Archive for the ‘Design Tips’ Category

One of the first questions I ask a new client is “How long do you expect to live here?”  My design advice differs If you plan to sell in less than 2 years versus staying longer.  Homeowners should decorate their home for themselves unless the move is imminent.

1)  If a sale is in the near future, fresh paint is the easiest and cheapest way to update the house.  I’m an advocate of color, but a potential buyer won’t be able to get past bold turquoise or burgundy walls.

2)  Arranging furniture is difficult for most people and impossible for the seller.  The biggest and hardest thing the seller has to do is downsize.  Grandma’s antique chair (or hutch or table or whatever) may be a beloved favorite, but if it’s taking up space, send it to storage.


3)  The buyer’s first impression should be “wow, look at how big this room is!”  That will be achieved when the clutter and excess is gone.


4)  The furniture should be arranged toward a focal point.  That could be the fireplace if there is one.  Otherwise, the view or a beautiful piece of artwork or even the TV.


5)  A furniture plan should allow for easy mobility and separate the seating area from the walk path or the front door.


6)  If the home has an open plan, there should be some distinction between the areas.  The dining room should be separate from the living space.


7)  Cleanliness and neatness should be the first item on the to-do list for the seller.  Potential buyers can overlook paint and carpeting, but will run for exit if the first thing they see is dirt and disorganization and chaos!

8)  Of course curb appeal can kill a sale before the potential buyer gets in the door.  A well maintained yard is a must.  Make sure there isn’t any peeling paint or shutters or gutters in disrepair.

A quick way to update an existing lamp shade is to add trim.  The addition of gold cord and tassels to this simple red shade makes it more formal and stately.  Have fun; there are lots of fabulous, colorful trims you can add to any shade.  A hot glue gun is the only tool you need to go from plain to regal or funky!

Dress up a lamp shade with trim and cord

Tip # 6
Tea light candles are the perfect size for little egg cups.  Set one at each place setting at your dinner table or make them part of the centerpiece.  Every interior design scheme should include candle light!

Here's another tip: leave the tea lights in the metal case. You won't have to clean out melted wax!

Tip 4
If your children are young, you color eggs before Easter Sunday.  If your family is all grown up, bring back the tradition.  Boil eggs ahead of time and have  food coloring ready along with markers, chalk, paint,  glue, bits and pieces of ribbon and any other art supplies you have on hand.  Grown kids can have just as much fun as little ones creating their own work of egg-art!

Write names on your decorated eggs to use as place settings at dinner!

Tip 5
Display your decorated eggs in egg cups and use as place cards at dinner.

Pastels With Punch

Pink and grey are perfect for an Easter meal.

An easy way to introduce retro into your home decorating is at the dinner table.  Unpack grandma’s good china and use it every day.  Sets of dishes from the 50s and 60s can be found for a song at flea markets, resale stores and antique shops.  Make an investment before the market realizes their popularity and their value sky rockets.

Check out the little handle on this bowl. It's a perfect dish for kids.

Speaking of bargains, I love this set of pink and grey dishes I found at Goodwill.  Although they are unmarked, the hand drawn lines are reminiscent of a few decades past.  The best part of collecting dishes, it doesn’t matter if they coordinate with your interior design, dishes do not have to match anything!

The touch of grey keeps the place setting from being too feminine.

What could be more perfect for an Easter luncheon?  The square salad plate offers a nice contrast to the round dishes.  Even if I don’t serve a meal with multiple courses, I still use lots of dishes just to make the setting more interesting.  If you aren’t having a salad, save the plate for dessert.

The most interesting tables have layers and contrast. The square salad plate gives an edginess to all the curves.

If your dining room table has a beautiful finish, no need to cover it up with a table cloth.  These pink linen napkins are big enough to serve as place mats and offer a nice contrast.

The napkins almost looks like bunny ears!

There are dozens of ways to fold napkins.   Tucking a grey cotton napkin into a frosted polka dot glass keeps the table from being too serious.

Instead of the usual Easter basket, serve candy in old-fashion apothecary jars.

Have fun with your centerpiece.  Instead of flowers, fill apothecary jars with jelly beans, chocolate eggs and Easter grass.

Plastic Easter eggs can hold love sentiments, notes of thanks or even gift cards.

Hide little surprises in the plastic eggs for your family to discover while you’re dining.

Celebrate the season the old-fashion way with Retro dishes.

Celebrate the season!

This week  Room Service will have Interior Design tips every day for your Easter celebration.

Tip 2
You can’t possibly update your home in a week, so buy a new tablecloth or napkins and instantly transform your dining room decor!

