The Interior Design Advocate ™
...your guide to the Wisely Designed ™ Home 
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| As Seen on ABC TV, Family Circle, Real Simple |
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Greetings!
Thanks to everyone who contributed design questions for my appearance on "The Dawn Show." I'll be taping in early August, so stay tuned for air times and to see which ones we used! Thanks also to those who responded to my request for a nomination for Best of Bucks 2013. Category winners will be announced this September... This month, I talk about the psychology of color and the relationship between color and memory. I would love to hear your color memories! Share them with me on my Facebook page. Also in this issue is a valuable guide to measuring interior spaces. You may not realize all that goes into measuring! For all of you still thinking about submitting a story for my behind-the-scenes look into the interior design business, there's still time. Click below to enter your story. Donna
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to view all Interiors by Donna Hoffman past e-newsletters.
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WE NEED YOUR DESIGN STORIES!
 We're loving the stories we're getting. We'd love more!
Please take a moment to tell us about your best and worst experiences with an interior designer or share this with your friends.
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Color, Design and Memory As a professional interior designer, I spend so much time churning out color plans for projects - everything from how a color will sculpt and carve an interior, to how it will correct a problem or unify rooms, to how it can affect brand perception for a commercial client. But today as I drove past a mimosa tree in bloom at the side of the road, my mind skipped quickly from the tree's lacy form to its great color combo of pink and green. Pink and green. And with that, I was transported to the backyard of my childhood. I am nestled there under my mother's own pink and green mimosa, but I am here in my pink and white pajamas delightedly hunkered down with my grandmother Anna, who is herself clothed in her pale pink house coat. The summer is long and life is good. Pink and green. Color. Memory.
And in that yard, Anna the grandmother rests on a white metal chaise lounge that boasts a soft turquoise blue vinyl body cushion (this is before the days of indoor/outdoor fabric). The white and turquoise combo is so beautifully fresh, and Anna, the wrinkled but beautiful, who is all wrapped in her pink house dress, looks like a mimosa flower herself perched on the turquoise chaise cushion. She is reciting for me one of the children's stories she wrote. And I love it. And I love her. Turquoise and white. What a happy time. Color. Memory. CLICK HERE FOR MORE
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Key Interior Design Measurements You Might Not Know
 If design were only about the "pretty" part, I would be a lot less gray. Design isn't just about "pretty" - it's about excellent function.
Here's a short list of key measurements that make the difference between a room that flows, looks and feels great, to one that is overstuffed and cramped or just off kilter. - 4-6" - the ideal height above a dresser or table at which to hang art. (Most people and many designers hang too high). Above the sofa, you may need to bump that to 7-8". High hangers, you know who you are.
- 6" - the size of a dollar bill and the amount of space people often struggle to find (and sometimes bang their heads against the wall over) when planning a kitchen.
- 24" - the MINIMUM space behind a dining chair and the edge of the rug upon which it sits. 30-36" is better.
- 36" - the often used pass-through measurement allowed by the National Kitchen and Bath Association in their planning. I prefer...42" wherever possible in kitchens, and certainly in key traffic flow areas in the rest of the house. 36" is the standard opening for doorways and passages.
- 42" - the ideal spacing between the bed and dresser, the buffet and the edge of a chair and as noted above.
- 8-10' - the maximum comfortable distance between people in a seating group for comfortable seating.
- 3x - To find your maximum TV viewing distance, multiple your screen size by 3 and that will give you the maximum viewing distance to your screen. (ie...a 50" TV should not have a viewing distance of more than 150")
- 5x - the number of pieces of chocolate I'd rather eat, instead of the 1 lonely, puny piece I'm supposed to eat.
Happy measuring! |
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Interiors by Donna Hoffman
1081 Country Hills Road, Yardley, PA 19067
p. 215.736.8693/ f. 215.736.0890
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Background art by April Brinkley (lipstickrougedesigns.com). |
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