Building Your Luxury Custom Home Starts with Your Lot

custom home building

At our Luxury Dream Home Date Night Event, we discussed what steps to take when building your luxury dream home. We were honored to have Brady Fenn & Adam Kostis join us for the evening. Brady Fenn, with Fenn Rogers Custom Homes, is a luxury home builder, contractor, and remodeler, specializing in new builds and full remodels. Adam Kostis is the Creative Director at Cosan Studio, a Scottsdale-based architectural firm, executing thoughtful, well-designed projects.

At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we are thrilled to have many projects with both Fenn Rogers Custom Homes & Cosan Studios creating efficient, beautiful, and well-thought-out homes for our clients.

One of the most common questions we get from clients starting their homebuilding journey is, “Where in the world do I start when wanting to build a luxury dream home?” Brady and Adam are here to educate our readers about what that very first step should be.

As an architect, what does Cosan Studio offer for that very first step to building a luxury custom home?

Adam Kostis: Even before coming to us, I think the best thing to do is to do your own research and get a short list of firms that you think are going to gel with in style and what you want for your home. Reach out to the creative director or principal and set up some one-on-one interviews. The journey of building a home is an 8-to-12-month relationship, so really making sure that you’re working with someone you gel well with and can make crucial decisions with is definitely number one on the list. It’s important that you are with someone that you’re happy and comfortable with for a long period of time.

As clients or potential clients are shopping for that custom home lot, what do you do, as architects, to help make that decision?

Adam Kostis: The first thing we do is make sure that you’re buying a lot that’ll give you what you want with your dream home. There are constraints, site forces, and things like setbacks. We want to make sure that we can provide exactly what you want on that lot. So, you don’t want to be buying a lot before you meet with an architect. I think that’s a little bit backward.

You’ll want to come to us, and we’ll do a feasibility study for you. What that entails is that we’ll analyze the site. We’ll draw a bubble diagram of where your house would sit and understand how the house could be laid out to make sure the lot is buildable. So that’s pretty much the initial step.

That’s so helpful because, unfortunately, we’ve seen custom home lots that are almost unbuildable. Our advice is to use your professionals to your advantage. Brady, as a custom home builder, you’ve got a lot of insight into cost. What’s great about that is that you can educate a client by just looking at some dirt. 

Brady Fenn: Yeah, absolutely. That’s something we like to do in the predesign phase. We typically go out and look at lots with potential clients and give them an idea of what the buildability is of the lot. Is it hillside? Is it going to require retaining walls? Are the utilities close? What does the HOA require as far as design guidelines? There are just so many things like that that are hard to understand if you’ve never gone through that process before.

Understanding that the same house can cost a totally different price on a different piece of dirt can guide the purchase of a lot. When building your luxury custom home, it’s important to consult with an architect and a builder before purchasing a lot to prevent unwanted surprises!  

View the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoqtecGal3g

 

Decorative vs Builder-Grade Lighting for Luxury Custom Home Projects

The beauty of decorative lighting is its ability to transform a room by setting the mood, manipulating the colors throughout the design, and highlighting the architectural features of a space. It might not always seem like it, but lighting is one of the most important elements of a home. A well-lit home draws attention to every detail and showcases the quality & craftsmanship in the design.

BUILDER-GRADE LIGHTING

Builder-grade lighting that is typically provided by your builder is recessed lighting, also known as can lights, which are used throughout the home as standard, but impactful lighting components. Builders also provide all light switches, including three-way switches with different access points and dimmer switches throughout the project. Because builder-grade lighting does not provide a variety of lighting layers in a space, we as designers, take it a step further by incorporating “decorative lighting” into the lighting plan. These fixtures provide different layers of light that every luxury space craves, while also acting as statement pieces in the entire home.

TYPES OF DECORATIVE LIGHTING

 

Chandeliers

We like to use large chandeliers in the center of our great room, dining room, and entryway designs to act as the focal point. Chandeliers are great options to use when balancing the scale of a room, just be sure to hang them high enough to not hit anyone in the head!

Pendants

Kitchens need bright lighting, as well as task lighting, in order to utilize the space in the best way. Hanging a pair of pendants over a large kitchen island will create balance and functionality, and introduce a new element into the design.

Semi-Flush or Flush Mounts

These fixtures are a great option for a room with a lower ceiling by giving the room some edge and a point of view. Flush mounts can serve the function of a chandelier without using too much space.

bathroom flush mount lighting
CHANDLER REMODEL | Circa Lighting – Markos Large Handing Shades in White with Gold

Wall Sconces

Wall sconces really add to the ambiance of a space while serving decorative and task functions. Designing two identical wall sconces flanking a vanity can create accent lighting for such an already large focal point in a space.

bathroom sconces
CHANDLER REMODEL | Circa Lighting – Calliope Tall Bath Light Sconce

Picture Lights

Picture lights are typically placed above a specific element to provide the most direct light and make it a focal point. For example, picture lights placed above a stunning piece of artwork give the scene a three-dimensional feel and highlight the intended textures within the composition.

dining nook picture light
MODERN ELEGANCE | Visual Comfort – Dean 18″ Picture Light

Table & Floor Lamps

Table lamps are small but mighty lighting options that add color and symmetry to a space. When table space is limited, floor lamps are a good option to provide variation in layering within the lighting plan, while still being a source of sufficient illumination.

sitting room floor lamp
DC RANCH VILLA | Circa Lighting – Alander Floor Lamp

Led by owner and Scottsdale interior designer Alisha Taylor, our firm focuses on unique personalization. No two clients are the same, so no two homes are the same either. We strive to enhance our clients’ lives by not only creating beautiful interiors for them but by keeping the design process understandable and efficient through a systematic method that allows them to visualize and be excited about their designs.

Contact us today to schedule a consultation to begin your journey to creating your luxury dream home.

Luxury Bathroom Vanities That Complete The Room

Luxury bathroom vanity.

A luxury bathroom is necessary for elevating any luxury home, and the most defining focal point of every bathroom is the vanity. Selecting the right luxury bathroom vanity to match the overall style and feel of your bathroom and home is essential to creating a harmonious space.

With so many different options, it can be challenging to narrow down the type of bathroom you want to design and what elements are required to bring that design to life. At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we pride ourselves on creating effortless, timeless luxury spaces.

This guide will provide you with different luxury vanity styles to complete your bathroom design.

Why Get Luxury Bathroom Vanities?

Bathrooms are often overlooked when renovating and decorating homes because people spend less time in them compared to other areas of the house. Private bathrooms that guests don’t use are at particular risk of being bypassed when styling homes. But a few simple tweaks to these rooms can elevate the overall style significantly.

Luxury bathroom design can help create a cohesive feel within your home, ensuring every room in your house reflects style and class. One of the benefits of bathroom design is that there are typically few elements within these rooms, meaning minor adjustments can make a huge difference.

Opting for a luxury bathroom vanity can instantly transform your bathroom’s look and ensure that you and your guests have a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing experience when using the most private rooms in your home.

5 Types of Luxury Bathroom Vanities You’ll Love

Consider one of the following luxury bathroom vanity styles as you update your existing bathroom or design a new one.

1. Vanity With Custom Cabinetry 

Vanity with custom cabinetry.

Building a luxury vanity with custom cabinetry is an excellent way to ensure your bathroom design fits your space and creates a cohesive feel with the rest of your home. Whether you have an oversized bathroom or a quarter bath, using custom cabinetry ensures that you maximize your storage functionality.

Elements, including hardware type, wood type, and paint color, all allow for the ultimate customization of your vanity’s appearance, which means you can design the luxury bathroom of your dreams.

2. Curved Front Vanity

Curved front vanities are an excellent way to add contrast and shape to bathrooms that otherwise exclusively use clean, sharp lines. While bathrooms clutter easily and often feature simple designs, a curved vanity is a perfect statement feature to add variation and interest to your bathroom.

Partner a curved vanity with organic materials like wood cabinetry and a carved stone sink to create an effortlessly luxurious design.

3. Flat-Panel Modern Vanity

Flat-panel modern vanity.

A flat-panel modern vanity is a perfect addition to any modern bathroom design. This luxury vanity utilizes clean lines and an understated, organic appearance that adds depth and warmth to modern bathrooms and pairs perfectly with waterfall marble top counters.

If you’re looking to design a modern luxury bathroom that doesn’t compromise function, then adding a flat-panel modern vanity is the way to go.

4. Traditional Double Vanity With Inset Cabinetry

Traditional double vanity with inset cabinetry.

Double vanities are practical for couples and families that need extra storage space and want to avoid getting in each other’s way while getting ready. These vanities are just as attractive as they are functional, and selecting a traditional double vanity with inset cabinetry ensures your bathroom has all the necessary storage space without the appearance of clutter.

White-on-white cabinetry and countertops are a classic choice for creating an airy, bright bathroom design.

5. Contemporary Wood Vanity With Vessel Sinks

Contemporary wood vanity with vessel sinks.

A contemporary wood vanity with vessel sinks is perfect for creating a spa-like atmosphere at home. Opt for a dark wood finish for the cabinets, and top it off with a granite or white marble countertop.

The warm, earthy atmosphere of the wood provides a balanced feel, while the raised sink elevates the overall design.

Remodeling bathrooms can be both fun and challenging because of the limited space and limitless possibilities, and there are endless options for selecting a luxury bathroom vanity for your bathroom.

Work With Alisha Taylor Interiors for Luxury Bathroom Design

At Alisha Taylor Interiors, our design focuses on your desires and lifestyle needs. We work closely with you to help design a home you love and bring your vision to life. With years of experience designing luxury bathrooms, we can help you select a stunning vanity that will complement the overall design of your bathroom.

Take a look at our work and reach out today to see how our team can help you design the luxury bathroom of your dreams.

