Top Ten Tips for a Great Looking Home

Below are my Top Ten ways to have the home you love.

1.   Be true to your personality.  If you are, you'll love your home; if you follow trends, your home will look like everyone else's.

2.  Choose colors you love; don't choose color's just because they are "in."  Longevity and love go hand in hand.

source

3.   Dress your windows in a style that is appropriate to the space.  Window treatments matter when it comes to completing the overall look and feel of a space.

Southern Accents

4.   Match something in an eclectic space.  In other words, mixing too many elements in a space can border on chaotic.  Make sure you put in something that matches, a pair of something, for example, to keep the space grounded.

Country Home

5.   If something doesn't work, sell it or give it away.

6.   Don't make major investments based on something you don't love.  If you don't love an inexpensive rug, ("I have it so I'll use it"), don't purchase a sofa to go with it!  You won't love the sofa, either.



7.   If you need several pieces for your room, have a plan.  A buying plan helps keep you from the mistake of getting your new chairs delivered and saying "what do I put with them?"  See my post here for more on this.


8.   For longevity, mix in classic lines in upholstery.  You can update them over time with funky fabric or pillows.

Duralee

9.   Consider the color flow.  Having your colors flow from one room to the next, no matter what they are, helps to make your home feel comfortable.  It gives your home "background order."


10.   It takes more than a new sofa (or rug, or lamp) to make magic happen.  Magic in a space happens, I believe, when you consider all ten tips.


These are my top ten.  What would you add to the list?  Please share by leaving a comment.  Thanks!

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Don't Buy the Blouse Without the Skirt

Huh?  I know.  Here's the story...

I was helping a client today who had worked with me on fabrics for her living room sofa and two chairs three times before, almost went for it once, then didn't.  You may be able to relate to her -- she has a really hard time making a decision and being confident that it's the right one.  Haven't we all been like that at some point, over something?  Of course.

So, how do you move past that fear of making a mistake, especially when you've made costly furniture blunders in the past?  You make a plan.  With your designer.  Or, with someone you trust who can help you with your taste, not theirs.

To make a long story short, my client wanted everything neutral, so she could make color choices changeable with accents.  Ok, no problem., makes sense for her personality.   After much consideration and seeing some new fabrics, she committed to a textured, neutral sofa.  It's gorgeous.  Then, time to decide on the chairs.

Deliberation ensued.  In the end, she couldn't commit, because it wasn't clicking for her.  "I'm just going to do the sofa for now," she told me with confidence, "I'll find the chairs later."  My immediate response?

"For you, I think that's like buying a gorgeous blouse, but not buying the skirt that goes with it.  How will you find something to go with it once you get it home?" (In context, here, her room is completely empty.)  She was a little taken aback.

For this client, not doing the chairs at the same time (or at least deciding on the fabric to come back for them if budget were an issue, which is was not) would be an emotional mistake.  Why?  When the sofa arrived, all by its lonely self, she would hate it.  It wouldn't "go" with anything.  And then, she'd have to start from scratch, again, feeling like she'd gone wrong!  Ouch.

a concrete sofa via google sofa images

She threw up her hands (figuratively) and said, "Ok, what would you do if I said to pick it for me?"  I showed her a tone on tone neutral pattern that coordinated nicely with the sofa.  It completed the "outfit," it could stand on its own without accessories for a while.  It was "her."  She loved it and ordered it.

The moral of the story?  Know yourself when it comes to decorating.  Do you like to see things mapped out in your life, or do you go with the flow by nature?  My client needed to, at the very least, plan her outfit -- to know what chairs her sofa could wear.   How about you?

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Monday Morning Musing...

As I lament on a Sunday night about the lack of something wonderful to wear on Monday morning, I just have to share this image from a series I recently photographed for a holiday post...

Have truer words ever been uttered?  Enjoy the start of the week, and,

Talk to you soon,
Carol

North Carolina's Farmer's Market

My friend Lisa and I did a little exploring during my visit to her new digs in Cary, North Carolina last week.  Of course, we went in search of a fabric store. That led to a chat with the salesperson, which led to a trip to the Farmer's Market in Raleigh.  Wow.

In New England, we have local farm stands.  We don't have this...

or this...

Row after row of farm fresh produce, and an entirely different section for plants of all kinds. 

We were totally in awe of the place.  It was fairly empty early on a Friday morning, both in visitors and in vendors.  We suspected it may have to do with the State Fair going on at the same time.  I was so overwhelmed by the thought of having this much fresh food available every day, year round!  Unheard of in New England.  I know a lot of you readers out there enjoy this kind of access to freshness all the time, especially you guys on the West Coast.  But for us?  Hello!  Slice of Heaven!

