Dear Jean and Richard, I’ve noticed from the before and after photos on your website that you use a lot of lamps, sconces and chandeliers in your designs. I’m not sure my bedroom would look right with fancy fixtures, but it needs more light. What about track lighting? –Help me, Rhonda, Lee’s Summit, MO

Richard: Uh, no. That is, unless you want to merchandise your furniture for a photo shoot. I sense that you are averse to chandeliers, but they are available in all shapes, sizes, and finishes, and can offer a great deal of light for just one fixture.
Jean: Your choice of lighting makes a big statement. Are you romantic and mysterious, or are you clinical and no-nonsense? Track lighting is great for utilitarian spaces, but generally is not as sexy as chandelier candles or indirect lamp light. You would not normally put track lighting over your dining table, and I wouldn’t want it over my bed, either.
Richard: Well, you don’t have to be always practical or always romantic. But it’s true that lighting represents more than function these days. It wasn’t always like that—in medieval times, windows were installed to allow sunlight to illuminate the indoors rather than to look outdoors. Fireplaces were invented in the 13th century, which offered firelight as well as heat, and candles did not give way to lanterns until a few hundred years ago. The first electric lights were in general use barely a century ago, but rooms were still gloomy because most employed a single overhead bulb, while lamps were relegated for reading. Only recently have we had a choice how bright or dramatic we want our home environment.
Jean: Wow, Professor Fast! And I thought you got by on just your good looks! Well, if that’s all true, we’re lucky to be living in an era with so many options. And I say since you have choices, don’t select a light source on the basis of function alone. What’s wrong with replacing that 20th century overhead fixture with a chandelier styled for the 21st, or for that matter, styled to look like the 18th?
Richard: Certainly chandeliers made a statement of grandeur long before electricity came along. Today the options seem limitless, and some even can make a clean contemporary masculine statement. But lamp options are limitless too, and with that variety you can combine your sense of style with the amount of light you need.
Jean: Rhonda, I hate to admit it, but Richard’s right. Rather than have your light source come from overhead, consider a variety of floor and table lamps. Don’t have them match in design, but select them on the basis of a common quality. For example, if your bedroom has a period theme, select lamps that mirror the period. Or if your furniture is over-scaled, don’t use wispy lamps. And for a dramatic effect, add some sparkly things in the room that reflect the lamp light and offer a sense of enchantment.
Richard: For that matter, today many lamps—and fixtures—are truly works of art, and even the home improvement stores are starting to offer some interesting designs. I for one applaud the efforts many builders are making to install more interesting designs and finishes for their spec homes….considering they are making those decisions in between football games.
Jean: Hear that, Rhonda? All you have to do is move into a new house! But seriously, even in your current home, consider lighting an important element in your statement of style.

Dear Jean and Richard, I’ll bet your friends never invite you into their homes for fear of your critical eye. I’m curious what your eyes do see—or look for—when you visit a friend’s home. –Ann Nonimus

Richard: Hi “Ann.” Ok, so I don’t know who you are for sure, but I have a pretty good idea. Not that it matters, mind you, because my answer would be the same. What do I look for? First, I look for a glass of wine and a soft place to sit. If you’re worried that I might pass judgment on your interior, make sure it’s really good wine.
Jean: What I look for are pets. If there’s a puppy or kitty around, chances are I won’t even notice the room. As far as I’m concerned, animals are the best accessories, regardless of color or scale. The rest is just stuff.
Richard: Don’t give me that. You’re looking for a glass of Pinot Grigio, too. And the rest is not just “stuff.” You’ll be like, “What a great chandelier! (or not) What a pretty wine label! (as compared to the wine)”
Jean: Well, maybe—while I’m petting the puppy, of course. Did you know that some of the most popular wines have animals on the label? I’ve never seen one with a chandelier.
Richard: You’ve never seen one with a kid on the label, either. Which is another thing I look for. Not kids, mind you. But I like to see their “stuff” restricted to specific rooms. No visitor likes to trip over toys when they’re drinking a glass of wine.
Jean: Dog beds are OK, though. At least for me. Even those can be fun prints. In fact, anything that’s personal and makes the home feel warm and inviting is OK with me. I love pieces that the owners have collected from their travels or inherited from family. But I agree with you that there should be a sense of order.
Richard: Yes, and most important is clean. I guess you could say what we both look for is that the interior is organized and clutter free. After that, what’s cooking in the kitchen is far more important than how the room is put together.
Jean: Tired of tofu, Richard? I’d say another thing that’s important is a sense of fun or playfulness. No one wants to live in a depressing or bland environment. I would notice if it was boring.
Richard: But I still say if you don’t have the ability to “mix it up”, don’t. One man’s treasures can be this man’s trash. If it’s not pretty, just dim the lights and we’ll eat by candlelight.
Jean: It’s really about the food, isn’t it? Something tells me Ann will not be inviting you over anytime soon.