What Happens During the Ordering & Procurement Phase of Your Luxury Custom Home Project

ordering and procurement phase

After you’ve approved your new spaces based on our design presentations visualizing the made-to-order furniture pieces, custom pillows and window treatments, and the best rug for each room, we enter the Ordering & Procurement Phase of the design process.

Ordering Your Furniture & Furnishings

We can’t deny that this is the stage where your patience is required. And yes, we’ll admit it’s even hard for us to be patient once we get excited about a gorgeous design! The beautiful pieces you chose to become part of your interiors must be ordered, fabricated, and shipped. We coordinate all the purchase orders, track shipping, and have items shipped to our receiver. Our incredible receivers at Fully Loaded Deliveries meticulously inspect each item, submit images, and carefully store them in their warehouse until installation day. You don’t have to do any of the work!

To keep the ball rolling, we will be in touch with you twice a month with updates. If we are notified of any back-ordered items, we will communicate that to you! And unfortunately, sometimes these gorgeous pieces experience a long journey to our warehouse and may come in with some nicks and dings. But don’t worry! We handle all manufacturing claims and repair/reorder any damaged items, and everything is inspected before it reaches your home.

Ordering & Procurement Phase Timeline

Custom furniture is not made with a magic wand. Talented artisans create your items, sometimes from scratch. It’s a labor of love for everyone, so lead times can change because of these talented human hands making sure they get your furniture or workroom items right! So, it’s important to understand that we share the information that we receive right from the factories and workrooms. This information may not always be perfectly accurate and may change. Updates may not be what you want, but we strive for honesty and transparency in updating you!

Depending on the complexity of your project and the customization of your specific pieces the ordering & procurement phase can take anywhere from 6 to 9 months, up to a year. Our Business & Logistics Director, Emma, will be in contact about what your specific project timeline will be based on your specifics.

Preventing Major Surprises

To avoid surprises at the end of your project, we include all costs including shipping, receiving, delivery, and installation in our proposals before you approve anything! When it comes to budget, it’s important to communicate your needs and realistic expectations. We work hard to establish a budget upfront and include all costs before we start ordering because no one likes surprise expenses.

With all of our interior design services in Scottsdale, we take great care to ensure the process is smooth and fun for clients. We understand the importance of having a well-designed home you can be proud of and we are thrilled to help you bring your dream home to life. If you’re ready to start designing your custom luxury dream home with us, contact us for more information on our process!

Is Transitional Design Right for Your Home?

Is transitional design right for your home?

Whether building a brand new property or lovingly renovating the house you’ve lived in for decades, curating a space that feels like home is no small feat. A million decisions lie ahead, but the first can be the most daunting. Are you envisioning a traditional design style? Scandinavian? Farmhouse? Coastal? What about the transitional style?

You may have heard of transitional design before, and in this article, we’ll attempt to check one decision off the list: Is it the right style for you?

Transitional design is enjoying increasing popularity, and it’s easy to see why. Blending different design elements creates a fresh, balanced, and timeless aesthetic. So what exactly is it?

What Is Transitional Style?

Transitional style is a marriage of traditional and modern design schools.

Traditional design takes inspiration from the 18th and 19th centuries, relying on symmetry, warm tones, upholstered furniture, and ornate detailing. When executed well, it avoids looking stuffy and instead radiates a sense of established luxury.

On the other hand, modern design is known for its clean lines, muted colors, natural materials, and minimalist sensibility. Ideally, this creates spaces that are open, uncluttered, and tranquil without feeling austere.

In blending these two worlds, transitional design arrives somewhere familiar yet new. The lush comfort of the traditional and minimalist beauty of the modern creates homes that are inviting, livable, and visually interesting.

6 Elements of the Transitional Design Style

Transitional design allows for infinite creativity in the meeting of muses. Here are some key elements to consider when decorating in this style.

Neutral Color Palette

A serene mood is central to transitional design. Neutral color palettes help set a calm tone while establishing a cohesive backdrop for the merging of traditional and modern pieces.

Intentional Decor

Just like its modern inspiration, transitional design is clutter-adverse. Rather than relying on extensive wall art and decorative objects, complementary fabrics and textures are used to create a sense of curated depth.

Natural Light

Light helps to contour a room. Natural lighting is essential to transitional design, where it reinforces the calm and establishes a sense of airiness. Natural light also highlights the warm wooden tones of transitional decor.

Complementary Textures and Patterns

Each element is carefully selected in transitional design and mixing fabric and prints is central to this art. This is where the fusion of design worlds is particularly fun to play with: consider the possibilities in matching warm and cool, minimal and opulent, glossy and velvety.

Balance

Because this design style relies so heavily on balance, it must be assessed every step of the way. From the precise placement of a painting on the wall to the scale of furniture in a room, the effect of each choice should be effortless.

Modern Light Fixtures

Sleek light fixtures are essential to transitional design, preventing a space from trending too traditional. Adding modern lighting to a room with classic furniture ensures it feels current and on-trend.

