Category Archives: Trend Spotting

What I have noticed enough to mention.

Way Beyond Beige

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Posted by Denise Smith on February 17, 2010 – 4:05 pm
Filed under Bathrooms, Color, Design Principles, Rooms, Trend Spotting

There must be a lot of pink bathrooms still hanging around.  A 10 second Flickr search hit almost 3,000 and that was specifically typing only “pink toilet”. 

Pink, blue and green porcelain was enormously popular in the 50s and 60s.  It’s pretty shocking how many still remain and are in mint (lol) condition.   

Brightly coloring the place you poop seems like the oddest trend.  I wonder how it gained such popularity. It is so amazing that America bought this trend with such exuberance. Especially in light of today, where homeowners are paralyzed with fear even considering any home addition that isn’t beige.   This is not hyperbole, folks.  My clients LITERALLY clutch their hearts when I suggest carpet that is not tan, or tile that isn’t vanilla.

Pink toilets are frightening.  I understand that.  But so are plain, boring houses devoid of personality.  There are millions of other options out there.  Try one. No need to fear, because unlike the durable and well constructed toilet of the 50s, today’s products need to be replaced in 10 years anyway.

Well whatayaknow.  In researching this post I found a whole website dedicated to pink bathrooms!

I’m on Facebook

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Posted by Denise Smith on February 7, 2010 – 6:30 pm
Filed under Trend Spotting, Uncategorized

I caved.  I’ve had an active Facebook profile for over a year now, and I update my status daily.  But for some reason I have dragged my feet creating a page for Decorate Your Space.  I don’t know if I was afraid I wouldn’t work on it, and it would be embarrassing.  Or what if I only have like 20 fans?  That would hardly scream success, now would it?  And I am pretty raw on Facebook.  I post my real life, without a lot of filter.  So maybe I have been afraid that potential clients would friend me—then WHOA. 

But I’ve had a lot of encouragement, and what the heck.  I realized that most of my clients come from referrals, anyway.  And by that time, my work speaks for itself.  I have always wanted to revive a series I used to send via email, back before blogging was the rage.  A few years ago I used to send out Quick Tips–short decorating snippets of advice.  Facebook will be a perfect venue to try this again; the 420 character limit will ensure I stay succinct!

So here’s the link.  Become my fan!

Subway Tile

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Posted by Denise Smith on January 14, 2010 – 1:36 pm
Filed under Digging Others' Digs, Trend Spotting

I don’t read a lot of decorating blogs anymore. I used to read them every day, but it got tiring—you know, like coming home from work and WORKING. I have moved on to a more esoteric topic that winds me up just enough to be relaxing.

I do read a few, and most are not written by other decorators, but by lay people, renovating their own homes.

I discovered something. Apparently, if you blog, (or at least, if you blog and I read it) you must use white subway tile.

From Door Sixteen

From Addicted 2 Decor

From Making it Lovely

From Decorno (The picture that made me notice this whole trend.)

From Young House Love

Casey S.–If you are out there… ignore what I said about them being a cheap and easy backsplash for your gorgeous blue granite. Call me. I can come up with something else.

Lanterns

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Posted by Denise Smith on May 19, 2009 – 4:27 pm
Filed under Trend Spotting

My two Lanterns. Better than a lamp.

My first was tall and handsome, with a tropical configuration.  My second was short and squat.  Both met the very same fate.  A summer storm would blow in, and before I would have time to run to and rescue them, they would fall over and break.

So this year it was early in spring when I decided to stop throwing money away on stylish but fragile outdoor lamps.  And because of the angle of our balcony in relation to the golf course, a constant breeze makes unprotected candles a lesson in futility.  As luck would have it, lanterns are everywhere this season.

I bought two this weekend.  The tall one is from Wegmans and was on sale for $13.99.  The shorter one I found at Pier 1, and I think it was $10.  I got the candles at Pier 1 as well.  I chose them because they match the color scheme on the furniture cushions, but I think later in the summer I will need to switch to citronella.

The lanterns go in every night, safe and sound from toppling winds.

London Fog

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Posted by Denise Smith on February 2, 2009 – 1:12 pm
Filed under Color, Look What I Found!, Trend Spotting

Have you had the London Fog Tea Latte at Starbucks? I am smitten. No, more like addicted. As I sit here and type, a whisper can be heard. “Go to Starbucks. Go to Starbucks. Go to Starbucks. ” Can you hear it?

I know this tiny, tinny sound can be heard by others besides me. What else explains the frequent importuning I get from my children? “Mom, can we stop at Starbucks on the way?”

I am usually immune to the lure. I prefer my coffee straight. Black, Strong. Singularly early in the morning. But now all that has changed. My attempts to avoid such conspicuous consumption foiled by a deceptively simple latte.

And not any old Latte. The London Fog is perfect. Sweet and creamy, but balanced with an earthy bitterness. Warm and cozy and full of fat, a sip can chase away the torment of winter. I can’t get enough of it.

