Julie Lopez

• Mesquite trees that grow randomly in the southwest create unique pieces of furniture with reddened hues and black epoxy filled crevasses. Here at Contents Interiors, we have been creating mesquite furniture for over 25 years. As one of the Tucson pioneers in the mesquite furniture business, we take pride in every piece we have designed. With time and age, mesquite wood becomes a treasure whether it is in a southwestern, Spanish Colonial and even contemporary home. As a designer for almost 20 years at Contents, I have helped to create many custom pieces from beds, dressers, dining tables, chairs, lamps and what ever meets the needs of my clients desires. Please stop by and see our dining table, chairs and lamps that are locally handcrafted right here in Tucson.

Carol Bell

• In the current trend of lounging and cocooning at home, the fusion table has exactly what it takes to create unique memorable moments to share with friends and family. Whether it’s dinner for 10, pool for 4, or poker for 5, the fusion table allows your space to become multi-functional.
• Made by Aramith, a 75 year old Belgium company specializing in the production and distribution of billiard equipment, this table will add a new dimension to the dining room and make entertaining at home a unique and memorable experienc
• www.FUSIONTABLES.com

Cindi Schaefer

• Wall treatments are a great idea to use in your home to make it more creative. This bold and beautiful statement of walnut wood doesn’t fade into the background, but gives the room a touch of elegance and warmth. Use your creativity to make a work of art in your room.

Carol Bell

• Contemporary bedding with cutting edge design has been difficult to find in the past. Now Contents Interiors is proud to introduce Wildcat Territory, a bedding line that is characterized by luxurious fabrics, gorgeous color and couture dressmaker details. Unique design details are the hallmark of Wildcat Territory’s style. Almost all of the collections use some form of couture styling such as pin tucking, folding, top stitching, banding, hand quilting or knotting. These details set this collection apart from other bedding collections.

Tamara Scott-Anderson, ASID and Sara Smith, Allied Member ASID

Photograph by Robin Stancliff
Categories: Problem Area solutions

• For this newly-constructed bungalow style home, the builder used bead board, large-scale door trim and a reclaimed decorative lambrequin over the transom window to create architectural interest for the front door and entry hall. To enhance architectural details, the walls were painted a bright, cheerful yellow in contrast to the white, painted bead board and trim.
• To create privacy from the front street while still allowing for daylight, a translucent roller shade was used on the front door. The decorative style hem of the shade was chosen to emulate the design of the door lambrequin. In addition, custom stained glass panels were designed for the side lights. The colors were taken from the color scheme of the home’s furniture palette, and the design motif was repetitive of custom wall stenciling used in the living area.

• The hall light fixture was chosen for its colors and to further enhance the Arts & Crafts bungalow style of the home.

Design tips from Tamara Scott-Anderson, ASID

Photography courtesy of Incanto
Categories: Color Palettes, Coordinating a Room, Accessorizing

• White is a timeless option for Contemporary furnishings and is seeing resurgence in popularity in everything from leather and fabrics to accessories. Here, white is the basic palette for a minimalist color scheme of black and gold.
• The use of floor-to-ceiling, soft, white sheer drapery panels provides several design solutions. Foremost, it softens and diffuses the light, while repeating the vertical lines of the architectural structure. In addition, it provides acoustical benefits for absorbing echoes and it softens the textures in a large, mostly hard-surface room.
• The unique, tortoiseshell floor lamp is part of a growing trend to use light as art. In addition, the gold leaf floor lamp is a single-jeweled accent providing reading and ambient lighting.
• Cocktail ottomans are as popular as ever. Here, a large, oversized piece is the appropriate scale to balance the large sectional in this spacious room. When less is more, sometimes bigger is better.
• New trends in accessories for a contemporary, minimalist home is to leave large areas of wall space untouched by stacking and layering art work and objects on shelves.
• Along with large floor pillows, the large, rectangle area rug was placed at an angle to furnishings, allowing for more comfortable, settable floor space.
• Use of low-VOC paints, 100% cotton sheer fabric and the 100% wool carpet gives this room a good rating for moving the home towards a “green”, healthy and earth-friendly environment.

Design Idea from
Tamara Scott-Anderson, ASID

Photographs by Robin Stancliff June 2008
Categories: Coordinating a Room, Problem area solutions

The 20-foot height of the ceiling gives an overpowering feel of spaciousness in this two-story townhouse. The designer used a stenciled border in an Arts & Crafts motif to bring proportion, color and historical reference to the expansive wall.