Simple changes with a BIG impact

   Five weeks ago I got a desperate call from a customer I hadn't seen for about eight years.  She was going to be a first time grandma and had received a phone call from her daughter-in-law asking to have the baby shower at her house.  Thrilled and immediately thrown into a panic, she said yes and started dialing.  The next day I made a consultation appointment to get our time frame and list of what needed to be done.  

   Oddly enough, the back of the house and yard were ready to go.  The front living room and dining room had been neglected since the late 80's.  Furniture was outdated and sun faded, swags and jabots were threadbare and everything looked worn.  The dining room was never used so it had outdated swags that dwarfed the window, set of table and chairs and an antique hutch from the customer's grandmother.    The first thing we did was make a list of things that had to go.  

         (1) All swags and jabots were to be removed and disposed of.  Too worn to donate or give away.

         (2) Could the furniture be kept and possibly new window treatments, rugs and artwork?  Only if we can find fabric and/or rugs to make the fabric feel updated.

         (3) The customer felt overwhelmed with the 5 week time frame so I took painting the spaces off the agenda.  The walls were in excellent condition and painted a soft white.  It would do!

         (4) The husband made it clear he didn't want the wife to regret anything when I left and he didn't want to hang, move, transfer or return anything.

   Ok, so we had our list and we had to get moving.  The first meeting, all the window treatments were removed.  After a couple of hours of shopping, everything we could find made the fabric look faded and completely outdated.  So we went shopping to a place that has a great turnaround, excellent customer service and the prices are awesome.  I shopped to see what was there and had the customer meet me to look at what I had chose.  Her and her husband sat on everything, they loved the fabric and we could get it in 4 weeks.  AMAZING!  Her husband later called me and said that she had NEVER made a decision that quickly and he was impressed.  If she didn't cry at the end of this affair, I was worth anything I could charge.  Ahwwww.....how sweet!!!  

   Next came the rugs, lamps, artwork and window treatments.  The sofa and chair were in oatmeal, a matching chair in a gorgeous print with a neutral background and an open armed chair with exposed legs and a little curvy, in red with a small print.  Lovely, but we can still use another couple of prints.  Think big scale, a couple medium scale prints and a couple of small prints.  Always mixed in odd numbers 1, 3, 5.... Take my word for it, it works.  That would come from the window treatments and accessories.  Rugs take the longest to get in, so I gave them 3 options for a living room rug and a companion rug for the dining room.  They chose, we ordered and those came in 2 weeks and were gorgeous.  

   At this point, they were amazed that we had gotten this far so quickly.  Also, a little nervous over what they had spent.  So, I gave them 48 hours to shop and see if there was anything available that could work with our color palette.  I gave them the fabric swatches and they were on a hunt.  They did find something for the dining room but after getting it home, they thought it was too heavy, weighed the window down and didn't like the overall look.  I got the phone call to find some fabric.  They already have the privacy issue taken care of with 2" white wood blinds so this was more of a softening to the windows.  I wanted to go up higher with the window treatments and did a 1 1/2" wood rod in a dark stain, like the dining room set, with rings and finials and pinch pleated drapes.  Clean, simple and very elegant.  Also, did them in the red which is heavily in the rug of the living room but only on the border of the dining room rug.  

   The living room was a little difficult because they have a radius bowed window.  A difficult window to dress with very little space to mount hardware and no space to fix standard rods to.  Plus, we didn't want to cover the windows.  They had gotten used to nothing on them but the blinds and loved the light.  My solution was to do 1/2 width pinch pleated drapes, with simple rods that would be hidden behind the drape in a sage, yellow green that pulled in the print from the chair.  Small, tone on tone stripe with a little sheen and it turned out beautiful.  

   I knew the stress level of my customer and knew that the week of the shower everything we be in so I planned for it all to go in at one time.  The furniture company had agreed to take away the furniture to Goodwill that they didn't give away so I arrived with the rugs and we rolled those out.  The furniture guys showed up and hauled out the remaining furniture, brought in the new stuff and placed everything where it needed to go.  (Forgot that we had also ordered end tables!)  They left and we started finding things around the house that could hang in our newly decorated space.  Took the plastic off the new linen shades  and turned on the lights.  Then my window installer arrived and did his magic.  I hadn't shown the customers the panels so I asked them to get a snack and drink and take a break on the deck.  They happily agreed and he went to work.  

   After I let him go, I called them in to see the finished product and my customer actually did start crying.  But thank goodness it was tears of joy!  They loved everything that we accomplished and once that furniture was gone, she couldn't even remember what it looked like.  

   Everything is ready for the very special baby shower this Saturday, all except for the cooking, and Decorating Junkies has another very satisfied customer.  

Happy Decorating!

