May 27th, 2010
Does Size Matter???
When the intent is to “trade up” to a better house, most people equate “better” with “larger.” Today’s economic situation tells us that while it’s a great time to BUY a house, it’s not such a great time to SELL one. So whether or not that “trade up” statement is true for you, the reality is that you are probably going to “stay put” for a while.
If you like your neighborhood, your neighbors, and the school system your kids are in, this could be a blessing in disguise. Oftentimes, a larger home means nothing more than larger utility bills and more empty rooms.
There are loads of improvements that can be made to a house that will make it so comfortable, functional and enjoyable to live in that you no longer WANT to move! Kitchens can be updated; rooms can be refurnished, rearranged OR repurposed; walls can be painted or otherwise recovered. Floors can be replaced–trade that dirt-collecting carpet for something easier to keep clean. Custom window treatments can be added or replaced for beauty, privacy, light control or any combination of reasons.
If you feel compelled to find a larger home because you ran out of room for all the “stuff” you’re hanging on to, perhaps it’s time to work with a professional organizer. It’s amazing what a sense of calm and relief it can be to get rid of all the clutter. What a wonderful way to expand your living space without moving to a new house or adding a room to the old one!
The best clients I have ever had the pleasure to work with live in an 1800 square foot house. That’s pretty small by today’s standards, but it’s absolutely gorgeous, if I do say so myself! An example of a modification to standard design is that their Kitchen is the only eating area in the house, so we put the breakfront in the adjacent Living Room. It looks just fine there.
I did wonders with their small space. Imagine what fabulous things I can do in yours!
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February 17th, 2010
About 15 years ago, when I was in my “Country/Traditional” mode, I purchased a used breakfront/hutch from a friend-of-a-friend who was moving to California and wanted to change her style. It’s solid Oak, and fit what was my taste at the time.
Now I’m redoing my Dining Room (finally!). My taste has changed a LOT over the years. I’m much more contemporary now. However, the breakfront is in great shape, and I really can’t afford to replace it. What’s a girl to do?
I changed the hardware! The original door knobs were antique brass lion’s heads with rings in their mouths
and the drawer pulls were sort of Colonial Williamsburg-looking.
I removed them and replaced them with oil rubbed bronze knobs and pulls (from Lowe’s, believe it or not). The piece, which used to look country/traditional now has a bit of an Arts and Crafts flair to it. The whole facelift cost around $50.
This is something that can work with your Kitchen cabinets, and any furniture that has doors or drawers. Even if the piece doesn’t have pulls or knobs, you can add them. That’s what power drills are for! 
One word of caution: With drawer pulls, the distance between the screws on most American pieces is 3” on center. Make sure the distance on the new ones is the same as the distance on the old ones. If they’re not, you may end up drilling when you weren’t prepared to, and filling in open holes, which if not done properly will make your piece look tacky.
Take a look around your house and see if there are any pieces that can be updated and therefore improved by changing the hardware. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results. And if you need my help with this, or any other design project, I’m only a phone call or email away.
Posted in Cabinet Hardware, Furniture | 45 Comments »
December 15th, 2009
Seems like a perfectly serviceable Family Room, right? Eh, maybe so…but it can be improved. Here are a few things I would do:
1) First the good news: The B&W photo arrangement is reasonably well-balanced and decently placed on the wall.
2) Now the bad news: The white shelf arrangements are somewhat redundant, poorly arranged, and too similar to the B&W photo arrangement. At least they should be located on another wall. At best, they should be in another room altogether.
3) Sofa, loveseat, chair and ottoman are all the same style and fabric. This is BORING. This is PREDICTABLE! Let’s mix it up a bit next time! Maybe all those pieces aren’t needed in that space. Or maybe if they are, some of them should be of different fabrics. Perhaps a pattern or a print of some kind.
Posted in Accessorizing, Color, Furniture, Trends, What's Wrong with This Picture? | 47 Comments »
November 16th, 2009
I get asked about design trends fairly regularly. People seem curious about them, and there are color trend seminars every year (often sponsored by paint companies).
Personally, I don’t pay much attention to the trends. Unless you have a completely empty house to fill, you probably shouldn’t either (unless it’s just intellectual curiosity, which I’d NEVER want to stifle!) Chances are that even if you want to do some design work in your home (with or without the assistance of an interior designer) you will be using one, some or many pieces that you already own (including artwork). Some of them can be modified (reupholstering a sofa, stripping and refinishing a cabinet, re-matting and reframing a picture, for example) but mostly, you’ll be using pieces you have the way they look right now. Those are the colors you need to work with, and it’s likely that the newest color trend isn’t going to coordinate very well with those pieces.
Also, even if you do a room “from scratch,” if you follow the current trend/fad, it’s going to look tired and dated in a couple of years. Will you be ready to redo that room at that time?
Dressing your room is not like dressing yourself. I don’t know about how the rest of the world handles this, but I own clothing that I end up wearing for a decade or more. If I DO purchase something extremely trendy, it is usually inexpensive and doesn’t hold up, anyway. (As you can tell, I don’t spend tens of thousands of dollars on clothing in a year!)
I’m going to paraphrase another designer (whose name I can’t remember, and I can’t find the article I read at this time, so If you know who said this, please attribute it to her!): Interior furnishings aren’t meant to be replaced in a year or two or maybe even five—they’re supposed to be with you for a long time.
Please make your selections wisely. If you don’t know how to do that on your own, call me. I can help.
Tags: Color, Design Trends, Furniture, Paint
Posted in Color, Trends | 144 Comments »
November 12th, 2009
There was an article in the 10/25/09 edition of Parade Magazine called “Why Shopping is Good Again.” The article is talking about shopping for consumer products, not necessarily those that are interior design related. However, I took away three points from it that I think can be applied to interior design:
1) “No longer is bigger synonymous with better.”
Make your current house more beautiful and functional, and the size will be immaterial. “Trading up” doesn’t have to mean buying a larger house. If you like your neighborhood, your neighbors, and (if applicable) the school system your kids are in, this housing/economic mess could be a blessing in disguise. Sometimes, a larger home means nothing more than larger utility bills and more empty rooms.
2) “A $200 dress you’ll wear 20 times holds far greater value than a $50 dress you’ll wear twice.”
There is no shortage of big box furniture stores. There are plenty of places to go to purchase a $500 sofa. However, how long will that sofa last? How durable is the fabric? How many fabric options do you have? Can you double the wear by flipping over the cushions? When it starts to fall apart, will it end up in a landfill? In the long run, you’re much better off purchasing higher end furniture. It is repairable, recoverable, will hold it’s value and functionality longer. You can donate it, sell it or hand it down. That $500 sofa may feel like a bargain now, but 2 or 3 years from now where will it be? Remember, a bargain is not necessarily a good value.
3) “Think about how it feels when something you’ve become attached to is lost…The item wasn’t all that expensive…but it mattered a great deal to you.”
I’ve had clients tell me “we don’t have to use that (piece of art, plant stand, Grandma’s chair, etc.) in the room—after all, I only paid $25 for it (or it was inherited, or whatever).” But if you love it, or feel sentimental about it, or it tells an important story about your life, please keep it. We can reframe it, or refinish it or repurpose it. Sometimes, those odd pieces of art or accessories or that little cabinet are the pieces that great family stories are made of. Good interior design doesn’t ignore those stories—it supports and solidifies them.
Tags: Furniture, Value
Posted in Furniture, Personal Values | 11 Comments »