Twin beds don’t necessarily belong in your kids rooms. They can increase the utility of your guest room and be stylish as well.

Twin beds can actually take up less space than a single queen bed and two night tables. Twin beds can share a single, well appointed night table and be situated very close to the walls of the room.

Two beds also allow you to double the design impact – as with lamps, that can be a real plus.

Even twin beds in your child’s room are a great way to multiply your style.

From House of Turquoise

A single, gorgeous lamp can be a wonderful focal point in any space. Double up, pick two, use a pair? Why not?!

From Houzz

A pair of lamps can add an element of symmetry and repetition to your design scheme.

From New England Home

If a single lamp lacks the scale that your furniture piece needs, if you need more light than one lamp will provide or if the lamp has a design or line that bears repeating – use a pair.

From Lucy and Company

It’s true. Two can be better than one.

From Sadie and Stella

]]> http://baerhomedesign.com/a-fabulous-pair-of-lamps/feed/ 0 http://baerhomedesign.com/soft-luxurious-long-pile-shag-rugs/ http://baerhomedesign.com/soft-luxurious-long-pile-shag-rugs/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 19:39:19 +0000 Lisa http://baerhomedesign.com/?p=4272 My client’s adorable dogs Sampson and Riley, above in the article caption, really weren’t the inspiration for the master bedroom rug selection. They did approve though! We are in the midst of creating a bedroom retreat by keeping the elements in the room fairly simple but layering fabrics and texture in the space. We selected the wonderful, long pile Ashton wool rug below from Surya.

With the exception of bedding, the rug is often the only other opportunity to add softness in a room that is more often than not filled with wood.

Source: Houzz

Source: Decor Pad

These rugs are just for bedrooms. How about this kind of softness in a nursery?

Even living areas can benefit from a little bit of long pile too.

Source: Cococozy

I often will return to a board to browse what I’ve pinned and it isn’t hard to see trends in what I love. My “Kitchens” board is filled with crisp, clean (lots of white!) and a load of open shelving.

The pins are rarely super contemporary and I’m too neat and orderly to go full on rustic, but that combo of a little bit rustic a little bit sophisticated looks like the ticket for my future kitchen. Open shelving is a big, big theme – especially when it’s filled with white dishes, a pop of color and a few well chose rustic accessories.

My questions (mine and those I would pose for clients too)? Would I be able to keep open shelves tidy (me, yes!)? Would my things look as beautiful as my inspiration photos (I hope so)? Would it be a housekeeping issue with dust accumulating on the things I don’t use routinely (probably)? Is the trade off between the style and the maintenance clear (for me, YES!)?

Looks like a white kitchen with open shelves is in my future….

]]> http://baerhomedesign.com/open-shelving-in-the-kitchen/feed/ 0 http://baerhomedesign.com/my-lighting/ http://baerhomedesign.com/my-lighting/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 18:25:09 +0000 Lisa http://baerhomedesign.com/?p=4251 I’ve posted lately about lighting so often that several of you have asked about my own lighting selections. Here they are:

I’ve never been a blingy girl and my formal dining room isn’t formal, but I loved the hit of crystal with the black iron in that room (which isn’t orange but rather a cinnamon red!). I’m also a lover of texture – so the knotted fixture from Uttermost gave my breakfast area just the right amount of that transitional-rustic sensibility that I love.

]]> http://baerhomedesign.com/my-lighting/feed/ 0 http://baerhomedesign.com/what-size-chandelier-should-i-use/ http://baerhomedesign.com/what-size-chandelier-should-i-use/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:31:41 +0000 Lisa http://baerhomedesign.com/?p=4231 Lighting can be one of the highest impact design choices that you make. I just blogged about clients who updated their builder basic fixtures – they went from blah to wow!

A dining table chandelier…typically should be about 1/2 the width of the table. So if your table is 48 inches wide, your fixture should be about 24inches wide. As with all rules of thumb, the rule is made to be broken! Proportion matters and going oversize can make sense if the chandelier will be the focal point of the room. You may choose multiple fixtures for a longer table as well. The bottom of the chandelier should be 30 to 34 inches above the dining room table.

A hanging room fixture…proportion again is key. Find the overall dimension of the room – say 12′ x 12′, add those together and convert to inches, in this example that’s 12 +12 = 24″, and you have the rule of thumb for the width of the chandelier for the room.

Entry Fixture

I’ve recently been working with a young couple who recently purchased a great new construction home. The home suffered from bland, boring fixtures – not at all in keeping with their fun, slightly modern, slightly rustic, somewhat classic style. We prioritized the main fixtures on the first level – entry, formal dining and breakfast area lighting – as the ones to switch out during the design process.

Formal Dining Fixture

We linked the lighting fixtures through the metal finish – bronze and through the linen accent fabric.

Breakfast Area Fixture

For a relatively small investment, we’ve reaped big style! (All fixtures from Shades of Light)

Check out my Quick Start plan for creating an outdoor space here.

Keep it simple – my favorite design mantra – inside or out. I’ve given that advice before! A girl can dream though, and on occasion I do dream about a fabulous outdoor fireplace….the image above from Midwest Living.

Whether you select something with color or something clear, glass vases are an affordable and beautiful way to inject sparkle. The vases below are from Pottery Barn.

I’ve picked up glass vases here and there and use them on almost every surface in my home – see the pics below for a little more inspiration.