Archive for the ‘Home Stylist’ Category

News From The Furniture Market

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

Every April and October, I have the wonderful opportunity to attend the High Point Furniture Market. It is an exciting time when like-minded people come together from all over the world to see and discuss what’s available in the world of interior design. It’s always exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time!! One of the highlights of the week was seeing Kathy Ireland surprise Angelo Surmelis (Host of HGTV’s “Rate Your Space”) in his showroom where he was previewing his new line of home furnishings. Even Angelo seemed a little star-struck!
Of course, another highlight was getting to see the color and style trends up close and in person. And, thanks to Gaston Alive!, you, too, can be among the first to discover the current trends for interior design.

STUDS, STUDS AND MORE STUDS!
Everywhere I looked there were nailheads and metal studs. Nailheads have always been used on traditional upholstery styles. Now, we are also seeing them on more contemporary styles in a brighter, livelier fashion. But, it doesn’t stop there. Nailheads, or studs, are appearing on casegoods (wood furniture), accent pieces and accessories. And, they’re not just being used around the edge of pieces but they are being applied in patterns that truly make the pieces unique and interesting.

MARCHING TO YOUR OWN BEAT
Drum shades widely populated the showrooms, both in overhead lighting and lamps. They were seen in all sizes. In furniture showrooms, large drum chandeliers were used over dining room tables while oversized drum chandeliers were used as center lights over seating arrangements. And, the use of drum-shaped shades on the lamps dominated the scene, taking one back to the 60’s.

THE 60’S, REALLY?
Yes, really. The drum-shaped lamp shades weren’t the only thing which was reminiscent of the 60’s. The use of metal on upholstered furniture and the clean, uncomplicated lines of the furniture designs easily took one back to the 1960’s. However, many of these pieces easily mingled with the more transitional styles popular today. Some of my favorite items included the low barrel-shaped chairs. These can be pulled either toward the traditional or the contemporary side of design simply by the fabric used on them. In fact, great accent chairs are being offered by most of the furniture companies today. A couple of well-chosen accent chairs with coordinating throw pillows for your sofa can be a fairly inexpensive way to give your room new life.

LAYERS OF NEUTRAL
One of the predominate color palettes in the showroom settings was neutrals layered with neutrals. In these settings, there was no true color used. It was either a combination of varying shades of white and taupe or white and gray. These “non-color” schemes created a very soothing and relaxing, yet classic setting.

POPS OF BOLD COLOR
On the other hand, there is another trend towards bold pops of true color against a fairly neutral background, especially a white background. This is a fun and energetic look. It also creates a palette that is easy to modify as one’s mood or trends change! The key is to make sure the larger pieces in the room are white or neutral and the bold color is brought in through throw pillows, accessories and accent furniture.

All in all, it was a great market, leaving me inspired and looking forward to sharing these design trends with you. Just remember, your style never goes out of style. Let’s decorate!

by Anna McMahan Hastings

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Room Makeover Success!

Thursday, April 7th, 2011
By Anna Hastings
The day has finally come to makeover that certain room in your house.  So, where do you begin?  First and foremost, you need to ask yourself a few important questions so you know what needs to go in the room.  Some questions you might ask would be:
·         What is the purpose of the room?  (Watching TV, playing games, reading, visiting, etc.)
·         Who will use the room?  (Primarily adults, children, animals)
·         What are all of the activities that will take place in the room?
These questions will help you to determine what type of furniture, equipment or accent pieces should or should not go into the room.
Once you have defined the purpose and use of the room, you should do a floor plan.  One of the mistakes people most often make is buying too much furniture for the space they have.  Furniture looks much smaller in a 10,000sf building with high ceilings than it will when placed in a 12’x14’ room in your home.  This is why a floor plan is vital to a successful room design.
The simplest way to do a floor plan is to measure and draw out the perimeter of the room on graph paper.  Be sure to mark all of the windows, doors and openings to other rooms, along with any other architectural elements such as bookshelves and fireplaces.  Once this is done you can cut out furniture pieces from an additional piece of graph paper in simple shapes, making them to scale (i.e., an 84” sofa or a 75” loveseat).  Then, you can move the pieces around until you get the ideal layout for the room, making sure that you have plenty of room for all of your main traffic areas.
So, now that you know what items you need in the room, it’s time to get creative.  If you don’t already have a vision for how you want to decorate the room, start looking for an inspiration piece.  You will know it when you see it.  It might be a great area rug, piece of artwork, or a fabulous fabric.  This will help to give your design some direction and cohesiveness.  Now, you are ready to start selecting the specific items for your room.
I usually start by selecting the items for which there are the fewest choices and then work my way out to the items or accents which offer the most choices, such as paint.  Since there are an infinite number of paint colors, I recommend letting this be the last decision you make for your design even though it might be one of the first things you need to do when you actually put the room together.  If your design calls for an area rug, you might want to start with this selection and then move to fabrics for your upholstered furniture, bedding, window treatments and accessories.  Be sure to keep your inspiration piece in mind, and preferably in front of you, as you make your selections.
Once the major pieces are selected, it is time to put the “jewelry” on.  Now, you can choose the style and hardware for your window treatments and determine what accessories (lamps, artwork, throw pillows, etc) you want to place in the room.  And, last but certainly not least, choose your paint color for your walls if that is part of your plan.  It should be an easy decision to make once you have your inspiration piece and all of your fabrics laid out before you.
But, most importantly, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the process.  It makes the end result that much sweeter!
For more decorating tips, please visit my website at www.decdens.com/ahastings
704-813-6560 or 704-825-1993
anna.hastings@decoratingden.com

