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"Inspired by You\nDesigners answer readers' questions\nQ: What items should you splurge on? Where can you cut corners?\n\nJoanne de Guardiola: As a designer, I would urge you to splurge on a fabulous piece of antique furniture. As a mother and a family member, I would urge you to splurge on something your whole family can enjoy, whether it's something as simple as a wide-screen TV because your four sons and husband love their weekend football games or a pool where the whole family can hang out together, or a yacht for world travel together.\n\nDiane Burn: I think a good place to splurge is on a few favorite antique pieces\u2014a pair of chairs or some accessories. Even in a modern environment antiques add value and charm to a room and are always a good investment. Cut corners by not buying anything you don't need or absolutely love.\n\nDonna Livingston: Splurge on fixed-cost items such as lighting; hand-scraped hardwood floors; granite, marble or limestone kitchen countertops; door and cabinet hardware. In the long run, it never pays to cut corners, but when necessary, I would hold back on the accessories, which can come later.\n\nPhoto: Pair of 1950s Harvey Probber chairs, ABC Modern\nQ: If you only had a few thousand dollars to work with when designing a space, how would you spend it? In other words, where should money go first?\n\nStephen Shadley: Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and slipcovers on the existing furniture.\n\nThad Hayes: Depending on the room, I would deal with floor finish, painting walls, lighting, furniture, floorcoverings, window coverings, art and accessories\u2014in that order.\n\nPhoto: AD April 2009\nQ: What colors tend to work best for large rooms? For small rooms?\n\nAlexa Hampton: A more important question to ask oneself is: What colors make you happy? Everyone should trust that they know their own palette. Don't ever allow yourself to be talked into a color you don't like.\n\nPenny Drue Baird: I keep large rooms in pale neutral colors. Small rooms can take any depth of color.\n\nNina Seirafi: Light colors are best for large rooms; this will accentuate the grandeur of the space. I typically like to save the darker shades for smaller rooms to emphasize the intimate values of a small space.\n\nPhoto: AD February 2007\nQ: Are there any interior paint colors you feel are best avoided?\n\nAlexa Hampton: Considering that I have loved black rooms, orange rooms and even chartreuse rooms, and that I don't have a ready answer for this question, I guess there is no color that is forbidden. Having said that, context is everything.\n\nJoanne de Guardiola: In the design business, never say never\u2014there are always surprises! You must evaluate the color where it is going to be used (i.e., don't pick out a color in New York City that is going be used in Florida\u2014the sunlight is vastly different).\n\nPhoto: AD September 1997\nQ: Aside from a stove, a refrigerator and a sink, what should no kitchen be without?\n\nMariette Himes Gomez: Kitchens are not just about preparing good food; kitchens need attitude\u2014interesting wall treatments or paint color, good storage, a small TV (the new radio!) and the perfect counter stool.\n\nVictoria Hagan: Double dishwashers are standard now, makes cleanup much more convenient. Also a large pullout drawer for garbage, divided accordingly for recycling.\n\nPhoto: AD March 2005\nQ: What is your favorite material to use for kitchen countertops?\n\nJohn Barman: Corian or CaesarStone. Very practical, stylish and available in great colors and even look good in white.\n\nThad Hayes: The million-dollar question. We use stainless steel, some honed natural stones, Corian periodically, and Formica with a metal edge for that period beach cottage.\n\nThomas Pheasant: This is always a difficult decision for clients\u2014practicality versus beauty. I enjoy natural stone counters for my personal kitchen. I love the look and feel of them. They do take some care, and you will have to let go of the idea that they need to look perfect. There are some man-made products out on the market that take less care than real stone and are very easy to keep \"perfect.\" It gets down to knowing how you want to care for your kitchen.\n\nPhoto: AD January 2008\nQ: What are the latest electronic appliances homeowners are asking for these days?\n\nMark Boone: We're installing a lot of the Miele built-in espresso machines. They're sleek and great-looking. Everyone loves them and instantly becomes their own mini-Starbucks.\n\nPhoto: Miele built-in espresso machine\nQ: What do you think of \"fully automated\" or \"push-button\" houses in which all the services are grouped together and all lights, electronics, alarms and appliances are operated by remotes?\n\nCharles Allem: They're amazing if you're technology-driven. However, it's critical that the AV consultant makes it user-friendly for the client.\n\nDonna Livingston: I currently live in a push-button house, so I can say from experience that it has its conveniences, but it's not yet 100 percent perfected. However, to be able to push a button and turn the entire house lights on and off or preset lighting scenes for entertaining is a luxury I would highly recommend. Crestron offers systems with levels of integration for many budgets. Along with becoming less expensive, these systems are becoming easier to manage, with more graphics and less pages. The ADMS media server allows homeowners to store their favorite music and video on the Internet and access it through the Crestron systems.\n\nPhoto: AD April 2007\nQ: What kind of drapery fabric works best for windows that get a lot of sunlight?\n\nElissa Cullman: Whichever fabric you use, be sure to line and interline it to protect the material from fade and disintegration caused by the sun. The worst fabric in a sunny spot is silk, but when lined and interlined, even silk can hold up as a curtain. Don't forget to layer your window treatments by tucking solar shades under the primary curtain or shade. And don't forget to pull down the shades during the day when you're not home to protect not just your curtains but your rugs and upholstery as well. Another great trick is to treat your windows with a UV coating, which comes in a range of colors, but we prefer the one that is virtually clear.\n\nDonna Livingston: I recommend motorized sun shades from Conrad. They offer many beautiful textures and colors along with a top-down/bottom-up feature that allows the shade to raise and cover the bottom portions of the window while still allowing views and natural light through the top of the window. These motorized shades can also be programmed into the home systems to be automatically lowered or raised throughout the day, protecting delicate fabric and artwork from harsh sun rays.\n\nPhoto: Motorized roll-up shades from Conrad\nQ: When is overhead lighting preferable to floor and table lamps?\n\nJacques Saint Dizier: The key to good lighting is flexibility\u2014lighting the room from multiple, dimmable sources. The trap that people tend to fall into is lighting the entire room at the same level. It's far more interesting to have a variety of light levels, ranging from softly lit areas to more focused light on artwork and accessories. Lamps can create pools of softer light that allow for reading or other tasks and can bring the finishes and upholstery to life. Downlights and wall washers can illuminate art, tabletops and rugs\u2014or whatever else is interesting in the room. Sconces, torch\u00E8res and certain pendant fixtures can be used to bounce light off the ceiling. Remember, reflected light is generally more flattering to the room and, more importantly, to the people in it.\n\nThad Hayes: I like to combine some recessed lighting (small aperture), \"found\" or antique surface-mounted fixtures and chandeliers, and floor and table lamps. There is no formula other than making people look exquisite in the room.\n\nPhoto: AD June 2009\nQ: Have new, brighter and energy-efficient lightbulbs affected how colors look in your rooms, and if so, how do you counter it?\n\nJoanne de Guardiola: Use dimmers everywhere; control the amount of light for different times of the day. Full-spectrum bulbs are best. Also, sneak in a good old-fashioned pink lightbulb or two on the table lamps; everyone will look healthier.\n\nThomas Pheasant: Some of the new bulbs have a much cooler value than the traditional warm incandescent bulbs we are used to. One way we soften the cool tone is to line our lamp shades with warm-colored silk or paper. This helps compensate for the warm sunlight that is missing in the evening.\n\nPhoto: AD March 2005"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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