dVider Holiday Wall Sticker from 2Modern, Branch Wallpaper from fermLIVING, Alphabet of Design Classics Poster from Blue Ant Studio, Fatboy Avenue Ottoman Blocks from Design Public, Vers 1.5R Ipod Deck with AM FM tuner from Versaudio, Black Octopus Pillow from Tonic Home, Metal Sculpture Reindeer from Crate and Barrel, Presidio Settee from Williams Sonoma Home
Monthly Archives: November 2008
Black Friday
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Filed under Friday Collage
dVider Holiday Wall Sticker from 2Modern, Branch Wallpaper from fermLIVING, Alphabet of Design Classics Poster from Blue Ant Studio, Fatboy Avenue Ottoman Blocks from Design Public, Vers 1.5R Ipod Deck with AM FM tuner from Versaudio, Black Octopus Pillow from Tonic Home, Metal Sculpture Reindeer from Crate and Barrel, Presidio Settee from Williams Sonoma Home
City Girl
Filed under Current Projects
Yesterday I saw Sharron’s new digs for the first time. (She sold her suburban townhouse in record time, remember?)
Sharron has moved to the city. In a SWANKIFIED condo. And am I jealous…
My nearly 10 years here in the suburbs of DC have been spent with many friends, clients and acquaintances who long for the country life. So many have need for the picket fence, the acreage, the big dog, the two car garage and a driveway you can pull directly onto the street from, without a line of traffic.
Well, I can relate to the All American Dream, but try as I might, I can’t really FEEL it. My yearnings are for the city. For the pulse close to the heart. I am energized by Sharron’s home, and not just by my creative juices as I start to design it, but by the active street way below the window. The curved walls, massive column and expanse of glass are wonderful. But the energy would be there if it were just a plain box.
The energy comes from all the life below.
I have never lived inside a large city. Am I delusional? Would I be happier living at the beach? What is your ideal setting? Are you living your dream?
Decorating Dilemma #2
Collections of Clutter
If you spend any time reading my writing you must be surprised that this dilemma is actually number 2. (I realize I tend to harp on about my abhorrence of clutter…) There actually IS a dilemma that is worse than this…stay tuned.
Clutter kills. Many wonderful design plans have been sabotaged by too much stuff. Many hours have been lost forever searching for keys in mountains of mess. Beautiful vistas have been destroyed by mish mash wall hangings. Collections of Clutter are an American Epidemic. Just say no!
Do the items displayed in the home contribute to the sense of place? Or are they permanent residences for Dust Bunnies? Pare down to what matters. Family photos bring joy, but are you noticing the subject or the frame? Heirlooms evoke memories, but are you thinking about dear Aunt Linda or about how frustrating it is to live with her 50 tea cups?
Organize your visual space and organize your life.
A wonderful blog about reducing the stuff in your life…
Vanishing Vanilla
Filed under Current Projects
The current Real Estate market and the weakening economy have affected how people are choosing to spend money. I have noticed a shift in my business as well.
Homeowners are very concerned about equity, yet at the same time, my clients are more inclined to making choices that are more personal. I used to hear continually, “Well, I have to consider the resale value.” But paradoxically, clients are finally considering their desires over the perceived advantages of neutral. I imagine this is because homeowners see themselves as staying in their homes longer than they did when the market was hot.
Stephanie is an example of the new attitude. She recently purchased a foreclosure property and is not afraid to make it her very own. We chose a very beautiful monochromatic backdrop for her Living Room by using the same sage green for her carpet and her walls. It is gorgeous, and this is not vanilla neutral! Just peeking through from there will be a cheery, cherry kitchen. The lower level will be a teenage pad with dark carpet and a black accent wall.
Now more than ever, the concept of creating a personal haven to escape the worries of the world seems a worthwhile ambition.
How to Decorate a Shelf
Filed under Accessorizing, Design Principles
Consider the scale. A huge wall of shelves can handle, well, a huge wall of books. But a petite unit or an individual shelf requires restraint.
Choose a purpose for the shelf. Is it the most common reason–to house books? Valuables and collections, mementos and keepsakes are popular items for display, and many people love to showcase family photos.
Choose a Theme. Color, texture, subject matter and style can be themes if all the objects coordinate.
