July 30th, 2010 by jennifermyers
There are so many elements in creating the perfect dining room that it’s hard to focus on one aspect. But for you, readers, this week we’ve managed it. Behold our Top Five Favorite dining room chairs, and from the looks of it, we at LRM Interior Design like to be comfortable while we eat.
And why not? A good designer should be able to choose or create a chair that suits its purpose, i.e. an occasional chair need not be as comfortable as a reading chair, where one would spend much more time. When entertaining, as a dining room suggests, we want to make sure that our guests are happy in their seats, not waiting for the moment that dessert is finished so that they can retire to the softer furnishings of the living room!
Three of our five chairs are tufted, suggesting maximum comfort and luxury while dining; the remaining two are certainly plush. But please, dear reader, choose your own Top Fave…
Kravet Ensemble Chairs
1. Kravet Ensemble Chair: If you are ever lucky enough to be invited to Senior Designer Jan Smith’s home for dinner, don’t dare say no. It’s no wonder that her choice of chair includes arms—one bite of her husband’s cuisine and you’re likely to fall out of your seat with delight.
Jan is the ultimate hostess, and prefers staying at the table to being in the kitchen: “Dining is an experience for me, and I prefer it to last for hours and through multiple courses,” Jan explains. “These chairs are perfect for extended periods of sitting. Plus, I like the idea of using a “club-style” chair at a dining table.” (read the rest of this post…)
Tags: bachelor pad, baker, Baker chair 7841, baker chairs, baker dining room chairs, Baker Furniture, baker saint germain chair, baker st. germain chair, beautiful, California, California Contemporary, chairs for entertaining, Crystal Cove, customizable dining room chairs, decor, designer, Ebanista chairs, ebanista coimbra sofa, ebanista sofa, elegance, elegant dining room chairs, furniture, Gina b, gina b chairs, gina b furniture, House Beautiful, inspiration, interior design, interior designer, Jan Smith, Kravet, kravet chairs, Kravet complex turn side chair, Kravet dining room chairs, Kravet ensemble chair, kravet furniture, Laguna Beach, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, masculine, modern, Newport Beach, newport beach bachelors, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, paris salon, plush chairs, Southern California, space, style, top interior designers, tufted chairs, tufted dining room chairs, upholstery, woodwork
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July 23rd, 2010 by jennifermyers
Blue mission-style tiles? Yes and no...from SRS Energy.
With government tax credits and the amount of sunshine we get in California (granted, we haven’t seen much sun yet in Laguna this summer!), solar panels seem like a fantastic addition to a roof, especially if you’ve already planned to update or fix your roof, or even if your home is under construction. Economical and eco-friendly—what’s not to like?
What’s not to like? How about a grey rectangle stuck to the side of your roof? In the coastal areas like Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Crystal Cove and Emerald Bay, there can be fierce criticism about solar panels from your neighbors, especially if it is in their view. And from the homeowners, too—what’s the point of spending a huge amount of money on a gorgeous mission-style roof when you have to ruin it with a slab of a solar panel? And in Southern California, from San Diego up to the Central Coast, red-tile roofs reign supreme. In fact, Santa Barbara has strict rules about the height and style of buildings in their downtown area. (read the rest of this post…)
Tags: beautiful, California, California Contemporary, central coast, contemporary, Crystal Cove, designer, eco-friendly, ecofriendly, economical, elegance, Emerald Bay, exterior design, home construction, interior design, interior designer, Laguna, Laguna Beach, Laguna Design Center, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, mission, mission-style roof, mission-style tiles, modern, new roof, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, red tile roof, red tile roofs, roof, roof construction, san diego, santa Barbara, solar panels, sole power tile, Southern California, space, srs energy, style, top interior designers, upgrade roof
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July 16th, 2010 by jennifermyers
The Electrolux washer in Red Hot Red
Who says laundry can’t be fun? We love designing laundry rooms, and can’t wait to use a washer and dryer from Electrolux’s latest collection. When it comes to laundry, we all want our whites white and our colors bright, right? With Electrolux’s new line, what we want on the inside is right on the outside. The washers and dryers come in Red Hot Red, Mediterranean Blue, Turquoise Sky, Island White and Silver Sands, and will add that extra spark to a laundry room.
