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Bold Browns & Best Practices
Initially, I wasn’t sure if this week’s post felt cohesive. But then I took a beat, and realized, it’s just a reflection of interior design itself. Designers wear a lot of hats and shift gears pretty drastically. A single day can include selecting materials, site visits, drawing floorplans in Autocad, and fleshing out schedules and budgets in Excel. So if you’re wondering what it’s like to be an interior designer, read on — and don’t get whiplash ; )
Interiors |
The Color Brown:
The current color of the moment and why we love it.
This week I mentioned on Instagram that I often have to search our Huntley & Co. photos to post an interior that ISN’T brown-centric. As you can see from the H&Co. photos here, I wasn’t kidding. It’s a wonderfully mercurial hue: it can look dramatic, classic, earthy, or modern. It makes white pop and always enriches a room. Consider incorporating this hue if you are on the fence. The three products below will help you take the leap.
All interiors above are by Huntley & Co.
L to R: “Horus” modern tile; striped wallcovering by LEMON; Los Objetos Decorativos fashionable brown-on-brown lamp
Behind the Biz |
The 3 P’s:
Things a design principal should know.
Could I list all the things you need to know to manage a design firm? I’m not sure. Some insights you bring to the table, some lessons you learn along the way, and some you throw out because you need to adapt with the times. For me “the 3 P’s” are the foundation of a well-run design firm. If you keep these in focus, the rest will fall in place.
1. Principles
The most impactful job experience I had before starting Huntley & Co. was working for a firm where integrity was fundamental. Clients, vendors, and employees were all treated with respect; one plus one always equaled two; and the owners put in long hours just like we did. It became the blueprint for how I run my own firm (although perhaps with a touch more sass).
2. Planning
When you have big jobs and discerning clients, mistakes are not an option. It pays to be prepared, not only to assuage the fear of failure, but as a roadpath to knowledge. Knowing your projects inside and out gives you the oversight to avert problems and deliver your designs masterfully.
3. Process
Processes brings peace and order to a business. It’s really just the implementation of triggers and levers — When this happens, you do that. And when the next thing happens, you do this. Until you have done all the things, all is in order, and you are delivering this incredible end result – successfully.
* see also: 5 Things You Should Know as Owner of a Design Firm
TH Tip |
Tabletop Styling:
Striking a balance with your “stuff”
You may have heard of the design aesthetic categories, ‘minimalist’ and ‘maximalist’ – their intentions being self-explanatory. There is also a third category that I call the ‘Goldilocks’ group. We love things, but hate clutter. To have both requires purposeful editing and an eye for the greater good.
Watch the video below to learn one of my methods for creating harmonious rooms by balancing less with more on tabletops.
* Bonus Tip: Take all of the accessories out of your room first. A clean slate will be less confusing and will open your mind to new arrangements.
postscript|| The color swatches at the top of this post are some of my favorites browns from recent and past projects. Give them a try … but always test swatches first!
upcoming webinar
“From Chaos to Clarity”
Learn how to create your own customizable budget and how to use it to outline costs, track orders, and stay on top of all those details! Fill out the form and type #systemsaresexy in your Message to receive updates and an invitation to sign-up.
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The Essential Tool Every Interior Designer Needs
This may seem like a less than romantic choice for Valentine’s Day, but this subject is near and dear to my heart. I’m talking about SPREADSHEETS. Yes, I am an interior designer who looooves spreadsheets. As an equal part Type-A/Type-B personality, I revel in creating designs, and managing and implementing them. My secret to staying on top of hundreds of details and enjoying myself along the way? The humble spreadsheet.
Budgets
This budget is the cornerstone of every Huntley & Co. project. It’s where we can view all items – comprehensively and in detail, calculate pricing, and track purchasing. I developed a very specific procurement color-coding* system for our budgets, as seen here.
* Color-coding is a love language all its own. If you get it, you get it ; )
Schedules
A renovation or construction project is only as good as its schedules. There are the basics like the plumbing schedule and the paint & finish schedule. But we have also generated bulb schedules, switch/plate schedules, and decorative hardware schedules – like this one. Each is unique. The objective is to transform an “information assault” into easy-to-read, easy-to-implement data.
Timelines
If a client requests a firm deadline, we generate a production schedule (aka reverse timeline) for the project. We plug in key dates — presentation, approval, payments, etc. and correlate that with realistic leadtimes and construction to calculate the installation day. Showing a client the ‘why’ of how long a project will take helps mitigate the sting of unrealistic expectations.
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Are you are interested in learning how to implement spreadsheets into your own interior design business? I will be hosting a free webinar this spring …
I will teach you how to create your own customizable budget and how to use it to outline costs, track orders, and stay on top of all those details!
Fill out the form below and include #spreadsheetsuccess in your Message to receive updates and an invitation to sign-up.
