Beasley & Henley Wins Best Clubhouse Interior Design at 2013 Aurora Awards - Showcases Hot Trend of Smaller, Flex Spaces

Beasley & Henley Interior Design had a great weekend, kicking off the 2013 awards season with 2 wins at the 34th annual Aurora Awards. Our innovative firm won both a ‘Best Clubhouse or Common Area’ Aurora Award and a Grand Aurora (meaning a perfect score!)  for their creative design at Steel House in Orlando, Fl.  The Aurora Awards are an event held every year, in association with the South East Builders Conference, to recognize excellence in design for south east region designers, architects, builders, and others in the design and building industries.Led by Principal Designer Troy Beasley, Beasley & Henley’s design of this progressive downtown project, includes cutting edge interiors in the clubroom, fitness center and skyline ‘Lounge’. The style of the spaces is markedly upscale-urban and sophisticated with modern furnishings and bold colors. The amenity spaces are small, so a lot of 'look' was adeptly fit into each space to appeal to the young, hip demographic.One focal point for this progressive project is large stylized mural of a woman’s face in the lobby (by the talented artist Andrew Spear). Its vibrant, modern look sets the tone for the community. Wood flooring, wood wall and ceiling details ground this space, which is flooded with light by the large front windows.Another main area for our designs is the 4th floor lounge. Looking out onto the city, it features modern and industrial style furnishings, lighting and colors that give it a high end night club feel.The design team’s pool furnishings are white chaises with orange side tables, and exterior dining chairs in an organic pattern.The Beasley & Henley design team provided the client, Pollack Shores Real Estate Group, all the interior design including the floor plan analysis, interior detailing, interior specification, ID drawings, outdoor living spaces and luxury furnishings.The architect for the project, Poole and Poole Architecture (who we love!) , also won an Aurora award for their design of Steel House.We are pleased to continue its alliance with growth-focused Pollack Shores Real Estate Group with includes the previous award winning project of 5 East in Atlanta. 

Interior Design: What are the Ways to Make a Room Feel Bigger?

Beasley & Henley Interior Design welcomes our guest blogger, Tina Madsen.        Tina Madsen is a design enthusiast who brings her passion for modern décor and writing to her role as the NowModern.com blogger.  She also specializes in turning small living areas into spacious social hubs with bar stools and counter stools. Most people want bigger apartments or homes to live in. It's always easier to adjust to a wider space than to cram yourself and all your belongings in tiny quarters.  The obvious solution for small rooms is renovation. However, that's not always possible.  What to do?  Decorate your rooms cleverly and try these tricks to make your tiny rooms look and feel large.1. Glass and Mirrors

The small square space looks magnified thanks to mirrors.

This is an old school trick for making small rooms appear larger and wider. They give an illusion of depth, which is why placing a panel of mirror along one side of the room can give the impression that it is twice as big as it actually is. Depending on where you position the mirrors, you can create an illusion of the room being wider or longer.Besides the visual illusion of space, mirrors also reflect light and views. A brightly-lit room is less likely to feel stuffy.As for clear glass, it helps make the room look more spacious. For instance, use a glass-topped coffee table instead of solid hardwood.2. Large WindowsLarge, open windows! Floor-to-ceiling glass windows in high-rise apartments always make them look bigger and more open. The same goes for windows opening from a den to the green yard beyond. Glass feels less like a barrier and doesn’t impede line-of-sight, which heightens the perception of space.3. Less Clutter 

The clutter on the floor, plus the dark colors of the room, makes the space look even smaller.

If there's no clutter, your rooms won't feel so crowded. Even a spacious room will feel stuffy if it is cluttered with large, heavy furniture and various knickknacks strewn across display shelves and floors. Interior designers can also help you organize and design space-efficient closets and compartments (under the stairs, window seats, etc...) where you can stow seasonal items.

4. Scaled-Down FurnitureIf your rooms are small, don't cram them with large couches, bulky hardwoods and a pool table. Be practical with the space you have. If you want to have a couch and armchairs, purchase those that will fit just right in the room. Otherwise, you'll just add clutter into the space, and we've already established that is a no-no.5. Whites and NeutralsThe white walls, ceiling, and floor make the room look bigger, while the contrast of red makes the space look stylish.