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The Home Stylist-Five Ways to Lighten Up Your Space

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
by Emily Clark
“Five Ways to Lighten Up Your Space”
One of the complaints I most often hear from people about their home is that it feels too dark and uninviting.  Whether it’s because of dark woodwork, too much heavy furniture or a lack of natural light, there are easy ways you can lighten up your space without making major changes.
Use mirrors and glass accents.
If you have a lot of dark elements in the room, adding pieces with reflective quality can instantly open up the space.  In a small space, for example, use a big, leaning mirror behind a sofa or a chair to give more depth to your room.  You can also bring in glass elements such as a coffee table, hurricane candle holders, etc. to give your space a lighter feel.
Layer white and cream textiles.
Simply adding white elements to your room can instantly soften things up.  Solid white or cream pillows, for example, will mix with almost any décor and can make a brown sofa suddenly not seem so “brown.”  Layer whites and creams–it’s okay to mix them–in different textures through pillows, throws and rugs.  Another trick is to hang tall, light curtain panels near the ceiling to frame your window.  This will brighten things up and add height to your space by drawing your eyes upward.
Mix it up.
While it’s tempting to take the easy route and buy a matching set of furniture, it can often make the room feel heavy and a bit uninteresting.  An easy solution is to replace one or two pieces with something in a completely different texture or finish.  If you have a matching set of wood accent tables, try replacing just the coffee table with an upholstered ottoman.  Add a small end table in a metallic finish.  Another easy fix is to paint one or two pieces from the set in a different color.  It’s okay to mix finishes and different wood tones.  This will give your home a more layered and interesting look.
Don’t rely on overhead lighting.
Lamps are an obvious way to lighten up your room, but how you use them can make all the difference.  It’s important to have enough lighting at the right places.  In general, I like to have at least three points of light in every room besides overhead lighting.  To create balance, try spreading your lamps around the room, instead of having them on just one wall.  If you don’t have floor outlets, run a small extension cord under an area rug, and add lamps in the middle of your room on a sofa table.
Add a light rug.
The floor is literally the foundation of your room and can play a big part in the overall feel of your space.  Add texture and lightness with a large area rug.  Even if you have carpeting or a darker rug already in place, it’s okay to layer smaller rugs right on top.  Shag or loop rugs can add some great texture to a space and are a more kid-friendly option if the thought of a light-colored rug scares you.

