Pizzazz Nesting Tables from Crate and Barrel, Four Corners Han Nesting Tables from Thomasville, Bridgeview Nesting Tables from Value City Furniture, Nassua Nesting Tables from Williams Sonoma Home, Misha Nesting Tables from Bob Williams + Mitchell Gold, Onyx Nesting Tables from WestElm, Acrylic/Lucite Nesting Tables from Aaron R Thomas Home, Felix Nesting Tables from And Beige, Natalie Nesting Tables from Pottery Barn
Monthly Archives: October 2008
Nesting Tables
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Filed under Friday Collage
Pizzazz Nesting Tables from Crate and Barrel, Four Corners Han Nesting Tables from Thomasville, Bridgeview Nesting Tables from Value City Furniture, Nassua Nesting Tables from Williams Sonoma Home, Misha Nesting Tables from Bob Williams + Mitchell Gold, Onyx Nesting Tables from WestElm, Acrylic/Lucite Nesting Tables from Aaron R Thomas Home, Felix Nesting Tables from And Beige, Natalie Nesting Tables from Pottery Barn
I Promise it Will Feel Good
Filed under Creating a Sense of Place, Home Staging
I have blogged before about how Design Time is Different, and yesterday’s appointment is a perfect illustration of this.
I met with Michele and Stan last March and again the next month, although it hardly feels like 18 months ago. At that time, they were considering necessary updates for an eventual entry into the real estate market. Their year long hard work, vast improvement in space, and the tanking market made a decision to stay easy.
I have heard time and again how satisfying it is to fix all the little annoyances that were overlooked until Realtor eyes are on the property. And how afterward, the homeowner’s need to leave diminishes. So my question is , why wait? Why not create the home you desire right now? Dedicate some time to repairing cracks. Put a little aside in the budget for small improvements, like paint or new fixtures. Get those new appliances you have always wanted, and will NEED to get when selling, and enjoy them for yourselves.
Create a sense of place right where you are.
Opinions
Filed under Creating a Sense of Place
My sister always says, “Opinions are like a-holes. Everyone’s got one.” In my wise old age I am finding that sometimes expressing my opinion is not always appropriate. But unfortunately in this heated election season, not everyone is acting with such restraint. Today I witnessed someone using/abusing their status to pontificate. Not cool.
On the other hand, in my business, I EXPECT to hear my clients opinions about design. This is crucial to the decision making process. Sometimes I encounter people who don’t want to be wrong for the decorator. So I have to stress THERE IS NO RIGHT AND WRONG in the world of design, only appropriate choices.
In these cases, I have to act like a sleuth. Pointed questions, keen observation and open discussion are the tools I have to utilize to make a connection to the real wants and needs of the client. Because in my opinion, a design plan that is not a reflection of the desires of the client is simply a failure.
Planning a Room
Filed under Creating a Sense of Place, Current Projects
Friday I visited a client who is planning to move to another state. A first glance, it may seem a bit strange that a person preparing to move would hire a decorator before the move takes place.
Actually, our time together has allowed her to have one less thing to worry about. Moving is expensive no matter how you do it and deciding to sell some items on the front side will result in lower freight charges.
Carol’s first order of business in preparation of this transition was to hire Kristen Hart of Toss ‘n Tidy. Together they cleared out unnecessary accumulation. Next came Donna Bolton, an appraiser, who has helped Carol determine the value of her possessions. Finally, my job is solidify those choices and determine where her furniture will be placed using a supplied floor plan as a guide.
Arranging furniture virtually is a great idea when moving. Wouldn’t you rather set something down once and move on to unpacking boxes? Fancy software isn’t necessary to get a rudimentary idea of furniture placement. There are many websites where you can do this for free.
Petite Slipper Chairs
Filed under Living Rooms, Look What I Found!, Rooms, Trend Spotting
Upholstered, armless, low to the ground chairs are called Slipper Chairs. Once common in the bedroom, I imagine the name came from its function–that being a place to sit and put on your slippers in the morning.
Today they are used everywhere, and are available just about everywhere. The current sleeker aesthetic has made them a popular choice and Pier 1 has done a bang up job putting their twist on them. New to the stores are a cash and carry collection, upholstered beautifully and coordinately. A few have arms, but all are nearly the same size.
