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HOMEHearst Connecticut Media Group

May 2019

theHomeMonthly.com

A room with a viewby Caitlin M. Bagley

Before the advent of social media and smart-phones, a porch served as a place for social-ization. People would stroll through the neighborhood after dinner and visit with neighbors taking in the evening from their front porch, trading stories about their days

while enjoying a mild summer’s eve or a crisp fall night.While nightly porch talk may be a thing of the past,

a porch still exhibits a certain neighborliness — a wel-

coming facade that gives passersby a glimpse into the home and the lives of its inhabitants. It’s a link between two domains — public and private — and softens the passage from interior comforts to the world outside.

“A porch is friendly,” says architect Leslie Saul. “It reaches out to nature. It’s a transition space between your home and the wild outdoors.”

And while a porch doesn’t have to be fancy to serve its purpose, there are plenty of ways to make it a true extension of your home while allowing the natural world to blend in.

A porch must hold up to rain, sleet, snow, and ice — especially in New England — so using moisture-resis-tant materials is a must.

Saul, who as founder and president of architecture and design firm Leslie Saul & Associates in Cambridge, Mass., is familiar with the region’s unforgiving weather patterns, and recommends using flooring materials like slate and ipe, a durable Brazilian wood similar in appearance to mahogany.

See Room on Page 3

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• 2 • • HOME • Hearst Connecticut Media Group • • May 9, 2019 •

The roll of a lifetimeIn 1989, two years after I graduated from

college, I got a job as an editor for an inte-rior design trade magazine. The focus of the publication was wallpaper, or “wallcov-erings,” as it was referred to in those days. Homeowners at the time installed wallpa-per, and very often, a coordinating border, on almost every wall, even, on occasion, on the ceilings of their homes. It was dizzying, in retrospect, with a sea of floral, stripe, trellis, or ribbon patterns washing over from one wall to the next, and the next, and the next. It was all very fussy, and almost enough to make you a little seasick.

The decorating buzzword of the day was “coordinating,” as in: “Every decorative item in the room — from the wallpaper, border, and comforter to the billowy fabric window shade and valance, wastepaper basket, and tissue box — must match.” Wallcoverings manufacturers made wallpapers that could be ordered with all these coordinating items, and more.

Eventually, the wallpaper market became oversaturated, and people stopped buying it. Interior designers weren’t specifying it as often, and homeowners thought it was less expensive and easier to paint rather than install paint’s paper counterpart.

Over the last few years, however, wall-paper has had a comeback, with interi-or designers and homeowners using it, often on one wall, to make a statement. Wallpaper has become more sophisticated, with patterns and colors that incorporate texture into, and don’t overwhelm, a space. Large-scale florals, light and airy geomet-rics and metallics comprise some of today’s wallpaper options. They look particularly beautiful in a powder room, or accenting a dining room wall, and often become the focal point — a work of art, so to speak — of a room or space.

Consequently, then, the next time you’re redecorating, consider using wallpaper. It’s a wonderful way to make an interior design fashion statement — as long as it doesn’t match the tissue box!

If the right piece of statement jewelry can make an outfit, think what adding statement design pieces can do to your kitchen. From flooring to lighting and walls to cabinetry — even your appli-ances, — there are more ways than ever today for homeowners to personalize their kitchens and give them the “wow” factor.

The Tile Shop, with several Connecticut locations, including Norwalk and Brookfield, uses tile to create statement areas in the kitchen. These aren’t your grand-mother’s backsplashes, either. “Waterjet mosaics have become a way to incorporate pattern into backsplashes that plays off dif-ferent styles, whether curvy and feminine or more geometric,” says Brandy Janke, product designer. “You can use them on a back-splash, over a sink area or a range or stovetop where you have that natural gap in cabinetry space. Art glass tiles (large-format tempered glass pieces) are another great way to add a statement. They are sin-gular works of art on their own. It’s a way to personalize and add personality to your space with just one piece.”

Notable among tile trends today is that bigger is better. “We’re seeing a lot of large-format tiles. They have fewer grout lines and are easier to wipe down and keep clean, which is an important con-sideration in the kitchen,” Janke notes. “Some large-format tiles have the subtleties of texture and repeating patterns like a wallpaper.