       

Furniture makeover

I love to go junking!  It is a wonderful experience to find something old and used and turn it into a great looking piece of furniture that fills an empty space.  It does take a special eye to find something that most people would walk past and think " Wow, with a little paint, that would look great!"
My kids, from a very early age, have realized their mother will break for anything abandoned on the side of the road.  Old window frames, chairs, ottoman....you get the picture.  They now, at the tender age of 25 and 20, see that look in my eye and say "Mama, don't even think about it!".  Party poopers!

Things to consider when you are hunting for junk

Hate the color?  Paint, stain, distress, mod podge it

Two of a kind?  Buy both and work out the details, later.

If it looks expensive, who will know you picked it up for cheap.

Hunt everywhere!  Goodwill, consignment shops, yard sales...

Don't do matchy-matchy!  Mix it up and things become interesting!

Sometimes, for the right price and the rules above, I have been known to buy something that fits a space but overall I don't care for its look.  It can take a while to find out what you want that piece to become.  When I found this piece in a storage unit in North Carolina, it looked pretty rough.  It has sat in my foyer for almost a year and I couldn't figure out what to do to it.  A piece of silk fabric I was considering for some drapery panels gave me my inspiration.  I loved the vertical lines and wanted to convey that to the desk.  With some new, funky hardware and a little paint it turned out great!  I still want to rub some tinted wax over the whole thing to give it a worn look.  As you can see from the before picture, my foyer doesn't have a big wall to display furniture on so the piece was the perfect fit.

The mirror above the desk that I found for $5.00 at a flea market was a dresser mirror that I turned upside down and put a couple of screw eyes and wire on and it had all the character I wanted for the first impression of my home.
Have patience, look beyond the ugly, battered, worn out object and you too may find the treasure you seek!

Happy Decorating!

Little secretary- before 

Little secretary-after

I love it!!!

Instead of lowering the price...

As an interior decorator my job is to create the home that people want to live in.  I take for granted that everyone loves their home and will do what is necessary to update, maintain and overall give, at least, general maintenance to on a regular basis.  As a home stager I am at odds with that thinking.  We get so used to living in our space that we don't see all the dents and dings that come with the kids, the dog, out of town friends staying over, etc;  Someone wanting to purchase a home will see all of those and so much more.
When you put your house on the market you should be putting your "Sunday best" on the home front.  No clutter, things tucked away from prying eyes, pantry and shelves organized, you get the picture. If you have had the wallpaper up since your first weekend in your home it is time to put on a new face.  Hire an outside cleaning company that won't skimp on dusting the baseboards, removing every cobweb and polishing those windows.  Little things make a big difference.  Hire professionals that can strip that paper and put on a fresh coat of paint, it will make a huge improvement.
Start at the front door and move through your home the same way the home buyer would.  Ask yourself some of these questions.
       Does the paint look new on the siding, shutters and door?  If not, repaint and yes, plastic shutters can be painted.
      Does the front door make a statement?  Bright, fresh color?  New hardware matching the side lights?  No cobwebs hanging?  What about a new welcome mat?  A beautiful, new American flag crisply flying from the porch?  All say "Welcome Home".  Make the impression you want to give your most important guest.
Move through your house, room by room, and take it apart with a fine tooth comb.  Evaluate each room, maybe with a brutally honest friend, and take every step to make those changes that will help you sell your house.
Some homeowners get fed up with the first few people walking into the house with nothing positive to say and agree to drop the house price by $10,000.  Why give your home away when all of the items mentioned above should cost you about $1800-2200?   Don't give away your equity, take steps to bring your home into 2012.
Happy Decorating

Updating in a crappy economy

The interior decorating business has been said to have gone the way of the economy...in the toilet.  I am not sure about this as we are basically an intelligent bunch of people.  Saying that, we realize that to try and sell our homes in today's economy usually turns out to be a frustrating and sometimes fruitless endeavor.  Instead of moving think of, wisely, improving your space.  The market will turn, someday and while we are stuck in our homes why not make the best of it.  Make some well thought out decisions and enjoy your home while you are still in it instead of making a lot of changes for the next home owner to reap the benefits of.
A lot of customers have benefited from this advise and just stayed put.  Hardwood floors, granite countertops, back splashes, updated bathrooms have been gained for the cost of a realtor's commission.  Have an appraisal done to see what your market calls for and what your home's after repair value would be with some of those improvements and you could be doing your part to revitalize the economy in your own way.
If you have considered the open floor plan concept of a lot of new construction, this may be achieved in your own home.  Knocking down a wall to open spaces that now seem a little claustrophobic is a much better plan than buying new, right now.  Most of us think about all the mess and cost and contractors that even the simplest construction project calls for.  But, with the right people getting the job done this can be minimized by keeping a reliable crew working together to not be stepping over each other but following through to get the job done.
The most traveled spaces like kitchens and bath reap the largest rewards in resale yet we hesitate to touch those spots for fear of creating upheaval in the family dynamics.  If this is where the family stays together, they will play so much nicer together with a new and efficient use of space.
Big changes aren't the only way to create an impact.  Adding crown molding, higher base boards, new hardware such as hinges and knobs to interior, exterior and cabinet doors make drastic changes to the eye.  Recently having flipped a house, we had a poor mix of door types, hinges and hardware on an old 1920's Victorian.  One of the biggest changes to the inside came from paint (cheap) and new doors and hardware.  I hated to remove the original doors but it had to be done and we found age appropriate, pre-primed hollow core doors for a little more than the cheap ones at the box stores.  New oil rubbed bronze, egg shaped knobs and hinges and it grabbed the attention of every buyer that walked through our doors.  I believe that improvement helped to sell our house in less than 38 hours.

