My Home Redux

Don't Forget the Powder Room ... How to Make the Most of this Small Space

The term "powder room" is Victorian in its genesis as this is where the ladies went to "powder their nose", never admitting to what really happened there. But because this room is small, it should not be overlooked. This is the room your guests use and nearly everyone will see. As such, it should be a definite highlight of your home.

So here are some simple ideas for making the most of this small space - even with a small budget. Read the article here.

Artfully Arrange Silk Flowers to Enhance Your Decor

  Silk flowers have been benefits in decorating, but obviously, their longevity is the greatest. And today, artificial flowers look incredibly real. Using them to create arrangements for tables, mantles, shelves, and more can really warm and enhance any part of your home.

Here's step by step article from Christy's-Thrifty Decorating Blog on how to create your own stunning silk flower arrangements.

What Color to Paint a Cathedral Ceiling

DJ sent this question in which is a common dilemma:  What color should I paint a cathedral ceiling?   Here's what he says:

Hello Julie,

 

Part of an expansion of my house is a room addition which takes a 9 x 30 foot existing room.....to an 18 by 32 foot room with 17 foot cathedral ceilings.  The paint on the walls before the addition were a Chianti color....deep red/grape color.....which I like very much.  The ceiling was flat ceiling paint......but now with the expanse of the

new ceiling with soaring heights....would a flat white ceiling paint continue to work for me with my Chianti wall paint?  Is there any trick to minimizing the "big" effect of

the ceiling expanse?  Also the back side of the room will have an exposed field stone chimny which is five feet at its base rising along the wall to approximately three feet.

 

Thanks for any help....

 

dj murphy

See my ideas in the comments. One solution is shown in the picture above which is from the website of interior designer, Victoria Fahardo. Check her site out here for other great ideas.

Displaying collections in decorating

Carol has collected many items over the years. Now, she wants to use them in her decorating so they look artfully arranged, not cluttered stuff:

I have quite a collection of clear glass vases, pitchers, baskets, bowls,...you get the idea.  But how do I make a nice display of some of them?

Carol

See my ideas in the comments.

How to mix different wood furniture?

Eclectic is a popular style of decorating today. But can something be too eclectic?  Elisabeth just inherited furniture but doesn't know how to tie it all together. Here's what she had too say:

Julie, Please help me. I just inherited some pieces of_furniture from my grandmother. 
Lots of different styles and woods. I now have this furniture, lamps, lots of material 
and time but very little money. But, I am stumped. I don't have any idea where to begin. I feel like putting all the 
furniture on the front lawn and starting there. Our house is in the country and 
is decorated like that. Thank you for any help. Elisabeth

See my ideas in the comments and add your own!

What to do with large ledges in Living Room?

See the dilemma that this reader poses about the deep ledges running across two walls in her living room:

Please help me with knowing what to put on my 2 big ledges in my living room, 
they both have electric outlets, they are facing each other, my wall is I guess 
the new cranberry kind of color. My ledges are big in width and height from the ceiling to 
the ledge, my furniture is gold and I have some celery green also, I just can't 
think of what to go up on the ledges, I also have one in my dining room and it's 
not as big, I have a kind of big plate and a matching vase, so that is pretty 
much done, I've been in my house almost a year and don't know what to do with 
the ledges, please help?

Read our email exchange and my ideas in the comments.

How to Pick Paint Colors and Decor for Adjoining Rooms

Heather asks a very common question about how to use paint and colors in furnishings between adjoining rooms. Here's her question:

Hello,

I'm hoping you can give me some ideas on my rooms.I don't know much about 
decorating, and I hope I can explaining this well enough.

My living room and dining room are separated by a wall the used to have French 
doors. My dining room and kitchen is separated by a partial wall with a door way 
on each side leading into the kitchen. My slip cover for my couch in Red.So I 
wanted red accents in the room with maybe a cream color on the wall. My boyfriend 
says I should paint the partial wall in the dining room red to bring in the 
color from the living room to the dining room. I don't know if that is a good 
idea. If I do the one wall red what do I do for the rest of the dining room? I 
didn't want it the same color as the living room sense there is a wall 
separating the 2 rooms. He says sense there is the big opening where the French 
doors used to be that I should paint the accent wall red. I hope I'm not 
confusing you. I'm not good at this, and I wish I could send you a picture, but I 
cant. I hope you can help

Thanks
Heather F.

See my dialog with Heather in the comments and my suggestions to her. Add your own in the comments too!

Where to start when decorating a room?

The question I get most often involves how to get started in a room. Sometimes the most difficult rooms are not the ones with the crazy colored sofa/rug/drapes/carpet, but the ones that have no color at all.

My first bit of advice is to take inventory of what you have. It could be a couch, a rug, existing drapes, or wall art.  Paint is easy to change. Drapes aren't too difficult either. But start with one piece.  For example, in the picture above, I had the sofa, loveseat, and rug. The couches were pretty neutral but had some flecks of rose, blue, and gray. The rug had blue and rose and cream. These became the colors to build on.

Next, find another piece that complements what you already have and starts to bring the colors out. In this case, I found the floral fabric to make swags that had various colors of rose and a bit of blue. This could have worked in reverse, if your sofa has lots of color - or a predominant one - find complementary colors to go with it. If the sofa had a pattern, pick a solid shade for the drapes.

Pick a color within your items for your wall color.

Finally, accent the room with other colors contained in your furnishings. I pulled out the deeper rose hues. The underside of the swag was the same fabric for the window treatments in the adjoining dining room. This gave a common element to pull the two rooms together while letting them have their own decor. The pillows and throws were to used to "spice up" the really boring furniture.

This method will make sure all the elements in your room coordinate - as well as between rooms if necessary. It's also an easy way to build your room's decor once you pick that one element as your anchor.

Tips on Accessorizing Your Home

Accessories are what gives your rooms and your home character. I was really reminded of this fact last night when we went over to a friends house for a football party. Every detail was in place, coordinated, and perfectly complementary to overall decor of the room. It looked like a model home.

Here are some tips for properly accessorizing your home.

3 Days of Rain + 2 Hurricane Remnants = Flood

My heart goes out to the people of Louisiana and Texas. The devastation is terrible. We have not met Hurricane Ike's fury full force, but we're still getting a punch.  It's been raining in the Chicago area since Friday afternoon in varying disagrees of showers to torrential, monsoon-like downpours. As a result, we've received more than 6 inches. Some areas have more than 7 inches.

The weather commentators have said that we have received the remnants of two hurricanes. A Pacific storm called Lowell, and of course, Ike.  The result is significant flooding throughout the Chicagoland area, including my backyard as you can see.

The positive spin is I now own lakeside property!  I used to have a one-acre lot. Now, I have a 2/3 acre lot with a 1/3 acre lake.  Complete with ducks!  The dogs are confused by it all. (See more here.)

We have not had any water in the basement. The water is getting somewhat close to a lower graded area that allows light into a part of our basement. So we got some sandbags from the village to form a wall to protect that if needed.  When we redid our house and wanted a deeper basement, I wouldn't allow the option of digging out the basement because it had always been water tight. Instead we lifted it up off the foundation. (See pictures and post here.) I feel even better about that decision today.