Archive for May, 2009

One of the biggest challenges of furnishing a room for a showhouse is finding enough furniture and accessories to fill the space.  For designers like Susan and I, who don’t have a store or showroom, we “depend on the kindness of strangers”.  (Don’t you just love Blanche’s line in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire?)

We didn't have any trouble finding lots of color at World Market

World Market came to our rescue and provided us with anything we needed.  Katherine and Ali were so much fun to work with and loaned us a desk and chair, table,  cabinet and all kinds of accessories

Ali was a great help with picking out furniture.

The desk "Before"

We didn’t paint the walls or the ceiling and the furniture we brought in was dark wood and wicker.  So accessories and fabric had to carry the color load.

You don’t have to spend lots of money to get a really great space.  I know it’s a cliché, but once you start “thinking outside the box,” you will find all kinds of clever ways to decorate.  The basic desk and chair are OK, but add a dining table runner and it becomes “Wow!”

The desk "After" -- Wow!

This little cabinet takes the place of the missing closet

The corner cabinet really popped with colorful towels, books and girly stuff.

A colorful vignette on the cabinet top.

Think odd numbers when creating a display.  Things always look better in odd number groups whether you are arranging items on a mantle, dresser or bookshelf.  The lunch box can hold all kinds of trinkets.  A few touches of lime green offered a nice contrast to all the purple and orange.

The house opens to the public June 6.  Stayed tuned for more of the big reveal!

The housing market crisis has dominated the news for months.   Hopefully spring and summer will bring a turn around and those who want to sell will find buyers and those who want to buy will get financing.  In the mean time, there are several things you can do to get your house ready for the market.   Even if you don’t have plans to sell, these simple updating ideas can give your home a fresh look at little cost.

One thing clients always seem concerned about is the resale value of anything they do in their home.   I answer with a question:   How long to do plan to stay?   If the answer is more than two years, my advice is to decorate for you.   After all, your home should reflect your personal style.   If the answer is two years or less, then you should consider resale when making choices.

I know it’s hard to look at your home with a critical eye and really see it as though for the first time.   That’s where I come in.   I assess your home and come up with suggestions for selling.   I look at your things and the architecture with an objective eye.   I will be honest about what goes, what stays and how to get the biggest bang for your buck.

These simple tips can make your house stand out in a competitive selling market.

Clear the clutter. That means the entire house and closets too.

• Pack up the personal items and family photos.

• Make sure toys are out of sight.

• Organize three piles: donations, trash, keepsakes. Anything you plan to keep put in boxes and send to a storage unit.

Start with the floors

• What condition is the carpeting?   Can it be cleaned to look new?

• Is the color neutral or dated?   If you still have mauve from the 70’s, it’s time to rip it out.

• Wood floors are a great selling feature; otherwise, replace old carpet with a neutral color.

• (As much as I hate builder’s beige, even I recommend neutral colors for selling a home!)

Paint is still the cheapest way to update any room.

• Neutral colors help sell the house, but that doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all color.  Pale, soft colors can stand in as neutrals.

• Prospective buyers want to imagine their furniture and personal items in the space.

• If you have strong colors in the living areas and master bedroom, you will need to invest in paint.  (Have I mentioned paint?)
  

Play up the best features.

• If you have a fireplace, make sure it is the focal point.

• If the view is spectacular, emphasis the windows.

• Window treatments are expensive, so draperies can help sell the house.  However, if your are faded, dirty or droopy take them down.  If the window needs covering, invest in inexpensive panels.

• Room should be obvious.  A dining room should have a table and chairs.  An office a desk, bedrooms, beds and dresser, etc.
  

Bigger is better.   Everyone wants big rooms with as much space as possible.

• Make your rooms feel bigger by eliminating extra furniture and accessories.

• You’ve already removed the clutter and personal items, not take out the accessories and furniture you don’t need.

• By giving away the potted tree (fake or real) you’ve just opened up a corner.

• The magazine rack or basket of DVDs can be stored in the closet-instant floor space.

• If you can’t walk around the bed, remove a dresser or two. Being able to see the floor makes the room appear bigger.

