Take A Trip Through The Ads; It May Surprise You

If you’re the sort who grazes through shelter magazines and ignores the advertisements, you are making one mighty big design mistake.

Yes, yes. I am well aware that advertisements are designed to sell us something. And that’s exactly the point. To sell us whatever, those ads have to look good - very, very good. They’re designed for mass appeal.

As a result, many advertisements are full of good design ideas.

I took a spin through the ads in a stack of shelter magazines on a recent weekend. When I turned the last page, I was surprised by the number of attractive, thought-provoking design ideas I’d seen. Here’s a look. Hope it inspires you to make a run through ad-land. It’s a good trip.

Move it on out: John Kelly Furniture shows an Oriental rug covering the tiled floor of an outdoor deck. It’s a surprise, a nice twist that offers indoor warmth where you least expect it. Of course, you wouldn’t want to leave the rug out for weeks on end. Weather, you know. But for a special occasion, it works beautifully.

Chalk it up to the blackboard: A setting for Lillian August furnishings features a living room dominated by rich tones of chocolate and burgundy. All well and good.

The kicker, though, is a large framed blackboard mounted on a wall like a piece of art. There’s plenty of chalk to make your own drawings or have guests sketch. The long chalk tray is also used to hold a piece of art - leaning against the blackboard. Terribly clever. Rather chic in its own sort of way.

Window wonderful: Got a small window with a less than awesome view? Do what the smarty-pants designers at Brown Jordan did. Cover it with a carved frame with closely placed screen-like lattice. Then paint the entire installation a solid color. Brown Jordan types went desert tan against a deep-salmon textured wall.

The look is rather North African. Instead of going to the ho-hum view, the eye sees the frame, which allows a good deal of natural light to filter through.

Book it: So many of us have so many of them. Bookcases work, but predictable, predictable. An ad for Marvin Windows & Doors makes books into a decorating accessory by displaying them in an old, rusty metal red wagon. It’s fun. It’s whimsical. Best of all, it works.

Picture this rail: Picture rails generally run near the top of a wall, while chair rails are mounted 36 or so inches from the floor. An ad from Broyhill Furniture shows a rail running around a living room at about five feet from the floor.

Pictures are hung slightly above and below the rail and bring the eye to the center of the walls. This is an especially effective way to deal with walls that are more than 8 feet high. The rail and positioning of the art draw the eye down instead of up into that vast wasteland of space that cathedral ceilings can deliver in major punches.