Making a Home Together

February is the month of love.  Many people got engaged on Valentine’s day and are now planning a wedding and a life together with their fiancé.  I first shared this article in Bridal Bliss magazine back in 2017.  The ideas still ring true, so I thought it would be helpful to share with you and those you know who are in this stage of their life.

First comes love…then comes marriage…then comes moving into a new house together.

It’s an exciting adventure to outfit your new space with your spouse. It’s also a great opportunity to create a place that reflects you both.  That can be easier said than done, so where do you start? These rules of thumb will keep your house update running smoothly.

• Change your color- The simplest way to freshen a room is to coat the walls with a fresh color.  Gray is still the top neutral. Steer clear of grays with blue undertones, as it will make the space feel cool and sterile. My personal favorite shade is a warm griege (blend of gray and beige) called Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams. The color works well with any other colors you use in the room and doesn’t read as too dark once on the walls.

• Add extra Touches- Never underestimate the value of throw pillows, lamps, greenery, art and accessories in a room.  These are the components we spend the least time thinking about but they all work together as layers to give our space the decorated look while still being functional.  If you want to embrace a trend, this is the place to do it.  These items are more economical to replace when the trend fades than would be a larger piece of furniture.

• Dress your naked windows- Layering a light-controlling treatment (like blinds) with a decorative fabric treatment (like curtains) gives the windows a finished look that ties into the room’s decor. The current trend is for the draperies to remain stationary flanking the window as opposed to fully opening and closing over the window.  Never buy unlined panels for your windows.  The sunlight will shine right through them and distort the color and pattern.

• Have a good foundation- Place an area rug among a furniture grouping to define the seating area.  Rugs add warmth to a space and look nice layered on any flooring type, even wall to wall carpeting.  Make sure you buy the right size area rug. Ideally, you want all four feet of the furniture pieces to sit atop the rug.  If that isn’t possible, it is acceptable to let the back two feet sit off of the rug.

• Re-purpose the space- If you find yourself never using a space, give it a new purpose.  The builder’s floor plan may name the room one thing but it’s your house, so use it the way you want!  A formal dining room can become a reading room or a home office just by swapping some furniture.

• Spruce up your deck or patio- These days we spend as much time entertaining outside as we do inside.  You can affordably soften the space by adding an outdoor rug and furniture cushions.  In the instance that you have a covered deck, consider adding outdoor curtain panels to the posts.  They serve a dual purpose- aesthetics, as well as privacy and light control. Don’t forget to add some ambient lighting with lanterns or string lights.

• Compromise- This will be hard to hear, but…. you and your new spouse may not have the same taste in decor and furnishings.  Shocking, I know! You love everything about them; so it’s impossible to believe you wouldn’t 100% agree on how to furnish a space. If you can’t agree on how to complete a room, each of you should make a list of your top priorities.  Compare notes and then figure out how to blend your wishes.  An alternative would be for each of you to choose a room in the house and take charge of decorating that room.  Either route you go, the end result will be a home you’ll love because you created it together.

-Liz

Create Your Own

When I’m in line at Qdoba, I can "craft" my own meal, at Panera I can pick and choose different items to create my lunch, too.  A cute little boutique down the road called Caught Ya Lookin let's me take any of their fabrics and they will create one of their bag styles for me.  Call me spoiled, but I love being able to customize things to better suit me.  That’s why I am absolutely in love with the option to create my own fabric design.  I read about it in a newsletter from a fabric vendor and it peaked my interest.  A few weeks later I saw an article about it in a Sherwin Williams publication.  That hooked me, I had to check out this Spoonflower site. 

You can upload your own photo and then play around with the layout to end up with a unique piece that no one else can duplicate.  After exploring the site and creating my own look, I held my breath when it came time for the price tag.  I was pleasantly surprised that the cost was under $40/yard.  You can be hard-pressed to find mass-produced fabrics at that price.  I see a flurry of fabric designing in my near future!  Hope you will try it, too!

Resale

A lot of people have the value of their home on the brain.  Some people are scared to make changes because they don't want to sink too much money into a project that won't help them sell the house later.  While I'm not a realtor, I can tell you that kitchens & bathrooms are where the focus should be.  If you are looking to spend some cash and update your home you want to start with those two rooms.  Be forewarned- they can also be the most expensive rooms to update.  Everything from plumbing to cabinets to lighting and floors can be in need of replacing, but you have to prioritize and have a budget in mind.  There are some common missteps people make.  Here are some tips to help you avoid them:

1. Cabinets are not easy to replace, countertops are.  Put the money into a quality cabinet so that the foundation of you kitchen is sturdy.  This may mean you can't opt for granite counters now, but that is something a future buyer can update with ease.

2. Poor quality work means more work later.  Selecting your contractor based on the lowest bid or trying to do a project yourself will usually result in re-doing the job down the road.  Nothing is worse than a bad inspection report scaring your buyers away.  Get the job done right the first time and you'll benefit from it in the end!

3.  Research products & homes in your area.  Before you splurge for that top-of-the-line stove, be sure other homes in your price range have them.  Instead of blindly going into the bathroom fixture store to buy those massaging body sprays for the shower, research which brand has the best reviews.  The more you know about what you're spending and what you can sell for, the happier you will be at the closing table.

Happy resale!!

Layering

Layering isn't just what you do when it's cold outside.  Layering is a great way to turn a room into the space you've dreamed about.  Here is an example of a client's room when she first called me in.  

The goal at this time was to select new paint colors for the whole house, one of the rooms being this dining room.  We picked a soothing but warm shade of green to show off the wood floors and furniture.   

 

Once that was complete she was ready to update the chair seats.  After narrowing down the choices we found a beautiful faux silk striped fabric that felt sophisticated but not too stuffy.  

A few months later a rug was the item of choice.  Again, we went for something that wasn't too formal but it coordinated with the fabric and paint in the room and provided a soft barrier between the hardwood floors and the table & chairs.  

What we did was take a layered approach to decorating the space. Taking it step by step allows you to replenish your wallet along the way and live with the small changes as opposed to making drastic ones.  This method doesn't work for everyone, but it does for many. (Note: Normally, I would suggest decorating a room around a rug because the paint colors are endless, but the rug options are not.  In this case, the sequence of events couldn't have been any other way and the end result looks as though we did everything at the same time.) The key to layering is not to get impatient and impulsively buy something that isn't the right fit.  The goal is for the space to look well thought-out and to appear seamless. 

Happy Layering!!

Imitation- dangerous form of flattery

When I was a kid, my mom would use her curling iron to style my Barbie's hair. I, being 5, didn't know how to operate the heat styling device, but after watching her do it a few times I thought I could handle the job. So one afternoon I went into the bathroom, plugged in the curling iron and waited. Once it was heated up, I wrapped my Barbie's hair around the rod and held tightly while it curled. My mind was flooded with images of all the pretty hairstyles I could create with the fluffy, curly hair. I was so distracted that I neglected to notice the curling iron was smashed against the doll's face and melting it into a concave form. Of course I was reduced to tears and mom had to remind me that just because I watched her do it, that didn't mean I was an expert.

Much like my five year old self, we watch people build things and renovate spaces on TV and assume that it is a task we can handle ourselves. They make it look so easy! Before you know it we are in over our heads and the project has taken on a life of it's own. We start out trying to save money and be DIYers, but we end up shelling out more cash for someone else to fix our mistakes. Those TV shows overly simplify tasks with the help of editing. They can provide false confidence if you aren't skilled in the trades. It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I think it's a dangerous one, as well. Be careful what you get yourself into- you might just end up with your project looking like the doll with the concave face and tears streaming down yours.

Polka Dots, Checks & Stripes...YIKES!

Do you remember this song?  It was a silly tune on one of the kid’s stations (Disney or Nickelodeon, etc) when I was growing up.  The music video showed a girl who made very bold fashion choices.  She mixed a polka dot skirt with striped leggings and a checkered shirt.  The video chronicled the baffled reactions she received from her parents, classmates and people driving down the street.  No one understood her choice of clothing. 

While mixing bold patterns in fashion may be risky, in home fashion it is quite the norm.  In almost every space I decorate, I use a mix of patterns to achieve a visual interest and balance in the room. If we use a floral on the drapes, and a stripe on the chairs then we will tone things down with a solid or mini print on the sofa.  Here are some great photos to demonstrate how various patterns can work together in a room:

If you look closely to the picture above, you'll see a striped piano bench, a floral tablecloth, a tone on tone print chair and solid window treatments.

Here you'll find a great print on the chairs, a mini print on the sofa and pillows in solid fabric and a stripe.

Doesn't this feel cozy?! There is a check and a floral used on the drapery panels, the same floral paired with a solid for the sofa, a stripe on the chair and an additional geometric pattern on the throw pillows.

Striped drapery panels, floral bedding and several solid chairs create a tranquil master bedroom retreat!

See how wonderful a space can look when you combine patterns?  Happy combining!

Alternative Splashing

We all have come to know and love tile as our dependable kitchen backsplashes.  For those who are a little bored with this option, who want to jazz it up, who need a more cost effective solution, or who just can’t make up their mind about what to do…here are some fun ideas!

Beadboard, clean and fresh but never boring!

Plate grouping , something temporary that you can switch out each season or leave up year-round.  

Tin Ceiling Tiles, an unexpected application of these tiles that serves as a conversation piece for those tapas parties you host.  

Faux Painted Tile, the patterns and colors are limitless with an artist’s palette at your service.

Happy (back)splashing!