The Design Team Salon

Richly upholstered settees, footstools, chaise lounges and Bergere chairs can add a touch of bygone beauty, but you should allow plenty of space for more livable pieces such as a traditional sofa. If you can't afford new furniture, consider adding silk or damask throw pillows.

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Whether you have a more traditional interior decor or a modern decor, you can try mixing up the styles to create an eclectic and more interesting look and feel in your home. Add a four-poster bed or wooden bed and traditional side lamps to a modern bedroom to remove a uniform look. If you have a traditional styled home, mix it up with bold printed and coloured accessories or add a funky rug or modern piece of furniture like a modern chair or coffee table. Try mixing modern with vintage prints, colours and accessories, and mixing traditional with bold, modern colours that you wouldn’t normal associate together. It will make an interesting, fun project to mix up decor designs and create an unexpected and unique look.

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Stylish and Versatile  With their compact size and ability to function both as a bed and sofa, daybeds are a great small-space solution for apartment dwellers. Indian-Inspired Patterns and Textures  The combination of different patterns and colors brings life into this spacious bedroom. An Indian-inspired mirror is the ideal backdrop for the guest room daybed, bringing extra light into the space. Design by CHAI Studio . Cottage Chic  It's difficult to believe that this inviting nook was once a bathroom. A creative tone-on-tone paint treatment and twin sized mattress turned an underused 6' x 6' room into a light filled space perfect for relaxing or as a spare bedroom for overnight guests. Design by RMS user LaylaPalmer. Cozy Reading Nook  Designer Angelo Surmelis flanks a white denim slipcovered daybed with built-in bookcases to create the ideal spot for curling up with a good book. Sun-Filled Spot  This cozy corner from 2008's Dream Home takes full advantage of warm sunlight streaming in from two flanking windows. Click on the link below to see more of your favorite spaces from past Dream Homes. Sleek and Streamlined  A cream leather daybed placed in front of a massive pier mirror adds a modern touch to RMS user mgrg's room. Shabby Chic Girl's Room  RMS user ajerde chose a daybed for her little girl's room to grow with her daughter. The bed features a canopy topped with an oversized gold crown for a regal look. A soft-pink color palette softens the space. Crisp and Clean  The wrought iron daybed provides a place for guests to sleep without taking up too much space. Translucent draperies and crisp, clean bedding open up the space even more. Daybed With Storage Drawers  Drawers underneath this oversized daybed add extra storage without cluttering this kid's bedroom. Numerous pillows bring comfort to the space, and floor to ceiling window treatments deliver a cozy feel. Rustic Relaxation  A rough hewn, bentwood daybed adds lodge style appeal and additional sleeping space to Dream Home '07. Click on the link below to see more of your favorite spaces from past Dream Homes. Keeping a Low Profile  Designer Erinn Valencich takes an eclectic approach to decor. She pairs a streamlined, contemporary daybed, modern, geometric mirror and pops of vibrant orange for a custom look in this cozy corner.

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Outside of funhouses and roller rinks, warped floors are usually considered a defect rather than a virtue. They make it impossible to place furniture (unless you like wobbly tables), they’re the bane of safety nuts (two words: trip hazard) and they often warrant a call to a contractor (it’s possible the subfloor needs replacing).

• STONE SOUL: In this Montecito, Calif., home, a floor of river stones is gently uneven but smooth on the soles. Designer Patrick Sheahan notes that it “creates an awareness of the feet and provides a sense of connection to a natural state of being, such as a walk on a beach.”(Handout)
• CHALLENGING LIFE: The green, lumpy, concrete floor in the Bioscleave House (a.k.a. the Lifespan Extending Villa) has the dramatic indentation of a deflated, spinach soufflé. The designers, artist-architects Arakawa and Madeline Gins, took about a decade to complete the $2-million, Long Island, N.Y., project. It was their conviction that a physically challenging house (one where you had to actively engage your body to get from one room to another) would improve health and lengthen life-span. Anyone daunted by fears of losing balance, rest assured: Fire poles dot the space to provide something to hold onto.(Handout)
• NO ROUGH EDGES: Japan’s 403architecture created a subtly undulating, toe-tantalizing floor by using off-cuts of reclaimed wood, randomly arranged on the ground. It might seem like the bedroom in an apartment in Hamamatsu, Japan, is a giant splinter trap, but each piece of lumber was carefully sanded to get rid of any rough edges.(Handout)

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Interior Designer Takes Design Schemes Idea Into the Virtual World Do-It-Yourselfers can now purchase professional interior design schemes including swatches and samples right online. Kalamazoo, MI, March 10, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Economic uncertainty, construction stagnation and the housing market crash have motivated an interior designer to revolutionize the way we purchase interior design.Sondra Phillips, owner of a traditional interior design firm, founded a new company called Interior Design Schemes so that do-it-yourselfers could purchase color and design schemes which have all been pre-designed. Customers select from online design schemes which include material finishes for walls, floors, counters, millwork, trim and more. Upon ordering a scheme, customers are emailed product specifications and receive via the mail actual swatches and samples. They are also given contact information for ordering products.These pre-packaged interior design schemes feature budget friendly products and finishes which have a unique "wow" factor and are locally available or quickly shipped from suppliers. Schemes work for home owners, contractors, developers, facilities managers, entrepreneurs and the DIY consumer.Phillips explains, “After living through the economic effects of 911 and the housing crash, I realized that interior design is a luxury that many cannot afford and that the Do-It-Yourself movement is an undeniable reality.” She adds that the new business concept was formulated in response to the growing need for a lower cost alternative to achieve quality interior design options.Assisting customers with visualizing how materials and finishes work together, Phillips built in images of what the finished product could look like. Each purchase also entitles the customer to one swap-out of a sample they might want to change and a telephone consultation with Phillips to make sure they understand the design scheme and how to implement their interior design.The thing that customers seem to appreciate the most is that the long wait for a finished design is no longer a part of great interior design. There is no waiting for a consultant to create an interior design to your liking. Moments after a customer selects and purchases their favorite scheme, details about the scheme are emailed to them. Commerce has been steadily moving online over the past decade and now Interior Design Schemes has made purchasing interior design schemes available online as well.

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