Ourso Designs: January 2017

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Trend Alert: Fancy Freestanding Tubs!

Freestanding bathtubs are making a comeback, and so far, it looks like they are here to stay. A few benefits to installing a freestanding tub is that there are more stylish options, it can make your bathroom appear larger, it creates a spa-like atmosphere, and they allow for the build out of a separate spacious shower.

Here are some beautiful examples of freestanding tubs:

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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

History Lesson: Subway Tile

"Subway tile is riding a wave of enormous popularity right now, but it's been around for a long time. If any of your walls are glazed with those ubiquitous 3" x 6" rectangles, you have a little piece of history in your home. It will probably not come as much of a shock that subway tile was originally designed to be placed in subways. Designers George C. Heins and Christopher Grant La Farge created the distinctive 3" x 6" rectangles for the very first station of New York's then brand-new subway in 1904."

"The Victorians, you see, were obsessed with hygiene, and one advantage of tiles was that they didn't stain and were easy to clean. This is, of course, a bit ironic considering that lots of people nowadays think subway tile is 'dirty', precisely because they associate it with the subway. But for turn of the century New Yorkers, to whom underground transportation was a brand new concept, all that shiny tile read as spic and span. The white tile had the additional advantage of reflecting light, brightening the subterranean stations."

"Following the debut of the tile in the subway, it began to appear in all kinds of interiors: bathrooms, kitchens, butcher shops — any place you would want to be especially clean. (Keep in mind, this was before the subway's 70s - 80s nadir, so the idea of the subway as a scummy, rat-filled underground hole hadn't yet entered the collective consciousness.)"

"Now subway tile is back in a big way (although the argument can be made that it never really went away — although it wasn't nearly as popular then, it still occasionally crops up in photos of 70s and 80s kitchens). It's usually laid in the traditional brick pattern, although there are all kinds of variations).

It's possible that there's a little bit of nostalgia in our current embrace of subway tile — it seems to speak to an easier, more elegant time, and it's also a great fit for the kind of new kitchens, made to look old, that are so popular right now. However you decide to use it, subway tile is inexpensive, versatile, and, as we've seen, has a great pedigree."

Source: Apartment Therapy

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Trend Alert: Pantone Color of the Year 2017

"A refreshing and revitalizing shade, Greenery is symbolic of new beginnings.

Greenery is a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew. Illustrative of flourishing foliage and the lushness of the great outdoors, the fortifying attributes of Greenery signals consumers to take a deep breath, oxygenate and reinvigorate.

Greenery is nature’s neutral. The more submerged people are in modern life, the greater their innate craving to immerse themselves in the physical beauty and inherent unity of the natural world. This shift is reflected by the proliferation of all things expressive of Greenery in daily lives through urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design choices globally. A constant on the periphery, Greenery is now being pulled to the forefront - it is an omnipresent hue around the world.

A life-affirming shade, Greenery is also emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality."

Here are some examples of how to use this color in the home:

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Designer Picks:

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Stunning Powder Rooms: Tips & Tricks to Step it Up!

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Powder rooms or "tiny little wow spaces!" are often overlooked as design spaces. But we think it's a great opportunity to really go all out. Adding special details to your powder room, such as a tiled or wallpapered focal wall, is less expensive than doing in a larger bathroom.

Here are a few ways to step up your powder room:

The semi-flush mount light above the vanity is rather common in powder rooms like this, but the lighting added to the bottom of the floating vanity really adds depth to the room.

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These decorative sconces look beautiful mounted to the mirror wall behind the vanity.

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Gallery Walls or Collections

For an eclectic look you can hang collections of framed art. Hanging an abundance of framed art in small spaces gives guests some interesting things to look at while freshening up!