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Is Your New Home On-Trend or is it just plain Trendy?

"On-trend" living room image via Pinterest

This post is for young couples just starting out, to help them avoid a few pitfalls when trying to bring style into their home.

The living room above looks like someone with nice taste put some thought into the room and that they actually live there. They know how to hang  the chandelier properly so that it relates to the coffee table, and it looks like there is enough task lighting to read a book or a magazine. The table is on-trend and fits right in with the the ‘Young House’ look of this living room. The chevron rug is cute and works well. THE COLOR gray is used, but not cloyingly so. It is a fresh, not too pricey, easy on the eyes look for a young couple starting out.

While this blog is all about being uplifting and helpful, I really have to show a “don’t” to make my point. I doubt that the nice-looking-room’s owner, above, spent a penny more than the trendy room’s owner, below. That is my point. Good style and an updated look are not going to cost any more than a ridiculously trendy look. And, the really trendy look will look even more ridiculous in a year or two when those trends have played out.

So trendy

                                                “Trendy” Living Room via Pinterest

                                                                                       

The Color Calling way: If you are looking to update and accessorize, find a few real things that you actually love, and incorporate those into your already  tasteful room.

Posted by  |  February 29, 2012 | Categories: Decorating trends, Residential styling | Leave a comment

Does your million dollar house have $2 hinges?

Door hardware is one of the details that sometimes gets overlooked when budgeting items for a new house. As a residential stylist, I always notice door hardware. 99% of the population probably won’t notice it at all. But, they do perceive it. Scroll down. Do you perceive the difference?

square solid brass door hinge (unlacquered brass)




Image:http://assets1.mytrainsite.com/501005

/solid_core_door_screw_reduced.jpg

Right Image via Ask the Builder

Round hinges do not belong in your million dollar house.

Posted by  |  February 29, 2012 | Categories: Residential styling | Tags: | Leave a comment

Paint the vents and cover the switch plates

In my residential styling business, I realize every day that it is all in the details.

Here are a few things I tell my clients:  Paint the vents. Cover the switch plates. Let the draperies kiss the floor.

Switchplate expertly covered. Image ©Color Calling

Ask your painter to paint your ceiling vents, and wall vents, below, to match.

Vent painted to match. Image ©Color Calling

The bottom of your custom drapery should “kiss” the floor, in my opinion. Heavily puddled draperies are dated, and will look fresher with a tailored hem. When hung, the rod should  relate to the ceiling more than it relates to the top of the window. This will add visual height to the room.

 

 

Correctly hung drapery

What are your favorite must-have details for your own home? Do tell!

Posted by  |  February 27, 2012 | Categories: Residential styling, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Your Big Old Free Rug

Some of the winter-issue decorating magazines were shouting, “Oriental rugs are back!”  And, if they didn’t exactly say that, at least they finally were showing a lot of them. Well, let me tell those editors one thing. Oriental rugs never went out, not here in the South.

You see, we Southerners don’t actually buy our big old Oriental rugs. Not  if we can help it. We beg, borrow, and plead for them from down-sizing parents and such. And if you have priced real wool “new” carpet lately, you are probably looking for a loaner yourself.

Lovely old rug in modern space via Pinterest

But, our older rugs’ drawback, from a decorating standpoint, is a big one. In fact, huge. Especially in the wrong hands.

(Free) Bhaktiari rug circa 1900

Image ©Color Calling

 They are very bossy. By that, I mean that they boss around just about every other decorating decision you are going to have to make in your room.  And, because it is terribly difficult to find upholstery fabric to stand up to them.

"Perfect" fabric for an antique Serapi, with price tag to match

Image ©Color Calling

Now, in the living room it is not as hard. Because we’re going to get you a handsome velvet solid from Duralee, 62 colors to select from, to cover your sofa, and you’re going to be fine at around $66 a yard. (That is very reasonable for custom yardage, trust me.) But, in the family room, it is just about impossible to find something reasonably that is heavy enough. That means heavy enough weight-wise to stand up to traffic, and also heavy enough visually to hold its own with the Oriental rug.

