More Designing Haven of Grace -- shop for shape

Our Haven of Grave project relied on the generous donations of our sponsors. Ashley Furniture HomeStore in Kirkwood, Missouri, where I work part-time, let me search the 75% off accessories for items we needed. Problem was, not all the items met the design goals for our color palette.

Never fear when spray paint is near.

We just painted the items. The brass candle sticks in the bedroom became white. The planters and obelisks in the kitchen were painted to complement our kitchen colors.

Lesson learned: You can often find good deals on accessories if you are not picky about color. Color on most accessory items can be changed with some paint. So shop for shape!

The items in the pictures below were muted grey and green before we aimed the spray can to change them into a vibrant rainbow of color.

The most family-friendly dining room

One of the best things about my job is seeing the ingenuity of my clients. Doug and Michelle Swain invited me into their home last week to help them pick paint colors for their entryway and master bedroom.

Michelle gave me directions to her home and told me to: "Look for the 'Blues Clues' mailbox". That was the first clue that I was in for a treat.


I thought I would enter a white box -- I was there to help pick paint color after all. Imagine my surprise when I saw their colorful and imaginative picnic dining room just off the entryway!


The Swains explained that they had searched and searched furniture stores for dining room furniture, but all the options seemed too formal, expensive and not at all kid-friendly.

Then Michelle had an idea.

She thought about the most kid-friendly table and a picnic table immediately came to mind. "It's fun, cheap and easy and there is nothing the kids can do to hurt it", said Michelle.


To protect the carpet Michelle continued the outdoors theme by installing AstroTurf.

She and Doug cut the fake grass to fit over the carpet and simply laid it on top. It looks professionally installed, you'd never know it is not tacked down.



Doug's mom painted the countryside mural.

A picnic basket tucked in a corner does the job for a china cabinet, storing all the necessary plates and utensils.

A whimsical wind chime hung from the chandelier reminds us that there is nothing too formal about this space. And red check fabric panel window treatments complete the look.

The whole project cost just $300. Can't beat that!

I asked Michelle if she sees herself eventually replacing the picnic table with traditional dining furniture when the children are older. She said, "maybe, maybe not, I'll have grandkids one day!"

I drool over sophisticated interior design spreads like those in Architectural Digest, but I don't think anything pleases me more than when I see the family reflected in design.

Way to go Swains! I hope this becomes a trend.

Not Your Grandma's Wallpaper, Part 4 -- Wall Stickers

from michellechristina

Introducing wall stickers, sometimes called vinyl lettering or vinyl stickers. They are a budget-friendly way to add art and design to your walls. They can be removed without hurting your walls so they are ideal for apartment dwellers. To find them, I like to search Etsy. Just type in "wall stickers".

Here are a few:

From pulcinopazzo:

From holly:
Note, above, the Russian nesting dolls are wall stickers. How clever.



from michellechristina:


What can you do with wall stickers?

Molding Tricks -- Linda and Matt's New Home

Linda and Matt, St. Louisans, are new homeowners and soon to be new parents. It's a fun time for them.

Their home is 65 years old and so, as you would expect, has a lot of history and character. They have added their own touches and history already, starting with their dining room.

It made sense to Linda to make the dining room their first project, because she loves to cook. She hosts her own blog -- New House, New Kitchen --sharing her favorite recipes.

As you can see, the molding was an issue. The previous homeowner installed crown molding, but because the ceiling is uneven the molding cracked.

If they replaced it, they would have the same issue. Making the ceiling even was not in their budget.

In order to achieve an attractive finish to ceiling, they installed a picture rail molding and painted above it the same color as the ceiling. This creates a crowing effect despite not having a crown molding.




Dining room before (left, above) and after( on right).




To make the picture rail pop, they painted it the same dark brown as the accessories in the room.

They painted the walls a rich terracotta color and added stunning romantic lighting. The room glows, and I think it looks delicious!

What tricks have you played using molding?

Related blog:

Julie's bedroom

Got Retail? ...Give it Detail!

I get excited about the stylish budget-wise finds at the Big Boxes. These finds can help us make our house a home; only thing is, if everyone is buying the same mass-produced stuff, will our homes look the same?

This reminds me of a Friends episode where Rachel hides her love of Pottery Barn from Phoebe, who dislikes anything mass-produced. Phoebe wants her furnishings to be one-of-a-kind and to have a history. The sameness of Pottery Barn just gets to her.