Is the Transitional Design Style Right for You?

Transitional design is a good fit if you want your home to embody the following traits:

  • A sleek yet easygoing vibe
  • A minimalist, resort-like aesthetic
  • Comfort that blends traditional design elements with clean, modern touches

A house decorated in the transitional style is uncluttered and inviting to guests while retaining the unique essence of what makes it home to you.

Still unsure if the transitional style fits your family? Working with a professional is one way to reduce your stress, assess every option, and ensure the final product reflects your vision.

Transform Your Home With Alisha Taylor Interiors

With decades of interior design experience, our team offers a full range of design services to the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Whether transitional, eclectic, mid-century modern, or something else altogether, we bring our clients’ design dreams to life.

Alisha Taylor is recognized for her award-winning designs locally and nationally. Her design philosophy holds that there should be no separation between comfort and practicality, luxury and daily living.

The first step in our process is getting to know you and everything you want from your home. The conversation continues with design boards and renderings until your vision is perfectly reflected in our plans. Next, you leave everything in our hands, as Alisha Taylor and her team communicate through every step of the project.

Browse our portfolio or get in touch to learn more.

Range Hood Ideas To Perfect Your Luxury Kitchen

With the selection of custom options available today, your range hood can actually become the focal piece of your kitchen design instead of a primarily functional piece. Different colors, metals, and shapes can be integrated into your kitchen uniquely to create a design that will really stand out. Here are some range hood ideas to get you started planning your luxury dream kitchen.

What Is a Range Hood?

Range hoods are designed to pull the steam, grease, smoke, and other particles from the air from your stove and keep the air in your kitchen fresh and clean. There are a variety of designs and sizes available for custom range hoods. 

Custom Range Hood Types

Whether you want your kitchen to be rustic or modern, simple or complex, brightly colored or tastefully muted, there is a range hood for you. 

Stainless Steel

Stainless steel hoods have a classic yet modern feel that goes well with almost anything. This metal is known for its durability and is resistant to rust and corrosion, which is especially important given its purpose of filtering out vapors.

Stainless steel also comes in a few different finishes, so if the standard plain silver is not for you, there are still options in this material. Some of the available colors, like the popular blue mirror finish, can be quite striking and make for a nice conversation piece in your kitchen.

Copper

The antique feel of copper is great for making your kitchen a little homier. Fans of the rustic farmhouse or cottage core aesthetics will especially like what this style adds to their designs. Copper is a particularly strong metal, making custom range hoods of this type resistant to scratches, dents, or staining, even after years of use.

Copper is also self-healing, meaning if it does get scratched, the damage will fade until it matches the rest of the material. It has natural anti-bacterial properties because of how smooth the finish is — perfect for helping your kitchen stay sanitized.

Blackened Steel

Blackened steel shares many qualities with stainless, including durability, rust resistance, and design versatility, but it’s produced in a slightly different way. The steel is blackened or darkened through one of a few different processes, including heat, chemical application, or the use of oils and wax. Each of these processes will produce a slightly different result, so you’ll want to work with your designer to determine which one works best for your kitchen aesthetic.

Brass

The bright finish of a brass range hood adds a touch of luxury to any kitchen. Though the design has often been associated with more rustic or classical aesthetics — which was particularly popular in the early 20th century — a variety of more modern brass hood designs are available today as well.

Brass is especially nice as a pop of color in an otherwise muted or neutral kitchen. Pairing it with an all-white or grayscale color palette makes it stand out. Both durable and stylish, brass is a great choice for many kitchen designs.

Duct Insert Range Hood

Duct insert range hoods are ideal for kitchens where you’d like to hang some custom cabinets or other décor above your range. This type of hood is integrated into the kitchen’s architecture so that other things can be installed above or on top of it. While many hood types vent through your kitchen ceiling to remove vapors and smoke from the air, a duct insert range hood includes ducted ventilation inside the hood that often filters and recirculates the air directly back into your kitchen.

These come in various shapes, materials, and finishes, which makes them incredibly versatile. They’re especially great for kitchens where you’d like some extra storage space in the form of cabinets above the stove or where you can’t or don’t want to vent through the ceiling. Some people choose this design simply because they want something smaller or more minimalist than ceiling-vented styles.

Work With Alisha Taylor Interiors To Design a Kitchen You Love

A custom range hood adds a nice focal point to your kitchen design as both a fashionable and functional element. At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we work to help you create your ideal kitchen, whatever that may be. If you’d like to see what we can help you create, contact Alisha Taylor Interiors to schedule a consultation and take the next step toward a kitchen you’ll love.

 

Why You Need Automation Technology in Your Luxury New Build

automated technology

Smart home technology has become such an essential function in custom luxury homes. Automation technology enhances security, improves lifestyle, and offers customization to any design. Although the ability to upgrade an existing home with these advances is possible, we recommend involving your home automation company early in your New Build process. This ensures that your devices are designed to custom fit your specific needs. Linking the devices, systems, and appliances all together will create a connected home for better, easier, and more convenient operations.

