Style ideas to add glamour to your home.

Stagnant decor can benefit from a quick glamour update that doesn’t have to break your bank. Here are some quick ways for you to add glamour to your home.

-Add a large vase or urn on desk, table or vanity. Fill with fresh flowers on special occasions and european silk flowers for everyday. Use tone-on-tone colors such as white-on-white. Big blossoms say luxury.

-Lighting can set a glam mood. Picture lights, up-lights behind sofas and potted green plants and candles on pillar style holders in big scale say drama. Don’t forget to put table lamps, sconces and recessed cans on dimmers.

Shimmer and shine. Chrome, crystal and shiny fabrics like velvet can zip up a tired look. Large mirrors with silvered frames add punch and reflect the glamour from around the room.

-Furniture paint finishes add luxe. Glossy paint and lacquer looks say quality. Opt for black when in doubt. Antique white works best in bedrooms.

-Paint walls deep rich colors. Ming red, dark brown and turquoise are great backdrops for glamorous furnishings.

-Fabrics can balance dramatic statements. Raw silk and linen in solid colors complement glamour touches.

Painting do’s and don’ts for home sellers.

It’s easy, quick and cheap, but don’t make the mistake that it can cure every homes woes. To do it right when selling you should follow some basic rules of using paint as part of your home marketing to-do list. Here’s some great tips on how to get the most mileage out of repainting a room or an entire house.

-To make the living space of a home appear larger or flow more easily use the same color or hues of the same color in adjoining rooms. The key is to keep the eye moving. Recently a home seller had painted each room on the first floor a different bold trend color, it shrunk the home visually and made it much darker. A new tone-on-tone color scheme I suggested expanded and lightened the house, and it sold soon after the redo.

-Use eggshell paint on the walls and semi-gloss on woodwork and trim. White is a fail-safe trim color. Buyers get always imagine their wall color choice with white trim and they like that they won’t have to repaint the trim.

-To expand room height paint the ceiling a different but light color than the walls. A decorator tip that really works is to add some blue tint to your white ceiling color.

-Don’t paint laminate kitchen cabinets, the paint peels and wears easily and looks like a quick fix.

-For a quality paint job, preparation is important. Walls and trim should be sanded, spackled and thourghly cleaned, for paint to adhere properly.

-Light paint colors require two coats, darker colors three or four. Prime everything once to even existing surface colors out before using finish colors. Gloss finishes show wall imperfections more than flat finishes, use sparingly.

-Use quality paints. It might not make sense to buy better paint if you won’t enjoy it, but inexpensive paints can really cheapen a paint job and the home. The small cost difference isn’t worth the gamble.

-Bring paint samples home from home improvement stores to accurately match with carpets and fabrics. Paint manufactures now offer sample sizes, do a wall test of any color your thinking of using. Colors look different in different lighting and times of day.

-Don’t be tempted to use faux finishes, leafing or glazes. They’re trendy and very specific in taste. Buyers will think it will take extra time and expense to remove and change them.

-Do take the time to put down drop clothes, tape trim and window mullions, remove switch plates and curtain hardware. Paint drips and stains lack attention of detail to home buyers.

-Think twice before have a bath tub or ceramic tile repainted or finished. To get a good new finish on these surfaces is difficult and buyers run from bubbled bathtub make over’s.

-If you’re not the best painter or time-starved to do the job right, hire a professional to come in and paint. You can focus on other jobs to be done before the marketing of your home begins and it will eliminate additional stress.

Feng Shui and Real Estate.

Many buyers after touring a prospective home practice westernized feng shui when they turn to me and say “bad house karma’. We all know when a house is out-of-sync. Stuffed with belongings, one-off colors, and bad seller energy. Here are some tips to improve house karma.

-Use paint color to add energy. Red in dining rooms, orange in kitchen and playrooms, green in living and bedrooms. Blue to promote healing and relaxing and purple for wealth and abundance.

-Lighting feng shui-style is to calm and uplift. Dimmers maximize benefits, bright lighting brings movement and activity, and softer and lower lighting offers calmness.

-Water and air are key in feng shui. Keep water in vases refreshed and the air clean by opening windows and doors. Fountains and scented water bring calm.

-Artwork and objects de art are reflections of your inner self. Turbulent aggressive pictures disturb and not calm. Look for art for inspires not depresses you.

-Aromatherapy can help you change your way of thinking. Lemon is a study stimulator and the scent of roses inspires romance.

-Sound from wind chimes and soft classical music set the right tone for a feng shui home.

-Hosting an open house with food can create good feng shui. Knowing which foods are tied to which part of our life center can bring results. Knowledge use sweet and bland, career use salty, helpful people use hot or spicy, family use sour, children or creativity use hot or spicy, wealth or abundance use sour, fame or reputation use bitter, and personal relationships use sweet or bland.

