The Decorologist

The Secret to Making Your House a Home – The Family Photo Wall

February 3, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 6 Comments

There’s nothing that makes a house a home like family photos. But scattering them around on all available walls and table surfaces can junk up the place. This week I spent a morning hanging a few things for one of my clients – her cute dog looked on as I worked:

notice that the dog matches the chair

We had decided to create a family photo wall for her back stairwell – it’s in the entrance where most family and friends enter the house. She pulled out tons of photos for me to arrange and hang. Believe me, that can be a bit overwhelming!

photos and more photos

Decorating for Valentine’s Day

February 1, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 12 Comments

Well, it’s that time again. I just put up my second annual Valentine’s tree! It’s a small flocked tree that sits on the entry table as you come through my front door.

Valentine’s Tree

My decorations include some glittery hearts, small pink and white Christmas balls, and some vintage Valentine’s cards tucked into the branches.

This year I added a few new decorations, including these precious little golden owls that my friend, Lezlie, gave me for Christmas!

Glitter Owl

I found this cool old painting at an estate sale and tucked it in the background – I love the winter scene and the pinkish hues in the sky and tree buds.

Vintage Winter Landscape

In the mirror behind, I tucked in a vintage wedding photo I found years ago – as well as one of the paint chip Valentine’s cards I made last year.

Paint Chip Valentine

Sometimes it’s nice to devote a small space to decorating for the minor holidays.

DSC 3990 Decorating for Valentines Day

Do you decorate (even just a little) for Valentine’s Day?

Filed Under: Seasonal Meditations Tagged With: decor, decoration, decorologist, mirror, owls, paint chip, paint chip craft, paint swatch, tree, valentine card, valentine decoration, valentines, vintage

Going to School with The Decorologist

January 30, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 25 Comments

In the part of the country where I live, there are many families who decide that homeschooling is the best option for their children. I have had multiple clients over the last few years who homeschool and have particularly challenging decorating dilemmas.

This particular family has been successfully educating their 5 children in their home for many years, but their surroundings had been less than inspiring. This is the front room of their home as it was before The Decorologist stepped in:

Before – Homeschool Room

It was lined with bookcases full of books and curricula, a few tables and chairs (most of which were too small for their growing children), and various toys and other items.

Before – Homeschool Room

Paint Swatch Valentines

January 27, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 11 Comments

Whew. Yesterday was a very long and busy day – I got my car stuck in the mud in the morning, conducted an Exterior Color Consultation in the rain, and then did a Speed Staging in the late afternoon. More about the Speed Staging in a future post, but for today I am reposting a post from last year especially for color-lovers everywhere:

Although I love to send vintage or vintage-inspired Valentine’s Day cards, I thought it might be fun to send out something like these instead:

Handmade Valentines Using Paint Swatches

I picked up these paint chips at Lowe’s while I was shopping for lighting and plumbing fixtures for a client this week. The paint swatches with the holes work great – just glue card stock to the back and stamp in the white spaces that show through. You can get a million different decorative stamps and ink at Michael’s. I got the idea from Vanessa over at Silly Eagle Books.

Paint Chip Valentines

Follow me on Pinterest and you’ll find my pinboard, Paint Swatch Crazy, for more ideas for crafts made with paint chips!

Filed Under: My Decorology Tagged With: crafts, ideas, paint chips, paint samples, paint swatch, the decorologist, valentines

How to Spruce Up a Hutch with Shelf Liner

January 25, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 16 Comments

I was at Home Goods last week and found this fabulous repositionable shelf liner. Isn’t this flamestitch pattern gorgeous???

Macbeth Self-Adhesive Shelf Liner from HomeGoods

Recently, I encouraged one of my clients to paper the back of a dark hutch in her dining room with some wallpaper or scrapbook paper to bring in more of the colors in the palette we had chosen for that room and the adjoining room (avocado green and blue). I knew immediately that this color and pattern might be just what she needed, so I scooped it up. And then I thought about my own dining room hutch:

Antique Hutch Before

Nashville Home Stager Shares the #1 Secret to Getting Your House Sold

January 23, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

I started out in this field as a Home Stager before I became an Interior Decorator, Color Consultant, and Design Blogger. I guess I just don’t know when to stop! I actually don’t do as much staging as I used to – that’s because I am typically booked out too far to be ready to “stop-drop-and stage”, which is what is typically needed when time is of the essence.

Cutest Doggie Ever

But I love a good stage – it’s definitely a wham-bam, thank-you-mam kind of deal. Instant gratification for a design addict like me. I’m sharing my latest home staging in this post, as well as the #1 secret to getting your house sold. See if you can figure it out as we go along. Let’s start with the “before” photographs of this house. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: color consultant, decorator, design blogger, home, home stager, interior decorator, kristie barnett, mls, nashville, realtor, realtracs, stager, staging, the decorologist

Fireplace Face-Lift

January 20, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 20 Comments

Do you have a fireplace that fades away into the background? Maybe it needs some coaxing to bring it out of its shell.

This fireplace mantel was painted out the same color as the wall behind it. That’s a big no-no in my book. A mantel is architecture, like trim moulding, and should never be treated like a wall!

Blah Fireplace

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Design Intervention Tagged With: black, fireplace, mantel, paint

Paint Some Stripes – But Ditch the Paint!

January 18, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 13 Comments

I ran across an image on Pinterest that caught my eye -this fabulous striped floor in Kate Spade’s flagship New York store.

source

Have you ever had a secret desire to paint stripes or some other cool pattern on your floors, but were too chicken to try? Guess what? That floor wasn’t painted at all – it was created with colorful vinyl tape!

Vinyl Tape

Imagine what you could do with a little of this inexpensive product.

Does Your Dining Room Need a Make-Under?

January 16, 2012 By Kristie Barnett 13 Comments

Although it’s a simple and small space, this dining room is a fresh and inviting place to share an intimate meal.

Simple and Elegant Dining Room

This was not always the case! This homeowner was looking for an interior decorator to give her a new perspective on this dining space, without breaking the bank. Rather than a makeover, this room really needed a make-under. This room was like a woman who wears make-up in such a way that all you notice is the make-up. Below, a make-under highlighted and enhanced this woman’s natural beauty:

Before and After “Make-Under”

The overdone make-up in this room includes the high-contrast colors, the brassy light fixture, and the showy window treatment.

Dining Room Before Design Intervention

By choosing a fresh, light color for the wall (vs. the dated pinky-beige) and painting out the area below the chair rail in trim color (white), the room appears less choppy and more elegant. By choosing simple panels that hang above and outside the windows, we revealed (rather than concealed) the beautiful view and natural light. Both of these changes put the focus on the inherent beauty of the architecture of the room (moulding and windows).

Dining Room After The Decorologist

The brassy light fixture got a make-under, as well. We didn’t replace it – it’s the same light fixture, only better. Here is the rather dated brass light fixture before:

Brassy Light Fixture

I had my clients take down the brass fixture, remove the glass hurricanes, and simply spray paint it before rehanging it. Just a can of metal primer and a can of metal finish spray paint in iron or oil-rubbed bronze – less than $10 for a whole new light fixture!

Updated Light Fixture

The showy window treatments, high-contrast color scheme, and brassy light fixture were distracting – now you notice the architecture of the room, the lovely view, and the special collection of dishes my client has collected. Next time you think your room needs a make-over, perhaps you should consider a make-under instead!