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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Kristine Hansen did an article last week titled Embracinmg Quality Qver Quantity. In the article, she referenced the slow design movement started by architect John Brown (www.theslowhome.com).  The movement works toward improving the quality of how you live while reducing your impact on the environment.   Kristine points out one simple way to support this philosophy:  shop locally from area artists and craftspeople.

Redecorating a home is a huge project.  Once the homeowner chooses paint and furniture, they are faced with  the big challenge of selecting artwork and accessories.  This should be the fun part of the redecorating project since this is where your personality can really shine, but it’s daunting to most people.

Following the tenets of slow design, I encourage you to shop at art galleries and art shows.  What you choose to hang on your living room wall should be unique and original.  Cookie-cutter posters are OK in a kid’s room, but not over the sofa!

When you are at the final stages of your redecorating, check out the next Art Crawl.  You will do your part in saving the environment, support your neighborhood artist,  while enjoying a glass of wine.  How can decorating get more fun than that?

Those words can inflict panic or pleasure in women depending on their approach to the holidays. I’m the official “Christmas Queen” within my circle of friends. I love everything about the season: the decorating, the entertaining, the shopping and wrapping, spending time with family and friends.

I’ll get a little notebook for my to-do lists and start my strategic planning for the next two months. So much to do in so little time, but first things first. I always design my own Christmas card and that get sent out early with the party invitation. If I decide to make an ornament for my 1960’s silver tinsel tree I need to choose a color scheme. Last year was black and before that hot pink.

Soon the radio stations will be playing carols. I can’t wait.

I’ve seen TV commercials lately for some big box retailer who claims to sell furniture and building supplies at a huge discount.  They imply they are selling at cost.  I have never been to the store or even visited their web site.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to save money.  Finding a great bargain gives me a thrill.  I advise my clients to shop at a variety of places when furnishing their home.  No one wants to live in a show house or model home.  Although they may be beautiful, they are usually cold and impersonal.  Even if you purchase several piece from the same store, be sure to choose from different manufacturers.  Never buy a complete set! If you prefer a matching sofa and love seat, find unrelated tables and lamps.  If the dresser has companion bedside tables, make sure the head board is different.  You want to create a look that says you have collected your pieces over time, not ran to the nearest outlet and bought an entire living room suite.  That’s why it’s important to mix and match, throw in a few antiques or favorite pieces.  Your room should reflect your personality not that of the commission sales person from “Sales R Us”!

Remember, the old adage, you get what you pay for!

The Design Coach

I just read the September issue of House Beautiful magazine.  It is one of their best issues with photos of gorgeous rooms.  It’s devoted to fall colors, particularly the New Naturals as they calling basic neutrals this season.  The good news is, they are showing real colors mixed in with the tans, sands and taupes.  Nothing kills a room or an entire house faster than bland beige or all white.  If you are afraid of color or are not quite sure how to add it to your house, take baby steps.  Introduce a little at a time or a piece at a time.  Pillows are the easiest and safest way.  ( If you don’t like them, exchange them for a different hue!)  Art work and accessories in colors you love will add instant interest to any space.  Simple changes can change your outlook and attitude.  Who knows, a touch of “Sizzle” or “Arctic Thaw” could inspire a whole new you!

Summer is officially over when school starts.  It doesn’t seem to matter if you have children in school or not, we all seem to be tuned into the September to May calendar.  Design projects tend to run along the same dates.  Once the kids are back to school, we realize how hard they were on the home-front during summer vacation.  Now is the time to start planning your next design project.  (Remember when you offered to host the entire family for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner this year?)

But there is nothing worse than being rushed when making big purchases.  That’s when you can make costly mistakes.  You are better off taking your time.  It’s the rare client who can make a decision without spending days and sometimes weeks, thinking about it.  I’d rather see you throw a quilt and new pillows on the old sofa than be unhappy with your choice.

Kermit the Frog should be proud.  He lamented for years “it’s not easy being green”.  Today green is the trendiest color out there.  Doesn’t matter if you are decorating with the color “green” or jumping on the “save the planet green”  band wagon, everybody is doing green.  Whenever I’m asked about the color trends, green is always on the list.  Shades change from year to year, but there’s always a green to choose from.

Green is actually my least favorite color, yet my family room has a pair of sage green wing back chairs, a paler shade on the walls and I recently purchased a 1940’s green sofa in a dark hue between hunter and kelly.

Let me know which shade of green you are doing this year.  Where are you using it?

Interior Design is my love. Historic preservation and restoration is my passion. But I understand that not everyone shares my enthusiasm. It’s my job to help you create your own unique home. You are the pilot, I’m the navigator. I will put you on the path and help you every step the way to make good decisions when designing your home. When the project is finished, your personality should be visible in everything from paint color, to fabric to accessories. It’s not what I love that counts, it’s what you love. I will just help you figure it out. We will have fun along the way!