Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Your Sanctuary

The master bedroom should be your sanctuary. The place you come to relax and unwind. This room is a private space that doesn't have to reflect anything but your unique fingerprint. Of course, if you have another half who wishes to get his DNA in there, that is something you have to work out between the two of you.
When creating a flow in the living quarters of the house, we have talked about allowing the eye to wander around to the different rooms and tying them together, cohesively. In the private areas of our homes, I don't believe this rule applies. We each need our little spot on this planet and the room that we call our own is that spot.
Master bedrooms should be the colors that you love, the color that makes you happy every time you see it. This is always the jumping off point. I love soothing colors in a bedroom, soft sage, sea glass blue, mushroom, because these colors give me peace. My world is surrounded with color everyday so when I come home and take off my shoes, these are the colors that relax me. This may bore you to tears, but whatever color you love add it to this room and you will love it.
Then pour on the texture, nubby chenille, brushed nickle, mirrored nightstand, all go towards creating the right ambience. I love a matelesse on the bed with a big fluffy duvet on the end of the bed. Double layering always works but not too many pillows. I think 5 on a king size bed is plenty, but make them different textures and that bed will pop. Intimate artwork also looks great in this room, romantic couples dancing, the sun setting on the beach, all are promoting a peaceful, wonderful feeling that is perfect for your space. Clutter is prohibited in this room, no bills, kids stuff, gym clothes or anything that doesn't have to do with calm and tranquility. Lighting is important in this room and the lower wattage, softer lighting enhances all of your better features. Just have the proper lighting for the nightstand and dressers. We have already discussed what I think about overhead lighting, but if you lose a earring, I guess this is the only time this can come on.
Remember, no matter if you love the jungle theme, bohemian, white on white or rubber duckies, this is the room to have fun with and enjoy your own little spot.
Happy decorating!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Hot New Trends

What's Hot in Decorating?
As soon as someone finds out that I am a decorator, this becomes the first question out of their mouth. Decorators have to be one step ahead of the "newest" fad. I love that what is hot for some people is 2 seasons ago for others. To me, as long as you make a change, you are one step ahead of someone who hasn't.
1)BIG PRINTS- with the whole world focused on eco-friendly EVERYTHING, the hottest thing on the market is natural motifs. From gorgeous big sassy flowers to stylized branches, the scale of prints has gone on some serious steroids.
2)Filigree-With our everlasting appreciation of ironworks, scrolls and delicate embroidery, filigree is popping up on walls, bedding and even textures.
3)Bird Chic- All things bird related are popular this year. From owls to parrots, we can't seem to get enough of this exquisite natural motif and is a welcome addition to any room. Again, think ECO-Friendly!
4)ORANGE-It is THE hot color of the season. The new neutral, the color of spice, fruit and sunshine. This great color is the perfect compliment to the cool blues and grays of the last couple of years.
5)Handmade chic- Knitting and crocheting started this epidemic and anything handmade is the rage, now. Embroidery, beading, stitchery are added embellishments to home fashions as well as apparel. Beads and buttons can be found on pillows, bedding, drapes and even walls. So bring out those personal treasures and add some splash.
Happy Spring!!!

Thursday, March 6, 2008

The BIGGEST mistake in decorating!

NOT MAKING A DECISION!!!!
I am an instant gratification kind of person. I want what I want- today. I am unafraid to make a decision and act on it, sometimes immediately. This has rarely proven to be a wrong move. In all honesty, I realize that everyone isn't the same and not everyone is likely to wallpaper and paint their ceiling, but people-JUST MAKE A DECISION.
While decorating is a constant changing business, some people will get overwhelmed with the idea of WHAT IF?
What if, What?!!!!!!
So what the colors might not be in style today of your favorite fabric or pattern. So what, that as soon as you paint the dining room pumpkin harvest orange, you no longer can find ANYTHING to go with that color.
Decorating takes a little planning. Sometimes a lot of effort. But in the end it delivers a HUGE payoff.
Our homes should reflect how we live and who we are. If 2/3 of the house is taken over by the kids stuff, that is how that family lives. If the homeowners are outdoors people, that love to bike and hike and have pets that are their kids, that is how that family lives. Adjust your decorating style to accommodate your lifestyle and everything else will fall into place.
Just start in one room- It can be the most private room in the house(usually the master bedroom) or the biggest traffic area. It can be a small project like the 1/2 bath or the most cluttered. Pick a room and tackle it. Take that project by horns and conquer it.
If you decide you can't afford a decorator there are hundreds of other options. People that you know and enjoy their own sense of style, the thousands of publications that are out there, internet websites, friends and family, the list goes on and on.
Don't get stuck in a rut because everything will get stuck in there with you.
GET TO DECORATING!!!!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Home Shows

