FALL in love with your home this season ~

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  It has something to do with approaching the holidays and the beauty of the changing leaves.  More than that is I associate my home with warmth and coziness - a refuge from all that that I encounter outside of the front door.  It doesn't matter what kind of a day I had or how tired I am.  When I walk through my front door, I am home.

During the Fall season, it's easy to accomplish a feeling of warmth with the addition of pumpkin scented candles, and throw blankets.   Color experts tell us that oranges, browns, reds and yellows are warm colors.  How fitting!

When we moved this summer, my intention was to have all of my holiday decorations easily accessible in storage.  I can SEE my fall box but it would take more effort and time than I feel that I have right now to uncover it.  So what's a fall-loving girl to do?  Be a bit creative!  I gathered the pine cones in the picture above at my granddaughter's school, along with her enthusiastic help.  These look great for the season and don't cost a thing, and every time I look at them I think of the fun we had gathering them and the memories we made.  I wrapped some twine around this little vase to give it a bit of texture and filled it up with my free bits of nature!

It's easy to find fall sprigs and leaves inexpensively in stores right now.  I think that the leaves above cost  around $2.99.  I added some willow branches (there are a LOT of tree limbs outside on the ground this time of year!) and stuck them into a vase that was used in my daughter's wedding.  Yay for orange!

Ribbons tied to items that you already have can make them look as though they were meant just for the season.

In my small space, it would have been easy to overdo it.  I just placed small splashes of orange around on bookcases and shelves.

I bought this simple pumpkin colored pillow at Ross for $6.99.  I added a black button in the center to give it some interest.  I placed a smaller button on the back side to hold the tufting in place.

Now I have my splash of color on my sofa.   I  just need to teach my dog to cuddle with the plain pillows!  I swear she waits until I add something new as an excuse to "try it out".  I actually kicked her off of this display before taking the picture.  It might have been cuter if I'd let her stay!

Another inexpensive idea for adding a bit of the season is to print pictures and frame them.  I would love to take credit for these fall-leaved beauties but I actually just did a google search for fall leaves.  I sent my order to walgreens where I went in and paid 19 cents for each print.  I hope to replace one of these for a picture of my three grandbabies wallowing in leaves together.  How cute will that be?

I love how the orange looks with all of the green and black that I already have.  If the colors in your home would clash with orange, consider bringing in browns or yellows.  

It doesn't take much to give your home a sense of the changing seasons.  Even if you're someone who will miss the warm weather and all that comes with summer, Fall decor is sure to fill you with a cozy feeling while you watch the weather get dark and cloudy.

Redesigning for a family of 3 ~

I am sharing a family room with you that I recently had the privilege of Redesigning.   The Clients that live in this beautiful space desired this room to look and feel more attractive and more comfortable.  Since this is the only play area downstairs, it was important that the toys stay in the room.

I arranged the furniture at an angle to allow the fireplace and the television set to be more visible.  I also angled the rug to continue the flow.
I moved the shelving unit from another wall holding toys to the back of the sofa.  Doing this serves multiple functions - a place to rest a glass, hold toys and as a divider to separate a play area in that corner.

I love these two leather chairs. They are now tucked into a corner, perfect for watching tv or reading a book!

On this side of the room, I slid the tv cabinet over to the left and brought in another shelf that was stored in the garage in order to hold more toys.  I placed their son's chair next to it to give him a special area to sit and read.

In different areas of the house were beautifully framed pictures their son had painted at school.  I decided these treasured pieces would be better enjoyed grouped together.  The picture in the center is of him painting and doing art projects.  The colors in the frames and pictures blended so well with their furnishings!

I love my job!  It's so much fun to see things that each family treasures and to find special ways to incorporate them into their homes.

If you live in the Portland area and need a fresh eye in your home, please call me at 503-997-2325 or visit my website.

A bright idea ...

My taste seems to change as often as the seasons.  I wonder if I'll ever get to the point in my life where I say, "... and I'm DONE!"  Who am I trying to kid?  I'll always want to change, paint, or rebuild something.  It's who I am!