And, while I am fine from a professional standpoint ignoring someone’s hideous pinky-beige-carpet-that-came-with-the-house that they’re replacing, I am not going to be able to ignore your Oriental rug as we begin to move forward in the room. Because it is staying. Forever.

As a design professional, I have access to trade-only showrooms with thousands and thousands of fabric choices. But, I have learned that your big old free rug is one of the hardest things to work with, especially if your budget is on the strict side.  Those yummy Kravet Couture or Schumacher cut-velvet geometrics that are so divine-looking, and so perfect with your big rug, retail upwards of $200 a yard.  Maybe even $400 a yard. That yardage is only enough for a toss pillow or two, so we aren’t really getting anywhere. Or are we?

The Color Calling solution: find a heavy cotton or heavy cotton/linen/rayon blend that looks great with the rug coloration, in a solid color for the new sofa. Then, we’ll use part of our decorating budget to buy just enough of the  killer geometric for two pillows!

Maximum impact, minimum expenditure. Just the way I like to work when my clients are on a tight budget.

Posted by  |  February 22, 2012 | Categories: Oriental rugs, Residential styling | Tags: | 2 Comments

Kitchen Styling: My must-have appliance

image

After having a warming drawer (much like the one above) for seven years, I don’t know how I ever got along without it.

Moms: is dance practice or volleyball keeping Daughter past dinner hour? No problem, her dinner is warm and on the plate when she walks in, starving.

Doctor’s family:  I know many nights you never know what time that last case will be over.

Take-out for dinner? Place it in the warming drawer to keep at a safe serving temperature for  hours.

For me, I love being able to cook, place the food in serving dishes as it is ready, pop everything in the warming drawer, and then tidy up the pots and pans before sitting down.

I don’t think there has been one day in seven years that the warming drawer has not been used. It keeps the Saturday pancakes hot and ready until everyone has gathered for breakfast. It is unbelievably great for entertaining and big holiday meals when you can take things out of the oven as they are ready and keep them piping hot and fresh until serving time. It is my favorite secondary appliance that I have ever owned.

So, take your fancy range-top pot fillers, your built-in pre-plumbed cappuccino makers, and your pull-out counter-level fridge drawers.

Just let me have my warming drawer!

Posted by  |  February 21, 2012 | Categories: appliances, Residential styling | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Monday Rant: Residential banquettes

I don’t understand the love affair with residential banquettes. Have you ever been stuck in the middle of one and needed to get up?Banquette

Image via Pinterest

At a nice restaurant, where there is waitstaff to gently pull the table in and out for your comings and goings, wonderful!

In a home, not so much. Even if it is used only for casual family dining, don’t the children have to crawl over each other to get in and out of their place? And, when the built-in back swoop of nailheads or padding and tufting go up sky-high, much higher than the back of the chairs on the other side,  it is a look that I just don’t get.

Is it the trendiness of the thing or the dysfunctionality of it, that bothers me? Or, is it because the whole look is more of a commercial look than a traditional table and chair setting? What do you think, do you have an opinion on the home banquette trend?

Posted by  |  February 20, 2012 | Categories: Residential styling | 2 Comments

How do you collect art?

Art is one of the most personal things in your home. Art reflects your personality more than any other single thing that you have in your home. Art can be used to create drama or frissón, add elegance or humor, or contribute a desired pop of color.

Whatever your budget, there is art available that will enhance the look and feel of your home.  For the last few days, we have talked about mirrors. Today, we will talk about collecting real art. Below, please take a look at three still-life paintings:

Above, Alabama regional artist Mark Singer still life, private collection. Photograph ©Color Calling

The influence of French painter Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse, below, on Mark Singer, unmistakable.

