OCTOBER 2010


S M O K E S I G N A L S A D V E R T I S I N G S U P P L E M E N T Smo k e S i g n a l s A d v e r t i s i n g S u p p l eme n t


M O U N T A I N R E A L E S T A T E • I N T E R I O R D E S I G N • H O M E C O N S T R U C T I O N • A C C E S S O R I E S High Design “I don’t think of myself as a trendsetter.


I believe design works best when it becomes the homeowner’s look; each home should be a reflection of the family that lives there.” — SHANE MEDER


Design legend Meder helps families enhance style By Barbara Schneider bschneider@bigcanoenews.com


Magazine Mountain Dream Home attracted a record- breaking 11,000 visitors across the region during its six-week run.


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This gorgeous home — decorated throughout by Shane Meder — dazzled visitors with “wow” factors in every room. The lush design combined comfort and welcoming style with to-die-for creativity and uniqueness. To kick off “High Design’s” second season Smoke Signals


asked Meder to share his design philosophy, tips on marrying comfort to style and new home fashion trends with our readers.


Named Southeastern Designer of the Year by the American Society of Interior Designers, Meder, principal designer for Atlanta-based Black Sheep Interiors, is widely recognized by the design community for his talent.


Google Shane Meder and you will find articles in Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Business Chronicle and the Atlanta Journal Constitution to name a few, all extolling his 26 years of interior design achievements in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Hilton Head, Brussels, London and, of course, the Atlanta area. Simply put, the man is a design legend. But don’t be intimidated by his celebrity credits or high society credentials; Meder isn’t some my-way-or-the-highway design tyrant or neck deep in a fashion funk.


Meder describes this kitchen as “authentic and warm, and is the heart of this home.”


ust one year ago Smoke Signals introduced readers to a new “High Design” section and — thanks to Atlanta Magazine’s brand new Big Canoe show house —“a world of mountain dreams.” Perched on the Bluffs at Ridgeview, the Atlanta


Meder says. “We go through the rooms to see if there are items we can reinvent to use another way.” Meder offers one consistent piece of advice to homeowners: “Don’t leave a room unused and on display.” He remembers when living rooms were reserved for special events or only a nice setting to photograph the kids. Home living centers — the kitchen and family room — are much


larger now with more attention paid to seating and gathering space, better flow, color and texture. Don’t forget the comfort basics. Make sure there’s enough


seating, he urges. It’s fine to have a loveseat and two chairs but if you have six kids or entertain a lot, that’s not going to be a very comfortable room for your family or guests. “It’s one thing to have a pretty room and another to have a livable room. The trick,” says Meder, “is to integrate wow and the practical.”


How does he achieve this balance? Meder believes comfort is a design element. When a room is completed it should truly reflect the homeowner’s tastes not a decorator’s. “When it comes to the wow factor we try to romance each corner of every room so there’s something interesting over your shoulder as well as in front of you. You should be able to see wow elements throughout the room.” On color, Meder cites his Wizard of Oz theory. “If a client loves the color purple, we will find a way to use it practically. Maybe not to cover the walls in purple but we will find a way to use it as an accent where it will stand out more by being unique in that setting.”


If the homeowner wants white furniture and white walls but has four kids and three dogs, Meder will find a way to use white in a practical way. “I don’t want the homeowner to worry about the white room looking dirty,” he says. “We will work with the family to use white as an accent or where it is most likely to stay white.”


Comfort and style join together in this family room retreat. The color palate makes the room


“I don’t think of myself as a trendsetter,” he says.“I believe design works best when it becomes the homeowner’s look; each home should be a reflection of the family that lives there.” He decorates with heart, a likely result of hailing from South Carolina where southern roots and gentility go deep. “I take my ‘sweet tea’ southern attitude wherever I travel,” he says, “and on design assignments whether it’s a trendy loft in New York City, a home in the mountains or on a San Diego beach.”


In each home he starts with an inventory of what the family has in the room to be decorated. “We list everything and work with the homeowners to determine what they have and need. The owners might be tired of an old couch but Aunt Sally’s old lamp may be a treasure they want to keep,”


warm and inviting in winter but cool and refreshing in summer. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SHANE MEDER, BLACK SHEEP INTERIORS


Meder urges a smart approach to the use of color. “Consider your family’s lifestyle and how that room will be used before you choose colors,” he tells homeowners. For families considering downsizing in a few years or those who plan to sell but are waiting for the economy to turn around, he urges updating now. To make their houses more marketable homeowners need to have


something that stands out, that differentiates their homes from others on the market. “Enjoy the investment, and keep your home fresh and updated,” says Meder. The new look in room design, he says, is “green” as in eco


friendly. “There are more green choices in fabrics, more ways to bring nature inside,” he says. “Flowered prints are giving way to nature-oriented fabrics. We’re even seeing lizards used in some fabrics.” For a designer who remembers summers at his


Counting sheep is not very hard to do in this amazing master bedroom suite.


grandparents’ mountain home, creating “a green environment layered with the warmth of casual fabrics, rich texture and noble woods,” is his favorite way to reconnect with nature. And one lesson he has learned well, Meder says, “what is old is – or soon will be – new again.”


HIGH DESIGN is a special supplement to Smoke Signals, Big Canoe newspaper 11293 Big Canoe, Big Canoe, GA 30143 • www.bigcanoenews.com; sales@bigcanoenews.com


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