Different Types of Apartments
June 15th, 2010 | 
Author: There are many types of apartments offered for peoples various needs. For budget-minded single people like me, a loft or single bedroom apartment may be better suited for me than a three-bedroom suite in the heart New York City. Here I will discuss the different possible apartment types that you can either buy or rent. If you know of another type of apartment dwelling, please share!
Studio Apartments These apartments, in my mind, are often associated with the artistic type. This is probably because I relate it to an art studio, which is an open room for the artist to create. But in reality, studio apartments are great for single people who don’t need a large space to live (they are generally 300-600 sq ft, although they can come larger), who are on a budget, or who like open spaces. There is typically one room that functions as the living room, kitchen, dining room, and bedroom while the bathroom is typically separated.
One Bedroom Apartments These apartments are typical for single occupants or couples. They usually contain one bedroom, a separate bath, a living room with a full kitchen usually separated by a wall, counter, or half walls. Sizes can vary greatly in this type of apartment depending on the location and price.
Two Bedroom, Three Bedroom, Four Bedroom Galore Two + bedrooms are great for smaller families and can be similar to the one bedroom layout in an apartment complex. In two bedroom apartments, there is usually a larger bedroom (similar to a master bedroom) with a smaller bedroom. When you get into apartments with more than two bedrooms, there are a vast array of set-ups and most of the time, the bedrooms are similar in size. Smaller apartments usually have one entrance while larger apartments may have two separate ones.
Some Special Perks Some apartments come with special perks in their apartments that home owners may take for granted. These include, but are no where limited to, a foyer, nook, laundry room, and separate dining area. What special features does your apartment have?
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Decorating a Small Apartment
While there’s a lot of resources out there for decorating today’s larger homes, there’s very little about how to decorate an apartment or incorporate your furniture into it. Let’s face it, many people are downsizing these days and even a 1,000 square foot apartment can seem pretty small after living in a house.
However, with a little creativity, space planning and repurposing your furniture, you can easily adapt your lifestyle to apartment living while still feeling like it’s home.
First, creating a comfy home in an apartment doesn’t require a huge outlay of cash, especially if you’re moving from a home to an apartment, either in your own town or halfway across the country. The first step is to figure out what fits in your new space. This may require some hard decisions. If you can’t fit it all in, you can always put what you can’t use in storage until you either move to larger quarters or decide its fate.
Be creative in your furniture decisions. Furniture that was used for one room in your home may work well in another in your apartment. Be open about how you add furniture to each room and don’t make the mistake of trying to recreate your old home on a smaller scale. It may never feel right.
Once you have your basic furniture selected and you’ve decided where it looks best, you can go shopping for any new pieces of furniture you need. Each apartment has a different layout and will end up with odd spaces that are begging for the right furniture to fill it. If you’re on a budget, shop the sales. Get the best piece of furniture you can afford and resist the temptation to buy a cheap piece of furniture. It won’t last and it will just cost you more in the long run when you have to replace it with something new.
There’s always a temptation to forego decorating because you don’t own the space. That may sound logical, but it means your house will never become a home. If you have a good relationship with your landlord, see if you can do a little painting. Otherwise, add artwork to the walls to make them less sterile. You’ll be amazed how a little lighting, art and accessorizing will not only make your walls warmer, but make your furniture look more inviting to visitors.
If you’re new to apartment living, you want to put most of your effort into decorating the spaces you’ll be living in most. You want to find comfort in these areas, particularly the living room and bedroom. Make sure your best furniture goes in these rooms. You can put the other furniture in the rooms that are less frequently used.
Extra storage is really important in a small apartment. If you have furniture that already features storage, make sure you use these pieces first. This will keep your apartment from feeling crowded or cluttered. Also, remember that you don’t want to overload your living room, bedroom or dining room with too much furniture. Less really is more, as long as the furniture you select is useful, comfortable and welcoming.
Home Apartment Furniture Ideas
We all love to furnish the home with the best of furniture within our budget and the problem arises when there are too many options. But, it finally boils down to the fact that a good set of home furniture must offer the best function, be durable, have good value and have a pleasing and satisfying color to match the rest of the decor of the home.
Obviously, a home consists of a living room, kitchen, bedroom and the reception or entertainment room. The furniture too, varies accordingly. The primary aspect in choosing the right furniture is not to look only at the outer appearance before deciding. It must be considered whether every piece of furniture is practically useful and utterly essential to be purchased.