Narrow it down! Step back and squint. Can you see a clean shape formed from the objects? Then you have been successful.
Pull Up a Seat
Filed under Friday Collage
Cetra Folding Side Chair from La Difference, Java Folding Chair from Bellacor, Bamboo Folding Chairs from Target.com, Cherry Chadwick Upholstered Back Folding Chair from Home Decorators, Terai Folding Chair in Cleopatra from Anthropologie, Montello Folding Chairs from Ballard Designs, Café Folding Chair from Chaisso, Skip Folding Chair from Design Within Reach, Nisse Folding Chair from Ikea
Remembering
Filed under Uncategorized
I haven’t posted since Monday. I have been in Ohio spending time with my family and attending the funeral of my grandmother. My granny was old, and her passing was not unexpected considering her advanced age. Still, my emotions are raw and who is ever really prepared for death? My husband and children only know her old, and they see this end as kind, but I am flooded with memories of an early day. Who she was before she just sat in a chair…
It would be nice to have something in my house that reminds me of her. But for now, I don’t think this will happen. She has lived the past 9 years with my mother, and what little she brought into my mother’s house now belongs there. This week, my husband and I slept in her room, in her bed. My kids thought it was a bit “creepy” but I thought it was nice. And it was the most comfortable we have been there in years.
At this point, it would be difficult to incorporate any of her furniture into my home. In fact, this is a rather common issue for which people hire me. Today I do understand why it is sometimes easier for an outsider to make these kinds of decisions. About what to take, what to keep and how to make it work.
For me, for now, the memory of Granny continue to live on in the blue of my daughter’s eyes.
What Wood Would Work?
Filed under Color, Design Principles, Flooring
The search engine requests from my web statistics give me insight into what people are googling to be to Design Strategies. I have noticed some version of the terms Mixing Woods every month.
Like many decorating decisions, the introduction of wood tones into a plan requires some conscious awareness, but at the same time, when I visit a space for a first time I never think, “Well, this would be nice if the wood tones coordinated better.”
I hear about this fear from my clients, too. Mixing Wood Tones scares people. I think part of this comes from the choices of the recent past. About 20 years ago there was natural oak (country) and deep cherry (traditional). And they didn’t work very well in the same space.
Today case goods are readily available in retail furniture stores in an easier mix of palettes. Deep nearly grain-less dark brown tones commonly called espresso and equally grain-less birch are very common. Both play well with others.
Choose wood tones that coordinate well with the entire plan. The fore mentioned oak works well in casual rooms, where the rules are looser. If the flooring is wood, consideration should be given to its tone as well. It is not necessary to match the wood on the furniture to the wood on the floor. Not necessary or even desirable. A knotty pine floor, oak cabinetry and painted end tables could be interesting here. In a contemporary plan, light bamboo floors would be a perfect backdrop to a dynamic teak.
Hope
Filed under Friday Collage
Blue Medallion Bottle from Lollipop Pottery, Odds and Ends Tray from Anthropologie, ‘Crossed Paths’ Reduction Linocut from Maria Doering available at Etsy, Spike Cake Server from Chiasso, Love Hand from Jonathan Adler, Robert Indiana Love Hand Tufted Rug from Bird Fine Art, Wall Flame Fireplace from Design within Reach
Overdone and Overwrought
Filed under Accessorizing, Design Principles
What is with interior designers pushing ostentatious window treatments?
OK, I actually know the answer to this. But I ask the question because I wonder if it is a little embarrassing for my competition to showcase designs with swags, jabots, valances, panels and sheers when they are so obviously out of style. Browse books recently published, read current shelter zines, watch TV. Flounce is out, even here in stuffy DC.
To answer the question with a bit of history: I began Decorate Your Space and Design Strategies in response to having worked for a firm that made me feel a little like showering after consultations. Because here is the secret: Fancy Windows Means Lots o’Cash for the Designer. So you have these innocent clients, desiring a functional, beautiful space and ending up with tasseled and festtoned windows and white walls. Nothing more, for the elaborate treatments broke the bank.
Let me stress that I do recommend well covered windows, especially if the client so desires, and I have many wonderful connections to great window experts. But I will always choose tasteful and restrained over excessive any day.
So many retailers are offering excellent silk panels. I recommend them often:
Here are some of custom treatments in my clients’ homes:
