Attention to Details: 6 Residential Architecture and Interior Design Ideas that Make a Difference

Fred and I always tell our clients one of the many benefits of working with a professional residential interior designer or architect is that we know how to make your home truly special for you, your family, and your lifestyle. To all of us at Morgante Wilson, that means creating one-of-a-kind solutions for your unique needs – and then applying expertise and ingenuity to make them really sing. Here are six ways architectural and interior design details can make all the difference:

1. Add pattern

There’s so much to love about this stylish mudroom, from it’s uber-practical yet sophisticated cabinet color, to the variety of storage spaces within each cubby area. Notice how each nook features a closed cabinet, an open shelf, hanging space, a bench seat, a drawer, and two-tiered shoe shelves? But one of the most amazing things about this space is the pattern that’s layered into it. The walls are paneled in wood chevrons and the floor is tiled in easy-care stone that looks like a really cool rug. I mean, we could have painted inside the cubbies with pretty paint and laid a stone floor without any pattern, and that would have been lovely too. But it wouldn’t have been nearly as interesting or impactful. Both are examples of the difference attention to detail can make.

2. Play with shape

This is a subtle trick that’s one of our favorites. This kitchen is a study in squared off, linear shapes. The range hood is totally linear. The island counter profile is flat and slim. The door and drawer hardware is slender and horizontal. The bar stools are without curves. But the light fixtures hanging over the island? They’re round globes of glass! We love throwing in that one element that provides a study in contrast. It’s interesting to look at, and it accentuates the rest of the room’s geometry.

3. Treat the ceiling

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you already know the importance we place upon ceilings. We like to call them the fifth wall in any room and lavish them with all the care and attention we pay to walls and floors. Ceilings can be paneled, coffered, painted, beamed, wallpapered, or, like here, barrel vaulted. No matter what treatment you decide to apply to a ceiling, I guarantee it’ll change the character of a room for the better.

4. Cozy it up

This kitchen eating area features another of our favorite details to add to a room: a cozy banquette. Sliding into a banquette makes you feel like you’re in a restaurant, which certainly takes your morning bowl of cereal up a notch! A banquette makes things special. It shows imagination that goes beyond a standard table and chairs. It makes it easy to accommodate a last-minute dinner guest. And if it’s a banquette like this one, with its thoughtfully-shaped back – well, that just goes to show the power of detail.

5. Furnish for the view

The first thing you notice about this family room is the scenery outside – and that’s precisely the point. I mean, why would you ever want to detract from a view like this? We certainly didn’t, which is why the furnishings are low profile and the window treatments are minimal. They’re beautiful and functional, but the allow the landscape to remain the star of the space.

6. Take a cue from location

This primary bath in a home on the North Shore of Lake Michigan offers a good example of how we sometimes get our best ideas for details by studying the unique characteristics of a home’s site. In this case, the undulating shape of the double vanity was inspired by the way the waves from the lake lap against the beach just outside. The vanity could just as easily have been purely rectangular, without its gentle curves, but why miss the opportunity to add a playful, imaginative, truly unique aspect to its design?

Details like these make extraordinary rooms even more special. Visit our website and follow us on facebook and Instagram to see more residential architecture and interior design ideas that’ll inspire you.

Morgante Wilson Architects provides architectural and interior design services in Chicago, Deerfield, Evanston, Glencoe, Glenview, Highland Park, Kenilworth, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Northbrook, Northfield, Ravinia, Wilmette, and Winnetka – along with Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Utah, Wisconsin and the U.S. Virgin Islands.