Since the shades of the fabric may differ in broad daylight and at night, it is wise to bring a piece of the fabric and see whether it matches the rest of the decor at home. Cluttered furniture is a sore to the eye and so, the space available has to be measured first and the furniture and their number must be decided. All the entertainment units like TV, DVD, remote and video games can be placed in a single unit and there are more and more types of furniture, coming into the market, every day.
So, it is advisable to buy one that is comprehensive and saves space, as also be of great utility. The type of furniture in the bedroom is entirely the choice of the owner and there is no dearth for the choice. Home furniture is the true reflection of the taste and style of the person living there.
Home Security For Renters
Estimates indicate that nearly 40 million households in the United States actually occupy rental units or rental homes. At one time, renters were primarily comprised of young singles; however, that is no longer the case. More than 50% of renters today include families with children.
While home security systems are often targeted at homeowners, it is important to note that rental homes are just as much of a target for burglars and criminals as owner-occupied homes. In fact, a rental unit may be even more of a target due to the fact that renters are perceived to be less likely to take measures regarding security.
Even if you do not own the home or apartment in which you reside, protecting your loved ones and possessions is certain to be important to you. In most cases, the management of an apartment building will handle security for the grounds; however, security for each unit generally has something to be desired. While property management often provides a gated entry and lighting and may even go so far as to hire a private security company to patrol the grounds, it does not provide any individual security for each apartment unit. In that case, it falls to the tenant to make sure that their possessions and loved ones are kept secure.
Fortunately, there are many steps you can take even if you are a renter in order to improve the security of apartment or home in which you reside. The first step is to ensure that all doors and windows are kept locked. Ensure that the locks which are in place are effective. If they are not, speak with management about covering the cost of having new locks installed.
A home security system can also be utilized by a renter in order to ensure safety. In the past it was quite difficult for renters to take advantage of a home security system due to the fact that a contract might be required which would make it difficult if the renter needed to move while the contract was in effect. A home security camera; however, can provide a renter with the additional peace of mind and security they desire. This type of camera can be easily installed to view a front entrance or a walkway. In many cases, it may serve as a deterrent to would-be thieves. In addition, in the event of a crime it can provide indisputable recording of the event to provide law enforcement later. Renters can even take advantage of smaller cameras which can be easily placed in balcony or porch areas. These cameras can also be placed inside the home or apartment. Wireless security cameras make it much easier for the cameras to be moved; which can be helpful in the event the renter moves at a later date. Establishing a monitored home security system helps in emergency response time as well.
While you should always check with management regarding their policies on the installation of a home security system, many landlords and property managers are quite open to the idea due to the fact that it benefits them as well as the renter.
Staying Safe in Your Apartment Home
You moved into your new apartment just a few weeks ago. It is a nice quiet place and you would like to keep it that way. Apartment crimes can happen since it is difficult to keep track of who is coming or going and who lives where. Follow some of the sound advice in this article to stay safe and enjoy the tranquility of your apartment for a long time.
Getting Started
Let us use our common sense when it comes to securing your dwelling place. Some essential precautions you can take to keep out burglars include:
• Keep your door locked (this also includes balcony/patio doors). Use those deadbolts and chains!
• Shut and lock your windows when you are not home.
• Do not advertise when you are gone. This may include leaving notes with instructions to friends or delivery personnel or leaving the door ajar/unlocked when just running to the corner store.
• Check out your peephole (if you have one)
• Do not “buzz” people up unless you are expecting them. It is okay to ask for identification.
• Do not leave a spare key anywhere outside of your apartment, even if you think you live in a safe community.
• Do not put your full name on your nameplate.
• Keep your mouth quiet about your fun new expensive PS3 or flat screen. You never know who is listening.
• When out of town, have a reliable friend or neighbor stay at your place or go by at least once a day.
Covering all the bases
It is never a bad idea to invest in a few extra precautionary items to keep your belongings belonging to you. Here are a few ideas for extra security options:
• Install motion-sensor lights out on your balcony or patio, or any other area where it would be easy for a burglar to enter.
• Take everything out of your car when you are parked overnight. It may be annoying, but it will not tempt robbers to break into your car, and it may even help you to keep your car a little more organized and less cluttered.
• If you are without a chain or deadbolt, get them installed (with the permission of the landlord, of course).
