Saarinen Round Dining Table

1. Saarinen Round Dining Table, Room&Board: Here’s one for the youngsters or twenty-somethings just starting out. Or, maybe even those with a new family who are trying to establish their own holiday traditions, and only need to seat about six around the table, but do it with style. This version from Room&Board is inspired by Earo Saarinen’s graceful 1956 design, and is still as beautiful and relevant today as it was over 50 years ago. Some designs never seem to get dated! “Unconventional but always stylish,” comments Jan Smith, Senior Designer. “This table is great for that hipster couple or bachelor looking to make a statement. That statement being: ‘I know a great design when I see it.’”

Benchwright Dining Table

2. Benchwright Dining Table, Pottery Barn: Rustic, simple and versatile, the Pottery Barn’s Benchwright table is perfect for a large family gathering, especially Thanksgiving, which celebrates our early American roots. This table is inspired by early 20th century style of work tables, and the emphasis on craftsmanship. The extending table will seat 12, and shrink down for daily use for regular-sized family gatherings, and its weathered hardwood and wrought-iron construction will create a bold backdrop for entertaining. “I love the exposed hardware,” says Kristen Rusert. “I also like how it can take on different looks in so many types of spaces.”

Cross Extension Table

3. Cross Extension Table, Design Within Reach: Jan Smith explains: “I have always loved the modern lines of this table. We used this table for our beach-front condo project who wanted that clean contemporary feeling with a beachy vibe, even with a busy family.” As you know, Design Within Reach does not compliment an item that they don’t feel is top notch, and we don’t either. This table is a perfect blend of contemporary styling and the warmth of classic English furniture, and the design is truly amazing. It easily pulls apart in order to add two leaves, both of which store easily in felt-lined compartment on the table’s underside when not in use. Fancy that! No hiding the leaves under the spare bed until next year’s Christmas dinner!

Jeff Soderbergh's Vanderbilt Table

4. Jeff Soderbergh’s Vanderbilt Table: This table is stunning in itself, what with the reclaimed wood top and geometric polished chrome legs, and to top it off it was used in the House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year. (Winning designer Jeff Lewis is also the star of Bravo’s show Flipped, but it seems that stardom hasn’t dulled his design talent!) Jeff Soderbergh’s table was created using traditional hand tools and re-claimed vintage Southern Yellow Pine rafters and beams from the Vanderbilt family stable at Sandy Point Farm in Portsmouth, RI. With timbers dating back over 200 years, you can’t beat the authenticity of the grooves and marks on this timber. Truly a unique piece that will add drama to any event—hopefully distracting the family from the usual holiday dramas!

LRM Interior Design Custom Dining Table

5. LRM Interior Design’s Custom Dynasty Dining Table: Yes, we saved the best for last—our own custom dining table that was part of the home that won us our Home of the Year from ASID this year. “We used this in my favorite project—a contemporary home in Newport Beach,” says Jan Smith. “This custom table was designed to complement the unusual lines of the chairs. It is made from Macassar ebony wood and is the foundation for this gorgeous room.” When a home is this beautiful, sometimes a piece of furniture needs to be designed to make that room look perfect. That was definitely the case here, and the judges obviously felt the same. This dining room will make any meal eaten there a special occasion!

Christian Horan and his assistant Scott line up the living room shot

Last Thursday the setup started early, with accessories and home goods being carefully unpacked and unwrapped after a week of shopping. Hours of arranging, rearranging and careful placement followed. Finally, one of LRM Interior Design’s Newport Beach bachelor projects was, shall we say, ready for its close up.

It wasn’t just the LRM team that was involved in setting up the shoot, there was help from the outside. For the green touches that bring an almost unconscious beauty to a room, Instant Jungle was called in for their expert eye and green thumb. Lisa McDennon uses no one but Instant Jungle for all of her plant needs, both internal and external. Greg Wallace, owner, was on site to make sure everything looked perfect—and he should know, as he’s been supplying plants for gardens, interiors, and home staging for 30 years.

Another integral part of the team was our favorite photographer Christian Horan, whose eye for detail, light and composition beautifully complements Lisa’s interior design. He and his assistant Scott moved furniture, helped style tabletops, climbed up and down ladders like monkeys to get the perfect shot every time. Catching Christian between his international shoots in Mexico and the Caribbean was tricky, and we were lucky to get him—and his special blend of energy, humor and talent—on the shoot.

It was an exhausting day, but it will be worth it when we see those photos of the house in print….hopefully soon! In the meantime, check out Lisa McDennon’s work and Christian’s photos in the upcoming August issue of Romantic Homes magazine.

Chalkboard paint in fun colors from Hudson Paint

“The ugliest thing you can put in an office or child’s room is a standard, wood- or aluminium-framed blackboard,” says Jan Smith, senior designer at LRM Interior Design. “If there is a need for a chalkboard, Hudson Paint has come up with a fun alternative.”

With 24 colors to choose from, almost any color can be the new blackboard. “Why not paint the entire wall in a colored chalkboard paint, making it fun and functional all at the same time,” asks Jan.

