Design Tips for Any Room

Over the past couple of months, my close friends and family have been soliciting my help and ideas for decorating a variety of spaces.  First off, let me just say that I am both flattered and humbled to have so many people asking for my input when it comes to decorating.  I am by no means a professional and really don't have any training in this area, I am just a lover of pretty aesthetics and constantly reading/researching to keep my finger on the pulse when it comes to interior design.  

When thinking about my method for going about designing a space, it's really a combination of both process and tips to keep in mind.  I know it can seem daunting when faced with designing a space, so for today's post, I wanted to share a few of my best practices for going about designing a space.  These tips have helped me to tackle decorating projects of various sizes and specifications, so I thought it might be a good idea to document these tips for you all and of course my own reference!    

Start with the Rug 

The floor is literally the foundation of a room, which is why I find it to be a natural starting point.  I know that some people have tile or wall to wall carpet, so selecting an area rug is not really applicable in those instances.  However, the majority of individuals are faced with at least one room in their home where it's necessary to buy a rug.  So this tip is geared towards those individuals with an area rug room or rooms (like myself).  

When decorating a room, I like to start with selecting the rug.  Whether I'm looking to add a neutral area rug or a colorful oushak, it's so much easier to lay the rug down prior to furnishing.  Doing so will prevent you from having to deal with moving furniture in and out of a room unnecessarily.  In addition, the color and style selection for your rug will also serve as a guide for selecting additional colors to incorporate into the room. Ex. Should you opt to have a colorful oriental rug, you can use the colors of the rug as a guide for selecting additional fabrics.  

Furniture Positioning

Furniture placement in a room is really a balancing act between practicality and achieving a pleasing aesthetic.  Placement of a chair or side table for instance, should serve a purpose and fit the space (not look crammed or block a walkway).  With that being said, I think it's important to note that you also should consider the safety of the furniture piece when deciding on its placement.  I am imparting these words of wisdom because I have recently dealt with a serious case of furniture sun bleaching.  Sun bleaching is exactly what you are probably thinking it is, excessive exposure of fabric to direct sunlight will cause the colors to fade and the fabric to tatter/fray.  I had placed a blue arm chair by a window in my bedroom so that we could have a place to sit while getting dressed.  Unfortunately the window has incredibly strong afternoon sunlight that ended up bleaching the fabric on the arm of my chair (see before and after photos above--chair victim is the closer of the two in the second photo).  

Measuring

I would have to say that measuring is probably the most important part of designing a room.  Measuring the space will help you to determine what pieces will fit based on the dimensions of the room and ultimately create a room that is properly scaled.  Length, depth, width, height, etc... all super important measurements to consider when constructing a space.  I really cannot stress enough how important it is to take the time to measure out your room and furniture when designing a space.  Furniture is a major investment and the last thing you want is to spend all of this money purchasing a piece that isn't the correct size for the space.  For more information on this topic, see this post on my before and after for redesigning my living room space to fit the scale of the room.  

Lighting

Another aspect of the room design that can really elevate your space is lighting.  I am a major advocate for investing in quality room lighting.  Whether it's lamps, ceiling fixtures and/or sconces, installing the right lighting fixture that complements the aesthetic of your space will help you achieve a beautiful finished look.  

Here's the scoop on a few favorite lighting fixtures installed in my home: 

Since we live in a loft, our living room has wonderfully high ceilings that could support a show stopping fixture.  I adore the Focault's Orb fixture from Restoration Hardware and it has really given my living room the most perfect ambient lighting.  For the bedroom, I opted for Pottery Barn's Hundi Flushmount mini lantern in our dressing area (which I installed myself--super easy to do) and the hardware on the lantern paired perfectly with black iron hardware used for the window treatments.  Lastly, our most recent addition was the 20th Century Filament Sconce installed on our stairway wall.  I opted for a more minimalist look when it came to this fixture because I didn't want it to distract from the beautiful artwork.  These bubble glass style lighting fixtures are really popular at the moment and I can totally understand why!  Modern, sleek, elegant, unique and really versatile.  

