Decorating........I know what I don't know

Several friends have made comments on some of the changes we’ve made to our home in St. George.  I’m happy to share my vast lack of knowledge with you and say that the most important thing is to know what you like.

Step 1 –

Determine what you want your end result to be.  I don’t want a show place, as I’m sure you can tell.  I want everyone to be able to come into my home and feel comfortable.  I want my home to be welcoming, warm and leave others with a desire to come back.  I want it to be a place that my children and grandchildren want to return to frequently.  I’m more about FEEL than APPEARANCE.  This is not saying that it can’t be lovely, but I look at things and ask, how does it make me feel?

Step 2 -

Find your style.  What do I mean by this?  Do you like clean lines, ruffles, flowered prints or geometric shapes?  You may like it all.  If that's the case, determine what you can use together and where it will be.  You may have stripes on your walls and a floral print with ruffles on throw pillows.  You may use very clean or geometric lines on your bedspread and lots of fru fru on the shams and pillows.  What colors do you like?  If you don’t know, look in your closet or call Kathy Gardner and LeAnne Hoopes, they’ll explain it all to you, they’re the experts.  You may like a variation of colors.  That’s OK.  I like to think that you can use colors in your home that you may never put on your body.  I love yellow, but I could never wear it.  This may be a great way to satisfy that yellow craving without looking like a sick puppy.  Learn about the color wheel.  You can use different colors together as long as they're complementary or work together.  Go to your local paint store and choose some color swatches.  Play with them and find what appeals to you and what works together.  Determine which will be your primary color and which are your complementary colors.  Take the swatches with you when you shop, it'll save you a whole lot of time and keep you from having to return things that "don't work".

Step 3 –

Start with a neutral background.  Why you say?  Because it’s cost effective and allows you to change the color in your room anytime you like just by changing out your accessories.  You might think that a neutral color is white, off white or egg shell, the old standby's.  Have you thought of shades of brown, yellow or green?  These can be neutral colors also.  Not quite as neutral as the first group, but if you like these warmer or cooler colors, they may work for you.  Using a neutral color on your walls, is much less expensive; with several sets of different colored towels, bedding or changes in accessories, you have a whole new room without having to change the "base" color (your walls).  A neutral pallet is a very GOOD thing indeed. 

 Step 4 –

Think outside the box.  Allow your creative juices to flow.  Remember I told you that all those great things of your mother’s or grandmother’s would come in handy some day?  Well resurrect them to decorate your home.  You don’t need an expensive coffee table or end table.  Do you have any old luggage or a trunk of your grandparents?  These can make excellent end tables or coffee tables and you have the added advantage of storage space.  What’s not to like? 

In my guest room, there's a valance that’s a copy of the one that was in the house when we bought it.  The color and print wasn’t going to work for me, but I liked the idea of the simplicity of the valance.  I wanted something neutral that I could use with many colors (I’ve changed the colors of the room 4 times since we’ve lived here, but the valance remains the same).  The challenge I had was that the window is about 6 feet wide.  To buy that amount of fabric could be expensive.  Instead, I found a banquet sized off white, linen tablecloth and another, contrasting in a light burnished gold.  Wahla!  I had my valance.  Think out side the box.  See things for other than their intended purpose and you’ll expand your possibilities and save money in the process.

If you have good "bones" in a room (a good traditional style sofa, chair and lamp), you can dress it up or down with accessories.  If your basic pieces are traditional, with clean lines, you can make your room have more of a contemporary feel or a country chic feel by adding accessories.  With all the slipcovers available today, you can easily change the color and texture of your main pieces without the cost of reupholstery or the purchase of a new piece of furniture.

You can find great bargins at yardsales and discount stores.  Some of my favorite pieces were given to me.  The headboard in my guestroom was from a discount store.  It cost me $10.00 and I bought it because I liked the color and finish.  I also happened to have it for 2-3 years before I finally found a place for it.

Step 5 –

Don’t be in a hurry.  Find 1 piece that represents the “theme” of your room, whether that’s color or design.  Take the time to find bargains; these pieces may be some of your favorites.  Keep your eyes open for things that will work with and build upon your theme piece.  They don’t necessarily have to “match”, but they need to complement each other.  When you’re rooms finished, you want your eye to flow from one piece to another.  Be careful that you don’t have something that says, see me!  Remember, it's about the whole, not just one thing.  It may take me months to pull everything together before I’m ready to start my room, but once I have everything the room comes together very quickly.

Remember texture, layers and elevation.  Be sure that you have some fun texture in your room, whether it's on your floor, in pillows or a throw.  Layering is really good;  there's something much more appealing and welcoming about a sofa with throw pillows than a sofa without;  try it, you'll see.  And elevation is very important.  As your eye moves around, you want it to move up and down as well.  If everything is on one level, it becomes very boring.

Basic Tips:
Hang your pictures at eye level and preferably in groups or in a grouping.
Group items and/or collectables on an end table or coffee table.
Try not to allow things to become too cluttered.
Plants add a splash of color, texture, elevation and layers.  Plants are VERY GOOD!

Hints:
You can keep pictures from shifting by sticking rubber bumpers for cabinets on the two bottom corners.  This also keeps your frames from scratching your walls.


Well, that just about depletes my vast lack of knowledge.  I hope you take the time to have some fun with your home and rooms.  If you’re afraid to do an entire room, start small.  Find some fun pillows to add to your couch or something interesting to hang on your wall.  Start with a bathroom, child’s room or entry way.  Get informed and educated about what you like and what appeals to you, but most of all…..HAVE FUN!