So you’re ready to buy a new house, and you’re wondering how you’re going to make it a home. Or maybe you’ve been in the same house since the 80′s–and your interior design reflects this all to clearly.
Interior design plays a huge role in how people use and experience their home. Ambiance, comfort, usability, and pride in your home are largely anchored on furnishings, window treatments, use of color, lighting, and overall space planning. How do you get all this right so your home reflects who you are, impresses guests, is functional, and doesn’t break the bank?
Hire the right interior designer.
Residential Interior Design Experience Counts
It’s not hard to find an “interior decorator” who claims to have the experience and resources to transform your home. Unfortunately, a personal claim of “having a knack” for interior design and experience shopping at big box stores rarely delivers results worth the investment.
If you’re going to hire an interior designer, work with a professional firm. Look for:
A team that has a range of experience and specialized areas of expertise
Commitment to providing support in every phase of interior design service, from initial consultation to installation
Interior Design that Reflects Your Personality
Many people live for years in homes that say nothing about who they are or what they love. If you’re going to hire an interior designer, get one that overcomes that problem.
One of the most important considerations in hiring an interior designer is to ensure they design for you. It’s easy to get an expensive professional who has a fantastic idea about how they think your home should look. But you’re the one who lives there. The best interior design firms create beautiful, unique designs that reflect the tastes of the resident. Get a consultation from an interior designer who starts by learning about who you are and what you love. The end result will be a house that is truly your home.
Located in the charming city of Truckee, CA amongst the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains is a booming residential development for homeowners looking to escape into today’s new way of living – Casual Luxury. Martis Camp concentrates its efforts of providing high-end residential living with informal casualness that allows residences to relax and enjoy recreational activities for all levels. Whether your choice in activity is golf, beach cruise bike riding, skiing, or enjoying a massage, it is guaranteed you will find something for your enjoyment at the Martis Camp Lodge, Family Barn, Warming Ski Hutt, Park Pavilion, or Lost Library.
Where did your interior design inspirations arise from for the Martis Camp Lodge and Family Barn?
Design inspiration is not a calculated strategy. Often times our interiors are inspired by living. Several design inspirations for the Martis Camp Lodge were gathered by Kim Anderson while she was out collecting antiques and unique items for the Family Barn. Anderson was inspired to upholster one of the dining room ceilings with old Victorian quilts while on a family vacation in Maine. She fell in love with the quilts and just had to find a way to incorporate them into the design.
Where should a homeowner start in gathering interior design ideas for their residential home?
One of the best parts of the interior design process is incorporating the warmth and personalization of the homeowner. Donna Vallone always encourages her clients to do their homework. Clients can start by pulling images out of magazines that catch their eye. The images can be from the latest home interior magazine or the latest fashion issue. Pulling conceptual images is a great way to organize color, pattern, style, and overall ‘likes’ for your project. As the process develops creativity has a way of forming naturally allowing ideas to develop with current materials and trends while including the comforts of home (like family photos from a favorite vacation).
What was your strategy in providing luxury but playful interior and exterior spaces that Martis Camp is known for?
Vallone’s solution to marrying luxury and play was by using traditional/transitional furniture with upgraded finishes that could be found in an elaborate high-end home. Adding a mix of playful color and patterned fabrics within the space created the Luxury-Casual atmosphere desired by Martis Camp. Providing lush feeling fabrics with a fun print or stripe was one of the solutions to this challenge. One area in which you can find this is in the Martis Camp Women’s Lounge, a classic transitional lounge chair is upholstered in a lush pink, purple, and taupe velvet-cotton stripe. “…interior fabrics and finishes have become innovative to withstand commercial interiors without feeling cold or stark.
Often times we will use outdoor fabric in a high-traffic area or in a family friendly zone in a residential interior space” says Anderson. Exterior fabric has developed over the years allowing to be used in more interior spaces. “I love Moore and Giles exterior leather” quotes Beth Imbornoni, team member of the Martis Camp design team, “it allows you to bring the indoor and outdoor spaces into one, and Martis Camp is the perfect place to do this with the ever changing seasons.” Combining the right materials and staying true to the overall aesthetic really allowed for the design team to achieve the overall goal: provide a place where families can come relax, play, and grow.
