Ambiance Interiors Palo Alto Interior Design

Woodside Showcase – the grand unveiling

Heidi — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:44 +0000

The showhouse opened May 4th to great reviews. So far, the Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Palo Alto Daily, and Palo Alto Weekly have toured and expressed media interest in the house. The rooms throughout the home are beautifully furnished and decorated, and the house will not disappoint as it is full of original and daring ideas.

Our room turned out beautifully, and truly transformed an eyesore of a space into a room that is not only edgy, stylish and fashion forward, but also welcoming, captivating, and dare I say, sexy?

In accomplishing this feat, we stayed true to our vision for the room. The sketch shows our original proposal to Peninsula Volunteers when we submitted our application in February. Though a few minor modifications were made (i.e. Beatles chairs instead of chaise lounge, painting vs. steel wrapping the beams), we held true to the original goal. The clarity in our objective at the outset kept us focused and all 6 designers on the same page throughout the entire design process. Did we have a few surprises? Of course! All design projects do, but sticking to our guns is what got us through to the finished product!

Enjoy!

Woodside Decorator Showcase – Week Seven

Heidi — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:38:30 +0000

The countdown is on and we’re feeling the pressure! April 22nd is our deadline for the Showhouse, but we’re now looking at realistically completing the room on the 24th as the gentleman who is glazing our mirrors can’t produce the mirrors any sooner than next Tuesday….aaaagh!

In the meantime, the ladies and I have been busy replacing burnt out lightbulbs, receiving and fine-tuning the furniture selections, hanging artwork, accessorizing and putting together displays of succulents and airplants (doesn’t every man-cave need a few cacti?). Celeste and Tina are busy working on their masterpiece canvas that will be showcased in the room. At 65″ x 84″, it is no small feat. We’re still waiting for our tv to get installed. Everyone assures me it’ll happen this week!

Our first “official” event begins on April 29th with a Vendor/Supplier Appreciation Reception, followed by a Opening Night Preview Party on May 2nd and, finally, a Press Reception on the 3rd…phew!

Heidi & Laura with Drea at West Elm. Who knew succulents could be so pretty?

Our room is nearing completion, however, major elements are still missing!

Woodside Decorator Showcase – Week Six

Heidi — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:00:50 +0000

It is such a relief to have most of the structural work done and looking great, if we do say so ourselves. This week we have been entirely focused on the delivery of our furniture. As the pieces roll in, we are able to assess and adjust our design as we see fit, in order to ensure that the space is cohesive, comfortable, and of course, chic. There was quite an influx of deliveries this week: the chairs, occasional tables, and sculptures from Baker Furniture; the cocktail table from Gaul Searson; the fabulous upholstered zebra chair (pictured below) from Henredon Showroom; the gorgeous Tufenkian Rug (also pictured below) from The Oriental Carpet; and the chandelier from Policelli Lighting. All these companies generously loaned us the pieces we are using, which we are so grateful for because obviously we wouldn’t be able to create a room without the beautiful furniture. We are really in our final stages now, which is incredibly exciting. However, we are anxiously awaiting approval for the sofa we have selected. We are currently in discussion with the company for they have yet to sign off on our borrowing the piece. Keeping our fingers crossed! Aside from the sofa dilemma, all that’s left are the final details: accessorizing, lighting and mirror instillations, and the occasional touch up here and there. Stay tuned for the big reveal—we hope you are as psyched as we are!

Rug delivery from The Oriental Carpet... service with a smile.

How can we possibly go wrong when working with such fabulous furniture, like this Zebra chair?

This is just a little teaser…we don't want to give to much away. Check back with us for the great unveiling!!

Woodside Decorator Showcase – Week Five

Heidi — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:00:35 +0000

This week is flying by as the living room continues to evolve before us. This week we tackled two essentials: wallpaper and hardwood floors. The wallpaper gave us a bit of a panic attack, as it appeared much browner and darker in color than we had anticipated. However, we cannot afford to let minor bumps in the road frazzle us, so we forged ahead and the wallpaper was installed. To everyone’s delight, it looks fantastic and our anxiety was, thankfully, quelled. Also to our enjoyment, the hardwood floors are beginning to be installed. This means the eyesore, scrapped floor is slowly beginning its metamorphosis into a sleek, black hardwood beauty. With the wallpaper and floor in place, the foundation for the room is almost complete. This means that we are days away from the truly fun part: furnishing. The floor is scheduled to be complete by the end of this week and then we get to start decorating the place. Having the ground-works laid and looking fabulous makes us all the more confident in our design choices and excited about what’s to come.

