decorating

How to Terrify Children with Cheesecloth

October 21, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 11 Comments

One of the easiest and least expensive ways to decorate your home for Halloween is by draping a little cheesecloth in all the right places.

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A snip-snip here and a little rip there transforms this seemingly-harmless material into something spook-tacular!

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What a cool way to tablescape for a Halloween party!

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I like to drape cheesecloth over sconces and light fixtures, like this one in the entry of my home. It creates a spooky glow among the black crows, spiders, and glitter skulls under glass.

What simple materials do you use to make your home spooky at Halloween?

Filed Under: Seasonal Meditations Tagged With: cheesecloth, decor, decorating, halloween, halloween ideas, spider webs, spooky, the decorologist

IKEA Has Gone Gray – And That’s a Good Thing

October 12, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 14 Comments

I’ve been ordering furniture for a client over the last week from IKEA, so I was really excited to see that they have added another option to their black, white, or birch furniture finishes. IKEA’s finally gone gray! Actually, gray-brown. I hope this is the final evidence if you need confirmation that gray-brown is the new expresso brown.

Hemnes Dresser from IKEA

The gray-brown finish is available only on selected IKEA furniture, and they can barely keep them in stock right now. I found gray options in the Hemnes, Isala, and Lack series. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Color Consultation, Retail Therapy Tagged With: coffee table, decor, decorating, furniture, gislev, gray, gray is the new brown, gray-brown, hemnes, ikea, isala, lack, table, trend, wood finish

The Art of Towel Folding & the Karate-Chopped Pillow

September 12, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 15 Comments

For our anniversary, Mr. Man and I stayed at the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. It’s where we stayed on our wedding night fifteen years ago. The Hermitage Hotel is the only 5-star hotel in Nashville and was built over one hundred years ago in the Beaux Arts style.

The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville

Trading Spaces – The “New” Living Room

September 9, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 18 Comments

I’ve had several requests from you guys to see the “after” of the living room that now resides in my old dining room. Here it is:

“New” Living Room

This was the room when it was set up as the dining room – as it had been for the last 10 years. [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Decorology Tagged With: decor, decorating, dining room, living room, vintage

The Truth About Men & Decorating

September 1, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 34 Comments

I have been married for fifteen years and have spent a lot of that time decorating the homes I’ve lived in during that time. My husband and I have restored four old homes during our marriage, doing everything from gutting and rebuilding a kitchen on our own, adding bathrooms, tiling, wallpapering, laying flooring – you name it.

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My husband has an opinion about decorating – most men do. Some things are pretty man-standard. They don’t usually dig the idea of painting wood (see my post all about that by clicking here). They hate the idea of wallpaper – mainly because they have experienced wallpaper-removal trauma at some point in their life. They don’t “get” why the wifey might get the itch to move the furniture around every few years. They don’t like change.

Better Homes & Gardens

Through all of our experiences, I have learned something. [Read more...]

Filed Under: My Decorology, Popular Posts Tagged With: decorating, do men care about decorating, men, men and comfortable chairs, nashville decorator, painted wood, the decorologist, wallpaper

Decorating on an Angle – A Teeny, Tiny Bedroom

August 30, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 19 Comments

While many people nowadays have luxuriously large master bedrooms, there are many others that have to deal with the confines of limited space and awkward window placement.

Petite Master Bedroom

What would you do if you had a space like this and needed to include a full-size bed, bedside table, dresser, and a comfy chair?

Master Bedroom Before

Shower Curtains – You’ve Got Options

August 18, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 11 Comments

Tired of your bath but have limited funds? Why not perk things up with a fun, new shower curtain? If you haven’t bought a new one in awhile, you may be surprised at the many great options out there.

Hetkia Shower Curtain

How to Shop for Home Decor – A Quiz for Bargain Shoppers

August 8, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 25 Comments

Shopping is supposed to be easy and fun, right? Especially when shopping for decor bargains. There is no shame in shopping for decor in any variety of stores, and I am the first to encourage you to do so. But sometimes that is easier said than done – many of my clients find shopping for their homes frustrating and overwhelming. Are you able to zero in on inexpensive things that can give you a higher end look in the right context? My decorating clients value that I can quickly weed through the stuff that will only hinder the improvement of their decor and zero in on the things that take their space to a new level.

Shopping is FUN! Or is it???

How about we take a little quiz? The following photos are of items from my local Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby is one of those places where you can sometimes find good accessories for your home. Sometimes. Most of the time, however, Hobby Lobby accessories look like . . . well, like they are from Hobby Lobby. Let’s don’t make this about personal taste, rather consider whether each item is currently on-trend and if would appear more high-end than typical Hobby Lobby fare. For each photo, give it a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down,” then see how you did at the end of this post (no cheating!).

1. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

2. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

3. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

4. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

5. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

6. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

7. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

8. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

9. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

10. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

11. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

12. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

13. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

14. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

15. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

16. Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?

I certainly don’t want to offend anyone for their own personal taste – this is simply an exercise in whether or not you can distinguish between what looks on-trend or current and appears more high-end (expensive) than it is. If you like something, buy all means get it if it makes you happy! Ok, let grade the quiz: give yourself 1 point each if you voted thumbs up to the following: 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 16. Now give yourself 1 point each if you voted thumbs down for these: 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15. Will you be brave enough to share your results?

If you find shopping for your home frustrating and overwhelming, contact The Decorologist to help you make the right decisions more quickly and efficiently!

Filed Under: My Decorology Tagged With: decorating, decorating quiz, hobby lobby, shopping for decor, the decorologist

How to Add Enchantment to Your Home

August 3, 2011 By Kristie Barnett 10 Comments

I took a day trip last week with the fam to Rock City atop Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s perched above a mile high mountain where you can literally view 7 states from one vantage point.

Waterfall in Rock City

It is one of the most beautiful places imaginable – Native Americans lived and Civil War soldiers hid amongst the majestic rock formations and caves all over the area.

Rock City Enchanted Gardens

Wowza.

Rock City

Everything there seems enchanted, like right out of a storybook.

I want this in my backyard

Rock City was developed in the 1940′s. Everything is made of stone or wood, since the site was rich with those natural materials.

Natural Stone Paths

When we rounded the corner here, I gasped. My daughter said, “This is Mommy-Heaven!” (meaning she knew this was my kind of place). All this beautiful nature plus a little vintage kitsch? Nothing better in my book.

The Decorologist in Fairyland Caverns!

So this gets me to thinking about interior decoration (big surprise). How do you incorporate this kind of natural enchantment into your decor?

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I’m a bit enamored with (ok, let’s be real, i’m totally enamored) with tree stump tables.

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West Elm has a side table that is too cute for words . . .

West Elm

Besides tree stump tables, what else can bring a touch of enchantment into your home?

Necklace Stand by Urban Outfitters

Do you think you can go too far? Can enchanted decor go too kitschy?

Can’t help myself!

Well, going whole-hog isn’t for everyone. But we can all make our homes more enchanted in a more subtle way. Maybe it’s a rough-hewn dining table paired with a glam light fixture.