3 Solutions to your Entry |
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I got an email from Home Decorators Collection and found these three good examples of treating the same space in very different ways.
Alan Jackson’s Crib |
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I used to be a BIG Alan Jackson fan. I love country music. So, when I found out that Alan Jackson had cheated on his wife, well… now I hate him. I know his wife forgave him and all that jazz. I don’t care if she’s over it, I’m not.
I thought it would be fun to look at his house (from this site) and I will channel Alan Jackson as if he is giving us his own “Cribs” tour.
—> Cue the theme song to “Gone with the Wind”.
Me Channeling Alan Jackson (MCAJ): Howdy, I’m Alan Jackson, not related to Michael Jackson and I’d like to welcome you to my home. What’s that, pardner? My crib? Well, my boo, that ain’t gonna happen. I call it my home.
MCAJ: This here is our circular driveway. Yeah, sometimes I channel my inner John Deere and get to doing laps around this here fountain. My wife sometimes try to do her best Clara Harris. She hasn’t caught me yet!
MCAJ: Follow me into our home. This here is our extraordinarily and totally useless long hall. I sometimes hold redneck bowling events in here. It’s purdy fun and once we get some home brewed moon shine in us, you could catch Cooter hanging from the sconces.
MCAJ: This here is our great room. I just love this animal print bench. It kinda reminds me of my aunt. Her ass was so big, it looked like two Buicks fighting for a parking place. Don’t it look that way to you?
MCAJ: This here is the bedroom where I don’t get any. You know, on account of me being hornier than a two peckered billy goat. Oh, she says she’s over it, but I’m paying for it, pardner.
MCAJ: This is the bathroom where I tried to have Jesus cleanse my soul. Sure doesn’t seem to be workin’.
MCAJ: Here we are in my bar. I invite other renowned Cheaters to come over. You know, like Hugh Grant, David Duchovny, Ethan Hawke, Jeff Gordan, Tiger Woods. You know, we’re just guys being guys hanging out and watching the Playboy channel.
MCAJ: This is my work out room and place my wife allows me to display my album awards. Yeah, I try to tone up for some of the hot cougars in my audience. I mean I used to. You’re going to edit that out, right?
MCAJ: Here’s my garage. We all are definitely not as cool as them rappers on “Cribs”. My car collection is pitiful. I bet they don’t have these here system pavers in their garage, do they?
MCAJ: As a prolific songwriter and singer, in my own mind, I chose to recreate what I call the “White Trash Inspiration Point”. Cooter gave me that there tire coffee table. Kragen Auto Parts let me buy a lot of their store displays. Sometimes I practice my poses for my album covers in here.
MCAJ: Now, I grew up poor, but that don’t mean I want to exclude great ideas from my Trailer Park architectural roots. This here carport is the finest sonsabitch you are gonna find. OOHWEE She’s a Beaut!
MCAJ: Back in here we got the kitchen. Yeah, I know the island is kinda small and it kinda says Mexican Cantina by Jimmy Buffet in here. Hmmm, guess we kinda screwed the pooch on this one.
MCAJ: Here’s our last room. This here is where my wife stuck me after she found out about my… what’s that word Tiger used? Oh, my transgressions. Anyhow, I call this room room the “Godfather” room. You know like the movie? She left the horse head in the bed. I try not to mess with her, anymore. I’m reminded of that song by Carrie Underwood, “Before He Cheats”. Constantly. By My Wife. She had it piped into this room on repeat. It’s worse than Guantanamo Bay in here.
MCAJ: Thanks for coming by and I’ll leave you with a favorite saying from my Pappy: “Ashes to ashes and dust to dust if it wasn’t for women our peckers would rust.” Wait, maybe that wasn’t appropriate. You’re gonna edit that out, right?
Wow. I think I feel better about this whole thing now. Not really. He’s still a cheater.
Learning from the Models 24 |
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1. Towels. In the reflection you can see a nice towel ensemble. We all know these are those towels you are not allowed to dry your hands on. Ever. So, if you do have this pretty little vignette idea going on, please place some towels your guests can use in place sight and that they can get to easily.
2. Tile. I know we are in a recession, but how sad to see the recession hit the designs of a model home bathroom. These spaces are to make you want to buy the home. This just says cheap and boring. I implore you to stay away from the all white tile counter top unless you are going with a beach theme.
3. Wall paper. For any small space, you can add unique and bold pattens of wall paper and no where is that more true than in a powder room. Remember though, if your walls have a texture to them, additional prep is required and may not be worth it.
p.s. Don’t forget my book, Model Homes Declassified is available for immediate download from Lulu for only 9.99!!
p.p.s. I finally made it onto All Top…Check me out at the bottom of the page… you know, the best for last. That is until they add other people below me on the list and then you can scratch what I just said. Anyway, lots of great design blogs on there all in one spot!