Our team at Automated Environments offers professional expertise and systems that allow any part of your home to be automated and put under your control. Home automation such as a security system, home theatre calibration, lighting control, video, and audio distribution, motorized shades, thermostat control, cellular signal boosting systems, etc. are all aspects discussed with Automated Environments when building a custom luxury home. Read on to find out why your custom luxury home needs smart home and automation technology.

Safety & Security

Integrating a security system in the beginning phases of your New Build process can allow for personalized safety. For example, installing technologies that can monitor motion not only by your front door but also along the perimeter of your home gives homeowners that added peace of mind. Smart home technologies are evolving with the ability to remotely control your home’s lights, doors, and security alarms directly from your phone.

Comfort and Convenience

Simple voice controls are evolving to be utilized in a much higher capacity throughout the whole home. Voice control technology can help you to operate your television, light switches, thermostat, and appliances all managed by your voice commands. With more personalization of smart home technology, you can feel more comfortable and safer in your luxury home.

Energy Efficiency

Smart home features include low-energy lighting, energy-reducing power strips, and energy tracking devices, which ensure that energy use is minimal. With features like automating light output and temperature adjustments throughout the day, it is easy to boost conservation in your custom luxury home without giving it a second thought.

Personalization and Flexibility

Home automation technology has abundant scope for customization. For example, the systems can adjust the brightness of the lights, have the curtains drawn at a certain time, or play your favorite podcast while in your bathroom getting ready for the day.

Incorporating automation technologies that match your preferences and suit your lifestyle allows you to be more efficient in your everyday life. Working these features into the beginning stages of your new build project will guarantee proper installation and full customization with each system & device that is integrated into your home. Be sure to check out our home automation partners, Automated Environments, and see all the amazing home automation services that can help to revolutionize your home and life.

At Alisha Taylor Interiors, our interior design projects are individualized to create a true sense of place, reflecting the desires, personalities, and styles of the clients that put their homes in our hands. Browse our projects or contact us to discuss how we can bring your custom luxury home to life!

Why a Master Bedroom is Now Called a Primary Bedroom

In years past, when a house had multiple bedrooms, the largest bedroom was often referred to as the “master bedroom.” In a family home, this would be the parents’ bedroom. In a roommate situation, the master bedroom might belong to a couple or the household’s primary earner. But today, when you buy a new house, you may hear the realtor refer to that room as the “primary bedroom” instead.

What’s the reason for this change? Does the distinction between master bedroom vs. primary bedroom really matter? Read on to find out!

The History of the Term “Master Bedroom”

The term “master bedroom” has been circulating since the 1920s, first appearing in a Sears catalog article featuring an expensive Dutch Colonial home. The largest bedroom was typically occupied by the head of the household or the “master of the house.” At the time, that was usually assumed to be the man or the married parents of a family.

The name quickly caught on and became the common term for the largest bedroom of the house. So if your name was on the deed for the home, you probably occupied the master bedroom. In some cases, when a bathroom was attached to that bedroom, the master bedroom was referred to as a “master suite.”

But society and language have changed in the past century, and so has the way we refer to this coveted room.

Why Primary Bedroom vs. Master Bedroom?

Although many people take the use of the word “master” for granted, in recent times, more and more homebuyers have expressed discomfort with the outdated phrasing. 

The term has a gendered quality as it tends to bring to mind the idea of a man being the master of the home. Of course, this concept is generally agreed to be an outdated idea. Others have felt that “master” carries racist overtones, harkening back to the United States’ history of slavery.

The terms used to identify different rooms in the home are most commonly coined and used by realtors to describe a house to potential homebuyers. Realtors often have to be in tune with the headspace and the feelings of their homeowners, and avoiding distastefulness is just as important as minding client preferences. In an effort to be sensitive to the discomfort that the “master bedroom” evokes, realtors have begun to refer to the largest bedroom of the home as the “primary bedroom.”

The term “primary bedroom” identifies the bedroom as the largest in the home, but it lacks the negative connotations that “master bedroom” carries. It also implies no expectations of who in the house might be most entitled to the bedroom. It simply describes what the room is. Once the home is yours, it’s your choice what to do with it.

The Importance of a Primary Bedroom

Regardless of what you call the space, your primary bedroom should be a haven of comfort and relaxation. This is the room where homeowners are likely to spend a significant amount of their time. It’s not just where you sleep but also where you keep your most prized possessions and favorite comforts.

This is one of the most crucial rooms in the home when it comes to interior design. If your primary bedroom feels bland, cluttered, or outdated, it can impact your feelings towards the home as a whole. Your primary bedroom should be an expression of you — all the things that you find comfortable, beautiful, and functional. It’s worth it to pay for an interior designer to help you bring the image of your primary bedroom to life.