Richard: Dear Readers, we’re back once again from the Furniture Market, and offering our take on what’s new and hot; what’s old and not. And I’m not referring to anything my partner chose to wear on the trip.
Jean: Thank you, Richard. For the record, I’ll not say anything about your “attired” wardrobe, either. But home furnishings is very much a fashion industry, and part of our mission was to pay close attention to design trends. One observation we both made was that (no big surprise) buyer traffic was down.
Richard: Well, 20% of furniture purchases are for new homes, and we all know that home sales are suffering at the moment. The state of the economy isn’t helping manufacturing operations, either. So there’s good reason for traffic to be down, and it helps explain why much of what we saw was, well, familiar.
Jean: True. As we saw in the spring, there were a lot of eco-friendly and natural materials, and on the other side of the fashion spectrum, a lot of glitz and glamour. Metallic colors and textures were featured in fabrics, rugs, and even ceramics, and rich linens and velvets were employed in upholstery and drapery.
Richard: Sometimes that yen and yang of earthy and sparkle work together. For example, one table I saw featured a whitewashed, roughhewn top with polished stainless steel legs (and if you want one at the retail price of $10,000 give us a call!) We also saw some retro designs, like some chrome and Plexiglas pieces that may have been beamed to High Point from the starship Enterprise or people who are still watching that.
Jean: I saw them too, but I wouldn’t say they represented a trend. What is very much a trend though is the color palette, which has been constant for two Markets now. Blush pinks and earth tones, blacks and whites. I should say “charcoal and white,” because charcoal seems to be the new black.
Richard: I noticed an evolution in surface textures—a couple of years ago shiny black lacquer was popular, then it was replaced with shiny white lacquer, and this time there were some antique French reproductions finished in flat white. It gave them a contemporary look.
Jean: As a matter of fact, there seemed to be a lot of flat whites and pastels featured on furniture this time. It’s fair to say there have been some fashion changes, but they’re subtle.
Richard: I think we’re also seeing a subtle change in promotional direction, too. There are fewer celebrity designers these days—or I should say celebrities chosen to represent designs. For the most part, those design celebrities present were real designers.
Jean: Yes, and one of my personal heroes was there—Bob Mackie. Most people remember him for his costume designs for divas like Cher, or for his work on the Carol Burnett Show. It was Mackie who gave us that hilarious parody of Gone With the Wind, with Burnett as Scarlet descending the stairs dressed in green velvet drapes, with the drapery rod still attached at her shoulders. “I saw this in the window and just had to have it!” Bob said that was just another weekly assignment for him. We asked him what future trends he saw for the home furnishings industry. He answered us with a gracious smile and twinkling eyes. “I have no idea.”

Dear Jean and Richard: These days, every time I visit an antique store, I see things I actually remember buying new. Am I really getting that old or is time speeding up? –Darlene, Atlanta

