A Room Divided

I've always loved this room divider by Oscar De La Renta. A mirrored room divider is a brilliant idea to seperate spaces and still keep them open and light.

Chalkboard Paint

When chalkboard paint came out a few years ago, Martha Stewart was putting it on clay pots for her herbs, people were creating their own custom sized chalkboards with it, and so on and on. My opinion on chalkboard paint is to 'use it boldly'! As you can see in these photos chalkboard paint can work in traditional or contemporary spaces. I love the 'blank canvas' feeling of the entire wall painted above. I would love to see this unexpected element done in a coastal environment, surrounded by white furnishings. There are few design tools that will give you such an impact, at such a low cost. Use this product with confidence!

Dishing Out Design

I've always had a weakness for tableware, and not nearly enough houses to accomodate my addiction. It is a curse of Decorator's, to be able to love so many different styles, as to delve into and love our client's desires and wishes as we would our own, and yet to never have enough spaces to see them into fruition. This green and blue coastal design concept wouldn't be as fresh without these perfect jadite dishes to live with! I rarely get asked to stock a client's kitchen with appropriate tableware, and I often wonder what happens to this final detail, after I leave the scene.

And why do we display china that we are afraid to touch and will never use? Use it, I say, if you love it. If you hate it, don't get caught in 'Hand-Me-Down Hell'. I've always said, "just because it's free, doesn't mean it's right". The dishes that you purchase can greatly enhance your home's decor. They won't be in the cabinets all the time...

Ode to the old-fashioned pantry.

Ah, to have a walk-in pantry. I get asked for them all the time from clients who are renovating their kitchens. In my latest project for a family of five, I am putting a chalkboard door on it, similar to the one pictured here, with a space for three little girls to draw while their mother cooks.

Notice how the dishes, which are obviously functional, are also a part of the overall design concept here. Think about this when buying your dishes and flatware. How will they compliment the overall look of your home when you are entertaining? When all of these pieces are coordinated with the color palette of your home, the dishes are not an eye-sore when left out anymore. You are free to enjoy your own party now!

Store Bought Curtains 101

Here's the scoop:

• Don't buy tab-top curtains. They are less full looking than the others.
• Buy curtains with a white lining or backing. This will help them keep an even looking color when the sunlight shines through the window, and also look much better from the outside of your house.
• If you are actually using the curtains for light control, try to layer them if budget allows. Meaning, buy hardware with double rods, and put sheers behind the decorative panels. This will give you the ability to use the sheers for soft light during the day and privacy with the thicker panels at night.
• Unless you are going modern, buy the thickest rods available. This will give your window a more professionally done apprearance and they will become a great design feature in the room. Make sure that the panels that you buy will slide over the rod, unless you are using sliding drapery rings.
• If you are still unsure of what colors and types of panels to buy, call a Decorator for a consultation to direct you of what to purchase. It will save you time and money!

Help! How To Hire A Decorator

Working with a design professional isn’t as mystifying as it seems. Here’s help to get the ball rolling, from figuring out what you need to talking money.

assess the scope of your job What do you want done? One room,
a spruce up, a whole-house makeover? There are decorators who take on small, one-hit projects, but not all do. Are you wedded to your stuff or willing to toss? Some designers won’t incorporate your old furniture into their work.

calculate your budget Hiring a decorator is a big financial
commitment and often costs more than you would expect, especially if he or she is well-known. It’s worth it: You’re paying for their creative vision and expertise, plus a ton of managing and busywork-from finding the right furnishings to making sure that things like painting and installation are happening when they’re supposed to. Your decorator will give you an estimate, but in all likelihood, you’ll end up spending more-it’s rare that a job comes in precisely on budget. So be honest with yourself about how much you can spend, including wiggle room.

arrange a consultation Consider this all-important appointment a first date–a chance to really scope out what the decorator is about. If you don’t have compatible sensibilities, there’s no point in going forward, so be candid about what you can pay and what you’re looking for. And take note: if your phone calls aren’t getting returned now, they certainly won’t be later.

