Teddi, i will be downsizing in the near future from a lovely old country farmhouse, to an urban brownstone apartment; four bedrooms will be down to two. i'd like to keep the country feel and i'll be adding a new couch and some artwork. i am also having a hard time letting go of my collections: baskets, black tole trays and china plates. any suggestions? you;re the best! love ya, trudy
My answer:
Trudy--
What an exciting time for you! (You know, they can't keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Parie! Okay, after they've been to the city, anyway!)
Now, to your question:
Walls!! They are a great place to display collections, both on shelves and attached directly to the walls. A neat trick is to add "faux soffit space" bu putting a high shelf all around the room. This would be a great place to display your baskets, trays and plates without taking up valuable room. You can get lighting strips to highlight them at any home depot or Lowe's.
(How does that grab you?)
A wonderful trick for unifying a room is to use a repeating motif. For example, you could purchase a fleur-de-lis stamp and use it above the chair rail, repeat the pattern with the drapery rod finials, a lamp finial, etc. Keep in mind, though that too much repetition can lead to monotony.
Collections. They should always include pieces of like scale, but different shapes or colors, from subtle (all the same size rectangular frames with different matting sizes), to less so (a collection of blue vases in round, cylindrical, square). Always something to unify them(another choice would be items that perform the same function: teapots, ice cream scoops, etc) and something to distinguish them (otherwise you’re collection becomes the stock shelf at Macy’s.
Have pets that shed? Summer is the worst time for shedding, so protect your furniture (and your clothes) by throwing a pretty sheet or piece of fabric over the couch where Rover likes to sit, or by covering that spot in the sunshine where Kitty likes to nap with some sherpa fabric. The cat will love it, and you can simply whisk it away when company comes, or when you're wearing your black capris and don't want a furry bottom.
I adore the element of surprise, though one must always keep in mind that there are all types of surprises. A heavy wooden table surrounded by delicately twisted iron chairs from Mexico can be a wonderful treat for the eyes. An orange shag rug in a pale blue dining room? Not so much. Some surprises work. Some don’t.
Nothing looks better against a dark wall than white. Here's a dreamy idea for a bedroom. Paint the walls a deep blue and attach a lace border (get lace by the yard at the fabric store--I recommend at least a four inch width) either below or in place of your ceiling molding. Heavenly! And it costs little and is easy to put up--just staple it!
On the theory that you can't have too much glass, how about storing your wine glasses on a glass shelf in front of the window? The glasses will catch the sunlight and make patterns of light dance across your room as the sun crosses the sky.
Last year I picked up a few sheets on sale and turned them into tablecloths for my round umbrella table by cutting them into a circle, cutting a split to the center and cutting a hole in the center big enough for the umbrella. I trimmed the whole thing with seam binding and then sewed on little button tabs to close it .with.Adorable, cheap, and best of all, I throw it in the washer and dryer and put it right back on the table!
A little trick--change the photos you have out to relect the season. Nothing says summer like your windblown sister on a boat. Nothing says winter like your children in their snowsuits building a snowman!
Three cheers for the red while and blue in decorating! It's a color scheme you can't go wrong with, it's just a matter of which one to emphasize. Red, with white and blue accents, makes a strong statement. It's bold and bright and can be either formal (the darker the red the more formal you can go) or cheerful (think candy-apple red). Blue is serene, nautical, calming. Red warms it in the winter, white cools it in the summer. White can be stark and is best used to excess only in garden rooms and summer houses.
J Rose wants to change the look of her house for the summer without spending much. J, it's easy. The primary difference between a summer look and a winter look is the number and type of accessories. I recommend taking all the accessories out of your room for the summer and then replacing only a few, those which reflect the time of year. In the winter crowd your room and it will feel cozy and warm.
Take down your winter drapes and put up sheers or lace curtains in their place. Hide all your velvets, brocades, etc. and put out linen throw pillows. You can even throw something light over
your couch as long as it has fringe or trim.
Often less is more, especially in the summer, when clutter alone can make you feel hot. Try clearing off your nightstands, your end tables, all the surfaces that have been gathering "junk" for the last who-know-how-many months. Then return to the surfaces only things you miss and need. Aahhh. Feels better already, doesn't it?
A focal point can be architectural, like a window or fireplace; decorative like a painting or sculpture; or functional, like a seat grouping. Whatever it is, it sets the tone for the room and should shout ,"This is who I am. I live here!"
