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2012-02-06T15:17:00.000-08:00

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Happy New Year!!

2012-01-03T18:43:00.001-08:00

New Year's is a time when many people commit to starting fresh and making positive changes in their lives. My personal "resolution" for a positive change is to get more organized. I am a pretty organized person, or like to think I know how to be. Realistically speaking though, I could be a lot better at this. I always have the best intentions but lack of time usually detours me. Sound familiar?

I love to decorate and "organize" themes, wall groupings, and absolutely love spending time picking out the right color schemes and accessories. But I don't enjoy as much organizing papers and closets. That's more tedious than creative. This is the year, however, that I am finally going to be successful at tackling this to-do list at home. Not exactly my idea of fun but . . .

I am giving myself a reward! When I have completed at least one of these tasks I don't love so much, I am going to allow myself to have some fun by creating new fabric window treatments for my family room! I can't wait! Now that's motivation for me, so I've started immediately with the organizing!

My husband and I share a work space at home along with our daughter's numerous craft supplies. Honestly, her stuff takes up a lot of room in our cabinets! I finally had the bright idea to move her stuff out of our office so I can better organize my things. Now where to go with her stuff?

I decided we should transform our back coat closet. It was just a catch all really housing out of season coats, winter gear like hats and scarfs, extra shopping bags for who knows what, extra boxes of cereal and the dog food. Being not so tall (notice I didn't say short) I have a hard time reaching stuff on the top shelf. To make it work better for me, I had my husband move the coat rack up way higher and hang a step stool right outside in the garage for me when I need to put away or grab those out of season coats. Then he measured and installed two shelves lower so I can access everything easier. It gave us so much more room, and now we are utilizing that closet space so much better.

Now our daughter can grab her coloring books just as easily and her stuff is out of our office. It's a win-win! I'm so excited!

That was step #1. Now to move onto step #2, my office space!

What Inspires You?

2011-12-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

When decorating a room, what first inspires you? Is it a color, a piece of furniture, a pattern in a fabric, a unique accessory? Look for one key inspiration and start decorating around that. You'll find it's easier that way to create a cohesive look that you'll love. If you absolutely love something, work it into your decor. If you absolutely do not love something, get rid of it and make room for something new! With the New Year approaching, it's a good time to take inventory of what's in our rooms and see where we need a fresh new look.

Romancing Your Home for Sale

2011-11-01T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's time to put the "For Sale" sign up. Wait! Have you considered using a decorator for staging your home for sale? The longer a house is on the market, the lower the price of the home falls. Staged homes sell faster so consider that BEFORE you put up the sign. You won't have to lower the asking price so much and ultimately you'll make more money.

Staging is different than decorating your home. When you decorate your home, you decorate to please yourself. When you stage your home, you stage it, or create an illusion, to please someone else, the potential home buyer. According to the Home Staging Resource, only 10% of home buyers can visualize the potential of a home. That's a huge reason why staging is so critical. Why take the chance that the advantages of your home get overlooked or left up to the buyer's imagination?

So dress your home for sale with the small details that will make a big difference. Create that wow factor that will last beyond the curb and all the way to the master bedroom.

Interested in learning more? Call me to find out more about my Staging Walk and Talk Consult!

Ooh La La Decor Reveals a New Website!

2011-10-13T12:40:00.000-07:00

Please read the press release regarding my new logo and website! I'm so excited to have an official website and logo for my decorating business. Please share my website with your friends and family. I'd love to become their decorating partner. If you are in the market for a new website or logo yourself, please contact Design Loft, Inc. and tell them Julie sent you. They did an awesome job!

Color Forecast 2012

2011-10-05T13:06:00.000-07:00

I recently attended a color seminar presented by Jackie Jordan, Director of Color Marketing for Sherwin-Williams. It was lots of fun to hear about the upcoming color trends and I'm happy to share with you! If you'd like to see large sample color cards for any upcoming painting project, call me! I'd love to help pick the right color for you!

This is what she had to say:

The Sherwin-Williams colormix™ 2012 forecast proves a color palette doesn’t need to stray far from its roots to make a big design impact.

“Colors that are analogous, or adjacent on the color wheel, are a dominant trend,” said Jackie Jordan, director of color marketing for Sherwin-Williams. “We discover a fresh array of combinations within color families ― be it fiery reds, watery blues, grassy greens or organic neutrals.”

Forget the expected tone-on-tone pairings. Sherwin-Williams color experts drew inspiration from fashion-forward color-washing and ombré dyeing techniques to experiment with color values and hues within color families to create four vibrant palettes. They also embraced the sustainable landscape ― which has become an enduring influence on all aspects of décor and design.

