I have not talked about drapery treatments for some time and I thought I would touch on this subject once again.  In my younger years, I thought drapery treatments meant big flowing fabrics with lots of swags and cascades.  I didn’t know the exact terminology of drapery styles I just knew that I did not want anything covering up my windows.  I wanted to bring the outside in.  That’s all fine and good if you have a terrific view but if you’re looking at a firescape, you may want to ssomething sexy like raw silk instead. 

After I went throught design school and worked on several homes, I found that style was first, and then function was the next important factor.  I will use a couple of photo examples to explain what I mean.  This first photo of this beautiful traditional room shows a very simple style with the gold drapery panels.  They dressed it up a bit more with the inverted box pleat valance with a gold trim to match.  It almost feels like a monogram.  Very classy!  To keep total sunlight out and privacy, they placed the white door panels that close.  I think this is marvelous, darling!  Truly, I do.  You would not have caught me saying that 15 years ago. 

 If you remember the 50’s and 60’s, most draperies were pleated with the white rod that traversed back and forth. That rod is cheap looking so hence the valance was created to hide the hardware.   This photo shows how they’ve used this style for aesthetic reasons.

There are numerouse styles of decorative drapery rods today. This tub photo showcases a brilliant idea with a transitional yet contemporary rod with large grammets.  The blinds allow light but if you want privacy you can tilt the angle of the leouvre so no one can peek in.  If you want know one to see your “bum” at all, then for goodness sakes, honey, close the panels!

Many windows have issues other than privacy.  There are corner windows, and round, too high, too low, uneven or even closets that need some coverage.  The best advice I could give anyone considering new draperies is to work with a designer or a qualified drapery workroom.  If you want to take a stab at doing them yourself, make sure you run on and purchase the “Drapery Encyclopedia”.    This will assist you in finding the correct treatment for your window function and style.  But, truthfully, take my word for it.  It is more complicated that you think when it comes to measure and installation unless you are buying ready made panels.   Hire the pros to help you with this one area as this is a focal point and you want it to look great.

First impressions can be lasting ones especially when you are showing your home for sale.  The front door and entry to your home will be the determining factor for any offers made.

Recently, I’ve had placed my own home on the market and experienced some great remarks from all the agents.  They all said we have the “Wow Factor” as you step into the home.  Listed below are some of the things I created in order to make it a pleasant opening.

1.  Entry – Outside landscaping was already in place but I fed the flowers every week so all of the the plants were fresh, alive and blooming. We have numerous shades of color plus a very large tree.  The conrete of the existing driveway has some minor problems so I drew  attention away from that area with a welcoming doorstep. I purchased a new mat and filled a terra cotta pot filled with flowers to match the brick and roofline. Our front door was old but paint fixes everything.  I  did not spend money on a new handle but spray painted it a bronze rustic metallic.  The door hearth also needed the same treatment.  It made a huge difference.  No one has bothered to make comments about that.  As you step in to the house, you see the beauty right away and forget about the little stuff. When the buyers came, they immediately noticed the lit fireplace and candles.  I turned on all lights to give a warm ambiance. And of course, music softly played.  I purchased the scented plugin’s to keep the air fresh.

2.  Windows.  We do not have new windows so I kept them closed to hide the imperfections and hung sheer drapery treatments so the light came in but covered the window.  Because we have an incredible view downstairs, I  took off all the old screens so you could see clearly through the windows. New windows are costly and might  be one of the negotiating factors in a sale.

3.  Our flooring is beautiful.  We have dark hardwood throughout downstairs and a travertine tile in the kitchen.  The kitchen cabinets were painted in two tones over the worn out brown wood.  No new appliances but everything is spotless. 

4.  Staging.  I staged the dining table as if ready for guests with chargers and colorful plates, silverware and placemats.  On the kitchen table, I placed a bowl of fresh fruit with some fake oranges underneath so you thought the whole thing was real. 

I did not want to mess with changing out fresh flowers everyday but I had silk orchid plants on the coffee table and kitchen window.  I also had a colorful cookie jar on the counter. 

