Umbria Design Studio News

Vessi's Design School

2010-02-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Lighting as a Design Element

Lighting or illumination is the intentional application of light to achieve some aesthetic or practical effect. Lighting includes use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and natural illumination of interiors from daylight. Lighting is one of the ways where wisdom and artistry can be applied for a home.

There are three different types of lighting according to decorators design intent, General or Ambient, Accent, and Task lighting.

General lighting

Also known as ambient lighting, general lighting supplies an area with overall, non-specific illumination. General lighting radiates a comfortable level of brightness, enabling people to see and walk about safely. It’s usually accomplished using ceiling or wall-mounted fixtures and recessed or track lighting. A basic form of lighting that replaces sunlight, ambient lighting is fundamental to lighting a home.

Accent lighting

Localized and directional lighting used to highlight or draw attention to a specific area of a room. It is used to give focus to the elements of a space that may need emphasis such as art or antiques.

Task lighting

Lighting directed to a specific area or surface that provides illumination for visual tasks, such as reading, sewing or cooking. It can be provided by recessed and track lighting, portable lighting or pendant lamps. Task lighting should be free of distracting glare and should be bright enough to prevent eyestrain. Task lighting is the best way to improve safety and increase productivity.

How Important is Office Look for Small Business Branding?

2009-11-17T08:40:00.001-08:00

The look of our office lobby is part of the way our clients view our business practices? As we first launch our new business we are trying to establish a clear and differentiated identity among our prospects and customers. This is especially important during challenging economic times when no company can afford to lose a customer or a sale. We must be consistent in the way we represent our business to the world, whether we are talking to the press, writing an industry article, or are inviting a client for a visit in our office. This consistency can help strengthen our brand and build customer trust in the way we conduct business.“Dress for success” is a phrase we are used to hearing over and over again. Success is something we need to learn how to dress for. If the success of you business is what you are after, you must put some effort into the way you look to your clients.
Let’s imagine the following situation:

You are out meeting an important client for the first time. You set up an appointment to meet for lunch at a local restaurant. You have carefully planned the meeting making sure every detail is taken care of. You’ve selected the restaurant with the best reputation, you’ve purchased a new suite to look your best, you made sure you arrived ahead of time and were using your best vocabulary speaking about your company’s good standing in order to impress your client. The client was very satisfied with your effort and is now ready to give you all his business. After lunch he wants to come to your office and sign a few documents in order for you to be able to start conducting business together. You drive back to your office, open the door and invite him in. We will stop here.

How this story ends is really up to … what at this moment?
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2009-11-12T07:41:00.001-08:00

The new Embassy Suites Hotel, Energy Corridor in Houston TX is open!!! All the hard work has finally payed off! See it

3 Simple Ways To Transform A Room On A Budget

2009-11-02T10:31:00.000-08:00

Interior designers know the quickest and most inexpensive way to dramatically change a room’s style is to attack those boring white walls. Sure, you could try painting the room a bold new shade, but the newest design techniques go a step further with drywall, faux painting, and nontraditional wallcoverings.
1. Drywall Textures
Once purely functional, drywall techniques are now a designer’s trick. Using drywall techniques to add new architectural or design touches, or simply retexturing ceilings and walls, can update the overall appearance of a home with a relatively small investment.
Walls and ceilings can be finished in many different ways. Retexturing or smoothing walls can freshen and modernize older homes or even return the original character to period homes that may have been carelessly remodeled.
Changing up the old-fashioned styles of texture (such as skip & trowel or brushed) can significantly freshen and update a 30-year-old home.
On the other hand, covering those styles of texture with a new layer of hand-troweled joint compound to resemble plaster could restore the charm to a 1900 Victorian. Custom textures and treatments, such as combining textured walls with totally smooth ceilings, can give a home a unique look.
Try the Orange Peel Finish: Very popular right now, the orange peel finish is created by spraying texture compound onto a smooth wall and then letting it dry. Paint when ready for a brand new look.
2. Faux Painting
One of the most popular ways to create a change in your home today is through faux painting. Faux painting incorporates decorative and special paint finishes, as well as techniques that resemble wallpaper, such as glazing, sponging,ragging, wood graining and even freehand designs.
Although many illusions can be achieved with faux finishing techniques on flat surfaces, textured products can create three-dimensional effects. Products applied in layers to walls, fireplaces and ceilings can look and feel like real stone, crumbling masonry, or peeling paint for a European country look.
Other popular finishes resemble linen, grass cloth or denim.
With a little skill, a great idea and a new color scheme your home’s interior can resemble an ancient Tuscan building, a marble wall or even a cloudy day.
Try a suede finish: To warm up a formal room such as a dining room, library or office, consider a suede finish. Textured paints containing solid materials like silica can make walls look—and even feel—like suede.
3. Non-traditional Wall Coverings
Wallpaper has always been a popular alternative to painting a room. But, in addition to traditional wallpaper, there are many types of wall coverings that will enliven a room. Bright fabrics, grass cloth, even cork are becoming popular as unique ways to dramatically change a room’s appearance.
Some non-traditional wall covering options:
Foil (some people refer to it by the brand name “Mylar”) can be difficult to work with because it shows imperfections in the wall surface and because it can get wrinkled easily. But the silver, reflective surface and the patterns on many foil wallpapers can be strikingly contemporary.
Cork-faced wall coverings are thicker because they have a surface of cork. They make for a cozy, dark and woodsy effect and can often be seen in family rooms or offices.
Paper-backed fabric shows the high-quality look of a fabric wall covering but can be installed with the ease of a vinyl-coated paper. The backing adds a stiffness that both hides defects in the wall and makes it easier to manage the fabric.

interior designer houston

2009-10-05T09:32:00.001-07:00

I am a member!
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2009-09-30T10:38:00.001-07:00

Working, having fun, looking for the right environment, check my website: www.umbriadesign.com

Client or a Friend

2009-08-31T07:11:00.000-07:00

Starting a new Design business has proven to be anything but an easy task. The mindset transformation from employee to a business owner takes absolutely enormous amount of energy; emotional as well as physical. Sometimes it feels like walking in the dark, trying not to stumble and crash into things. You don’t really want to turn the light ON on your very young business yet, but you have to keep on moving in order to make it work. How do you get this “first client” who will start spreading the good word about you around?

We look for help, emotional support and feedback from our friends so much so that we are willing to make them our first “no charge” customers. We reach to them in hopes for encouragement as well as an opportunity to start doing what we know we can do best: design. We know they will “let us“and by helping them they will help us. But is this as easy as it sounds? Is there a line we must draw between being someone’s friend and the same becoming your client? Is there supposed to be a difference between the way we treat our friends and the way we are to tread our clients? What do we tell our friend that we can’t tell our clients and vice versa. Client or a friend?