By Kaitlyn Finchler
Updated features and additions to a home that subtly incorporate current decor trends can make the space more livable and enjoyable in the present. For that reason, Wendy Berry, owner and principal designer of W Design Interiors in Chagrin Falls, shares some ideas and inspiration to elevate a home.
MORNING KITCHENS AND CONCEALED PANTRIES
You know when you wake up in the morning, instantly parched, and the only thing you can think of is your next sip of water? But you don’t want to walk to the kitchen – that’s just too much effort after an early alarm clock. Morning kitchens, Berry says, are a solution, offering a kitchen-esque flair to an upstairs. They can include a beverage refrigerator, coffee bar and other amenities right off the primary bedroom.
“When you wake up in the morning, you can go get your cup of coffee and come right back to bed,” Berry says. “Or we’ll do wine coolers and wine glasses. When we do our installs, we set them up just as you imagine using them.”
On the other hand, when you do feel like moseying down to the kitchen, concealed or hidden butler pantries can save space and leave the area sleek.
“We’ve done where you walk through (and) what looks like a cabinet, refrigerator or a pantry cabinet, you literally walk into another room,” Berry says. “They’re completely concealed.”
NATURAL MATERIALS AND TEXTURES
While an all-white kitchen can give a clean-cut look, sometimes maintaining existing or adding natural warm wood, texture or mixed metal finishes in a house can bring out its spunk.
“A trend in architectural detailing can be using really warm wood and organic materials,” Berry says. “Adding some natural stone to places where there’s a backsplash, a countertop in a powder room, or natural wood tones from walnut to even sometimes as light as a pine.”
Some work W Design Interiors has done, Berry says, involves incorporating mixed metals such as a polished nickel with antique brass, creating a timeless look.
“What’s nice is when you do a wood island with (a white kitchen), or sometimes we’ll do a white kitchen and we’ll do glass upper cabinets,” she says. “Behind the glass, the whole interior of that cabinet might be in walnut.”
INDOOR-OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES
Summer means sipping lemonade on a porch, or laying outside underneath an umbrella or shaded covering. But, one space can do both. Berry says indoor-outdoor living spaces are a great way to give an “inside feel” to an outdoor space.
“Whether it’s umbrellas or a motorized shade that goes in the back of the house, it gives you that feeling of being indoors,” Berry says. She also notes that fire pits and candle tabletop LED lights can be decorative and convenient pieces to add in such spots. These are especially beneficial for spaces without much lighting, creating a glow inside.