get an estimate When you feel confident, ask the decorator to present a vision, budget included. This usually a free estimate, not the official design concept (the comprehensive rendering he or she will create once you’ve signed on). If you and your home are high-maintenance projects, you’ll probably want to put your decorator on a retainer (see “up-front design fee” in sidebar) that covers the whole job and can be paid in installments (i.e., monthly). If you don’t need a lot of hand-holding, want to do a bit of your own shopping and/or are focusing on just a room or two, an hourly rate might be better.

seal the deal Congratulations! You’ve found The One. Set up another meeting to discuss the design plan (often there’s an additional charge, but the plan is yours to keep), and the two of you are on your way. †

how payment works

Up-front design fee
………………………………………….
The most common approach, this is a flat fee set in advance by your decorator either for the project as a whole or per room. This non-refundable sum starts at about $500 per room for just a cosmetic rehab, and goes up to about $1,000 per room for an extensive renovation. Once you’ve agreed on an up-front fee, you’ll move on to the design plan, which can be anything from basic sketches of furniture layouts, maybe with a suggested color palette, to carefully plotted-out rooms with sample swatches and furniture arrangements.

Hourly rate
………………………………………….
Some designers use an hourly rate to calculate the design fee, in which case there’s more space for a budget shift in either direction. Rates vary by region and you will find very good deals now, starting at about $75/hour. Beware of the decorator whose price is significantly lower than everyone else’s in town.

Markup
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This is the added percentage that decorators charge for what is essentially advanced personal shopping-buying your furniture and fabrics wholesale, including to-the-trade specialty items-and you pay a commission. The average tack-on rate is 50 percent (this will vary depending on the type of merchandise). Before you gasp, consider that you’re getting access not only to the designer’s taste and knowledge, but also to stuff you’d never find on your own. Ask candidates how they determine their markup. Instruct you designer to make itemized lists of all purchases, so you can keep track of costs, as well as of what you’ve bought, lest you have to replace anything.

-content courtesy of Domino Magazine, april 2007

Guest Bedroom on a nickel

Weekend Guest Bedroom Project: Boy, was this bedroom a challenge! I was asked to decorate a friend's Guest Bedroom on a nickel, not a dime. The answer here was color. A few splashes of red and blue made the impact here that we needed for the lowest cost possible. The black sconces on the wall and the black storage bench at the foot of the bed anchor the space and the cream lamps balance out all of the cream bedding. I mixed up the end tables for interest, because I knew we would be using matching lamps. The result was a very simple, colorful space with all of the basic comforts that a guest would need.

'Everything Against The Wall' Disease

Do you have 'Everything Against The Wall' disease? Get help now!

The Symptoms: All furniture, except the coffee table, is crammed up against a wall. There are chairs or sofas so far apart from each other, that no one will ever, ever sit in more than one of them. Which sofa do you think people will gravitate to in this picture? Most likely the one closet to the television (the gray one), certainly not both.

The Cure: A decorating consultation to rearrange your furniture. Call a Decorator and let him or her know that you would like one hour of time to simply rearrange your existing furniture in a more practical and useful layout.

Carribean Color

Welcome to color! Whether your taste is traditional or contemporary, just like music, color changes our moods. Not sure how to put together chartreuse and coral? Simply ask a decorator to put together a color palette or a design concept for you, then do the painting and shopping on your own.

There are no ugly colors, only ugly color combinations.

Alternative Framing

These alternative framing methods work because the "frames" are all the same, making the groupings cohesive.

Picture Hanging Tools

This tool (above) is called a 'set and match' by Kapro and I could not hang pictures with double hangers, without it. It's a ruler with sliding nail markers, which have levels on them. It comes in 24" - 40" lengths and it's a life-saver. I bought mine at Home Depot.

The clear dots are rubber picture bumpers. I use these religiously for two reasons. First, they help keep pictures straight that are hung with a single nail, and secondly, they keep from scuffing your walls.

Some basic rules of picture hanging:

1. Don't scatter your pictures. Hang them in groups for more impact.
2. Use templates from wrapping paper of your pictures to get the positioning right before you start putting holes in the walls. It's a bit laborious, but well worth the effort.
3. Call your decorator and ask her for an hour of time if you are not sure what frames to buy or what heights and walls to hang them.