bedroom Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Kelley Astore Interiors

Small Change, Big Impact: Recessed Lighting Installation

I recently had the pleasure of working with a family in Great Falls to make some key changes to their home. When it came to their teenage daughter’s room, we weren’t planning on doing too much – often allowing teenagers to control and decorate their own room can be a great form of their self-expression, and great for their mental health. But when I looked around her room, I knew one key change would have a major impact. She needed a lot more light! Keep reading to find out why and how we installed recessed lighting into this teenage girl’s room.

The Need

The light in a room is crucially important – it completely sets the mood and atmosphere. Additionally, there’s a major practical element that comes with lighting. For instance, in her room, there was no lighting installed, just a large window. And while this window may have been able to let in an appropriate amount of light, it was entirely shaded by a crape myrtle. Even if it didn’t, I still think she still would’ve needed ceiling light – for instance in the wintertime when the sun sets before she’s had time to do her homework at her desk. It was clear that she wanted a bit more light as well, with the way she had set her room up. There was a floor lamp and string lighting along the ceiling. While that lighting may have been nice right before bed, it wasn’t nearly enough light, and areas like her desk were left in the shade.

Installing something like ceiling lighting takes trained contractors and is likely beyond the breadth of a DIY home decor video on youtube. That’s where my team and I came in. We decided to go for recessed lighting, rather than say a hanging ceiling light, for a few reasons. The first is that the ceilings of this bedroom were not particularly high. Therefore, anything that was hanging or coming out from the ceiling would make the entire room feel shorter all together. Additionally, because of the size of the room, and especially where her desk was, I wanted to make sure that a good amount of light reached all corners of the room. Just one central light wouldn’t do that to the same effect as something like recessed light. Recessed lights are installed into the ceiling and lay flush against it. You almost always install more than one light, which gives you easy control over where in the room they’re placed. Because of this, I knew that installing recessed lighting was the way to go. My team and I got to work.

Let There Be Light

We decided to install four lights, approximately 25” from each corner of the room. This was going to bring symmetry and ensure the entire room had even lighting. The lights needed to be big enough to provide enough light for the room, but if they were too big, they would easily become an eyesore. 6 inches seemed to be a perfect size.

The actual process of installing the recessed lighting involved making cuts into the ceiling where the lights would be installed – it’s really important that these cuts are perfectly placed and the perfect size for the light, which is why we’d always suggest getting a professional in rather than attempting to do this yourself. Once the holes were ready, my contractor wired the electric through and installed the lights. We used LED bulbs which last much longer and use less energy – better for the environment.

Out of Darkness

The finished result almost seems like a different room. Not only does this new lighting mean she won’t have to spend her mornings and evenings in the dark, but her desk will be well lit for her to use. Additionally, the extra light allows you to better see the wall art and decor, giving you an insight into who this bright young lady is. I’m really happy with the final results. But of course, the most important thing is that my clients were also really happy with the final results.

If you think an area in your home is in need of new lighting, get in contact today! At Kelley Astore Interiors, we have ongoing relationships with a range of licensed contractors and skilled craftsmen who work under our supervision on all our projects. Get in touch to book your free consultation today!

Closet Design – Tips & Ideas

Having a beautifully designed and smartly organized closet is key to stress-free mornings. There is nothing worse than your closet being full of dirty and disorganized laundry when you need to get ready quickly or you have a busy day ahead. You should be able to walk into your closet and know exactly where everything is. That’s why customizing your closet to be organized in a way that makes sense for you is so important! Keep reading for 6 tips and ideas for your closet design and organization.

Decide how you would like to organize your clothes

There are many ways to organize clothing and accessories so it’s important to look at different options and settle on one that makes the most sense for your lifestyle. Some people like to organize their closet based on clothing items. For instance, all the pants are in one section, all the tops are in another sorted by sleeve length, etc. Others may have a variety of clothes for different occasions and may find that separating their clothes based on what they’re used for works the best for them. For instance, you may choose to categorize your closet into work clothes, activewear, casual clothes, and pajamas. Some people prefer to have one section with their most worn items and the rest of the clothes separated into categories. Some like to organize their clothing by color for a beautiful and satisfying look.

There’s a good chance that combining a few of these techniques will work best for you. The next time you get ready, pay attention to what would make that process easier and go from there to find a method that works for you.

Add a chair or seating area

When I remodel and design closets, I love adding a chair or seating area if space allows it. It feels luxurious to be able to get ready slowly and enjoy the process. It also means that if you want help deciding what to wear, someone would be able to sit comfortably in the closet with you to help. I always recommend adding a chair/seating area for people with children or with a busy lifestyle. It gives them their own kid-free space to unwind and relax. Having a space in the house that is yours massively helps reduce stress. For a lot of parents and busy professionals, getting ready is the one time of day that they get to themselves. Might as well go all out and allocate some space for this to happen in your closet!

