Don't You Just Love Summer?

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

Lemon Place Cards

Country Living photo: Alexandra Rowley

I definitely do! You may have noticed that my blog posts are rather sporadic lately. Part of that is life in general, and part of it is summer!

I actually have a lot of ideas and some great posts started that I think you'll really like if I can just sit down and pull them all together. I'm not going to stress about it though because summer flies by way too quickly! I plan on enjoying every minute of it and I hope you all do the same. I WILL be posting but if I disappear for brief periods, just know that I'll be back! :-)

House Beautiful photo: Victoria Pearson

I recently purchased the turquoise version (that color isn't on-line for some reason) of this pom-pom scarf at Old Navy and I love it! It's a large square and my friend and I, of course, immediately noticed that it could also be used as a colorful summer throw for a table... (It also comes in green and neutral)

Speaking of brightening things up for summer, I talked in my Decorating with Throws post about the idea of using a throw to disguise a chair when you want a new look but can't afford a new chair. This image from BHG.com is a good example of that concept and also shows how you can brighten your look for summer by not only covering the center of the chair (or sofa) with a colorful throw,

but
- adding bright throw pillows,
- freshening up your artwork with some colorful images and
- adding colorful books (still love the idea of using them for a side table)
- and bright or light accessories.
These are all low-cost/low-commitment changes that can be swapped out by season.


Another image from BHG.com. The valance and the roman shade are nice, but I think it's a fun idea, especially for summer, to add the bud vases above...

Hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend! :-)

Coastal Living Photo Susan Mauney

Accessorizing a Console Table or Chest

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

Coastal Living via myhomeideas.com Photo: Deborah Whitlaw; Stylist: Lane Gregory

You may remember this Accessorizing Shelves/Bookcases post that I did in March. In that post I talked about how accessorizing can be a very overwhelming process for some and that, in those cases, copying can be a good thing!

Westchester MagazinePhoto: Phillip Ennis

I also said:
"Sure there are guidelines, and I outline some of them in this Accessorizing Above Kitchen Cabinets post that I did last July.... Sometimes people find though that, even with guidelines, it's just not happening for them. This is when you can use the concept of imitating the structure of an arrangement that you like (which was one of the tips I gave in this Fireplace Accesorizing - Using What You Have post)."

House Beautiful Designer: Eric Cohler Photo: Jonny Valiant

With that in mind, and because I've had questions from people who are unsure what to put both above and on their tables, this post provides you with images of decorated console tables/chests that will hopefully give you some inspiration and ideas for accessorizing your own.

Ethan Allen

Midwest Living

marthastewart.com

marthastewart.com

marthastewart.com
homesandgardens.com

House Beautiful photo credit: Victoria Pearson

Ethan Allen

This one is obviously a sideboard, which can also be hard for some to accessorize. The other structures shown in this post could be used/modified for a sideboard as well.

House Beautiful Photo Victoria Pearson

Sunset

Canadian House and Home Photo Kim Jeffery

All of the images below are from Wisteria...

Don't forget to enter the $125 Giveaway from CSN Stores!

HOPE YOU'RE HAVING AN AWESOME DAY!

Large Impact vs. Small Accessories - Have a Plan

THIS POST IS FROM ROOM REMIX - THE BLOG .

Amanda Nisbet Design

Thank you for all of your kind, supportive comments on my previous post. Some of you had questions and, if your e-mail is linked to your profile, I'll respond in an e-mail because, quite honestly, that is all the blog time I want to devote to that problem. I'm getting out-of-town guests today, so it probably won't be today but I'll do it as soon as I can. As for that other thing at the beginning of my posts - sorry. Ugly necessity. Moving on...

I'm a big fan of both area rugs and window treatments because I think they can go a long way toward softening a space, adding texture and color (or pulling colors together) and making a room cozy. I've seen people spend a lot of time and effort trying to make a room feel "right" without them, when if they would have just added them the room would have been complete. Sure, there are definitely rooms that can do without them but, in more cases than not, at least one of these is what a room needs.

