Office Sanctuary

When my client asked me to design her home office, she had very specific requirements:  it needed to remind her of Palm Springs with light flooring, incorporate her favourite complementary colours - blue and orange - and include white walls on which to display her photography.

Since the office is located in the basement, I recommended vinyl plank flooring that replicated bleached wood.  A floating desk - supported behind the drywall with heavy-duty supports - and floating shelves, painted the same colour as the walls, was installed.  As well, storage was placed under the desk. 

On the other side of the room, we created a sitting area with sofa, ottoman, custom cabinet and TV.  Here is where the blue and orange colour scheme really came to life!  The woven rug was designed to mimic the fabric in the toss cushion.  My client loves Lego so the shelving unit at the far end holds my client's finished Lego models.  The rotating group of photographs will eventually hang on the white walls.  In the meantime, the highlight is the artwork she found in Montreal showing a collage of melted Lego pieces.  It looks amazing!

My design philosophy is not to create cookie-cutter rooms but to design spaces that reflect my clients' personal tastes and preferences.  This home office is exactly what my client envisioned for herself.


Please subscribe to my blog and share this post with your friends and neighbours.  And if you'd like ideas on how to create your own home office, or any space in your home, please contact me for a design consultation. 

Rugs as Art

Imagine my surprise when I recently opened a new catalogue from Modern Weave, one of my favourite suppliers of high-quality exquisite rugs for my clients.  These rugs take the art of rug-making to a whole new level.  Absolutely breathtaking in colour and design.  Check them out for yourself:

Eden 09

Eden 12

Grand Theatre

Mallow

Jewel tones

Further to my post last week on fall colours, I came across this print ad from Kravet Fabrics.  (All  my clients have at least one fabric from Kravet.  They have such beautiful designs and materials.)  The jewel tones I mentioned - violet, lime, lemon - look fabulous with grey, as you can see.  Consider using these colours as accent cushions in an otherwise neutral colour scheme.

What a great way to brighten up those dreary, rainy days!

Autumn Colours

Some of you may be wondering where I've been.  Well, I took a 6-month hiatus as the demands on my interior design business as well as a trip to France in June left absolutely no time to blog.  But I'm back and with the help of the rest of the Tobi Brockway Interiors team, I plan to provide you with design insights and practical tips on a regular basis.  And you'll also see the occasional photo and story that relates to architecture or design from one of my travel adventures.  

As I see all the fall colours around me, I'm inspired to look at the colour trends that are forecast for the coming year.  Earthy neutrals will remain a staple this year.  And grey continues to be dominant among these neutrals.  I've selected warm greys for 80% of my clients' living rooms in the past 6 months.  Benjamin Moore OC-49 titanium has been a favourite.

 

Bright colours reminiscent of fall foliage, such as citron yellow, tangerine orange and deep fuchsia will provide great accents in any room.  

Additionally, you can expect to see the introduction of brilliant jewel tones into many designs.  Emerald green, honey gold, deep teal, poppy red and varying shades of violet will be used in accent pieces throughout.