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Red Couch Interiors

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Outdoor Living Spaces

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Outdoor Living Spaces

With summertime finally at our doorstep, it’s time to start focusing on the great outdoors. Outdoor living spaces are increasingly becoming an extension of the home, and the trend is to blend indoor and outdoor living seamlessly for optimal enjoyment. Whether you are preparing a porch, a deck, a patio, a balcony, or a pool house, your goal remains the same; furnishing and equipping the space to meet the given need. First and foremost, you need to determine if your space will primarily be used for entertaining, dining, reading & relaxation, or a combination of all of the above. Running through the checklist below will help ensure that both you and your guests enjoy all your summer festivities to the fullest!

COMFORT: Your first priority is to make sure your outdoor living space is comfortable. The obvious way to do so is with seating options that include ample cushions and chairs that allow for relaxation, perhaps even reclining. But comfort goes well beyond seating. If your outdoor space includes a roof of any kind, have it wired for an outdoor overhead fan. Provide citronella candles to repel mosquitos and other bugs. A retractable awning or patio umbrella will provide relief from the sun as needed. A sturdy indoor/outdoor rug will keep feet from getting splinters from your deck boards or burning on overheated concrete or stone.

CONVENIENCE: Eating and relaxing outdoors can feel cumbersome if it’s inconvenient. As the host, you will want to make sure you take steps that lighten your own load as well. Invest in a large deck box to store cushions and other items to protect them from the weather and make for effortless set-up. Use a large galvanized tray to transport items to your deck and save yourself from taking multiple trips. Station a beverage cart outside or build a food bar from old pallets so you have easy access to drinks, food, napkins, and other supplies. Provide small end tables or a coffee table to rest books and beverages. Have a basket of bug spray, sunscreen, and sunglasses within reach. Provide ample lighting for nighttime reading or socializing, whether through hanging pendants, outdoor string lights, or candles. Stay stocked up on paper plates and cups, S’mores ingredients, and hamburgers and hotdogs so you can be spontaneous on the weekend.

COMMUNITY: Utilize area rugs to define gathering spaces and create a comfortable spot for young children to play within eyesight of their parents. Hammocks are better placed in areas of solitude rather than places of connection, so be mindful of your seating options. Arrange furniture in clusters rather than rows to promote conversation. For larger gatherings, give your guests options; arrange some seats around the fire pit, others on the deck, and still more near the swing set so parents can visit while children play. Provide tables for board games or giant Jenga for guests that are less mobile. If your home is situated close to your neighbor’s house or is easy viewed by the public, add trellises or privacy walls to create a cozy atmosphere.

COLOR: The natural beauty of an outdoor setting provides its own color, but there are other ways you can incorporate your favorite hues into the mix. Consider spray painting vintage outdoor furniture in a bright red or orange. Add playful throw pillows to your seating areas, or purchase fun tablecloths or blankets for chilly evenings. Buy colorful vases or planters, or paint inexpensive terra cotta pots to complement your décor. Use old stepladders to display small potted plants in a variety of colors. Coordinate features such as umbrellas or area rugs to match the rest of your furnishings.

Outdoor relaxation and entertaining should be enjoyable for both host and guests, so thinking ahead will enable you to maximize your outdoor living spaces and make for summer memories that last you year round. Happy summer!

Age-in-Place Design

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Age-in-Place Design

Making Upgrades and Improvements to a Home to Age-In-Place? Here’s what to consider.

With the rising age of the Baby Boomer generation, the population of older adults in the United States will increase significantly during the next few decades. Some of these folks will have the means to retire in an assisted living facility. Others will move in with children and grandchildren as a way of growing older with the attentive care of loved ones. Not all are as fortunate, however, to have these options, and even some that do prefer the idea of staying in their own homes. They value the familiarity of the environment and neighborhood and prefer not to uproot and start over in their later years. While all of these options are certainly viable, preparing a home for “aging-in-place” is becoming a more popular alternative and one that should be considered when making upgrades and improvements to a house.

It will be increasingly important for homeowners to hire designers and contractors who are educated about the options for aging-in-place and can convey that knowledge to their clients. Some professionals may be hesitant to broach the subject for fear of offending the homeowners, but it’s really to your benefit to hire someone who is mindful of the need to create spaces that are conducive to long-term independent living and who understands the challenges that could pop up during the design process.

If the desire is to stay in one’s own home as long as possible, it is vital to think about both people-related issues as well as environment-related issues. As a person ages, he or she could experience a decline in numerous areas, such as strength, memory, mobility, vision, and hearing, to name a few. The ultimate goal is to create a “barrier-free design,” keeping in mind both predictable and unpredictable needs that will arise. At the very least, the homeowner will need to be able to function independently in regard to basic daily tasks such as cooking and hygiene maintenance. Here is a list of changes, renovations, and upgrades to consider if living independently in your own home is important to you.

