Spring is finally here, and I feel a resurgence of energy in anticipation of beautiful weather ahead!
In decorating this spring, the color palette is filled with bright, vivid hues that reflect bright, luminous tones. Hot colors such as vivid orange, peppy yellow and brilliant red are popular this spring in decorating. Also included in the spring color selection are verdant green, bright pink, zingy turquoise and teal, and rich plums and indigo. Wow – what a selection!
I love these colors when used as accents against neutral backgrounds - such as white, black, grey and beige. They make a bold statement in decorating, especially when used with contemporary or mid-century furniture. I feel like I’m back in the '70s!
On my blog last November, I had predicted that Hot Pink would be hot in 2012 – but I may have to retract that prediction. My crystal ball was off a little - I now believe that Vibrant Orange is the HOT color for decorating in 2012 (but of course, you can always pair Hot Pink with Vibrant Orange for an electrifying color combination!)
If you’re ready to add some punch to your color scheme this spring – consider one of the dazzling colors I mentioned above. If you’re not ready to make a huge decorating change, try adding these beautiful colors in accessorizing your home, maybe your bathroom or kitchen; or add a couple of pillows to your sofa (as long as it doesn’t clash with your décor). They’ll give you a LIFT for spring!
As always, Happy Decorating everyone!
Welcome!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Giving Your Home a Lift for Spring!
Spring is just around the corner -- so are you in the mood for some spring cleaning?
If you have some stubborn areas that need attention, here are some tips that you may be able
to do quickly and easily to be ready for spring.
Grimy bathroom walls?
If you have surface mold on your bathroom walls, mix a spray bottle with one part water and one part bleach. Spray it on the wall and watch the mold disappear. Wipe down the walls and you’ll see the color of the paint again! Of course, if you want to make your bathroom feel even more refreshed, repaint the walls for a new look.
Don't replace a yucky shower door. Try this instead.
Glass shower doors can show dirt and grime quickly. Instead of replacing the door, take the door off the track so that you can clean if more easily. Then, scrub it with steel wool and a mixture of one part muriatic acid and about 10 parts water. After wiping it down, reinstall the door and you’ll think you have a new shower door!
Do you have an overpowering brick fireplace that is an eyesore to your room?
If the answer is “yes!” here's an easy way to tone it down with paint. Use a rag or brush to rub a light coat of paint on the bricks, one at a time. This will give them a new tone without covering them completely. And, if you use a paint color that matches the walls or paint it the color of your molding (white?), your fireplace will no longer be an eyesore!
Updating an old fire screen:
Is your old fire screen worn out and dirty? Here’s an inexpensive way to update it. After removing the screen and wiping it down to get rid of the dust, Then, buy a can of heat-resistant spray paint and give the screen a facelift. Of course you'll need to go outside or someplace where you can spray the paint and not worry about getting it on your walls, doors and windows.
Here's another tip: Hold the spray can about 18 inches away from the screen and use long, even strokes. So...for less than $5, you will have a “new” fire place screen!
Hope these ideas will help you spring into spring. Please let me know if you have any questions. Happy Decorating!
If you have some stubborn areas that need attention, here are some tips that you may be able
to do quickly and easily to be ready for spring.
Grimy bathroom walls?
If you have surface mold on your bathroom walls, mix a spray bottle with one part water and one part bleach. Spray it on the wall and watch the mold disappear. Wipe down the walls and you’ll see the color of the paint again! Of course, if you want to make your bathroom feel even more refreshed, repaint the walls for a new look.
Don't replace a yucky shower door. Try this instead.
Glass shower doors can show dirt and grime quickly. Instead of replacing the door, take the door off the track so that you can clean if more easily. Then, scrub it with steel wool and a mixture of one part muriatic acid and about 10 parts water. After wiping it down, reinstall the door and you’ll think you have a new shower door!
Do you have an overpowering brick fireplace that is an eyesore to your room?