Clean the kitchen

• Remove the kid’s artwork from the refrigerator.

• Clear your kitchen counters.   Keep the basic necessities (a coffee maker, canisters, basket with spoons) everything else gets put away.

• Straighten the pantry.   Neat and organized makes it look bigger.

Let me know if you need help getting ready to put your house on the market.   If you are in the Milwaukee area, I can do an assessment in person.   If you live across the country contact me and we can do a virtual update by e-mail!

If you are planning to sell, it’s important to get the house ready.   But why put off fixing up your house and then do it for future owners and not your family?  If you go to the trouble and expense of updating or redecorating, shouldn’t you enjoy the outcome too?

We serve brunch at our house every Mother’s Day.  I like to set the table and my husband Tom’s specialty is breakfast, it’s a perfect fit!  This year, my Mom made homemade doughnuts and my sister Elaine, brought a delicious version of double baked potatoes served in ramekins.  We spent a lovely morning chatting over blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes and champagne mimosas.

Table for 10

Vertical placemats

I had to set the table for 10 and planned to use placemats, since it was a casual meal.  By laying the mats vertically instead of the usual horizontal, it allowed for more room on the table.

"Sailboat" napkin

The navy and white mats set the tone for a nautical theme.  The napkins are folded in a sailboat pattern.

Place setting

We had lots of sea shells left over from a party last summer, so I scattered them on the table and used them as placecard holder.

Sea shell placecard holders

I simply cut a small piece of paper, wrote everyone’s name on each and curled the ends with a scissors (like you do with curling ribbon).  I inserted an end into an open shell.

Brunch by candle light

Candles are great and look charming at each place setting, but always move them to the center of the table before anyone starts to eat! I chose yellow as an accent color with white dinner plates.

Tulips and Seashells

You know how much I love tulips and use them almost every day until the season is over (and the season is always too short!).

What more can a Mother ask for than to be surrounded by family?

Designers and painters have started work on the
Breast Cancer Show House this week.  We aren’t painting
our room, but Sue and I are busy making pillows and a
bedspread and more pillows and more pillows!  It will
be quite the comfy, cozy haven when we are finished.

Pillow Fabrics

Bright fabrics

Pillow fabric 1

Faux suede in orange

Hot pink!

Interior design is really about problem solving.
Identify the problem and find the best solution.
The biggest problem in our Showhouse bedroom,
are the slanted ceilings and short walls.
We have to use furniture that will fit the space.
That eliminates all dressers, cabinets and head boards.

We started moving furniture to our room at the Breast Cancer Showhouse.
Sara Pudlosky, an interior design student at Mount Mary College and her
husband David were gracious enough to offer their assistance.  Susan and
I appreciated the extra hands hauling awkward furniture up to the third floor and taking the door down to the basement!

Sara and David helping move furniture

Had to move the door from the 3rd floor to the basement! Thanks Sara and David!

Although the bedroom has a beautiful wood floor, we wanted to add a big
splash of color to the space.  Who doesn’t appreciate a warm cozy rug under
their tootsies when they get up in the morning?  Susan found a fabulous
purple shag rug that will be perfect.

Perfect match to the bedding fabric!

Just what we were looking for -- purple shag rug

Our draperies will be casual panels and scarf swags out of the sheer
orange fabric from Duralee.  Deb Westley at Neu’s Hardware Gallery introduced us to a wonderful glass artist who makes cabinet hardware.  We chose a vibrant multi-colored glass square for our drapery hardware.  They are totally unexpected and will really set off the window treatments.  Hardware stores are great places to look for unique ways to hang draperies.

Sample of glass hardware

We like this style with more purple and shimmer

I’m still working on designing a lamp shade for the ceiling light.
The original brass flush mount fixture was very outdated.  The homeowner
has since replaced it with and antique fixture.  Although I love antique
and vintage lighting, it just doesn’t go with our design scheme.  I plan
to create something more colorful and a bit funky for our “young artist”.

Love the light, just not quite right for our room

An 80's nightmare!

We have two weeks to finish the space.  Like most showhouse projects,
we will be working down to the wire!