Pamela Kofsky Speaking at Sew Vintage Boutique in Ambler, PA

My extensive sample fabric collection is proof enough that fabrics are very important in my work. This design really strikes my attention because of the high quality and moderate pricing while the textiles and accessories are fun enough for a girl’s bedroom or play area. The line uses colors that are vibrant and designs that are unique to keep the room one- of-a-kind, somewhat similar to the new Lilly Pulitzer fabric line that debuted this past fall. At a recent speaking event I paired together samples from the line to display how well the pieces integrate together to form a perfect girl’s room.

Below you will see a photo of Pamela Kofsky, Founder/ Designer of Elegant Interior Designs speaking at Sew Vintage Boutique in Ambler, PA

Check Out These Bold Fabrics

Check out these bold fabric prints.

Vibrant Carpets: Cozy & Practical

Tassels: Adornment for your Furniture, Curtains & Pillow

Some of the carpeting seems retro, but with the elegant tassels and fabrics the room ties together perfectly for a hip girl. Even incorporating some of the fabrics or accessories in any other room of the house, like a kitchen or sitting area, will give a nice fresh pop of color. Jump on this trend early before this interior design gains widespread awareness, by contacting Pamela Kofsky at Elegant Interior Designs.

Newest Tile Trends

I recently was invited to a tile seminar that displayed what’s hot and exciting in tile innovations for 2012. Here are some pictures of what caught my eye. Thought you may find the upcoming trends interesting.

90% of the tiles produced today are porcelain. They are usually heavier than ceramic and are made from a denser finer clay. This means they look great and are durable for the long-run.

Glass tiles create a beautiful look. They can be used on a full shower wall, as a back splash or border. Here you can see that some of the glass tiles are with mother of pearl, stone and metal. Glass tiles can be paired with a plain larger tile to add instant texture and interest. They could be placed behind a bar with down lighting to emphasize the graduated heights of the tile.

This bubble tile is really interesting. It can create a fun look in a bathroom, either as a border, accent tile or a backsplash of a vanity.

What do you think of this stone tile? Notice the two types: the flat stone and the pebbled riverrock. How neat would this be in the floor of your shower? This adds a Zen quality to create a spa type bathroom. The pebbles produce a massaging type feeling when standing on them.

Hope you enjoyed a sneak peak at the up and coming tile trends. If you are in need of assistance to update your space, contact Pamela Kofsky at Elegant Interior Designs.

Walls Bring a Room to Life

The wall color helps to create the right look and feel for the room. Most frequently clients ask for help with bland looking walls since they are not sure what color spectrum they should stick to for their walls. Many times they are uncertain with what to do with the color because the rooms open into one another.

Pamela Kofsky recently delivered a speech at a Women’s Power Networking luncheon on tips for making walls more of a focal point in a room. In this discussion, Pamela answered questions which clients usually are concerned about, including the tips below. Each room should have its own personality, and to help that, here are some ideas for sprucing up plain walls:

Wall décor can be painted directly onto
the wall, or as seen in the picture above,
a mounted piece of fabric. Moulding can be
added as a frame to give the room depth.

Grass cloth is a great way to make a room seem
a little more exotic. The grass cloth is easy to pair
furniture with and adds enough detail to fix up
a plain wall. Even a neutral ivory or eggshell is
more dynamic than paint.

Accent walls are great for spicing up a room.
In the image above, you can use wall paper,
such as the sample depicted on the right, for
the wall in the room you want to draw the
most attention to. The rest of the walls can
be painted with a complimentary color, such
as those depicted on the left. This gives you
an opportunity to be adventurous with wall
paper, and not overusing patterns.

Bead board gives a room a classy feel as this
wall fix-up has been used for ages. The trick is
to use an elegant bottom wooden fixture paired
with a molding of a matching finish. The top
half of the wall can be an extravagant painting,
as depicted above, or simply a solid paint color.

For further assistance with wall décor and paint selections contact Pamela Kofsky at Elegant Interior Designs: 215-920-9655.

How to Create a Romantic Ambiance

The month of February is the perfect time to take a break from your busy schedule and celebrate with your loved ones. Romanticizing your living space is ideal for setting the right mood. Here are a few tips for making the perfect ambiance for you and your Valentine.

The pictures below display Pamela Kofsky’s Valentine’s Day themed work for a benefit at the Marketplace Design Center in Philadelphia. As you can see, Pamela incorporated all the tips suggested to make a decadent table setting.

: Isn’t this romantic?

Lighting
Setting the lights on a dimmer will create a more romantic ambiance. Add tealights, votive, pillar and tapered candles to your table to create an enchanted look. This will create sensual lighting which will provide mood enhancement to accompany your romantic meal.

Table
Think of setting the table as setting the color. Incorporate a lot of red since this evokes the most emotion associated with love, warmth, excitement and energy. Red also is a stimulant, giving your delicious meal a little more desire. Don’t forget to include flowers on the table.

Place Setting
Using textures like ruffles, satin, embroidery, and soft fabrics give the senses more of a dining experience. Accent plates can enhance a place setting along with place mats, cloth napkins, crystal and elegant silverware and dinnerware.

Want further interior design tips and decorating ideas for a flawless intimate setting? Call Pamela Kofsky, founder and designer of Elegant Interior Designs for a consultation.

Hurry…Time Is Running Out!

Claim your tax credit for the purchase of qualifying energy efficient shades.

