The Interior Muse

Halloween - Show off Invite

2011-10-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

Have you noticed the leaves blowing across the road as you commute to work? Whoa now...take a deep breath...I can feel your anxiety growing. Yes, it is that time of year... Fall. Autumn. Harvest. Samhain. The colors of Autumn are like no other, clay reds and rich golds strike a contrast against cerulean blue skies. The bounty of a harvest, eye candy for the mind, it is why we venture out

Reflections on Mentors

2011-10-18T20:20:00.000-04:00

How many of you out there have the good fortune of being conscious of the role mentors play in our everyday lives? I ask because today I was musing on the importance of mentorship and the impact it can have. The latest Wikipedia states, "Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less

Exciting News from The Interior Muse

2011-10-16T13:21:00.000-04:00

The Interior Muse is back! You were wondering what I was up to weren't you? Well wonder no longer. This year I celebrated my birthday by taking my tag line's advice to be bold, be brave and be uniquely you. In doing so I have achieved a lifelong dream and founded Design9 LLC, an interior decorating company that specializes in property styling. Over twenty years ago I attended college to

Unify your Home...Decor Tips, Exploring Heritage for the"Ours" brand - Part 3

2011-01-30T12:30:00.008-05:00

So far we have created some descriptions to develop inspiration for the “Ours” brand from our favorite memories and destinations (Part 1), along with cues from the items we already own (Part 2). Plus we have as a practical side effect a great list to tuck away for insurance purposes in case the unexpected…happens. This week for the last stage of our inspiration exploration we will look back into

Unify your Home...Decor Integration Tips, Developing the "Ours" brand - Part 2

2011-01-22T11:26:00.000-05:00

Alright so presumably at this point you have taken my advice in Part 1 of this series and have a notebook started with descriptions from your explorations of memories from your favorite destinations together. This week we are going to add to that list by taking cues from the items we already own. Even if you have won the lottery and plan to design your “McMansion” from scratch the furniture,

Unify your Home...Decor Integration Tips, Exploring destination themes for the "Ours" brand - Part 1

2011-01-15T12:04:00.000-05:00

Last week, I began exploring a dilemma many of us face in designing our interior spaces and decided to start this series, when “Yours” and “Theirs” becomes “Ours”. If you missed the first post, take a moment to read it here. This week I am going to walk you through an activity you can do as a couple to get the creative juices going and develop some unifying “Ours” themes for the home. Before you

Unify Your Home...Decor Integration Tips, When "Mine" and "Theirs" become "Ours"

2011-01-09T13:52:00.001-05:00

It seems to be a common dilemma... Two households unite to become one and inevitable there are fixtures, furniture pieces, and objects d'art that end up homeless...orphans relegated to the trash pile, or sold to the highest bidder on eBay, or your garage sale. All because neither of you can figure out how to combine that seven foot long country plaid couch with the Queen Anne style settee and

Thinking About Going Green - Off-Grid Green Living Center

2011-01-01T08:30:00.038-05:00

Happy New Year! At the end of December, I wrote about my resolutions for 2011. I was so inspired by the idea of sharing information with you about local Richmond, VA businesses and organizations that pertain to hearth and home that I impulsively stopped by a location on Monday evening called the Off-Grid Green Living Center. Boy, oh boy! I am I happy and excited that I took the initiative and

New Year Resolution - Focus on what we love most

2010-12-27T13:14:00.001-05:00

As 2010 comes to a close it is customary to reflect upon the past year and decide upon resolutions for the next year. Last year, I started this blog and unfortunately after 11 posts stopped writing. It wasn’t that I did not have anything to say to you, it was the simple fact that my life became terribly complicated. Over the course of 2010 I forced myself to gain new knowledge; I earned the

Home Staging Controversy...You deserve better!

