Fireplace Facelifts

A major selling point for homes has always been fireplaces. People love them for the cozy atmosphere they add to a chilly winter night but they may not always love the way they look. As the largest architectural feature in your living/family room the dated brick or old fashioned mantle might be hindering you from achieving your design aesthetic. Home owners are usually wary of proclaimed "weekend projects" or "easy fixes" due to the fact that they normally drag on longer than expected and can become an even bigger headache than originally so. Well, have no fear Lunada will show you the way to give your fireplace an quick and easy face-lift that will drastically improve it's look and your entire room's look.

First of all brick is easily painted. Old red brick can be painted any color for a clean and fresh look in about an hour. Today, consumers can easily benefit from pre-fab items such as mantles. You can pick up a new mantle at Home Depot and install it yourself in a weekend for a dramatic new look. Or you can always cover up that old brick with a new stone. You can find a great stone slab at your local stone yard where they can then measure, fabricate (a.k.a. cut and fit) and install it for you. Stone is so beautiful and can be so inspiring. You may think that sounds so lame but I am serious -- throw out your preconceived notions of stone: is not made equal. Don't be scared to ask for help from the pros, they are the pros for a reason. Bring pictures of your room and maybe even some inspiration from the pages of a design magazine. Don't let that ugly fireplace stand in the way of having your dream living room!

Here are some examples of quick fixes to some Lunada fireplaces.

Before & After:


Before & After


These are more contemporary solutions, but add a wood mantle and you have a completely different look. And don't forget to take some notes from our Color Series of blogs, mantles don't always have to be white!

Be sure to check out more Lunada projects on our website: www.lunadaconsulting.com

Lunada's Favorites

Ikea. Ikea, Ikea, Ikea. You have reached the masses with your flat packed, allen wrench required "Swedish" furniture and basically the only reason why college students don't live in total squalor anymore. Over the past few years you have managed to refine your designs and improve your quality thus allowing real adults to not feel so guilty when they purchase your products. And now you've really done it...........you are now offering solar lighting. Ta da!! SOLIG: the new line of solar lighting offered by Ikea includes outdoor lighting with a few table lamps that would probably work if placed next to a sunny windows. Although they are only offered in 4 colors: red, blue, white and black, and the designs are nothing special, they are affordable (gasp!). So, thanks Ikea, I appreciate what you are doing and keep offering those delicious $1 ice cream cones that always seem to get me on the way out.

Color Series: Trends

As with all things that deal with artistic expression, interior design seems to run parallel with other disciplines when it comes to trends. One of the most obvious and influential is fashion design. Like fashion, interior design deals with fabrics, colors, textures, and patterns so it seems natural that the two would go hand in hand.

Every decade can be identified by it's trend and when something can't be defined originally, it becomes defined as "a take on something", a revival, __nouveau, or -ish. Well, COLOR has come back in a big way and I believe that it has been influenced by revival of design cues in our wardrobe. Did you really ever think that hammer pants or dayglow Raybans would come back in style? Neither did I, but here I stand corrected. People are going all out with bold patterns and graphics, colors, textures, you name it and it has now spread to interiors. In the late 90s blue was the new black, then it was purple, then green, and here we actually find ourselves at my favorite color.....yellow. Yellow is everywhere if you open your eyes. Fashion is currently favoring mustard, interiors: canary. I for one couldn't be more thrilled, but to each their own.

So the point of this blog is to say, when looking for inspiration for your home or remodel don't be afraid to let yourself be influenced by other disciplines. Design your living room around your favorite sculpture or piece of art. Something that Lunada did very recently was abstract an L.A. King's jersey onto the walls of a client's bedroom who is a huge fan.





So get out there and splash some color on. It will do you some good. The right color can add sophistication or a touch of whimsy to any space. To get you started here are some colorful examples where you can start thanks to sherwinwilliams.com

Color Series: Color 101

Color Theory 101, I had to take it my first year of design school. Granted it was a fun and easy class filled with craft projects that resembled the one's you made for mom and dad when you were 4. But hidden underneath the craft projects was a philosophy/psychology class that begged you to ask "How RED is this red?".
Before I get ahead of myself, let's start by talking about the color wheel.

Comprised of 12 colors that can be broken down in a number of ways, but we will just stick to the 3 most common.


Primary Colors: yellow, red and blue. You remember them, right?