Upstairs all the rooms had the same music playing, lights on and decorated with the same color palette throughout the home.  I created theme rooms such as a guest room, art and craft room, and office.  I added youthful accessories for teenager or small child.  The guest room is perfect for Grandma. 

In the bathrooms, I staged them to look like a hotel spa with a beautiful bowl filled with soaps and wash cloths.  No personal items were seen anywhere. I placed all of our personal shampoo items in a basket hidden in the corner of the shower so the buyer would not feel uncomfortable thinking “Oooh, there’s their stuff!  They took a shower in here!”  Think of it this way, if you go to a hotel and saw used soap, you’d be hollering down to the front desk right away.  So everyday, I removed everything. I wanted it to look welcoming so the buyer had no reason to think twice.

I believe the main key to staging for a first impression is to make sure the home is very clean, carpet, floors and showers.  I reviewed homes in our area to see what my competition was and I was amazed at how dirty the showers were and all the kids stuff piled high in the rooms.  I’m not suggesting that you move out to sell your home but you’ve got to minimalize all the personalized things.  Remove family photos, and especially clutter.  It must be neat, clean and designed to sell.

The next suggestion is try to keep one continuous color theme throughout the home.  Keep things as neutral as possible with spots of color.  The buyer can paint a accent wall but they will not want to spend money on a painter.

First impressions are the lasting ones so start at the front and work until the home seems complete.  We sold our home in three weeks!

This is going to be a very short blog today as I just wanted to share with you some of the new abstracts that I’m painting.  I’m having a ball experimenting with all my styles but I’ve got to say the abstracts are completely “free”!  You can just let your hand fly and you’ll come up with something.  Color of course makes or breaks a piece.  If you have a knack for it, you’re good.  It’s also important to know when to stop adding paint and balance of the abstract. 

I admire other artists and  I find that I put myself down compared to most out there but I feel these new images are on a good tract so I’ll keep working this direction.  I hope you like what you see.

Wouldn’t it be great to come home to a house that invites you in and says “Aaaah!”?  I’m here to tell you that you can create that.  Here are some simple solutions for a serene home starting with basic steps in clearing and renewing.

A clutter free home is the best place to start.  Clear up your clutter and you’ll free up your spirit.  You’ll be surprised how much energy you will have.  It’s overwhelming to begin purging and I must admit that I had help with my own home. I called up a home organizer in Orange County,  Joanne Trejo at Simply Organized. She was not attached to some of my stupid things I was hanging on to. She would ask if I really needed it.  My old self would hang on to it but with a push from her, I now have a clutter free home.  Amazing!  Now, I will never go back to a cluttery environment again. Joanne’s number is 949  923-0589.  She is well worth the call and very reasonable compared to others I checked out.

Next, your furnishings can create the invitation.  If you have modern taste, keeping things minimal with straight lines will work best for you.  If you are traditional or transitional, comfy and cozy furniture with plump lines and soft cushions would be a good choice.  Typically traditional looks show lots of accessories but you can get carried away. I like to remove everything first, then add one accessory at a time until I find the right balance.  Try to place small, taller, tallest items on accent tables. The best approach to hanging art is usually symmetrical.  If you are adding odd shapes of frames, try to keep them in a boxed area rather than too random.  This also creates alignment in your viewing.

Finally, the most important factor for a relaxed atmosphere is a calm color palette. Start with paint and fabrics that blend well together in soothing colors  picked from the great outdoors such as earth and water colors.  You can bring your outside in with hues in sea foam, sage and olives, pastel pinks, pearl grays, putty and flaxy taupe’s, buttery yellows and sky blues.  Just hearing those descriptions gives you that “Aaah” feeling doesn’t it? 

If that is too calm for you, add some spice with an accent color to the palette. You might want to throw in some hot orange or fuchsia or black.  Keeps these minimal and you’ll have the calming affect you’re after.  You can have stronger colors if you keep all furnishings to a minimum like I suggested above but if you truly want calm stay with the soft neutrals and light earth tones.

