admitting you need help is the first step...
I recently read House Beautiful‘s Biggest Kitchen Design Mistakes, and for the most part I agree with their list!
Joan Schlinder
One that made the list was not taking your cabinets to the ceiling. Leaving a space above the cabinetry typically results in a breeding ground for faux ivy covered in dust. Am I wrong? Anywho, do check out the rest of House Beautiful’s no-no’s for kitchen design here. It’s Decorologist-approved!
I get lots of requests from design clients and blog readers for recommendations for alternatives to those generic builder-grade flush mount light fixtures in their entries and hallways. You know – the dreaded nipple lights:
Dated Brass Nipple Light
My decorating experience here in Nashville and with online clients has certainly forced me to find some good alternatives to the builder-grade fixture. While the options are a bit limited in this price range, here are a few you can score at big box stores (either Lowes or Home Depot) for under $100:
High-end designers are taking classic chair shapes and updating them with splashes of unexpected color, like this twist on the classic Windsor chair:
Fabulous, no? The price of these designer Windsor chairs from Ola is a whopping $1250 each. Ouch. How hard would it be to paint your own for a similar, even completely custom look? Not hard at all. [Read more...]
I’m thrilled to announce that we will now be offering Professional Organizing as one of the services provided here at The Decorologist! My recent (and ongoing) experience with a professional organizer has rocked my world and convinced me that home organization is a vital part of living in a functional + beautiful space.
Command Central at The Decorologist
Here’s a peek at the organization process. It’s messy, y’all! And it’s emotional. And incredibly liberating.
Organization in Progress
It’s a matter of rethinking and imagining your storage, your space, your entire life. I know how to make a room beautiful and THAT I can envision . . . but my previous mindset has been: out of sight, out of mind. So you wouldn’t have wanted to see inside my closets, or drawers, or cabinets. Not so beautiful (except for the drawer liners, maybe!).
An Organized AND Beautiful Office (Lansing Desk by Merridian Home Furnishings)
It had gotten to where I wasn’t feeling very productive in my own office. Too many visual distractions, too much difficulty finding what I needed. I still had vestiges of the previous nursery that this room once was (sob, sob), and my children used it to stash their bookbags and school work. This pink armoire was formerly for clothes storage for my girls when they were babies in this room, and I thought sure I needed it for storage of paint and picture hanging supplies.
A Messy Office Makes Me Nervous!
My Professional Organizer helped me look at things in a new way. In this case, I actually didn’t need another storage piece. I needed less, but better-organized storage. So that messy space above now looks like this:
Fresh, New Space
This used to hold my kids’ books and school work, but now it holds my design and shelter magazines.
Storage Can Be Pretty!
My Professional Organizer helped me determine what I really needed, and what was bogging me down. Now I know how my clients must feel when I’m helping them decorate their homes! By creating systems that work specifically for me, I know how and where to find all the things I need – and it’s all organized and labeled in this closet behind my desk chair. And by using things I loved as part of the organizational plan, it looks like me. I don’t even mind leaving the closet door open!
Newly Organized Office Closet
I try to always speak to functionality when I am designing spaces, but I also believe that if a person feels uncomfortable in a space, it’s functional aspects are simply wasted. In the past, efforts at organization have not always worked for me because it was not pretty. If it’s simply organized but not pretty to me, I’m just not interested in keeping it up!
Useful Storage + Nostalgic Attachment + Perceived Beauty = A Happy & Organized Home
A room like the one below is definitely organized, but would you really want to spend any time in it?
This is why we are now offering Professional Organization Services that speak to what works for your life, your aesthetic, and the atmosphere you want to create in your home. I believe that better and visually-pleasing organization can help you develop an appreciation for your home that you never had before.
Happiness is Wanting What You Have
My dear readers, this is a game-changer. If you want help organizing your homelife from someone who understands how to marry organization and beauty, click here for more information about scheduling an appointment with one of my talented Professional Organizers today!
After giving birth to her 4th daughter, my client (and long-time friend) needed to rethink her home’s floorplan. The former den was about to get a makeover – with a little help from The Decorologist and IKEA.
Design by The Decorologist
The idea was to convert the former den into a bedroom for the two oldest daughters so the baby and toddler could each have their own rooms (very necessary for successful naptimes!). They already had twin beds and wanted to make a list for the upcoming trip to the modern decor mecca, IKEA, in Atlanta. We took measurements and worked up a solid furniture arrangement, determining what the girls needed and what would fit into the new space perfectly.
The kicker was determining the perfect color for the room. In the end, the color scheme was a compromise that met the desires of both daughters and momma.
Before – Room as Den
You see, momma is NOT a pink kind of girl. Of course, that’s the paint color the daughters were begging for! Initially, everything was pretty much beige on beige – beige carpet, beige walls, beige sofas. Here’s the “before” of the area where the beds would ultimately be placed: [Read more...]
Let me be clear – I am no camper. But I have had a pipe dream for years about restoring an Airstream trailer.
All images in this post are found here
Wouldn’t it be fun to decorate it out all retro-dreamy, like a giant dollhouse?
My girls could use it as a playhouse in the backyard. [Read more...]
In my last post, I wrote about a recent Elle Decor article where high-end designers were deeming certain decor trends to be “so out.” I obviously disagreed with them and (judging from the unprecedented amount of responses from you guys) so did you! Several of you wanted to know what’s on the The Decorologist’s list of trends that should be thrown out the window.
In working with real clients in real homes, I don’t get bogged down in what design trend is hot or not. However, I am going to tell my clients if they have something going on in their home that makes it look “dated” and is holding them back from having a beautiful space. So here’s my top 5:
Well, the Christmas countdown is on. I’m sharing my short list of gifts to give this Christmas, or maybe to put on your own wish list. Just click on the links provided for more information.
There are so many decorating and design books out there that are just full of lovely photographs, but that do little to instruct you how to actually implement design ideas. These are two of my very favorite decorating books because they inspire and instruct in a way that even the design-challenged will love. [Read more...]
Here are a few great ideas to keep in mind if you are ready to redesign a room in your home, which are illustrated in this recent before-and-after of a client’s den.
1. Stay true to who you are. With children no longer in her home, this client was ready to redesign her den and make it a warm and welcoming place to hang out with her husband and enjoy informal gatherings with their friends. This is where we started:
Happy Friday, fellow Decor Junkies! Today I’m sharing a Virtual Design I did for a client’s living room a few months back. The inspiration for the entire room was the fabulously fun rug, plus the pair of art pieces you see below:
Virtual Design by The Decorologist
My client had recently purchased the rug and also wanted to use her existing art in the new room. I love the color combination of blue, purple, and teal! When I create these kind of Virtual Designs for long distance clients, I provide a list of resources and prices of all the items included in the design. That way they can simply order the items they love or find similar items on their own to achieve the look of the Inspiration Board.
Would love to hear what you think about this design and color combination! Have a lovely weekend.
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