Happy New Year!!!

May your 2012 be blessed!!!!

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3 Quick Room Fixes

*******THIS IS A REPOST FROM JUNE 2010*******

If you are craving change in your home and have a limited budget- here are 3 quick fixes to get some "instant gratification".  And believe me these 3-fixes are "no brainers" and you all already know about them- Im just here to encourage you to "go for it".

#1 PAINT

The cheapest, quickest and most substantial change to any room is with paint.  You can take a dark dreary room to light and bright with just a gallon or two of paint.  Or do the opposite with your white dreary walls and warm them up with a cozy color.  For some expert advise on paint colors- read my "Favorite Paint Color Series" Part 1 and Part 2   And I've said it before and I'll say it again- Its just paint- if you hate it- paint it- or repaint it.

#2 FABRICS- (i.e. Pillows)

It is amazing how much a few throw pillows with a punch of color can change up a room. And the pillows DO NOT have to match the colors in the room.  Its totally OK to toss in that vibrant orange pillow, that pop of magenta, or that bold graphic print.  Great places to buy inexpensive pillows are HomeGoods, TJMaxx, or Target.  Or if you sew make your own.  And there are TONS of tutorials out there on how to sew a pillow.  Read Janel's easy tutorial from Isabella & Max Rooms  HERE.  Another quick way to get a pillow- placemats!  Target has some great fabric placemats that are double sided.  All you need to do is remove some of the stitching on one side-stuff the pillow and hand sew the open seam or even better- hot glue the seam up!  I do it all the time! (and burn the heck out of my fingers in the process). 

Image: Decorpad

Image: DecorPad

Iamge: HGTV.com

Caitlin Creer Interiors

Emily A. Clark

#3 MOVE THE FURNITURE

When I was little and my family got bored we re-arranged the furniture.  Seriously, I can remember switching the couches around and bringing in pieces from other rooms.  It always made things feel fresh and new even though it was still our "stuff"- just seeing it in a new light.  One of my favorite things to do when Im on "home decor lock-down" is "Shop the House".  Bring that mirror from the living rom into the dining room.  Move that dresser from the bedroom to the living room.   And sing the song from Madagascar "I like to Move it" while you work.

So have fun-get bold and try that new furniture arrangement, paint that bedroom a warm cozy gray, add that hot pink pillow to your sofa.  You can do it!!

Top Projects of 2011

Today Im participating in Rhoda's Top Projects of 2011 over at Southern Hospitality.

My GoodWill dresser make-over had the most views and features out of all my DIY's I've ever done. You can see the full make-over here.

2nd top project of 2011 was my clients home office makeover.  Full story here.

Another fun and easy project was my dining room table Restoration Hardware inspired makeover. Read about the complete makeover here.

And my FAVORITE project of the year:  My office makeover.  HERE

For more fun top project of 2011 head on over to Southern Hospitality.

Impromptu Tea Party

*******THIS IS A REPOST FROM JUNE 2010******


So the other day I headed to the grocery store for some Orange Juice.  I made the mistake of walking through the floral section and stumbled across $5 orchids, and buckets full of fresh flowers for all under $6 a bundle!  So needless to say my $3 orange juice purchase ended in over $60 of goods.  But I was inspired-and I "had" to run with it (the line I told my hubby).

The pink roses, green bells of Ireland, and snapdragons prompted me to pull out my lovely Lady Carlyle China and set the table for tea.

(WARNING: lots of photos to follow )

These Bells of Ireland are just amazing!

And this is me playing with the settings on my camera-ugh I so need a photography class-hey at least I ventured off of Auto.

And then I got bored and moved everything over to my GoodWill dresser

Ahhh liquid gold in a cup!

Ok so now who wants to come over and share a cup of tea and cookies with me?

Design Inspiration in Fashion

************REPOST FROM JUNE 2010***********

I was window shopping the other day and came across this little boutique with this adorable little orange, white & black outfit with gold jewelry accents.  And I turned to my husband and said: "this would make an awesome room!".  When I got home I ran to my computer to try and recreate the outfit, then took that and designed this little SoHo living room.

Heres the outfit:

And the room:

Its just goes to show you how much fashion and interior design go hand in hand.  I always tell my clients- go look in your closet and there is usually a color palette that you gravitate to.  It could be lots of bold graphic prints, subtle neutrals, bright & cheerful florals, or warm & ruddy colors-your clothing choices can really help you when it comes to decorating your home.  So if your stuck on trying to decide what would look good in your home-head to your closet for some clues. Because if you like "wearing" it, your probably going to like "living" in it.

Decorating with trays

Happy Monday!  Hope you all had a wonderful holiday being with family and friends.  Speaking of which- I am taking this week off.  I need a little blogging break and want to spend some time hanging out with family and focusing on the New Year.  I will be posting some oldies but goodies this week from my archives.  Be back after the New Year!!

*********REPOST FROM MARCH 2010***********

Want to know a little design secret?...........everything looks better on a tray.  I dont know what it is-but take a collection of pretties and put them on a tray and voila! everything looks better.  As I survey my house I realized that I have at least one tray in every room.  I am tray-crazy! painted, mirrored, lacquered, textured-I've got em all!

Here are some other fun pictures with trays:

 Image: Olivia Palermos NY Apartment

Source: Here

Image: Lonny Mag

Image: Here