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Design

In The

Desert

We are excited to announce our first

Southwestern Design Seminar

in Santa Fe on

September 29^th & 30^th 2007

Last summer at our Design Among The Vines seminar, Linda taught about designing, building and decorating a new home. This year the focus is on remodeling and decorating an older home that needs a fresh presence.

The design event will begin with a reception Saturday Evening at Linda’s 1920’s Adobe Home on the Historic East Side of Santa Fe. Guests will tour the old adobe which Linda has remodeled using many of the concepts demonstrated in her new book "Linda Applewhite ‘s Architectural Interiors" while they sip margaritas and savor New Mexican specialties.

The Sunday seminar will be held at La Posada de Santa Fe near the city’s Historic Downtown Plaza. Beginning at 9am guests will learn about creating rooms with good bones or great architectural character no matter what style their home is, in addition to some great decorating tips and of course a discussion on the use of color. Linda will show the “before” photos of the adobe which had great bones but was added on to and remodeled several times over the years without respect to its original architecture. A fabulous new Mexican luncheon buffet will be served in the La Posada Garden with a cocktail reception following the day’s event at 4 pm.

So mark your calendars to spend the last weekend of September in the spectacular Southwest High Desert. The Fall is the best time of the year to come to Santa Fe with it’s many art galleries, historic sites, world class restaurants and spectacular sunsets.

We have reserved a bank of rooms at La Posada for seminar guests with a special discounted rate for Sunday night. Contact: www.rockresorts.com. In addition, we are working on a discounted rate for a bank of rooms at other hotels in Santa Fe. Please check our website www.LindaApplewhite.com for registration and accomodations in the upcoming weeks. September 29th & 30th is a very popular weekend in Santa Fe - it's the Wine & Chile Festival, so you may want to make your reservations ASAP.

Stay tuned to our upcoming newsletters

for more details on Design In The Desert.

Linda Applewhite's Architectural Interiors

Book Excerpt #6

Chapter Five: Powerful Moldings & Diverse Railings

MOLDINGS AND RAILINGS can create fabulous ornamentation in a home if you reocgnize their power and use it effectively. These two diverse powerhouses can be used sparingly or effusively to tranform even the most basic of rooms. Moldings embellish the perimeters of the rooms and the openings within them, while railings often enhance a home's core in a more concentrated, central area. Both should look organic to the stucture they embellish, adding dimension and character that appear to have always been there.

The style of a home should flow from room to room, and consistantly sized and shaped moldings are the key factor in creating this flow. Moldings - or trim, as it is typically referred to -should all be painted or stained the same color no matter what color each room is painted, as moldings provide a common element that ties a home together. Of course, there are always exceptions.

No matter how simple or ornate the moldings, always go for substantial ones and apply them consistantly throughout your home. I like to use a minimum of 3-to 4-inch wide casings, at least 3-1/2-inch crown moldings, and 5-inch baseboards or taller, depending on the ceiling height. Moldings can also be layered to acheive a wider variation of door and window casings or stacked to embellish crowns and baseboards. Remember, good design repeats itself, so the crown, baseboard, and window and door moldings should all harmonize but not necessarily match. Ideally, door casings should be slightly thicker in depth than the baseboards, so the verical trim piece stands proud of (extends beyond) the baseboard.

Like moldings, stairway railings offer a great opportunity to make a strong architectural statement. I like to think of stairways as the spine of the structure. If a home has wood moldings and the stairway railings are wood also, the moldings and railings should harmonize, incorporating the same shapes and design.

When selecting a design for a new stair rail, try to repeat or harmonize with other elements in the structure. Find pictures of interesting stair rails; there are many diverse styles. Talk to your contractor about reproducing a design you like. Look through railing catalogs, order samples of different elements, and then have your contractor or ironworker mock up a section for your approval. Create a railing with strength, structure, and character that reflects the feeling of your architecture and commands presence as a central focus in your home's interior.