Kathryn Ireland

Kathryn M. Ireland
Textiles & Design
Santa Monica, CA

www.kathrynireland.com

This portfolio is full of great examples of using color against white walls.

Fabrics are quilted, or else (because of their flat weaves) look as if they're candidates for being quilted. This, along with the not-overly-ornate furniture, makes the rooms look clean, casual and comfortable.

Drapes are mostly hung straight, letting maximum light into the rooms.

My favorite feature of these rooms is the height and mass of the lamps, which are taller and larger than what I usually see when browsing designer portfolios.

Ann Brown

Ann Brown Interiors
San Francisco, CA

www.annbrowninteriors.com

Ann's portfolio is large, and some of the designs are older, which makes them valuable for studying to see what still works today. With kitchens especially, I like to do this.

In the bedrooms, the focus is on fabrics. The beds are heavily dressed.

I like the living rooms with simple window coverings best, but there are other examples in her portfolio where the window treatments are more elaborate.

Eric Cohler

Eric Cohler Design
New York, NY

www.ericcohler.com

Briger + Briger

Briger + Briger

brigerbriger-design.com

In this portfolio, what you'll find is symmetry. Me, when I'm browsing on eBay or Craigslist, sometimes I just search for the word "pair". Pair of what? Doesn't always matter. I just want to see what's out there. I get the feeling these guys shop the same way.

Another thing you'll notice is all the white walls. Almost all the rooms, in fact, have white or slightly off-white walls. These rooms are great examples of how to have colorful rooms, even if you leave the walls white.

And then there's all the sunshine, one of my favorite design elements. This is one of the sunniest collections of rooms I've seen.

Slipcovered books.

The bedroom that was inspiration for how I arranged the furniture in my own bedroom.

Cris and Paul Briger have a book available: