Designer Tricks of The Trade

   
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 DID YOU KNOW THIS??

One of the things I love about Pinterest is all the information and images that it provides.

 

I have always been an information gatherer. I figure if I don’t know, then maybe some of you might not either, so I am going to start doing a post about things I learn each week, or things I think would be helpful to my readers to know.

For instance I saw this yesterday……..

WHO KNEW?

Click HERE To Read the How To!

Moving right along into the kitchen………..

Very good advice .

I think this is a great idea whether you have pets or not, it sure would save the upholstery and it would look nice too.

By choosing colors that are right next to each other on the color wheel you will get a more calming effect, as pictured in the room below.

 

If you choose colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel they will make each other stronger. 

Such as Red and Green, or Orange and Blue. These two easy pieces of knowledge can be very helpful when deciding on what colors to put in a room.

Notice in the picture below how the yellow and blue combination is bright and cheerful. That is because they are complimentary colors, or opposite color families on the color wheel.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT ATTENTION

when it comes to color!

 Pinks and Greens are complimentary to each other.

If you are seeing pink/red undertones in a color and you don't want to see that, do NOT put it with any colors with green undertones, it will only make the red/pink come out more.

This is a BIG one people!!

 

So many of my clients would want to pull out that little tiny speck of color out of a fabric and put it on the walls.

 It doesn’t work, trust me.

 

Even if you choose a dominant color in a fabric try to muddy it up a bit on your walls. What works on fabric won’t always translate onto your walls. 

It can often make the room look color bookish, or contrived. Muddy or grayed-out colors tend to be a bit more sophisticated, and easier to live with when on your walls.

Adding black to your can of paint WILL NOT be the proper way to muddy or gray it up. 

A good tinter knows to add the color that is opposite on the color wheel to the pigment to do this.

If you don’t know color hire a colorist, or a designer, or find a great paint store with a tinter that knows how to add pigments to change the color to what you need for your project.

Spring time is a time we all start sprucing up our homes so I hope these little bits of advice will help you out.

 

 

"IT" Has Started

   
“IT” has started!! You might be wondering, “What has started?”

I think Mr. Twain has nailed it perfectly. The wanting to do SOMETHING but not knowing what to do!!

I have had about a week of the not knowing part, and then it hit me!

Time to clean out my closet and get my clothes in order!!

When I am in the mood to clean out I enjoy the process thoroughly. I am not very good on command cleaning, but I am a master at mood cleaning.

This year I am doing a couple of things differently in my cleaning out. My method and my way of thinking have changed.

If you have read any of my previous post on closet cleaning you know I put my clothing  in laundry baskets and I mark them with a tag.

These are the most common tags…..

Purging is an emotional tug, and pull for me so I added a couple of more baskets to my method…….




You will notice I added:

Gift:

Sometimes we will have something that reminds us of a loved one or a dear friend and you just know they would love it.

Not Sure:

This one box has saved me so much time in the purging process. My philosophy behind this box is, we have a hard time letting go of things for all kinds of emotional reasons.

By having this basket, when I am unsure about what box to put a piece in I just throw it in this basket and revisit it at the end of the process.

What happens is as time passes, and we purge more, and more it frees our minds up ,and it feels so much better to get rid of things. 

Once we have done that we revisit the, “Not Sure,” basket and we will inevitably donate most of it. 

Trust me on this it works!!

Now for the NEW box I added this year……

IT ALMOST FITS!

I am fortunate that I have some nice clothes that are classic pieces, but some of them just don’t fit.(that is the not so fortunate part)

They almost fit so I don’t want to put them in any of the above baskets, so I created a new box that I will keep close at hand so when the extra 5-10 lbs. leave I can gladly go to that box, and put these clothes back in my closet.

In truth I need to lose much more than just 5-10 lbs. but we all have to start somewhere. 

Losing weight is something that most women struggle with. We seem to see ourselves through very cruel eyes.

This brings me to the other part of cleaning out our closets.

Our Mindset!

I read two sayings that I felt would be helpful in reading before we start the purging process.

This should be framed and hanging in all of our closets.

I want you to all remember this………

Now get into your closets and….

enjoy the purging process!

Other post on cleaning out your closets:

Here

&

Here

Visit my pinboards on organizing:

Here

 

 

 

Something A Little Different!

   

Don’t you just love to see alternatives in design that are a bit different than what is normally expected?

Me too!

Today I am going to talk about an alternative to chairs around the dining room/kitchen table.

This is not a new look by any means, but I think it is a look that should be used more often.

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Look at how interesting it looks to use a settee, and two winged chairs instead of 6 matching chairs around this rectangle table.

This is a great use of space. This designer chose to use a sofa pushed right up against what most people would have used as a breakfast bar. Something a bit different than the norm is always fun.

Bench seating is a great look when you are limited on space. You can push it right up against the wall. No need to have room to pull a chair in and out with a bench seat. If you live in a smaller home or have limited space this type of seating is the answer for you.

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A bit larger table but just as attractive.

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Simple!

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Flanking a settee with two storage cabinets is a great use of space and one that I recommend for homeowners when they live in a space that is lacking storage and is on the smaller size.

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This homeowner chose to put a charming seating area in an unused corner.

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This is such a charming area for this conversation area. Such a great backdrop for the settee to sit in front of. Very clever and dramatic design.

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CHARMING!

Do you like this option for your own space? I love it and it has been on my radar for awhile now.

I found a few fun options for this type of seating that were reasonably priced. If you think about it you can get two people on a settee so that is the price of two chairs in one piece.

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This settee is from Ballard designs. It comes in a 36in. or 48in. size. You can choose from many options what upholstery you want it covered in.

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This settee is a bit wider for those of you that have the room. It is from Wayfair.

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This last option is from Crate & Barrel and it is slipcovered for easy maintenance.

Do I have you thinking outside the box?

 

I know this is something I have been thinking about for a very long time, and you just might see it in my dining area in the future!!