That’s it!  Can you smell and feel that “Aaaah! Home at Last Feeling”?

Here are my favorite catalogs:

Williams Sonoma Home - Their color collection in bright orange and seafoam is shown in their spring catalog.  Georgeous!  This makes me want to start all over in my own bedroom.

The next catalog is Brocade Home.  Not only is the layout designed magnificently, they’ve  mixed simple design with absolutely gaudy and “foofy” accessories.  It’s marvelous, darling!  You must check it out.

Pier One.  Need I say more.  When I’m collecting accessories for clients, I’ll stop at several locations such as  Pottery Barn.  I found rustic accent tables made from wood tree stumps.  The Cayden Day Bed is another favorite of mine from the catalog.   Restoration Hardware is also a great choice for top notch furnishings, bed & bath and just about anything you need.  The linen drapery panels in gray are perfect for my new client.  I completed her color consultation this week.  We chose a light gray.  The darker contrast will be nice.

Most of you know about these catalogs above.  I thought I would list a few that you might not be aware of.  Happy Snooping!

Inside Avenue

West Elm

Modern Desires

Artful Home

Can you have too much color?  Yes, you can.  Oversaturation of one color throughout a room like the photo above is too much.  The eye needs a break. The designer of this project accomplished a sensational layout with furnishings and accessories.  The only problem  is too much green.  And, it’s not a soft green so it’s overwhelming.

I have an easy solution to break up the color pallette.  Look at the art piece above the sofa.  Do you see that creamy tone?  I would play up that cream by painting the ceiling and base boards.  Once that was done you will start noticing the accessories instead of all green.  That one change will allow the eyes to roll around the room.

I can save you from the grief of choosing paint.  First start with a complete color palette in mind.  If you have existing furniture, that will be you jump off place but if not, you have some freedom.  Before you shop, take a peak at my check list.

1.  Look at a color wheel.  I want you to pick a color that you feel will be your primary color scheme for your walls.  The intensity of the color wheel is strong and most likely you will tone down to a paler shade, or maybe not.  Next choose the color directly opposite on the other side of the wheel.  Let’s say it’s orange and blue.  These are compliments and they make the biggest impact together.  The bottom line is you want to place a cool and warm tones together so that you have a balance.  See this blog before you go shopping.

2.  Next pick a tone for your baseboards and wood mouldings.  You do not have to choose white but you will want to have a contrast (unlike the photo above).  If you chose a warm shade of green, choose a warm shade of such as cream.  If you are afraid to choose, go back to a white.  See another  previous blog on how you can see the difference between warm and cool tones of carpet and fabrics.

3.  Your accessories should bring out the complimentary colors.  Art is a perfect place to splash lots of color.  If I were buying art for the room above, I would POP color with an intense abstract for this contemporary room.

4.  Bring your fabric swatches with you when you go shopping.  If you haven’t purchased anything yet, take the paint chip with you.  Remember, you want a bit of contrast.  Your furniture textiles should be slightly lighter or darker than your paint shade.  Try not to match everything.  Small contrast is better than no contrast.

Hope that helps you all!

Stark is at the top of my list.  I love this grasscloth selection.  I’m putting a very creamy cloth in myown  powder room.  It will dress it up without being so stark with plain paint color and  it will look very classy on my walls.  I can pop a great abstract painting on top and the room will be complete. It will be a statement without being overpowering. 

That’s what is great about texture.  The style above is very ethnic.  You could create an asian, morrocan, earthy, tropical and even contemporary look with these.  They won’t date themselves as much as a big floral.

Other paper companies that are friendly with our world are William Morris, Arts and Crafts and Victorian,   As a color consultant, I like to stretch my client imagination and step out of the box.  There is more to color than just paint.  If you picture this same room above with a black wall, it would be cool but this is truly the coolest!  Don’t you agree?

