What makes a comfortable conversation area?

This arrangement makes it easy to connect.

To create a comfortable conversation area, you can’t beat the classic “U-shape”.  Here are some ideas…

Two chairs flanking a sofa or love seat.  The chairs would face each other across a coffee table.

Two love seats facing each other, with a table between the love seats.  Place a chair or ottoman at either end.

Two chairs facing a sofa and squared off; a table between is optional, or add a small table next to each chair.  Add a low bench or two seating cubes at either end of the arrangement.

You can try a variation on these ideas by angling the furniture.  It doesn’t work in all rooms, but can be an interesting option.  Try placing two chairs across from the sofa, angled towards each other.

Ideally, you want your family or guests to easily reach a drink or refreshments on a table.

Let me know if you try any of these approaches!

Holiday Decorating Tips

Eclectic ornaments add a personal touch.

Decorating Tips

 This month it’s all about holiday decorations.

1.   Battery operated candles are useful and safer if you have a fireplace and a real Christmas tree. Scent free will not compete with the other holiday scents.

2.  Concentrate your holiday décor in the room(s) where you spend the most time.  Small items scattered about won’t have visual impact.

3.  Try multiple trees in the family room.  Have fun – a small one for the kids; perhaps a themed tree; and a large “anything goes” tree. Tie the look together with the same fabric or coordinated tree skirts.  Fabric stores have loads of remnants that are good for this purpose. 

4.  When you haul those boxes down from the attic, take a good look – are there decorations that you’ll never use again?  Donate them.

5. Please don’t mix the secular with the religious.  The giant snow globe?  The nativity scene?  Better if they are separated (front yard / back yard).

6. You can still have a festive feeling, even if you don’t follow Christmas.  Buy solid color ornaments in your holiday colors and place them in a vase or glass bowl; use white and gold runners/linens; bring in branches from the yard and place them in colorful vases.

7.   Put away your year round treasures and substitute your holiday collections.  Example:  remove the pottery from the armoire and fill it with your collection — Santas, Snowmen, etc. 

8.  Don’t stress out.  Your friends don’t really care about your house; they want to spend time with you.  Home Decorating is like a relationship – you can’t have perfect, but you can have pretty darn good!

The power of paint

Fall is a good time to paint, and refresh your rooms, before the holidays.

1.  Start by collecting ideas.  Inspiration can come from almost anywhere – the outfit you wear all the time; a favorite piece of art; or a picture in a magazine. 
2. Decide how you want the room to feel — soothing, energetic, or cozy?
3. Visit the paint store and select color strips that elicit an emotional response.  Do the colors work with your existing furnishings and accessories?
4. Painting multiple rooms?  Make the decision easier by picking one color strip and using several shades in adjacent rooms.  This will create continuity.
5. Feeling tentative about an intense shade?  Try it in small doses, such as a powder room. 
6. White is not the only option for ceilings.  Pick your wall color and then use another color on the strip for the ceiling.  I like to use a lighter shade for this application.
7. Try out samples on the walls.  Do they work with your accessories and furniture?
8. Still stuck?  Schedule a color consultation with me!

Down With Design Dictators

When you walk into a home you should receive a message about the owners’ lifestyle.  If all traces of their personalities have been erased, it makes you question – what happened here?

When picking a decorator or designer, here are a few issues to consider:

• Will she challenge you to consider new ideas for your home?
• Does she listen to what you like and dislike about your home and furnishings?
• Does she acknowledge your interests and hobbies?
• Is she willing to incorporate your treasures?
• Will the style of your home be considered in the overall design plan?
• Will she work with your budget?

Our job is to bring new ideas to our homeowners and to showcase the best of your home.  Listening skills are crucial. 

 If someone wants to wipe out all memories of your life – run like hell.

Picking paint colors under a tight deadline

So, you’re moving in a week and the painter is starting in three days, but you don’t know what colors you want. 

Don’t do this to yourself! 

Colors that you pick while under pressure may not be the colors you’ll love.

Most homeowners are happiest with the mid range on a color chip, so eliminate the two lightest and two darkest colors. 

Take the time to try out samples on the walls and check them out in different lighting.  Even better, prime the walls and then paint for a true view.

And, don’t try out the samples right next to each other.  All the colors will blend together and it will be hard to see the different shadings.

Follow these guidelines for a welcoming home and a happy moving day.