Make a statementCustom details can transform the kitchen

by Andrea Valluzzo

Chloe Winston Lighting Design photo

Lighting can add both form and function to a kitchen. Here, a hanging multi-globe fixture from Chloe Winston Lighting Design in South Norwalk provides an eye-catching lighting display above a kitchen island.

See Kitchen on Page 6

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Sculptural tiles are another way to add dimension and depth in a subtle and smooth way, so it’s still easy to clean and func-tional.”

Many people consider changing out cabinets or replacing hardware when seeking a new look, but you can just as easily change out your appliances and no, you don’t have to buy all new appliances. You can accessorize your appliances just as easily as your wardrobe with GE’s Café Matte Collection of appliances, in which you can change out your hardware (knobs, handles, etc.) for those with different metallic finishes to give your appliances personality. Hardware finishes come in a variety of brushed tones, including stainless, black, bronze and copper.

A thoughtful interior design marries textures, patterns, fin-ishes, and materials to create harmony throughout the home, creating a layered look that brings warmth and balance into each space.

“A great way for homeowners to accessorize their kitchen spaces is by adding beautiful metallics,” says Gretchen Black, interior designer and president of Greyhouse Designs in Louisville, Ky., which partnered with GE as a design curator for its collection of matte white and matte black appliances. “The new Café appliance line offers some gorgeous metallic finishes with its new customizable appliances. My current favorite is a matte white stove with gorgeous brushed bronze handles. It really brings a wow factor to a kitchen!”

Kathy Currie, director of design and partner at Curry and Kingston LLC in Cos Cob, echoed Black’s comments, noting that “metals, such as satin brass and polished nickel, add a touch of ‘jewelry’ to the kitchen, when integrated into the appliances, hardware, plumbing or lighting fixtures. Pattern can also add a ‘wow’ factor, when used in mosaic tiles, wallpa-per, and fabrics.”

Today’s kitchens often feature neutral color palettes of whites, beiges, or grays and using natural materials, such as wood and stone, can add warmth and texture. “These neutral color schemes allow clients to add accents in hardware and accessories without clashing with the overall kitchen theme,” Currie says.

People are also looking for design solutions to declutter their kitchens and give them clean lines. “People like the idea of getting everything off the counters. If it doesn’t perform a function, we don’t want it,” says Marianne Delgado, kitchen designer for Ring’s End in Darien. She touts options such as a base utensil pull-out for cabinets that keep utensils handy, off the counters and organized neatly, instead of jumbled up in a drawer. These units are often accompanied by a knife block, adding extra clever storage.

Delgado’s clients are choosing to use more appliance garag-es today to reduce counter clutter. Keeping small appliances hidden behind closed doors (and not the old style of tambour

doors but modern and sleek doors) offers creative storage solutions.

Kitchen lighting should not be an afterthought but an inte-gral part of a kitchen design as lighting is the jewelry of the kitchen, adding not only sparkle to the kitchen but improv-ing its functionality, as well. “If homeowners have a beautiful island and a beautiful backsplash but not a beautiful light fixture, which adds that extra ‘oomph’ — that little piece of jewelry over the island with a nice island pendant lighting — it kind of looks naked,” says Candace Pereira, co-owner, with Rina DiMarte, of Chloe Winston Lighting Design in South Norwalk.

Pereira likes to layer kitchen lighting. “You have your gener-al task lighting, recessed lighting, and under cabinet lighting, which is task lighting for your countertop to highlight the backsplash and give you task lighting on the counter for cook-ing,” she says. Like tiles, bigger is better for lighting. “A couple years ago, clients were choosing three little tiny pendants … now a larger pendant is trending,” she says, adding that while clear glass is still very popular, they are also selling a lot of painted lanterns, which add a nice pop of color that can tie into the backsplash or wallpaper.

• 6 • • HOME • Hearst Connecticut Media Group • • May 9, 2019 •

KitchenContinued from Page 2

Ring’s End photo

Homeowners can completely customize their kitchens to accommodate their cooking needs and styles. The GE Café Matte Collection of appliances, for example (photo top) offers hardware (knobs, handles, etc.) that can be changed out for those with different metallic finishes. Above, a pull-out utensil holder, such as this one from Ring’s End in Darien, can be strategically located next to the cooktop.

GE Appliances photo

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