They can’t mess up!  There is only one way for them to go.  I would bet that their home life is just as successful because they are so organized in their thinking.  My goals are to turn my distractions from the media to the true focus for my future.  I’m reading a great book called “The Power of Focus”.  You can find it on Amazon used.  I bought two.  One to give away.  It’s a must read for all of us right now. We must hold tight and stick together.  Focus is one way to energize ourselves on the things that truly matter.

I have to admit that last year I was in a depression due to downturn in the economy. I took it personally.  I started my business in my little condo, moved to a small space after three years.  Things were booming and growing.  We moved to another space where I created a beautiful design showroom and then two years later, BAM!

Slowly, I laid off one employee and then another and finally moved back home last year.  Ouch!  That hurt terribly and I was emotionally torn up.  It took me quite awhile to adapt to having my office upstairs.  My son saw my confusion and purchased me a new lap top so I could get out of the house.  That truly helped alot.  I needed the social network of faces around and I just needed to get out of the lonely house.

I’m long over the depressed feelings that I had.  In fact, I’m so over it and on such a mission to rise above this. Motivational books, prayer and exercise is helping ward off my woes.  We all need to be at our optimum and put our boot straps on.   Everyone has their own way to rise above  this.  Let’s all shoot for the wild blue yonder and not the other direction.

My husband, my family, my art and singing and of course the great clients are my best of what I’ve got.  This is my life. I’m making the best of it!

This leads to textiles.  You cannot complete the choices for paint unless you have a plan of action.  I choose the textiles first for the furniture and drapery treatments.  Next I will select the flooring and finally the paint.  Work with the end desire in sight  or you might start second guessing yourself.  That’s usually the time I get the panic call for help. If you take the time to follow your plan, you won’t need me.

My suggestions would be to go window shopping for furniture.  Do not purchase but look around.  If you find exactly what you want, your home free.  You can ask the store to give you a sample of the fabric and that will help you initiate the color of paint and textiles for the throw pillows or drapery treatments. 

Another simple way to complete a room is to find a great photo.  For example the collection of Kravet textiles you see above can give you a jump start.  Notice the wood on the floor and the dark chocolate color in the chair.  The blue fabric has the same cocoa detail.  The only thing I don’t agree with is the wall color.  Everything looks too monochromatic and cold.  I would choose a golden tone that you see in the detail of the brown chair which would warm up the room.  Since Kravet is selling fabric, it makes sense but I need to see a complimentary color such as ta warm golden tone in the room.  I think the fabric would stand out better for their advertisement.  I believe in having the both cool and warm tones if you want some excitement. Sometimes you might just need some simple accessories.  If you take a color wheel, look at the colors that are completely on the opposite side of the wheel. They are considered to be complimentart colors such as blue and orange.  When you see a painting with these tones it has impact. 

If you want a serene look and not impact you can calm the values of a tone down from yellow to butter, bright blue to soft blue and so on. 

I hope this helps you out. If you are totally confused, let me know.

 The black and white branch is from the same wallpaper supplier.  At first glance you might think this would go out of style quickly.  This particular setting seems quite mod hence the name of the company.  It’s minimalism at it’s best.  You could change your look  to traditional or even asian by switching some things out.  Take the furnishings away and place a beautiful traditional red sofa in front.  Bring in the asian tables and artwork.  Add some white silk drapery panels with a red print banding for trimming them off.  Voile!  You have a new room.   

 The next choice here is from Farrow and Ball which are typically very traditional . I’ve found some huge prints that would make a great statement in any room.  In fact, I love mixing up contemporary with old world.  In order to pull it off correctly, you must have a good eye for the exclectic style.  

 This particular print  is too traditional for me and it definately reminds me of a Grandma’s room.  ”To each is own”.  My gut tells me you’d be sorry you chose this one.  Anything big is going to make an impact so choose carefully, think of the long term of it or just change it out in a couple of years.  Have a painter  or wallpaper remover do the work.  It won’t be so bad.  If you can’t choose a style, send me a photo of your room and I’ll help you out.