“Caving” and “my spaces” emerging trend at home.

Partnered couples of all demographics are getting away from it all at home, in private dedicated personal spaces. Man and mom caves, my space, chill rooms, do-not-disturb getaways, and time-out hideaways are what these emerging places are called by devotees. It appears that after a couple of years deferring to the other half, some people need a place where they can go alone, close the door, not be bothered and return again and again to their unchanged, un-negotiated environment.

The adults interviewed wanted to embrace their need for a time out from life, a relationship, or the kids. The need for personal space could be outcome from having their own room in childhood. Many of those that practice caving related the pleasure of a place within their home where nothing was rearranged, tidied, or monitored by their significant other. And, they reported that it wasn’t a home office, workshop or sewing room that qualified as a cave.

The caves took on assorted looks and locations in the home. A magazine editor built out a third-floor hideaway in her Victorian home’s attic, where she escapes to read, look at photo albums, listen to music, stare out the window, or sleep. When she arrives at her “mom cave” she hangs an “occupied” sign on the door. The rule of households that have a caver is; you only disturb them if there is an emergency.

On the west coast a busy corporate executive converted a bay of his three-car garage into his “time out” room. When he’s in residence there, he can think about personal or business issues uninterrupted and does nothing, which is hard, do with three young boys running around the house. He has the only key to his slice of “down time” from his family. He only allows tours of his “time out” to his wife and children when they become curious about his world within theirs. Cavers varied in their usage of the cave, some visited everyday and some only when needed.

Another “my spacer” wanted to explore her closeted creative side. The policewoman wanted a space where she could doodle, sculpt, and experiment without critiques or comments from her partner. Her space was an unused bedroom, now filled with folding banquet tables, where a multitude of projects rest, waiting to be completed or discarded. She told me that the best part was she could throw away something that only she saw and make independent decisions about what she created as an individual.

The ultimate caver I met, was a computer technician who emptied a storage room in his basement and slowly improved the space over a year. He said the slow transition gave his wife time to adapt to his getting away without leaving home. Walking into this rare invitation-only cave, I found it an environment where this adult could define himself mentally and physically (sometimes it’s his yoga space). The walls featured some posters, shelves with unrelated objects that he bought specifically for his cave, a desk to write random thoughts (but not a journal), and a comfortable recliner for napping, reading or dreaming.

I didn’t run into any dual-caving couples. Most cavers were partnered with someone who didn’t require any personal and individual time. The spouses of cavers all said that when the cave idea was broached, their initial reaction they felt was a mild rejection. But, after experiencing their partner caving, they all agreed it was a benefit to their relationship. As one wife of caver said, “You have to understand that caving isn’t about the spouse, it’s about the caver.”

After talking to friends and colleagues about caving, I experienced a big ah-hah moment. Seems to me that allot of caving goes on, the computer technician gave it a name, and spouses or partners of cavers can rest assured that their not coupled with the only caver in America.

Before and After. New functionality for obsolete dining room.

The email came in this last winter from a young couple who had bought a charming vintage four room, one bedroom condo in a friendly, walk-to-everything location. They loved the place, but needed a home office and an area for her burgeoning scrap book hobby. Could I come over and talk about looking for a larger home and selling their current one? I had sold them their home just over two years ago and set up a date to talk over the possible move to a larger home, but I wasn’t convinced that they really needed a move, I thought to myself that they needed a fresh perspective on the space they already had.

The agreed upon time arrived and we began to discuss what was right and what was wrong with their current home. Location, perfect, neighborhood, loved it, the unit itself, great except they were running out of space. Every room looked well-lived-in except the dining room, which was museum quality. The table perfectly plotted under the home store chandelier with six chairs and a sideboard that was a gift from her parents. The table top was void of anything, as to not scratch the finish that had been preserved in her family for three generations. The dining room was twelve-by-thirteen, hardwood floors and featured good southern light streaming in from an row of three windows. Okay, you don’t need to move I told them, you need to utilize this dining room for more than a monument to your grandparents dining room suite.

Before

-Traditional style,dark stained dining table with two leaves and six matching chairs with upholster seats. Matching upright china cabinet with drawers below and beveled glass door display space above.

-Hardwood floors, paper accordion window blinds and an over-scale wrought iron chandelier.

-Walls painted a mustard color (faux Tuscan) with hand-stenciled ivy border near ceiling.

-Original baseboard and window trim in good condition painted a ivy green.

After

-The dining room/office/hobby area was open to the living room which was painted a deep red with off white trim.