Happy Valentine’s Day. Today is about celebrating love in all forms, not just spreadsheets!
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A Closer Look at Windows
I’ve been discussing windows quite a bit lately – with colleagues, in my last Luxe & Lucid post, on Tiktok, etc. – in reference to café curtains and their installation. So it’s important to note, that they are so much more than a backdrop for drapery treatments, and can be everything from pragmatic to extraordinary. Nerd-out with me and let’s take a closer look at windows.
Anatomy of a Double-Hung Window
A double-hung window is the standard of American homes and the receiver of many a huntleyco curtain. As you can see by the diagram above, it’s far more complicated than its pedestrian reputation would suggest. Knowing all its parts may not seem critical, but it’s certainly useful when conversing with builders, selecting window treatments, and simply understanding how it functions.
FYI: The difference between a double- and single-hung window? Both the upper and lower windows function in a double-hung, whereas the top is fixed with a single-hung.
A Directory of Window Types
There are numerous window styles from classic to modern, everyday to ornate. Seeing them grouped together helps one see the variety that’s available, and how different they all are.
row 1 (L-R): Casement, double-hung, and transom windows; row 2 (L-R): Hopper, Palladian, and picture windows; row 3 (L-R): Awning, oculus, and center-pivot windows; row 4 (L-R): Gable-dormer, lunette, and eyebrow windows.
The Why of a Window
- Transom: Historically a transom window served one or two functions. One, when operable, it provided ventilation in the era before air-conditioning. Two, in narrow row houses, it illuminated dark central hallways by allowing light to pass through from the perimeter rooms.
- Hopper: Hopper windows originated in the 19th century, designed primarily to keep dust and debris from dirt roads out of homes while still allowing fresh air to circulate. Their inward-opening design was ideal for trapping dust as it settled, while the lighter, clean air could flow upward into the home.
- Center-Pivot: This particular window’s main goal was likely a dramatic and modern appearance, but as a center-pivot it also provides excellent ventilation due to the large open area when rotated, and makes cleaning easy with full access to the exterior glass.
- Gabled Dormer: A triangular-shaped projection from the roofline, the gabled dormer brings natural light and ventilation into an attic or upper floor. It also makes the space more liveable with additional headroom, and can break up the expanse of a roof creating a more pleasing facade.
Learning about the reason, history, and/or function behind architectural elements is always fun. I ate it up as a child, grad student, designer employee, and even now. I could never know enough and hope it continues to thrill me.
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The Right and Wrong Way to Hang Cafe Curtains
Café curtains are one of my favorite window treatments. Equal parts practical and charming, they provide privacy without cutting light, and can look sweet or elegant depending on the fabric, length, hardware, etc. They are almost a no-brainer, but not quite. How you hang them makes a difference. There is a right way and a wrong way, so take notes!
The Wrong Placement
A lovely bath, no doubt, and installing cafe curtains was the right choice. The clients have privacy, plenty of light, and can push the curtains aside if they want to enjoy the landscape outside. What would have made this a home run, is if the curtains were hung in alignment with the metal grid – either with the muntin above or the rail below. Currently, the hardware and the window framework are in competition, creating a busier than necessary viewpoint. Sidenote, black or oil-rubbed bronze should have been the obvious hardware choice here instead of brass.
The Right Placement
The windows above and below all have cafe curtains installed with the architecture of the window in mind. It’s a detail that conveys the thoughtfulness behind each space’s design.
A pistachio living room by Nicky Kehoe.
Caveats
1 | Two Approaches
There are two schools of thought when it comes to exact placement of a curtain rod. One, align the rod itself with a muntin/rail. Two, install the rod high enough, so the top of the curtain header aligns with the horizontal element. My opinion is that it should be determined on a case-by-case basis. When the hardware is darker, I think it’s better if the rod aligns, and therefore, disappears. If the hardware is lighter and the fabric is more pronounced, then I align the curtain header with the rail or muntin.
2 | Single-Pane Windows Sans Rail
And what if you have a plain, plate glass window without muntins or a rail? At Huntley & Co., we won’t install cafe curtains in these situations; I think it looks awkward and too forced. Instead, I opt for short drapes that are hung at the inside top of the window as shown in the Huntley & Co. bedroom elevation at right below.
3 | Ready-Made Problems
If you purchase pre-fabricated curtains, you need to be mindful of their measurements. The window dictates the length of the curtain, not the other way around. If you can’t request a specific dimension, order them slightly longer and hem them. Otherwise, your window will scream, “I bought this on Amazon” like (case in point) the kitchen below.
FYI, not only the wrong length, but the wrong fabric, wrong hardware, and wrong placement.
THE MUSINGS OF DESIGNER TRICIA HUNTLEY