Starbucks creates the London Fog from Tazo Earl Grey, Vanilla flavoring (I ask for sugar free) and foam (I ask for breve, which is Barista Lingo for made with half and half. Sorry. For this drink, the fat is essential to the experience.) It is perfect. Here is how the Tazo website describes the tea:

Aroma of citrus, lavender and light smoke harmoniously blended, the tea flavor and astringency of Tazo Earl Grey are perfectly balanced with the slightly spicy, lavender-and-lemon taste of the bergamot.

Last week I was introduced to Kris’s Color Stripes. Kris pulls rectangles of color out of photos and art work. I commented that it could be interesting for decorators to do this, only more specifically by pulling out actual hues that correspond more usefully to popular paint palettes. Fortunately for me, the Tazo box of my obsession wears the BIG TREND of purple and gray.

Tazo Earl Gray tea box as an inspiration

All colors from Ben Moore

From the Classic Color Palette from Benjamin Moore:
Moon Shadow 1516
Ashley Gray HC-87
French Violet 1427
Gargoyle 1546

  

The Demise of Domino

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Posted by Denise Smith on January 28, 2009 – 2:47 pm
Filed under Trend Spotting

Domino Magazine shutters.

More from Grace at Design*Sponge.  (Don’t judge me for being unoriginal.  This is big news.)

Domino Magazine is no more.  Finished.  Caput. 

My client, Bonnie, used to give them to me when they first went to print 3 years or so ago.  She HATED the magazine and was happy to have only paid $10 for it.  I thought it was simple, small but otherwise OK, and I was getting it for free so I was happy.  Her subscription ended, and a period of time went by.  I started to read more and more about it on the blogs. We got a free issue in the mail and my husband (the wonderful metrosexual that he is) loved it and ordered it for me. Er…him.  Well whatever. 

I enjoyed reading Domino.  I found it interesting how very eclectic it was on the price scale.  The designs featured were sometimes a little low side and WAY high end other times.  It was still rather thin, and seem to be stuck on one style, but who’s complaining.  It is all history now.  Is this a sign of the times to come? 

I did complain once, if you remember.  The editors bragged about a dinner party where children were allowed to join in.  The adults at the table were smoking.

Back to the Rat Race

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Posted by Denise Smith on January 5, 2009 – 11:13 am
Filed under Trend Spotting

Strand Bookstore in NYC. LUST!!!

It is Monday morning. Listen…. The house is quiet. The girls are back in school. No more beeping cell phones, no slamming refrigerator doors. No more squeals of sibling squabble. The sky has that “I’m thinking about doing something annoying” look. Across America bloggers are sitting down at their computers to write about….

RESOLUTIONS
Why should I be any different?  Every year I make the same pair of resolutions: To eat less and exercise more. Just like about a billion other people. This year I will still make it, but how about a few others? A few that I can handle?

  1. This year I will read more on paper and less on a computer screen. (I read two books over break. My Stroke of Insight and Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You. Both were wonderful and served to remind me how much I love books.)
  2. I will update my database in a timely fashion. Weekly would be good.
  3. I will respond to emails within 24 hours. Even if it means typing on those dreaded tiny cell phone keys.
  4. I will take better advantage of networking opportunities. I will have more One To Ones with my business associates, attend more Chamber events, and support activities at the Workhouse.

I read an email from a friend who said that this year, instead of throwing her list of resentments and grudges into the New Year’s Yule fire, she lit a flame to herself. She said instead of looking back, she decided to look forward and resolved to walk into the future with the light of hope.
That about covers it, don’t you think?

Decorating in a Recession

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Posted by Denise Smith on December 4, 2008 – 12:39 pm
Filed under Trend Spotting

I found this tree at the Walmart website. Gonna run right out and get it... ha!

DC Blogs has listed a lot of posts about how this holiday season is shaping up in our struggling economy.  This topic is near and dear to my heart, as my husband is employed by  the retail industry.  It is beginning to be clear that people are not spending like they normally do.  At least not yet.

I am wondering what this means from a decorating standpoint.  Are people doing less holiday decorating this year?  All those baubles, lights and bows can be expensive.  My daughters really want a turquoise themed tree this year.  Should I indulge them?  (Well, aside from the obvious fact that it would be–admitting it—tacky.) 

I am not a huge holiday decorator anyway, so I am having trouble gauging what individuals are doing.  I do know that a big poinsettia tree that I helped plan for last year never happened because it would seem ostentatious when the overseeing organization is cutting budgets.

 Anyone out there just going on like usual?  Anyone willing to comment on tightening the reins on the wallet?  We are definitely spending less this Christmas.  It just seems, well, prudent.

Foreclosures—Darkness and Light

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Posted by Denise Smith on November 10, 2008 – 12:00 pm
Filed under Current Projects, Trend Spotting

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?

Petite Slipper Chairs

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Posted by Denise Smith on October 23, 2008 – 10:55 am
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!

Carmen available at Pier 1 (Their photo)

Giovana available at Pier 1 (Their photo)

Popi available from Pier 1 (photo theirs)

Daisy available at Pier 1 (image theirs)

Vivian available from Pier 1 (Image theirs)