Kevin Madsen (Madsen's Paperhanging) as he prepares the paper for installation.

One wall completed, and the panic begins to subside…phew!

The Ambiance ladies with Kevin with the finished walls

DuChateau's Terra Collection of engineered hardwood floors. We've selected Tanzania (European Oak) from this collection for its rich finish and "character" grade wood. It's just the look we're going after!

Woodside Decorator Showcase – Week Four

Heidi — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 19:00:03 +0000

As with most projects, sometimes things have to look worse before they can look better. Progress slowed a bit at our showcase room this week, but our hardwood floor installer, Alfredo Canche, did pull-up and dispose of the existing carpeting, and demo’d the fireplace brick hearth. The property owner was initially reluctant about getting rid of the hearth, but eliminating this element is critical to our design as we will ultimately be concealing the original fireplace from view.

Behind the scenes, Judy has been busy designing our marketing materials and ordering accessories, and we’ve started receiving furniture. So far, so good…no major setbacks.

Next up are hardwood floor and wallcovering installations. Both are scheduled to begin on the 27th. We’re hoping Kevin, of Madsen’s Paperhanging, and Alfredo will manage to work around each other and doh-si-doh around one another. Once their work is completed, we can begin to furnish our swanky man-cave with lighting and furniture! I can’t wait!!

Woodside Decorator Showcase – Week three

Heidi — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:23 +0000

We’ve been busy searching all of our resources for furniture and art selections for our room. We won’t give it away yet, but suffice it to say, it will be edgy and unexpected. We want our family room, above everything else, to be FUN and a room the family would happily relax and re-group in. Some of the vendors who will be supporting us are Gaul Searson Limited, Hinc of San Francisco, Baker Furniture, Hickory Chair, Andrew Martin Furniture, Policelli Lighting, and San Ramon Lighting.

Meanwhile, in the room itself…

This week Armando Rodriguez of Casablanca Construction was busy installing a second set of ceiling beams. This little trick of the eye will give the existing beams a little more rhyme to their reason! This missing detail really helps define the ceiling and give it visual impact.

Here’s the before:

No sooner did Armando complete the beams, than Momir Ilic of Bluestar Painting, started his end of this project. Momir is painting our ceiling beams Silver etallic by Modern Masters and will go over them with a high gloss varnish. The ceiling trays and wall paneling grooves are being painted Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore in high gloss. Momir has painstakingly sanded the old ceiling beams to match the smoother surface of the new beams we’ve just installed. Wow…the room has already changed from ho-hum to something special, and we’ve another coat of paint to go!

And so the transformation begins! Stay tuned…

We’ve Been Selected! 2013 Woodside Decorator Showcase

Heidi — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 16:00:04 +0000

We are thrilled to announce that we have recently been selected to be a designer in the Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. Decorator Show House in Woodside! Not only is this an opportunity to let our imagination run wild in designing the family room of a breathtaking Woodside House, but our designs will also be featured in Gentry Magazine! Designers from around the Bay Area have been selected to decorate a single room of the house, and we could not be more excited to participate in this event.

Our room assignment for the house is the Family Room. Our room, while very spaceous with over 600 sq.ft. of space, posed many design challenges as it has poor natural lighting, awkward placement of windows, a large, oversized (and dated) fireplace, heavy wood paneling on the walls, and lower than standard ceiling height.

Our vision for the family room is to create a room for entertainment for a young, professional family likely to reside in a home of this stature. The space will be masculine, modern and cosmopolitan in appeal, while simultaneously comfortable enough to be used as a family retreat. Most of all, this room is designed to be fun!

Our design will utilize the lower than standard ceilings and limited window openings to create a sense of intimacy. Likewise, the size of the room will be broken up to accommodate a large central seating area, arcade games, a large screen television, and a secondary seating area. In order to achieve our desired atmosphere, we will be using a color scheme of gray, in a range of shades, black, and accent color pops, as well as vinyl wall-coverings to enhance the textured appearance of the room. We are aiming for an edgy, urban, sophisticated, and, most importantly, fun and homey vibe for this space. We definitely have our work cut our for is in the next few months as May 4th, the opening date for the house, rolls around; however, we are enthusiastic about our concept and about this amazing opportunity!

Stay tuned as we will be posting our weekly development. Our deadline is April 22nd…aaaagh!

