decorologist

Design Trends at Kings’ Chapel Parade of Homes

October 22, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

Whether you’re a design professional or simply a lover of home and decor, there’s nothing quite like a designer home tour to get your mind churning and creative juices flowing. This weekend I attended such a tour in the King’s Chapel area of Arrington, TN. This was my favorite home exterior – I just loved the European, old-world vibe of the dark trim and white painted brick, as well as the storybook shutters and the half-timbering.

DSC 1235 Design Trends at Kings Chapel Parade of Homes

King’s Chapel, Arrington, TN

I noticed several design trends that were apparent throughout this parade of homes that I thought you’d be interested in hearing about. It was no surprise to me that the kitchens featured painted kitchen cabinets, typically with a bit of a glaze over the finish. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Decor Addiction Tagged With: arrington tn, cos cob stonewall, decorologist, design trends, homberg gray, kings chapel parade of homes, kitchen trends, sherwin williams contented, wood ceilings

Nashville Color Expert Announces: Benjamin Moore’s 2013 Color of the Year, Lemon Sorbet

October 1, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 24 Comments

Benjamin Moore‘s 2013 Color of the Year is Lemon Sorbet 2019-60.

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Benjamin Moore Lemon Sorbet

Fresh off the heels of 2012′s top pick, Wythe Blue, Lemon Sorbet is a fresh optimistic color that works well with other popular clean colors. Notice this is not the yellow-gold popular in the late 90′s and early 2000′s – it’s a crisp, clear pastel yellow. Here’s an example of the color in a child’s room:

Nashville Color Expert Announces: Benjamin Moores 2013 Color of the Year, Lemon Sorbet

Chicago Tribune

“It’s the perfect partner for the emerging palette of freshened, polished pastels that promise to be favorites in the coming year. Additionally, it’s the ideal transition color as we move from the more vibrant spectrum and mid-to-deep tone hues that we’ve been experiencing in home furnishings and fashions.” explains Sonu Mathew, Color Chats writer and Benjamin Moore’s senior interior designer. Click here to read the entire Color Chats article.

I think it pairs well with watery blues and greens, like the updated surf-and-sand palette I posted the other day on The Decorologist Facebook page:

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Benjamin Moore 2013 Color Trends

So does this mean you slather this exact yellow color on your walls? The Decorologist would advise against it – this clear color will read lighter and brighter once up all over your walls. It’s a bit too clear, almost fluorescent to use as a wall color in a living or dining room. Instead, check out Windham Cream HC-6, Weston Flax HC-5, or Philadelphia Cream HC-30 as more livable alternatives.

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The Decorologist’s Weston Flax Dining Room – Photo by Melanie G Photography

I’m dying to know what YOU think about Benjamin Moore’s 2013 Color of the Year!

Filed Under: Color Consultation Tagged With: 2013 Color of the Year, benjamin moore, color expert, color of the year, decorologist, dining room, Lemon Sorbet, nashville, Philadephia Cream, Weston Flax, Windham Cream, yellow dining room, yellow room, yellow walls

Me at the Flea: Bella Rustica 2012

October 1, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 18 Comments

It was a perfect weekend for the Bella Rustica Vintage Barnsale here in middle Tennessee. Great weather, great vendors, great venue!

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Bella Rustica Vintage Barnsale 2012

Bella Rustica was bigger and better than last year – more vendors and a larger attendance, for sure. Vendors included artisans, artists, collectors, upcyclers, entrepreneurs – you name it.

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Vintage Barn on Milky Way Farms

There was so much to see – and so little time! Well, the sale was 3 days long, but unfortunately I only had half a day to spend there.

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trolling the vintage booths with Christiana from Ruffled Linens

The large stone barn hosted vendors selling handmade and vintage wares, but much of the sale overflowed to the surrounding field like this booth of 1970′s funky treasures.

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quirky treasures

You can imagine how my head was spinning with ideas – this painted buffet would be perfect for one of my clients!

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blue painted buffet

Not only was it a great place to find treasures for your own home, but was also an absolute wellspring of ideas for upcycling vintage objects.

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Garden Art – “flowers” made from vintage dishes

This booth devoted to jewelry and beads gave me great ideas for storing and displaying my own jewelry – vintage baking tins are perfect for keeping small objects separate!

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baking tins for jewelry storage

Speaking of jewelry, I bought a wrap bracelet and ring as a present for my guitarist daughter. Much of this vendor’s goods were made from guitar strings – how cool is that?

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guitar string jewelry

This little vintage travel trailer showed up again this year, a dollhouse for grown-up women . . . if you follow me on Pinterest you know I have a little fantasy about owning a vintage airstream!

DSC 0555 Me at the Flea: Bella Rustica 2012 vintage travel trailer

My friends and I loved rifling through all the nostalgic schoolbooks and schoolhouse-themed wares in this booth.

DSC 0537 Me at the Flea: Bella Rustica 2012 old school nostalgia

Chalkboards were EVERYWHERE at the barnsale – what a great way to post a schedule or calendar, or even to remind yourself of your family’s values. I bought a small one in the form of a sign that I can hang on the door to welcome friends. DSC 0530 Me at the Flea: Bella Rustica 2012

chalkboards

Here I am with one my favorite finds of the day: vintage turquoise lamps!

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fun finds!

I hate to haggle on prices, so my friend Glenna did it for me and snagged them for only $25 a piece!

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Junk Sisters

Next year I think I’ll hang out all weekend, rather than just rushing through in one day. There was so much to see and enjoy.

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Bella Rustica Vintage Barn Sale

My only complaint was the long wait in line for fried pickles. I still have no idea what fried Kool-Aid is. Anyone???

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I suppose you can fry ANYTHING

Of course, that gave me time out from shopping to talk to DIY bloggers Donna from Funky Junk Interiors and Sandra from Sawdust and Paper Scraps.

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Bloggers Converge on Bella Rustica!

The day ended all too quickly, of course. My girlfriends and I were pleased with our modest haul of treasures. As we pulled away in my pal’s suburban, I realized that we totally had room for that blue painted buffet . . . Ah, well!

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shopping Bella Rustica with two of my favorite people

I’ll leave you with one more unique find – a vintage rhinestone pin I saw and HAD to have! Never seen anything like it! I know it’s a bit flashy, but . . .

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vintage rhinestone JESUS brooch

Later this week, I’ll take you on a tour of the FABULOUS Milky Way Manor. Did any of you make it to Bella Rustica 2012? Tell us what treasures you brought home!

Filed Under: Decor Addiction Tagged With: 2012, barn sale, bella rustica, decorologist, Funky Junk Interiors, Milky Way Farms, Milky Way Manor, vintage

Creating Heaven on Earth: The Right Paint Colors for Belgian Chic

September 24, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 46 Comments

To paint or not to paint? That is the question and the debate between wives and husbands throughout the land. Here is a stunning example of when painting the woodwork (and brick) is the RIGHT choice.

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Painted Brick

This client knew what she liked – I mean she REALLY knew what she liked. So why did she ask for a paint color consultation with The Decorologist? Because choosing paint colors is a very tricky deal, haven’t you noticed? My client and her family recently moved back to Nashville and found a house with a great layout in an ideal location. However, the finishes were dated and harkened back to the late 1970′s.

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1970′s Living Room

The paneling had (mercifully) been painted already, but the beams were orange and the brick fireplace dominated one entire side of the den as you entered.

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Lots-o-Brick and Wood Beams – To Paint or Not to Paint?

My client knew her own taste and had furnishings that reflected that. She knew that she needed the transformative power of the RIGHT paint colors to make this dated house her dream home. You may need to take a deep breath to prepare yourself for the unbelievable change in this space after the new colors were in place and her furnishings filled the room:

Arranging Your Furniture on the Diagonal

September 21, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 15 Comments

This week, I’ve been working on a design plan for a client with an oddly-shaped living room. For me, space-planning is all about creating a furniture arrangement that is in harmony with the architecture. That can be particularly challenging in a room like this one:

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Living Room with Diagonal Wall

The room has 5 walls, and the wall with the bank of windows runs on the diagonal. The area opposite these window walls is almost a hallway from the front of the house (to the right of this room) to the dining room and kitchen (to the left of this room). My client wants new seating and a rug for this room, as well as accessories to warm up this tiled space. The first thing we needed to do was to establish how to arrange the furniture to address the unusual architecture of the room. This is the floorplan I came up with:

floorplan Arranging Your Furniture on the Diagonal

Rather than ignoring the architecture, we addressed it by using the bank of windows as our focal point for the living room. Now you are facing a lovely view, but can also see the television when seated. An art grouping will replace where the television was formerly, which is the first thing you see when you walk in from the entry (see arrow). My client was having a difficult time visualizing the finished room, so I created an Inspiration Board to bring together the items I selected for the living room:

OB Alice S. Living Room Arranging Your Furniture on the Diagonal

Inspiration Board by The Decorologist

Do you have a room that stumps you when arranging your furniture? What architectural feature gives you the most difficulty when arranging your room?

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: arranging furniture, decorologist, design board, diagonal wall, furniture plan, inspiration board, living room design, mood board, oddly-shaped room, space planning

How to Master the Mismatched Dining Room

September 17, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 33 Comments

I’m not much for “matching.” Matched dining sets are safe, and safe is boring. It’s much more interesting to mix and blend your furnishings and fabrics to create a welcoming and unique dining room.

DSC 0175 How to Master the Mismatched Dining Room

The Decorologist

My client had just moved into a new home and wanted to update her tired dining room suite. She was ready to get rid of the whole set, but I thought the farmhouse table was worth hanging onto. It just wasn’t getting any attention in this predictable matched set.

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Matched Dining Set Before

We kept the table, but replaced the dated hutch (it had a mirrored back – need I say more?) with one of better scale for the room. The finish of the new hutch was an interesting contrast to the existing table. Then I suggested we mix black x-back chairs and a few woven parsons chairs to add interest and texture. The new wall color makes all the wood look richer than the former neutral color could.

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Dining Room by The Decorologist

My client was concerned that the rug and window treatments that I chose didn’t “match.” Yes, if you lay the fabric right on top of the rug, it doesn’t match at all. But when is your window treatment ever going to be laying right on top of your rug? You can see that in the context of this room, the two “mix” beautifully!

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New Window Treatments

If you want a dining room where everyone will want to gather, work towards an artful blending and mixing of finishes and fabrics, rather than exact matching. What do you like most about this dining room makeover? I wonder if you’ll notice a little detail that really makes it for me . . .

Filed Under: Design Intervention, Popular Posts Tagged With: are matched dining sets dated, blue dining room, decorologist, dining room, how to match rug and window treatment, hutch, matching dining room furniture, mismatched chairs, mismatched dining room, mismatched furniture, parsons chair, the decorologist, x-back chair

Is The Placement of Your Paint Color Making You Look Old?

September 12, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 32 Comments

Did you know that color placement is as important as your choice of colors? This is something I spoke a lot about in my recent Color Workshop here in Nashville. You probably know that certain color combinations and undertones of neutrals can appear dated. But did you know that the way you choose to place color in a room also can make a home looked either dated or current?

MG 2131 1024x682 Is The Placement of Your Paint Color Making You Look Old? Color Changes Everything / photo by Matt Barker

This recent Brentwood Color Consultation illustrates this idea perfectly. Let’s start with the color placement in the dining room. When this family recently moved into their new home, the dining room sported two shades of green, above and below the chair rail.

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Dining Room Before Color Consultation

Don’t feel bad if you have a similar look in your home. But you should know that this kind of color placement looks a bit dated in 2012. We chose an on-trend neutral for the walls above the chair rail and painted below the chair rail in the same color and finish as the trim.

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Neutral Walls, Trim Color Below Chair Rail

Then, we put this luscious emerald color on the ceiling!

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Emerald Green Ceiling

Isn’t this a fresh, updated look for a dining room with crown moulding and a chair rail?

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After Color Consultation

Here’s the very bossy trey ceiling in the master bedroom. Yes, we know you are a trey ceiling. Yes, we see you. Could you quit yelling at us, please???

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Trey Ceiling Before Color Consultation

A more sophisticated and restful solution: we chose a pleasing color for the walls only and painted the entire tray out white like the trim. Another good option would have been to apply a whisper of a color on the flat, uppermost part of the trey ONLY.

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After Color Consultation

Now here’s one that drives me nutty: the ever-popular racing stripe! This is the before of my client’s young daughter’s bedroom.

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Before Color Consultation

If you have a dropped piece of trim that runs around the top of the room, simply fill it in with trim paint. Now it looks like one big, expensive piece of crown moulding.

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Girl’s Bedroom After Color Consultation

Ring, ring, ring! 1988 called. They want their bathroom back.

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Before Color Consultation

We calmed things down with a neutral that works with the tile, countertop, and carpet from the adjoining bedroom. Soooo much better.

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Bathroom After Color Consultation

Can you see how much color placement effects whether a space reads dated or current? The Decorologist thinks it’s as important as the color itself! Do you agree or no?

Filed Under: Color Consultation Tagged With: brentwood, color class, color consultation, decorologist, how to paint trim, moulding, nashville, paint, painting a tray ceiling, painting a trey ceiling, trey ceiling, trim

Small Space Solutions for Nashville Musician

September 10, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 26 Comments

One thing I really love to do is to figure out the essence of a client’s style and make it happen for them in their space. It’s so much fun for me to help create different atmospheres that express who the homeowner is or who they hope to become. So I was happy to help this young Nashville recording artist design a contemporary bachelor pad that reflects his love of music and gives him a place to entertain friends.

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photo by Melanie G. Photography

After conversing with his mother, a reader of The Decorologist in South Carolina, we scheduled a time to meet at the newly-purchased condo in arty Hillsboro Village of Nashville. I think I’ll save the “before” photos of the 650 square foot space until a bit later. I just can’t wait to show you around.

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Design by Kristie Barnett, The Decorologist / Photo by Melanie G. Photography

The client’s needs included creating a main room that would be both multi-functional and stylish, where he could lounge, watch television, entertain, dine with friends, study, and work on the computer. All in the same room!

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Photo by Melanie G. Photography

This called for some flexible space-planning solutions. During our first meeting, I came up with a floorplan and dimensions of what was needed to meet the needs of the client and the space. We agreed on this West Elm sofa and pair of Expedit bookcases from IKEA to flank it. On the opposite side of the room, we needed a table that could do triple-duty. It needed to provide space for dining, computer work, and for television components and lamps. This slender model worked great, and also has room beneath for extra seating in the form of these CB2 ottomans.

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Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Accessories were easy – the client’s own musical instruments, speakers, and other musician stuff. It’s all easily accessible and looks really cool, to boot!

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Melanie G. Photography

I loved hanging his collection of iconic albums in a smart grid above the sofa. It’s the perfect focal point for a musician’s home, don’t you agree?

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Record Album Art / Photo by Melanie G. Photography

I hung my client’s own framed CDs in his bedroom above the printer and one of his many guitars.

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Melanie G. Photography

Maybe you should see some “befores” now. The walls were a dreary pinky-beige throughout, and the ceilings were popcorn-textured. And of course, the dreaded ceiling fan – ugh.

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Living Room Before

We had the popcorn removed and wrapped the choices of paint colors on the wall and ceiling to make the small space feel larger. The color in this room is Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter. Following the transformation, complete with new lighting from Lowes and a new rug from West Elm:

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Design by Kristie Barnett / Photo by Melanie G. Photography

This was the previous condition of the bedroom:

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Bedroom Before

We made the bed the focal point, and lightened and brightened the whole room with a light gray-blue for walls and ceilings. His mother didn’t think he’d like the color I chose, but he loved it! Never met a man who didn’t like Benjamin Moore’s Gray Wisp.

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Bedroom Design by The Decorologist / Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Just a quick “before” of the bathroom:

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Bathroom Before

New paint, lighting, hardware, a framed mirror, and a base cabinet painted Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal made for a modern, masculine update.

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Bathroom After / Melanie G. Photography

The kitchen is super-small and the short cabinets didn’t help the storage situation. But new cabinetry wasn’t in the budget.

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Kitchen Before

Fresh paint, white subway tile, new appliances, a granite-look laminate countertop, and new hardware took this basic kitchenette from sad to happy. Notice that we added crown moulding to the cabinets to make them look higher-end.

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Kitchen After / Melanie G. Photography

We furnished this entire condo with great bargains from retailers like Lowe’s, West Elm, IKEA, CB2, and Target. Good style doesn’t have to be expensive, nor does it have to be the least bit feminine. This dude’s gotta save his money for guitars and amps and such.

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Photo by Melanie G. Photography

And for wooing the ladies who visit his cool condo, of course.

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Recording Artist Sheldon Clark in his Nashville condo / Photo by Melanie G. Photography

What do you think of this contemporary style make-over? If you need help finding your own unique decorating style, contact The Decorologist for a design intervention!

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: bachelor pad, benjamin moore, benjamin moore revere pewter, budget design, CB2, condo makeover, condo. small space, contemporary design, decorologist, design, gray wisp, hanging record albums, how to hang albums, ikea, ikea bookcases, kendall charcoal, kristie barnett, lowes, musician style, nashville, nashville design, revere pewter, sheldon clark, small space planning, target, west elm, west elm sofa

How To Make a Dated Fireplace Fabulous and Then Some

September 7, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 24 Comments

I promised you earlier this week that I would share some of the details from my recent coastal living room makeover, so let’s start with the amazing fireplace makeover! Most of you know that you can paint brick, but have you ever thought about painting stone?

DSC 8854 How To Make a Dated Fireplace Fabulous and Then Some

The Decorologist

My client thought there was no hope for her dated orangey-brown fireplace, but that just wasn’t the case! Anything can be painted, and we decided to transform the existing stone fireplace by painting the stones in varying shades of gray and white. Again, this was the way the fireplace looked before we started:

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Fireplace Before

I enlisted the help of faux painter extraordinaire, Heather Spriggs, to help change this fireplace for the better. I chose three shades of Benjamin Moore latex paint for the job: Cloud Cover, Athena, and Apparition. Heather alternated dry brushing and ragging on the colors until the orange was vanquished and a whole new fireplace emerged.

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Painted Fireplace Makeover

Previously, there was another item in the room that stuck out like a sore thumb. This distressed black hutch was a great piece, but it just didn’t work into the scheme of the room.

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Rustic Hutch Before

Using Benjamin Moore’s Apparition and a heavy hand, I painted and distressed the piece so that a little of the black would show through and the whole piece would tie in with the new fireplace, without looking matchy-matchy. You know how I feel about matchy-matchy, right?

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Rustic Hutch After, Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Did you notice the plates on the wall? We gathered some of my clients white platters, and I created an arrangement on the floor before I hung them.

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White Plates and Platters

Here is how it came together to create a cohesive, peaceful look.

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The Decorologist Living Room Design, Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Did you have any idea that you could paint natural stone? Well, now you know!

Filed Under: Design Intervention, Popular Posts Tagged With: beachy, coastal style, decorologist, faux painting, hanging plates, heather thompson, how to paint a fireplace, melanie g photography, painted fireplace, painting furniture, plate grouping, platter wall grouping, rustic hutch, shabby chic, stone

Creating Homework Areas That Make Back-To-School Rock

September 5, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 2 Comments

It’s hard to believe school is back in session. Now is the time to set aside a special place for the kiddos to get their homework done in peace. Here are some ideas for making homework less of a chore, more of a joy.

186561 0 4 0611 traditional kitchen Creating Homework Areas That Make Back To School Rock

by Lisa Wilson via Houzz.com

The breakfast table or dining table is a great place to designate as your official homework area. You can prepare dinner and keep your eyes on your little workers at the same time. Click here to see the rest of the article I wrote for Houzz.com. Looks like it will be the last one I do for awhile – something had to give in my busy schedule, so I told my editor at Houzz I needed to take a break and focus on this blog and my design clients. So please stop over and “like” or comment on my article!