Her excitement made JoDee’s text to me jump out of my phone when she found these yesterday. We had already considered using a collection of different chairs, placed in a circle, in her Living Room. These chairs will be perfect and MUCH CHEAPER. They can used to encircle a chandelier, which can now be added due to the significant savings in our budget.
Here are the ones we chose. There are more!
Teal Harvest
Filed under Accessorizing, Color, Creating a Sense of Place, Design Principles
I scanned this page from October’s Edition of Martha Stewart Living. The color is phenomenal. The monochromatic palette of teal, which is my personal favorite, sings of Autumn so unconventionally. I wish I had the time and energy to make such a display.
I love Living because the photos inside ARE so outrageous. Martha Stewart is so extreme in her domestication that she is a bit of a cultural caricature. But the magazine is still a visual joy.
I also have subscriptions to Food and Wine, Wine Spectator (which I never read), and Domino. Am I missing something good? I used to get House Beautiful and Dwell, but I let them run out. What do you read?
Scale
Filed under Current Projects, Living Rooms, Rooms
The construction is nearly finished on Mary’s new addition to her home. Great in size and in function, this room will serve as her office, a place for entertaining, and for relaxation.
All the furniture chosen for this room is over-sized. And yet, as you can see from the photo above, because the room is so large, the furniture appears to be appropriate. The club chairs are big enough to curl up in, at over 50″ wide. Perfect for reading with a granddaughter. The pair of ottomans are equally large. There is both a sofa and a love seat. The executive desk and hutch would suit Donald Trump. Mary can run her empire equally as well.
Consider scale when purchasing furniture. This arrangement would work in a room half as large if the dimensions of the individual pieces of furniture were sized down as well. Petite slipper chairs and a love seat would be an option, or search for what many manufactures call their ‘apartment collection’ for sofas under 80 inches.
Slipcovers
Filed under Friday Collage
Potomac Apartment Sofa in Danish Tea from Crate and Barrel, Baldwin Slipcovered Sofa from Arhaus, Delia Slipcovered Chair from Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Baldwin Slipcovered Club Chair from Ballard Designs, Brooks Chair Slipcovered in Amelie from Pottery Barn, Grand Scale Shelter Arm Slipcovered Chaise in Linen Stripe Goldenrod, Kendall Sofa Slipcovered in Dorien Paprika from Room and Board
Top Tips for Home Staging
Filed under Home Staging
Clean Everything. Carpets, floors, windows, cupboards, closets, furniture. Murphy’s Oil Soap will be your best friend. Solicit professional help for the big stuff.
Reduce to a bare minimum. Get rid of everything you can, and then reduce again by 50%. If you have to, rent a storage unit. Aim for open spaces, which make a home look larger. Closets must be included in this all important reduction stage. Personal Effects go into storage first. (Just think how happy you will be to see them when you finally move.)
Replace EVERY switch plate and outlet cover with a brand new white one.
Paint all trim and doors white, if not natural wood. Colors and cream are not allowed. This is a big project, but will make the home shine. Even if it looks fine to you, do it anyway.
Paint the front door and the molding around it. Clean this area of all cobwebs and dust, scrub the porch and add a potted paint. Creating a clean and fresh first impression is crucial.
Replace all outdated light fixtures. All of them. Even in hallways.
Throw away fake plants. Fake plants are dust dwellings. They say to the potential buyer, “I have no time to care for my things, including my house. I would rather fake it.”
The Home Staging Secret
Filed under Home Staging
Home Staging in a nutshell consists of one thing. Sleight of the eye.
Just as a magician distracts his audience in order to covertly perform a trick, Home Stagers can distract attention away from warts and on to gems.
I heard about some people who were surprised when the homeowner was inside when these prospective buyers viewed the property. The house was/is an example of curb UNappeal. The visible exterior consists solely of a garage door, plain and without even a window. Because the house is situated on the downward slope of a hill, this is all you can see from the street. Inside is no better: tiny chopped up rooms, awkward flow, low ceilings, dingy carpets, horribly outdated baths and kitchen. The house has one shining star, a beautiful in-ground pool situated on a long backyard ending in a glen and a creek.
The homeowner did a fantastic job directing the prospective buyers’ attention to the back of the house, where the pool was visible. They wrote a contract that night.
Home Stagers can do this sort of thing without such personal intrusion.