How did you decide how to furnish the interior spaces knowing that they would be used in multiple ways?
One thing Martis prides itself on is having something for everyone. The design team and ownership wanted to provide spaces that could be used by members in multiple ways. The dining wing at the Martis Camp Lodge was designed with flexible furnishings for large private parties, a dinner for two, or quick and easy set-up for a family. Vallone specified tables with flip tops, removable extending leaves, and took into consideration the chair style and size so they could be used at the different tables depending on the size of the party. The Martis Camp Family Barn has been used for live entertainment and weddings, but still provides a place for kids and families to just “hang-out”. This was a creative challenge for the Vallone Design Team. They weren’t just designing for one space, but were designing for multiple scenarios in which the room could be used.
Do your interiors need to match your home surroundings or can you combine the traditional cabin setting with a more contemporary look?
There has actually been a trend in design of homeowners moving towards more contemporized stream-lined design; less is more. There are all different types of architecture and interior styles found at Martis Camp. The Family Barn is full of design details that make you feel like you are in an old barn, while the Lodge concentrates on Arts and Crafts style.
Kim Anderson, lead interior designer was able to combine furnishings and fabrics that were complimentary of each of the buildings style while staying true to the “camp” aesthetic found at Martis Camp. This summer Martis will introduce their newest addition; the Warming Hutt, an 8,000 sq ft. lodge for skiers. This building is more contemporary, offering exposed ceilings, linear applications of architectural materials, clean line furniture, and geometric print fabrics. All elements combine for a cleaner contemporary feel while infusing warmth from color and the textures. Kerri Foreman, Senior Interior Designer with Vallone Design states “When doing a more contemporary cabin, the use of materials and texture become more pronounced and simple details are highlighted.”
The Martis Camp Family Barn is a one of a kind recreation complex for families that live in Martis Camp, designed by Vallone Design of Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Barn features a bowling alley, movie theatre, indoor basketball court, outdoor concert pavilion, Olympic sized swimming pool, art loft, karaoke lounge and game center.
The interior design is a playful mix of color, textural and different materials throughout the building, and features a retro-style 50’s diner/soda fountain for families to enjoy a casual meal.
The family friendly atmosphere is designed for year round use and special events.
View pictures of the Martis Camp Family Barn project.
Clean. Fresh. Simple. These words speak volumes about this design.
This traditional style 3,200 square foot home in Silverleaf Country Club is no fuss and easy to maintain as a vacation home, and features a guest casita detached from the main house, where the client allowed Vallone Design to go bolder with their color choices.
The Navajo rug in the Great Room was the inspiration for the color pallet used in the great room as well as the dining room.
Because the house is a vacation home the homeowners did not feel the need for a formal dining room, Vallone Design created a multifunctional space that acts as both a dining room and office.
Visit our project page to view pictures of this residential interior design project.
The design challenge for this house was to make it feel cozy because of the rustic nature and high ceilings in the house.
The homeowners wanted it to feel like a 5 star resort for their family and guests. Throughout the home, color and texture were explored through fabric, furniture and accessories.
They wanted everyone to come in and feel welcomed. The house is designed for entertaining and touches like a shuffleboard table were added for fun.
The outdoor space is large but has a comfortable feel and great atmosphere. The owner has his own putting green to practices on when he is not playing the Silverleaf Course.
Opened to Silverleaf members in 2005, Vallone Design completed the interior design on a crown jewel Clubhouse in the well noted Silverleaf Development in North Scottsdale. Artfully tucked in the canyons of the McDowell Mountains, the Silverleaf Clubhouse is a world class Mediterranean inspired clubhouse.
The architectural use of rough stone and smooth plaster walls highlights the old world charm while seamlessly marring with the interior design in using a unique blend of antiques and classic furnishings. Together the architecture and interior design brings together a warm welcoming atmosphere with a sense of living history.
Commercial Design With a Residential Feel
The 50,000 square foot clubhouse provides the club members with complete resort quality pools, spa facilities, breath taking men’s and women’s locker rooms and well as formal and casual dining. The challenge for Vallone Design’s Interior Designers was to bring a true residential softening and cozy feeling to the architecture’s rough stone and rustic beam construction. The use of pops of unexpected color in the lockers rooms brings a feeling of whimsy and unexpected timeless elegance.
