Welcome to the holiday season!  Not the ideal time to rip apart your home with remodeling, but possibly the best time to start planning your next  project for 2013.

The remodeling process requires an overall design scheme, a list of specific needs and services, a budget, space plans, elevations, and drawings for any custom built-ins.  Your first meetings deal with refining this design vision; subsequent meetings are devoted to the review and selection of materials, backgrounds, furniture, and fixtures.

Planning can be as time consuming as actual construction; however, it is a critical component for an efficient and successful remodel.  Since preparation can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, the holiday season just might be the right time to launch your discussions.

A drought tolerant landscape features stepping stones, statuary, accent lighting, a pebble garden, and sculptural exotic plants.  Once inside the custom bamboo-inspired iron fence, guests find themselves crossing an ipe wood bridge spanning a large koi pond.

The Bali Modern theme continues throughout the home’s interior and to the backyard decks, pool, and cabana.

“Craig’s business involves hundreds of clients and employees, so space to entertain was a priority.  But it was also imperative to keep things comfortable; materials had to stand up to kids and dogs,” says April.

The acreage also features a large cabana with full kitchen, dining area, and changing room.

Space Planning: designing to accomodate all the amenities and components that will make the room most comfortable and functional for the occupants. Besides furniture and media  systems, this includes  sound and light control within the space.

Furniture templates are a helpful ingredient when translating design  concepts into a physical layout.  Working with the actual physical dimensions of proposed pieces enables a designer to satisfy a client’s square footage and traffic flow.

This is where custom furniture  is  especially beneficial; it not only reflects a specific aesthetic but can be perfectly scaled to fit a particular space, whether downsized or oversized.

First of all, you can’t enjoy any room unless you can see it, so  clear off those counters and toss away any clutter – this barely costs a dime!

Next, fresh paint is your easiest path to a dramatic change.  Try out a bold new direction, like a darker tone you might not ordinarily consider.  If it doesn’t work, try something else – that’s the best thing about paint!

You can bring a colorful new look to your furniture just by reupholstering your pillows.  Adding a punch of new colors to these pieces will bring renewed attention to the entire room.

Dimmer switches are an accessible luxury that afford huge benefits – flat, monotonous rooms suddenly become infinitely more layered, flattering, and sophisticated.

Is your art propped up against the walls or stashed in storage?  Devote a day to framing and hanging it.  Once you get into the rhythm, this is a lot more fun than you think.  And the pulled-together results are enormously rewarding.

The best part about a thorough lighting plan is the magic you create when all main “task” light sources are extinguished, leaving only the glowing accents.

At night, a home becomes a wonderland of drama where artwork, shapes, and silhouettes burst into prominence.

Try to get as much of your lighting on dimmers as possible.  Dimmers are energy efficient, they enable different mood scenes, and they allow you to get the best use from your spaces.

Puck lights are an ingenious way to create soft lighting in display niches that don’t commonly require bright light such as shelves and cabinetry; they accent unobtrusively, with sensual illumination.

Art Light completes your artwork, just as art completes a room.  Sculpture can be dramatically lit by ceiling pin spots, framed pieces by gallery lights mounted above.

Cove lighting – when confronted with ceiling height limitations during renovation, surround the room with a new soffit containing up lighting. A metallic-painted ceiling can produce an especially spectacular reflection.

Recessed rope lighting mounted under a recessed bathtub kick or raised platform bed creates a surprising effect while enhancing a sense of space.

Landscape lighting in your garden creates entirely new dimensions after dark.  Carefully placed spots and floodlights shining into trees and against walls will make plant life bloom with mysterious new moods.

“What seems to distinguish the Houzz community is a shared passion for projects that illustrate surprising design solutions,” suggests Walters.  “My goal with what I call ‘lifestyle design’ is to emphasize a room’s intention while submerging the spaces in the client’s favorite sensations.”

Houzz has rapidly become the largest online community of active remodelers, providing homeowners and design enthusiasts with first-hand advice from Houzzers who have been through the renovating and decorating process.

“This award signifies prestigious recognition from the Houzz community,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of marketing for Houzz. “We’re thrilled to welcome J.P.Walters Design Associates into this elite group of ‘Best Of’ winners.”

I think we recognize the art we like before we consciously realize it – our eye is held a little longer, or a distant memory is aroused.  Maybe the heart skips a bit, or our tear ducts suddenly surprise us.

Collecting art will document your own life experience – whether you bought a carved sculpture on vacation, or picked up a painting during a gallery walk.  Perhaps you met an artisan at a street fair and, inspired by his passion, purchased some jewelry, pottery, or blown glass.

Such moments help you recognize yourself.  Art does not merely enrich your surroundings; it also enables you to express who you are, and supplies an avenue for connecting with others.

Artists and interior designers relate strongly to one another because they embrace the same disciplines of line, shape, texture, and color, as well as the same principles of  proportion, unity, and variety.

The canvas for an interior designer is space, which pleads to be filled with personality.  Carefully selected artwork can help express this personality by conveying the experience, emotion, and personal taste of whoever inhabits.

I usually try to specify a chaise for some place in a client’s home; ideally it is an element in everyone’s lifestyle.  A chaise in the bedroom or secluded corner of the living room says, “Slow down  and relax.”  A pair of chaise lounges is great in the media room for a couple.

I like to create custom designs with different shapes and sizes.  I add an arm or two if it’s for reading; no arms if for napping.   -  San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine   March 2012