Interior designers are finding innovative uses for chalkboards, moving away from the stodgy schoolroom look. At apartmenttherapy.com you can find some new ideas, from painting your refrigerator, doors or kitchen walls in chalkboard paint.

Other stickers can be found in fun shapes, from barnyard or safari animals to speech bubbles. Make communicating with family members an entertaining enterprise!

Pig chalkboard sticker from Brown Button Trading

The Barefoot Contessa’s Kitchen, winner of the 2009 House Beautiful award

LRM Interior Design’s Kari Seydewitz was more than impressed with House Beautiful’s 2009 Kitchen of the Year, she was inspired.

Designer Robert Stilin designed it for the television cooking superstar, Ina Garten—a.k.a the Barefoot Contessa.

“Kitchens are the new living space,” says Stilin. “They should have room for cooking, dining, and a comfortable seating area.” Kari agrees, and was most impressed by the purple-upholstered chair by the fire.

“Not only is it in my favorite color, but it looks like a wonderfully cozy place to relax,” comments Kari. “I also like how the dark gray Caesar Stone countertops look against the white cabinets.”

Kari was also happy to read about Stilin’s emphasis on form and function. “Professional designers know that a room can’t just look good,” says Kari. “Especially a room as important as the kitchen—it has to work well and be accessible.”

If you are planning on moving when the recession recedes, that’s another reason to make a few home improvements – focus on adding value to your home before it’s time to sell. Besides, why not make your home more pleasant and up-to-date while you’re still living in it? And I’m not the only one who thinks so: Ed Del Grande, the Orange County Register’s home repair guru, recently told a reader the same thing. You can read the article online here, but read on for my top tips!

Make Smart Decisions
Interior designers can help clients make smart decisions about what improvements to make and how to go about them – there’s no point in planning an “upgrade” that will clash with the style or architecture of your home. Here’s a few target areas that are good places to start:

• Replacing windows and doors adds value to a home and can actually help lower utility bills
• A potential buyer’s eye will focus on a few key areas:

- The kitchen: think about updating the cabinetry
- The bathrooms: don’t underestimate the power of fresh paint and a new shower treatment
- Landscaping: make visitors say “Wow!” before they even step inside

• Upgrade finishes like mouldings and light fixtures
• Refresh living areas with new paint schemes
• Replace worn-out flooring for a new look in hallways, kitchens and living areas

A good interior designer can design a new kitchen or bathroom from the ground up, providing material selections and colorways. But why spend the money on a professional? Because of a little-known fact: due to their relationships with a wide range of vendors – including those for flooring, fabrics, fixtures and furniture – they receive prices that are better than sale prices you can find in-store or online. An interior designer worth their salt will pass these savings on to their clients!

Find New Space in Your Home

Where you see a jumbled mess, a talented designer will see the possibility of organized bliss. Pay for a consultation – or better yet, see if you can find a designer offering a free consultation – to find places ripe for transformation. Creating a new area for storage or a specific purpose takes a little planning but a lot of creativity, and if you’ve chosen wisely, your designer can take a small budget and a small space and make a huge change in your home, and your life.

•    Cluttered hallways or coat closets? Clear them out and replace with a custom, built-in desk or shelving system. With a specialized design, you should be able to organize what was once a mess – and make it look beautiful, too.
•    An odd niche? Turn into a dedicated office space or a beautiful hutch to display collections or photographs.
•    Lofty ideas? Open up a child’s bedroom with a loft area, or add high ceilings and light to a living space.
•    Want to relax? Formal living or dining rooms are being swapped for family or entertainment rooms, or combined with the kitchen for an open-plan living space.

Take a Fresh Look at What You’ve Got

Does it need to be a new purchase to feel like an update? Not if you do it right, in my opinion. Would you be willing to pay for a few hours of a designer’s time if they saved you thousands – or tens of thousands – in material costs by working with your existing furnishings? Here are some of my favorite ways how:

•    Get a new ‘do: Re-do and re-use – recycling is all the rage, don’t you know! With the right vision, we can reupholster, repaint and reinvent just about anything in your home. A tired coffee table can become a luxurious ottoman, and a fading sofa can come to life when the cushions get new stuffing, the shape is restyled and fabric is replaced.
•    Change the details: transform the sofa with new accent pillows; reshuffle accessories on table tops and mantlepieces and in display cabinets; reframe existing art; or even add some greenery by way of new houseplants.
•    Finer art: Can’t afford a Renoir? Why bother? Frame and hang something more personal, like existing photographs from a trip or album. Have a collection? Get a professional to mount, mat and frame them – even something as mundane as a button collection can look amazing when showcased in this way.

Shopaholics, Rejoice

If you’re more of a hands-on shopper, you can take advantage of both a designer’s eye and the numerous sales, clearances and close-outs that pop up in recession times. I’ve been hired to go shopping with several clients to advise on purchases, ensuring that they are right for the home and the budget. This is a great way to refresh and update your home on a low budget and in a short amount of time!
For more expert advice and ways to transform your home even when times are tough, contact LRM Interior Design for a free consultation.