The why behind the what
Plain-spoken articles on the reasoning behind good interior design, from rug sizes and paint undertones to sightlines, lighting and living with antiques.
“I make your house look like you,” Von told the Coeur d’Alene Press. What that means in practice, and the questions that turn a showroom-perfect room into a personal one.
A rug that’s too small makes furniture look like it’s floating and the room look smaller. How to size rugs for living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms, with the reasoning.
Curtains hung just above the frame and only as wide as the glass make windows look small and ceilings low. How to place the rod, size the panels and choose the length.
Sixty percent dominant, thirty percent secondary, ten percent accent. The most useful color formula in interior design, the reasoning behind it, and how to adapt it.
Most art in most homes hangs too high. Here’s the gallery standard, how to hang over sofas and beds, how to plan a gallery wall, and the math to find the nail.
One ceiling fixture can’t light a room well. Designers layer three kinds of light, and the result is rooms that are practical by day and beautiful at night.
A room without a focal point makes the eye wander and never rest. Here’s why one strong anchor calms a space, and how to pick, create and support it.
The 36-inch walkway, the 18-inch coffee-table gap, the 42-inch kitchen aisle. The measurements behind rooms that feel easy to move through, and why they matter.
The views through your home, from the entry, down the hall, across from the sofa, shape how it feels more than any single room. Here’s how designers plan them.
A lovely sofa can still look wrong if it’s the wrong size for the room, or for the furniture beside it. The simple ratios designers use to get scale right.
That perfect greige turned lavender on your walls? Blame undertones and light. How to read undertones, use Light Reflectance Value, and test paint like a pro.
The wrong bulb can make a beautiful room look cold, flat or yellow. What Kelvin, lumens and CRI mean on the box, and the bulbs designers actually choose.
Every project begins with a conversation
Von still meets every client personally, by appointment, at your home, your building site or wherever your project is.