2010-08-14T11:20:00.000-04:00

Today’s topic “Home staging” most likely will generate a lot of controversy. You see I have had a nagging thought lately about home staging…wondering why…why would anyone consider staging a home before they sell it. Surely this is a fad that is close to suffering its death throes; I cannot recall hearing about home staging services in the 1990s…I could be wrong… can you remember when home staging

Musings on decorating with the color Red

2010-08-09T18:24:00.000-04:00

I read a Yahoo news article earlier titled “Women Find Men in Red More Appealing?” The gist of this article was that despite the different cultural connotations of this color a study found that for both sexes there was a strong correlation between viewing someone in red and thoughts of sex or attractiveness. I then, humorously, envisioned a throng of lovelorn masses at the local paint store

When You Inherit a Green Couch with an Orange Shag Carpet…Make it work

2010-07-30T21:28:00.000-04:00

We have all been there at some-point in our lives, if you haven’t then count yourself lucky. Whether you are just starting out, or just starting over sometimes you don’t have the luxury of choosing your furnishings. I’m talking about those occasions where you end up with someone else’s hand-me-down furnishings. What would you do if you inherited a shag orange carpet and a green couch and throwing

It’s Your Home; you determine room use, not the floor plan!

2010-07-27T11:00:00.009-04:00

If you have been following this blog, or even glanced at my “About me” by-line, then you know I am a huge advocate of having your home reflect your personality. I have talked about decorating with colors that you love and make you feel good to create ambiance. I have even touched upon choosing decorating accessories that tell a story or remind you of a cherished person’s act of kindness.

Decorating challenge – Lime green and Purple Bedroom for a Teenager!

2010-07-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

My children love to challenge me. Sometimes this can irritate me to no end, especially during those instances when “Because, I said so” is the only answer that will end the constant haranguing. Other times though, they can come up with a challenge that is well…challenging, but fun. My children have grown up with my penchant for constantly re-designing and decorating our rooms and have adjusted

Contrast in context...choosing trim colors

2010-07-20T21:42:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, you can get so excited once you have found the perfect paint color for you walls that you can completely forget to take into account coordinating your trim (baseboards, chair-rail, and crown moulding). A few posts back I wrote about color, and how it magically changes dependent upon the light conditions of the room and with the placement of other colors next to it here: (http://

Don’t forget the walls

2010-07-17T23:27:00.001-04:00

Living rooms/Family rooms are aptly named; no other room in the house gets as much “face time” as a living room. These rooms (generally equipped with conformable seating arrangements, a TV, and audio system) are designed to entertain guests, watch movies or your favorite TV shows, perhaps play games with the family or simply hang out with the family and relax. Many an hour and dollar are

Focal Points for Foyers

2010-07-15T23:04:00.001-04:00

“You only have one chance to make a first impression.” This old adage not only applies to meeting new people, it applies to your home as well. Take a moment and think about the foyer of your home, is it simply a means to enter and exit or does it contain something that catches your eye? Some foyers are rather simple and small, consisting of a narrow hallway that steers you toward the other

Tips for...Sprucing up your Kitchen this Summer

2010-07-13T21:59:00.002-04:00

Painting your existing kitchen cabinets and swapping out the old hardware is an easy and inexpensive way to spruce up your kitchen. IF...you take some time to do some prep work first. No, this is not an article about how to clean the cabinets, sand the cabinets, applying primer and then one coat of semi-gloss paint before sanding ever so lightly again and then applying the final coat. What

Resist the "Easter Egg Home" syndrome...Create a Home Pallet Book

2010-07-11T14:44:00.000-04:00

Never under estimate the role of color in creating ambiance. Color is magic, but you must use it for good and not evil. Have you ever walked into an “Easter Egg” house? Those homes where you traverse the rainbow spectrum from front door to back? Each room a complete island unto its own, the bold welcoming foyer in a sunny yellow, off to the left is the romantic dining room in deep magenta, the

Exactly what is the coffee table for… Coffee, Tea, or Me?

2010-07-09T21:03:00.001-04:00

Coffee tables are the nemeses of living rooms. Please don’t get me wrong…I am a self proclaimed coffee snob and I am sure our local Starbucks most likely survives upon my clan’s weekly procurement of "Sumatra" beans…but I do not…cannot abide the coffee table. I love coffee, the thick Mississippi Mud variation of the brew is my favorite way to have it. My coffee is my best friend in the morning,