Richard: Hi Darlene. It’s a safe bet your age has little to do with it. My dog Izzy can remember some of the things I see in antique malls. The fact is, antique stores themselves have become somewhat antiquated, thanks to the internet and inexpensive imports. In many cases, the more valuable items are auctioned on Ebay to ensure the highest profit. Left over are usually more commonplace things, or items too large to easily ship.
Jean: You have a point, but nothing a tall hat won’t cover. There’s more to shopping for antiques than finding “valuable” items. For me, nostalgia and whimsy appeal to my sense of adventure. I look for certain children’s books and unusual carvings. My husband recently searched for a wooden ladder—not worth much on the market but hard to find new. When you discover a gem among all the rocks, it’s exciting. In a real sense, antiquing is modern day treasure-hunting.
Richard: OK, what you’re describing is more like dumpster diving than serious shopping. Or rummaging through someone’s attic to see what they can’t quite bear to throw away. I maintain that a great many antique stores are really just second-hand stores, and even more supplement their inventory with new, often imported reproductions.
Jean: You’ll have to admit we find some pretty nice pieces of furniture in antique stores…
Richard: Yes, and those are the items too bulky to ship.
Jean: Yet we buy them for our clients and ship them ourselves. I admit there are some junk stores that use the term “antique” a little too casually. But it really depends on what you’re looking for. I recently bought some Smurf glasses to give my adult children for Christmas because they loved the Smurfs when they were kids.
Richard: Wow, Christmas is really going to be special at your house. Imagine, antique Smurfs! I think the trick is to be discriminating about your antiques source. If you’re looking for Smurf glasses, roadside malls—or even flea markets—might be just the ticket. If you’re looking for furniture, I would check the higher-rent district, usually in a downtown area. With the internet, even a novice dealer knows what a piece is worth. Don’t expect any steals.
Jean: Darlene, when you’re considering vintage furniture, I would encourage you to think about alternate uses, especially if their original functions may no longer be needed. Corner telephone tables are long obsolete, but could be used as laptop stations. Sewing cabinets, ice-boxes, early record players, pie safes, and steamer trunks can find new life as storage for all sorts of household items.
Richard: Yes, but be sure to consider these items “novel” and work them into your décor primarily for interest. Upscale antique dealers rarely hold ice-boxes in the same regard as a French Regency étagère.
Jean: Maybe, but either one could store my set of Smurf glasses. I’m giving you a Grumpy Smurf glass this year…..

Dear Jean and Richard: In a recent column, you talked about big screen TVs, and it was my impression you hold them in disdain. Yet they are a fact of life for a lot of people, including me. How would you integrate one into your designs? -Ted, Fairview
Jean: Hi Ted. I used the phrase “ginormous TV” in one column when talking about style, but I never meant to imply a disdain for flat screen or big screen televisions. You are right—they are now part of the roomscape, and we have had several installations where an oversized screen was featured. These first began appearing in media rooms as a private home theater, but the new HD technology has made them popular throughout the house.
Richard: Well, let’s first establish what we mean by “big.” What’s big in the bathroom (and yes, we’ve seen three in a bathroom) might be tiny in the great room. The rule of thumb for viewing proportion is 1/3—that is to say, the TV’s size should equal one third of the viewing distance. If your chair or sofa were, say 9 feet away from the TV, and ideal screen size would be 36”.
Jean: So, Richard, do you have a flat screen in your bathroom?
Richard: Are you kidding? I don’t even have a flat wall in my bath.
Jean: I’ve seen them behind mirrors—could you do that?
Richard: I wouldn’t, but I admit the image staring back would be easier to look at. Some people do build them into a wall, and that is sometimes a good option. If you decide to do that, make sure it has plenty of ventilation and there’s a way to get behind it. If there is a cutout allowing the TV to sit backed into a closet or accessible space, use a simple black frame around the screen. Don’t use cutesy frames or try to disguise it, and make sure your remote can see the receiving “eye.”
Jean: If you don’t recess the TV, but instead mount it, choose a bracket arrangement that allows you to tilt the TV or swivel it. Mounts featuring swing-arm brackets are wonderful, but make absolutely certain its connection to the wall is secure. There can be a lot of leveraged weight swinging around.
Richard: Especially if you watch too much TV and don’t get enough exercise.
Jean: Yeah, and if you use your arm to leverage in some buttered popcorn. In most cases the wall around the screen will work better when painted in a darker color—not only does it tone down the screen when it’s off, but it enhances the viewing when it’s on.
Richard: Another nice treatment is to blend the TV into a setting surrounded by other objects of similar depth, such as recessing it into wall shelves surrounded by books. This way, you’re not trying to hide it, but it doesn’t look out of place, either.
Jean: And if you simply rest the TV’s base on a piece of furniture, make sure the new set does not protrude beyond the cabinet’s sides. If it does, it might look “too big” regardless of size. We’re back to proportion again.
Richard: And too much popcorn can make you protrude, too. Of course, if you don’t like what you see in the bathroom mirror, you can always turn on the TV behind it.