Secondary Colors: orange, purple and green; colors created by mixing a PRIMARY with it's PRIMARY neighbor. (yellow+red=orange, red+blue=purple, blue+yellow=green)


Tertiary Colors: colors created by mixing the PRIMARY and SECONDARY. (yellow+orange=yellow-orange, red+orange+=red-orange. The marriages go on and on to create red-violet, blue-violet, blue-green, yellow-green.)

The End.......j/k


Now that we have refreshed ourselves on the basic color wheel, let's see what we can come up with when we get a little creative.


Monochromatic: use of 1 color that varies from light to dark or in other words saturation.
(Brown/Taupe)

Here is an example of how color wheels represent saturation.



Complimentary: use of 2 colors on opposite ends of the color wheel.
(Red & Green/Pink & Lime)

Triadic: use of 3 colors that create a triangle on the color wheel.
(Red, yellow, blue)



Analogous: use of 3 or more colors next to each other on the color wheel.
(Green tones)
(I know the graphic only shows 2 colors but 3 always looks better).



Class dismissed!

Color Series: Where To Start.

Lunada has had some requests to have a blog about color schemes, paint trends, and strategies for selecting the right colors. Well Lunada thought this was a great idea and we would love to share with you some of our ideas in our Color Series.


First of all, COLOR IS ESSENTIAL to any space. Psychologically, color can create and affect your mood; feelings of serenity, energy, or comfort can be achieved through color. For example, have you ever noticed how many fast food chains use the colors yellow or red in their logo or decor? That is because psychologically red and yellow allow us to feel hungry! Have you ever wondered why people associate white walls/surfaces with hospitals? Most assume that if something is white, it is clean and sterile (that is also why black toilets are rare, besides looking so weird!).

OK so let's get down to it. Have you found yourself standing in Home Depot staring at all the paint swatches and feeling overwhelmed? You might think to yourself, "what colors do I like? Will they go with my furniture? How many colors do I choose for just one room? How much should I buy? What is primer?" Let me take you through it. Let's start with the concept of 3 colors per room: wall, trim & ceiling.

WALL COLOR
Step 1 Think about how you want to feel in your space i.e. energized, relaxed, etc.
---Cooler colors like blues and greens are soothing colors. Warm colors like reds and yellows can be energizing. Neutral/Earth tones can be inviting and warm.

Step 2 Consider the size & time you spend in that particular room. Is it a small bathroom or large living room? How do you feel about your ceilings, do you think they are low or high? Do you spend most of your day there, or only when entertaining?
---Lighter colors of the walls and ceiling help keep the room open and feel larger.
---Highly saturated or bright colors might become bothersome in rooms where you spend a lot of time.

Step 3 Consider what types of hard surfaces you have in the room, pillows and lampshades are easy to replace, your wood furniture and stone floors are another story. ---Be sure to bring home swatches and hold them up to your floors and furniture to see how they look.

Step 4 Take into account the type of lighting you will have hitting those colors! You will probably see a light box with 3 types of lights in them near the paint section. These are useless, so take your swatches home and see how the colors change depending on the light. Incandescent bulbs adds yellow making colors look warmer, fluorescent adds blue making colors cooler, and natural light bleaches colors slightly.

TRIM
-This can include base molding, crown molding, door trim, chair rails, etc.
-Start in the same family of colors as your wall color starting and select one of the lighter or darker versions.
-OR depending on the style of your room, go to the whites and choose a white that matches in tone with your wall color. (Tones: warm, cool or neutral)

CEILING
-Always the lightest color.
-An easy option for selecting a ceiling color is to use your trim color if it is light enough.

Websites like benjaminmoore.com, sherwinwilliams.com and others usually have color preview programs that visualize the colors on walls and ceilings to help you make your choices. Search the web and flip through magazines to get ideas. And just remember, you can always paint over paint.

Get some color ideas from past Lunada projects: www.lunadaconsulting.com

Studded Headboards

Headboards have always been an essential element in any bedroom, they are a great way to tie together pieces of furniture, patterns and colors in a variety of styles. Upholstered headboards aren't for formal bedrooms anymore; today's consumers are looking to these furniture pieces to contrast or enhance any bedroom's decor. One trend that I have really been noticing is the use of nail heads or studs to accent the headboard's shape or add contrast and texture. Nail heads can add rigidity to baroque shapes and subtle embellishment to the contemporary and clean. Here are some examples of affordable headboards that are easily found on websites such as Resoration Hardware and Pottery Barn. But if you aren't looking for something mass produced this style can easily be achieved at home after a quick trip to the fabric or hardware store [but please keep your Bedazzlers up in the attic].







