M Designs

DALLAS, TX, September 16, 2011 – Award winning interior design firm, M Designs, announces it is changing its name to Denise McGaha Interiors.  Principal, Denise McGaha, looks forward to delivering the same high level of design services the firm has been known for since its inception in 2001. 

Along with this name change, the firm will be launching its updated website featuring never- before-seen residential design projects and a fresh new look.

“Over the past 10 years, our clients have come to expect excellence in the projects we deliver.  We feel the time to re-brand ourselves is now and we plan to raise the bar even higher and to deliver even greater excellence and more expansive services for our sophisticated clients.  We look forward to expanding our client base throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and nationwide,” said Mrs. McGaha.

Denise McGaha was recently awarded an ARC (Associates, Remodelers, Custom Builders) Award from the Home Builders Association of Dallas for Best Design for a Remodel between $150,000 and $200,000.  Her design on this project encompassed the complete redesign of the multi-million dollar Preston Hollow home and she credits the builder and vendor partners on her team in playing a large role in the success of this project.

ABOUT DENISE MCGAHA INTERIORS:

Denise McGaha, principal of Denise McGaha Interiors, has a signature look that encompasses classic tradition with contemporary sensibility. Her fresh style and functional design, often incorporating fine art, has earned her accolades from both clients and the interior design industry.  Often nick-named Mrs. M by clients who couldn’t pronounce her last name, Denise offers her discriminating clientele access to Dallas’ best kept secret: her black book of high-end, concierge services. For over 10 years, Denise has designed residences for the Dallas area elite. Her sophisticated style and solid business acumen evolved through her decade in the corporate landscape of luxury retailer, Neiman Marcus. There, she learned valuable business skills, managed marketing campaigns, honed her eye for fashion and was an integral part of the team that launched NeimanMarcus.com.

For more information, please call 972-869-4914 or visit our current website at: www.mdesignsinteriors.com

We are so honored to have been nominated for the category of Best Interior Design Blogger in the 2011 JDR Industry Blogger Awards! Voting is now open.  Please click here or on the badge image to vote for M Designs.  Voting is open until April 15^th and we want your vote!  Thank you so much for following our blog and for your vote!

I just wanted to let you all know about a great on-line magazine that I really love!  It’s Lonny Magazine.  Lonny is celebrating their one year anniversary this month.  Happy anniversary!

It seems that I am always on the run between client meetings, kids activities and traveling.  I recently received an iPad, and I love having the ability to flip through this magazine on my iPad, while I’ve got a few minutes of “down time”.

Lonny covers everything from design ideas and tips, how to choose paint and colors for your home, how to select the perfect accessories….everything!  And the photography is just beautiful!

If you’re looking for great information, inspiration and eye candy, take a look at Lonny!  Below are just a few images from their October/November issue.

I saw these fabrics and fell in love! Call me if you are interested!

Love this mix! How fun is this!

See what I mean about great ideas?

By Eddie Ross and Jaithan. When I saw them at High Point I told them this is my favorite table EVER!

Another addition to my travel "must stay" list....beautiful!

M Designs recently worked with Regenesis Design Build on a home renovation.  I have to tell you that one of my favorite rooms was this tiny powder bath, located just off the utility room.  Sometimes homeowners feel that small spaces are hard to decorate or don’t really consider jazzing them up.  However, we took the opportunity to add some pizzazz and make the most of this space.

We used an open style pedestal sink without a storage cabinet underneath to open up the room and give the illusion of more space.  For storage, we installed one cabinet above the commode.  Then we gave the room a splash of pizzazz with the shimmery wallpaper and the beautiful beveled mirror.   The canned, recessed lighting provides great light, without adding “clutter” to the small space.

The result….well, see for yourself!  I think it says WOW!

Today I will load up my car and head south to the smallest incorporated town in Texas….Round Top, population 81!  Salute!  Round Top is home to one of my favorite places to shop for antiques; the Round Top Antiques Fair.  This fair began 43 years ago, and is going stronger every year with more exhibitors and certainly higher attendance.