• Install an alarm system of some sort. These come in a variety of options, including:
- A dog (the best option to me personally; fun, cuddly, lovable, and protective)
- Motion-sensor alarms (for inside use) These can be found at hardware stores and do not have to be hardwired into the apartment. (this keeps the landlord happy).
• Bracing windows or sliding doors.
Shop This Design Kit: Aspen Library
SHOP THIS DESIGN KIT
Get inspired! Decorati has pulled together coordinated fabrics, rugs and paints.
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How Light Changes Our Perception of Color
Temperature
Whether we perceive a color as warm or cool is relative to the particular color and its surrounding colors. Generally, reds, yellows, and oranges are warm colors, while blues, greens, and violets are considered cool. Warm colors tend to “advance” or “condense” a room, while cool colors “recede” or “expand” a room. Combining both warm and cool colors in a decorating scheme intensifies the temperature of the respective colors.
Intensity
Intensity (or chroma) refers to a color’s purity or brightness and, conversely, its dullness. The purer or less gray a color, the more intensity it has. Bright yellow and cherry red are high-intensity colors; ochre and brick are low-intensity colors. Try using intense colors as accents in your décor. Intense colors add energy to a room, while lower-intensity colors can give a room a calming effect.
Direct Sunlight
Considered the ideal light source, natural sunlight maintains a neutral balance between both the warm (yellow cast) and cool (blue cast) ends of the light spectrum. Northern light is the coolest, while light from a southern exposure is the strongest. Direct sunlight provides the “truest” rendition of colors in a room.
Indirect Sunlight
Natural sunlight is not consistent. It changes from sunrise to noon, to late afternoon and dusk. The intense golden rays and distinct shadows of a sunny, late afternoon can have a profound effect on the colors in a room.
Artificial Light
Color rendition appears warm under incandescent and halogen lights. Reds and yellows are enhanced and blues and greens are culled. Under the cool cast of fluorescent lights, blues and greens are enhanced, while reds and yellows are muted.
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Style Ahoy!
Shane
Decorati Founder
Glamour Wars: Jamie Drake
By Donna Sapolin
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Interior designer Jamie Drake hops off the curb to flag a New York City cab and answers my call. The urban din—bustling crowds, honking horns and screeching brakes—could rattle even the most inveterate multi-tasker, but Drake manages to calmly and deliberately articulate his design vision while dashing from one pressing errand to the next. (I, on the other hand, drop my receiver when the doorman unexpectedly buzzes me during our conversation.)
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Photography by Eric Striffler.
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This phone session will be Drake’s only “free” time in the next 10 days, he says, and so he persists, asking the waitress to turn down the music when he pauses to grab lunch. If his steady focus and suave, unflappable mien is any indication of the way he communicates with clients, it’s no wonder he’s racked up commissions the world over (from Paris to Saudi Arabia) that are celebrated as much for their acute attention to detail as for their irreverent jolts of color.
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Drake’s personality, expressed not only in his words and decorative schemes but also in his attire, is so colorful and captivating one cannot help but envision the cab’s brilliant yellow paint and the entire visual cacophony of New York City when speaking with him.
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Photography by Nick Johnson.
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Entering a Jamie Drake-designed room, be it modern or historic, can make you feel as if you’re walking into a bold and brazen hot-house or a subdued and serene spa. The most hushed of rooms—bedrooms, libraries—become lush and lively in his deft hands. Gathering rooms morph into restful havens without sacrificing a sense of surprise or sociability. “But the ultimate look is all about the clients’ preferences,” he reminds me. That may be the case but the Drake touch is always evident.
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“My take on color is painterly. I find unusual shades and juxtapositions intriguing. Each room and each project offers different opportunities—sometimes I employ colorful accents in a more neutral space and other times a room will be slathered with color in a variety of tones and shades. Every surface is absolutely considered even if it’s one that’s off-white or gray—it’s all part of an overall vision.”
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The myriad errands to which he’s attending during our chat have as much to do with the trip he’s about to take (Greece and London) as with work (a New York Times interview, project meetings). Drake immerses himself in travel not only for respite but also to fuel his dramatic color-infused worldview. “Last month I spent a week in Paris and Morocco—places that were hardly new to me but reminded me of their fabulosity,” he says. “This evening I’m leaving for Greece. I’m sure I’ll come back from the islands and want everything to be brilliant white. But I’ll be finishing up the trip in London so a touch of opulence will be creeping into my new visions as well.”
