To: Style Makers
From: Design Muse
Date: Haute Days
Subject: Three Keys to Luxury Interiors

Dan Heldenbrand, Allied Member ASID

A beautiful home can be defined in many different ways.  When you’re considering interior spaces, those definitions broaden with the ever-abundant choices of style, personal taste and of course price.  In any event there are a few keys to pulling together a beautiful home; and when you are targeting the luxury end of the spectrum certain details need to be followed.

Any project, whether it is a single room or a whole house, should start with a well thought out plan.  If you are doing this yourself there are many sources to help you reach your goal…in time.  However, when you have the opportunity to use the skills of a professional Interior Designer you will find that in the end your money was well spent and the time savings of putting together the initial steps are cut down to practically less than half.  The first step to your new, beautiful home is recognizing what style and colors you prefer the most, followed by three essential keys for pulling it all together:  quality fabrics, good balance/proportion and proper lighting.

Say the word luxury and many thoughts come to mind.  Rich fabrics with deep colors and texture embellished with cording, fringe or tassels can be applied to almost any surface--- furniture, pillows, window treatments and even upholstered walls are just a few.  Instead of a simple paper or parchment shade on a lamp, try silk fabric or even leather with added trimming.  Additionally, “beauty is not skin deep” when it comes to upholstered furniture.  Down filled cushions, rather than Dacron-wrapped foam, not only feel luxurious they truly look as if you “took it up a notch”.  Other elements throughout the room such as wood, metal, glass and even wall paint all have degrees of application and processing that graduate the item from simple or mundane to stylish and rich looking.

Working hand-in-hand, the second key is balance and proportion.  For example, sometimes a smaller space looks larger by using large pieces.  Certainly it will draw attention to them and with the above mentioned luxury touches the “wow” factor really jumps.  Keeping in mind traffic pattern and space rules for chairs, tables and hanging light fixtures, balance, for the most part, will take care of itself.  Proportion can be two fold:  numbers of items and repeating elements.  Certainly you will need the required number of seating spaces and lamps for light balance but paying attention to elements such as how many times fabric, wood, metal and glass are repeated, separates a well planned project from a check-list of needs.  The second part of proportion is variety.  Matching lamps and all the upholstery with nearly the same fabric that, coincidentally is identical to the draperies and pillows, is simply bland.  Again, unless you have been blessed with a gift for decorating as in the pages of a high-end magazine, an Interior Designer’s value is well worth the effort for they have dozens if not a ka-billion fabrics at their disposal to choose from.  Along with the appropriate fiber-weight, content of fibers and “double-rub-count” for the right application, which, by the way, will take a room from, “that’s nice” to “what a beautiful space”, separates quality fabrics from “cheap” fabrics and are well worth the cost----the old adage “you get what you pay for” applies in this department.  Not only will you feel the difference---called the “hand”---but you will notice longevity in wear and appearance.  As if you didn’t already know with every other television commercial geared towards home improvement, you needn’t travel the world to have a “collected” look.  Most cities and certainly Internet trading, provide ample selections to satisfy a well-healed connoisseur’s appetite.

Although there are tricks, rules and applications for every individual’s home, the third key, which I find is most important for tying in all of the elements we’ve spoken about, is proper lighting.  Well trained designers worth their salt will either have the ability to provide a plan for good lighting during the furniture and accessory space plan segment or will know of someone who specializes in lighting design and is willing to work with the team for what I deem is the sole reason our business exists----and that is your happiness.   Whether the sun is streaming through the windows and/or skylights for an afternoon of relaxing with a book, or the first guest arrives for your debut dinner party, lighting is the magic that makes fabrics, texture, color and even the negative spaces come alive.  Today there are so many options it is mind-boggling.  Remember, start with a furniture plan, and consider sun angle and intensity along with the window treatments and you’ve completed step one.  Count in required lighting, available power and switching options and your half way there.  Using the appropriate bulb type, wattage and/or color, furniture, window treatments, treated walls and ceilings, artwork and accessories will look their best.  Finally, step-the-lighting.  Set each fixture or zone to the appropriate intensity by glazing walls with soft light, focusing beams on your favorite piece of art and lighting for tasks such as reading, or moving through a space comfortably can all be achieved with everything from manual dimmers to sophisticated computer programmed scenarios.  Don’t forget the trees or plants in the corner.  Proper up lighting of the trees and plants will cast shadows and patterns against walls and ceilings expanding the value of these items.  There is a world of difference between the lights “flipped on” and a thoughtful staging plan.  You’ve spent plenty of time and effort enriching your home; a well thought-out lighting plan is like the proper frame for your painting over the fireplace.

Now, how about your new space; isn’t it something to brag about?  Richly embellished fabrics, texture, thoughtful balance all with perfect lighting together, is a plan worth celebrating.  …We’ll bring the wine.

Dan and Colleen Heldenbrand, CTC, are members of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and own their firm, DH Interiors, LLC in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Having been featured in several media outlets to include HGTV and XM Satellite Radio programs they offer full service interior design packaging or consultation to include working with your builder or Architect on remodel or new construction projects.  They can be reached via their web site at DH Interiors

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