The Indoor Marketplace had every locally made and jarred item you can think of (and so many I'd never heard of).  I was completely charmed, and was regretting I didn't have a huge suitcase to lug home a bunch of things to try.

A flower vendor had the most exquisite bouquets for $12.  One went home with Lisa.

There was a German baker who was very patient while I drooled over keuchen (a yummy reminder of my childhood).

I didn't indulge, though, because we were saving our appetites for this little place, still within the Market...

I swear to you I have never had such light, non-greasy fish and chips in my life.  The thick french fries, surely made from fresh NC potatoes, were to die for -- slightly crunchy on the outside and a steamy mashed potato texture on the inside, and absolutely no fried taste.  We weren't surprised that within 10 minutes of opening for lunch, the place was filling up.

Now that I'm back and blogging again, I want to thank you for hanging in there and continuing to check in while I was away and having some technical difficulties.  I have become completely addicted to my near-daily blogging, and it was hard to do without!  Stay in touch for some upcoming new projects.

Talk to you soon,
Carol

Color and a Model. Great Inspiration.

So yesterday my girlfriend takes me to the model of the home they're building here in North Carolina.   (I'm visiting for the first time since she moved.  Far away from me.  I have no one to play with anymore.  But I digress.)  Can you say envious?  I can.  Can't be jealous.  By definition that means I wouldn't want them to have it.   So I'm just a bit green.  Why?  It's all about the fact that she's starting from scratch with this new house.  New color pallet and new opportunities for complete creativity and thrifty projects.  Now that's fun in my world, and in hers, too.

The decor in this model is fresh and young.  I loved the color combinations the designer used.  See what you think...

I love the gray drapes and the teal faux-Romans with the gray banding.  Very nice detail that you catch when you go up the stairs (where I'm standing talking this picture).

The Master Bed and Bath...

This is one of the 4 bedrooms.

The girl's bedroom...

These are just some of the rooms in this model home.  I hope you take away a little color inspiration from these fresh, current combinations.  I can't wait to see what my girlfriend does in her version of this house -- I know there'll be some inspired things from her, as well (months from now, unfortunately!).


Talk to you soon,
Carol

R & R in North Carolina

Hi.  I didn't fall off the face of the earth, I'm just in North Carolina suffering from technical difficulties with my laptop!  I hope to be back tomorrow with some great color inspiration from a model home I visited.

Please stay tuned!  I'll be posting these gorgeous pics on Thursday morning.  In the meantime, I've been enjoying some R & R with one of my best friends and her family, who recently left us (layering on the guilt) in Massachusetts for greener pastures down South.

Talk to you (very) soon,
Carol

A Dining Room Makeover in the Works

What do you say when a friend you've had since you were 12 asks for help re-doing his dining room?  You say yes!  And then you ask -- can we blog about it? :)  Man, did I underestimate how much fun this would be!

In my recent post, A Peak at a Friend's Edgy Home, I introduced you to my friend Glen and the home he shares with his partner, Mario.  Now, here are a couple of shots of the room in question.

Glen and Mario recently took most everything out of the room, and got rid of the chairs that were far past their prime and not worth reworking as they were really uncomfortable.  With an initial plan for new window treatments, wall decor and chairs, and a color pallet of black, white an maybe taupe, we went shopping for inspiration.  I had only a teeny idea of what this shopping "field trip" was going to be like!  Glen is, and always has been, a bit of a ham. 

After going through HomeGoods and coming out empty handed, a visit to Pier 1 was in order.  Jackpot! 

We were so thrilled with the funky wall decor we found,  Glen made the young guy helping us take a picture of our excitement.  That was just the beginning!  With our fabric swatch and wallpaper in hand, we continued our hunt.  And there, by the door, was more magic...

Here's Glen modeling a fab little chair we're thinking about using...doesn't he create a great little vignette?  The poor Pier 1 girl holding the mirror was such a sport!  I think the whole store heard about us, and is hopefully tuned in -- Glen made sure to tell them to follow the blog.  He is definitely not shy. :)

This is about all I can share, for now.  Everything we need has been ordered, and now the fun, cheap labor (he and I) can get to work.  I'm hoping for late November or early December for the reveal (we're having a party -- he's a foodie, like me), and any excuse to entertain is a good one!

By the way, Glen is a highly creative guy -- he is a Master Makeup Artist -- check out his website here.

Talk to you soon,
Carol