Good Home Design Is About More Than Good Looks

Even though we live in an interconnected global community, cultural differences are still evident in home designs.

European interiors, for example, generally mix styles more freely and are much more colorful than American interiors. They're also less orderly.

American home design tends to be influenced by whatever trends are being highlighted in all the shelter magazines available in bookstores. And no matter what style may be hot at a given moment, color schemes are always given lots of attention. Many residential interiors in this country thus appear to be following one formula or another.

By the way, some readers want to know where they can get the books mentioned in this column. They're almost all easy to find on the Internet, and I do include publishers' names, which helps in ordering them through bookstores.

QUESTION:

We're about to remodel our interesting old house which features stucco walls and a combination of wood-planked and decorative-tile flooring in the family room and enclosed porch. The style could be called Mediterranean.

Please advise us on what material to use in place of carpeting on a stairway in the entrance hall with a dark wooden floor. And can you also suggest a replacement for the wood spindle railing?

ANSWER:

The answer depends in part on the structure of your staircase. Most can support a variety of hard-surface materials, but it'd be smart to check before beginning your project. Assuming it will be structurally OK, the best option might be the tile-and-wood combination already used on the floor in other parts of your home.

In the accompanying photo -- please ignore the leg -- each of the risers consists of hexagonal ceramic tiles framed with dark wood. It's a design that would fit well in a Mediterranean-style home. In this case, the shape and color of the tiles on the stairs corresponds with the flooring in the foyer. But in your situation, the tile could be any shape and any deep color, as long as the wood on the stairs is stained to resemble the wood on the floor.

Perhaps you'll find further inspiration in the stairway railing seen in the photo, which, by the way, comes from Stafford Cliff's "1000 Home Ideas," published by Firefly Books. Variously shaped metal spindles and a decorative circular motif accompany a large newel post that's topped with a red marble ball. It's the sort of design that might be appropriate for an interesting old house.

Before installing any decorative staircase railing and balustrades, it's essential to check local building codes. For reasons of safety, many require that openings between spindles be no more than a few inches in width. Remember, successful design isn't only about good looks; it involves practical precautions as well.

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Home Decor & Interior Design
Good Home Design Is About More Than Good Looks