See, I have to admit, I am torn. Am I "Rachel" or am I "Phoebe"?

What got me thinking is a recent article in the New York Times about Etsy, the online community of over 70,000 artisans and counting. Everything sold on Etsy has a "history".

Sounding like Phoebe, the founder of Etsy, Robert Kalin said:

Buying something from the person who made it is “the opposite of what Wal-Mart is right now: just this massively impersonal experience. When you get an item from Etsy, there’s this whole history behind it. There’s a person behind it.”

I am stuck on Etsy. I love art fairs, but they don't come around often enough for me. Now I can go to one "virtually" everyday, thanks to Esty.

So am I "Rachel" or am I "Phoebe"?

I'm probably both.

My living room has a sofa and chairs from Basset furniture, rug and tables from Pottery Barn, an antique Chinese door, art painted by moi and furniture, lamps and artwork inherited from Grams.

The "history" is in the "details" -- the inherited items and the artwork that are juxtaposed with the "retail" furnishings.

So this is, in my opinion, how you solve the problem of looking like everyone else --make the "details" tell your story, your history.

It might not appease the "Phoebes" of the world, but it will keep your home from looking like a page out of the Pottery Barn catalog.

Etsy is a great place to start your hunt for the unique. It has become the first place I look for the "details" with personality-plus.

So, are you a "Rachel" or a "Phoebe"?

Ask Me Anything

When I tell people I am a designer I often get two responses. First they say, “oh I just love you” or “I need you.”

It is wonderful to feel loved and needed. I wonder if I would get the same reaction if I were a dentist!

Next I am asked for design advice. It happened last week as I shopped for cosmetics. The clerk asked, “What can I put over my mantel that is not like the typical mirror or painting?”

I told her that the possibilities are endless, and that to find her inspiration she should make a special note of what others are doing that is uncommon or unique.

On a recent trip I found inspiration for mantels in a hotel lobby. I always have my camera handy to capture the unique things I see being done in design. Below is the photo I took of the mantel with vases displayed in a line. While this is a contemporary look, you can change the look by using traditional vases.


Most people have glass vases; how about using a collection of glass or clear vases as seen in St. Louis At Home Magazine (pictured below). For the budget-minded, these can easily be found at garage sales.


You also can be inspired by the things you already own. Special collections offer something that is unique. I had a client who has a collection of cameras. She made an artful display with her cameras placed along the mantel and in shadow boxes hung above on the wall.

Ask me your burning design question! And if you love me, tell me that too!

Julie's Bedroom - a study in color and design

Yesterday I met Brad, Julie’s carpenter, to go over the moldings we will use for Julie’s bedroom that will be a hybrid of "cottage style" or "English Country Style" , including wainscoting and decorative moldings and other fun details that say: "cozy".

We are working with an existing 2 ½ inch crown molding, just fine for the eight foot high ceilings in Julie’s bedroom. But we are now putting in new floors and beefing-up the wainscoting and baseboard, so the small crown molding would look wimpy by comparison.

We could pull out the old molding and replace it with expensive 5 inch crown molding, but I have a creative solution that is less expensive and intrusive and gives a more dramatic look:

We will place a 1 ½ inch base cap molding three inches from the bottom of the crown molding on the wall. Base cap is sometimes called wainscoting cap or wainscoting molding. It looks like the old picture molding, but with a flat, not rounded, edge at the top. If you are unfamiliar with types of moldings, it has a profile similar to most traditional picture frames.

Now here is where I get crazy. We will turn it upside down. Yep, that’s right.

Brad, the carpenter, asked me about three times yesterday, “Are you sure you want to turn it upside down?”

“Yes, why not,” I said.

“Well, then you can’t hang pictures from it!”

Julie and I responded, “But we don’t want to hang pictures from it!”

This is not the first time a carpenter has looked at me in unbelief.

Our goal here is to beef-up the crown molding, to fool the eye into thinking it is one large crown molding. Brad will paint the molding and the wall in between the same color - white, in this case - to make it look like one continuous molding. And by turning the base cap molding upside down, we give the edge a nice definition and finish.

You can see an example in Judy’s home:

Before (above photo), the 2 1/2 inch crown molding.

After (above photo), the beefed-up moldings and painted walls provide definition and character to the room.