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The Home Stylist

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

By Emily Clark

Between after-Christmas sales and the impending “Super Bowl Sunday,” January is a popular month for TV purchases.  And, as such, it would be my guess that it’s also a popular month for debates between husbands and wives over where the big-screen plasma television is going once it gets home.  While televisions of years past were pieces of furniture in themselves, the new trend of flat screens has opened up a lot of possibilities for including a TV in the room without it becoming the main attraction.  Although lots of furniture manufacturers offer the standard media cabinet, there are other ways to “disguise” or at least make the television fit in with your décor, hopefully making both husband and wife happy campers.
One of my favorite solutions is to use a pretty dresser under a flat screen TV, whether it’s mounted on the wall above or just sitting on top.  Look for a piece that you might not normally use in a living room.  For our family room, I used an older, more traditional dresser with carved detailing and painted it for a more modern look.  A dresser with lots of drawers provides great storage for DVD’s, remotes, toys, etc.  If you have unsightly media boxes that you don’t want sitting on top, it’s possible to take out a drawer (or two) and replace them with plywood panels.
Once you have the TV in place, there’s often the dilemma of a big, blank wall around it, making the television feel even more prominent in the room.  An easy, and affordable, solution is to create a gallery of frames around the television.  Not only does this trick fill up a lot of space visually, but if done right, it can almost make the TV blend in with the rest of the wall display.  When hanging your art, treat the shape of the TV as a frame in itself.  I like to use artwork in subtle colors or black and white photography so that it’s not too distracting.  If you have a large wall to fill but not a huge budget, there are several free online sources for printable art, offering just about any subject you can imagine.  I often use Vintage Printable (http://vintageprintable.com/wordpress/) or the New York Public Library’s digital image gallery (http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/index.cfm).
Paint is another great solution.  Use a darker color on the wall behind the TV to make it appear less prominent.  In a media room or playroom, black chalkboard paint is a fun option, whether you use it on the entire wall or to just paint a large horizontal stripe.
And, I saved one of my favorite ideas for last.  If you have a flat screen TV mounted on the wall, one way to “pretty it up” is to frame it, literally.  Hang a pretty frame around it—a sleek style for a more modern look, or something more ornate, if your tastes lean toward traditional.  If painted the same color as the wall, the frame (and the TV) almost becomes an architectural element in the room, and a pretty focal point that she won’t mind staring at while he’s watching football.

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The Home Stylist

Friday, December 10th, 2010
By Emily Clark
With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about adding some festive touches to your holiday dinner table.  If Christmas shopping has left little in your decorating budget, you can still add some cheer to your table without breaking the bank.  In fact, you may already have most of what you need to create a beautiful tablescape for your Christmas dinner.
·         Start by draping the table in a pretty piece of fabric.  You shouldn’t need much more than a yard and as opposed to table cloths, there are limitless options for patterns and colors to choose from.  Shop remnant bins for clearance fabrics, and you don’t necessarily have to stick with traditional reds and greens.  A bold graphic pattern, like a black and white stripe, for example, provides the perfect backdrop to any color scheme.
·         Centerpieces don’t have to be elaborate or expensive.  Need a last minute idea?  Take the wreath off your front door and place it on a pretty cake stand.  Keep your centerpiece simple and low so that guests can see over it and across the table.
·         Shop your yard for fresh greenery.  There’s no easier arrangement then cutting off a few evergreen branches, magnolia leaves and some holly and placing them in a vase.  Fresh cut greenery is also pretty laid on a decorative tray with a tall hurricane candle holder placed in the center.
·         Even bare branches laying in your yard can become something beautiful.  Collect a grouping, stick them in a Styrofoam block and place in a festive container, or even a galvanized bucket.  Hang shiny ornaments from the branches for an impromptu “Christmas tree.”  You can leave the branches natural, or try spray-painting them white, or maybe red, for fun.
·         Line your long table with small rosemary trees.  They’re fragrant and a great way to add some Christmas green to your dining room.  They’re inexpensive and readily available at local garden centers.  Sit them in different pots spray painted all the same color or for a more natural look, tie burlap around the containers.
·         Create a collection of glass apothecary jars, hurricanes, and vases in varying heights and fill them with Christmas ornaments, candy canes, pinecones, even gift bows.  I also like to add several glass cylinders from the dollar store to mix in with my grouping.  It’s a fun, inexpensive way to bring in color, and the glass containers can be reused and refilled with seasonal items throughout the year.
·         Have old brass candlesticks you’re no longer using?  A large grouping of these sprayed one color make an easy centerpiece.  Use a small, framed mirror as a tray to place them on and to reflect the candlelight.
·         Make guests feel special (even if it’s your own family members) by creating place cards.  They can be simply handwritten or you could even use pictures of each guest from a Christmas past.
·         Pinecones make perfect place card holders.  Use larger ones alone or fill a pretty glass dish with smaller pinecones and some holly.
·         Scatter Christmas ornaments around the centerpiece and place settings.  They’re whimsical and add a little sparkle.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a beautiful holiday table!