Selecting Quality Furniture |
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When you go looking for furniture, there are some key things to take into account when you’re out shopping. Sometimes you may think you have found a fabulous deal on a piece of furniture, but if it isn’t made well then that eventually be money thrown away.
You should figure out what your ideas for your furniture long term are. Is your living room going to have a sofa, coffee table and a chair or will it have a sofa, coffee table, a love seat, two chairs? Why? I hear you whining. I know, it is a lot more fun to shop, but if you don’t know what you need you may end up buying something else simply because you think you have found the deal of the year.
First, you need to figure out what are the sizes of furniture you need. I know you may not have a CAD program, but you can do this a couple other ways. One way is to mark out furniture using that blue painting tape. You can research online to find the typical furniture sizes to get you started and then tape those pieces off on your floor where you want to place that piece. This will help you see how much room you have in your space, if you have enough room to walk around or if you need to pare down your wish list. Don’t forget to make notes of how wide and tall your doorways are. If you won’t be able to get it through the door, then so sad for you.
Second, when you have figured out everything you need, go shopping with your list in hand. Your list should look something like this:
So with list in hand, go to the stores. Oh, looky here, you found a gorgeous sofa for a great price! Where’s my credit card?? Hold up, there, buddy. Let’s look at this piece. What color is it? Fuchsia? Oh no no no no no. First, let’s not go there. I can almost guarantee you that you will be mad at yourself for buying it in less than a year, if not mad the first day when it gets in your home and sits there, mocking you. Go with a neutral color. They are so much easier to work with. You can dress them up with colorful pillows and throws.
Now, how is it made? Is the piece held together with staples? Glue? Bubblegum? Check out if it is a solid wood frame, not MDF. Is it sturdy? Now, don’t go into your full Hulk Hogan moves, but push on the piece. Pull on it. I want you to see if it is sturdy or does it creek? If it sounds like an old woman and it is brand new… watch out. It may be falling apart in short order.
Are you married? Do you have a significant other? No, I don’t want to date you! I want you to take your partner with you shopping. They may grumble, but when you bring home the perfect sofa for you and you are 5′1″ your significant other who is 6′2″ may not enjoy the couch at all. You need to try out the furniture as you would use it at home. If you are a lounger type of person, then don’t sit on the sofa like a prim and proper lady with perfect posture. You don’t really sit that way and when you do go to lounge on it later, you may be sorry.
If you are a bargain shopper, you have several options. Estate sales, yard sales, furniture outlets and even places that sell former model home furniture. All of these are great options, but make sure the piece is sturdy, in great condition (unless you are a crafty person and would like to invest the time and energy in to refurbish) and a good price. Just because it is at an estate sale, don’t think it automatically makes it a great price. Do your research. Also, if you find furniture that was in a former model home, it may not be made of the best quality since most people walking into a model home are just looking at how the place is as a whole, not how well the sofa is made. It may be a cheapo sofa covered in a great fabric.
Custom furniture is also an option, when you know that this is a piece you want to keep for a long time and you want it to look a certain way. Now, with that said, don’t go blaming me when you look at your custom upholstered chair two years from now and see that selecting some trendy fabric, that is now out of style, was the wrong way to go. That’s how we ended up with a glut of 80s furniture on our hands. Now go shopping!
Accessorizing Made Easier |
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I know adding accessories in your house can give you a major heart attack, ack, ack, ack, ack, ack trying to figure it all out. First, let’s calm down and pause your Billy Joel jam on your iPod. I will try to break this down as much as I can.
There are three areas to accessorize.
#1 = Walls
#2 = Tables (this includes sideboards, nightstands, pre
#3 = Mantel
The first key to using accessories in your space is to look around your room and figure out what feels empty. The first place you will probably look to is the walls. Determine what walls will need artwork or wall décor.
You can either use artwork, decorative painting, groupings of smaller pictures or wall art. You want to treat each wall area as a separate space and make sure the items you place on the walls are in proportion to the wall. What I mean by that is, don’t put some dinky picture on a large wall. People will either think they have stepped into some weird art gallery or that their vision is impaired and a trip to the eye doctor is in order.
A large picture can give you instant drama in your space. You want it to coordinate with the color scheme in your room. It should be proportional and interesting.