There are so many features that make the machines themselves wonderful (18 minutes to wash, 18 minutes to dry, extremely quiet and eco-friendly), but we also like how they, ahem, stack up. From a design standpoint, their versatility is very attractive; they can stack, be freestanding or under a counter, the doors can be reversed and they have optional pedestal drawers. (read the rest of this post…)
Tags: appliances, ASID, beautiful, beautiful laundry room, cabinetry, California, California Contemporary, color, colored appliances, contemporary, decor, designer, dryer, eco-friendly, eco-friendly dryer, eco-friendly washer, electrolux, electrolux dryer, electrolux washer, elegance, GE, hampers, home office, home office design, homework, inspiration, interior design, interior designer, ironing boards, Jan Smith, Laguna Beach, laundry, laundry room design, laundry rooms, LG, LG washing machines, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, modern, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, pedestal drawer for dryer, pedestal drawer for washer, remodel, Southern California, space, stacking washer and dryer, style, washer, washer and dryer, Whirlpool
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July 9th, 2010 by jennifermyers
We warned you—we have more to say about wallpaper. Not quite as much as last week, as we were able to narrow down our patterned choices to the required five…just. Where last week presented wallcoverings that were nigh on incredible, this week we’re staying more in the realm of what most people would call wallpaper. But that doesn’t mean they’re boring….
Schumacher Imperial Trellis
1. Schumacher Imperial Trellis: This pattern is a staff favorite, and although it comes in 14 colorways, including Parchment/Midnight, Citrine and Cinnabar Gloss, we love it in Charcoal. Although it’s in Schumacher’s “Modern” section, we think that the pattern has such a classic feel to it that it could be used in a traditional setting, too.
Romo Kimura in Turmeric
2. Romo Kimura in Turmeric: The name and color of this wallpaper conjure up two different Orients—Japan and India. The combination of florals, using both lotus flowers and cherry blossoms, give this wallpaper a balanced pattern, and the grey looks fantastic against the deep yellow background.
Graham & Brown Drama Wallcovering in Boheme
3. Graham & Brown Drama Wallpaper in Boheme: This pattern also comes in burnt orange and black, but we love it in chocolate—could it be the name? Actually, we love how the retro feel of this paper comes into its own in the chocolate color, but the updated pattern keeps it feeling modern. This paper would be great for a den, game room or dining room, and we can’t wait to use it to create something fabulous. And when we do, we’ll definitely post it!
Cole & Son Apana Gold on Blue
4. Cole & Son Alpana in Gold and Blue: This wallpaper made us feel like we were going to have high tea at the Ritz in London, what with its delicate gold design on the eggshell blue. Think about an elegant afternoon sipping tea and nibbling on cucumber sandwiches and scones in the most divine setting. Designer Kristen Rusert commented: “The pattern is beautiful, and I love the color combinations—it also comes in gold on black. It looks so regal!”
Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon
5. Schumacher Chiang Mai Dragon: Back to the Orient, but this time—China. We’ve loved this pattern in a fabric, and we love it just as much as a wallcovering. Out of the four colorways, we love the Aquamarine over Lacquer, China Blue and Alabaster. We are enchanted with the dragon winding through and peeking out from behind the peonies and dahlias.
Tags: alabaster, aquamarine, California, California Contemporary, charcoal imperial trellis, chiang mai dragon, china, china blue, color, contemporary, decor, designer, drama wallpaper, fabrics, furniture, Graham & Brown, graham and brown, imperial trellis, inspiration, interior design, Interior Design Institute, interior designer, Jan Smith, Kari Seydewitz, lacquer, Laguna Beach, Laguna Design Center, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, London, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, Orient, remodel, retro, retro wallcovering, retro wallpaper, Romo, ROMO fabrics, ROMO wallcoverings, Schumacher, Southern California, space, style, The Ritz, top interior designers, turmeric, wallcovering, wallpaper
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July 1st, 2010 by jennifermyers
First confession: this week we fudged. Just a little bit. We were beat at our task by the multitude of wonderful, exquisite and downright fantastical wallpapers on the market, and we could only narrow our Faves down to seven. Don’t hate us because they’re so beautiful!
