Christine Schwalm Design
  • Home
  • About CSD
  • Services
  • Portfolio
  • Contact CSD
  • Testimonials

Fresh and bright

1/4/2013

 
Picture
It's time once again for some changes in the showroom where I spend my days.  I'm lucky that my location is a bit larger so I have a little more flexibility. 

I pulled this bedroom together using black furniture with lots of cream and tan fabrics to keep it from getting too heavy.  A few bright splashes of color, inspired by the floral fabric on the windows (detailed shot below) and pillows, keep it lively.


Read More

Masculine design done right

7/10/2012

 
Picture
I'm one of many fans of Ron Marvin's design aesthetic.  His work is proof that it's possible to design a masculine space without sacrificing style.  Take the room pictured left: no bright colors, nothing over the top but still both attractive and practical.  One thing that I noticed right away, and that I've brought up several times before, is the mix of materials to create visual interest.  Here you've got glass, metal, wool, wood and faux fur (just on the pillow) all in neutral tones.  Lonny magazine has more of Ron Marvin's styling tips in their current issue.

Image courtesy Lonny Magazine

I've got the blues

5/25/2012

 
Picture
Blue is one of those colors that never really goes out of style.  After years of teal, peacock, and Tiffany blue, however, there's a resurgence of cobalt and royal blue in design.  I got some great ideas from ZGallerie's site and found lots more browsing online.  Most people gravitate towards nautical, but cobalt is beautiful with red (Tobi Farley did a beautiful room in a Richmond show house with this palette), canary yellow or even orange, if you're feeling brave.

Yellow and grey-West Elm style

3/18/2010

 
Picture
I've got to give the folks at West Elm serious props.  They rolled out some great things in their spring line in one of my favorite color ways-yellow and grey.  I've got the formal version of it at the day job, but this is a great modern interpretation. 


Read More

Follow the trend without breaking the bank

3/11/2010

 
Picture
I'm a big believer in investing in quality pieces for your home and very often one of those pieces is an area rug.  The rug in my living area was one of the more expensive things I purchased but it completely set the tone for the room.  Sometimes, though, you just want a little fun.  This rug may be a little trendy color and pattern-wise, but it is still 100% wool and nicely made.  I found it on the World Market site for $449 (on sale with no shipping charges) for a 5'x8'.  The deal of the century?  No.  But a good balance between fun and smart.

A buffet of color

3/2/2010

 
Picture
As you may have heard, color authority Pantone has christened turquoise as the 2010 color of the year.  I wanted to share a decidedly cool representation of turquoise currently on display in the front lobby of the day job designed by the folks at HQ.  It's ikat, which I think has only a few minutes left on the current style clock, but the miter square pillow makes it irresistable.  And lest the other colors of the rainbow feel slighted, the rest of the lobby is a shout out to chartreuse, magenta and orange.  I don't care what Pantone says, I love you colors all equally.


Read More

Get on it-Gold and Grey

2/16/2010

 
Picture
I shared one of the new room vignettes a few weeks ago that featured a charcoal grey and yellow palatte that is really stunning.  The vine fabric....oh my!  I know the Pantone folks are saying that turquoise is going to be the "it" color for this year, but I think yellow is going to be a contender.  I was reading a favorite design blog last week that featured some of DwellStudio for Target's new line of bedding and pillows.

Picture
Check out the pillows that are part of the new line, too.  That back one is fantastic.  And the texture of the 2nd, with the roses, really great.  Pillows are always an easy, low cost way to participate in a trend without going bankrupt.  So, where have you seen grey and gold lately?

Get on It-start with grey

12/23/2009

 
Picture
Dovecote Design
Perhaps it's because of the recent project I completed, but I'm noticing more grey being used by designers.  And not just with pale blue as part of that "icy chic" look--which, frankly, is overdone at this point.  In this picture it's mixed with chartreuse (that's the fancy way to say bright green) for a fresh look.  Over the summer, I stopped into Lignet Roset's showroom where they had grey paired beautifully with lilac, orchid and some white lacquer pieces.


Read More

Small space tip-go monochromatic

12/22/2009

1 Comment

 
1 Comment

Color combination-grey, yellow, and cream

12/17/2009

 
Picture
As promised, I wanted to do an entry that went through the 2nd new vignette I added to the Portfolio section last week.  This one is also adapted from a stunning showhouse room put together by the very talented design team in my corporate office.  Again, they were working in a much larger space (5x what you see here) so I was tasked to pick the right pieces that would both suit the space and appeal to clients.


Read More
<<Previous

    Author

    Christine Schwalm is an Interior Designer and Visual Merchandiser based in Los Angeles.  This space will keep you updated on what's going on with CSD along with some ideas to inspire you.  Go here for more information about pricing and services and here to make an appointment. 
     
    Have a design question?  Need some advice?  Send it here and I'll post the answer in an entry.

    Follow @cmschwalm

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    December 2011
    October 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009

    Categories

    All
    Accessories
    Ad Home Show
    Art Museum
    Baltimore
    Brooklyn
    Cleveland
    Color
    Craigslist
    Day Job
    Design Question
    Detroit
    Fallingwater
    Field Trip
    Flea Market
    Furniture
    Garden
    Get On It
    Holiday
    Ikea
    Inspiration
    Inspriation
    Kansas City
    Lighting
    Lodgings
    Movies
    New Blog
    Ny Times
    Pattern
    Payments
    Paypal
    Philadelphia
    Project
    Redesign
    Showroom
    Target
    Thumbs Down
    Trends
    West Elm

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.