Did you know it only takes 5 to 15 seconds for someone to form a first impression? I learned this while doing research and training for the staging services offered through Robin Bond Interiors. When it comes to your home, there are a number of influences that subconsciously play a roll in forming one’s impression – especially your interior decor!The sofa is most commonly the largest piece of furniture in the living room. Distract your visitors from forming a negative impression by ‘wowing’ them with a statement piece! Ideally, residential interior spaces should have the ability to speak for the client – one’s style and personality should be displayed through their decor. Why not make a statement?

Kravet is a product line available through Robin Bond Interiors which offers furniture, accessories, fabrics, trimmings, rugs, and more! Like Robin Bond Interiors, Kravet specializes in ‘style, luxury and exceptional design.’

Kravet’s Delta Sofa is a perfect example of a statement piece. The majority of people struggle with the concept of contemporary design, assuming it is too ‘funky’, non-functional, or uncomfortable. The Delta Sofa is perfect for the client that enjoys a ‘transitional’ style – a mix of contemporary and traditional. This modest sofa catches your eye because of the interesting shape and straight, clean lines. Leave the existing fabric for a fresh look, or add a custom material to give it your own spin!

Wouldn’t you say ‘wow’ if you walked into a room and spotted this sofa?
Want to find out more about Kravet? Contact Robin Bond Interiors!
Design the life you love!

Today we’d like to share with you a couple of our favorite must have design apps! These days – there is an app for every. So, we weren’t surprised to find a link for 21 Apps for Design!Here are Robin Bond Interiors favorites:

Are you working with Robin Bond Interiors to create a Paint Plan for your home? If you are out and about and a color catches your eye – use this Benjamin Moore Color Capture App to instantly select its match with a Benjamin Moore paint! For a demonstration on how to use the app, click here! 

When I started with Robin Bond Interiors, one of the first projects I was assigned was a paint plan! This entailed selecting the paint colors and placement throughout the client’s entire home. This was very exciting to me!

I love color! The fact that a particular color can provoke human behaviors and cause certain emotional reactions is fascinating to me! This project was one were color came into play in every space. Our client wanted Hacienda inspired color schemes – “NO neutrals”!…Music to my ears.

These clients were a very cute, young couple living in a beautiful Southwestern styled home with a terracotta roof and stucco facade. The wife had done a fabulous job at establishing an eclectic interior aesthetic by decorating with bold colors and exotic finds from all over the world. Her only task left to tackle were the neutral, “boring” walls.
That’s where I came in!

Each space was defined by a bold pairing of colors.
Upon entry of the home, you were greeted with a shade of rose on the foyer walls and barrel ceiling. Passing through into the living, the tone was shifted to a golden yellow allowing the boldly colored decor to pop! In the adjacent open kitchen, blue was applied to the ceiling with the toffee orange on the walls to compliment. The master suite turned into a serine space with the calming shade of misty blue and ceiling accent of a deep teal. This particular pairing of colors allowed the rustic wooden features throughout the suite to be highlighted as a main feature.

HERE’S A TIP WHEN SELECTING PAINT COLORS:
Pull inspiration from your favorite pieces throughout the house!

Design the life you love!
-Erin-

I recently had the pleasure of being acquainted with the beautiful Ernestine, the face of Kanti Goods. Ernestine is a world traveler collecting beautiful authentic pieces of jewelry and accessories to share with every one, everywhere! The name Kanti comes from the ancient language of South Asia meaning ‘beauty.’ The name speaks for itself, as every one of the Kanti products is stunning and completely unique.

‘Here at Kanti, our aim is to offer a variety of beautiful and genuine fine worldly goods so that everyone can enjoy some of the beauty available in our world. Many of our products come from organizations that give opportunities to underprivileged women, craftsman, and artisans. Our products help support their causes by helping them acquire new skills, opportunities, and independence within local and global communities.’