Finishing Touches

In my mind finishing touches include knick knacks on side tables, ginger jars on window ledges, coffee table tray decor, wall hangings and even throw pillows and blankets in certain instances.  These are the easy and often interchangeable add-ons that you should wait to purchase until after the bulk of the furnishing is done in a space.  Reason being, you never know how a room will end up coming together.  Maybe you see a chair on one wall one day and then decide that it would actually look better on the opposite wall the next day.  Finishing touches are just that, the very last things that you should be concerning yourself with when decorating a space.  You'll have the best idea of what final finishes you need to fill in spaces once the bulk of the furnishing is complete, so I strongly encourage you to hold off on the tchotchke purchasing until the furnishing portion of your decorating project is complete.  

Trimming My Christmas Tree

The Christmas Tree is without a doubt my favorite aspect of holiday decorating.  I kid you not, I get so excited every year to pick out our christmas tree and then spend the weekend decorating it.  The smell of a real tree in my home sings holiday season and I love the elegant (and slightly whimsical) touch it brings to my living room. 

My tree decor theme has evolved over the years.  Originally it was a traditional red, green, gold and tartan tree with an assortment of fun and very classic ornaments (i.e. a whole lot of Santa Claus on my tree).  Over the years, my taste/style has evolved first to a rustic chic and finally into it's current theme: "Woodland Chic."  

What the heck is "Woodland Chic?!"  Well to make a long story short, it is essentially rustic chic (pinecones, acorns, burlap and gold) with the addition of a few forrest animals (Moose, Owls, Snow Foxes, etc…).  I love the way this tree has come together over the years.  It certainly speaks to my style (elegant and rustic with a splash of fun) and of course I love that my tall ceilings can support a whopper sized tree (which I most definitely take advantage of).  Below is a breakdown of how I go about setting up, decorating and maintaining my christmas tree throughout the holiday season.  

Prepping Your Tree

1. Lay a trash bag followed by a towel on top of the floor where you intend to have your tree stand placed
2. Place the tree stand on top of the towel
3. While the tree is still wrapped, place it in the stand.  Have one person hold it and the other person can stand back to assess if its standing straight and then screw the tree into place. 
4. Once the tree is secured, fill the stand with water
5. Cut the net off the tree and help to gently pull the branches down 
6. If you have a tight space for your tree- use either Friskars or Wire Cutters (unconventional, but they work) to trim off the extraneous branches to help the tree fit the space.  (*Note- If you plan on making your own garland and/or wreath, save those tree trimmings!)

Decorating Tips

• Add a little tradition- trees tend to evolve over time into a large collection of memories.  Even if you prefer a more designer-esqe tree, theres no reason why you can't incorporate small touches of meaningful memorabilia.  Since my husband has German heritage, we include a pickle ornament every year.  In addition, you all know how crazy we are about our dog Dolly, so a bulldog ornament is an absolute must for our family Christmas tree. 
• Use Wire- green floral wire is a decorating essential during the holiday season, especially when it comes to decorating my tree.  I use green wire to help hold up the ribbons of burlap, adjust branches to fill in holes, support my tree topper (which weighs 10lbs..not really, but it is heavy) and even as a tether for anchoring my tree to the wall (safety first everyone!). 
• Lights - I love a well illuminated tree, so I tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to tree lights.  Among my favorite types of lights are garland-style lights (unfortunately not the easiest lights to find in stores).  They have three bulbs per stop, which really helps to give your tree a beautiful and very bright look.  Just make sure to buy light strands with a wattage of 100 or less.  I made the mistake of buying strands this year that had 125 watts and ended up having the lights on my tree go out three times (it was awful). 
• Water- There is nothing worse than having a crunchy tree.  Be sure to check your tree's stand water daily or at the very least every other day.  Most homes around this time of year are running their heating systems, which causes the tree to drink even more water.  A major part of keeping your tree looking its best revolves around proper hydration.

Details on my Woodland Chic Tree

• Gold Bulbs- Target
• Glitter Gold Pinecones - Target
• Shatterproof Pinecones - Target
• Burlap Ribbon - Home Goods (similar here)
• Burlap Tree Skirt- Home Goods (similar here)
• Glitter Moose Ornaments - Martha Stewart Home Depot (similar here)
• Mirror Star Tree Topper - Pottery Barn (similar here)
• Glass Acorns- Home Goods (similar here)
• Snow Fox Ornaments- Martha Stewart Home Depot
• Shatterproof Owls- Target
• Natural Wired Pinecones- Target

New Den/Guest Room Reveal

When my husband and I first moved into our current home, one aspect that took us a while to wrap our heads around was what to do with all of the additional square footage we had gained.  Initially the focus was on fixing up the high traffic areas (living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom).  Once those areas had been addressed we went on to tackle our master bedroom (see this post).  In essence, the first floor was the immediate priority and we decided to put a hold on addressing the upstairs until our downstairs was taken care of. 

Around the middle of July, with the reveal of the finished living room, our downstairs areas were pretty much done.  It was finally time to move onto tackling the upstairs.   To give you a little background on the upstairs layout, it is technically a loft space with one half of the floor opening up to the downstairs and the other half of the floor containing walls, closets and a half circle window (which I adore!).  This side of the upstairs was the obvious choice for the second bedroom.  

I know you are probably looking at these pictures and thinking, "where's the guest room?"  Well, the couch is actually sleeper sofa that pulls out to a queen sized bed.  Reason being, we plan to be in this house for at least 5-7 years, in which time we will most likely be adding a new family member to the mix (and no, not another bulldog much to Dolly's disappointment).  When that happens, we still want to have a place for guests to sleep, but won't have the space upstairs to accommodate a traditional adult sized bed.  Therefore, buying a sleeper sofa was a perfect solution.  It gives us a great sitting area and guest room all rolled into one.  

We all know that I have quite the ginger jar habit, so naturally I wanted to create a space that incorporated a splash of chinoiserie.  My overall vision for this space was inspired by the ginger jar, but morphed over time based on items I would come across while perusing various home stores (best decorating lesson- you've got to be flexible!).    White, gold, green and various shades of blue became the color story for my new guest room.  Below is a list of everything used + sourcing for each item. 

Details:

• Sleeper Sofa- Pottery Barn Buchanan Square Arm Upholstered Sleeper, White Twill
• End Tables- West Elm Terrace Side Table, Antique Brass
• Lamps- Ralph Lauren Farrah Crystal Lamps, purchased at Home Goods (similar here)
• Throw Pillows- Northern Parker Interiors
• Throw Blanket- Sferra Brushed Cotton Herringbone-Weave Throw, Moss
• Coffee Table- Vintage Find (similar here)
• Accent Chair- Restoration Hardware Professor Chair, Indigo Belgian Linen
• Chair Pillow- Kelly Wearstler Bengal Bazaar Lumbar Pillow, Indigo
• Coffee Table Books- The Houses of Veranda, India Hicks: Island Style, Domino: The Book of Decorating
• Green Coasters- Holly Stuart, Saxon Green
• Coffee Table Tray- West Elm Small Rectangle Lacquered Tray, Gold
• Hurricane- Simon Pearce Revere Hurricane
• Star Burst- Target Sea Urchin or Small Spike Decor Sphere

 We plan to build a wall with double french doors in 2016 to turn one half of the upstairs into a true guest room, but until the space still affords a degree of privacy to anyone staying upstairs.  I love the way this space has come together and dare I say, it might even be my favorite room in our house.  It is so bright, cozy and the perfect spot to enjoy my morning cup of coffee while watching my morning dose of Robin Roberts on Good Morning America.  

I will keep you all updated as we continue to fine-tune this space.  But for now, I am pretty ecstatic with the way everything has come together and am looking forward to having our first house guests staying up here for Thanksgiving (my sis and brother-in-law).  The nightstand water has been set out along with the fresh flowers, so now I just need to get working on making up their bed.  Now it's time to get back to prepping for Turkey Day!   

