It's hard to believe that it's been over 10 years since The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka first arrived on the scene. On the closing side of a decade filled with oversized homes, oversized rooms and oversized furniture, The Not So Big House created a breath of fresh air for the building, architecture and design industry.
Susanka's newest not so big book is Not So Big Remodeling: Tailoring Your Home for the Way You Really Live. Based on the reviews, the book asks homeowners to consider how they live, what they need in terms of space, and teaches them how to renovate their existing spaces in an efficient, sustainable, and meaningful manner, paring down to the basics but not giving up on quality or good design practices. I'm looking forward to reading it in detail.
More and more of my clients are embracing sensible, scaled-down approaches to renovation and design.
On the same note, I always enjoy Renovation Style magazine. The features consistently include reasonably scaled projects, straightforward design solutions, interesting materials, and well written articles.
When looking through magazines with clients to help them realize their design, style and color preferences, I'd have to say that Renovation Style is probably the one magazine that elicits the most responses from my clients. Renovation seems to embrace the same "build better, not bigger" philosophy that Sarah Susanka shared with us over a decade ago.
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Most of my clients, both commercial and residential, ask me to specify paint colors, but I frequently encourage my clients to incorporate wallpaper, especially in powder rooms (not bathrooms where moisture can be an issue), dining rooms, and bedrooms. Wallpaper in powder rooms can create many different wonderful effects: drama and sophistication, whimsey, an outdoor/garden feeling, a cabana effect, an architecturally detailed/moulded effect, and more. Powder room ceilings are often papered to complete the look.
Dining rooms are part of the home where a bit of formality can prevail, and wallpaper can add formality much better than paint is able to. Crisp stripes, subtle damasks and beautiful florals are time tested and relevant wallpaper styles that allow significant room for creativity and provide a formal backdrop for dining room furniture, area rugs and window treatments. For more casual dining areas, wallpaper can still provide a lot of charm through color and pattern.
Bedrooms can be wonderful spaces to personalize with wall coverings. Without getting locked in to something too cute, kids' rooms allow for many different fun and colorful patterns. I generally encourage clients to choose something that seems a bit grown up - kids seem to really love it, and the selection then lasts many years. Master bedrooms, often viewed as private oases, allow for favorite colors in wallpaper or paint. Wallpaper contributes to a specific look or feeling, be it garden-like, tailored, or posh and elegant.
For commercial use, wallpaper can contribute in a big way to a customized, finished look. I've used wallpaper on numerous office projects in bathrooms, hallways, waiting rooms, and lounge areas. It adds a layer of visual interest and keeps things from being too bland. There are many commercial grade wallcovers available in terrific colors and patterns.
Although many clients are somehow under the impression that wallpaper is "out" - not sure where that comes from - I encourage using it in many projects! Here are some of my favorite vendors:
And here are a couple photos from the Thibaut website:
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The FSC is a non-profit dedicated to promoting responsible management of our world’s forests by offering certification for landowners and companies that purchase or sell timber or forest products to ensure that forestry is practiced in an environmentally responsible, socially beneficial, and economically viable way.
Independent, FSC-accredited certification organizations carry out assessments of forestry practices to determine whether FSC standards have been met. These certifiers also verify that companies claiming to sell FSC-certified products have tracked their supply back to FSC-certified sources.
Architects, builders and designers who purchase or specify building materials, furnishings, or paper or other products with an FSC label such as the one shown above can be confident that the products were harvested or manufactured using environmentally sustainable practices.
According to a recent study by The Freedonia Group entitled Green Building Materials, U.S. demand for green building materials will exceed $80B by 2013 and FSC-certified lumber and wood panels are expected to be the fastest growing green products, with demand more than tripling between 2008 and 2013.
The Forest Stewardship Council maintains a list of retailers who sell FSC-certified product on this page where you can search for retailers or download an up-to-date PDF list of all retailers. Notable retailers on the list include Pottery Barn, Pier 1 Imports, Crate & Barrel, L.L. Bean, Williams Sonoma and Restoration Hardware. Buy Green! And remember, look for the FSC Seal!
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