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.
Around the winter solstice, Coeur d’Alene gets well under nine hours of daylight, much of it overcast. How to design rooms that stay bright, warm and cheerful from November to March.
The best living rooms are arranged for talking. The distances, shapes and tricks that make a seating group feel intimate, even in a big open room.
Many dining rooms sit empty because they’re uncomfortable: too tight, too dim, too formal. The measurements and choices that make people linger at the table.
Every window treatment does some jobs well and others poorly. A clear guide to light control, privacy, insulation, safety and style, so you choose by purpose, not by habit.
Two rooms can share a color palette and feel completely different. The reason is texture. How designers layer it, and why neutral rooms need it most.
Florals with stripes, plaids with paisley: pattern mixing looks effortless when it works and frantic when it doesn’t. The principles that keep it on the right side of the line.
Matching furniture sets rarely tell a story. Rooms that mix old and new look collected, personal and timeless. Here’s how to make antiques and modern pieces get along.
Some old furniture is worth more than anything you could buy new; some isn’t worth the upholstery fabric. How to judge construction, value and sentiment, and how to care for what you keep.
The table is the room within the room where people actually gather. How to set it properly, choose and mix stemware and vintage flatware, and care for heirloom pieces.
The cheapest time to fix a room is before it exists. The interior questions to answer while your house is still a drawing: furniture, windows, outlets, lighting, storage and flow.
Choosing tile before you’ve settled the layout is how remodels go over budget. The right sequence of decisions, from big picture to small, and why it matters.
Moving to a smaller home means letting go of things that carry decades of memories. A practical, compassionate approach to deciding what to keep and making the new place feel like home.
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.