-The first thing I recommended was to take down the chandelier, once it was gone it wouldn’t set the tone for the room and it rid the room of the albatross sitting in it’s center. They purchased a decorative plaster medallion to place over the electrical box.

-Shrink the table by taking both the leaves out. Purchase some felt bags to store the leaves in, under their bed. Purchase table pads to protect the top and move the table under the windows. Take three of the side chairs and place around table.

-Purchase a 24″ x 48″ beveled glass top to rest on two dark stained pillars for a desk which will double as a buffet or cocktail station when entertaining. Place one side chair at desk.

-Two table top candlestick lamps, one for task lighting on the desk and one for the scrap book hobby center on the dining room table. This pair of lamps return to the desk/buffet for entertaining. Pastel yellow shades pick the area rug.

-Install two halogen can lights in beveled china cabinet to add mood lighting and accent glassware. Remove two wood shelves in cabinet and replace with two beveled glass shelves to allow new lighting to stream down.

-Area rug. I suggested a 5′ x 8′ that was overall more neutral than patterned. That way my clients could take it with them to their next home. They selected a light pastel yellow rug that looked great against the medium oak hardwood floors.

-Chair upholstery. Upholster four chairs that remain in the new office/hobby/dining room in a botanical print with a soft yellow background complemented by red and green flowers. The remaining two chairs to be reupholstered in a companion red and off-white colored wide stripe and placed in living room.

-Wall and trim colors. The room needed to be harmonized with the adjacent living room, so I suggested an off-white trim color that matched the living room trim. For the walls a very soft pastel yellow in eggshell was applied.

-Window blinds. The owners wanted wood blinds, so to soften the look I suggested off-white or ivory, with the window trim painted the same color, it’s a custom look.

-To finish off the room, I thought using the wide strip chair upholstery as a table cloth for the dining/hobby table with a clear plastic overlay for the scrap book hobby would blend form and function. When entertaining they can remove the overlay for a striking tabletop.

Interior Lighting

Lighting can make or break a home or a room. Designers use lighting to add drama to a space, provide for work surfaces, highlight style features or combine lighting with fixtures such as a chandelier to make a glimmering statement. Understanding how to use lighting effectively can increase the curb appeal, resale value and the marketability of a home.

Lighting types. General lighting provides illumination for safety and security purposes. Task lighting is used for cooking, reading, hobbies where shadows are eliminated. Accent lighting is used to focus attention on architectural features or a favorite painting or other object. Decorative lighting is used in table lamps, wall sconces or pendants hanging over a kitchen island.

Lighting uses. Wall washing can create a back drop effect by pointing a wide beam of light at a wall. Wall grazing is good for popping textured wall surfaces like natural fabrics, stone, brick or etched concrete. Down is one of the most common uses of lighting, where the light is originating from a hanging fixture or track. Uplighting can add drama to indoor plants or dark corners by placing a free-standing light can.

Lighting controls. Switches are the most common, but they can’t control the amount of light. Dimmers can allow the light level to be raised or lowered and are offered in simple or digital models.

Lighting fixtures. Ceiling fixtures feature glass or plastic diffusers, which can be flush mounted or hang from the ceiling. Ceiling fans can offer the combination of ventilation and lighting. Strip lights are used as under-cabinet lighting in kitchens, over vanities in bathrooms and on stairways inside and out. Recessed lighting are decorative flush-with-ceiling cans that offer down, accent or wall washing. Scones can down light or up light walls and stairwells.

Lighting tip. Lighter wall colors reflect more light, darker paints and finishes absorb up to four times more light and are not as energy efficient.

Decor goes green.

Green and sustainable building have gathered wide acceptance, but green is slowly moving into interior design. While green building means resource efficient and environmentally conscious, sustainable design is based on three areas; energy conservation, indoor air quality, and resource conservation. Sustainable renovation and earth-friendly materials make green decor a no-brainer.

-Look for all flooring and furniture to be Formaldehyde-free. These vapors and smells from these can linger for years. They are used in adhesives to construct just about everything. And in making carpet pads and some fibers.

-New biodegradable yarns can create fabulous fabrics for supports and drapes.

-Wood bowls are a great friendly accent.

-Shop for paints that emit low or no toxic fumes. Consider new paints and stains that use henna and clay for wall finishes.

-Organic wood products are being adapted as wall papers. Barkskin and bamboo are the most popular.

-Locate furniture that is made from sustainable hardwoods such as bamboo.

-Don’t overlook organic cottons for fabrics and wall coverings. With many new styles and patterns that say today and not hippie-chic.