There are some amazing things to be learned from the Home Shows. I am working my second straight one this weekend and I am very impressed with the amount of stuff that is out there. In the beginning, when these shows started, they seemed to be one booth after another of the same stuff. Siding, windows, landscape mulch, etc; Now days, there is everything out there from the newest way to cook outdoors(not to mention gorgeous outdoor kitchens), one package pools, custom vinyl that imitates beautiful dentil moulding, but never needs painting. Go to one of these shows with an open mind and be ready to learn. The people in those booths have a wealth of information to share and it all comes with the price of ticket. Check out the latest craze and see if it is something that tickles your fancy. Your next step in home decorating might start there.
Happy hunting.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Kitchen works!

Kitchens are the chaos capital of most homes. If your kitchen happens to have the most used entry into your home, the chaos doubles. At the entry, there should be a storage unit that everyone in the home dumps their STUFF!!! A bench with hooks and baskets that allows us to put down our purses, bookbags,coats and shoes when we walk through that door.
In today's kitchens there are tons of storage options that allows our countetops to be virtually clutter free. Pretty canisters, hutches, islands with shelves, baskets and tubs lets us keep our daily kitchen items out of sight.
Color in the kitchen is a great influencer to how people feel in this room. Color can influence appetite, moods and how we enjoy the space. I love bright, cheerful colors that allows me to enjoy this room that I spend lots of time in. Yellows and reds are always sharp colors for the entertaining, cooking, bill paying, homework area of the home. A touch of chocolate or black add the contrast that can give the room a cozy tuscan feel. Greens help to bring the outdoors in and ground the space.
I love to add texture in this room to offset the hard surfaces and shiny metals. A area rug under the kitchen table, fabric shades on the chanderlier, seat cushions, window treatments, and a beautiful runner in front of the stove and sink instead of the dinky rugs works to warm up any kitchen.
I love to cook and have a large collection of cookbooks. By design, most cookbooks are great looking and can be shown off as artwork. A baker's rack can be configured to hold cookbooks, pottery, some family photos and you now have a great display space and easy access to the newest recipes.
Today's kitchen is the heart of the home. We entertain, cook, work and come together at the end of a hard day to enjoy family and friends in this inviting space.
Have a Great Day!!!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Home Staging in the office

I haven't done a formal living room in ages. Homeowners have realized that a formal living room is wasted square footage. Like dining rooms, if the space is used only a couple of times a year, most of us can make better use of that space. My home office was my dining room and one day I realized that the dining room I had always wanted was used as a buffet line once or twice a year. The table only sat 6 and if we entertained, there was always more to sit than that. I did decide to use the dining room table as my desk. I turned the table to face the hallway and stored all of the dining room chairs. I moved my hutch into the kitchen an acquired more space and storage for the stuff I use in the kitchen. I had a old upper cabinet that was distressed and painted white that looks great in the office and holds a ton of stuff. Rheams of paper, fabrics, files, books,etc;
I placed a wire rack on wheels that I found at Costco to hold my fabric and trim books. A comfy chair, bookcase and personal artwork and the room was complete.
Think outside of your box. If the kids need a quiet space away from the family to get homework done, but like to be within hearing distance, create a space for them. A comfortable chair, end table and lamp with a couple of bookcases creates a library feel to the room. Think of a different flooring for this room and this helps create an ambiance. I removed the carpet and installed a flexible, fiber floor that imitates a chocolate colored bamboo. Awesome texture and the room is more functional for cleanup and for all the abuse I throw at it
Remember that this is one of the first rooms your guest see and there should be enough storage to hide most of the everyday stuff that you throw at it. The chocolate that was used in the family room is now the secondary color in the office. To soften the space I used Ben Moore's Smoke on the walls. The wonderful thing about this color is with my front porch shading this room in the afternoon, the color starts out baby blue and changes to soft green and finally a dove gray in the evening.
THREE COLORS FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!!! How awesome is that. Make this room yours and you won't mind coming to work in your jammies every morning.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Home Staging for everyday use!

