accent walls

If you are afraid of using color on your walls, but are curious nonetheless, I would suggest starting with one wall. An accent wall can provide a powerful visual punch to any room, especially when used on a prominent wall in the room. For instance, painting a wall surrounding a fireplace will give it instant importance, and reclaim it as the focal point of the room. Top the mantel with coordinating accessories, to complement that wall color, not compete with it, and you are all set. Accent walls are also an excellent way to confirm a color palette or introduce a new color altogether. And that color can speak volumes about the mood you want that room to create. For example, my living room rug contains variations of tan, brown, pale aqua and apricot. At first, I painted two walls tan, and two walls aqua. While the colors were beautiful, the room felt cool and formal. I quickly changed the combination- three walls tan and one wall soft pumpkin. Now it feels like the cozy, welcoming living room I imagined before we moved in. So, if you are afraid to commit to color, try starting with an accent wall. You will find that it instantly changes the look of your space.

quick change

Last week, I helped my mother-in-law freshen and update her guest bedroom for her mother's upcoming visit. The room needed some love and a little color to liven it up. So I chose a paint color for two accent walls, some new bedding, added curtains, simplified and rearranged the artwork, and cleared out some of the clutter that had been slowly collecting.Laura wanted to room to feel restful and the bedding to be simple. The paint color I chose is the most gorgeous shade of soft sage-yellow-green imaginable. It is called New Leaf from C2's collection of colors, but we mixed it as a Benjamin Moore paint. I only painted two walls to save time, and my back since I was doing this on my own and could not move some of the heavy pieces of furniture. The result is just grand. The room now calls you to sit in the arm chair, linger in bed a few more minutes, and looks cozy but fresh whether it is night or day. These changes cost about $300, and took me about 12 hours to complete on my own, including time spent researching the right look. Not bad for such a dramatic improvement in look and feel!

spring's colors

Pottery Barn

Pier 1

I'm seeing yellow. Yellow and all its shades seem to be pretty hot for spring's new accessories and for wall color updates. Daffodil,banana, sunshine, butter, sunset, and electric. It is everywhere. Potterybarn has it, Pier 1 has it, Restoration Hardware has it. We are all ready for a dose of sunshine, and bringing some happy yellow accents into your surroundings should carry your look almost into fall this year, as it is going to be a great color for summer as well. Paint an accent wall in your entry with Benjamin Moore's No Nonsense and lay down this cute sunflower rug for a blast of warmth as you welcome your guests. Update your pillow covers with subtle sandy yellow stripes for a hint of sophisticated sunshine. Change out your heavy winter bedding for a lighter weight quilt in shades of yellow to bring your bedroom out of hibernation. Yellow is happy and fun for this season, and absolutely fantastic when paired with crisp white and graphic black.
Restoration Hardware

update your ikea sofa

If you own an Ikea sofa or armchair and are tired of the current slipcover,and Ikea's selection is boring you, check out Bemz, www.bemz.com. On this website, you can choose an Ikea frame, click on a fabric swatch and watch it transform. What's even cooler is that, free of charge, you can order 6 swatches to be sent to your house from their headquarters in Sweden. I sent away for some and had them within a couple of weeks. They offer 68 quality cottons and 22 linen/cotton blends in solids, stripes, florals and other fun geometric prints.

Now, I don't have an Ikea sofa or chair, but I do have two tub chairs and a wing chair that need either recovering or a new slipcover. I thought that maybe I would measure my chairs and compare with Ikea's dimensions to see if they might fit. Bemz prices are pretty reasonable considering the diversity of fabric selection, the quality and the fact that they will hug your Ikea piece like a custom sewn slipcover.

kitchen coordinates

In my kitchen, I have a cute little buffet that provides much needed storage and counter space along a wall which was once empty. My mother-in-law and I found it at an antique mall in Port Orchard, and I knew on the spot that it would be the perfect piece to fill that void. While the curtains, a small print black toille fabric, were cute, they just didn't fit with the valance I already had. Also, I have always struggled with the color and design of the vinyl tile in my kitchen. It is mostly black with a green diamond shape right in the middle. Sort of retro, and not my style, it was installed by the previous owners. I had been ignoring it,since the green really did not fit into my scheme.

Last week, I realized that I already had the perfect fabric to unite the floor, the buffet and the valance. About a year ago, my mom and I were shopping in Illinois at a discount accessories store called Old Time Pottery. There was a huge table with home decor fabric remnants on sale for $5/yd. As luck would have it, I found two great bundles of yardage of two Waverly fabrics I had been wanting to buy. So I did,without knowing exactly what project I would use them for. A great lesson in creating your design sense, is to snatch up those items that inspire you when you first see them. Hold onto them long enough and you discover their purpose.

Here are a few before and after pics. I still intend to find a kitchen rug that incorporates all of the colors and maybe with a splash of summer orange to add zing.

northwest coastal cottage

This is how my friend and realtor Jeri describes her decorating style. That relaxed coastal vibe is so characteristic of this area, and I love it. Whether you have a house on the water or not, you can apply some simple decorating aesthetics to create that beach access, sound view, waterfront feeling.

Jeri's question specifically was, how to deal with her wall-to-wall carpet, which was necessary to install, given her home's uneven flooring. Could she still give her rooms the beach cottage look, without the hard wood floors that dominate the breezy carefree vignettes in Coastal Living magazine? My answer: yes definitely. There is no reason why you can't place a nice textural sisal or jute rug on top of pale green carpet. How about a simple but colorful striped cotton rug to ground your living room seating group? In either case, be certain to use a rug-to-rug pad in between the layers to keep that area rug from bunching.

I would also recommend interjecting a little wicker or rattan into your seating area or at your dining room table to lend an earthy touch. As far as upholstery, go for slip covers or light, linen-y textural neutrals. Casual is key in generating a lived-in, sea weathered look. Color palettes for a northwest beach look would mostly likely include a great basic khaki (C2's Hummus), a watery blue (Ralph Lauren's Shoreline) and a warm, light loving white (Ben Moore's Navajo White). A few touches of slate gray will add contrast and evoke the image of the NW's rocky shores. Add an artful grouping of apothecary jars full of shells and beach rocks or sea grass on your bookshelf, and voila, instant seaside getaway.

You might consider other elements to add texture like bamboo blinds and woven baskets to tighten the look, but not make it too cliche. Popping in plant life will add the layer of another natural color and bring the outdoors inside. Use fabrics like linen and cotton in soft shades of blue, ivory and green on simple drapes or to cover throw pillows. The main idea is to add natural and textural items and colors, but don't try too hard, or it might end up looking like you did!

painting again

So this weekend, Chris and I tackled painting the living room trim. It has been over two and half years since we moved in, and have put it off until now, because we both HATE painting trim. It is tedious and time consuming. The project was long overdue, and we finally had to face it. I thought we might also muster the energy to do the kitchen, and paint the ceiling in there too. This morning, however, we were so drained after putting the blinds and curtains back up and rearranging the furniture, we had nothing left to give any other room in the house.

Now, the living room looks more polished and a little happier. The change we made that has the most visual impact, was painting the inside of the front door white. It used to be just a really dingy and outdated wood finish. The white really cleans it up and brightens that corner of the room quite a bit.

I also decided to make a couple of new pillow covers today, using two small pillows I had on the bed. I wanted to move them into the living room, and put to use some fabric swatches I had brought home from work. Even though the pillows are little, their pretty fabrics pack a lot of design punch. This is a great way to utilize fabric odds and ends and freshen the look of your rooms.