Custom draperies have many benefits for your home, allowing you to express your personal style with unlimited options for fabric, drape, and trim. But while custom-designed draperies allow for a rich variety of color, pattern, and texture choices, one of our favorite things about custom draperies is how they can be used to enhance the architectural features of a space.

Draperies are not just functional, nor are they simply decorative. Instead they can be an important design element in defining the space, creating structure or a focal point.  For instance, in the bedroom above, the draperies ground the bay of windows, creating a more intimate visual context for the seating area.

Custom draperies can also enhance the architecture of a home by softening or highlighting features. This traditional living room has a stunning 2-story wall of windows featuring beautifully ornate detailing, giving the space a profusion of natural light and a dramatic focal point. The custom draperies we designed frame the wall of windows and add color to the otherwise monotone area while also breaking up their rectangular regularity, creating a softer, more visually interesting result and controlling the amount of light that enters, all without obscuring the ornate details.

Dramatic windows are a gorgeous addition to any home, but they do come with their own practical challenges. One of the main challenges homeowners tend to face with these multi-story windows is light (and heat) control. For this living room we created large custom draperies with sheer panels that can be closed to reduce the amount of light entering the space while still showing off the beautiful lines of the statement window.

If you’re ready to take your home design to the next level with custom draperies, our Virginia Beach interior design firm is here to help. Contact MJN & Associates Interiors today to learn more about our interior design services for homeowners throughout the Hampton Roads area.

When most people think of what an interior designer can do for them, their first thought is aesthetic- how the designer will make their home look better with the right color scheme or furnishing styles. However, visual improvements are just the beginning of what we can do to help you improve your home. Interior designers are trained professionals, so we have the knowledge to choose finishes and materials that are not just beautiful, but also functional for your unique needs. Designing the layout for a kitchen remodel or creating a space plan for your living room is not simply an exercise in making your home look better; it’s about making it function better as well, from making your cooking routines more efficient to directing foot traffic through your home.

There are many ways interior designers can help our clients improve their homes, but here at MJN & Associates Interiors, these are a few of our favorites.

Making real life look great

We believe anyone can love the way their home looks–yes, even you with the small children, the messy dog, and the friend who always manages to knock their drink over. It’s all about choosing materials and finishes that not only look fabulous, but will also stand the test of time. With years of interior design experience (and a constant eye for the latest home design trends and technology), we know what works over the long haul and how to help you achieve the look you want while working with, not against, the practical demands of day-to-day life.

Tidy room, tidy mind

What frustrates you the most about your home? Chances are it’s not your wall color, your rug, or your draperies! We can give your home a dozen new looks, but if the underlying functional issues are not addressed, your home is still not going to live up to its potential. That’s why we offer professional organizational services, from custom closets and cabinetry to clever storage solutions and functional furnishings. When your organization and storage needs are met, you’ll be able to enjoy your home so much more.

Forward-thinking design

Remodeling your home is a huge undertaking, so make it count! As a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS), our principal designer Michelle Nettles can help you remodel your home to not only look beautiful, but also fit your needs–both now, and in the future. We can incorporate design elements into your kitchen, bath, or whole house remodel that you might think nothing of now, but could help you live more independently as you age. Subtle design choices like wider doorways or different faucet styles don’t take away from the design at all, but can make a world of difference for a senior with mobility problems or arthritis.

If you are looking for a Virginia Beach interior designer to help you bring your home design vision to life, contact MJN & Associates Interiors to set up a consultation.

Focal points are important in designing any space, from the smallest powder room to the largest living room. The focal point is the center of visual interest, the place where your eye is most drawn to in the room. Fireplaces are natural focal points, as are large windows, some built-in bookcases, or even a particularly large or loud piece of furniture. And in today’s homes, another focal point often reigns supreme- the television.

Of course, the whole point of a focal point is for it to be the focus… So what happens when you have two or more focal points dueling it out for attention? How can you create a harmonious space, much less decide where to put your sofa?

If you’re caught in the middle between fighting focal points, don’t worry. This is a common interior design conundrum, and MJN & Associates Interiors is here to help you solve it!

Minimize the number of focal points

Having more than one focal point in a room is not necessarily a problem, but you want to avoid having them on walls opposite each other. This tugs the attention back and forth in the space, not to mention making furniture placement a challenge.

One way to handle this is to create focal points on adjoining walls, so that when you walk in the room, your eye can drift from say, the fireplace on the left wall over to the picture window on the adjoining right wall.

Another obvious strategy when it comes to the TV-vs-fireplace showdown is to mount the television over the fireplace. This is quite the controversy among interior designers, but it’s your house- do what works best for you. There are plenty of options these days to help you pull your choice off in style, like Hidden Television, which looks like a mirror when turned off and comes with a custom frame. You could also consider having the built-ins around your fireplace extended to surround the TV, making the whole wall a focal point in the room while minimizing the “Hey, look at this TV!” effect.

Push and pull the eye

After identifying the focal points in your space, decide which one you want to be the main focus. You can then accentuate the main focal point while de-emphasizing other focal points in the space. For instance, say you want your fireplace to be the star of the show, but you have some attention-grabbing built-in bookcases vying for attention.

You can draw the eye to the fireplace using contrast, texture, and or lighting. Hang a painting with bright colors over the mantel and illuminate it with specialty lighting. Choose a striking material for your fireplace surround. To de-emphasize the bookcases, paint them the same color as the rest of the walls.

If you’re stumped on an interior design problem in your home, we can help! MJN & Associates Interiors offers experienced, friendly interior design services in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and the Hampton Roads area. Give us a call today at 757-306-6000 or contact us online to set up a consultation.

Are you bored with your home’s style, but not quite ready for a full remodel? If so, you need to identify projects that will give you the most bang for your buck, changing the look of the space substantially without involving a full gut job or replacing all of your home decor. Without a doubt, one of the most effective ways to change up the look of a space is to reupholster one or more pieces of furniture.

Custom reupholstery is the perfect way to inject new life into an old piece. Read on to see a before and after by MJN & Associates Interiors and learn how you can use this strategy in your own home.

Before

This armchair was comfortable and still in fairly good shape, but the dated teal and blue color scheme and flame stitch pattern weren’t doing it any favors.  It was time for an update to bring this chair into the current decade and help it become the strong foundational piece it was meant to be.

After

Mission accomplished! A simple, elegant greige fabric transforms the whole aesthetic of the chair, making it much more versatile and allowing it to harmonize with the space instead of stealing the spotlight. Gray is still the reigning neutral, and this warmer hue fits perfectly with the other natural materials in the space.

When reupholstering a piece of furniture, remember that it’s not just about changing the color or pattern of the piece. Take the opportunity to update the style, add details, or even improve structure or comfort. For this chair makeover, we added a waterfall skirt to give it a cleaner, more contemporary look.

If you are interested in updating your interior decor by reupholstering your furniture, it’s smart to work with an interior designer. We can guide you through the process and help you make both practical and stylistic decisions about fabric, detailing, style, and more, ensuring that your new and improved chair will look great and last for years to come.

To learn more about our Virginia Beach interior design services, including custom reupholstery, give us a call today at 770.356.5814 or use our contact form to set up a consultation.