Master Suite Series

As interior designers in Kansas City, we’re often asked to create a romantic retreat for our clients. Designing luxurious and sexy spaces is what we do best.

So, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we’re celebrating master suites this week. Each day, we’ll share gorgeous spaces that are designed to pamper. From glamorous to worldly, we’ve found a little something for everyone.

Whether you’ve found your Valentine or are on a quest for love, these rooms are sure to inspire romance.

Tune in every day this week to see some beautiful master bedrooms. We can’t wait to hear which ones are your favorites. Feel free to drop us a note on Facebook and let us know what you like.

Not Your Grandma’s Wallpaper

I don’t know about you, but I have some fairly grim memories of wallpaper. In the past, it has often been defined by dated, cutesy prints commonly found in grandmothers’ houses. Luckily, wallpaper has undergone a transformation in recent years. If it was in an 80’s movie, it would have had a makeover montage.

You can now find it in rich colors, patterns and textures. It has been reimagined with unique materials and techniques like flocking, glass beads, pearls and cork. Its ability to dress up a room is pretty remarkable. With this inexpensive and dramatic tool, you can change the feel of your space. Vinyl wallpaper can even protect walls from damage. Read more »

T + T on Trends

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been sitting in our studio drinking cocoa spiked with cinnamon and cooking up ideas for our blog. In between installations and design meetings, we decided to do a trend series over the next few months and couldn’t be more excited about it. Although we touched on trends in our International Furniture & Accessories Market recap, this upcoming series will be much more in-depth. In each post, you’ll find tips on how to incorporate these new elements into your home or business, along with plenty of eye candy.

We’ve developed a great line-up with our thoughts on wallpaper, steampunk and pattern to start. That being said, we will take breaks from trends occasionally to talk about other time sensitive, world threatening issues, like master bedrooms for Valentine’s Day or outdoor spaces this spring. Things will get pretty spicy.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “I don’t want to miss a single installment of this exciting series.”

Well, you don’t have to. Look for new post announcements on our Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin pages, and feel free to drop us a line. We can’t wait to hear your favorite trends and insightful musings.

Cheers!
Jill & Carmen

Guest Blog Post: Fashion and Furniture

We’re excited to share our first guest blog post with you! It covers two of our favorite topics, fashion and furniture.

The fashion and furniture design industries have become so intertwined that it seems, at times, furniture mimics fashion. We see this especially in the color-blocking and animal print trends. Patterns that have always been prevalent on the runways of Paris and New York can now be seen in the latest interior design ideas. The trend has even gone so far as to include fashion designers along with interior/furniture designers. Even more recently, however, furniture has literally begun mimicking fashion design. From little black dresser drawers to a corset-ed chair, let’s take a look at just how furniture has been mimicking fashion. Read more »

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

As the holidays approach, many of us are inviting friends and family to stay in our homes. While preparing for a guest takes a little effort, there’s something really chic about making someone feel completely at ease in your house. There is nothing like the feeling of knowing someone cares about you and is thrilled (and prepared) you are there.

To make a guest’s room really special, we’ve found the key is in the details. That being said, you should start with a gorgeous room, not one that’s serving as a storage space for left over furnishings and boxes. We suggest you begin with fresh bedding; clean, fluffy towels and new, pretty soaps. At this point, we invite you to turn up the volume with:

• Cotton swabs and cotton balls
• Feminine products
• Shaving cream/razor
• Shower products
• Ibuprofen, Tums, Melatonin, etc.
• A plush robe and slippers

Read more »

Holiday Decorating – No Elves Required

With Thanksgiving behind us, we’ve started the mad dash of the holidays. It often feels like we’re running from place to place crossing items off our to do list, instead of really enjoying all the season has to offer. One of our favorite ways to celebrate is to create a safe haven at home. Arming yourselves with a few decorating tricks and lots of hot chocolate will help keep you in the holiday spirit. (At the very least, the cocoa always seems to do the trick for us.)

Read more »

To Market, To Market

This November, we went to the International Furniture & Accessories Market in North Carolina to scope out new trends and collect pieces for our clients. Walking from booth to booth, we chatted up furniture, accessory and rug designers to get a clearer picture of how the industry is doing, where it’s going and what is fading out, along with what’s coming down the pipeline. Think of us as interior designers and detectives. Sitting on our favorite vendors’ pieces and touching all of the new items tells us more about how something could work in a client’s home than any number of pictures could.

Every year, we learn a lot at market, but trust us, it’s completely earned. For five days, we spend our time scouring miles and miles of home furnishing offerings. In addition to some killer calves, we always come back with tips on what is hot in home interior design. We’re so excited to share our finds with you and won’t even make you walk a mile first. Here’s our top 16 trends:

1. Steampunk

2. Wallpaper is hot, hot, hot, and it is nothing like what you might find in your grandma’s home

3. Ikat fabric/patterns were everywhere. Houndstooth, zebras, chevron, fret, damasks, quatrefoils and burlaps are still in too.

  Read more »

Q&A with Carmen

A partner at Tran + Thomas Design Studio, Carmen began working with Jill in April, although the two formally announced their partnership just last week. Respected for her work as a commercial interior designer, Carmen brings a fresh perspective to the firm. Below, she answers a few questions about herself and her style as an interior designer. Read more »

The Secret Is Out

For the past few months, we’ve been keeping a pretty big secret at Jill Tran Interior Design, and I’m so excited to share the news with you! I’ve added a new partner, Carmen Thomas, to the firm. Carmen is a long-time colleague and fellow award-winning designer specializing in commercial interior design.

We began collaborating a few months ago, but have been waiting to publicly announce our new firm, Tran + Thomas Design Studio, LLC, until we could get everything in line. Balancing the flood of design work and figuring out all the details have kept us on our toes over the last few months. As you can probably tell, we spent most of the time figuring out our company name.

Although we’ve been tackling more commercial projects lately, our firm is continuing to design residential spaces. We feel that by joining forces we’re able to offer our clients more versatility with our complementary styles. Basically, we like to think of ourselves as some sort of interior design super duo, who’s ready to conquer the world.

To keep up with other changes at the firm, learn about interior design trends or hear our random musings, please visit our Web site, Facebook page or start following us on Twitter.

Antlers In The Mountains And Your Living Room

I am an animal lover.  Love the deer…don’t shoot me.  They are gorgeous creatures.  I hope many of you agree with me.

With them shedding their antlers naturally, it is wonderful to find them for your home and make them as striking as when they crown a buck.

Some ideas?   See more of our thoughts below in the fabulous Kansas City Star’s House + Home section, written by Stacy Downs.

See more photos on facebook

Have you heard?  The secret is out!  Jill Tran Interior Design is now Tran+Thomas Design Studio.