Think Outside the Box!                    Showcase Family Heirlooms


Color            Use What You Have               Set Your Holiday Table in Style


                                      Incorporate New Pieces

#1. Use What You Have

Inventory what you have. Don’t rummage in the boxes my friend, unload them, especially if you’re O.C.D.-ish or a theme person. By revaluating your existing things, you’ll be inspired, find new connections and come up with different combinations.

#2 Think Outside the Box!

Don’t put it up like last year, or the year before, or the year before… One of my favorite places to decorate is the China Cabinet – Acres of Waterford or Macy style China displays are so BORING, besides, the Dining Room is meant for conversation and celebration. Have a treasured ornament from Great Grandma? Hang it from an ornament stand with her picture next to it. Vases can be filled with tinsel or mini-ornaments, shelves can be sprinkled with faux snow – Tell a story in this great space!

#3 Color

A great way to refresh and reinvent your décor is with a new thread of color. This year’s hot hues are Chocolate, Blue, Bronze, Orange and Super brights - like Neon Yellow, Hot Pink and Lime Green. A little shot of these fresh hues will liven up your old stuff and make it all shiny and new. Try some new napkins, I like to pair two together. How about a can of bronze floral spray on some old greenery and neon green on pine cones with a dusting of chocolate glitter? Why not pickup a pot of hot pink orchids or Christmas cactus to perk up table tops? Pop them into copper containers or in brightly glazed pots.

#4 Showcase Family Heirlooms

The Holidays are all about family, and what a better way of celebrating the season than with special pieces of the past. Besides the antique ornaments, what about the heirloom silver tea service? The tray can be proudly placed on the living room cocktail table anchoring a lovely holiday vignette. The pot and creamer used as vessel for a spectacular floral arrangement, and the sugar bowl filled with wrapped candies in the powder room to refresh the breath of guests.

#5 Set Your Table with Style

Treat your guests with style and panache by setting a lovely table. Whether buffet or sit down, be a great hostess by adorning your tables with a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. Mix and Match is always a lovely treat, so don’t worry that you don’t have enough of one dish set. Never revert to Chinette, but feel free to twist up your service by serving appetizers or use festive paper as the second/salad plate. If buffeting, flat is not where it’s at – Create lifts and height with flipped pots, boxes, hurricane vases, giant martini or daiquiri glasses. The pots/boxes can be covered with runs of fabrics or table clothes, and vases, glasses used as platter/plate stands or filled with dips or food. Think of a fancy brunch at a 5 Star Hotel. Candles, fresh floral and chargers come cheap and make a chic impact for your table. Make sure that the candles are scent free.

#6 Incorporate New Pieces

This is a double meaning tip. When decorating, don’t leave what you already have out, pack it away and replace with the Holiday Décor. Rotation is good. Plus, when the holidays are over, and you unpack the old stuff, consider placement in a new spot.

Now that you’ve unpacked and inventoried your decor, decorated - Pack a box or two to be donated. It’s time for someone else to love your décor. Just like the cloths in your closet, if you haven’t used them in awhile, it’s time to let them to go. By donating, you make room for a few new things.

Use the tips above to help you shop for a few new décor pieces. From color to decorating area, a few new added pieces to your Holiday collection can perk up the old stash and give you a new fresh view.


Resources:


Ornament Stands: http://www.ornamentdisplays.com/


Festive Paper Plates: http://www.platesandnapkins.com/


Orchids and Christmas Cactus: Home Depot


Floral Spray, Glitter, Giant Martini Glasses, Candles: Michaels


Chargers, Hurricanes: Hobby Lobby

                                                        Ingredients:


Understand your client’s needs, appreciate their lifestyle, value their taste – Core ingredients to having satisfied clients.


Directions:

• Help choose a color palette that enhances the home’s bones, embraces what they already have, and creates the style & mood they’ll love to come home to.
• Create a floor plan that honors the room’s function, carefully considering traffic patterns, activities and focal points.
• Offer creative and cost effective solutions to re-invent, re-purpose or relocate difficult, tired or hidden gems.
• Don’t conceal your favorite hidden shopping haunts; instead, invite them to take hand on a shopping expedition or explain a room-by-room shopping wish list to complete.
• Be full service and express your textile talents with a full understanding of how to dress a space with fabrics and window wardrobes.
• Complete the home with detailed accessorizing and styling expertise to help evoke conversation, celebrate the 5 senses, stir interest and celebrate the room’s personality.

Our style is your style, our talent is to make your home lovely for you! An Interior Stylist is an expert in fully understanding and defining what the homeowner wants. Although totally in-tune to the current color and trends - An Interior Stylist is there to meld your personal taste with her creativity and expertise into a home of your dreams.  http://www.interiorstylist.org/  http://www.interiorstylistprogram.com/

Spring is here and like me, I bet you're ready to refresh and revitalize your rooms!  Why not try some new hues?
Why Color? Because it’s the easiest way to infuse excitement into a room. With a simple color change, whether it is wall color, accessories or window treatments, colors makes an impact. Painting a room is the simplest DYI project and can be done in a weekend for around $50.00. A bit of smart shopping, you can get some key accessories for around $150.00.

Here are some expert advice, tips, & ideas on how you can make a change in your space with color -

• Never redo a room with a color theme! Instead, add to your existing color palette a new POP color, or change out your colors for your ENTIRE home. The biggest decorating faux pas you can make is to have your home chopped into mini-color themes.

• Primer is your friend. They even have paints now with the primer mixed in.

• If you’re a bit color-shy, start with an accessory swap or an accent wall – That will get you going.

• If you’re ready to make the leap without professional advice, ask me to order some 8x10” color chips or paint a poster board and live with it in the room for a day or two. See how the light plays, or how room’s color sidles next to the sister space.

• Watch the Sheen – If you have bad walls, stick with flat, eggshell is my favorite for most projects. Try a higher sheen for an accent wall, door or below the chair rail.

• Remember your room’s Personality and Purpose – Blue makes you not eat, so not the best for Kitchens or Dining Rooms. But, Blue is relaxing and restful in Sitting Rooms and Bedrooms.

• Try Something New – Just like your new found love of avocados, you’ll find, a new color has taken your fancy. Give it a shot in a powder room, in accents or in a secondary furniture piece – Like a chair, ottoman or painted wood piece.

• POP Colors are RED, YELLOW, BLUE, GREEN, BLACK, WHITE.

• A Gallon of paint usually covers about 350ft. – So one can is just right for a small room.