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The Home Stylist

Tuesday, November 9th, 2010
By Emily Clark
If redecorating is on your to-do list but not necessarily in your budget, there may be an easy solution.  Through persistence, and with a little patience, I’ve been able to furnish the majority of our home by using Craigslist.  Although often overlooked, it’s a golden resource for good, and inexpensive, design.
One of the advantages of living near a metro area is the abundance of great stuff out there for sale.  If you’re willing to drive a little, look a lot and sometimes apply a new coat (or two) of paint, you may be able to find some unbelievable deals.
Take my bookcases, for example.  At first glance, they were a brown mess, with many layers of neon paint underneath.  However, the carved detailing on the doors intrigued me, they fit the space underneath our stairs perfectly, and the price was right–$20 each.  So, I took a chance and spent the good part of a Saturday sanding and repainting them.  The end result was worth the elbow grease and my $40.
I’ve had several friends tell me, however, that they rarely have luck while shopping on the site.  Although I don’t have any magic formula, these are my best tips for finding–and getting–great deals on Craigslist:
·         Search the site often. If you’re looking for a specific item (or even if you’re just browsing), look several times a day–or more.  New listings are added all the time, and if there’s something really great, you want to be the first to know about it.  Sometimes I type in keywords, but usually, I just keep refreshing the page to scour new listings.
·         Don’t use keywords that are too specific in your search. If you are looking for a tufted chair, for example, just type in the word “chair.”  In many cases, sellers may not know the correct term for tufting, upholstered, etc.  If you search using broader terms, you’ll come up with more results and hopefully find a gem that other buyers have missed.
·         Be decisive, and act fast. Craigslist is not the place to spend two weeks deciding if the $25 coffee table you found is the perfect fit for your living room.  Good items go fast.  So, if you find it, like it and feel that it’s a fair price, go for it, and don’t look back.
·         Always offer less than the asking price. I always email with a lower offer (still within reason) or to ask if they’re willing to negotiate.  Why not?  Nine times out of ten, I get a better deal.  Craigslist is made for negotiation.  I just try to keep my offers fair so that the seller will take me seriously and hopefully respond.
·         If you can’t afford the item, email the seller with your budget. I know I just said to email the seller with a reasonable offer.  That being said, if you’re looking at a bigger ticket item and can’t necessarily pay what they’re asking, it doesn’t hurt to email the seller and tell them what you can pay, in case the item doesn’t sell.
·         Look past the pictures. I always try to look closely at the (very often terrible) photographs on Craigslist to find the potential of a piece of furniture.  Think about what changes you can make with fresh paint, new fabric, etc.  I look for the small details that may set the piece apart after a makeover.
·         Take a friend. And, lastly, be careful.  This may go without saying, but any time you’re dealing with online transactions, it’s a good idea to take a friend for safety—and heavy lifting.
To find listings in our area, go to charlotte.craigslist.org.  Good luck with your searches and happy shopping!

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The Home Stylist-by Emily Clark

Wednesday, October 6th, 2010

When we moved into our house two years ago, our small, 11 x 12 feet, spare bedroom
inevitably became “that room” where we threw everything we weren’t
using elsewhere.  It was a cluttered, unorganized mess — to say the
least.
So, when I decided to get serious about my home-based interior design
business last fall, I knew I had to create a home office where I could
be inspired.  And, I had to do it on a tight budget.
Being a firm believer that high style doesn’t have to come at a high price, I began scouring local thrift stores, consignment shops, Craigslist and even yard sales.  While the entire makeover took place over a six-month period, my patience paid off, and I was able to decorate the entire room, start to finish, for less than $600.
I designed my space using three main concepts:
1. Repurposing old furniture and accessories—I love painting older
pieces to give them new life.  I found the campaign dresser for $40 at
a second-hand furniture warehouse and painted it a fun, Kelly Green,
along with a small desk lamp I bought at Goodwill.  I also sprayed
several of the bookcase accessories glossy white, including a vintage
frame I picked up for $5.
2.  Creating an eclectic mix of old and new pieces—By mixing vintage
and modern pieces, I was able to create a more interesting, collected
feel.  For example, I paired a sleek Parsons desk with an older,
distressed chair (a $10 yard sale find).  Finding pieces from various
sources, and sometimes giving them a facelift, often results in a more
designer look than buying a matching set.
3.  Personalizing my space—Since I knew I would be spending a lot of
time in this room, I wanted it to feel like “me.” Gallery walls are a
great way to incorporate your personality.  I framed some of my
favorite family photographs and artwork in various sized black frames
to create a large display above the dresser.
Creating a unique space without spending a lot of money isn’t hard to do, if you’re willing to be creative and patient in the process.  When shopping for bargain items, always think of what they could be after a coat of new paint or a change of fabric.
While this makeover didn’t happen overnight, I was able to eventually create a happy work
space by thinking outside of the box and carefully choosing pieces I
really love.
See more photos at www.emilyaclark.com.

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