Brighten your holiday table with a lime green table cloth. The grosgrain napkin ring keeps utensils neatly tucked into the folded napkin. A perfect solution for an Easter brunch.

Tip 3
Buy a horseradish root and serve fresh shavings with your ham or sausage.  Be careful, this is hot stuff!

Check back every day for decorating ideas!

How you use color says so much about your Signature Style. It’s a glimpse into who you really are.  Look at your wardrobe.  Chances are you have colorful clothes.  Even it you wear lots of black, I’m guessing you pair it with blouses and turtlenecks in colors that make you feel good.

The same thing should apply to your personal decorating.  So many people are afraid of color, they choose none. Their walls have the same “builder’s beige” from when they moved in or simply settle with white.  (I don’t care what the label says; white in its multitude of shades is still white!)

Monochromatic rooms are a challenge to pull off in interior design.  An all white room can be beautiful and effective if you pay very close attention to detail.   That means you need lots of texture, various shades and tints of white and (I can’t help myself) a touch or splash of a contrasting color.  It’s even more effective when the room has lots of windows with natural light.

All white rooms are even better with a touch of color

Although this room has white walls and furniture, the wood floor, area rug and dining room chairs and table add other pale hues and textures.  The round light shades and plants soften the sharp angles and horizontal lines in the room.  Little touches of black and silver (media unit, window frames, fireplace and stack) keep the room vibrant. The lime green wall and little accessories add a brilliant punch of color.  Had the green wall been another shade of white, the room would be more calm and serene, but not nearly as beautiful.

That’s may opinion. I would love to hear what you think.  Lime green wall or all white?  Leave your comment below.

Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day.  I don’t have to pretend, I’ve got Irish ancestors and strawberry blonde hair to prove it!  Because of my hair color,  I was always told that redheads should dress in Kelly green but never did until lime became fashionable (I was such a rebel!).   So I decided to create a St. Patty’s Day table using the non-traditional chartreuse.

Create an updated Irish table with lime green

Monochromatic color schemes (everything one color only) can work in interior design and on the table if you incorporate different shades, hues and lots of texture.  I wanted to set my table with what I already had around the house and didn’t have any trouble finding enough for a table for 4!

Place mats are a good alternative to a table cloth

I pulled out an antique side table with drop leaves from my living room for an intimate dinner.  The woven and embroidered placemats cover most of the top when overlapped.  No need to worry about spills or hot food.

Classic white dinner plates can be the foundation for any table

If you don’t have a set of white dinner plates, start looking for some.  I bought these on sale from Pottery Barn a few years ago and have two other sets from Goodwill.  You can never have too many white dishes.

The clear salad plates with a cut vine design came from an antique store. The label said Heisey, but I haven’t been able to verify that claim.  If you know one way or the other, please leave me a comment below.  They are very pretty and delicate and sold as a set of 8.

"Paint" your own dinnerware

No need to purchase special dinnerware for a once a year meal.  Create your own by placing a little design under a clear plate.  I cut out shamrocks from some left over green craft foam I had.   I drew mine free hand, but you can look for clip art to copy.

Napkins are tied with a matching green plastic wire.

Tie a cord around fan folded napkins

My sister gave me some battery-light candles.  No dripping wax or fear of fire (she knows about my passion for lime green).  I scattered some polished glass stones and craft ribbon on the table.

I added a little drawing to the centerpiece. Looks like an Irish village.

I love this little drawing of an antique village.  Could it be Ireland?.

Beer is the beverage of choice to go with corned beef and cabbage and will look great in the cut glass pilsners.  Add a postcard to each placesetting and the conversation will be off to a great start.

Toast to good health and friendship.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And my God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
~Irish Blessing

Create your own award show party

Movie fans all over the country eagerly watch the Academy Awards ceremony on TV.  I’m a big movie fan, but the TV show does nothing for me personally.  I like to see what the women are wearing and who won the major awards and  I’m always curious to find out if any of the movies I’ve seen during the year are nominated. But I can get the scoop Monday on a morning news show.

Create a glitzy and elegant bar

I like to make the event more fun by hosting an Oscar party.  It’s the perfect opportunity for a wine or champagne tasting party (it gives guests something to do during the boring segments of the show!).  Have everyone bring a bottle of their favorite beverage.  Since it’s Sunday night and no one will want to dress up, tell your gal pals to get decked out in all the bling they can find.  The more glitz, the better.  Even diamonds look great with jeans!