If the answer is “yes!” here's an easy way to tone it down with paint. Use a rag or brush to rub a light coat of paint on the bricks, one at a time. This will give them a new tone without covering them completely. And, if you use a paint color that matches the walls or paint it the color of your molding (white?), your fireplace will no longer be an eyesore!
Updating an old fire screen:
Is your old fire screen worn out and dirty? Here’s an inexpensive way to update it. After removing the screen and wiping it down to get rid of the dust, Then, buy a can of heat-resistant spray paint and give the screen a facelift. Of course you'll need to go outside or someplace where you can spray the paint and not worry about getting it on your walls, doors and windows.
Here's another tip: Hold the spray can about 18 inches away from the screen and use long, even strokes. So...for less than $5, you will have a “new” fire place screen!
Hope these ideas will help you spring into spring. Please let me know if you have any questions. Happy Decorating!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Staging Can Help You Sell Your Home
It’s almost spring and the time of year that you may be considering whether or not to put your home on the market. If you’re one of those homeowners, I’m sure you’ve been thinking about your options. Unless homes in your area are selling fast and furious, home sellers today need to seriously consider staging their home to get a quick sale and a high return on your investment.
Today’s real estate market is uncertain, so you want your home to stand out from the rest! Hiring a professional home stager would be a very good investment to ensure that your home will show well and appeal to a prospective buyers. So, unless you have some training in real estate property staging, I encourage hiring a professional home stager. What’s the difference between a home stager and interior decorator? Interior decorators decorate to please the home owner’s taste; home stager’s decorate to please a prospective buyer’s taste.
Decorating to sell your home will help and selling vacant homes will need to have rental furniture inside to give the home a lived in look and not empty and cold like a vacant home can appear.
If you’re a do-it-yourself person, you may want to start by cleaning out the clutter in your house, painting and landscaping your home. But you still may want to consider hiring a home stager to give you an objective assessment on what needs to be done from the view of a prospective home buyer.
Pricing your house correctly is important, and realtors can be a huge help doing the research necessary to come up with a good price. But don’t stop there - talk with others --friends, family and neighbors--and try to decide on a price for your house. But be flexible and decide what's most important to you. If you need to sell quickly or for the right price, your realtor can help with those decisions, so tell them what you want and expect in the real estate sale of your house.
Best of luck to you and feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Happy Decorating!
Today’s real estate market is uncertain, so you want your home to stand out from the rest! Hiring a professional home stager would be a very good investment to ensure that your home will show well and appeal to a prospective buyers. So, unless you have some training in real estate property staging, I encourage hiring a professional home stager. What’s the difference between a home stager and interior decorator? Interior decorators decorate to please the home owner’s taste; home stager’s decorate to please a prospective buyer’s taste.
Decorating to sell your home will help and selling vacant homes will need to have rental furniture inside to give the home a lived in look and not empty and cold like a vacant home can appear.
If you’re a do-it-yourself person, you may want to start by cleaning out the clutter in your house, painting and landscaping your home. But you still may want to consider hiring a home stager to give you an objective assessment on what needs to be done from the view of a prospective home buyer.
Pricing your house correctly is important, and realtors can be a huge help doing the research necessary to come up with a good price. But don’t stop there - talk with others --friends, family and neighbors--and try to decide on a price for your house. But be flexible and decide what's most important to you. If you need to sell quickly or for the right price, your realtor can help with those decisions, so tell them what you want and expect in the real estate sale of your house.
Best of luck to you and feel free to contact me if you have any questions! Happy Decorating!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
THE NEW "HOT" COLOR FOR 2012 - HOT PINK!
Last year, it was purple -- but for 2012, I predict the new “hot” color in interior decorating will be, ironically, hot pink! The color is bright and fun. With the retro feel of the 1970s, I predict that hot pink will become a popular color and will be paired with many different colors – from lime green to cobalt blue, orange to violet. When used with those colors, the decorating color scheme will be daring and adventurous.
