The time to consider Dressing up your Windows is now! As the sun shines more and the tempature outside rises, we will all being to open our doors and windows to let it all seep in. Here lies the problems, your rugs, your furniture, your art work and yes even your drapery fabric will fade and damage. The best thing to do is have a professional come into review the situation and help resolve the problems there is many materials and ticks to preserving your home.  

If you are one of those people that has not really considered adding any window treatments and only has blinds, It’s time to reconsider a wonderful addition to your home. Believe it or not window treatments can really be the WOW factor in your home. I specialize in creating just that, a WOW window for a WOW home. Here are a few photographs of my work. Enjoy!

~New accent Fabrics~ Working with me, I will help you to select a fresh new color palette for each room in your home. Making sure to coordinate all the elements of the existing items and space.
~Custom Window Treatments~ While they can enhance any room in your home they don’t always have to be outrageously expensive. I have a fabulous workroom that does beautiful work and is well established in Orange County.
~Woven Window Coverings~ Working hard to stay green, Chase Designs has  built great relationships with local manufacturers. We have a great  resource right here in South Orange County that has anything we might need to suit your home, from woven bamboo to silhouettes; they and I are just a phone call a way!

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Purity of line, utility of design, clean, calm, and clutter- free describes Urban Contemporary at its best. The design movement originated in the early 1900’s. Bold, daring, and dramatic,“Art Deco” emerged in the roaring 20’s as a welcome relief from the Victorian age and the mass production of the machine age. Innovative designers created unique architectural lines and body-conforming shapes, and the credo was “form follows function”. Today the look takes on many faces but the theme remains the same: it offers a functional, stress free, organized way of life that is carefully planned. Urban Contemporary décor makes use of dramatic colour, eclectic material combos, and extreme lines to give your home original character.

Urban Contemporary, favoured by the young and creative, because of its “rebel” nature, will grow in importance in the next decade. Currently in 20% to 25% of Canadian homes, it is a style recommended for rooms that have a high sense of function, high traffic or congested areas that demand organization and easy maintenance… such as home offices, playrooms, kitchens, multi-purpose rooms,restaurants and hotel lobby’s just to name a few.

Decorating Clues
Urban Contemporary places function over fashion and is a clean, unadorned look , but not at the expense of style. Key elements to this décor style may include:

function, mobility, molded comfort, and creative organization to describe the furnishings

wall units, armoires, storage containers are key

natural and recycled materials-brushed metals, chrome, in combination with wicker or wood

natural soft fabrics, suede, brushed twill, corduroy

bold, eccentric, dramatic accents, in colour and scale

Colour is a key element to the Urban Contemporary look -a serene monochromatic, neutral colour base with dramatic accents of brights for warmth and focus.

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1. Personalize Your home home with art and accessories

2. Repeat a color at least 3 times in a room

3. Relate your art to its surroundings. Art prints placed about 6″-9″ above a sofa will create a unified proportion

4. Cover 2/3 of the space above furniture with 1 or more pieces of art to achieve proper proportion, creating a nice balance

5. Position artwork at “eye level” to look at the center of it from either a sitting or standing position

6. Vary the height of table top accessories for balance and interest

7. Create a formal look with symmetrical groupings of art. Create an informal look with asymmetrical groupings.

8. Place mirrors so they reflect something beautiful. Use them to add dimension, expand space or reflect light in a room.

9. Displayart on easels to create interest in corners, bookcases or on table tops

10. Custom frame artwork to coordinate with room decor. Select a frame that compliments the decorating style. Select mat colors that enhance both the art and the color scheme.

For more assistance feel free to contact Chase Designs for a free in home consultation.

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Chasestudios is THE place to start looking  if you are interested in a family portart or a unique and custom piece of artwork. Stuart is able to create custom pieces that will blow your mind!

Here is a few other examples of his work.  chasestudios2703@hotmail.com

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Stuart is a local artist living in Huntington Beach, Ca. He has been running his own art studio for close to 10 years. Here is a little inside look into the creative process that goes into designing and rendering a piece of artwork. This is just one of many pieces he has completed over the years.