Home staging cont.-
Now that we have made it past the front door, we need to start looking at the first room that we come upon. Family room, home office, etc; I like to have the family room a place that company and family gravitate towards. A great color on the wall helps to set the tone. If this room is a long, narrow space that alot of homes have now, create 2 sitting areas that break up the bowling alley feel. Place the sofa on the long wall and a loveseat and tables or 2 chairs and an ottoman. Then, at the other end of the room, create another sitting area with a chaise lounge or club chair and ottoman. These spaces allow for a group to feel comfortable and you can pull the extra chair into the space for more sitting. I love the bookshelves that give plenty of storage and function for the room. If you don't have built-ins, there are plenty of shelves on the market that are different heights and depths and dress those shelves to be decorative as well as functional. Lighting is also key to an inviting look. Customers love ceiling fans and designers hate them. No one should use the overhead lighting, unless you have lost a small child in the room and no one has a flashlight. It is harsh and unflattering and that is the reason for accent lamps. Make sure that the lamp is high enough to cast light on the reading material of who would sit in that spot. Buffet lamps help to give a soft glow to accent tables and usually don't have to be functional. Pillows, artwork and a area rug and this is one pulled together room.
Kids stuff can be stored in beautiful baskets, trunks and even in coffee tables. There are great items available that lets all the stuff we don't want to see but have to have, out of sight. Even for the drop in mother-in-law, that room can look awesome.
Magazines and paperwork are the same, out of sight, out of mind. Declutter,organize and throw away will be the best way to keep that room together.
Next blogging will move on to the home office.
Happy Decorating

Friday, February 8, 2008

Staging your home

We all like to visit someone who has a beautiful home. We walk in the door and instantly feel that we would like to sit down and put our feet up. The colors flow from room to room, there is just enough personal items but not cluttered, and you feel like you never want to leave.
Each of our homes should feel this way. Comfortable, warm and inviting.
I do staging for a local real estate company and the most amazing thing that sellers notice is that they probaly wouldn't have considered moving in the first place if they would have had a professional stager/decorator in before they reached the point of no return.
If you have a trusted friend or family member that will act as your "fresh eyes" have them walk with you into your home and make a honest accessment of your strengths and weaknesses in decorating. Make sure this person is someone who's own style you appreciate and know they will give you an honest opinion. You may not like all of their suggestions but break them down and work on the ones you want to see an improvement in.

Start at your driveway- Does the outside of your home need some TLC? Shutters, door and trim need painting? Pick a fresh new color scheme and work with the roof color or brick color and come up with something fresh. Trim the shrubbery, clean up the landscaping with some fresh mulch and hang a new door wreath. All this makes a sparkle before your feet hit the porch.

Open the front door and what is the first thing you notice-9 pairs of shoes, bookbags, junk mail and empty water bottles? This isn't the first impression we want to make. If everyone uses the front door as the main entry then it should be functional as well as attractive. A bench to sit and put your shoes on, baskets for the kids stuff, a beautiful bowl to drop the keys and mail into, a lamp and rug and you've got yourself a entry foyer that says WELCOME HOME!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Change, for good or bad!

Decorating is a dangerous thing- You start with one room and the next thing you know, you're ripping out the walls and tearing up floors.
When I moved into our home, 7 years ago, I started at the front door and over the next 5 years redid the whole house. No room was left untouched. Even the closets were organized and made to give me the best use of space. Now that we have lived here and my taste have changed (AGAIN) I started back at the front door for the next round. I wanted a updated look that was bright and dramatic that made people want to sit down and enjoy my home.
I started my own business 2 years ago and decided that my dining room was a waste of space. I stripped the wallpaper, pulled out the carpet and turned around my table to make it a desk. I found some great industrial shelving, a hutch/lateral file and a comfy chair. My home office was born!!! Very little money but a huge improvement for my business. Everything in one place and easily accessible. I needed alot of storage for the 300 fabric books, reference books, catalogs, flooring samples, blind books,etc; The large industrial rolling shelf that everyone is using in kitchen spaces looked great in my space and held all of my sample books. The lateral file holds all of my client info and the hutch is for pretty stuff. My office faces the front porch where I have 2 windows that lets in lots of sun and I get to watch the birds on the front porch. I didn't want to cover the windows up so I installed bamboo shades and the texture looks great. The walls went from a red,navy and cream wallpaper to robin's egg blue. With all the brown furniture and a faux bamboo fiber floor, the room is cozy and inviting. Maybe the next thing to be added will be french doors.
Don't be intimidated by change, it all works out in the end. Even if it takes every 7 years to come back around.
Happy decorating!!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Decorating Junkies- Color

Color is the easy place to start in decorating. It is one of the most personal things you can do to any room. The right colors can improve our moods, stimulate the appetite, make a statement about who you are.
The biggest pitfall in choosing a color is we don't understand how that little paint chip is going to look spread out all over that room. Color is fickle. It changes according to so many different factors. How much sunlight the room gets, what time of day is the room usually used in, is there a large red sofa in the room that is going to make the beige turn to blushy pink? All understandable questions that the homeowner doesn't take into account for, until its painted and put back together.

Here are some of my hints for choosing the right color.
Always remember that red, yellow and blue intensify, once up. I have had customers breakdown crying, when turning into the driveway and they catch the first look at their newly painted "Butter Cream" house that looks like it stepped right out of Sesame Street. What may look yellow and creamy on the swatch has turned into Big Bird on the side of your home.

Test your colors- Invest in a quart of something before painting the whole room and deciding you hate it. Paint it on poster board, paint it on the wall behind pictures(for when the in-laws come over). Don't paint little 2" swatches either, paint 2 foot by 2 foot samples and don't place another new color right against that one. Spread them out so that when you look at them from another room, that color alone stands out. View the color in different lights. Morning, noon and night. A rainy day and a sunny day both should look good. The only people that have an opinion are you and your family and that sometimes is debatable. It doesn't matter that your best friend hates red or that your neighbor can't stand any vegetable color, as long as you love the color, GO FOR IT!!!!!! A good decorator will guide you to the right shade of something not give their personal opinion. If you don't like their choice, tell them, and if they don't pick another color pick another decorator.

Alot of times, I will see a color at a friend's house or a clients house and get the info on where the color came from. I then try a sample to see how I may use it in my home. What looks good there may or may not look good in my setting. Try it and you may like it.

Sheen of paint also changes the look of the color. I typically use flat, matte or at most, eggshell, on my walls. Flat isn't washable but is the easiest to touch up. The more sheen a paint has the more imperfections are highlighted on a wall. Matte is flat but washable and eggshell is scrubbable. This is based on Ben Moore's paint and I only paint with quality paint. The cheaper the paint the harder the painting will be. Why suffer?

Semi gloss goes on high abuse areas, trim, furniture, etc; Never on the WALLS!!!!! Flat on the ceiling, except for high humidity areas such as bathrooms, without vents or teenagers that take 2 hour showers, then you can use eggshell to prevent streaking.

Keep a compostion book in your glove compartment filled with all of those color swatches, ripped out pictures of your dream kitchen, the area rug you love, anything that helps you pull together color when the time comes. The brain can't remember color, so make it easy and keep good records. Even a piece of DMC floss can help you in picking out the bedroom color.

When choosing a color take a favorite blouse, a pillow sham or the mug you got from the beach and lay it down to see how those colors look together. Take home 3-5 paint chips and narrow it down by process of elimination. Then get the quart or 2 oz. sample if available and try it out.

Grab some paint chips and happy painting!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Decorating Junkies- Top 10 Decorating Mistakes

Good Morning-
I wanted to start the morning off with what I think are the top 10 mistakes in decorating. There are really too many to sum up in one posting or for that matter 100 posting, but here we go.

TOP 10 MISTAKES IN DECORATING

1)Toliet Rugs- Hate to see them down!!! They should all be replaced with a pretty area rug or a gorgeous textured rug that feels great to walk across. Never skimp on the little details.

2)Fear of Color-In one fan deck from your local paint store, there are over 3000 colors to choose from. Being bold and choosing one is better than a house full of White/Beige that feels like you walked into a color void. Painting is the cheapest way to transform any room(as long as you paint it yourself) and makes the biggest bang for your buck.

3)Outdated accessories-We all get attached to stuff! That doesn't mean it has to stay around FOREVER. Every store you walk into now, from Target, Walmart and even the grocery store, has home accessories. Don't get tied into a rut in decorating because your old accessories don't go with a new look.

4)Tacky couch covers-There has yet been made, a readymade slipcover that looks good. Custom slipcovers/reupholstered furniture is the only way to change the look of an existing piece. If recovering isn't an option, the piece isn't 8-way, hand tied, kiln dried or hardwood frame then replace it with the best you can afford.

5)Pushed back furniture-Every piece of furniture in the room has been pushed to the back wall and everyone has to shout to have a conversation. This is the way most of us arrange our furniture. If the sofa can fit a small sofa table behind it that gives some storage or a place for reading lamps, pull it off the wall. The chairs should be between 5-6 ft. from the sofa. The can be angeled off the wall and not shoved back against it. This creates a cozy space instead of a stark place to hang out.

