Sabrina Soto Home Design

the first layer

understand your space and plan your design

Photo courtesy of DuroDesign Flooring, Inc., www.duro-design.com, (888) 528-8518

The goal, to create an amazingly stylish kitchen that is easy to navigate, with a clean look and a focus on food prep and cooking. Score!

It’s a funny thing: If you live in a house for a while, you simply stop seeing it. The interior design turns into a background set to your daily life. That tangle of cables next to the media center becomes invisible. You stop noticing that the chairs on one side of the kitchen table hit the wall whenever they’re pulled out, and that your bedroom curtains are so flimsy they don’t block out the morning sun streaming through those east-facing windows.

This is the big advantage I have when I walk into a client’s house. I clearly see obvious trouble spots—and high points—in a way that the homeowner often can’t. It’s all fresh to me. I call it the “home-buyer perspective.” No matter what room, home, or decorating challenge I’m tackling, I always start with a thorough and brutally honest evaluation of the space.

Photo by Lucky Photo / Shutterstock.com

A corner location such as this can be the perfect wide-open kitchen floor plan, leaving plenty of room for multiple people to work in the space at the same time. It’s also adaptable; many different shapes of islands could be integrated into this kitchen to supply additional work surfaces and storage.

a fresh start

After hundreds of design projects and years of experience, I have a designer’s X-ray vision. I can visually edit out the existing furniture, window treatments, and other features to see the bare bones of a room. Chances are that you’ve lived in the space you’re about to redesign for some time. So I’d like you to clear out the room before you critically assess it.

Photo by Chris Rodenberg Photography / Shutterstock.com

Hardwood floors are an elegant, durable option, especially for a high-traffic common area such as a living room. The finish can be changed to match a new room design, but the grain remains a scintillating visual.

Yes, that means moving all the furniture out of the space. It’s simply the best way to see the space clearly. If you’re anything like me, you’ll also see it as a great chance to give the room a deep cleaning. It’s up to you whether you totally strip the room, taking down wall art and window treatments as well. Take it from me; it’s well worth the effort.

Once the room is bare, it’s time to channel your inner Sabrina. Grab a notebook or sketchpad, your favorite pen or pencil, and a measuring tape. (A glass of wine won’t hurt the creative process, either.) No matter what, I like to keep it fun. The more enjoyable the process, the more relaxed and creative you’ll be. Put on your favorite music, and let’s get to it!

Start with the “constants”—the things about the space that you can’t change. The first is the floor plan—the positions of permanent architectural and structural elements such as walls, windows, doors, wired-in fixtures, and outlets. Note that the floor plan is different from the layout; the layout is the position of all the design elements in relation to these structural pieces. The floor plan is the foundation on which any interior design is built, and it’s going to affect everything in your design to one degree or another.

sketch the floor plan!

Don’t even think about launching into a new interior design without a usable sketch of the floor plan. This is a super-important part of the process. Here’s the good news: You don’t have to be Picasso to make a good, workable sketch. I use a piece of large-format sketch paper because it gives me lots of room to work out potential design features and make notes as I review the space. You can get by with a letter-sized sheet if that works better for you. Some people prefer to use grid paper because the individual blocks provide an easy scale, and whenever you need a straight line, all you have to do is follow the grid lines.

Whatever paper you choose, start your sketch by carefully measuring the space, including the locations of doorways, windows, light fixtures, and outlets. It doesn’t have to be pretty, but you do have to mark exactly where all those features are located, as well as the placement of substantial built-ins such as a fireplace or floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Now all you do is scale down those measurements for your sketch. I use a 1-inch-to-1-foot scale, but you can use whatever scale works best for your sketch—as long as you’re consistent and precise. Draw the floor plan by hand, or use a straightedge if you’re like me and your straight lines seem to turn into squiggles. Just remember that it doesn’t have to be a work of art; it just needs to work. Down the road you’re going to put this sketch to use in a number of different ways, to play with furniture positioning and to make other crucial design decisions.

To get the most out your design, you have to understand the natural light in the space. Chart the natural light throughout the day. Your actual exposure may be affected by external features such as trees or awnings. In any case, daylight has an incredibly powerful effect on how an interior design is perceived, and it’s easily one of the most overlooked and misunderstood interior design elements. Where and when sunlight shines into a room is going to determine the best places for TV and computer screens, your choice of color for the space, and a whole lot more. Mark down where the natural light falls. It doesn’t take a lot of effort; just walk through the room every hour or so on a normal (not cloudy) day, and mark your sketch with the areas of morning and afternoon light. It’s also a good idea to make notes about areas that stay in shadow all day (those are not the places to park your favorite potted plants!). This knowledge will come in mighty handy, especially when you’re picking wall colors.

Photo courtesy of Mohawk Flooring, www.mohawkflooring.com, (800) 266-4295

Understanding light exposure is a huge part of interior design planning. These furnishings were placed so that the upholstery would not be faded by the strong sunlight coming in through the southeastern-facing windows.

Now I’d like you to consider the architectural style. Most home styles are pretty accommodating of whatever interior design you choose. A brick bungalow or split-level ranch doesn’t really set a specific tone for the interior design to follow. However, if you happen to own a turn-of-the-century Victorian or some other period style, the architecture is just about guaranteed to influence the interior design. If your home’s architecture is distinctive, you have two ways to go: Decorate in the style of the architecture (safer), or purposely contrast that style (riskier—especially if you plan on selling anytime soon). So take a moment and jot down your impressions, if any, of the architecture.

listen to the lines

Architectural lines affect interior design. At first glance, you may not even notice lines. They aren’t a big factor in a basic, unadorned, boxy room. But in some rooms, moldings, casement (the trim around doors and windows), columns, and built-in features such as floor-to-ceiling fireplace structures bring a lot of lines to the look. An abundance of vertical lines gives a room a formal feel and makes it seem more spacious. Horizontal lines create a more relaxed and cozy feel. Curving lines (arched window and door openings, curved steps leading from one room to other) create an informal appearance that seems both unstructured and spontaneous. Be aware of any obvious impact the linear elements have on the look and feel of the space. You can then build on that tone, or use other design elements to counteract it.

Photo courtesy of Crystorama Lighting, www.crystorama.com, (516) 931-9090

Strong vertical lines in moldings, brickwork, and flooring reinforce this hallway’s formal appearance. An abstract sculpture, plants, and a beautiful hanging light with an enchanting curved shape help soften the look.

your space, through fresh eyes

Now comes a little bit of a challenge. Pretend you’re a home buyer. Start to identify the positives and negatives in the space. The trick is to look at the space as if you’ve never seen it before—as if you’re looking to buy and just walked through the front door. I find that it helps if you literally do just that.

Write down particular challenges that jump out at you—the things you’ll want your design to solve. Is the room long and narrow? Are the ceilings low? Is the space naturally dark and shadowed? Do the corners look dingy? Are the windows plain and uninteresting? And what about the surfaces in the room? Are you dealing with aging wood paneling or timeworn carpet? Are there cracks in the wall from the house settling? Are doorways out of square for the same reason?

Don’t just stop at what you see; use all your senses (well, don’t taste anything). Does the space seem noisy, with lots of surfaces that amplify sound? Does it seem cold because of an abundance of smooth, reflective surfaces? Do the floorboards creak? There are many design solutions for all of these problems, but you have to be aware of a problem before you can solve it.

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If you listen, the existing architecture may speak loudly about the potential design style. The formal wall moldings and...