Designer Details

Scalamandré Animal Pillow Cover 20 x 20 available at Williams Sonoma for $399. Notice the pillow is finished with the designer fabric on one side. The fabric retails for around $990 per yard with a two yard minimum. Wayfair offers it in one yard increments for $567 per yard.

Notice the simple finishing of the blue velvet and pink printed linen pillows on the left compared to the coral welt, black gimp trim and forest green welt finishes for the pillows on the right.

There are several design details that I notice immediately about a room. I can tell fairly quickly how much investment has been put into the design by these cues. I love discussing things on a positive note instead of negative so I’ve highlighted some of my favorite tell-tale signs of Designer DO's!

THROW PILLOWS

Nothing screams “oops” like pillows with the face fabric only on one side. It’s like buying half a pillow. This would be a no for me, especially at this price point. Etsy has some wonderful resources where you can get pillows using designer fabrics on both sides. Matching fabric on both sides of throw pillows is a must in my book.

Pillows featuring custom trim, cording, flange, and finish details are seldom available off the shelf. In fact, even pillows using high-end fabric that cost hundreds of dollars a pop seldom have any special finishing details. To purchase the fabric (often requiring a 2 yard minimum) and a separate trim fabric or cording, pay for shipping (twice - once to the upholsterer and once to you for delivery) and labor to custom make a few throw pillows is a comma level investment ($x,xxx - see how that number needs a comma) investment. Mixing in even one set of throw pillows with these finish details elevates the whole lot.

ART

Original art is where it is at. But if nothing else, get it up on your walls. A room is never done unless something is hanging on the walls. A tell-tale sign of original art is brush strokes (not just enhanced ones) and the depth of a piece. There are also wonderful prints available so no hate if you're not dropping G's for your walls. Another way to elevate the most basic art is with a great frame, which includes a mat. I love having my children’s art on the walls. Putting it in a ready-made frame with a mat elevates it. West Elm has historically had some very cool options. If you’ve ever framed art on your own, you’ll know there is often a very limited selection of sizes and colors. We are fortunate enough to have a fantastic local framer who has a wonderful eye for mats and framing finishes. In addition to big box stores like Michael's and Hobby Lobby, there are also now online services like Framebridge that offer custom framing with a limited selection of finishes. But please, use your local framer when you can. 

RUGS

Properly sized rugs are a tell-tale sign of considered design. Scale is where most people struggle and this often shows up in selecting the wrong size rugs, which are 99% of the time a size too small. While there is typically a way to use standard-sized rugs to define areas with furniture placement, often the wrong size is used and they may not fit the shape of the room. Rugs that are custom cut for specific sizes, angles, features, and shapes of a room, are often obvious because they’re a perfect fit - just inches from the walls. Also specialty binding or surging to finish the edges of the rug can also be a tell tale sign. There are so many options for colors threads and even materials such a leather. When designers say (over and over) that it's in the details, this is one of the hundreds of considerations they mean.

I’ve been enjoying watching various Create Academy courses to learn how other designers do it and Miles Redd often begins his rooms with a rug plan, which I thought was lovely. He is very intentional about knowing what size rugs he will be looking for before he starts looking and building the scheme from there. Once he knows the size rug he's looking for, he calls his dealer to pull stock because if it's not the right size, it's often not right.

LIGHTING

Use multiple sources of lighting - floor lamps, table lamps, and of course, sconces are often a designer’s secret touch. If the only source of lighting in a room is overhead canned lights, the design has not been fully considered. Old homes are actually fantastic for forcing this issue as often there are no caned lights in the ceiling and lamps are where one must start. My last comment on lighting is this: 2700 color temperature light bulbs only! I do know several nurses and doctors who must be used to their operating room and hospital lights as they do not seem bothered by light blue “daylight” colored bulbs, but it literally offends my eyes. Maybe that's why I never made it to medical school?