Matisse painting

image via: http://www.join2day.net/abc/M/matisse/matisse99.JPG

Original still-life. Nice price point, $295. Image via Etsy

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.282025564.jpg

When color and drama are needed to infuse personality into a room, you need real art. If you are new to collecting, but want to learn more, the best way to train your eye is to pay regular visits to art museums. From the exercise above, you can see that if you love a Matisse painting in a museum, you can capture some of that look and feel in your own home.What appeals to you and moves you? Perhaps, go to  a museum by yourself the first time or two. What do you gravitate toward? Once you see something you love, you know that you are training your eye. Ask the museum if a docent could show you galleries with similar paintings when you find something you like.

When you love a painting, it  will create a visceral reaction. Do you remember the movie scene in “Pretty Woman” when Julia Roberts experiences opera for the first time? How she was moved to tears by the beauty and the emotion? Wonderful art elicits an emotional response as well. It is a personal response, and you may respond to something entirely differently from your husband or wife. Hopefully, you can find common ground and then you can build on that.

Above: a museum-quality misty landscape, by Birmingham favorite John Lonergan

Image via: http://www.heritagehallmuseum.org/exhibits_apr2010.html

Below, completely different style from the same artist: private collection, photograph ©Color Calling

Once you understand what you like and love, you can go to your local art galleries and see what is for sale. When I am retained to style a room, I love to select for clients from our local Birmingham artists and our cozy galleries. (My favorite thing to do when I am helping a client, is to take down a mirror that is not doing anything for the room, and bring in a painting to fill the place.) Your nearest large town will certainly have wonderful galleries. Ask friends who have art that you love, where they acquired it.

Established quality regional artists such as the above command prices well into the thousands. After you have trained your eye, though, you can begin to take a look at internet sites where emerging artists offer their works directly. Etsy.com is a good one. There are some very talented artists, at fabulous price points, just waiting to be discovered. This large painting would add a charming pop of color to a neutral painted wall in a bungalow, and it is an original oil. Price? $375. Then, take some of the color from the painting and accessorize the room. If you decide to choose the warm Hermès shade of orange as your accent color (Pantone’s Color of the Year 2012, by the way), a reliable styling tip is to repeat that same orange another three times in the room.

Image: via Etsy

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.273721060.jpg

Below, a more sophisticated landscape, painted loosely, great price point.

image via Etsy, 18×24 original oil, $250

http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_fullxfull.261758576.jpg

The best advice I ever received about art was from my mother. She said that when it comes to art, if you truly love something and you can afford it, you should buy it. I will tell you, two decades later, that advice has rung very true. I have never regretted a single piece of art that we truly loved and have purchased.

Posted by  |  February 19, 2012 | Categories: Art, Residential styling | Tags: , | 2 Comments

How do you hang a mirror?

There are a number of places to effectively hang a mirror. Over a dressing table, it is positively expected. Make it count with a beautiful shape or a gorgeous finish.

Hang your mirror to relate to what it is hanging over. For a mirror over your dressing table, for example, hang it so that you can actually use it while seated. For a mirror over a console, make sure you hang so that it relates to the console and not to the ceiling.

Wherever you use a mirror, allow it to double your view of something beautiful that you love!

Above: A hand-carved water gilt mirror, hung at dressing table height

Below: An ornate mirror reflects Chinoiserie wallpaper

All Photographs ©Color Calling

Posted by  |  February 17, 2012 | Categories: Chinoiserie, Mirrors, Residential styling | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Are you copping out with a mirror?

A mirror on the wall, used for hundreds of years. Perfect in a dressing room, in a bath, and over your bedroom chest-of-drawers. But, are you using a mirror somewhere else, only because it is not exactly wrong, or because you were afraid of making a decorating mistake with real art?  Mirrors can never compete with real art when color and drama are needed in a room. Did a furious and heartbroken Rhett Butler throw his drink at the mirror? I think not.

Posted by  |  February 15, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | 7 Comments