Use an assortment of storage types

Get creative with what type of storage you use and use a variety to accommodate your specific needs. For instance, if you wear a lot of suits or dresses, prioritize space for hangers. If you own a lot of shoes or bags, be sure to have plenty of shelves. Get different-sized drawers for different items. For instance, we remodeled a small closet for a client who had a massive earring collection. We built her a set of custom drawers, including three smaller drawers lined with velvet to store her earrings. Another type of storage that people often forget about utilizing in the closet are cabinets! Cabinets are a great way to add in shelving without having too many items directly on display. For the same client, we built individual glass compartments in a cabinet style to house her shoes, which can be seen on the right side of the image.

Add Decor

This is the time to get creative! When decorating a house, people often forget about their closets! I like to think of decor in the closet as a gift to yourself. Chances are not many of your guests will be venturing in your closet, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a beautiful space for you to be in. Your closet is a great space to add decor that doesn’t fit with the rest of your house’s design or that has a lot of sentimental value.

One idea is getting artwork that features a quote that motivates you personally. That way, while you’re getting ready in the morning there is a little message there to get you feeling confident for the day!

Consult a Professional

If your closet is disorganized and you’re feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of tackling it yourself, we completely understand. It takes a long time and if you don’t already have proper storage in place, it becomes a massive project. But that’s where a professional designer or organizer can help you out. At Kelley Astore Interiors, we work with our clients to create customized designs to suit their needs. We specialize in bespoke cabinetry and built-in units so will be able to create the perfect space for you, whether you have a lot of shoes, a lot of earrings, or not a lot of space at all!

Our goal is to take all the stress out of the design process for our clients. Whatever the nature and scope of your redesign, we take full responsibility for seeing that the entire project is finished on time and on budget and that all work is of the highest quality. Head to our services page to book a free consultation today!

Designing for a Teenager: Bright and Fun Inspiration

At Kelley Astore Interiors, we are just as eager to create bedrooms and spaces for children and teenagers as we are for adults. We talk a lot about the importance of a design being true to who you are, and arguably that is even more important for teenagers. We all remember what it was like being that age, and having a safe space for teenagers to unwind and truly be themselves is very important for their development.

A little while ago we had a client with a daughter wanting to redo her room with some gorgeous colors! We took these colors and created a completely custom room and bathroom for her. This young lady chose bright pink, apple green, and turquoise – I absolutely loved working with this bright gorgeous palette and had a lot of fun with this design. Keep reading to learn about each element and how we brought the room together.

Custom Window Seat & Extra Storage

When I saw the space, my eye was drawn to the large window sill and I immediately saw the potential for a lovely window seat for her to unwind, do her homework, and hang out with her friends. We got started on building this for her. We decided to install drawers beneath the window seat as well as bookshelves on either side for extra storage…we all know teenagers have a lot of stuff!

After the drawers were installed, we painted the window seat and surrounding bookshelves white. I then got to work on incorporating her beautiful bright colors of choice. We went for the apple green seat cushion and colorful throw curtains. We installed roman shades of matching colors. The apple green is the main color on the bottom and the bright pink is the main color on the top, which balances itself out and creates a cohesive look. This particular teenager did a lot of ballet and dance, so we made sure that her beautiful white tutu stayed on display – a practical and beautiful way to store it.

All the fabric is by Osborne and Little.

Bedding

To ensure that the color palette remained consistent, we opted for a turquoise headboard as the main color of the bed. Now the bright pink, apple green, and turquoise each have their moment of shine and no color overtakes the other. We used the same patterned fabric for her pillows as we used in the roman shades, once again tying the whole design together into one.

Custom Memo Board

Every young person needs a memo board for notes, reminders, pictures, memories, and inspiration! Ensuring that your teenager has a desk and a designated place of work will help them develop a healthy relationship with work and establish a work-life balance. We upholstered this board with Pindler turquoise-colored cotton, white grosgrain ribbon, and silver nail heads from Houles. We sourced the desk from CB2. Looking at how much she covered this memo board from top to bottom, we couldn’t recommend getting one for your teenager more!

The Design is in the Detail.

Every designer knows that the small details are what will truly tie a room together. Although she had chosen bright pink, apple green, and turquoise as her palette – if everything in her room were one of those three colors, it would look like a Crayola explosion…and not in a good way. It needed balancing to allow those colors to shine, and we chose neutrals and white. We went for a darker wood on the ground to help the colors pop. We painted the walls a nice neutral to ensure they didn’t look too hospital-like. We then took inspiration from her beautiful white tutu and began incorporating more white into the design. As previously stated, we painted the bookshelves and window seat white. We knew that we wanted to allow the window seat, memo board, and bed to shine, so we went with white, but played with texture. The rug on her ground, her desk chair, and one of the throw pillows on her bed are all a furry white texture. This gives consistency without detracting from the beautiful bright colors.

Interested in renovating? Get in touch today!

We had so much fun with this design and are eager to continue working with clients to help them create the home of their dreams. Whatever the nature and scope of your redesign, we take full responsibility for seeing that the entire project is finished on time and on budget and that all work is of the highest quality. We take the worry out of the process for our clients. Visit our services page to get started today!

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