With the help of an interior designer, you can have the primary bedroom of your dreams without having to stress over all the little details yourself. It’s an investment that will pay off with unbeatable comfort and a sense of home for years to come.

Alisha Taylor Can Design Your Dream Primary Bedroom

Is your primary bedroom lacking a certain something to make your house feel like home? Maybe your tastes or needs have changed, or maybe you inherited a primary bedroom that simply isn’t your style.

Alisha Taylor Interiors can help. Alisha Taylor has 20+ years of experience running her interior design studio in Arizona. She has the industry expertise and a keen eye for optimizing comfort, beauty, and function in a primary bedroom. Take a look at our past work to see for yourself what we can do.

Let Alisha Taylor makeover your primary bedroom. Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule a design consultation.

 

Reasons Why Luxury Interior Design Increases Home Values

Your home’s interior is not just a reflection of you and your family but can also increase your home’s value. There’s a lot more to luxurious interior design than most people realize at first glance.

Interior design involves your home’s decor as well as its functional layout and design. As luxury interior designers, we work alongside architects and contractors to create an elegant, aesthetically pleasing, and useful spaces that fit you perfectly. Additionally, we take into consideration the desires of future owners to upgrade your space while increasing your home’s worth.

At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we want to give you all the tools you need to make informed design and remodeling decisions. That’s why we’ve put together this helpful guide on how luxury interior design can increase your home’s value.

What Is Luxury Interior Design?

Luxury interior design is the process of creating a sophisticated and functional interior. This includes making the most intelligent use of space and integrating premium materials, fixtures, and decor that reflect premium style and attention to detail.

Luxury interior design is ideal for anyone seeking refinement for their home, whether you’re building a custom home from the ground up or remodeling.

By partnering with Alisha Taylor, an expert in luxury interior design, you can bring your vision to life. We will help you make the best decisions for creating a truly exquisite space.

How Does Luxurious Interior Design Increase Home Value?

As luxury interior designers, we consider your tastes and home design’s timeless qualities. By making strategic decisions about space and materials during the design process, we improve the overall value of your home. Here are some of the key reasons luxurious interior design can increase your home’s worth:

It Makes Your Home Stand Out

Designing (or redesigning) your home is a fun project that allows you to display your sense of taste. Additionally, the style and layout of your house will affect how well it performs on the real estate market when it comes time to sell.

Many homeowners don’t hire luxury interior designers, deciding instead to decorate their homes themselves. However, with our support, it will be clear that you worked with experts to create an outstanding space.

We know exactly how to design each room of your house to create cohesiveness. By combining our design knowledge and experience with your creative vision, we can curate a highly functional and beautiful space that will appeal to potential home buyers in the future.

Timeless Interior Design Style Appeals to the Crowd

Some interior design trends go out of style quickly, so it’s important to use elements that are timeless and appealing no matter the year. Whether you’re seeking to integrate trendy styles or find unique ways to express yourself, we can help you incorporate these elements into a timeless design that won’t alienate potential future buyers.

The Right Colors Convince Buyers

Using the right colors when decorating your home is another important way to raise the value of your home, as color can be a key deciding factor for some buyers.

Many luxury home seekers want a move-in-ready space. This doesn’t mean that you have to stick exclusively to neutral tones, but we can help you form a cohesive and elegant style throughout your house that appeals to you and others.

We understand how to balance current color trends with timeless styles while incorporating your preferences. Alisha Taylor can find just the right shades of wall paint, cabinetry, flooring, countertops, and more for your home’s optimal presentation and value.

Luxury Materials Portray Quality

Using the best quality materials is an essential aspect of luxury interior design. By using luxury materials, you’re guaranteeing that your home is built to last and instantly increasing the value of your home.

Materials like hardwood flooring and marble countertops can set a refined tone to rooms, while elegant finishes like brass hardware add those essential, polished details to make your home truly luxurious.

Custom Furniture Makes a Difference

Incorporating custom furniture is one of the easiest ways to make your home stylish and unique. Because custom furniture can’t be found in stores, it creates a distinctive space that highlights the home’s architecture and creates a sense of comfort, cohesion, and sophistication.

As your designer, Alisha Taylor can present you with the best custom furniture around and help you make a decision that appeals to your tastes while considering what will be attractive to potential buyers. We can furnish a single room or your entire house to create a harmonious and distinctive space.

Alisha Taylor Interiors Can Increase Your Home’s Value

Alisha Taylor’s nearly 20 years of interior design experience means you can trust her to create the luxurious home of your dreams. With our award-winning luxury interior design services, our team can work with you to revamp and add value to your home.

Browse our portfolio, and contact us so we can start helping you achieve your design or remodeling goals.

High-End Home Bar Designs to Consider

One of the best parts of owning a home you love is getting to show it off. A proper host always offers refreshments. What better place to do that than at your home bar? For the centerpiece of your gathering, you’ll want a space that is both comfortable and elegant. Here are some home bar designs you can implement to add an air of sophistication to your next get-together.

Do I Need a Home Bar?