Vallone designer’s goal of having the members feel like they are entering their own home, rather than a large commercial space, was further achieved by introducing rich hand carved millwork, rustic wood flooring, custom forged iron lighting and handcrafted tiles that have an aged feel, like they had been used and loved for many years. The meticulous attention to each detail is found around every turn.
Donna Vallone, principle of Vallone Design in Scottsdale Arizona notes “I truly believe we achieved a timeless design. The Silverleaf Clubhouse holds a very special place in my heart, my husband and I personally belong to the club and I never get tired of returning to enjoy a glass of wine in the bar or experiencing an event on the patio.”
“We were able to capture the essence of Arizona and take true advantage of the indoor/outdoor experience that residence of Arizona, love.” Mrs. Vallone also notes “After completing the clubhouse, models and sales center, we have been able to be a part of many custom homes and villas in Silverleaf, my designers and I feel so blessed to be a part of the evolving Silverleaf community and look forward to doing so for years to come.”
As the fourth amenity and main anchor of the highly successful private golf and ski community, the $40+ million Martis Camp clubhouse features fine dining, bar/grill, state-of-the-art fitness center, a 15,000+ square foot spa, luxurious men’s and women’s locker rooms, golf shop, and a massive living room reminiscent of the great National Parks Lodges of North America.
The design of the clubhouse is timeless and classic, inspired by the historic lodges while still providing a sophisticated energy and lifestyle for the membership.
Designer Kim Anderson describes some of her favorite features of the Martis Camp Lodge project: “You really must see it to fully appreciate the commitment to detail this building received from the entire Vallone design team, but of course the upholstered ceilings are magnificent – inspired by antique Victorian crazy quilts – and are among my favorite features. I upholstered all of the smaller spaces, such as phone rooms and dressing rooms, with different plaid ceilings, and while others may not notice, it’s one detail that I just love about the building. Beginning with the architecture, and the surroundings, to of course the furnishings themselves, this building will endure and be a cherished part of life shared through generations by the members of Martis Camp.”
The Lodge itself offers five distinct dining rooms, a bar and grill, exterior terraces, and locker rooms with lounge areas. Anderson designed the spaces so that groups of all ages and sizes could be easily accommodated, which is ideal since Martis Camp is a place members are excited to share with family and friends.
Martis Camp Family Barn
In addition to the spectacular clubhouse, the Martis Camp Family Barn was completed in the summer of 2009.
The Family Barn is a one-of-a-kind recreation complex complete with a bowling alley, full size indoor basketball court, outdoor concert park, Olympic sized swimming pool, 50 seat movie theater, and spectacular art loft. The playful mix of materials, colors, textures and whimsy bring a casual, family-friendly atmosphere rare in private golf communities.
Anderson notes “the Family Barn is a unique concept, especially for a private club of this size, and we have received rave reviews of the design. I see it as a new, exciting direction in the golf community standard.”
Vallone Design also completed the Lost Library within Martis Camp (2008); a building which serves as a quiet retreat where members can enjoy a book and cozy up by the large stone fireplace. The Play Park Pavilion–also designed by Anderson–is an ideal place for families to gather, complete with fire pits, barbecues, soft seating groups and a variety of sporting options, including bocce ball, croquet, volleyball, and a grass sports field.
Custom Residential Designs at Martis Camp
With approximately 653 home sites, including a mix of both larger custom home estates and smaller cabins, this residential market continues to grow. Vallone Design has done residential interior design projects on several custom homes and cabins in Truckee for Martis Camp members. Donna Vallone noted “we have enjoyed working with the members of Martis Camp on their personal homes, bringing a new design aesthetic to the concept of mountain living.”
Vallone Design’s approach is to create an ambiance that reflects the locale and natural surroundings of the project. The results are design concepts that compliment–rather than clash with–the natural beauty that serves as the best inspiration for the project.
If you have a property in a high value, natural setting, be sure your interior design project enhances–rather than detracts from–that value. Work with award winning Vallone Designs today.
Too many people spend their lives in a generic, impersonal house. Vallone Design will make your house into a home that reflects you tastes, style, and personality. Whether you’re enjoying a quite evening alone or entertaining friends, you’ll get a sense of pleasure and pride in having a home designed around the most important people who spend time there.