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Photography by Eric Stiffler.
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Apart from travel, Drake cites fashion and magazines as key inspirations. “But for me it’s mostly about keeping my eyes open as I move through life,” he says. That’s apparently something he’s being doing since the get-go—Drake is wired for color. His mother was an artist; his father, a printer, and some of his most gripping memories are of paint-encrusted pallets and ink vats.
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He started painting and creating collages at age seven and served as the resident interior designer of his friends’ backyard forts, which he outfitted with “antiques”—broken old bottles, falling-apart farm implements and old washing vats. During high school Drake interned with a large interiors contract firm in Connecticut and after graduation, moved to New York and entered the Parsons School of Design. He graduated Parsons with two commissions in hand and launched his firm. “I was propelled without thinking into my own business,” he says.
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Photography by Lucus Allen.
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Today, Drake Design Associates employs a staff of 12 architects and designers. “In addition to the design development, we work in a collaborative effort to find art and antiques for our projects,” he says. The firm is just finishing up a 4500-square-foot apartment in New York’s fabled Dakota building. “After two-and-a-half-years of work, the clients have moved in and we spent the day yesterday shopping for art—contemporary western art as distinct from the collection of Chinese contemporary art that the couple has in their 10-month-a- year home in Shanghai.”
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Photography by Tim Lee.
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Drake is also are working on two radiation oncology clinics in Jacksonville, Florida. The first is a building his firm designed from the ground up with light-filled, soaring spaces slated for completion and final installations in August.
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In all his projects, Drakes eschews what he regards as the number one mistake designers can make: Creating something expected and generic.
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“I hate uninteresting, safe and banal schemes that look as if they were plucked from a showroom window.”
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He urges risk-taking above all and developing the guts and conviction to do something bold. “Cut the pillow down,” he urges by way of example. “You can make it smaller but you can’t make it bigger.”
Photography by Lucus Allen.
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To convince a client to bring a vision that pushes the envelope to fruition, he says, requires both confidence and a creative thought process.
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“Early on, when I wanted to persuade someone to paint a ceiling in a vibrant color, I offered to paint it back on my own dime it they didn’t like it… but I never had to write a single check.”
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Whether they are designed to be sedate or glimmering, Drake’s projects dare to bust boundaries and bear testimony to a strong belief in a uniquely personal vision.
Photography by Erif Striffler.
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The palette for a library he created in Metropolitan Home’s recent Showtime House—a New York concrete gray with amorphous slate blues and dashes of khaki and olive—gives expression to David Duchovny’s character in “Californication”. “Hank is a low- key kind of guy, even with all his anxieties,” says Drake. “He wouldn’t be living with fuchsia so I went for something serene and thoughtful.”
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The designer situated a sculptural artist-created book tower in one corner of the library to evoke Hank’s writer’s block. “What could reflect his personality more perfectly than a tower of books that comes tumbling down if you pull one out?” he asks. Artist Gary Ponzo’s delicate paperclip chandelier reinforces the occupant’s fragile writerly status.
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Upholstered walls and curtains made of Ultrasuede forge an atmosphere of spare luxe; the ceiling, painted in a satin-finish soft blue from Benjamin Moore’s Metallics collection, serves as a shiny counterpoint to the fabric. The seating is provided by a large double chaise custom fabricated by Delta Upholsters and covered in Ultrasuede and an oversized chair with a totemic back inspired by a tribal throne Drake spotted while traveling in South Africa.
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The desk sports an elegantly eroded finish that is an interpretation of the ancient Japanese technique— negoro nuri. The piece was made by Alpha Workshops—Drake’s favorite charity and one for which he serves as board chairman. The acrylic and resin painting by James Lecce from McKenzie Fine Art broadcasts the room’s full range of hues. “Its patterns are full of movement,“ says Drake. “You can easily get lost in it while daydreaming.” Handcrafted glass and bronze sconces by Jonathan Browning flank the artwork.
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Photography by William Waldron.
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Movement, in fact, characterizes all Drake designs. He ingeniously plots its course with a careful repetition of tones and shapes throughout the spaces he designs. In the case of the Upper East Side NYC apartment he created for a dear friend, a home he describes as “polite and mad at the same time,” he relied on circular forms and colors inspired by a collection of Danish pottery.
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The client, he says, is a fabulous, bold and dynamic woman who possessed some exuberant, over-the-top pieces. “I felt that my job was to stand up to them and enhance them by adding more madness to the mix.”
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To that end, he designed a 16-foot-long buffet (made by Roman Thomas) with orange pony skin- covered doors, arrayed the client’s ceramics on top, and integrated their colors into silk cabochons in a round custom-designed wool rug. The golden hues of the gilded baroque chandelier (from Bernd Goeckler Antiques), mirror frame and candelabra are echoed in the hand-knotted silk fringe applied to the leading edge of the portieres that serve to separate the space from the adjacent living room.
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The tone repeats on the walls, which are upholstered in a Donghia khaki-gold silk and cotton fabric. The Giacometti-inspired table base from Carole Gratale is topped with a round slab of heavily figured Persian onyx. It’s encircled with reproduction Italian provincial chairs painted in an antique plum color and upholstered in an iridescent saffron and plumb silk.
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Photography by Nick Johnson.
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The 2007 Kips Bay Decorator Show House coincided with the launch of Drake’s fabric collection for Schumacher and he put it to zesty use in the bedroom he created for the home. The walls are upholstered in an orchid-colored fresh interpretation of moiré with an embossed dot pattern. A cool base of lush lavender-tinged gray wool carpet from Patterson, Flynn & Martin tempers the room’s exuberant floral palette. Curtains in Drake’s signature “Jazzed Stripe” fabric from Schumacher hang from Michael Tavano’s elegant crystal rods.
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“The custom sleigh bed is both severe and romantic at the same time,” says Drake. “Its square lines were explicitly envisioned to show off my “Not Square” fabric, a silk velvet cut to reveal a soft metallic ground.” Gilt nailheads further emphasize the bed’s form.
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Photography by Nick Johnson.
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On each side of the bed, an Alpha Workshops black wood “Waterfall” table with fuchsia peering through a negoro nuri lacquer finish holds an antique Chinese lamp from Mallett’s. Above the headboard, a painting by David Mann depicts a celestial explosion of energy. “I love the palette, its modernity and its mystical feeling,” says Drake.
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An antique Russian desk purchased at Florian Papp is made of Karelian birch and features verre eglomise drawer panels.
Photography by Tim Lee.
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This book-filled space for a home in backcountry Greenwich reflects Drake’s take on a classical Connecticut panel library. “Having grown up in the state, I understand it quite well,” he says. Apparently, well enough to tweak it successfully:
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“In my own subversive way, I chose not to utilize the expected mahogany or cherry and instead opted for the cool tones of American walnut and for detailing that is more art moderne than 19th-century English.”
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He further pumped up the volume in the surprise department with robin’s-egg-blue lacquered bookcases. A black reveal lends the hue additional pop.
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Eclecticism reigns in this space: Lyrical antique English walnut desk with ebonized detailing joins contemporary Louis XVIth guilt-frame “Swag” chairs (from the Jamie Drake collection for Lewis Mittman) upholstered in woven leather with vibrant red grosgrain welting. A 1940s bronze and crystal chandelier from Maison Girard is “a chic take on a wagon wheel chandelier,” says the designer.
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The red in the chair’s welting is repeated in an antique Japanese enameled lamp base and in the shade’s trim. The room is anchored by a boldly geometric carpet made from pieces of antique flatweave Kilim from FJ Hakimian. It rests atop a cherry red stained oak floor that echoes the adjacent room’s wall color.
In this eastside apartment, a corner room facing both Central Park and lower Manhattan showcases a triptych by Ryan McGinnis over an updated classic sofa. The painted walls and upholstered sofa share an identical shade of August sky blue.
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Pillows and a chair in shocking pink and orange add vibrant dash along with colorful glassware atop Lorrin Marsh’s gilt-base, marble-top table. One of a pair of faux lizard ottomans provides additional seating.
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The acrylic-base end tables’ mother-of-pearl and lacquer tops reveal Drake’s penchant for using unusual materials in his rooms. Some are precious; others are commonplace ones in a less familiar form, such as recycled glass and eco-friendly composites. The carpet he envisioned for the space gives a psychedelic character to wood grain patterns.
