Casual Elegance Designs is a full-service luxury design studio passionate about creating homes that clients love to live in. Through an intimate and collaborative process, we enhance our clients lives by designing highly customized spaces that marry their essence with our expertise in inspiring and unexpected ways. Casual Elegance Designs does not have a particular aesthetic, instead we rely on making sure the aesthetic is the client’s aesthetic. We half jokingly tell clients that we enter their marriage for the length of the project, and this ensures that the client’s project becomes their home, and not just a house. And furthermore, not a house that looks like a house we have already done before.
Does this mean we do not introduce nuances here and there to let people know that Casual Elegance Designs was involved? Just the opposite, we present opportunities to add to the home that elevate the home just a tiny bit so that people know that there is a design firm involved. When CED is presenting these opportunities, we present trendy ideas, classic ideas, and functional ideas. In stone in particular, we always start at Francini. The selections and quality over a multitude of stones is a one stop shop for our team.
Our favorite opportunity as of late, is the use of porcelain on countertops. Majority of the newer homes being built have a real focus on large kitchens, since that is where everyone loves to gather. In these large kitchens, we are seeing large islands that are sometimes 10- 12 feet long. The porcelain slabs not only look stunning, but they have the advantage of being 12 feet long in most cases. Having a slab so long can alleviate the worry about seams. We love having no seams and try to avoid having them. One sleek and solid piece of porcelain really shows the beauty of the countertop material.
How about the main living areas of a home? Striking solid stone makes a stunning addition to a sleek fireplace. This is an area that homeowners can go a little more daring since maybe it is not all over a large amount of surface, like in a kitchen; but rather it can become a focal point of the room and more like a piece of art. The porcelain pictured is this dramatic black Marquina polished with crisp white veining that is then softened with wood, and in this case a walnut. With more and more open floor plans, with fewer walls to display art, this is a great opportunity to bring in the tastes and personality of the homeowners
There are so many options in types of materials and types of applications - get creative! Show the personality of the home and make the home stand alone from others. Better yet, hire a design firm like Casual Elegance Designs, where you can translate your ideal wants and needs into a gorgeous space that speaks to who YOU are. Casual Elegance Designs is located in Raleigh, NC, and primarily services Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, Durham, and Chapel Hill, but has done multiple projects across the country and is available for virtual design consults as well. We offer a variety of softwares to ensure that you get a design that is to your needs.
About Casual Elegance Designs
Lori’s personal style is casual, eclectic at times, and elevated function. She takes special interest in the construction phase of a project and prides herself on the ability to see the finished project in her mind. Lori and her family have been in the Raleigh, NC area since 2002, after moving back to area after graduating from Meredith College. Her list of accolades include being a wife, mom to two children, previous career in pharmaceutical sales, and gained her real estate license in 2007. Casual Elegance Designs in Raleigh, NC has been creating spaces that speak to who you are since February 2014. Majority of the projects are in the Triangle area but has done work all over the country.
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