6)Fake Flowers-Not all of us can keep a plant alive. But that doesn't mean that fresh cut flowers, an "almost" indestructible, house plant or one of the beautiful, silk tropical trees can give your home a inviting look. Don't use any if they don't as least look real. There are too many options on the market that fool the eye, so again, buy the best you can afford.

7)Improper Lighting-I hate to use my over head light. The only time I have this on is when we have lost the TV remote and my husband has started to hyper ventilate. There are 3 types of lighting, overhead or ambient(see previous comment), task lighting and accent lighting. Kitchens need a lot of light. We spend time in there cooking, cleaning, entertaining, homework, bill paying, etc; Overhead lighting should not be the only source of lighting. Under cabinet lighting for task lighting and beautiful sconces on the wall for accent lighting, will go far in creating a cozy, inviting kitchen for everyone to hang out in.

8)Everything Matches-Most of us would not be caught in public with a matchy-matchy outfit. The bag matching the shoe that matches the jacket, that matches the...@%$%^&! YECK!!!! Take 3 colors and mix it up then add another 2 for spice. This goes for pattern as well. Big floral print, medium width stripe and little polka dots will carry you far in the decorating scheme.

9)Following fads-What is hot today may go down in flames tomorrow. Don't build a room around one fad. Live with a style you love and let the fads come in, as a little bling. Don't go crazy with one style. The worst thing that happened in decorating was the "Country Fad". We all went crazy with stained furniture, God help me, Mauve and Blue, knick-knacks on every imaginable space known to man. And because of this, some people are still stuck in that rut and think they have to change the whole house before making ANY change. A daunting and overwheming task for anyone.

10)Keeping something you hate. For me this would be my husband BIG SCREEN TV. Of course, this would probably cause a divorce or at the very least a whole heap of trouble. So think smaller, the recliner from his bachelor days, the bedroom suit that came from your parents or the kitchen table that has 5 different styles and none of them are pretty. Budget in one of those to be replaced and you will love yourself for it.

I am sure there are 100's of other mistakes but I don't want to overwhelm anyone and create chaos. Happy decorating and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Decorating Junkies Unite!!!

Good Morning Junkies,

This is my first posting to my newest endeavor. I am looking to express my love of decorating and the passion I have to see good design, color and that punch of WOW!!! that we all love in our homes. I am looking to correspond with people that can't hire a designer but love it when there homes are the talk of their friends.

The hottest trends in color, at least for the Virginia area, are as follows; Chocolate, Sea Glass blues, Dill Pickle and Eggplant.
We are so traditional here in the Richmond area, that it takes us about 10 years to come out of a color choke hold in decorating. It has always amazed me that we can change our wardrobes quarterly but take sooooo long to change the colors in our home, that we have to look at everyday.

If you are starting with a blank canvas, of either a first home or complete makeover, find an inspiration piece that will be your starting point for color decisions. For example, an area rug, a great piece of artwork or your favorite aunt's vase. If you loved the piece enough to buy it then the colors can be pulled from the piece to give you a starting point. Common areas(Family room, kitchen,dining room,;) is easiest on the eye if the colors have a flow. In decorating, everything is easier to look at in odd numbers. 1,3,5 of something is easier for the eye to flow from one beautiful thing to another. There is a predominant color in the family room, a secondary color and a third color that we use for the accessories. The secondary color becomes the predominant color in the dining room and the first and third colors play into this room as the supporting role.

Let's say that the family room is painted dill pickle above the chair rail, chocolate brown below. The sofa is sage green and the drapes are colors that created the pallet for this room. Chocolate background, sage greens, russet, eggplant with a little yellow and white for hightlight. The predominant color is dill pickle, secondary color is chocolate and accent colors are russet and eggplant.
The hallway is a neutral(1/2 shade lighter than chocolate) with the secondary color being russet and third color eggplant. The kitchen is golds and browns with the secondary color being dill pickle.
This has created a flow of the same colors but using the first, second and third colors in different positions, throughout.
The eye will then "flow" between these spaces and make the area feel open and airy. The easiest way to create a "Decorator's" space.

The private spaces in the house are completely a personal preference of color and design. You may have the most pulled together look going on in the main floor but each of the rooms in your home that is for a member of the family should be decorated to their individual taste. This gives everyone a freedom of expression and the personal stamp that all homes need.
I will be posting more information to this site concerning these decorating issues and more. I look forward to your questions and pictures of how to best handle those decorating quantries. Let me know your thought and happy decorating!!!!