Coastal Living Photo: Tria Giovan, Stylist: Heather Chadduck

I've run across a variety of people over the years who don't have either in their space because it's just not in the budget. What I've found really interesting, though, is that some of these same people have a BOATLOAD of small accessories. Some are displayed, but many are just stashed in closets, bins, or wherever. You know, those absolutely adorable or inexpensive little things we all run across when we're out and about and just have to have but have no clue where we're going to put them. Sometimes we almost feel compelled to buy them because they ARE so inexpensive! I mean, who would pass up a deal like that? :-)

Southern Living Designer Paige Schnell/Tracery Interiors
Photo Laurey W. Glenn/Robbie Caponetto

If there are any of you who have that same dilemma (missing window treatments/rugs/large acessories, but more than your share of small accessories) here is a suggestion. Analyze your space and determine where you still need small accessories and what you need. Not the specific item, necessarily, but generally what would work as far as size, etc.. Make a list and keep it with you when you shop. Every time you bypass one of those absolutely to-die-for little accessories that isn't on your list, take that amount of money and piggy bank it toward window treatments, rugs or a larger accessory that would make a bigger impact in the room. Depending on how many little accessories you normally buy, you might be surprised at how quickly your little cash stash multiplies. Once you've grown your cash stash, you can purchase these items fairly inexpensively at a variety of sources and, as we've seen all over blogland, there are DIY options as well.

pointclickhome.com Designer Monelle Totah/Photo Simon Upton

I know that making a plan for accessorizing takes some of the fun and spontaneity out of the process, BUT if you're on a limited budget and really looking to make an impact in your space, and you DON'T have an area rug or window treatments, or you're missing LARGER accessories, why not forego the instant gratification of the small accessories for the delayed gratification (and much bigger impact) of the larger items? (I'm getting super good at these run-on sentences, aren't I?)

Just saying it's something to think about... What do you think?

Bookends - A Simple Idea

A simple idea from Martha Stewart - Use ceramic vases as bookends. To give the vase more weight, fill a resealable plastic bag with sand and add it to the vase.

Using the sand to add weight is a great idea! Think of all of the various items that could be used for bookends besides a ceramic vase.

You could also use those smaller clear vases that you have sitting around. Fill them partially with sand and other decorative items (seasonal perhaps? - pincones/greenery clippings/tie some burlap around it? - a simple starfish? - use your imagination) to make the sand part of your decor.

Hope you're having a great day!

Linking to Works for Me Wednesdays at We Are That Family - check it out...

Fireplace Accessorizing - Using what you have

12/29/09 - edited to add this link to The Lettered Cottage - Favorites of 2009 Thrifty Tips

We all love before and after photos and the idea of transforming spaces, don't we? I know I do! Many times I can look at a space and say "we could buy this, or buy that" and it would be perfect! Piece of cake. But what if you can't? Really. What if you can't spend a dime, not even a penny? You really want a transformation but have absolutely zip in the budget for decorating. Sometimes that's the case when someone asks for my help. I won't say it's always simple to do, but the challenge makes it fun and invigorating.

Some of you have seen the fireplace mantel below, but many of you haven't so I wanted to use it as an example for today's post.
When I arrived at this home, I knew that she wanted me to help her accessorize her fireplace, but I had no idea what items she might have to work with. She let me know that she really liked the "layered look" and did not want anything perfectly symmetrical. As you can see in the above "before" photo, there wasn't a lot to work with on the mantel itself so we went shopping in her house. This is the result:


Just a few points I want to make about this.

1. Make it A priority - We made the fireplace a priority, even though we had to take from other areas to complete it. Making it the priority made sense, in this case, because this was the room where they spend most of their time.

Many of us have a variety of accessories scattered throughout the house with no one area actually completed. Completely accessorizing one area gives you a great sense of accomplishment and motivates you to move on to other areas.

2. Prioritize your accessories - The large wrought iron piece was hanging on a small wall that didn't necessarily need it and the black framed family sign, which is her absolute favorite piece, was hanging by itself in a long hallway where it wasn't really being appreciated. Bringing both of these pieces into the fireplace arrangement gives them the importance they deserve and allows them to be enjoyed every day.