Second confession: we couldn’t even fit all of our favorite wallpapers into one Faves blog! So watch out for part two, when we present our favorite patterned wallpapers.
But now, for our favorite—shall we say off the wall?—choices:
Schumacher Kyoko Mica
1. Schumacher Kyoko Mica in Silver: Jan Smith wowed us with this one, especially since we have used it in one of our high-end bachelor pad guest bathrooms. “For that project, we used a bronze colorway of this paper, and in the small bathroom, it added sparkle, texture and a much-needed presence,” Jan explains. “It is the first thing you notice when you enter the room, and the impact of it stays with you after you leave.” It’s a lot to ask from a wallpaper, Jan admits, “but it delivers!” (read the rest of this post…)
Tags: 19th century France, ASID, beaded wallpaper, beautiful, bling wallpaper, California, California Contemporary, color, decor, designer, eco-friendly, elegance, expert installation, Fuji, glass bead wallcoverings, glass bead wallpaper, horsehair, horsehair wallcovering, horsehair wallpaper, Innovations, innovations grasscloth, inspiration, interior design, interior designer, Jan Smith, Kyoko Mica, Kyoto, Laguna Beach, Laguna Design Center, limestone wallcovering, limestone wallpaper, limestone walls, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, Maya Romanoff, Maya Romanoff Chevron, Maya Romanoff Chevron Mother of Pearl, Maya Romanoff Mother of Pearl, mica wallpaper, mineral wallpaper, modern, Murano Molto, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, peacock, peacock feathers, pheasant, pheasant feathers, Phillip-Jeffries Ltd. Horsehair, red carpet gown, Sapporo-Soba, Schumacher, Schumacher Kyoko Mica in Silver, Schumacher Nest Collection, shell wallpaper, Southern California, space, style, top interior designers, wallpaper, Wallteriors
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June 13th, 2010 by jennifermyers
Henry Road uses their Fleur Grande fabric on the front of this chair...
At LRM Interior Design, we get inspired by a lot of things. But we really love up-and-coming companies that inspire us with their creativity and innovation.
Take Henry Road, a textile studio in Studio City, California, just up north from us here in Orange County. They design beautiful, bold and modern patterns for textiles that look stunning on all types of furniture, from chairs to sofas to footstools.Their patterns look amazing on more than just furniture, as we found with their Gloria tablecloths and Havana tote. Let’s not even start on their adorable storage sacks for kids.
...and a coffee sack to upholster the back.
Or shall we? This is where Henry Road’s real inspiration comes through. In many cases, as shown by the storage sacks and with items of furniture, Henry Road owner Paula Smail combines her large-print textiles with coffee sacks. We love this combination of texture and re-use, especially in the occasional chair covered in Paula’s Fleur Grande pattern on the front and coffee sacking on the back.
They’ve also covered church benches, footrests and cubes in coffee sacks, and according to their website, they’re pretty popular–almost all of their furniture has been sold.
Paula Smail seems like a person who is as interesting and enterprising as her designs. She spent part of her childhood in South Africa, in a house on Henry Road. It was the Marimekko blinds in that home, plus seeing the African women swathed in bright fabrics, that has shaped her design aesthetic.
We can’t wait to see what she does next! In the meantime, check out Henry Road’s collection of unusual accessories and home goods. And if you’re in Los Angeles, you may just want to stop by and peruse the intriguing items in her shop that are not available online.
