designer

A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

September 2, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 24 Comments

Happy Labor Day! Sit back and enjoy a little trip to the coast today in this living room makeover.

DSC 8891 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

The Decorologist

I showed you the make-over of this Brentwood client’s entry last week, and it made it into the Style section of The Tennessean over the weekend! This is where this living room started: it was a large, light-filled room filled with treasures my client had collected over the years from the flea market. The problems we identified were: the orangey-brown fireplace from the 1980′s did not work with the beachy vibe she really wanted, the room felt unbalanced, the furnishings lacked cohesion, and it all just felt a bit cluttered.

2011 07 28 12 20 13 404 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Living Room Before

Over the next several months, we worked towards creating an oasis of calm for this busy family. The fireplace needed an update, but I didn’t think it was necessary to rip it out or cover it over – instead, we used the power of paint to transform it.

2011 07 28 12 21 29 458 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Fireplace Before

Let’s start with another “before” of this living room:

2011 07 28 12 20 36 490 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

This is the “after” of the space from the same angle:

DSC 8882 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Here’s a “before” from the other side of the room:

2011 07 28 12 20 22 381 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Living Room Before

And the “after: “

DSC 4084 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist Living Room Design by The Decorologist, Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Before:

2011 07 28 12 20 13 4041 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Before

Isn’t the fireplace GORGEOUS now? The new wall color is Benjamin Moore’s Iced Green, which plays into the coastal palette throughout the home.

DSC 4078 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

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

DSC 8748 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

The Decorologist

DSC 4085 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Design by The Decorologist, Photo by Melanie G. Photography

DSC 8842 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Vintage globe I picked up at an antique mall

DSC 4059 A Coastal Living Room Makeover by The Decorologist

Photo by Melanie G. Photography

So many little makeover projects went into making this beachy living room come together – I’ll share the details and how-to’s of those, including the fireplace and furniture makeovers, later this week. Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: beach style, beachy, beautiful, before and after living room, Benjamin Moore Iced Green, blue living room, brentwood, coastal style, decorating, decorologist, designer, interior decorator, interior designer, living room, living room makeover, melanie g photography, painted fireplace, shabby chic, stone fireplace, tennessean, tennessee, TN decorator, white, white living room

How To Live Like You’re on Vacation All Year

August 27, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 30 Comments

When I started working with my client about a year ago, it was obvious to me that she was drawn to all things shabby, chippy, and beachy. She called me in to help pulling those things together and making them work in her traditional suburban home.

DSC 4225 119 How To Live Like Youre on Vacation All Year

Front Porch – Photo by Melanie G. Photography

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to show you the transformation of this fun family home that feels more like a coastal getaway than a formal suburban house in a Brentwood, Tennessee neighborhood. We might as well start at the entry, which sets the scene for this sea-inspired space. This is the way the entry used to look. Unfortunately, this is the only before photo I have and it’s pretty blurry.

2011 07 28 12 19 51 415 How To Live Like Youre on Vacation All Year

Entry Before

How to Make Your Home Feel Peaceful

June 1, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 2 Comments

After a long day we all want to come home to a place that feels peaceful — a place to recharge, restore and relax. It’s one thing to create a space that is visually beautiful, but it’s quite another to create a space that can make you feel calm and at peace with the world.

327774 0 4 9197 contemporary bedroom How to Make Your Home Feel Peaceful

Phoebe Howard

How do you design such a space? I’m sharing my insider secrets on foremost design website, Houzz.com. Click below for the complete article:

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/2441287/list/Mood-Makers–Create-a-Peaceful-Place

Filed Under: Decor Addiction, My Decorology Tagged With: decorologist, designer, home design, houzz, houzz.com, peaceful, phoebe howard, restful, secrets, tips

The Decorologist is in the Houzz

May 12, 2012 by Kristie Barnett 15 Comments

I didn’t start this blog because I was a writer, or because I longed to write. I started this blog because I was bursting with ideas and thoughts that I wanted to put down somewhere, to document them, to share with whoever might be willing to listen.

Woman Typing on Laptop Co 007 The Decorologist is in the Houzz

source

Sometimes I’m surprised by the attention The Decorologist (the blog, not the person) gets – the contacts I make with people is kinda astounding, especially when it brings unexpected opportunities. If you are addicted to design and decorating and/or read design blogs, you have probably heard of Houzz.com.

houzz logoLarge1 The Decorologist is in the Houzz

Houzz is the internet’s largest database of design and decorating ideas – it’s an amazing site full of inspirational rooms by over 60,000 top designers. Way before Pinterest, Houzz gave us a way to collect images in ideabooks for reference when remodeling and decorating our homes. They also provide awesome articles about how to make your home look fabulous.