Giving My Living Room a Mini Make-Over

For today's post I wanted to share a glimpse of my latest home decor updates.  We have been in our home for about a  year and a half now and it was really at the one year mark that I finally started to feel reinvigorated to begin the fine tuning process with our living room home decor.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, when we initially purchased our condo there were the immediate needs that had to be addressed like the bathroom renovation, painting, replacing appliances and window treatments.   

Around the start of early spring, it was actually our dog Dolly who decided to kick off the second round of decorating by destroying our living room rug with a series of accidents that weren't really her fault (I'm going to stop there with describing, but hopefully you get the gist…).  The biggest lesson learned thanks to Dolly: Even though they are significantly less expensive than wool rugs, avoid purchasing jute or sisal rugs if you own pets or have children.  One false move (aka stain) and the rug is done.   

Replacing the living room rug was all the inspiration I needed to feel reinvigorated to kick off this mini project.The second round of home decorating was focused on fine-tuning the living room, primarily adjusting the furnishings to better fit the space.  After an almost 7-month long revamp, my living room is finally coming together and looking like everything was meant for the space. 

Scale

My living room decor has been evolving ever since my husband and I first moved in together.  Our first place together was small and had low ceilings.  Even though we were beginning to purchase furniture together, we made an effort to avoid purchasing furniture to fit our first place.  Reason being, it was temporary and our nice new furniture pieces were permanent, so our new furniture would need to work in our next house.  At the time of our move, we had simply transferred the furniture from our old living room to our new living room.  While certain pieces like our couch, bookshelf and media center fit in the living room perfectly, our pair of blue professor's chairs were too small for a room with such tall ceilings.  

Swapping out the chairs for a larger/taller pair was necessary to fit the scale of the room.  When shopping for the chairs, I knew that I wanted the chairs to be a little less predictable, so I opted for a winged-back chair in the corner for a little height and then a larger club chair on one end of the coffee table.  To tie the chairs together, I had them upholstered in the same mocha vintage velvet fabric.  The new chairs fit the space beautifully and luckily we have been able to re-home the little blue chairs in our bedroom and loft.  

Function & Comfort

In addition to designing a room that's proportional to the space, it's important to make sure that the furnishings are both comfortable and functional.  The first issue I needed to tackle was the rug.  Our living room is a high traffic area and we have a dog.  When we first moved in we opted for a chunky jute rug because it fit the space, was neutral in color and cost $199 for an 8x10.  While at the time it did the trick, it was a temporary solution.  

When the time came to replace it (exactly 1 year after we bought it…thanks Dolls!), I knew I needed to find a rug that was comfortable, durable, neutral in color and easy to clean.  I ended up finding our rug on final sale at Restoration Hardware, which was a little scary since I only had pictures to go off of and wouldn't be able to return it.  Luckily it turned out great and it is the perfect foundation for this space.  

The second function/comfort component of this living room re-do that needed to be addressed was the coffee table.  Our original coffee table was a piece that I had inherited from my parents and painted gold to match the decor in our first house.  When we moved, the length of our new living room was slightly smaller and so it immediately became apparent that the coffee table was too large for the space.   

We entertain frequently in our living room, so it was important to find a table that would still have a substantial surface area, but would afford additional leg room for those guests seated on either end of the coffee table.  After a long search we ended up purchasing the Clairemont Oval Coffee Table from Crate & Barrel.  I love the unique oval shape, sophisticated mirrored shelf that provides additional storage and the fact that it is 6 inches shorter than our old table, giving guests plenty of leg room.  