I pulled this little bar together in half an hour with things I found around my house.  You know me, I love to entertain so I have lots of stuff to set all kinds of tables, but you will be surprised at what you own too.  It doesn’t matter what your interior design looks like, carve out a little piece of Hollywood glamor in your own family room.

Find any little table for a make shift bar

Gold lame is the foundation for an Oscar theme party

Place a table near your TV for easy access.  I covered mine with a gold vinyl tablecloth I bought at Goodwill (I used it for a Mardi Gras party a few years ago).

Glass reflects the gold and light

Then find all the gold, silver and crystal you have stashed away.  What better occasion to use the “fancy” stuff than a celebrity style party.

Crystal candlesticks can be picked up for a song at Goodwill and antique stores.  Choose a variety of sizes to give height to the table.  I added a pair of mismatched silver tapers, but you can use gold ones too.

Serve drinks in your best glasses

Every table, even a bar needs height

Bring out your best champagne flutes and wine glasses.  A pewter compote topped with a
silver tray makes an elegant way to display glasses.  Throw on whatever jewelry you aren’t wearing.  It’s all about the bling, baby!

Bring out all the gold and silver accessorizes you can find

Even simple snacks look elegant in a cut crystal candy dish.  Pull out all the stops.

Pretzels become gourmet food when served in a beautiful dish!

Scatter gold stars and faux diamonds around the table for more shimmer and shine.

Throw lots of confetti around the table.

As your guests discuss the bouquet, clarity and body of the wine, be sure they jot down their comments in a wine journal.  In fact, these make great party favors.  Give one to each person as they arrive.  Everyone leaves with details about the bottles they tasted and will remember the ones they liked best.  Tally the votes and announce the winning wine with drum roll and fancy envelope.

Have party journals on hand for guests to write in

Hand out wine journals to everyone

For the fun of it, invest in a movie journal too.  Have each person critique their favorite or worse movie of the year.

You can record the winning movies or write about your favorites that didn't get nominated

I took down the painting I had on the wall behind my make-shift bar (didn’t go with the theme) and added a carved gold frame from an old picture to fill in the blank.  You can use a movie  poster  for a backdrop.

Even an empty frame can be a piece of art!

This frame might not fit your interior design, but it really works for this party!

My challenge was to create a fun party setting without spending any money on props.  You can serve caviar or potato chips, Dom Perignon or diet soda.  Doesn’t matter, get carried away with the theme, invite the neighbors and have fun cheering or jeering!

Make it as glamorous as you can

This setting is reminiscent of the 1930s

Anna Quindlen said, “I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consist of mostly building enough bookshelves.”

Although I love books, read every day and collect various works, book shelves aren’t just for holding books.  In fact built-in or free standing shelving can solve all sorts of display and storage issues.

An old store shelving unit is perfect for display

The patina of worn paint gives the piece character

It even has wheels in case I need to move it.

It took me a lot of hunting to find the right shelf to fill an empty corner in my family room.  Fortunately I’m very patient when it comes to furniture.  I would rather do without than to settle for something I don’t love.  This white shelving unit probably came from a store of some sort.  It’s sturdy, has wheels and with just enough chipped paint to give it some charm.  The size is perfect for my empty space.

Displaying collections can be a challenge.  Remember the rule that things have a greater impact when grouped together instead of spread around the room.  So, throughout the year I will re-do my shelf to give you tips and ideas on how to display your own collections.

I had not idea I had this many wood boxes!

The simplest display is to group like items.  I didn’t start out collecting wood boxes, but when I pulled them all together, I realized I had enough to show-off.  I rearranged and played around with them until I found an arrangement that looked good.

• I placed the heavier trunk on the bottom.  Had I put it on the top shelf, the whole unit would have felt top-heavy.

Put the heavier items on the bottom shelves

• Stagger pieces; pull some forward and others behind.  Overlapping items gives depth and dimension.

Stagger the boxes for depth and dimension.

• Pay attention to height.  None of the items should be the same height on a shelf.  Stack them up to create height or use risers (like books!).   I placed the painted box on its side so the design is visible.

Separately, each box has its own shape, color and texture, but together they tell a story.  The collection makes an impact.

The shelf becomes a focal point with a single collection.

I can't pass up cute little doll house chairs.

I also have some miniature chairs.  Anything this tiny is much more difficult to display.  They would get lost if I set them on a shelf all alone.  But when paired with a couple of boxes, they stand out.

Use the same display principles for the chairs.

Pair of traditional dining chairs in miniature

Even little items have a big impact when grouped together

Voila! In no time I created an interesting display.

Go hunting in your own house.  You might be amazed at what you’ll find.