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Selected Resources:
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2009 Kips Bay Show House: Bolster trim, Trim on Window Treatments, Coffee Table Embedment, Daybed and Pillow Treatment: CRYSTALLIZEDTM – Swarovski Elements, Sofa, Daybed, Mahogany Armchair & Window Treatment Fabrics: F Schumacher & Co, Tall Lounge Chair, Ottoman & Pillow Fabrics: Reynaldo- available through Michael Tavano Design. Paisley Fabric for Throw Pillows: Clarence House, Chocolate/Silver Fabric for Throw Pillows: Opuzen – available through Koroseal, Ottoman & Decorative Pillows Re-Upholstery & Windows Treatments: Michael Tavano, Painting: America Painting, Hand Painted Wallpaper: Alpha Workshops
Carpet: Sacco, Bookcase: Holly Hunt, Game Table: John Boone, Trims: Samuel & Sons, Paint:: Aura Interior Paints, Benjamin Moore Paints, Chandelier, Porcelain Table Lamps, Bronze Coffee Table, Side Table and End Tables Flanking Sofa : Bernd Goeckler Antiques, Three Door Cabinet with Grey/Black Horsehair Doors & Antique Mirror Top: Roman Thomas, Custom Oval Coffee Table with CRYSTALLIZEDTM Swarovski Elements: Orion Retail, Pair of Tortoise Shell Chairs: John Salibello, Pair of Mahogany Armchairs: Alan Moss
Pair of Leleu Bergeres: Maison Gerard, Floorlamp: Poltrono Frau, Balcony Installation and Flowers: ZeZe Flowers, Papier-Mâché Books By Jean Lowe and Artwork by Chris Gallagher: McKenzie Fine Art Inc.
‘Conquistador’ Artwork by Dan Christensen: Spanierman Gallery, LLC, Collection of 1930s French Ceramic Vases: Robert Altman, Japanese Bronze Vase with Spiral Design: H.M. Luther, Large Tiger Eye and Rhodonite Sphere: H.M. Luther, Russian Amethyst Glass Open Box: H.M. Luther, Pair of Red Glass Decanters: H.M. Luther
French Metal-Mounted Ivory Lacquer Letter Box: H.M. Luther, Pair of American Bronze Bookends in the Form of Male Athletes: H.M. Luther, Swedish Ceramic Sculpture of a Parrot: H.M. Luther, French Patinated Plaster Sculpture of a Young Man’s Head: H.M. Luther, Pair of Italian Obelisks: H.M. Luther, Turquoise Art Glass “Spiky” Vase by Barovier, Ovoid Ribbed Violet Murano Glass Vase: John Salibello, Wallpaper Installation: DecoRada Wallpaper Installation and Michael Ehrlich for Sagebrush Painting Co., Bronze Tree Sculpture: David Duncan Antiques, Ceramic Trains By David Packer: Dean Project
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Metropolitan Home Showtime House: Toray Ultrasuede (America), Inc. Suede Fabric for the Upholstery of the Walls, Furniture, Window Treatments; The Bradley Collection (Donghia) “Knot” Steel Collection for Window Treatments; Michael Tavano Design for Wall Upholstery & Window Treatments; Delta Upholstery for Chaise and Lounge Chair w/ Ottoman; Tom Benson for Free Standing Book Sculpture; Alan Tanksley for Paperclip Chandelier by Gary Ponzo, McKenzie Fine Art for “Juicy” by James Lecce; Scott McBee for Collage Door “Oranje” by Scott McBee; Elitis (Donghia) for “Glass” wallpaper, Benjamin Moore for Aura and Studio Finishes; Alpha Workshop Finish for Hank Moody’s Custom Desk, Floor Finish by State of the Art Flooring; Nella Vetrina Bookcase, Holly Hunt Crystal Sphere Sconces by Alison Berger.
