Ten Designer Secrets From HGTV’s 2015 Dream House
The 2015 HGTV dream house is stunning of course, as any $2 million mansion on Martha’s Vineyard should be. But if you look closely, you will see several clever design tricks and tricks that any first time decorator can imitate and learn from. Here are 10 lessons that can help improve any home:
1. Mix materials. In the kitchen they have used several different types of materials. There are marble counters coupled with wooden counters. They have tile on some walls and wainscoting on others. Of course, these choices have a practical element but they also add drama, interest, and depth to the room.
(Photo: HGTV)
2. Shake it up. When you pull up to the dining table in the great room, you will have a mixed-matched selection of seats to choose from: a bench as well as wooden and upholstered chairs. This detail is far more entertaining and interesting then a typical matching collection.
(Photo: HGTV)
3. Lighting should be high, low, and in the middle. The lighting throughout each room is not just at one level but rather placed at varying heights. Note there are overhead fixtures, table lamps, floor lamps, wall lamps and canned ceiling lights. This technique will allow the room to glow and the light to dance and lead your eye to all the areas in the room.
(Photo: HGTV)
4. Work in odd numbers. In the master bath you’ll see three works of art. There are three stools at the kitchen counter. If you walk through the hallway you will see three candles lined up on the hall table. In the kids’ room, there are three mirrors on the wall.
(Photo: HGTV)
The so-called “rule of three” is a classic trick that anyone styling a home should use. Having an odd number of items in a composition means your eye and brain can’t pair them up or group them easily. There’s always one thing left over, which keeps your eyes moving through the space. Odd numbers create harmony and force movement and visual interest.
5. Hang them high.
Whenever you are hanging curtains in a room, place them as high as you can as opposed to directly above the window casing. This technique will make the room seem larger and the ceiling feel higher.
(Photo: HGTV)
6. Do not ignore the ceiling . You will see that in every room the designers have done something to call attention to the ceiling. In some they continued the wood from the walls up to the ceiling or chose a different wood pattern from the one on the walls. In others they have painted it a clever color and left the walls white. Elsewhere they left the ceiling white and had fun with the walls. All of these choices deliver the same result: The ceiling is always included in the overall design.
(Photo: HGTV)
7. Create several intimate seating arrangements. The best example of this technique can be found in the kitchen/great room. It has seating at the counter, seating at the table, and seating around the fireplace. This makes the flow of the room and all the activities that could go on there comfortable and easy.
(Photo: HGTV)
8.Never forget to add whimsy. The kid’s room is full of fun from the striped walls to the bright beds to the playful bathroom mirror. But you can also see they carried those same whimsical touches throughout the house. For example the nautical light on top of the rustic pillar in the great room, the sea shell lamps on the counter in the master bathroom, and the faucet hooks for the outdoor shower. All these elements accentuate the fun feeling of the home.
(Photo: HGTV)
9. Add spots of color. Color used in a disciplined way can add character to any home. This can be seen here with the dark green used on the door, the dark hue on the laundry room walls, the ceiling of the bathroom, the backs of the bookshelves, and the bold color of the kids’ bed. Just a hint is all you need to create a hearty, deep feeling.
(Photo: HGTV)
10. Always include something reflective in a room. This element makes a room seem larger and also helps both natural and artificial the light bounce around the space. In this house, you’ll find examples in the glass overhead fixtures, the mirrors hanging on a wall, and the tabletops, candles, and vases . A dash of reflective surfaces here and there gives rhythm to any room.
(Photo: HGTV)
If you’re eager to see more of this home, HGTV’s Dream Home 2015 show premieres on Jan. 1 at 8 p.m.
