Monday, May 18, 2020

The Fun Room Sunroom by Fiorito Interior Design

The mission: turn an unused back patio into a space where mom and dad and kids can all play and enjoy being together. Dad is an avid video gamer, mom and dad love to play board games with friends and family, and the kids love to draw and play.

After the patio received a new enclosure and ceiling with recessed LED lights, my solution was to divide this long space into two zones, one for adults and one for kids, but unified with a sky blue and soothing green color palette and coordinating rugs.

To the right we have a comfortable sofa with poufs gathered around a specialty cocktail table that turns into a gaming table featuring a recessed well which corrals boards, game pieces, and dice (and a handy grooved lip for propping up game cards), and also has a hidden pop-up monitor that connects to game consoles or streams films/television.

I designed a shelving system to wrap around the back of a brick fireplace that includes narrow upper shelving to store board games, and plenty of other spots for fun things like working robotic models of R2D2 and BB8!

Over in the kids’ zone, a handy storage system with blue doors, a modular play table in a dark blue grey, and a sweet little tee pee lined with fur throws for playing, hiding, or napping gives this half of the room an organized way for kids to express themselves. Magnetic art holders on the wall display an ever-changing gallery of finger paintings and school crafts.

This back patio is now a fun room sunroom where the whole family can play!

The top of the specialty cocktail/game table comes off in sections...
...to reveal the navy velvet gaming surface beneath!
Beneath the velvet gaming top is a flip up monitor for video games or movie watching!

All photos by Bernardo Grijalva

If you'd like to turn an unused area of your house into a special spot, give me a call!
Happy designing!

Monday, May 11, 2020

Fiorito Interior Design Is Open!


Greetings clients past, current, and future!

While these last eight weeks have been an undeniably difficult time in our world, some things are still here, like the need for a comfortable, welcoming home in which to Shelter-In-Place. I've been hearing a lot of stories of people who are, for the first time, truly experiencing their homes and realizing they want it to be something cocooning, inspiring, and beautiful. Especially with the prospect of continuing extended periods at home (some models predict the virus' return in the fall), people are wanting to be engaged in their home in a more meaningful way.

And now that some restrictions are lifting and we are venturing out into the world once again, I am still here to help you achieve that goal while keeping aware of physical distance and our safety. None of us really knows what the next steps are, and retail--and especially our industry--is still making adjustments. But despite some supply chain delays, I am designing and successfully executing remodels and projects. It takes some creativity and patience as we all maneuver this new paradigm, but if you are yearning for an upgrade, facelift, or remodel of any space in your home, please contact me. I can help.



Stay safe and happy designing!

Monday, May 4, 2020

To Carpet or Not To Carpet: That Is The Question

If "to carpet or not to carpet" really is your question, I hope I can provide some answers or at least some guidance.

First, let's talk about what carpeting is. I have often heard people use the words "carpet" and rug" interchangeably and while this may be attributed to regional dialects, within the design world a carpet is a floor covering that stretches from wall to wall while a rug is something smaller that floats within a space. We can talk about rugs in a future post, but for now, carpet is where we are!


So, if you want to explore the idea of carpeting, it's good to know where carpeting can and cannot go. Since the concept of carpet is something warm and soft underfoot, it is ideal for the private spaces of your home, such as bedrooms (where we are most always barefoot), perhaps family rooms (again, where we may be barefoot), and offices. However, carpet should not be used in kitchens (for the obvious reason of spilling and cleaning), and carpets should never be used in bathrooms (for the obvious reason of hygiene). And while it is often used on stairs as a runner--either tacked down or with elegant brass rail hardware--carpet is not a good choice for high traffic areas like entryways and hallways. Since these spaces get a lot more daily use, the carpet in these areas can wear faster and become stained much quicker. Hard surfaces are the better choice for these spots.


A carpeted bedroom however can give a wonderful sense of luxury and pleasure. There are so many types of carpet. How do you know what kind to invest in? Ask yourself how plush you want the carpet to be. There are two main types of carpet.

--Loop pile (this includes Berber, level loop, and multi-loop carpets)

Berber
Level loop
Multi-loop

--Cut pile (this is what used to be referred to as "shag" carpeting and includes velvet, Saxony, textured, and frieze carpets)

Saxony
Textured
Frieze

When loop pile carpets are made, the fibers come up from the bottom--or backing--of the carpet and then back down again, creating a closed loop. The loops on Berber carpets can be very tight, giving the appearance of something woven. Level loops offer a bit of cushion and multi-loop carpets can be a mixture of high and low loops, making the carpet appear to be "sculpted." Tighter loops like Berbers wear best as the fibers do not stick up for them to become crushed or matted. However this carpet style can feel a little bit industrial.


Cut pile carpeting is more sumptuous and can offer a plushness that is delightful. When the carpet fibers come up from the underside of the backing material, they are cut instead of returning into the backing. A Saxony carpet has fibers placed together in a dense arrangement and cut as evenly as possible. Some types of textured carpets have a construction where the fibers are twisted before they are cut giving them a more casual appearance and a longer wear life. You can look for the TPI or "twists per inch" on the carpet information which should tell you about its quality: generally carpets will have 3-6 twists per inch but frieze carpets can see up to 7 or 9 twists per inch.

Two other factors determine the quality of a carpet and should be examined when deciding: density and weight.

--Density refers to how many fibers are in a pile and how tight the fibers are; generally, denser carpets are more durable. Bend the carpet sample into a U-shape and see how much of the backing is visible. More backing means less quality.
--Weight is an indicator of density, as it is measured by square foot. The higher the weight, the more fiber per square foot, the more dense and durable the carpet. Again, this information should be shown on the back of the carpet sample when choosing and buying.

This leaves the material from which your carpet can be made. There are a lot of different materials, but they are basically broken down into natural or man-made fibers.

--Natural fibers include wool and silk which is blended with other fibers. Wool however is the only natural fiber that is fire-resistant because of the presence of lanolin. It also resists stains. is considered eco-friendly, and has an excellent wear life.

--Man-made fibers include:
a) Nylon--The most popular choice of man-made fibers but needs to be treated with a stain resistant product. It does have a long wear life and is good in higher traffic areas if you wish to use it.
b) Acrylic--Seen as an inexpensive alternative to wool, acrylic is stain resistant and easy to clean, fade resistant, and water-repellant but it is less durable than wool and can become fuzzy over time.
c) Olefin--Resistant to moisture, mold, and mildew with medium durability.
d) Polyester--Stain and fade resistant and durable but make sure you get a good quality carpet with maximum density and weight so it lasts a long time.

Things to consider when choosing a material include the foot traffic of your space, and whether children or pets (this means dirt and staining) are going to be on the carpet.


I hope this helped take the mystery out of carpet.
Happy designing!