In my opinion, hot pink is a very versatile color. As most people know, pink is a mixture of red and white. It has many different tints (light colors, mixed with more white) and shades (darker colors, mixed with more black). Hot pink is an intense shade of pink, although different from “shocking” pink, which is closer in color to magenta (it has a little purple hue).
Hot pink is a very bold, almost florescent pink. For many years, it has been associated with the color of girls’ bedrooms. But it can be used as an accent in a sophisticated, neutral color scheme. To achieve this, pair hot pink with more subtle colors such as grey and dark brown. So don’t worry guys, if you want to add the new “hot” color for 2012 to your masculine decorating scheme, hot pink looks great as an accent color with neutral colors such as dark brown, grey and black.
So – have fun decorating with hot pink – it’ll add some ”pink punch” to your color scheme!
As always, Happy Decorating!
In my opinion, hot pink is a very versatile color. As most people know, pink is a mixture of red and white. It has many different tints (light colors, mixed with more white) and shades (darker colors, mixed with more black). Hot pink is an intense shade of pink, although different from “shocking” pink, which is closer in color to magenta (it has a little purple hue).
Hot pink is a very bold, almost florescent pink. For many years, it has been associated with the color of girls’ bedrooms. But it can be used as an accent in a sophisticated, neutral color scheme. To achieve this, pair hot pink with more subtle colors such as grey and dark brown. So don’t worry guys, if you want to add the new “hot” color for 2012 to your masculine decorating scheme, hot pink looks great as an accent color with neutral colors such as dark brown, grey and black.
So – have fun decorating with hot pink – it’ll add some ”pink punch” to your color scheme!
As always, Happy Decorating!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Photo Book
Click here to view this photo book larger
Create your own personalized photo books at Shutterfly.com.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Spruce up your home for the holidays!
If you are dreading the holidays because you’re unhappy with your living room or dining room - especially your worn-out sofa and/or chairs - here are some budget-wise decorating ideas to update your upholstered items:
- If your sofa or chairs need recovering or need to be replaced, consider slipcovering them instead! You can buy stretchable slipcovers at stores such as Walmart and Target. For even more selection, look at Surefit, J.C. Penney or Pottery Barn slipcovers online.
-If you can’t find a ready-made slipcover to fit your sofa, find a nice quilt or throw to drape over your sofa.
-Add accent pillows for some added color to your “new” sofa.
-Dining room chairs that have removable seats can be recovered easily.
Just unbolt the seat from the chair frame and stretch your new fabric over the seat. Make sure you have extra fabric to tuck around to the back and use a staple gun to attach it.
Hope these ideas will help you (and your wallet)get your home ready for the upcoming holidays! I'll blog some more ideas later this month. Check out my facebook page for pictures of rooms decorated by A Goode Start Decorating! I'd also welcome any comments
from you on my blog.
As always, Happy Decorating!
- If your sofa or chairs need recovering or need to be replaced, consider slipcovering them instead! You can buy stretchable slipcovers at stores such as Walmart and Target. For even more selection, look at Surefit, J.C. Penney or Pottery Barn slipcovers online.
-If you can’t find a ready-made slipcover to fit your sofa, find a nice quilt or throw to drape over your sofa.
-Add accent pillows for some added color to your “new” sofa.
-Dining room chairs that have removable seats can be recovered easily.
Just unbolt the seat from the chair frame and stretch your new fabric over the seat. Make sure you have extra fabric to tuck around to the back and use a staple gun to attach it.
Hope these ideas will help you (and your wallet)get your home ready for the upcoming holidays! I'll blog some more ideas later this month. Check out my facebook page for pictures of rooms decorated by A Goode Start Decorating! I'd also welcome any comments
from you on my blog.
As always, Happy Decorating!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Redesigning Your Child’s Room on a Budget
Redesigning Your Child’s Room on a Budget Please check out the attached - I was interviewed for the article.
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