Finishing Touches

My sister has always had an eye for home decor aesthetics.  When she was first decorating her NYC loft with her husband, I remember talking to her throughout her decorating process trying to gain any insights on decorating and how to put a room together.  The one phone call I specifically remember was when she told me that she was on a hunt for tchotchkes, "because finishing off a room's decor aesthetic is all about the knick knacks."  It was a slightly funny way of saying it, but boy was she right!  Sure, there's a lot of thought that goes into picking out fabrics and furniture pieces for a space, but I have spent significantly more time arranging and rearranging my throw pillows, living room bookshelf and coffee table decor.   All of these little items are essential pieces for bringing any space together and it takes time to get everything situated in a way that finally works. 

I am not sure if I am happier about the way the room turned out or the fact that I am finally done with this project.  It was certainly a great experience with plenty of lessons learned, but the best part is definitely the fact that I get to come home every day to this cozy and completed space.  Now it's time to get going on to the next project!  

If you have any questions regarding today's post, I would love to hear from you!  

Bathroom Shelfie Updating

On Saturday I decided to reward myself post-workout with a trip to Home Goods (love that store!).  While perusing the aisles I came across a fabulous selection of ginger jars.  As you may have noticed from previous posts, my Instagram account and my Pinterest "Chinoiserie Chic" board, I have a bit of an affinity for ginger jars. Naturally I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add yet another lovely ginger jar to my collection (especially when this one was only $14.99!).  

When I got home, I knew that the best place for the new ginger jar would be on my bathroom etagere from Pottery Barn.  I don't know if this has ever happened to you, but typically when I change one thing in a space, it cascades into having to modify the surrounding area as well.  Luckily I didn't have to revise the entire look of my shelf and I am absolutely loving the updated look of my bathroom "shelfies!"  For today's post, I wanted to walk you through my design/re-design process for creating a space that is both functional and decorative in your bathroom.  

Function

When it came to decorating/re-decorating my bathroom shelves, my ultimate goal was to strike a balance between pretty and practical.  As you may have read in my previous post (here), I have found this etagere to be a perfect place to store all of my extra towels.   At the bottom I have rolled my three large bath towels.  Since my towels are the bulkiest items on this etagere, I have placed them on the bottom tier so that they wouldn't overpower/distract from the other shelves.  I then filled my smaller hyacinth basket with the remaining extra towels (hand towels and wash cloths), and placed the basket in between the two decorative shelves to help break up the space.  

In addition to using this space to store extra towels, I also felt that another practical use would be to store/display an array of bathroom friendly fragrances (this is the bathroom after all!).  The most practical shelf for my LAFCO Marine Candle, Water Works Diffuser and book of matches was the top, since there is both ample airspace and easy access.  

Decor

In addition to creating a functional space, I also wanted my etagere to be aesthetically pleasing.   With the addition of my new ginger jar, I decided to keep the remainder of the third shelf fairly simple.  I opted for a pair of decorative nautilus shells (similar here), which tied in beautifully to the framed artwork on the wall.  In addition, I added a small pewter trophy cup I had on hand (similar here) to break up the pair of shells and on occasion, also be used to hold fresh flowers.  

Along with the assortment of fragrance offerings on the top shelf, I chose to include two of my Two's Company Canton Tea Jars, opposite the diffuser and catty-cornered.  The jars created a cohesive look with my new larger ginger jar and the silver tops blended in beautifully with the sea of polished chrome throughout my bathroom.  To finish off the look on my top shelf, I accented the candle and matches with a beautiful oval dish.  The addition of this dish also helped to corral the matches and candle, since they are meant to be paired together.    

I absolutely love the way my bathroom shelfie revamp turned out.  The shelf is functional, aesthetically pleasing and finally has that pop of color it had been lacking.  As you will see from my sourcing of the various items on these shelves, I have incorporated a mix of both high-end and affordable pieces.  My goal with decorating is always to create unique spaces that don't look like they came straight out of a catalogue.  Even though this space is decorated with a collection of pieces from a variety of places, I have kept the within the same color family so the decor looks unique but also like it's all meant to go together.  If you have any questions about designing your own bathroom shelfie or any other aspect related to the home, please don't hesitate to send me an email at redefiningdomestics@gmail.com.