Gunkelmans Interior Design Blog

Spring is just around the corner so it is a good time to start thinking about your exterior spaces and how to make them an extension of your home.  I have included three projects we worked that showcase this.

Above: A few simple pieces make this Minneapolis Rooftop terrace an inviting and relaxing retreat.

In Napa Valley, the weather is so beautiful there is no reason not to live and dine outside with this Exterior Kitchen and Bar.

When you live on a lake in Minnesota and the summers are short, spending as much time outside is a must.  ThisLiving Area, Bar and Outdoor Kitchen with its comfortable furniture and bright colors invites people to gather here.

Submitted by Karen McKay

I've been working on a few projects lately that are at the stage of finishing.  Great art is a major component of making a project look complete, and takes it from nice looking to spectacular.  It's the perfect way to let your personality shine through and allows people to see a lot about who you are.  

Being in New York has opened up a huge new staple of resources that have been really exciting to me.   I've included some images of pieces of art that have caught my eye and realize that I tend to like abstract modernism more than anything else.   I've always loved color and am intrigued by how combining colors can create moods.   I use this (along with other things) as inspiration for my interiors.

Art is so subjective and personal that many times my clients want to select it on their own.   They have romantic notions of buying art on their travels so that it has special meaning to them.  More often than not when after time has passed, I return to a project only to see that their good intentions have gone unrealized.

My only advice to you is you want to start collecting art, is that you are only somewhat respectful of the room that it will occupy.   Art that is purchased for the sole purpose of matching the fabrics and interiors will end up looking like a showroom display and not a house that actually has real people living in it.  Be mindful of the scale and proportion of the wall on which it will hang, and love each piece you buy, regardless of whether or not you think the artist is the next Picasso.  Very few people have the ability to guess what art will greatly increase in value, but if you buy what you love, it will greatly enhance the beauty of your home and the quality of your life.

Submitted by Andrew Flesher

I heard a phrase spoken on the radio yesterday – "AFFORDABLE LUXURY".

And this morning I watched Al Roker showing ten different "budget" ways we can use one recipe of chili for a Super Bowl buffet.

My reaction was, "here we go again!"

I understand we all have been literally catapulted into a new reality, and we are trying to find ways to cope without losing some of the pleasures in our lives.  I'd like to consider for a moment a different approach by subscribing to the phrase, "DO IT WITH STYLE AND GRACE."  It puts a whole new spin on things.  

In the Depression years of the 30's, Diana Vreeland, (shown above) a fashion icon and woman of eccentric style, wrote a column in Vogue entitled "Why don't you…".  Her suggestions for coping ran the gamut…
    "Tie black tulle bows on your wrists?"
    "Paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys' nursery so they won't grow up with a provincial point of view?"
    "Wear violet velvet mittens with everything?"
    "Have a yellow satin bed entirely quilted in butterflies?"
    "Remember how delicious champagne cocktails are after tennis or golf?  Indifferent champagne can be used for these."

So here, one month into 2009, in the midst of tremendous change in our country and its ensuing levels of anxiety and yes, even fear, I say, "Why don't we…" 
    "Blast an unfamiliar form of music through our sound system – try Adele's Chasing Pavements?"
    "Cull through our personal library and put out on our cocktail table a few favorites to re-read by the fire?"
    "Take a new look at the old Louis VI chair and apply a modern fabric to it?"
    "Wrap up in a citron-colored muffler and set out on a bracing walk?"
    "Look up a favorite charity, commit to the gift of time and feel the lightness of spirit?"

Submitted by Mary Hickey