Whether or not you need a home bar largely depends on your lifestyle. Do you often have guests over? Do you like to settle in with a drink after a long day? Do you ever host parties or events? There are many reasons to include a bar in your home. Even if you pour drinks only for yourself, having a home bar can be a practical way to store your alcoholic accouterments and add a little flair to your end-of-day routine.

If you often host, a home bar both adds a touch of sophistication to your gatherings and gives you a practical and comfortable place to congregate and converse. It’s especially useful if you have a wide variety of bottles to keep track of. Storing them behind the bar keeps them neat and organized, making it easy and convenient to find what you’re looking for so you don’t have to miss the party to hunt down the right bottle of wine or liquor.

Even if you don’t often drink, a home bar can be a great place to make and store coffee or tea or serve hors d’oeuvres or desserts.

5 High-End Home Bar Design Ideas

A home bar should be somewhere you can relax, whether you’re alone with a glass of wine after work or sharing cocktails and conversations with friends. These home bar design ideas can help create a sophisticated environment for a night in that feels like a night out.

1. Add Underlighting

Lighting can be one of the best ways to add flair to an area. Attaching something like an LED strip light under your bar top adds a subtle accent without being intrusive. Many lighting options also connect to smart home devices for hands-free operation while you’re busy pouring cocktails.

2. Have Fun With Bar Stool Designs

Decorative bar stools are a great way to add form to function. Your guests need somewhere to sit, but it doesn’t need to be purely practical. Choose seats with unique shapes, colorful cushions, or intricate carvings to catch the eye. Minimalist stools in metallic or accent colors can also be visually appealing without overwhelming the rest of the decor.

3. Put In a Quartz Countertop

While there’s nothing wrong with a traditional wood or granite bar top, the sparkle of quartz is sure to wow your company. Quartz comes in a variety of colors, ranging from earthy browns and grays to bright jewel blues to romantic, rosy pinks, so there’s something to match every decor style. Quartz countertops are also more scratch-resistant than wood or granite, making them timeless in both style and durability.

4. Add an Intricate Display Shelf Design

Many wine and liquor bottles today feature intricate designs. Why hide them? Pair your bottles with some stylish shelving and decorative glassware or a few choice art pieces or collectibles for an eye-catching display. Home bar designs that show off your available offerings can also give your guests a visual idea of what kind of drinks you can mix.

5. Find Accent Lighting You Love

Lighting for your home bar doesn’t have to be merely functional. There are many decorative options to choose from. The right lighting fixtures can even be focus pieces for the room, or they can be so subtle that you won’t even notice them. For minimalists, recessed lighting tucked into the ceiling can be quite elegant, or a few pendant lights can add class without looking too busy.

If eye-catching focus pieces are your style, try an intricate statement chandelier or rustic sconces filled with Edison bulbs. When you love your lighting, it can make the whole space feel more comfortable.

Design Your Elegant Home Bar With Alisha Taylor Interiors

Implementing a home bar design you love is just the first step toward making your house a home. At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we work with you every step of the way to incorporate your style into every corner of your home. Our unique services are tailored to you because you deserve the home of your dreams.

If you’re ready to start your customized design journey, contact Alisha Taylor Interiors to schedule a consultation.

Ceiling Texture Types That Match Luxury Homes

Ceiling textures that match luxury homes.

Luxury homes can be customized down to every last square inch. You may not think much about customizing your ceilings, but adding texture to your ceiling is a great way to add a touch of luxury to any room. There are many ceiling texture types to choose from, so how do you know which one is best for your rooms?

What Is Ceiling Texture?

Instead of leaving your ceilings flat and undecorated or plainly painted, you can add textures to create dimension.

Ceiling texture can be created by painting over texturizers or installing textured elements to create sophisticated patterns on your ceiling. Homes with textured ceilings are often perceived as more valuable, which impresses guests and potential buyers alike if you ever choose to sell.

7 Ceiling Texture Types To Consider

Choosing a ceiling texture can be daunting. There are many textures to choose from, and each will add something different to your room. Here are some of the most popular and versatile textures.

1. Orange Peel

Orange Peel ceilings have roughly the texture of a zoomed-in citrus rind, featuring bumps and pits created by spraying drywall mud onto the surface. It has been compared to the Popcorn texture popular in the ‘90s, but Orange Peel has smoother, less symmetrical bumps and is much easier to clean, making it a more popular choice for modern homes.

This ceiling texture type also offers some sound deadening, making it ideal for rooms like offices, where you want it to be quiet, or living rooms, where sound from televisions or stereos might leak into other rooms.

2. Skip Trowel

The Skip Trowel texture can vary in thickness and pattern. It is characterized by drywall mud that is applied by hand using a Skip Trowel tool. It creates a rustic yet sophisticated look with raised patches of varying sizes, reminiscent of Mediterranean architecture. This texture pairs well with glossy paints that highlight small details when lit.