“Just hone in on a color you love and the ideal, natural complement will be right nearby,” Jordan said.

The 40 hues highlighted in colormix 2012 stay close to home with earth-inspired, color family groupings: Reds, Blues, Greens and Neutrals.

The Art of Placement

2011-09-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

The artwork displayed in your home is a reflection of you and your personal style. Selecting where and how to best hang your favorite pieces can be a challenging task, so here are some tips.

* When assembling a grouping of items to hang, view the group as a single unit.
* Do not place things too far apart from each other; use your hand width to determine spacing.
* Symmetrical placement in groupings is ideal for pieces that are similar in size, shape and subject matter.
* Consider asymmetry when designing a group of prints that may share one element, like subject matter or color scheme, but differ in size and shape.
* Keep at least one common thread in large groupings, such as frame style or subject matter.
* Avoid hanging your artwork too high.
* Hang your artwork so that the center point of a piece of grouping is at approximately eye level.
* To test the placement of your groupings, take Kraft paper, trace your pieces, cut them out, and then use painters tape to secure your cutouts to the wall. You have the flexibility of moving the paper pieces around until you have the arrangement the way you want it.
* Remember of course you can always hire an interior decorator to help with that professional end result!

Dorm Room Decorating

2011-08-29T13:29:00.000-07:00

Back to school can mean new experiences for those heading off to college. College can seem scary and overwhelming to some so by making a dorm room cozy and comfy like home is not only exciting but comforting too.

Fun bedding can brighten up a dorm but remember that even solid color bedding can liven up the room with some colorful throw pillows. Change out the standard dorm curtains to something more your style. Warm up those floors with a patterned throw rug, a room size remnant or those carpet tiles. Bring your own lamps to add more light. A tall torchiere lamp will soften lighting and add drama. Don't forget those task lights for your desk though for study time. Maybe hang some lanterns or other fun holiday lights around the room for a touch of whimsy.

Don't forget to cover those drab, concrete walls! Use cork board strips to hang things like pictures or small framed prints hanging from ribbon or tulle. Or put up bigger pieces of cork board covered with fabric to use as a bulletin board or a backdrop for pictures or even flat backed containers with greenery. Since you can't paint the walls, try covering your concrete walls with fabric using liquid fabric starch as an adhesive. Try spray starching and ironing the fabric first because it helps if the fabric is stiffer. If your walls are wallboard, try using 3M Wall Putty or Blu-Tak.

When you're short on space, organization is key. White modular shelving cubes can hold lots of stuff and are strong enough to be used as a tabletop. Even those stackable milk crates can be spruced up by placing colorful baskets or fabric containers inside them. Another idea to decorate your storage pieces is to place a strip of velcro around the tops and/or sides and cover them with fabric.

Use your imagination and you'll create the perfect dorm space to give you that home away from home feeling not to mention a cool space for you and your friends to hang out in!

I'm Certified!

2011-06-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have completed my courses and received my career diploma in May! This is so exciting for me! I am now a Certified Interior Decorator!

Focal Points

2009-09-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

A focal point should be so firmly established and emphasized that people notice it upon entering the room. What are your rooms' focal points? Think of your family room. Do you have a fireplace? Or a built in bookcase? Is it a large picture window? Is it your sofa wall? It's usually best to have one strong focal point in a room, but when you must consider two focal points, one should be more dominant and they both should be united. Perhaps your room has a fireplace and a distinctive storage wall. The fireplace could be strengthened as the dominant focal point by adding a picture, accessories on the mantel, and a furniture grouping around it. The storage wall would then become the room's secondary focal point. If you need help determining your room's focal point and finding the right pieces for it, please call me!

Window Treatments

2009-05-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

can definitely add spice to any room! I am in the process of designing window treatments for my kitchen and let me tell you, it's a process but a fun one indeed! I am so excited to see the end result after careful consideration of design, fabric choices and trim choices. Pictures will be posted when the project is completed.

Remember, fabric window treatments can change a room from mediocre to amazing! Let me help you!

Decorating shelves or tables

2009-03-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Do not place accessories on shelves or tables like soldiers lined up for battle. Avoid a level assemblage. Do mix sizes, scales and textures. Vary the heights of objects to be used together to create a staggered altitude, usually working with an odd number of items.

2009 Colors of hope

2009-03-29T10:34:00.000-07:00

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a video from the Boston Globe about popular 2009 colors.

Tips on Color

2009-03-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Don't know which colors to choose? Try taking a walk into your closet. We tend to wear colors that we are comfortable with so it's a good starting point when trying to decide what colors to decorate with.

Use a color more than once in a room but don't use more than 6 colors in any one room.