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2007 Kips Bay Show House: Fabrics Jamie Drake For Schumacher, Provencal Cabinet & Saddle Bag Chairs: Jamie Drake For Lewis Mittman, Custom Millwork & Construction Services: Uberto Construction, Lequin Collection Alexandrite Waste Basket, Tray & Box, Boule Collection Black Marble Cachepot; Jamie Drake For Labra, Bed & Ottoman: Jamie Drake By Michael Tavano, White Rabbit Fur & Carpeting: Patterson, Flynn, & Martin, Bedside Tables: The Alpha Workshops, Pair Of Chinese Black & Gilt Table Lamps & 18th Centure German Pier Mirror: Mallet, S X Cut Crystal & Gilt Bronze Vases, Pair Of Lythlalin Glass Tazzaz On Gilt Bronze Bases, Alexandrite Table Lamp: Marvin A, White Ceramic Figurine: Lladro, David Mann Painting: Mc Kenzie Fine Art Inc, Custom Framing: J. Pocker & Sons, Swedish Neoclassical Gilded Sulla Chair: H.M. Luther Antiques, Bronze & Crystal Chandelier, Pair Of Round Tables: Maison Gerard Ltd, Floral Arrangements: Ze Ze, Russion Writing Table: Florian Papp, Saturn Acrylic Chair: Andrew Martin, Gold Picture Frame: Grumps, White Glass Snake: Robb Wynne, Slipper Chair, Wall Upholstery & Window Treatments: Michael Tavano, Fireplace: Andy’s Marble & Granite Inc., White Onyx For Fireplace: Artistic Tile, Bronze Fireplace Surround: Minimum Decorative Arts & Design, Fire Screen 7 Tools: Wm. H. Jackson Company, Lyle 7 Umbach Andirons: Holly Hunt, Cedric Hartman Floor Lamps : Pollack, Trims: Samuels & Sons, Mattress: Charles H Beckley. Terrace Landscaping: Blomdies Tree House Inc., Electronics: Compushine, Painting: Jack Franck Painting & Decorating, Paint: Benjamin Moor
French Country Kitchens – The Next Frontier?
By Susan Serra
Susan Serra is a Decorati Contributing Guest Blogger and author of The Kitchen Designer blog.
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Bonjour mes amis! I’m thinking of all things French-inspired this month, first and foremost, French kitchens. It’s an annual ritual for me…total immersion in the 3-week long incredible Tour de France now just finished! An annual ritual of focusing equally on the architecture and landscape via the fantastic TV coverage, as well as the daily race toward Paris. All that, and annual ritual of following the cities, towns, and tiny villages “le Tour” passes through while dreaming of authentic French kitchens. This month, I’m all Francophile, all the time.
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My annual French immersion has my attention directed to, perhaps, the next frontier of French “country” kitchens…but these are not the French country kitchens you see stateside. Far from it. What I’m observing is an altogether new, fresh, and strong statement in French kitchen design, blending old and very new…and it’s very chic.
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Here are the elements of the new French Country Kitchen that I see happening in France:
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Wide open shelving
Concrete anywhere and everywhere
Mix of ancient textured walls with modern cabinet design
Neutrals – lots of gray, some black elements, white, warm tones
Accessories as always – antique pots, baskets, added textures
Still fresh today…le batterie de cuisine is often displayed
Wood species meant to be appreciated in a natural finish in ceilings and/or cabinetry
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Here are features to note in these gorgeous French kitchens.
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Below: A very smart design in terms of color and tones. It could not be more simple – the use of “dark” gray concrete countertops and cabinetry (note it’s the same gray tone) and “light” walls and flooring. Simple, elegant. The beams take us to a very warm place inside our souls, and accessories follow the theme with warmth and texture. The headline is that this is a simple two-toned kitchen, made wonderful by the use of texture.
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Below: A celebration of le batterie de cuisine, doesn’t this look like a cook’s kitchen? To my eye, “form follows function” seems to have been the mantra here. Easy access is the point. The neutral, soft, tones clearly play a backdrop to the cook’s tools and appliances. Note the black accents and door trim.
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Below: A common architectural style, the French farmhouse with multiple arched ceilings, the feeling is highly textural and incredibly cozy. Earth tones dominate. Contemporary (yet earthy) cabinetry is juxtaposed with traditional elements such as the architecture, lighting and furnishings beyond. Note the integral sink in the corian countertop. Splashes of color in this nearly monochromatic space attract attention.
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Below: As only the French might do, here we have natural woods everywhere and what else…black! As in fashion, the French style can be strong, bold, cutting edge. The mix here of uber-rustic blended with very clean lines clearly has one perfectly polished toenail in the past and the rest in the future. Again, simple, clean, elegant (always), warm. The use of neutrals claims a cohesive feeling. Did you see the traditional hand towel in the image? Perfection, and a nod of respect to the traditional French country kitchens.
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I’ve enjoyed sharing my French finds with you, and I hope it’s opened up a new window to French kitchen style. Images from Art & Decoration and Cote Maison. For even more French inspiration, don’t miss the blog Cote de Texas. Till next time, au revois!