimpse of what 2012 would look like for home accents, holiday accessories and gifts. It was simply beautiful and inspirational! I was able to take a few photos of their showroom, and believe me, they just don’t do their products justice! But take a peek below and keep in mind that as hard as it is to imagine, spring is just around the corner!

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—Janine Terstriep, The Decorative Touch

Design by The Decorative Touch Featured in KCH&G

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A luxurious bathroom designed by Janine Terstriep of The Decorative Touch is featured in the October issue of Kansas City Homes and Gardens, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.

Like many homeowners these days, our clients sought a relaxing bathroom retreat, and we created exactly what they were looking for. The blue and cream color palette sets the space apart from the rest of the home, offering the ambiance and serenity of a spa. If you can’t stop eyeing the mosaic staircase, you’re not alone. It’s one of the most luxe features of the space, in addition to the elegant drapes and stunning chandelier.

Thank you so much to Kansas City Homes and Gardens for featuring our design! Pick up a copy of the magazine at a local newsstand or check out the digital edition online and flip to pages 46-47 to see the spread and read the article.

Decorative Touches that Gwyneth Paltrow Can’t Live Without

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Gwyneth Paltrow

Elle Decor featured an article spotlighting a few of Gwyneth Paltrow’s favorite things that she just cannot live without, including decorative touches found inside her beautiful home in London, where she resides with her husband Chris Martin of the band Coldplay and their two children. Check out these photos of just a few of her favorite things for design inspiration inside your home.

A well decorated with gorgeous hand-painted wallpaper. This wallapaper by De Gournay is featured on one wall inside Gwyneth Paltrow’s living room.

Seasonal flowers in single-variety arrangements. Gwyneth Paltrow likes to casually arrange flowers like white lilies, peonies, and hydrangeas and place them around her home.

Beautiful, majestic photography featured as artwork inside the home. Gwyneth Paltrow has photography by Darren Almond (like the photo above) featured inside her home.

Whimsical star lanterns hung from the ceiling. Star lanterns by Charles Edwards, like the one seen here, hang at different levels in Gwyneth Paltrow’s stair hallway, so that Gwyneth and her family can gaze at them on their way up to bed at night.

5 Tips for Making a Lasting Impression with your Foyer

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It has been said that upon meeting someone that the first impression is a lasting impression and the same follows for your home. The first thing someone will notice when walking into your home is your foyer. Being that they are in a new and unfamiliar place they will surely look around and take in everything, and attempt to develop a feel for your personality and the rest of your home. And because your home is a reflection of yourself you want it look its best and represent you well.

Consider these five tips on making a lasting impression with your foyer:

  1. Take into account what is surrounding your front door on the outside.
  2. Incorporate a mixture of light fixtures to create the right layer of lighting.
  3. Add visual interest to the floor with a mosaic flooring design or an intricate rug.
  4. Use pieces of furniture, or accessories that are both functional and decorative.
  5. Personalize, personalize, personalize.

entrywayImage by Stacy Zarin-Goldberg

entrywayImage by Angus McRitchie

entrywayImage by Michael Graydon

entrywayImage from House Beautiful

If you are in the Kansas City area and  would like to redesign your foyer with the help of an experienced interior designer call Janine Terstriep of The Decorative Touch at 913-219-7333.

Creative New Uses for Wallpaper in your Home

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When you hear the word wallpaper do you instantly conjure up images of country themes and floral? Granted there are some wallpaper designs that should be left in the past, there are even more that should be celebrated throughout interiors. For example, the collections from the likes of York Wallcoverings and Thibaut Wallpaper & Fabric are a few of our favorites. They are modern luxurious and full of glamour.

If you just aren’t one to use decorative coverings on your walls have you ever thought about using them in other ways? Given the high design of many of today’s wallpapers there are and endless amount of options of how they can be used in your home. Consider these creative new uses for wallpaper…

To add style to a display case

To accent a fireplace

As wall art

To highlight panels

To add visual interest to the ceilingImages from Better Homes and Gardens

Now do you think differently about using wallpaper in your home? If you would like to discuss any of these options or more ways to use wallpaper throughout the interior design of your home call The Decorative Touch at 913-888-1388