  1. Install slip-resistant floors, especially on stairs and in high traffic areas.
  2. Create open spaces and wide hallways and doorways to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers.
  3. Lower electrical switches and increase the height of outlets to accommodate decreased mobility.
  4. Prioritize a first floor master bedroom and bathroom, changing the footprint of the home when necessary.
  5. Install grab bars and railings, particularly on stairs and in bathrooms.
  6. When possible, eliminate steps by adding ramps or creating zero-threshold entries in both the interior and exterior of the home. When steps cannot be removed, install a wheelchair lift.
  7. Install a walk-in shower rather than a bathtub, and be sure to include a handheld shower faucet.
  8. Replace traditional doorknobs with lever-handed knobs to benefit arthritic hands.

As home and accessory design have evolved over time, new ideas and items to accommodate the elderly are less conspicuous and tend to blend more seamlessly with original design and décor. Aging-in-place can be a pleasant and enjoyable experience when the proper steps have been taken. Finding a designer and/or contractor who understands this process will be the key to a smooth transition.

The RCI Advantage

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The RCI Advantage

Tackling a home renovation project can be both exciting and stressful.  Trying to make decisions while staying within your budget and time frame can feel like a full-time job.  Most folks see the advantage of hiring a contractor to help them accomplish such projects, but hiring a designer to assist can be equally important.  This is where professionals like Danielle Gundrum from Red Couch Interiors can help ensure that a project ends on a positive note.

First and foremost, a designer and a contractor share a common goal, their client’s ultimate satisfaction with a job well done.  They will likely have different areas of expertise, stemming from a shared love for the building industry and how all its components fit together.  Their common mission will be reached most successfully as they discover each other’s strengths in communication, product selection, overall floor plan, and budget boundaries.  When these flow together, a project can be enjoyable and successful from all perspectives.

Hiring a designer can be beneficial for those who have no idea where to begin, for those who need someone to help them tie all the details together, and for those who are too busy to actually execute a project on their own.  Consider the following ways a designer can be of invaluable assistance:

CREATING COMMUNITY:  Ideally, a designer should be part of the project from the very beginning.  This helps with ease of communication between contractors, subs, and the homeowner.  Frequent interaction and job site visits help ensure you avoid costly mistakes and that all of the details come together smoothly.  While it is inevitable that changes will be made along the way, this ability to work together benefits all parties, and ultimately, the homeowner, in making sure the little details remain a priority while shooting for an overall goal.  Additionally, all parties can work together to find creative solutions for challenges that arise, based on their individual skill sets.

MAKING SELECTIONS & CHANGES:  It also benefits all parties, especially the homeowner, if selections are made before the project ever begins.  This is where a designer is of utmost importance in helping to keep things on time and within budget.  Changes are best made at the rough-in stage before change order costs are in play, and designers are exceptional at communicating all of this to the contractor. Once the rough-in stage is complete, changes will automatically require extra work, which leads to extra expense, so a designer can help the homeowner think things through in advance to avoid unnecessary stress and cost.

DETAILED PRODUCT SELECTION:  Choosing the right colors, appliances, and finishes can be overwhelming to a homeowner.  A designer can help you wade through the options, keeping the overall picture and budget in mind, and saving you hours of fruitless shopping or internet surfing.  The designer can also help educate the homeowner on new items or ideas in design and help narrow down the options, and he or she will also have access to resources and connections not available to the general public.  A good designer is also a good listener, taking note of a client’s specific taste and needs and then applying such knowledge to the selection process in a way that minimizes the stress.

RELATING TO THE CONTRACTOR: The contractor is typically responsible for setting the budget and time frame, both of which are subject to change.  A designer is a helpful liaison between the client and contractor, identifying client expectations and keeping the contractor informed along the way.  If the designer can handle the organizational aspects of the project, the contractor is freed up to devote his time to construction details and coordinating his subs to stay on schedule.  The designer can flag little things that pop up, like the need for an outlet at an unusual spot or placement of overhead lights. The designer and contractor can help promote each other’s businesses as they develop a healthy working relationship.  Ideally, they will be able to connect future clients with the right people to ensure that each project ends successfully.

If you have not taken advantage of a designer’s services in the past, it can be difficult to envision the benefits of hiring one.  But the designer’s ability to help a project run seamlessly from design to product selection to completion cannot be underestimated. Red Couch Interiors enjoys the opportunity to help clients see their dreams become a reality!

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