Living Well

INSPIRATION, PERSPECTIVES, & STORIES FROM DANA WOLTER

What inspires me? It depends on the day, the time, and my mood. Perhaps it is a certain color, a certain fabric, or even a texture that comes my way. For each project we begin, the home and how my clients live dictates how we design the home. Where is the sun in relation to the space, and how does the room need to function? What needs to be added — or taken away — to ensure the home ages well? We find inspiration, and we are off to create an elegant, yet functional space that looks like it has evolved over time

DWI Offers A One-Time Design Consult

While my firm offers full service interior design projects, every once in a while I will open up a few appointments for a one-time interior design consult. I have not offered any of these appointments the past two years as we have been busy servicing our full-time clients. I have decided to open up a…

An Insider’s Insight: Benjamin Moore’s Andrea Magno

Andrea Magno, Director of Color Marketing for Benjamin Moore, shares practical advice for selecting the perfect paint color.

A Quarantine Renovation-Before and After

We purchased a fixer upper home with a family member during Covid when we were quarantining and had the best time renovating it. The house has great bones and is in a great neighborhood, but it needed a little TLC. The owners had been there for many years and it was time for an update.…

Tips For Building Or Renovating Your Home (from an interior designer and architect’s standpoint)

If you are looking to build or renovate your home, Chris Tippett, of Tippett, Sease and Baker Architecture, and I share with you some important tips from an interior designer and architect’s standpoint. When clients have reached out to me here, one of the first things I help them do is clearly define their needs,…

Dana Wolter Interiors Is Hiring

As we start the new year, we are adding another interior designer/project manager to our team. Known for custom, timeless and livable homes, we pride ourselves on great service, customization and experience for our interior design clients. We value the trust our clients put in us for one of the biggest investments they will make…

An Insider’s Insight: Marieanne Khoury of Khoury and Vogt Architects

If you have traveled to 30A, you have seen the beautiful community of Alys Beach. Marieanne Khoury, along with her husband Erik Vogt, are the founding principals of Khoury & Vogt Architects. Their firm practices architecture, urban development, and town planning in Alys Beach, Florida, and they have made quite a mark on this beautiful…

3 Signs It Is Time To Update Your Home

With all of us spending more time at home, it’s making many of us realize the things we love about our house and things we would like to change. I have been using this time to assess and tackle areas in my own home that feel dated, stale and old. Here are a few tips…

An Insider’s Insight: Jim Thompson’s Susan North

We work with many incredible fabric houses, and Jim Thompson is one of our favorites to incorporate into our clients’ interiors. Their luxurious fabrics add a beautiful layer of texture, uniqueness and quality to our projects. I am thrilled to share a glimpse behind the scenes in our Insider’s Insight series from Jim Thompson’s Senior…

Living Well: Where To Begin To Renovate Your Home

We often hear from our clients they aren’t sure where to start when they want to renovate or build a new home, so we thought we would share a few helpful tips for an enjoyable process. A few helpful tips for renovating your home When do I begin my project? Many people don’t know where to…

Living Well: A Beautiful Kitchen Makeover — Before and After

We love when a client emails us for help with a home renovation, and with all of the time we’re spending in our houses these days, this particular before and after kitchen makeover for our clients in Birmingham, AL, happened just in the nick of time. It was quite the transformation. We first renovated and…

Four Tips For Selecting Lighting For Your Home

I am so excited to be included in a recent Traditional Home magazine story on lighting and thought I’d share four tips on selecting lighting for your home. Selecting the perfect light fixture is a great way to marry function and beauty while adding a custom touch to your house. In many interiors, lighting isn’t given…

A Childhood Home Renovated — Before and After

We work on a lot of renovations, and every one is special in its own way. This particular one is the wife’s childhood home. As I shared with you here, we renovated to give it new life for their family to grow into it. I have no doubt many memories are waiting to…

Vacation Homes In The Making

While Corona has kept my interior design firm in Birmingham, AL, home more than usual the past few months, it hasn’t slowed us down working on our out of town interior design projects. A few of the projects we are currently working on include vacation homes. These are always a lot of fun as…

Before and After: Furnishing A Home On A Deadline

It’s amazing what a little vision, new furnishings, fresh paint, and a great floor plan execution will do for your home and for your psyche. I thought I would share a few homes of clients who needed help furnishing their entire home but with a deadline in mind. Home Design with a Deadline Each…

The One Trend I Am Seeing In Renovations and New Construction

There is one trend I am seeing in several of our renovation and new construction projects. While I began designing some homes with them pre-Covid, they are being drawn into renovations and new construction more often as people spend time at home focusing on what their home is missing. So… what is this trend? A…

Dana Wolter Interiors Offers A One-Time, 3.5 Hour Consult

While my firm works on full-room or full-home interior design projects, a few times a year we offer a limited number of appointments for a one time, 3.5 hour interior design consult. This service is designed for the client who needs direction and help making decisions for their home but wants to implement the list as…

6 Tips For Creating A Bedroom You Love

With Covid keeping all of us at home, it is more important now than ever to have a bedroom you love. Your bedroom should be a room that you look forward to retreating to at the end of the day. It should allow you to #livewell by surrounding yourself with things that help you…

4 Ways To Fall In Love With Your Home

Home Sweet Home – an old adage that I’m taking to heart more and more these days. As I mentioned here, I’ve found a few simple ways that have made me fall back in love with my home again now that I have been staying in. Isn’t it funny what you notice about your home when…

4 Tips For Selecting the Perfect Paint Color

Is being quarantined at home giving you the urge to paint a room or two? If so, here are a few tips for selecting the perfect paint color. Choosing the right color can be overwhelming, but if you follow this process, it will ensure the color on your walls is what you thought you…

4 Ways To Refresh Your Interiors Without Leaving Home

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade. As I’ve spent more time at home the past few days, I wanted to share some of the easy ways I’m breathing new life in some of our rooms- all without leaving the house. 4 Ways To Refresh Your Interiors Without Leaving Home As a homebody, the thought…