Light colors are the best for small spaces. White, along with proper lighting, doesn't leave corners in dark shadows. Dark colors on the other hand can make an already tiny space look even smaller and compact. If you don't like your walls too white, you can opt for a pale neutral.If there is too much white, take advantage of the clean backdrop and get household items and accessories with contrasting colors. If your living room sofa and chairs are white and black, for example, you can place a bright blue vase on a table or a basket of bright flowers on the center table.6. Room Dividers Consider the idea of using room dividers instead of building walls to separate one room from another. The space above the dividers will reinforce the impression of continuity, which once again is helpful in making the impression that a room is bigger than it actually is. Of course, there's also the added benefit of portability. You can move them to a different part of the room or put it away completely.7. High Ceilings and Vertical IllusionsIf you can't make extend the space sideways, may be you can do it vertically. High ceilings make small spaces feel less stuffy.  Similarly, decorating the room with vertically-oriented accessories will help create an illusion of a vertically-spacious room. You can hang square photo frames in a vertical line, get high-length drapes (the same color as the walls, as much as possible) with vertical pleats, or install floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. 

Opening Up Small Spaces

It's one thing to have the freedom to do lavish, gorgeous designs in large residences or warehouse spaces. But, then again, assigning purpose and beauty to small spaces is one of the challenging and rewarding parts of design.

E/L Studio, a firm based in Brooklyn and Washington DC, recently completed this residential renovation in Arlington, VA. The 1970s-style modern house had limited space on the second and mezzanine levels due to the 45-degree pitch of the existing roof. The roof was partially removed and restructured to open the existing spaces, allowing the creation of a larger master suite, new bathroom, and dressing room.

The once-restricted area is now connected with a newly built staircase. The results are open, light-filled, and easily accessible space.

 Photos by Pepper Watkins.

Loft: Coveted Living

Living in a loft is trendy. And for good reason. Lofts are unique, quirky, and adaptable. They shout uber-urban sophistication. Cool people live in them.Traditionally, lofts were converted industrial spaces. As manufacturing businesses left New York’s SoHo in the early 1970s, artists created studios in the former factories to take advantage of the large, open floor plans and natural light streaming through huge windows. Ultimately, they set up house and the residential loft movement was in full swing.Now, lofts all over the country are coveted living spaces and in a large part responsible for much of the urban redevelopment that has been taking place over the past decade.

Create a Loft in a Single Family Home

If you live in a single family home, you can replicate a loft-like atmosphere. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you get it right.» Many homes feature open floor plans for shared living areas. Great rooms are a direct descendant of the loft movement. With their soaring ceilings and large windows, your own loft isn’t all that difficult to achieve.

1. Start by defining space with furniture, area rugs and lighting.
2. Think you have to butt all your furniture up against the walls? Think again.
3. Moving furniture away from walls makes for a more interesting and intimate room. No more shouting to the person sitting in the chair across the living room.

» Create distinct areas that have their own function and reason.

1. Putting a rug beneath a dining table automatically sets it up as its own space.
2. A cluster of comfy chairs and sofas makes a nice socializing spot, especially when you hang a funky chandelier above, puddling it in light.
3. Don’t think you have to align everything at right angles. Take a chance and skew the orientation of your furniture. You’ll be glad you did.

Loft living is the perfect opportunity to build an eclectic mix of furniture and accessories. Your flea market finds fit perfectly with contemporary pieces and traditional heirlooms alike.» If your windows don’t stretch from floor to ceiling, it’s easy to create the illusion that they do.

1. Take window treatments all the way to the ceiling. Just doing that adds instant height.
2. Consider installing mirrors above and below the actual window. This inexpensive trick throws reflected light back into the room and tricks the eye into thinking the windows are larger than they actually are.
3. Further the illusion by adding faux-muntins (the wooden pieces that separate window panes).

If you have enough space between the top of your window and the ceiling, add architectural interest with half-round mirrors.» Surfaces are an important element.

1. Look at hardwood and cement floors for inspiration — the more distressed the better.
2. Concrete provides wonderful opportunities. It can be tinted, acid-washed or polished to achieve the effect you’re going for. Not many other flooring options are that malleable.
3. Think beat-up plaster and exposed bricks on walls for the finishing touch.

Loft living isn’t limited to lofts. With a little ingenuity, you can create a loft-like space that will have you believing you’re living in the middle of your favorite city.