Artwork need not be expensive, either. If you can not afford one large piece of artwork, get smaller pieces of framed artwork and place them together in the same space you would place a larger piece. Create cohesion by making all the smaller pieces have something in common such as the same frame. Or you can do the opposite by using the same image repeatedly in each frame, but use different and unique frames. The true key is to make sure that the art is in scale with the furnishings and in the same color way.
Now you will want to look to the tables and cabinets in the room to accessorize. You don’t want to clutter the surfaces with useless objects. You need to make sure you use some lamps, books, bowls with those decorative balls, flowers, picture frames, etc. Treat each flat horizontal space as its own area. Use items that are the right proportion to the table and have used the space perfectly, while making sure you see enough of the table. Clutter is one of the most dangerous killers of good interior design.
Collections of small items is another great way to keep accessorizing easy. Now, I have to caution you. Don’t go putting out every item you have in your collection out on display. People will think you are one of those people and call the producers of “Hoarders” stat.
Think of your 600 ceramic groundhogs as extra stock for rotating your accessory display. Keep the groups in odd numbers, preferably. If you only have two ceramic groundhogs, then make the third item something else that goes with your theme. If you only have those two groundhogs, I guess you would have to go and find a ceramic Man that holds the groundhog? Ugh, forget the groundhog thing, but you get my drift.
If you have a fireplace, you will not want to neglect that area. A fireplace is typically the focal point of the room and therefore the center of your decorating with accessories. You can place artwork over the fireplace, but if you have pictures on every other in the room, leave the artwork out over the fireplace.
Too much artwork can be monotonous. There are two kinds of balance you want to utilize in accessorizing your fireplace- symmetrical and asymmetrical. For a formal setting you usually would use the symmetrical layout of accessories. To do this, use a mirror and flank it with two of the same item on either side. For a less formal room, look to use an asymmetrical layout. You could still use a mirror, but place it to the side of the center line of the fireplace and balance the other side with three similar items on the other side of the center line of the fireplace.
Niches with shelves can be a pain, too. If you have a niche/bookshelf area with glass shelves, here’s my advice. Don’t load the shelves with heavy objects. I don’t just mean in terms of weight, but in terms of visual weight. There is something to be said for the delicate look that is given by the glass shelves. Use items that can reflect light or have light pass through them. Then, place your largest items on the bottom shelves and move your way up using smaller items.
An easier way, sometimes, to accessorize rooms is to pick a theme. Theme rooms can be done tastefully. They don’t have to be the crazy pink flamingo themed room. The key to theme rooms is to think what feeling are to trying to evoke in the space. If you want a room to be sophisticated, pick accessories that are adult in style, not childish. If it looks like you could have purchased it the toy store, skip it.
For a splash of color and texture, you can also use a throw on a couch or chair. Find exciting pillows for the seating and don’t be afraid to mix and match, just keep the color matching with your scheme.
Plants are an accessory that a lot of people forget to add in. They bring life to your space. If your thumb is a murderer, you can go the faux plant route. They do look a lot better these days. Just remember to dust them. Your home is not straight out of the Addam’s Family and cobwebs kinda scream “Yes, they are fake.”
Mirrors are one of those tricky items, if used well, they will have a great impact on your space, used incorrectly…#fail. Mirrors need a view. To get a great benefit out of your mirror, it needs to reflect something nice that you want to look at. While you are at it, think of the frame you will use on your mirror, too. You are essentially framing the image you are reflecting. If you place the mirror directly across from a window to reflect the view outside, what type of frame would complement your view? Then, think about how it will go with your furnishings. Lastly, confer with the Psychic Friends Network to make sure you aren’t making a mistake. Just kidding, always remember that everything in decorating can be redone.
The goal to accessorizing your room is to keep in mind the shape and size of the space they are filling. Think about the color scheme, material, and texture so it blends and makes a cohesive and comfortable look throughout. Distribute your accessories throughout your space with colors going all throughout your space, not bunched up together in a corner.
I really hope that this has helped you to go forward with your accessory journey. You will make it to the finish line. Sometimes it just takes rearranging the items a few times until you find that perfect combination. Good luck!
Learning From The Models 23 |
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1. Mirror. This mirror ties in well with the space and is the right size to hang over this piece. It isn’t too dinky, reflects the space across from it making this small space appear a little larger.
2. Furniture. This piece of furniture has such a large place for accessorizing that their plant really fills up the space. So if all else fails, stick a plant there.
3. Artwork. I’m not sure who hung this piece of artwork, but it looks out of place next to the mirror. Maybe the let the elementary kids come in for a day of decorating, but it just isn’t right.
p.s. Don’t forget my book, Model Homes Declassified is available for immediate download from Lulu for only 9.99!!
