Frame your design!

By attracting your eye and drawing attention to certain elements, framing is ultimately a way for the designer to control (or influence) your experience of a space.  While this hallway is beautiful in its own right, the arched opening beckons the visitor into the comfortable sitting room.

Designers use color and texture to help guide you.  Calm colors allow other items to stand out in the crowd.  This opening is detailed wonderfully with all the trappings of a modern cottage, however, the white color allows other elements to become the stars of the show.  The white paneling becomes the backdrop for the drama to unfold.

The visitor is encouraged to enter the space, drawn forward by the added textures, colors, and light.  We are pulled into the room to sit and to have a conversation about the unique modern sculpture on the table.  It’s all masterfully choreographed by the designer!

Now, as you experience spaces, try to identify how the designer has led you down a particular path.

Design Exploder is a “tool” used by Your MODERN COTTAGE to help explain why we like (and don’t like) the homes that we live in.  It explodes design elements into their basic form and gives us insight into how designers think.  We hope that this tool will empower you to understand your own homes and give you the confidence to make the changes that you need in order to improve your life.

We look forward to your comments, questions, and continued conversations!