The Interior Design Details Edit, End-August Edition

Rhonda Chen
2 days ago
3 min read

INTERIOR DESIGN DETAILS

The Interior Design Details Edit

End-August Edition

Right now I'm splitting my week between two climates and two very different phases of construction, LA finishes on one side, Jamaica framing on the other. It's a good week to slow down and talk about the details that actually matter once the big decisions are made.

Photo: Obegi Home / Unsplash

Design Tip

Build your island like a piece of furniture

Here's a small shift that changes how a kitchen feels: stop treating the island as a slab of cabinetry. Give it furniture-style legs, a mixed material top like butcher block or soapstone, and let it read as its own piece rather than an extension of the perimeter cabinets. It costs little extra to plan for, and it's the difference between a kitchen that looks built and one that looks collected.

Photo: Peter Muniz / Unsplash

Trend to Watch

Stone is getting its texture back

The polished, glass-smooth stone that dominated bathrooms for years is giving way to honed and textured finishes, quartzite and travertine with real movement in them. It's a shift toward materials that feel human under your hand, not just pretty from across the room. If you're planning a bathroom, this is the moment to ask your designer about honed instead of polished. It changes the whole feel of the space for the same material.

VintageView Helix installation • Photo: VintageView

Currently Specifying

The VintageView Helix wine wall

This is one of my favorite ways to solve a problem clients bring me constantly, how to display real wine storage without giving up a whole room to it. The Helix system mounts to a wall and holds bottles at a gentle angle, so it works as a floating feature wall in a dining room, hallway, or bar nook instead of requiring a dedicated cellar. It's available through the trade, and we can spec it into your project.

Rathbun Residence • Interior Design Details

From the Portfolio

The Rathbun Residence

A husband and wife came to me right as her health was changing. She was starting to need a wheelchair full time, and he's six feet tall. They needed one primary suite that worked for both of them, and it could not feel clinical. We widened every doorway for a full turning radius, let the vanity roll under so she can reach it from her chair, and built a curbless shower with grab bars designed to look like part of the room instead of hidden. It later won an award for Universal and ADA Design from AARP and NAHB. It's still the clearest proof I have that accessible and beautiful were never supposed to be two different things.

That's what's on my mind this week, one project finishing, one just getting its bones. I'll be back in your inbox in two weeks with more.

"We built this business because we got tired of watching people either lose their taste to a contractor's shortcuts or lose their sanity trying to manage everything themselves. You shouldn't have to choose."

If any of this sounds like where you are, reply to this email or reach out through the website and let's talk about your project. Get in touch →

Warmly, Rhonda

Interior Design Details · Los Angeles, CA · Jamaica, West Indies