Before

After

Simple back splash

New master bath

New tile floor

Slate and glass mosaics make for a popping back splash!

Happy Decorating

Orange and Turquoise

Everywhere you look today the colors orange, coral, blush, raspberry, turquoise, cobalt, aqua are on everything.  It's in clothing, accessories, shoes, jewelry and most importantly interior decorating!  With the majority of us being set in a very comfortable place of beige, cream and neutral these popping colors will electrify your space.  What a easy fix to be able to change the look of a sofa with a couple of muslim covered pillows with coral embroidered on them.  Or the brown leather recliner that your husband's butt print is permanently imprinted in, having a facelift with a gorgeous aqua, chenille throw tossed over the back.  Fresh, hot and with a pop.
Artwork makes for a splash of fun so mix it up a bit.  Find similar frames and white mats and roundup your favorite vacation shots, pictures of the family, food shots...whatever makes you smile when you look at it.  Remove what is currently over your sofa and lay your newly framed artwork on the floor in front of the sofa.  You should be about 2/3 of the width of the sofa and create a large mixed items to give you a personal keepsake to change out on a whim.  This will allow you to space thing accordingly and look at it before you start banging nails in the wall.  Keep your items fairly close together and no more than 12" above your sofa.  The framed artwork, typography, personal messages, antique family pictures, funny canvased sayings, whatever you love will make a conversation piece with family and friends.
Change it up, give it a punch and you will love coming home to your space.

Happy Decorating

Junking

Now that Spring has officially sprung, it is time to get out and do some junking.  Even if you feel like there is absolutely nothing your house needs, there is always space on the porch, deck or garden.  If you get the opportunity to visit some great tag sales in your area or even outside of your area, like 3 hours away, do it.  
New stuff that someone has been kind enough to lay out in a decorative setting will inspire you to tackle new projects around your home.  Either bought or something you have that can be repurposed is just waiting to find space in your home.  
If you love the Pottery Barn look, this is achieved outside that lovely store, right in your own community. Yard sales, tag sales, flea markets are all great places to start hunting down the next great find.
Last spring, I was in a antique village in North Carolina and found a cute, black secretary that was a perfect fit for my foyer.  I didn't like the very dark stain that had seen its better days but at the time couldn't think of what else I wanted to do to it.  Above the piece hung a old mirror painted white so I had to tie the two pieces together but I didn't want to paint the secretary white.  It was just too blah!  While at a   great flea market, this weekend, I saw the perfect thing for my secretary.  Vertical stripes in beige and off white.  They would make a POP in my foyer and tie in the mirror and other accents in that room.  Replaced the 4 wood knobs with porcelain lettered knobs and a year later I finally have a game plan.  
This is the reason why we need to get out and do some "junking"
Happy Decorating

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Wallpaper is making a comeback

Now that the faux finish market has crept away into oblivion, wallpaper is back and going strong.  Bold patterns and strong geometrics are hot and being used on accent walls as well as half baths to create drama.  The wallpaper industry has come to realize that the average consumer loves a new look but wants to be able to change that on a whim.  Wallpaper has always been considered messy, difficult to hang and remove and sometimes we just get sick of looking at it.  With the new papers they have found a way to give us a bang for our buck and fix all the "don'ts" about wallpapering.  Easy to hang makes for DIY and easy removal allows us to change our minds after 6 months and do something different.
Gone are the small prints, florals and too much stripe!  Today's papers are popping with big, bold geometrics and graphic patterns.  For the everyday homeowner, this allows you to keep that neutral sofa, chair and floor covering and make the punch with what is put on the walls.  If you decide one of these new prints is for you, add a medium or small print to balance the scale in your accessories.
Make the change to a half bath by putting the WOW factor right where your guest will get the biggest impact.  Enjoy some pattern in your life and have some fun!
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