A few years ago, I was adding yellows and reds everywhere in my home.  I still love those colors but as you've probably read before, I'm a fan of black and white.
It's a good thing that it's so easy and inexpensive to recover a lampshade!  If you don't already know how, here's how to do it.

Start with a plain white shade, or in this case, pull off the current fabric and trim.  Iron the fabric that you'll be using to get out any creases.
1.  Lay the fabric out and roll the lampshade to make sure that it fits well.  When you're covering a tapered shade like this one, your fabric will need to be cut at an angle.  After you roll the shade, cut the fabric leaving about 1/4" - 1/2" to spare.
2.  Hot glue where the fabric meets in the back.  Make sure that you start and end where the seam is in the back so the new seam stays hidden.
3.  Trim extra fabric.
4.  Hot glue trim on the top and bottom, trying to stay as even as possible.

That's it, it's that easy to create a whole new look!

The lamp was finished but I hate having cords show, especially the long ones that are on cute accent lamps.  I took a cable tie (or you can use a twisty tie, rubberband, etc.) and tied the cord together.

Screw a cup hook into the wall to hook the cord onto so that it can be hidden behind the lamp.

Here it is all black and white.  Until next time ...

Creating a functional play space - A Redesign

I've been so busy getting ready for my daughter's wedding that will be taking place this coming Sunday.  Although it's been fun working on creations for her and knowing that they are a reflection of her unique and special taste, it has put me pretty behind on work.  Even through the details and busyness, I've had the opportunity to work on some fun Redesigns.

I'd like to highlight one that I did for a young couple who have 3 - year old twins.
They're a sweet family who have an amazing photography business.  All of the art that I worked with were pictures that they had taken and printed off on large canvases.
The day I met with them, they shared that they desired an inviting home and cozy atmosphere while creating a convenient place for their young children to play.

This is the view into the living room.  The room beyond it is the dining room where their children play.   We discussed the idea of having a dining table and relocating the play area, but it was decided that this room would function better for playing with the kids being more centrally located.  Some designers might disagree with me, but I feel strongly that our homes need to first function well for our families before we work on making them look attractive.  In the initial interviews, most of my clients seem to have two complaints about their homes.  First they say, "I want it to work for us.  My family doesn't even use this room because it isn't set up well!"  The other thing they often say is, "I want it to feel inviting and attractive, and to be a great place to have friends and family over."  I believe that both can be accomplished, and that is my goal each and every time I step into a client's home.

This family has a sectional and a leather sofa for their seating in the room.  The sofa was placed in front of the fireplace.  Since the fireplace is the best focal point in the room, the first thing that I did was to move the sofa to allow the fireplace to be seen and used.

The next solution was to relocate the TV.

I don't touch television sets!  They're too expensive and too much can go wrong with them if I try to move them.  When I suggested that this one be relocated to the fireplace wall, the client said that he was willing to not only move it, but to mount it on the wall in the new location.  He got busy working on that while I was working on the rest of the layout.

This is the room that functions as the play area.

I took shelving units from other areas and placed them in this space so that the toys could be organized and kept up off of the floor.

In the living room, I placed the sectional on the opposite side of the room and pulled the smaller sofa over to create a closer grouping - more ideal for conversations or watching TV as a family.  The TV was originally where the large picture is (on the right side of the photo.)  I moved the cabinet that held the TV to the other side of the room.  It's the perfect place to store the family's games and DVD's.

Here's the view of the new layout in the living room when you enter through the front door.

You can see from this view where the TV was moved.  I recommended that they find a cabinet to place underneath to hold the other electronic pieces and to place the speakers on.  The renderings of the picture frames above are to show how the space will look after creating a family photo gallery.

Before and after of the first view.

Here's the other view.  Nothing new was purchased for this portion of the project.  By placing furnishings and accessories in new and creative ways, anyone's home can feel like a brand new space.
I would love an opportunity to visit your home and to work on ways to make it feel and function better for your family!
If you live in the Portand area and are interested in a Redesign of your own, please visit my website or call me at 503-997-2325.