See how before (above photo) the crown molding almost disappeared, providing little contrast or interest.

See (above photo) the difference beefed-up molding and paint can make! It really complements the other details in this older home, like the arch entries and niches.

You can also beef-up your baseboards this way. Many older homes have the typical 3 inch colonial baseboards. You can add about 2 to 3 inches up from the baseboard a 1 inch trim molding of your choosing, then paint the wall between the baseboard and molding to match.

Voila! You have instant beefed-up moldings that didn’t cost you an arm and a leg and are simple enough to qualify for a weekend DIY project.

What can you do with decorative molding?

Katherine's Kitchen - a study in color and design

How do you bring a kitchen forward in time on a tight budget?

Paint it!

We did several things to bring Katherine's kitchen into the new century; paint was key to making the project affordable!

Before, Katherine's kitchen had dated wallpaper and dark cabinets that seemed to close in the room. Her breakfast nook (pictured below) had a dark wooden shelf that ran around the top of the room, making the ceiling feel as if it was coming down on you.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Bish Photography

Look at the difference now (pictured below) with the shelf removed and the ceiling and woodwork painted a crisp white and the walls painted a rich terracotta.

Photo courtesy of Katherine Bish photography

Stay tuned to watch the transformation of Katherine's kitchen.

Julie's Bedroom - a study in color and design

I am helping Julie redecorate her master and guest bedrooms. In the master we are using Julie’s favorite color, periwinkle (a blue that leans purple), as the main color with accents in yellow and green. Our inspiration: the quilt Julie is making.

Now have you tried to find periwinkle in fabric lately? It’s a challenge. Most of what you find in affordable fabrics is grey-toned or muddy colors. For uncommon color palettes, especially bright or vibrant palettes – with the exception of children’s prints - you do best to search among designer fabrics. But they come, often, with a high price tag.

I have been a fan for years of pure and vibrant color palette of Designers Guild’s fabrics and home furnishings, designed by Tracia Guild, the United Kingdom’s master colorist. Stumbling on her books years ago inpired my serious education in color - she opened a whole new world of exploration for me.

For those on a budget, you might need to use her fabrics sparingly as they are priced on the high-end. Designer Guild fabrics are not found at retail stores, but most often only through designers or trade-only showrooms. However, if you are on the hunt for sophisticated pure and vibrant colors, they may be worth the look.

More accessible and affordable is the offering by Susan Sargent. And if you buy from housefabric.com they range from $12.95 to 16.95 a yard. This is a bargain price for designer fabric. (To see Susan Sargent fabrics in St. Louis, Missouri, check out Anatol's Fabric Outlet - home to housefabric.com -314-968-0090).

And guess what? Susan Sargent offers a delicious menu of "blues" that lean towards Julie’s favorite "periwinkle". I selected swatches (like the one pictured) that I think will make winning window treatments and pillows. Yummy!

I’ll let you know what Julie decides and show you the results! Stay tuned for more on Julie's bedroom.

Not Your Grandma's Hutch - now that's clever!

Are you looking for an updated, maybe even contemporary, look but you are working with dated or traditional furnishings?

That was the case for Ursalon, our Habitat for Humanity homeowner who worked with us to decorate her home. Her hutch – pictured – was dark and dated. Ursalon mentioned her love of green apples so we purchased realistic-looking fake ones at Linens-n-Things.


photo courtesy of Katherine Bish Photography

Rather than arrange them in a predictable decorative bowl, we placed them individually and on stands to create a modern look. The greens and yellows pop against the dark hutch making it look fresh – this is no longer your Grandma’s hutch.


photo courtesy of Katherine Bish Photography

Consider ditching your fruit bowl and placing your fruit throughout your home, in flower arrangements, in a line on your mantle, down the middle of the table…the possibilities are endless.

Hide It - now that's clever!

Ok, one of my pet peeves is when a builder installs the most unattractive elements in full view, like the thermostat or alarm system.



Jane had this problem on a focal wall in her living room. She thought about having her thermostat moved to another wall around the corner, but it would be too costly. Jane has a collection of quilts. So our minds started cooking, why not put the quilt over the thermostat!



For easy access we put the quilt on a swing-arm curtain rod, found at most big-box retailers that carry home decor. We found ours at Linens -n- Things.

Have you ever had this dilemma?

What have you done to attractively hide the most unattractive elements in a room?