Lunada custom designed this headboard for one of our clients upholstered in linen that resembled burlap with antiqued brass nail heads.

Be sure to check out our website: lunadaconsulting.com

Lunada's Favorites

This week, Lunada's Favorite Pick is the Phila Chair by Kaleo Kala, a furniture designer who was born in Hawaii, educated in Tasmania, established in New York and now based in D.C. The chair was inspired by the designer's stay in the historically rich and eclectic city of Philadelphia. The design was meant to reflect the city through the mix of the old and new, warehouses and townhouses, business districts and open spaces.Every custom piece created by Kala Studios is sustainable and thus limited in production. The company utilizes reclaimed woods recognized by the Forestry Stewardship Council [FSC] , bamboo plywood and sustainable glues and finishes.

The shots of the chair alone reflect the juxtaposition of it's concept by using graffiti art and warehouse spaces as backdrops. When something is so beautiful, it is hard to write when all you want to do is admire.

Green Textiles

[Before I knew what was good for me.....] When I thought about sustainable/green textiles the first thing that would pop into my head was stiff and not comfortable. Now that technology and green development has come leaps and bounds in the area of textiles and now you can easily find attractive, soft and comforting organic and green textiles. Check out these websites and others to see for yourself:
Amenity Home
Inhabit
Kush Tush

Here are just some examples of the products offered by those 3 websites


The real test is when you go out and try these products yourself. You may be surprised!

Leather Wrapped Hardware

Turnstyle Designs is a hardware company based out of the UK that offers a great line of leather wrapped cabinet pulls, door/window hardware and accessories. The clean lines of the contemporary hardware pieces are wrapped in genuine leather in a variety of colors with stitching, I find the juxtaposition of the two materials interesting and it lends itself to be used in a variety of design styles: ranch, contemporary, transitional, etc. These products are of very high quality and come at a generally higher price than traditional hardware and must be ordered through a Rep., which is slightly more complicated considering it is a smaller company based overseas. A more cost effective alternative with a similar style is offered by Atlas Homewares. The Atlas line is comparable to the Turnstyle in look but cost less and can be ordered directly from their website.

Turnstyle Hardware:


Atlas Homewares:


Turnstyle Hardware used in Lunada's Projects:


Be sure to check out Lunada's website: www.lunadaconsulting.com

New Developments

When I think of New Year's destinations two places pop into my mind: Times Square in New York and the Las Vegas Strip. I spent this past New Years holiday in Las Vegas for the first time and was blow away by the festivities and energy. A huge part of that energy was emitted by the the strips newest addition, the City Center. The City Center is located between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo Hotel/Casino and is comprised of 7 structures. I am not sure what to call this new center because within it is 4 hotels: Mandarin Oriental, Vdara, The Harmon and Aria, 2 residential towers called Voor, and high end shopping center Crystals. All of these elements are connected to one another through beautifully landscaped common spaces and plazas.

The new towers not only stand out due to their young age (opened 12/16/09) but the fact that they do not follow the traditional Las Vegas style of architecture. While all of the hotels and casinos that dot the strip have theme that beats you over the head, The City Center, like the Wynn, look like they could belong in any major metropolitan city. The first thing that came to my mind when viewing the new development was how much Crystals seemed to channel Gehry's Disney Music Hall in L.A. and Guggenheim in Bilbao. The skyscrapers tower above the strip with their clean glass facades of blue tones that make you realize that Las Vegas really HAS changed. People have been saying that for years now, Las Vegas has changed. The old Las Vegas, when I think of it, is lines of tour buses filled with geriatrics in their sequined hats sitting at slot machines collecting their nickels and then waiting in lines for disgusting buffets and cheesy shows. They have all been apparently shuttled over to watch the Fremont Experience, because what I saw during this past trip was the exact opposite. Young people, young people with money, and not just money to spend but lots of money to gamble with. Las Vegas must not have gotten the memo that we are in a recession, because all I saw during my trip were advertisements for spa treatments, the talk of more development to come, more club openings and the ever so lovely bottle service tables or private booths filled to capacity.

Las Vegas truly has changed and when I looked down the strip I wondered how long the older hotels had left. With new developments like The City Center, I am excited to see what is to become. I think that over the recent years, Las Vegas architects have discovered that people who visit the city regularly don't want to cheese but they want luxury and that is what the new Las Vegas is about, the luxury.
www.citycenter.com