How to Decorate a Smaller Home

Have you noticed the trend that single family homes are being built smaller than in the past? There are many reasons why this is so, but rather than focus on the "why" we want to answer the "how". As in , "how am I going to fit all my stuff in here?"

We've all heard the expression, less is more, which makes a good mantra when downsizing. Accept that you will need to let go of some items. Choose the most special and most functional items to keep. Offer items with sentimental value to others who may appreciate them.  Donate gently used items to charity. 

Once you have thinned out your items, it is time to figure out how to decorate the smaller home. Here are some tips:

• Leave open space and allow light to filter through. There is no need to fill every inch of space with furniture, pictures, or accent pieces. If the room is overfilled, it will feel smaller. Spread the items out and it gives the room a larger, more open feel.
• Choose simple window hangings. Large heavy draperies cut off light from entering the room and take up space.
• Look for streamlined furniture rather than oversized and bulky.
• Bright colors and bold patterns will do well in a room that is not overcrowded allowing your personality and style to come through.
• Reflective surfaces add the feeling of extra space as well. Mirrors, gold, silver, crystal are all good choices for accent pieces.

The expert designers at Marc Williams Furniture can help choose the best pieces, colors, and patterns to create a comfortable living space in a smaller sized home. Give us a call to set an appointment!

Interior Design Tips for Painting Your Home

One way to create an entirely new feel in a room is by simply painting it. The same color for all four walls and a white ceiling is one to go, but Marc Williams Furniture has some tips and techniques to help make your room unique!

• Tired of white ceilings? Try painting it lavender! The color will give the perception of the sky when you come in from outside. If you have dark walls, a white ceiling will make it appear lower. Instead, try painting the ceiling the color as well.
• Do you have white floors? If so, try painting the underside of your furniture red. The light from the floor will reflect the color creating a reddish cast.
• One time you might want a white ceiling is if you have a long, narrow hallway.  In this case, try painting the walls a dak color, including the baseboards and molding, then paint the floor and ceiling white. Light will be reflected from the floor and ceiling so the hallway will not be so dark.
• If you aim to make your ceiling look higher, try painting it the same color as the walls, but in a glossier sheen.
• The Behr Paint "Eight Foor Rule": If your room is less than eight feet high, paint the ceiling a shade or two lighter than your wall color.  If your room is higher than eight feet, paint the ceiling two shades darker than the wall color.

Marc Williams Furniture can help you discover countless interior design tips to use in your home.  Call us to help design your one of a kind home!

Share Your Vision with an Ideabook!

You want to create a room and you have a vision in mind, but how do you convey that vision to the architect, interior designer, etc.? One way is to create an "ideabook" on houzz.com. Marc Williams Interiors is proud to be listed as a professional on houzz.com and we would like to share the benefits of creating an ideabook.

• Why create an ideabook?  Instead of tearing pages out of magazines, pictures can be uploaded to your customizable ideabook. This is an easy and effective way to share your thoughts with the designers as well as friends and family. 
• Once a picture is selected, the ideabook provides space where you can write why you like the picture.
• You can post a picture to the message boards and receive feedback or answers to your questions.
• Create multiple ideabooks.  
• Embed your ideabook to your personal site or blog.
• Upload your own pictures to your design book.
• Email your ideabook to family and friends.

The ideabook is just one tool to help your vision come to life.  Be sure to share your ideabook with Marc Williams Furniture!

And the Color of the Year Is....

Pantone LLC is known as the world-renowned authority on color and each year they determine which color will be the Color of the Year.

Tangerine Tango has been chosen as the color of 2012. It can be seen everywhere from makeup, clothing, and accessories to furniture. "Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Reminiscent of the radiant shadings of a sunset, Tangerine Tango marries the vivaciousness and adrenaline rush of red with the friendliness and warmth of yellow, to form a high-visibility, magnetic hue that emanates heat and energy.”

So how should you introduce such a vibrant color into your home?  Here are some of Pantone's suggestions:

• Use patterned home accessories such as pillows, bedspreads, and tabletop accessories.
• Incorporate Tangerine Tango appliances or personal electronics for an extra pop of color.
• Paint an accent wall in Tangerine Tango.

Tangerine Tango can make an especially bright splash of summer colors in a beach home in the Hamptons or on Fire Island. Call Marc Williams Furniture for help bringing Tangerine Tango into your home design.