At Round Top, you can find everything from furniture, to dishes, quilts to light fixtures, and everything in between.  Many vendors are known for their ability to find eclectic, one of a kind items that you wouldn’t normally be able to find on your own.  The exhibitors search all over the world for the highest quality antiques to display to their repeat and new clientele.  Rest assured, even if you are a faithful Round Top attendee, you will always find something new at the fair.  (What is that saying….everything old is new again?)

The exhibitors are set up in four different venues, creating a quaint “fair like” atmosphere, but the quality of their products is anything but “fair like”.

The Carmine Dance Hall is heaven on earth if you adore gorgeous antique glass, crystal, silver, linens, and my favorite….china.

I especially love the display in the Continental Tent.  Exhibitors in this location offer high quality products from England, France, Spain, Italy, and other European countries.  You can find items ranging in style from country to formal, small or large, inexpensive or pricey.

I have been to Round Top many times, and wouldn’t dream of missing it this year.  If you love antiques like I do, this is a must attend event!  If you are just an antique “browser” or an aficionado, there is something at Round Top for you.

I haven’t posted this week because I am in the midst of a whirlwind…literally. We have changed our accounting system and are slogging through the details of learning an entirely new system. We have also been working with an out of town client on an exciting new project and have been focused deeply on getting the first phase complete before the client leaves town this week. WHEW..

Remember how everyone tells you to stop and smell the roses? Yeah right. Not in my world. But tonight I had a “moment” and now I have a much better understanding of what that means. I asked my son to take out the trash and recycling when we got home this evening and while I was preparing dinner, I looked out the window to see him dawdling in the front yard. I was distracted at that moment and didn’t knock loudly on the glass like I normally would, urging him along in his least favorite task.
About 5 minutes later he came inside and handed me this…..no words, just a sweet grin and a look of pride in his eyes.

My sweet boy took a moment to smell the roses and use the talent he was born with…imagination and an artist’s eye. This is his sculpture, created from a holly leaf from the neighbor’s yard and yaupon berries from a tree in our yard. Notice how the larger berries are on the larger projections on the leaf and they get smaller as you get to the bottom of the leaf.

I loved my gift, and more importantly I stopped and took the time to talk to him about his creation, how special it made me feel and how amazing his “eye” is in creating art.

Stop and smell the roses!! I hope you all find time to experience the beauty I did today.

When clients consider redecorating or working on an entirely new home design, they seldom consider lighting at the beginning of the project.  It is however, something that should be considered early on.

An effective lighting plan will have a dramatic effect on the space, but the lighting also needs to serve different purposes, depending on the room.

There are three basic types of lighting.  A well lit space should include elements of all three types of lighting:

• Task Lighting – used for things such as reading, sewing, or working on the computer
• Ambient or General Lighting – used to illuminate the room.  This can be accomplished with various table and floor lamps, strategically placed to give you adequate light to see and move safely throughout your home.
• Accent Lighting – used to add drama and create interest in a room.  Recessed lighting, wall sconces or track lights are perfect to spot light items such as furniture, paintings or various artwork, and fireplaces.

Gone are the drab, utilitarian lights of old.  Light fixtures themselves have become beautiful pieces of art as well, and can be found in any decorating style whether your taste is traditional, transitional, or contemporary.

Below are a few lighting tips:

• A desk lamp should be about 15” tall, shed light on the work surface and be adjustable.
• A properly hung chandelier should hang about 30” above the tabletop, and be 6” narrower than your table on each side.
• A standard lamp typically illuminates 40 – 50 square feet, so be sure to use several lamps in each room to avoid darks spaces.
• Be sure your fixtures are proportionate in size to your space and furniture.
• A reading lamp should be placed along your shoulder with the bottom of the shade even with our head.

*Photos from Currey & Co.

As a Designer and Decorator, it is very important for us to keep a portfolio of our work….after all, it’s not enough to TELL people what we do, we need to SHOW them.  We don’t photograph every job, however, there are those jobs that stand out, and we want to capture the end result.  The best way for us to do this is to hire a professional photographer, style the space and schedule a photo shoot.

I really love setting up for photo shoots!  It gives us the time on a job to ensure it looks like we envisioned it when we began.  It also gives the client a chance to see their home through our eyes.