3. Imitate the structure - Remember, this client's accessories show her style and your accessories will show your own style. If your style is more modern, you could still imitate the structure of this arrangement using more modern items. Maybe where there is a wrought iron piece here, you have a modern piece of art and where there is a wreath you have a small round mirror. If you don't like this structure, find a photo of one that you do admire in a magazine or elsewhere and see if you can imitate it.

4. Shop the house! - In this case I already told you where the wrought iron piece and sign were. We found the cream vase empty on an upstairs dresser. The hydrangea was snagged from another arrangement. The little twigs were in a cupboard waiting for inspiration for their use. The candlesticks were in a cupboard because she wasn't sure where to put them. Framed old family photo was on a shelf (we took it apart and just used the little frame beside the wrought iron piece)... You get the idea. Shop the house and expand your mind. Don't look at things for what they are but what they can be.

5. Keep it simple - You may have a lot of things or just a few things, either is fine. Having a well accessorized fireplace isn't about how many things you use, it's more about thoughtful placement of those things.

If your fireplace needs accessorizing, shop your house with an open mind and see what you can come up with!

Hope you're having an awesome day!

Snippets of Inspiration

Amanda Nisbet Design

Coastal Living Photograph: Brie Williams

Erinn Valencich

Amanda Nisbet Design

Amanda Nisbet Design
Phoebe Howard

Have a great weekend!

Accessorizing Above Kitchen Cabinets

I received an e-mail from someone who was going to be moving into a different house and wanted me to do a post with tips on how to accessorize above kitchen cabinets. I believe she's finally moved into her new house and may be ready to accessorize soon, so I thought I should probably get the post done.

As with anything in decorating, kitchen trends come and go. Many kitchens have taller cabinets and so much interesting detail elsewhere it's unneccessary and, in some cases, impossible to accessorize. If you do decide to accessorize above your cabinets there are a few options.

1. For a clean, simple look consider just accessorizing the wall above the cabinets. There are many options but some ideas are: framed art, plates (plate hangers are available in a variety of stores), flat trays or baskets, painted wood signs, or a vinyl or hand painted saying that would span the width of the cabinets.

OR

2. Place just a few simple groupings of items (the options here are endless depending on your decorating style and taste) on the cabinets with nothing on the walls. If you have collections of larger items that would still be visible when displayed above the cabinets, this is an opportunity to display them.

OR

3. Do a combination of accessories both on the wall and above the cabinets. Here are some tips to help you create a visually interesting display:

• Remember to allow some blank space in your display. A little blank space allows the eye to rest for a moment and will make the displayed items more important.


• Use a common color, theme, style, material or subject matter to link items together.


• Create interest by varying the placement of objects at different heights.


• Make sure the items are scaled appropriately. Smaller items can be grouped together for impact and raised on books or pedestals to give them added weight and interest.


• It's typically best to use odd numbers. Three items together are much more interesting than four.


• Color can give weight to items. Consider this when grouping items so that balance is achieved.


• Depending on the depth of the area being accessorized, stagger items from back to front.


• For more interest, vary the texture of the items.


• If you want to use greenery, it's best to intersperse smaller potted plants instead of strands of ivy. (Whether these are fake or real depends on your space and green thumb (or lack thereof in my case!)).

Here is an example of cabinet display from Pier 1. They've gone with a full display to sell their products, but have still kept it fairly simple. I thought it was a good visual to demonstrate some of the concepts that I've mentioned above.

Happy decorating! - pk

Painted Plate

Just a quick idea for the do-it-yourselfer. I was looking for some things online today and came across this Apt. 9 plate and stand at Kohls.com.

It reminded that I saw this same type of plate done as an accessory project on an HGTV design show (can't remember for sure which one, it was a while ago) so I thought I would share it with you as a DIY project. On the show, they just dipped a regular plate in the paint color of their choice and let it dry. Pretty inexpensive way to get a unique plate that matches your color scheme (metallic paint would also be cool). Once it was dry you could also add a monogram or some other vinyl letters, decals or something in the middle or across the paint line to give it more interest if you wanted to. What you used to embellish would vary depending on your decorating style.

I would be interested to know what you think of this project. If you try it, let me know and I'll share your before and after pictures on the blog.

Have a great day!