DSC 3624 The Decorologist is in the Houzz

Houzz contacted this little ol’ Nashville decorator a couple of months ago about writing some of those awesome articles for their site, and today my first article debuts! It’s the first in an eight-part series about how to create a specific mood or feeling in a room. This series is going to be chocked full of my best tricks-of-the-trade, the first one focusing on how to make a small room feel larger. I guarantee if you follow my advice, you can add visual square footage to any room!

96341 0 8 9570 eclectic dining room The Decorologist is in the Houzz

Abbe Fenimore Studio Ten 25

So here’s the link: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/2212033/list/Mood-Makers–Small-Rooms–Spacious-Feel

This is not the title that I came up with – I’m seeing that I’m going to have to give up a little control because of editing and all that jazz. It would be great if you left a comment on the article or add any tips you have for making a space feel bigger. Me, a paid writer? Who knew!

Filed Under: Decor Addiction, My Decorology Tagged With: blog, decorating, decorator, decorologist, designer, houzz, make a small room bigger, nashville, small room, writing

Knowing What to Change and What NOT to Change When Decorating

October 10, 2011 by Kristie Barnett 20 Comments

Here in Nashville, there are many houses that were built in the 1960s and 1970s. I see a lot of entry floors from that era that look exactly like this:

Existing Entry Floor

This client had grown weary of her dark, dated entry but wasn’t sure she wanted to completely redo the floor.

Entry Before

IKEA Bookcases – So Many Ways to Use Them!

January 21, 2011 by Kristie Barnett 58 Comments

The Expedit Bookcase is one of IKEA‘s best-selling products, and it’s no wonder. They’re inexpensive and incredibly versatile, making them the best value I’ve found in a bookcase. They’re backless, so the color from the wall behind can show through.

source

England’s Cath Kidston

March 3, 2010 by Kristie Barnett 4 Comments

Cath Kidston Ltd was founded in 1993 when designer Cath Kidston opened a tiny shop in London’s Holland Park. She began by selling the vintage fabrics, wallpapers, and brightly-painted junk furniture she remembered fondly from her childhood. Her clever, witty re-working of traditional English country house style meant that her shop soon became a cult success.

cath via telegraph co uk Englands Cath Kidston

Gradually Cath began to design her own prints and products. Her work is typically practical, quirky, and often with a distinctive floral print. Her product lines now include women’s and kids’ fashion and an extensive range of homewares.

cath kidston carpet from ideal home via housetohome.co .uk Englands Cath Kidston

Lace Beauty Lab

February 3, 2010 by Kristie Barnett 4 Comments

I stumbled upon some lovely inspiration over the weekend. Lace Beauty Lab is a high-end salon in Miami Beach, Florida. It’s interiors are bold retro, and deliciously confectionary. Designed by Doug Meyer, Lace Beauty Lab is old-school 1950′s Miami glamor with Mediterranean and Moroccan accents.

I love the turquoise blue walls shamelessly paired with the kelly green ceiling. These colors look fabulous with the white and silver accents. And check out the fabulous star-and-ball ornament light fixtures. Meyer describes it as “Miami Beach,1968, meets Dorothy Draper meets Tangier of the 1970s.”

lace1new Lace Beauty Lab

Signature Style

September 5, 2009 by Kristie Barnett 25 Comments

There’s been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about defining your signature decorating style in a sound bite – I think it all started with “Shabby Chic.” Designers and decorators started coming up with 2-word catch phrases for their style. A few years back a couple of women started their own business where you sent them several hundred dollars, and they told you what your signature style was based your answers to a series of questions. This was supposed to get you focused so that you acquire new things with purpose and stay focused on your vision.

Kelly Wearstler

August 21, 2009 by Kristie Barnett 1 Comment

Kelly Wearstler ranks among the design industry’s most influential new tastemakers. Acclaimed for trendsetting designs, Kelly is the founder and principal of the award-winning Los Angeles-based firm House of KWID (Kelly Wearstler Interior Design). She is well-known for colorful mod-baroque commercial interiors, such as those of the Viceroy hotels in Palm Springs and Santa Monica, the Avalon in Beverly Hills, and the Tides in Miami Beach. She’s married to a hotel developer (convenient, huh?) and has two young sons.