Kristi, over at Addicted 2 Decor, posted on her blog yesterday about wanting so badly to paint a black room.
I completely forgot in my commenting over there that I had done just that, only last week! (It has been a long and foggy November. Three weeks of flu, Granny passing, the holiday and now my mother-in-law visiting…)
Stephanie bought a foreclosure. The day we chose the flooring and the middle level color scheme, her 18 year old son was with us. Let’s just say he showed a bit of concern for the decisions being made, as they did not include plans for the lower level that they had decided to let him make his own. On that day, Stephanie had a lot of choices to make, and his space was not on agenda.
As we made our selections, I could not help but notice poor Douglas, upset about being ignored. He had on a zip hoody in the velvetiest shade of charcoal and a long tee with black and white splatter marks. I asked him if he would like his room to look like his cloths—and was that a mistake! The kid went wild. “Could I have a black wall?!?”
Stephanie is a good mom. She relented and we ended up choosing mid-tone gray for most of the walls, black for the largest unbroken one, white for the ceiling, trim and fireplace, and a deep gray flecked Berber carpeting for the floors. I haven’t seen it yet, but Stephanie said it looks great. She told me today that she got him gray striped bedding for Christmas. (Oh dear, I hope he doesn’t read this. HA!) As of yet, she still doesn’t know about my plans for the splatter…
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?
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.
A good mother deserves a room of her own and sometimes it takes a mother to give it.
Mary and I first worked together about 3 years ago. She was a patient of a dentist whose office I designed. She first hired me to sort through and utilize some inherited pieces. Soon after, she and her husband decided to retire to North Caroline, so we staged her home for the real estate market. We have stayed in touch through her daughter who also became my client.
Well, Mary is a very wonderful mother. And her other daughter, now a mother herself, is equally devoted to her three young children. Three young ones who, as small children tend to do, have taken over the house. And Mary, having been though this, understands how important a little grownup space can be. So while the whole family is at Disney, Mary and her husband have snuck back to Virginia and into her daughter’s house. They are spending the week creating a little haven in the master bedroom as a surprise. A space without toys. It is going to be just like television.
A master bedroom should be a haven, but in reality it rarely is. Confessionally, my own also serves as an office. Hardly Relaxing. The pictures at the beginning of this post are from the Inn at Little Washington. I am not saying that your room need be so outrageous, but you can get the idea.
Saturday I had an appointment in a foreclosure property my client is buying. I am very excited for Stephanie to begin this new stage of her life. There is a lot of work ahead, but hard work is REWARDING.
The incredible price on the home way out weighs the needed improvements. New flooring, lots of bleach and many gallons of paint will wash over all the filth.
Still…
I can’t enter this place without considering the larger picture. Much has been written about the reasons for the housing market collapse. And if we have even hit bottom. From Friday’s Washington Business Journal:
Prince William County had more sales in September than any other September on record, but even with an uptick in sales, the inventory of bank-owned property is not shrinking rapidly. At the end of September, Dale City’s bank-owned properties stood at 716, down just 32 — 4 percent — from August.
This home illustrates the foreclosure dichotomy for me. The left-behind furniture and the surrounding grime are blinding testaments to crashed dreams. At the same time, the energy of ideas (and a new color palette) points to a new and happier future now made affordable. Were the former dreams unrealistic? Are Americans with our ideals and dreams especially susceptible to the greed of others?
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.
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.
My client, Mary, is building an addition to her home. The drywall is nearly done and I had to choose the color for the walls today.
Most of the new furniture has arrived and is in storage. As we peeked at it through the many layers of protective wrapping, I was literally giggling with excitement. Mary is concerned about all the mixed patterns. I am ELATED.
The rear wall and its opposite will have large furniture pieces so wood will dominate the space. The floor is also wood, hammered and dark with medium grain. Mary thought a sand tone would be best for the walls, but I disagreed. With that much wood, color is necessary. More neutral tones would be too plain and will not showcase the quality in the new pieces.
I chose a greenish bluish gray instead, about mid in saturation. The color is Imperial Gray from Benjamin Moore and is very complex. I am confident it will be a perfect backdrop for the casegoods as well as the upholstery, especially with clean white trim.
I have been with Dee over two years now. But recently we have taken our designs to a whole new level. My clients are in the middle of construction on a new home.
A fresh start requires a new design plan. Dee and I met for lunch this summer and we discussed, we dreamed and we visualized the outcome together. We talked about specifics as well as the less tangible environment she and her family desired. This meeting proved fruitful. We now have a concept to build upon, making precise decisions easier.
Sunday we made part of our first purchase. The Family Room furniture was chosen first as it will be the most important room for the family. A comfy slip covered sofa and two chairs all in coordinating washable cotton, perfect for relaxing times together.
I am working with my client, Danielle, to create the perfect apartment. We had an easy time choosing a Dining Table, but the chairs have taken time. I had a vision of mixed chairs. Unfortunately, I found this to be easier imagined than implemented.
Danielle has done her job. She has scoured flea markets and sent me many photos. And this is me, “No.” “No.” “No.” I am sure I was starting to seem like I forgot about the cost of gas and the value of time. And it would be a miracle if I wasn’t beginning to annoy her. But before she went online to find a new decorator, I figured out the solution.
We need to establish consistency within the mish mash. The last set of flea market snap shots clarified it for me. In order for this to work, we would need to match wood tone and balance ornate with plain. And we will have to buy some new.
I was surprised that there wasn’t many pictures of mixed Dining Chairs in my library. Interestingly, they all came from different editions of the Better Homes and Gardens New Decorating Book. (I have all 9–thank you, Ebay.)
And I only found three online. As the project progresses, I will add a forth.