Decorating for Newlyweds

This is wedding season.  After the excitement of the ceremony, couples settle into their home and find themselves attempting to blend their belongings, which are often worlds apart!  These decorating tips from the spring issue of Chicago Bride magazine tackles this issue head on.

http://www.chicagobridemagazine.com/ChicagoBrideMagzineIssueIssue40.pdf

Simple ways to decorate the mantle

A fireplace can be a lovely focal point in any room.  As you’ll see in the photos of my home page at www.rightnowredesign.com, we used a large mirror, and just a few items to decorate the mantle, which reflects the modern decorating style of this family. 

When tackling a mantle, there are three time honored approaches, based on balance:

 Symmetrical:  identical objects surrounding a center piece.

 Asymmetrical:  Using items of different sizes and shapes to create a lively, energizing look.

 Radial:  Center item, with a group forming a half circle around the prominent item.

(Think of a collection of watches mounted around a center clock.)

Simple accessories for fall decorating 

This mirror from Ballard Designs is simple and elegant.  I love that you can hang it in either direction, which makes it versatile and adds value to the purchase.  When you get tired of it over the mantle you can use it in another room – think of it in the dining room opposite the table, with candles flickering and the mirror reflecting the light.

http://www.ballarddesigns.com/shopping/product/zoom/altviewmain.jsp?iProductID=10136&Default=view

My clients with children worry about candle safety.  There are several sources that sell battery operated ones, including Crate ‘n Barrel.  I’ve also found them at:

http://www.batteryoperatedcandles.net/round-pillar.html 

(I stayed at a high end hotel recently in downtown Chicago and my husband caught me looking at the bottom of the faux candle in the bathroom)!

Decorating for Newlyweds

Getting married or know a couple about to start their lives together? Your goal should be to have your space reflect both personalities and this new stage of your lives.

 1)   The key to Couple Design Heaven is the word compromise. 

 2)   Don’t start off married life with a bed you shared with a serious significant other.  If you’re headed towards the altar, first head towards the furniture store and shop together for this significant purchase.  Same goes for linens.

 3)   When designing a room together, one person should pick the colors while the other sets up the furniture layout.  Each person gets one veto and then you have to accept their decision.   Go for a classic look as opposed to a theme.

4)   If you’ve lived on your own for a while, you may have two of everything.  Set a time when you’re both relaxed and survey your belongings – one by one.  BE BRUTAL!   Who has the newer (in better condition) couch, fridge, etc.?   

 5)   Give the second chance items away to charity or sell them.  Reward yourselves by taking the money and buy something for the home that you will both enjoy. 

 6)   Display photographs of your favorite activities:  golf, cooking, kayaking, football, painting, etc.   These could be shared activities or ones that you like to do on your own.  Six on a wall (8×10) or (11 x 14) will have greater impact.  By displaying them together you are showing the world you are united as a couple.

 7)   Let go of guilt!  If an item doesn’t reflect this stage of your lives, let it go.  Life is too short to be surrounded by items that aren’t useful or pleasing.   Take a photo with you holding the item — you’ll always have the memory!

 8)   Start a collection together… this could be black and white photography, ceramics, or an emerging artist.  It’s a great way to express yourselves and tell the world what you are about as a couple.  Organize your collections by color or texture or category.

 9)   Men:  We really hate 68” flat screen TVs.  Women:  We really hate 18 pillows piled on the bed.

 10)  If your partner hates it, let it go.  I mean truly hates it.

September Decorating Tips

September is National Home Therapy Month.  Working on your home can provide a sense of peace and quiet satisfaction.  September is a good month to:      

Paint a room that is looking shabby.  A fresh coat of paint remains the easiest and quickest way to transform a room.  

Put away the summer-feeling accessories and bring out the textured items that make a room feel cozy – vases, pillows, chenille throws. 

Frame three summer photos in a large format (for greater impact).  They’ll remind you of happy memories when the rain is pouring and the snow is flying. 

Have the fireplace flue cleaned.  It’s almost always the focal point of a room.  Play it up, but remember – less is more.  Too many knick knacks will detract from its beauty.   

Make sure you have enough lighting in the rooms that are used the most.  One overhead fixture is useful but it doesn’t create ambiance.  Consider using a mix of table and floor lamps.  Dark rooms are dismal.       

Donate those items you never use.  You know that lamp in the corner of the basement that you hate?   The holidays are coming and more stuff will be coming into the house.  One item in, one item out!

Make sure your entryway is clear of clutter and is inviting.  The entryway or foyer is perfect for a small lamp, attractive storage baskets and a mirror.  Make the first step inside welcoming.

Refresh, reclaim, redo… look around your home and see if you can move an accessory or piece of furniture to give  you a mini redesign.  A little change is good and so satisfying when you use wh at you own!