What’s involved in a photo shoot?  It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort.  M Designs “styles” the space prior to the shoot.  As you can imagine, people live in their homes and they NEVER look like the photograph on a daily basis.  However, we need to have lots of prep time in advance to prepare the space.  We work with the photographer to style the shot and though I would love to hire a stylist on each shoot, most of the time, we style our own shots.  This includes providing props, which could include fruits, veggies, or food items for a kitchen shot, perhaps dishes and linens for a dining room shot, linens for bedrooms and bathrooms, and pillows and accessories for living areas, and ALWAYS fresh flowers.  We select items that would coordinate with accessories that are already in the space and make that photo come to life!

Once the shopping is finished, we arrive at the client’s home and proceed to “style” the space, putting each accessory in just the perfect place….sometimes moving items many times before the perfect shot can be captured.  This step happens 2-3 days before the shoot so we can take test shots to see what is still missing, or what needs to be edited out.

We work with a professional photographer on each shoot.  We also work with our builder and remodeler clients to style their photo shoots for their photographers as well.  I highly recommend working with a professional for a number of reasons.  First, they are extremely experienced in lighting a shot.   This entails a number of lighting elements, from actual lights, to reflectors, to standing outside a window and shading it while we take a shot.  Secondly, they can instantly tell you which shots will be the best and what will be the best angle to show your work.  We have often moved a piece of furniture 2 inches while they stand at the camera and check the shot for accuracy.  Lastly, our photographer does clean up in Photoshop at the end of the shoot.  This involves removing ceiling fans or plugs that are distracting, adjusting color to match a sample on fabrics, and taking out shadows that we weren’t able to remove in the field.

When you work with a professional team such as we do, it makes our job easier.  Without great photography, you aren’t able to show your work in its best light.  As designers, that is our calling card, and we are only as good as our last photo shoot, so we need to constantly document our latest projects.  Photo shoots are a lot of work, but they are fun, and the end result is always fabulous!

I am excited that we at M Designs will be hosting the next NKBA TX North Plains Chapter Meeting on Wednesday, August 18^th.  The National Kitchen and Bath Association provides industry professionals with networking and educational opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else.

I, along with several of my colleagues, will be presenting “How to Add Finishing Touches to Set Your Kitchen and Bath Projects Apart”.  This presentation will cover the latest trends and offerings of fine finishes, kitchen and bath furnishings, innovative plumbing products, decorative hardware and accessories and lighting, along with tips on using these items to set your projects apart.

The event begins at 5:30 and will be held at M Designs Studio, 1801 Royal Lane, #810, Dallas.  Please click here to register…..you do not need to be a member to attend, but we do need you to pre-register.  We’ll be providing delicious food and drinks, and lots of opportunities to network with others in the industry.  PS – I made my famous M Chicken Salad and we will have cool and refreshing drinks and a fun dessert!!  We look forward to seeing you Wednesday!

Last weekend I had the pleasure of going back home, near the Texas Hill Country, to attend my cousin Becky’s baby shower. I got to spend time with family, re-style Mom’s bookshelves, rearrange her furniture (always requested by Mom) and enjoy the bounty of my Uncles’ labor.

Only in Texas can you attend a baby shower and then go outside to leave and find a truck filled to the brim with fresh cantaloupe and watermelons brought just for family to share. I have often wondered where my entrepreneurial spirit originated since my parents never ran their own businesses for any length of time. I just thought that the inspiration came from my husband who has operated his own company since he was 21 years old. When I was growing up “in the country”, I saw gardening (which my grandmother loved) as lots of hard work for little reward. Even though I couldn’t wait to get to her house to pick fresh blackberries from her vines, I didn’t have much appreciation for the perfect rows she tilled and the sweet cream peas we had with cornbread in the summer. I couldn’t wait to leave the country behind to find the big city and fewer chores around the farm.

So today, as I sit by my pool in the city, enjoying the fresh watermelon and cantaloupe provided by the best growers in Texas, I am grateful. Grateful for my “country” roots and what is obviously a spirit of entrepreneurialism from my family members….because both of my uncles’ work full time jobs, raise cattle, grow melons, own and manage a country store and still have time to share their bounty with people they love. Thanks Uncle Tom and Uncle Joe….I hope to share the bounty of my creativity with others too…thanks for my AHA moment today.