The initial piece of art we are looking at was commissioned for a client in Northern California and took approximately 45 hours to complete. Stuart starts with a Stretched canvas (this one measuring 60”x40”), applies Gesso to smooth the surface, and begins sanding to smooth it, this is necessary to the piece of art, which allows Stuart to achieve the smoothness and sensual nature of the skin. It took approx 6 hours for this initial step. Once the surface is prepped, he outlined the image in fine pencil and chooses a location to start the fine detail. In this image he begins with the eyes. Stuart states “the entire picture is always drawn to the eyes and face, so that is my focal point. Getting that just right becomes the anchor for the entire piece, after I feel it is nearing perfection I can then move outward.” He will then progressively fan out, doing sections of the image one at a time. “It is sometimes very hard to see the overall image when working on the smaller details; I just have to have faith in my own skill and an overall picture in my head of the finished piece.” Once the individual sections are done, Stuart will go through and tie them all together through various techniques of blending and shading. This final step is crucial in developing one unique and seamless piece of art. Materials used were various graphite pencils (his primary media) and a multitude of black markers.

If you are interested in having a custom piece of artwork for your home, something that will really make a statement, please contact me or email Stuart Chase directly at chasestudios2703@hotmail.com

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The Retro English style will start to seep into the homes of 2010. This theme will be evoked by muted tones of; luminous camel, greenish-blues, taupey-gray, rich burgundy. As well as adding British cakes colors: cupcake pink, acid marmalade, electric anise, milky blueberry.

When thinking of patterns think plaids recolor tweeds, marled wools, Prince of Wales knitting’s etc.

A certain form of opulence is favored with an ornamental style (jewelry), tapestry style (exuberant motifs) , precious weaves (silk twill, lame voile).

Sumptuous colors with patented velvet shades: violet, brick red, ochre, Prussian and faded blue. For bases, revolutionary inspiration with red and bronze alongside dark gray.

Reworked shabby baroque mood: 18th century upholstery, tapestry and brocade motifs are enlarged, recolored and covered in lines and stains. Parade mood illustrated by tone-on-tone crests and braids or even old gold embroideries.

Circus stars style and polka dot motifs, colorful club stripes… a delirious register: lively jacquards, tartan plaids with tie prints and reworked paisleys.

Neo-military style, baggy chic spirit, Perfecto circus, and of course the pattern we have been seeing all around us in 2009 barocco prints. It’s bold! Its classy! It’s not going anywhere for a while.

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Our Mission Statement

Furnishing Hope is a non-profit organization dedicated to  improving the living conditions of people in need. Through donations of money and excess items from individuals, manufacturers, and retailers, a network if designers and volunteers use their skills to transform the environment of each home; giving those in need the opportunity to experience life with the security and comfort of living in pleasant and cheerful surroundings.

“Improving life from the inside out.”

I am a Designer involved with furnishing  Hope, we have just completed a wonderful project. Here are the before and after photographs of the project and of my designs. If you are interested in volunteering please visit the website

www.furnishinghope.org

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There is no better form of flattery than that of complimenting and imitation. The truth is that as a designer we are always looking at past and present designers and their creative works, they are filled with ideas and inspirations, Designers take what we see and tweak it into something that is even more appealing and interesting.
I have always found myself inspired by Hotels, something that I have already posted a blog about. I recently was in San Diego and was honored to stay at the W Hotel. Now I have stayed at the Sofia Hotel in the past and found it to be very creative and interesting but after I review the W Hotels photo gallery I was sold. I took a few photos of my room but I highly encourage you to visit there website to see even more. The Lounge Bar on the second floor is an absolute oasis. I am looking forward to their 20 some odd other locations that are all around the world. Interesting places like; Chili and South Korea. Not to mention the many locations in the US.

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TradeSecrets is a quarterly on-line magazine published in order to promote and discuss design, trends, color trends, forecasts and resources.

Go to http://webmag.revcointl.com

You will be amazing by all the fantastic ideas and inspirations.

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