I always keep three small color swatches which match the paint in my living room, dining room and bedroom. That way when I'm in TJMaxx shopping for clothes and I wander into the housewares aisle and see the perfect whatever, I know whether or not it's really as perfect as I think.
S.McKenzie writes to ask if little things really make a big difference. Well, of course they do! As an easy example, think of light switches. When you see a light switch covered in matching wallpaper, you think "decorator." When you see a brass one, you think "fortunoff's." When you see a white plastic one, you think "builder's cheapest" or "wallmart." What image do you want the light to shine on in your house?
Area rugs can be so expensive! If you want the look but can't pay the price, try finding a great piece of bound carpet and adding the fringe yourself. Fringe can be bought at most craft stores and can be attached fairly easily with buttonhole thread and a leather needle.
And while we're on the subject of fringe, consider getting those trims that have the beads hanging down and adding them to the bottom of chair seats, lampshades, patio umbrellas, even cabinets--they are a fun, funky look and can be attached with a few staples into the tape so that you only see the beads. For attaching them to the umbrella or fabric, you could sew them or use some velcro tape if the item is washable.Best of all, when you're tired of the look they can be easily removed.
In answer to several queries, it's easy to cover your light switch plates. I recommend using Modgepodge (remember that stuff from the decoupage days? It's still out there!)to both attach the wallpaper/tissuepaper/fabric to your old plastic plate. Work on something nonstick--possibly that new aluminum foil. Cut the covering to leave enough wallpaper to fold about a half inch around the back of the plate. Do not cut the screw holes or switch slot until you are done with the entire project! Coat the plastic with the modgepodge and then turn it over onto the back of the wallpaper. Add modgepodge to the back and fold the paper over. You may need to really saturate it to get it pliable enough to stick. When dry, turn it over and coat the entire surface with more modgepodge to make it durable. When dry, use an exacto knife to cut the switch slot and poke the screw holes with an icepick or an awl. Easy! You can cover the plates with pictures of flowers, cartoons, whatever you want.
When I figure out how to post new pictures, I'll post some switchplates.
Ceilings tend to look incomplete without molding, but molding can be very expensive. What's a poor girl to do? Try stapling a wide ribbon at the top edge of your walls. If you're craftier, you might try stenciling a design up there. There's always pre-pasted wallpaper trim on sale at Home Depot. Craft stores like Jo-Anne's always have trim on sale. Just imagine a lace edge against the soft blue of your bedroom walls. . .
Summer is here! Time to make your house look like it. White is the summery-est color, and using white linens on the beds (Sew two top sheets together, use seam binding around the edges and you have a summer weight blanket for next to nothing)shouts "cool."Other summer looks are light blues; red,white and blue; navy and white stripe.
A fireplace is a wonderful focal point, but don't neglect it's potential impact in the summer. Fill it with a variety of candles (all the same color, different heights and widths, or all the same shape, different colors)or put a flower arrangement in it. If you place a mirror at the back of the firebox it will double the effect. Remember, though, to take it out in the fall before you light a fire!
Every entryway needs a place for extra coats and hats, and a place to check your make-up and hair before you go out. Fake a halltree in your entry way with moldings and fancy coat hooks around a mirror. Add a small dresser, night stand or narrow table beneath your mirror and you are all set for a lot less than that hall tree at the antique store will set you back.
If you have a decorating question you would like answered, please feel free to contact me by clicking on the contact me link at the left of your screen. I will try to answer your question in a future column.
Teddi
I always recommend that clients splurge on their bedding. A person spends something like one third of his or her life in bed, and that’s too much time to be relegated to second class status. With good quality sheets and towels available reasonably at every outlet mall and on the Internet, why wake up feeling like you’ve spent the night at Bob’s Cabins Off Interstate 6 instead of The Plaza on Central Park?
Just as scale matters when it comes to selecting your furniture, intensity matters when it comes to painting your walls. Try for all muted tones, or for all jewel tones, but don't mix one with the other or the brights will seem overly so and the muted colors will seem dull in comparison.
Bathrooms are great for redecorating because of their size. Even changing the color of your towels can have a big impact. Of course, everyone wants new fixtures, but sometimes all that's really needed is new lighting, some wallpaper a new rug and you're good to go for very little money.
For lots of people summer means eating out on their decks, terraces, backyards. But keeping those tables clean, and washing and ironing those tablecloths can take the fun out of summer and send you back indoors faster than the bugs.