Make your powder room say wow

As a full-time real estate broker, I’ve seen many bathrooms, including forgotten powder rooms. These little jewels of space are a great way to experiment with your wildest decorating dreams. Guests enjoy a playful theme, and costs can be contained when your doing a small space. Have fun and if you tire of a look, it’s not that difficult to reinvent your powder room.

-Find a unique console table, chest of drawers, or small writing desk and make it your vanity. Install a cool counter surface and under-mount sink.

-Find a funky chandelier or ceiling fixture, oversized is okay.

-Install that wallpaper that was always a bit on the wild side. You can even hang shirred fabrics.

-Paint can be bold dark colors, play around with the new pint-size paint samples.

-Mirrored walls and marble floors say luxury.

-Collect a variety of clear glass vases and group together. Fill with petite blossoms of the same color.

-Splurge on window treatments, towels, and other finishing textiles.

-Buy that over-the-top piece of artwork you’ve had your eye on.

-Don’t forget candles. I always light scented votive’s as a night-light in the guest bathroom when entertaining.

-Go to your local frame shop and look for frames that strike your fancy, have fitted with mirror for over the vanity.

-If space allows, slip in a bench or cozy chair.

Countertop Choices Explode.

Kitchen countertops are one of the largest design decisions you’ll make planning a new kitchen. Depending on your budget, care, and maintenance, there is certain to be one today that will give your kitchen the wow factor. One of the first decisions considering a countertop is to think if you want it to make a statement , complement, or be background to your cabinets.

Lately I’ve seen many way-too-busy countertops in homes that I’ve been touring. And, some countertop materials are too high-maintenance for busy people or families. Remember if you are planning to sell your home with it’s fabulous new kitchen in the next couple of years, you’re better off with something very mainstream design-wise.
Here is an overview of options.

-Granite. Everyone has it, many want it in their next kitchen. We have it and it looks luxe. It’s relatively easy to keep clean, doesn’t stain, but it is noisy when setting dishes and pots and pans on. Plus it is so hard, that the glass the falls over or drops, is history-no forgiveness in granite. You have to apply sealer when new and every two years.

-Concrete. Must be sealed when new and every year. Great for contemporary spaces. Stains easily and can be colored if needed. Very today, but the average buyer shies away from concrete countertops.

-Marble. Great look if you really don’t use your countertops for more than coffee in the morning and take-out at night. Very porous and susceptible to stains.

-Glass. If you want a concrete look, but a longer visual life-span consider glass. Hip-looking but can scratch and chip, and next to impossible to repair without replacing.

-Stainless steel. Pricey as it usually is custom made to your specifications. If you like high-tech, industrial, chemistry-lab edginess, this is for you. Ask around about how your friends like to maintain their stainless steel appliances.

-Wood. Butcher-block is back. Must be oiled and cracks open up with alternating humidity and dryness. Less is more.

-Corian. Indestructible except by very hot pots. Easy to repair and a variety of colors. Good basic countertop.

-Caesarstone. Man-made quartz. Think a blend of Corian and Granite, the best attributes of both. A home run in countertop technology.

Damask & Toile’s are back in a new and big way.

They were history for over a decade, Damask and Toile fabric looks. There look was heavy and dated, screamed 1960′s decadence and 1970′s over-the-top decorating. An interesting thing happened in the last couple of years, they underwent a make over, I would even consider the new softer, less intense presentation that these prints can offer a window opening, chair or room. Traditional designer is very 2006, Trad is Rad!

This post will bring you up to date on the latest in Damask and Toile looks.

-Damask is actually a weaving technique of threads that creates a reversible pattern.

-The softer look of today’s Damask is often a white background color over-layed with one foreground color. To Rad a room select contemporary furniture pieces and use a new Damask.

-Don’t go overboard with Damask in a room. Use only on furniture, walls or drapes not all three or even two, that’s the old busy and heavy look. Select complementary solid colored drapes.

-The hippest look is jewel-tone damask, a knock-out. Don’t be shy about mixing gold’s and silvers.

-Tone-on-tone Damasks are a great way to test-drive if Damask is right for you.

-Black and white Damask is the edgiest of the new Damask looks, it’s going to pave the way for the retro Mid-60′s black and white revival in interior design circles.

-Not sure Damask is right for you? Add some new Damsk accessories such as throw pillows, decorative glass or roman shades. A quick pick-me-up for any room.

-High-end Damask in silk are coming back strong-though they tend to remind me of the earlier over-done look. Be careful with silk it can formalize anything faster than you think.

Toile’s have been creeping back into vogue longer than Damask. Known to portray pastoral scenes and tales, they have been revamped with a fresh look-adding North American scenes. Old-line Toile’s were a mainstay in Britain, but many US based companies manufacture Toile fabrics and wallpapers.
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