Tags: accessories, California, California Contemporary, children's games, church bench, coffee sack upholstery, coffee sacks, contemporary, Crystal Cove, decor, designer, eco-friendly, elegance, fabrics, Fleur Grande, footstools, furniture, gloria tablecloth, Henry Road, home goods, inspiration, interior design, interior designer, Laguna Beach, large-print textiles, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, Los Angeles, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, marimekko, modern patterns, modern textiles, Newport Beach, occasional chair, Orange County, Orange County's top designer, Paula Smail, pillows, sofas, Southern California, storage sacks, studio city, style, tablecloths, textiles, texture, top interior designers, tote bags
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April 8th, 2010 by jennifermyers
One of the solid forged brass levers from Baldwin's Couture Collection
Everyone at LRM Interior Design fell in love with the new Couture Collection from Baldwin. And no, it wasn’t just because “couture” was in the title, but because of the new designs’ elegance and variety of finishes that will give a greater range of choice to their clients.
LRMID, and Lisa in particular, is partial to a celtic knot, and the Baldwin Couture Collection features a door knob with a celtic knot of beautiful simplicity. The design also extends to the “rose”, or the part of the door handle that is affixed to the door. (read the rest of this post…)
Tags: aged brass, American made door handles, Baldwin door hardware, beautiful, bronze finishes, buy American, cabinetry, California Contemporary, cohesive design, Couture Collection, decor, designer, distressed venetian bronze, door hardware, elegance, Estate Collection, exterior doors, forged brass door hardware, historical home, interior design, Interior Design Institute, interior designer, interior door hardware, interior doors, jewelry for the home, Laguna Beach, lifetime-polished brass, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, period house, polished brass, remodel, satin chrome, solid brass door handles, Southern California, top interior designers
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March 20th, 2010 by jennifermyers
Lesley Anton Ceramics
There’s a few things that people don’t know about Lisa McDennon, and one of them is that she designed an entire room around a Lesley Anton lamp. The Lesley Anton “Lotus” lamp, to be exact, and the room is much, much larger than the lamp, with a vaulted ceiling and windows that stretch from the floor to the roof. But it was the lamp that got Lisa’s notice, and the cool green color of its ceramic base, which she used as a basis for the room’s colorways.
Lisa's design inspiration: the Lesley Anton Lotus table lamp
Now Lisa’s excited that Lesley Anton has started selling ceramic bowls and plates in her distinctive glazes. There’s even a plate that matches her favorite lamp, with the textured relief of the lotus root pattern.
Lesley Anton’s ceramics are handthrown, and available for purchase through her shop in Los Angeles. On the website, you can get a taste of the type of items that Lesley Anton’s shop carries. Every piece is handthrown porcelain and stoneware, and can you believe that it is microwave and dishwasher safe? This means that you can actually use these amazingly unique pieces every day.
Lisa likes the fact that Lesley Anton will take custom orders, and looks forward to creating a signature piece for a future project…perhaps another lamp to base an entire room design on? It’s always a surprise to find where inspiration springs from.
Tags: California, California Contemporary, ceramic lamps, ceramics, Crystal Cove, custom ceramics, designer, elegance, furniture, glazed ceramics, handthrown porcelain, handthrown stoneware, interior design, interior designer, Laguna Beach, Lesely Anton Ceramics, Lesely Anton Lotus lamp, Lesley Anton, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, Los Angeles, LRM, LRM Interior Design, LRMID, modern, Newport Beach, Orange County, Orange County homes, Orange County's top designer, remodel, Southern California, style, top interior designers
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March 2nd, 2010 by jennifermyers
Inspired Interiors Blog
The wonderful creator of the “Inspiring Interiors” blog has listed Lisa McDennon and LRM Interior Designs as their latest favorite. Click here to check out the blog. They found her through her feature in House Beautiful!
We’re particularly enamored with the comment posted by Paige, who says they are her favorite interiors yet! Thank you, Paige!
LRM Interior Design has become a leader in the design world, and we’re happy to see it. Go LRMID!
Tags: favorite, House Beautiful, Inspiring Interiors, Lisa McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon, Lisa Rachelle McDennon Interior Design, LRM Interior Design, LRMID
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