3. Swirl

Ceilings with a Swirl texture feature a repeating pattern of circles. This whimsical design is known for its visual appeal and is great for hiding imperfections in the ceiling. The swirls can be rougher in texture, or more smooth and uniform, depending on the tool used and the precision of the application.

This texture can be difficult to apply correctly, so be sure your painter or drywall professional has experience in the type of Swirl ceilings you desire. Alisha Taylor Interiors works with a variety of skilled professionals and can recommend someone with the skills you need.

4. Lace

Lace ceilings have a delicate air that instantly makes any room look prettier. Made of drywall mud applied in a lace pattern, this is the hardest texture to apply due to the artistry required but is one of the most coveted.

This texture can be difficult to clean, so avoid putting it in areas like the kitchen or bathroom, which can have a lot of humidity or other particles in the air. Instead, feature this pretty design in guest-forward areas like your sitting room or entryway, where it will be seen but won’t require frequent cleaning.

5. Coffered Ceiling

Coffered ceiling texture types come in a variety of patterns and are characterized by a grid of wooden beams painted to match the ceiling.

It can be left plain or accented with molding or decorated tiles. This texture is the most dramatic way to add dimension to your ceiling and can range from imperial to rustic in its design elements, making it highly customizable.

6. Victorian Textured Ceiling

A Victorian textured ceiling is made up of foam, tin, paper, or plaster ceiling tiles with intricate embossed designs. This texture is so named for its popularity during its namesake era. It can be easily applied in most rooms and adds a lavish, classical feel to any space. This texture is great for accenting a chandelier or other lighting feature.

7. Wood Ceiling Texture

Increasing in recent popularity, Wood ceiling texture types are made by installing wooden slats across your entire ceiling, similar in appearance to a hardwood floor. The slats can be installed in traditional straight lines or in a variety of patterns, including V-shapes or boxes. Left unpainted, it adds a rustic, cabin-like ambiance, great for bedrooms, dining rooms, sunrooms, or enclosed porches.

What Rooms Should Have a Textured Ceiling?

Any room can potentially benefit from a textured ceiling. You may choose to texturize in order to add visual dimension, accent a lighting fixture or other ceiling decoration, or simply make an otherwise plain ceiling more interesting. Your interior designer can help you decide which rooms would benefit from which ceiling texture types.

Work With Alisha Taylor Interiors Today

At Alisha Taylor Interiors, we want to ensure that your home reflects who you are. We make it easy to get the home of your dreams, even if you’ve never worked with a designer before. We personalize our services for every client and keep you included every step of the design process to make sure you love the outcome.

If you’re ready to create the living space you’ve always wanted, contact Alisha Taylor Interiors to schedule your first consultation.

Behind the Design: CAMELBACK REMODEL

BAR RENDERING

The Camelback Mountain Views Is The Best Compliment to This Stunning Full Remodel 

About the Clients & Their Current Home

These clients are a loving and personable couple who enjoy entertaining. After previously living in this home for some time, they decided that it was necessary for a full remodel to better fit their new lifestyle as a married couple! This property had lots of unusual angles in the original floor plan and didn’t have an open concept in the main living/kitchen space. The home needed some repairs & upgrades throughout, so the clients decided instead of repairing a layout that didn’t fit their needs, they’d make it more custom and elevate it to a modern design.

The Design Direction

Creating a personal style and designing with intent is our specialty, so when these clients came to us with two very different ideas of what they were envisioning for their new home, we were able to combine them to satisfy both their tastes. He loves high contrasts of black and white, while she loves modern farmhouse style. In this design, we played around with contrasting countertops and painted cabinetry colors, combined limestones with natural woods, and captured the farmhouse feel using ribbed cabinetry while mixing brushed brass accents & matte black light fixtures to represent the high contrast effect.

Client Priorities

As mentioned before, these clients are the life of the party and absolutely love to entertain! Having an open-concept entertaining space was a top priority in this project. We designed a unique ‘Roaring 20s’ inspired bar in the main living space that opens to the outdoor patio capturing the incredible views of Camelback Mountain. This space will provide an elegant and classy experience for their future dinner parties!

Another priority in this remodel was to utilize every square inch of unused space in their Primary Suite to create the closet of their dreams. Between lining this 320sqft room with custom shelves, drawers, and hanging rods, we designed a nine-foot-high storage system for her shoes and a built-in full-length mirror to allow all the necessities of hosting their fabulous wardrobe.

We’re Excited For…

We’re excited to see the ribbed cabinetry in the bar design! It is a unique finish that we don’t see too often and will make for an interesting statement piece. The laundry room features a fun, geometric backsplash that’ll add a bold WOW factor and elevate the space. Since we reconfigured many interior walls, we are also excited to see what the modern layout does for the entertaining space.

If you’re looking for a Full Remodel luxury experience, contact us! We would love to hear about your project and make your dream a reality. Located in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona, Alisha Taylor Interiors is a luxury, full-service residential interior design firm helping families enhance their lives through timeless interior design.

 

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