‘And remember, here at Kanti we support individual artistic freedom as well as local materials. Since our goods often come from local artisans and places of modest means, we cannot guarantee that we will always be able to offer the same colors or fabrics of any particular item. However, we will continue to do our best to bring you the most beautiful variety of products from around the world.’

www.kantigoods.com

This past week, Robin and I had the pleasure of visiting the beautiful showroom of Architectural Tile & Stone. There, we participated in an informative presentation for AKDO – supplier of ‘world’s most beautiful stones.’

Mark Ficarra, the AKDO Regional Sales Manager, taught us about the various materials they work with as well was their manufacturing processes. He walked us through their extensive line of products, and shared with us their newest featured items! AKDO manufactures stone, tile, and glass all from all over the world. They cut everything in their own warehouses to guarantee flawless looking designs. If you get a moment, visit AKDO’s website and take a look around. They have a library of products that embrace styles of all kinds!

AKDO
www.akdo.com

[Left to Right: Debi Parker (Outside Sales Rep – Works in showroom), Mark Ficarra (AKDO Regional Sales Manager), Erin, and Robin]

‘AKDO has developed a reputation for stunning mosaic collections that are innovative and trendsetting.’ Shown above are three examples of their new Lace Collection. The beauty of these products – no matter what application, whether it be used as a wallpaper or simply an accent piece, there is that instant wow factor added to the space. Below is the Vine is shown in an application. Isn’t it just beautiful?

To visit the showroom with one of our designers, call Robin Bond Interiors today! With the expertise of the showroom staff, we can show you the endless possibilities on ways to work with stone and tile in your interior spaces!

We are pleased to share some recent photos of a lovely master bedroom project just completed by Robin Bond for one of our long time clients in Travis Country.  This beautiful black and white bedroom features custom drapery with complimentary custom bedding.  We recovered the side chairs to work well with the other fabrics.  All of the lighting and accessories in the room are from various companies our firm represents.  The photo over the bed is a black and white tree photo taken by our client’s friend from church.  Touches of custom floral work by our floral designer Michele finish off the look.  This room photography is by photographer Johnny Stevens. 

Robin Bond Interiors is going to let you in on a little secret. Introducing Daisies, coming to central Austin by the end of this summer! This quaint little café is going to be a perfect stop for your morning or afternoon hunger pains. Daisies will be serving Mexican dishes ‘with a Lebanese flare.’ Hours of operation will be 8-2pm. Keep a lookout for this new local eatery!

Located at:
2320 Hancock Drive

Exterior Before

Rough Sketch of Proposed Exterior

Coming summer 2012!

If you want to see interior renderings, check back soon!
Have a blessed day, and create something inspiring!

Jorge Kurczyn de Hacienda Santa Klara (HSK) is not a mass producer of furniture. Each piece has its own character and is handmade by the “maestro”, specializing in each category of furniture for your home. Maestro is the Spanish word given to the master craftsman who has earn the title through demonstration of his craft and is in charge of the process from start to finish as each piece comes to life.

The process of manufacturing goes though a 4 step process to insure each piece will become a treasure lasting for generations.

Concept and design
You can work with their design team to come up with the concept that fits your home and need. They will help you develop just the right item or a complete collection to fill your home, with attention to detail on the wood, color, hardware and finishes.

Construction
Based on the item to be built, the designer and maestro will take control of your project and after careful review of the design; the item will start to come alive. The greatest attention to every detail is paid to each item to assure our high standards of quality are met with each step of the process. Once the assembly has been done, the item is hand sanded to a flawless finish for preparation of the color. To obtain the proper color or staining, usually 4-5 different colors are used to get just the right color, with the multi-phase air and machine assisted drying to give it the final color or tone.

Blacksmith
Then their blacksmith will make the hardware for each piece, paying special attention to the design and size of that item. The smithing of their hardware is a big part of what makes each of their pieces one of a kind and unique. It is very meticulously matched to each piece not only by scaling it to the overall size of the furniture, but by paying special attention to textures and finishes.

Finishing
At this point in the process, the finishing group will apply several lasting treatments to protect the wood from damaging elements and your keepsake will be as beautiful for many years as the day you placed it in your home. These finishes are all imported from Europe and have been used for generations in the manufacture of fine furniture.

 A sketch of a dining chair design by Jorge for one of our clients:

More of Jorge’s Work: