Research

Our homes come alive in the details. A beautifully furnished room can be lovely to look at, but until someone lives in it and adds a special touch here and there, it will lack character, warmth. One of our favorite ways to add that life to a room (literally!) is with plants.

We are so lucky that our main studio is around the corner from plant purveyor wonder-women Ashley and Lindsay at the top-notch plant shop, Good Roots. Their shop is gorgeous, filled from floor to ceiling with the very best houseplants, in a cozy, welcoming space. If you are local, you really should pay them a visit. Dare you to walk out without at least two plants. We can’t.

If you are not an experienced plant owner, buying a plant can be overwhelming. A huge part of the benefit of buying a plant from an expert at a small shop like Good Roots versus a big box store is the advice that comes with it. Here are a few nuggets we collected from Ashley and Lindsay:

• First and foremost, do not put a square peg in a round hole.

If you have a specific spot in your house that needs a plant, get the right plant for the spot. For example, fiddle leaf figs are all the rage right now, but they are extremely fussy, needing very specific light and watering conditions. They don’t like to moved. Or ignored. Or looked at the wrong way. This is not a plant for the faint of heart. Or for sprucing up your newly remodeled basement.

• Shop for your light.

Building on the first tip, know where the plant you are shopping for will live in your home. More than any other care need, different plants can require radically different light. One of our team members has a giant sansiveria fernwood (a type of snake plant) that lives in one of the darkest rooms of the house, yet it flourishes. The same would not be true of a calathea, which needs an abundance of bright (but not direct!) sunlight to thrive.

• Leave that plastic pot alone.

Your plant comes in a plastic pot. Don’t remove it! Feel free to buy a gorgeous cover pot, but pop it right in there in its original pot. The built in drainage is very important for the long-term health of your plant.

• And finally, understand how to water.

Here’s where those all-important drainage holes come into play. Overwatering is watering your plants too frequently, NOT, as many may believe, giving too much water in one session. Each time you water your plant, you should see water flowing out those drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. This may seem like a lot of water. It’s not! Your plant does not want a spritz. It’s thirsty. Once you see water coming from the drainage holes, stop. Re-visit again in a week, or 10 days, or a month, depending upon the watering needs of your specific plant.

The ladies at Good Roots have plenty of other great advice and the plants in their store are all labeled with their care needs to help you along. Ready to shop? Here are some suggestions of plants that may work for you based on your plant-owner comfort level.

I can barely keep myself alive.

It’s ok. You’re in good company. We’ve all been there. Lucky for you, there are lots of plants that, as Ashley and Lindsay will cheerfully tell you, “want to be ignored.” Any of the plants in this gallery make good starter plants, are forgiving of missed waterings, and will tolerate most light conditions.

I have a plant or two. They are happy.

Most of us fall into this category. Ready to take on something a little more challenging? These plants will need more frequent watering than those in the previous category, but are generally still forgiving of human imperfection.

It’s a jungle in here.

Go crazy. The sky’s the limit. Be prepared for the sometimes fickle needs of these beauties. May we suggest a spreadsheet for tracking your watering schedule? Your plant kingdom will thank you.

There are dozens of other varieties that fall into each of these categories. Find a local plant shop and let them help you choose the best plant for your space AND your plant-loving capabilities.

Check out the gallery below for houseplants playing the star (or sometimes just offering color commentary) at Park & Oak.

Houseplants at P&O

Welcome to the first in an occasional series where we share tips and tricks of the trade to help you navigate sometimes puzzling home design questions.

Today’s Question: How high should I hang my chandelier above my dining table?

This one can be tricky! Too close to the table and the light fixture will be in the way of serving or sight lines for your guests, and may make the light too focused. Too far away, and it may not provide enough illumination. Also, a poorly located chandelier can throw off the scale of an otherwise well-designed space.

One of our designers came to the rescue with the helpful illustration below. As you can see in her rendering, generally, a light fixture should leave 30-36″ clearance from the table’s surface to the bottom of the fixture. It’s also important to note that the width of the fixture should be at least 6″ narrower than the width of the table. You’ll see in the Inspiration gallery following the illustration that by adhering to these guidelines, you’ll create a dining area where everything is in proper scale and fits together nicely to form a cohesive space.

Good luck!

Inspiration

If you’re embarking on a kitchen renovation, you’ve got a lot decisions in your future. Paint and stain colors. Styles and finishes of cabinet pulls and knobs. Tile. Countertops. Island configurations. And, of course…appliances. In fact, choosing appliances is usually one of the first steps in the process since their specific dimensions dictate cabinet sizes and placement and virtually all other layout decisions.

It used to be you picked a refrigerator, chose black or stainless, and called it a day. However, there are options available now that allow you to blend the refrigerator into your kitchen in a way that highlights your beautiful cabinetry and other finishes and minimizes those hulking silver giants. The two options we turn to most frequently are integrated and panel ready.

An integrated refrigerator is indistinguishable from your other cabinetry. No vents or spacing, no special hinges. It can be difficult to even pick out which cabinet is the refrigerator when you choose an integrated design. We love integrated appliances at Park & Oak for their seamless look and prefer to use them whenever possible to let other design elements play a starring role and help the cabinetry look like finished furniture.

Panel ready (sometimes called “built-in”) appliances are also an option if you don’t want your kitchen dominated by appliances. With a panel ready design, you can still cover the refrigerator with a cabinet panel that matches your kitchen. However, you’ll likely still have a visible vent and hinges and the refrigerator door can protrude past counter-depth. With a panel ready design, the refrigerator is more easily identifiable.

Integrated

Where’s Waldo?? Can you find the integrated refrigerators in the Park & Oak kitchens below?

Panel Ready

You can see in these kitchens that while the refrigerator is covered by matching cabinetry, it is more easily identifiable.

Chinoiserie. (It’s ok, we can’t pronounce it either.) The term describes European interpretations of Asian culture and objects, and originated in 17th century, when European trade with China was flourishing. Europeans, tiring of the same old, same old, were fascinated by China’s foo dogs and dragons, nature scenes, lacquered furniture, and most notably and most recognizable of the chinoiserie style today, their blue and white ceramics with intricate patterns.

Louis XIV cemented chinoiserie as a foundational style of the French classicism era he is famed for, when, in 1671, he ordered the Trianon de Porcelaine built on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. It was almost entirely encased in blue and white tiles. Ever the trendsetter, his bold use of chinoiserie ignited a trend in Europe that lasted through the 18th century. Chinoiserie has waxed and waned in popularity since, but experienced a significant revival in the the U.S. in the 1930s during the height of the Art Deco period. And with the rise of grandmillennial and maximalist styles in the 21st century, chinoiserie is sought after once again.

What is sometimes overlooked is the lasting place chinoiserie has in traditional interiors. At Park & Oak, we love to mix the traditional with a touch of the modern or unexpected. Chinoiserie provides so many ways to do that without overwhelming a room. The blue and white ceramics that are the lifeblood of chinoiserie do so much to lend just a little bit of interest and pattern without overwhelming. And a hint of bamboo via a modern Chippendale chair adds just the right amount je ne sais quoi to a classic room. Do we ever indulge our inner maximalists? You bet. When we are entertaining we break out all the ginger jars.

Check out Park & Oak’s use of chinoiserie in the gallery below, and then shop some of our favorite interpretations!

Chinoiserie at Park & Oak

Shop Chinoiserie

If you’ve been following us for awhile, you have probably noticed how much we love using vintage and antique rugs* in our designs. There is no better way to make a statement in a room. Vintage and antique rugs can introduce color and pattern where there is traditionally no upholstery, or primarily solid colors, like a hallway or mudroom. They can anchor the furnishings in a living or dining room, and lend interest in any space leaning just a little too neutral. They will add softness in kitchens full of the hard lines of cabinetry and appliances and warmth in a bathroom. They are among our go-to furnishings.

But why specifically vintage or antique, and not a new rug? For us, a lot comes down to patina. We are always looking for ways to add depth and character to a room. Sometimes a new rug is necessary to tie furnishings together, or to add a specific texture to a space that is already full of collected items and personality. But if a room needs a little something to help it look lived-in and reflect the tastes of its owners rather than appearing as though it has just jumped straight off the pages of a catalog, our answer is frequently in the form of the patina from a vintage rug.

What kind of vintage or antique rugs do we look for? Most commonly, we use 100% wool, hand-knotted Turkish and Persian rugs. These are the rugs that frequently come to mind when one pictures a vintage rug. When searching for vintage rugs, be sure to look for reputable dealers. Many new rugs are now made with similar patterns to the age-old Persian and Turkish styles, but will lack the patina we love and are frequently made with materials that will degrade more quickly. We’ve included a selection of one-of-a-kind rugs below from some retailers we trust to help kick off your search. And if you need inspiration, the gallery below is full of Park & Oak designs that incorporate vintage or antique rugs. Happy hunting!

*We are sometimes asked what the difference is between “vintage” and “antique.” Generally, an antique is something over 100 years old; vintage is between 25-100 years.