We’ll leave you with some before pictures…

Design San Francisco 2013 – Recap

Heidi — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:23:13 +0000

This is one of the most exciting periods in interior design when we professionals get to see, hear and touch all that is new and upcoming in the marketplace! This year’s theme was a tribute to the counterbalance of our fast, technological and 24/7 society… Artisanal products, made by hand and from the heart.

handcrafted woven shades by Hartmann & Forbes

At the risk of sounding cliché, the return of handcrafted products lends a sense of authenticity to any design. Whether it be textiles, rugs, shades, glass, pottery or what have you, there is no arguing that there is a natural beauty in the products that have been made by hand. I will argue that it is the human imperfections that add character and soul into a product…something impossible to obtain through machination. These products tell a story about their origins, the people who made them, and give a home depth.

Using simple, foot-powered wooden wheels, the wool is spun into yarn. This process creates many of the beautiful imperfections found in Tufenkian carpets.

Handcrafted wallcoverings by Weitzner Limited
There is simply no denying the beauty, character and luxury of these handmade textiles.

Ash and frosted glass pendant by Jonathon Adler

Best of all, we at Ambiance were able to see and hear the people who inspire us on a daily basis. Today we enjoyed seeing Barbara Barry and hearing about what inspires her to create her designs.

From left: Gina Coviello, Barbara Barry, Heidi Menard, Celeste Randolph and Laura Rogers

from left: Gina Coviello, Judy Steward, Heidi Menard, Jonathan Adler, Celeste Randolph, Laura Rogers

Welcome Laura and Gina!

Heidi — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:41:59 +0000

We are so excited to announce the addition of two new staff members at Ambiance Interiors! Laura Rogers joined Ambiance in December, 2012, as a member of its decorating staff. Laura has worked on several of her own properties, both construction and design, and has worked with family and friends on projects for years. Laura’s ability to balance great design with practical considerations make her a true asset to the design team. She is the mother of two children, and is very active in the Los Altos community.

Gina Coviello joined Ambiance Interiors September 2012. Gina will be working as part of our support team and will be assisting in projects as well as managing our administrative needs. Gina is the mother of three young children and has extensive experience in construction.

We welcome both Laura & Gina to our Ambiance Team!

Construction Costs in the Bay Area

Heidi — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 02:16:39 +0000

I was recently interviewed and asked why it was so much more expensive to remodel a kitchen in the Bay Area than elsewhere in the United States. After first reacting to the statement with anger, then denial, I finally came to acceptance. But my acceptance of such a broad statement is not without qualification. I do think it’s expensive to embark on construction projects, not only here, but everywhere. Perhaps in this region of California, it’s particularly high because of the following reasons:

1. Real Estate Prices
“Of the 19 most expensive markets in the U.S., 11 were in California, and four of the top five were in the San Francisco Bay Area. Los Altos took the top spot with an average listing price of $1.706 million.”
~ BusinessInsider.com

Ironically, high property values don’t always correlate to high quality of construction, current floor plans, or fashion forward designs. In fact, most often, the opposite is true. I can’t begin to count how many $2M California ranch homes I’ve been in (circa late-1950s)! As such, I believe a critical driver of cost when approaching a remodeling project, like a kitchen, is to make an appropriate investment to correct some of these issues to reflect the value of the home.

Shown below is a current listing for a typical $2M home in Los Altos (Trulia.com):

2. Appliances
Appliances can easily cost $20-50,000. The Maytag repairman may not be busy these days as the commercials would suggest, but it may be because no one in this area is purchasing a Maytag!

3. Labor
Most homeowners think about improvements in terms of cost per square foot. Is it still possible to remodel for $200-250/square foot? Yes, but you may discover the finishes you want are not included (like window casings, crown mouldings, non-standard baseboards) and recessed cans will be your only option for light fixtures! I find that $300-350/square foot is a more likely labor range, and even this can be easily exceeded depending on finishes and the level of detail being required.

Image via Kohler

4. Homeowner’s tastes
Homeowners generally want a home that reflects not only their personal tastes and lifestyles, but also the home’s value. Shouldn’t a $2 Million home have a built-in refrigerator, or a minimum of 5 burners and double ovens?

I guess the bottom line is, if we’re going to pay to live in one of the most expensive areas of the U.S., shouldn’t we also enjoy some of the fruits of our labor? I would argue that this is the primary reason why construction costs are so high in the Bay Area, and rightfully so.