Certain Hunter Douglas Duette® Architella® honeycomb shades may qualify for a U.S. Federal Tax Credit of up to $500! The federal tax credit is valid on qualifying honeycomb shade purchases made from January 1 through December 31, 2011. You can still purchase before Dec. 31 to qualify for the tax credit.

- Purchase any qualifying energy-efficient Hunter Douglas products within the following collections: Alustra® Duette® Architella® honeycomb shades with certain fabrics and options.

- Don’t forget to save your original purchase receipts for the amount paid for the qualifying Hunter Douglas products. (Measuring and Installation charges are not eligible for this tax credit.)

- Fill out the Hunter Douglas Manufacturer’s Certification Statements and take it along with your sales receipt to your tax professional to determine your eligibility for this tax credit.

DECORATING TIP: Further enhance the beauty of your windows and also reduce your heating and cooling bill by adding lined and interlined drapery panels with a top treatment.

For more information or to purchase Hunter Douglas products or Custom Window Treatments contact Pamela Kofsky of Elegant Interior Designs at 215-920-9655.

Holiday Space Planning

Tis’ the Season for Giving Thanks! For most of us that is top of mind for the holiday season. Our intentions are to do something special, but we never really get around to it. This year by making it a priority it can be a win-win for your home and your family. Here’s the plan: set aside time to thank people for their time, commitment, support, help and understanding this past year. Host a cocktail hour, dinner, game night or brunch in your home. The fun part will be space planning for your event. Make entertaining an experience for your guests from great appetizers to perfect lighting!

Let’s take advantage of this holiday season and the few weeks we have to prepare. Then we can invite our family and friends and take a time out together to live “in the moment” in your great new space!

Now the question is… How does your home look? Cluttered? Mix Matched? Outdated? Lacking seating? Evaluating a room will not only give it a new look but it can:

• Create Function and Purpose
• Offer Organization
• Improve Seating
• Create Ambiance
• Encourage Conversation
• De-clutter
• Refresh and Renew the Energy in a Space

Underneath your “stuff” is an amazing space. Let’s create your masterpiece.

Elegant Interior Designs offers clients the option for Space Planning consultation from discussing options to recreating spaces. If you want your home to sparkle this season make your appointment now for an easy solution to a fun project!

Top 10 Trends in Interior Design by 2020

Ever wonder what Interior Design Trends will be in the future? We asked ourselves the same question and with a little digging we found a survey with opinions from across the industry. Here is an abbreviation of the survey:

1. Americans will be living in smaller spaces and with fewer rooms by the year 2020, say more than 76% of IFDA members.

2. Formal living rooms are going extinct, according to an increasing majority of design professionals

3. Dining rooms will become multi-purpose spaces, incorporating home offices, study areas for children and entertainment centers.

4. Separate rooms are disappearing: they are blending into spaces that serve many different purposes, believe 91.5 % of the design experts

5. Furniture also goes multi-purpose with modular, moveable and smaller scaled furniture overtaking built-ins and big pieces.

6. Eat in kitchens will remain a necessity and could replace dining rooms due to the increased interest in home cooking.

7. Spa baths are very likely to succeed. Luxurious products such as spa showers, high- tech fixtures/TVs are on the rise.

8. High-Tech is here to stay. Voice and sensor activation will be the norm. Lighting, entertainment and environmental controls (heating and cooling) and window treatments will be motorized by the general population.

9. Outdoor living with low maintenance is a must. Low-maintenance landscaping and “functional” gardens with herb and vegetables will be prevalent.

10. The average home size will shrink due to concern over energy costs and the fact that baby boomers no longer need a large number of bedrooms.

The Top 10 Trends were sourced from “20/20: IFDA’s Vision for the Future” survey of the association’s nearly 2000 members across the US and abroad (including Japan).

For more information about how you can stay a head of the curve and implement any of these trends call Pamela Kofsky, founder and designer at Elegant Interior Designs for a consultation on your project.

Paint with Color – Designer Tips

Did you catch September’s Newsletter? If so, then you must be anxious for the Painting Color Tips by your very own Pamela Kofsky, Color Consultant. Pam does offer a la carte services including a color consultation when selecting wall color for your next room.

Purpose of Space

What is purpose of the space?
What mood are you setting?
Is this a high traffic area?
Will the kids or pets make contact with the wall?

Selecting a Paint Color

What is your color palette for your room/space?
What are the other items in the room or space?
Are you looking for a solid color or a two toned room?
Are you looking at a WARM color palette or a COOL color palette?
- WARM = Red, Orange, Yellow
- COOL = Blue, Green, Purple

Selecting a Finish
Know your options, each option reflects light differently:

Semi Gloss
Gloss
Matte
Eggshell
Flat
Satin

Antique Shopping in Montreal

While on a recent international shopping trip in Canada I stumbled upon some awesome antique stores. Looking for the perfect piece with one of the kind quality for a client. It was an interior designers dream to discover these shops.

Unique Antique Find

Montreal Antique Shop Window

Client Shopping in an antique store in Montreal

Lights Galore

Bedroom Bliss: MASTER SUITE

No Kids? Why not treat yourself to a modern upgrade?

Is your master suite is stuck in the 70s, 80s or 90s? If you have waited long enough your bedroom might be back in style but it might be time to update the textiles in the room. Yes, you can work with existing furniture in your room and still have a successful makeover. Focus on items that wear or may be outdated. Consider alternating existing room features: from wallpaper to paint, carpet to hardwood, floral to patterns, mirrors to framed art. Don’t forget new linens, new wall color and finish, wall art, accessories and even refinishing your furniture a lighter or darker finish.

Tips for Getting Started: