College dorm room syndrome

• Lots of mismatched frames such as:
• Frames with words like “friends” or “forever”.
• Different colored frames.
• Beaded frames.
• Frames with seashells or sports memorabilia. 
• Lots of small frames. (5 x 7 or smaller)
• Cheesy, goofy, ham-it-up type photos.
• Blurry “spring break” type vacation photos.
• You get the idea.

Now imagine all of those elements up on one wall at the same time. Where is the harmony and cohesion in that? Let’s face it: There’s nothing harmonious about it. It just doesn’t wok or coincide with a well designed space.

Grandma’s house syndrome

• Again, lots of mismatched frames that are often very dated
• Lots of posed family photos 
• Annual school pictures
• Traditional graduation pictures
• Clutter, clutter, clutter

Think about it. What’s particularly inspiring about these kinds of photos if everybody has them? Nothing! And how does that contribute in the process of making your space personal? It does the opposite! Eliminate all the clutter by keeping the multitudes of these standard, posed photos (that everyone has!) in albums. There’s nothing wrong with annual school pictures but they don’t really have a place in the décor of your home.

So here’s how to remedy both of these problems:

• Give the “Friends Forever” type frames to your teenage neighbor. They simply aren’t appropriate for anyplace BUT the dorm room or teenage bedroom because frankly, they’re juvenile. Neither is there a place for “theme” frames with palm trees or curly cues or rhinestones/beads. Give these a rest.
• Get rid of all the small frames and replace them with bigger frames that include matte space. 
• Repurpose any good sized colored frames by painting them one unifying, neutral color such as black, brown or white and if space allows, add a matte.
• Stay away from mixing different styles of frames such as a modern, country cabin, and ornate traditional. There IS a way to accomplish the eclectic look, but this is not for the faint of heart. 
• If you must have them out, keep the birthday parties, glamour shots, cheesy faces-smooshed-together-to-get-into-the-frame pictures and the like in bonus rooms like bathrooms or hallways and always have some element of your picture frames relate to one another. 
• Maybe all the photos are black and white or maybe the frames are all black or have bright white mattes or are all the same size. This way, even if you have completely random photos, they will still feel cohesive because they will all have a common denominator: the frame/matte/size/layout.
• You can include a few well-chosen personal photographs for your main living space but avoid overly “pose-y” shots and instead stick with more artsy or photojournalistic candids that are either similarly shot or have similar colors. 
• Display the photos in such a way that the attention is drawn equally to both the subject of the photo and the actual frame itself. This way the overall effect is seen as “art”, not an opportunity to show off your 07′ Halloween costume or Super Bowl game face. Again, keep these kinds of shots tastefully displayed in the bonus areas of your home like hallways and bathrooms. 
• One way to make a personal photo become a work of art is to blow the photo up, colorize it or play with the white balance to create a graphic “overexposed” effect. Just converting your photos to black and white makes a big difference.
• If at all possible, go for frames that will allow space for a generous matte. For example, one small 4 x 6 photo placed in an 11 x 14 frame with a matte is better than putting that same photo in a 4 x 6 frame. Why? Because the frame and matte enable your eye to focus on and appreciate the photo itself instead having your eye get lost because there is no point of focus.
• Remember, most people take more pictures than they could possibly display at any one time. Take care to ruthlessly edit the handful of photos that you want to include in your décor and put the rest in an album or an online picture sharing website.

Nothing makes you feel more cramped in your living space than clutter and confusion. Follow our tips to help you minimize the mess and tidy up your space.

1. Add shelves above doorways.

2. Banish room-darkening shadows with additional light fixtures.

3. Put glass shelves across deep-set windows.

4. Use a chest or an ottoman with storage inside as a coffee table.

5. Put low bookcases along a sofa back: they’ll double as a sofa table.

6. Keep the flooring throughout a small space the same for visual continuity.

7. Line a room with a shelf high up on the wall.

8. Keep window treatments simple.

9. Run a low bookcase underneath windows.

10. Stretch your space to the outdoors by making a patio or deck comfortable and welcoming.

11. Place a large bucket for magazines next to your favourite chair.

12. Line a hallway with bookshelves.

13. Use a wicker hamper as both an end table and storage space for blankets.

14. Buy a coffee table with a drawer for remotes.

15. Carve out shallow display space between wall studs.

16. Use fewer, larger pieces of furniture and accessories to reduce visual clutter.

17. Choose sofas and chairs with plain or textured upholstery rather than vibrant prints.

18. Install shelves around a window.

19. Add window seats with lids.

20. Run shelves up to the ceiling.

21. Buy a magazine rack or stack magazines in flat-bottom baskets underneath a console or coffee table.

22. Take advantage of wasted space with corner bookcases.

23. Think monochromatic.

24. Eliminate obstructions: the further you can see into and through a space, the larger it’ll seem.

25. Arrange furnishings to avoid blocking views of windows and doors.

By Margot Bolin and Jessica Cote, StyleAtTheHome.com

In the 14 years that I have worked in the field of design I have been hired to consult on literally hundreds of decorating projects. Visiting clients for 2- and 3-hour consultations, I take on the challenge of suggesting major and minor improvements which might include selecting new paint colours, rearranging existing furnishings, determining future furniture purchases, re-hanging artwork, and designing appropriate window treatments. Often the suggestions highlight relatively small improvements yet I’ve seen time and again that these changes can yield incredibly satisfying results; taking rooms from “so-so” to sublime. Fortunately the most common mistakes are easy to spot and easy to remedy.

1.)

• Don’t choose paint colors before choosing rugs or fabrics; you’ll make yourself crazy running around town with a paint chip measuring 1/2″ x 1/2″ in search of fabric that “matches”.

• Do select one or more of the room’s most expensive items first – usually the sofa, draperies or carpet. Then choose a paint color that enhances the look of these items and contributes to the mood you desire to create. Remember, the goal of paint is to make everything else in the room look good. Even you!

2.) 

• Don’t hang the dining room chandelier more than 36″ to 42″ above the dining room table – unless your goal is to show off the ceiling.

Do choose a chandelier that is approximately 9″-12″ smaller than the width or diameter of the table and hang the fixture 3′ above the table, where the soft lighting is more flattering to diners.

Get Outside
Nature is the most amazing place for color inspiration, since each season offers different and amazing color combinations. The warmth of the summer and fall, the cool colors of winter and the fresh hues of spring are the perfect examples of Mother Nature’s work. Color doesn’t just exist in the growth of nature, but in every aspect. A stormy sky against fall leaves is unbelievable, while a yellow rain jacket on a gray, rainy day is the perfect color combination for spring.

Go Shopping
Take a look at the fresh produce aisles at your grocery store. Nature went crazy with the most amazing and vibrant colors of fruits and vegetables. Grab a few of your favorite shades and see how you can make them work together in your home.
When walking through the mall, take note of the clothes on the racks. Also, pay attention to the interiors of the actual stores and the color choices they used to create their atmosphere. Don’t forget to check out your favorite home stores. Vases, dishware, rugs, pillows and artwork are huge sources of color information.

Read the Fine Print
My greatest color inspiration comes from fashion and magazines. First, it’s the best way to stay on top of color trends and styles, since fashion is always the forefront of what then comes into interiors. If you see interesting color combinations on the runway or in a European magazine, they’re sure to be in your favorite home store in the near future.

Take a Stroll
Getting inspired by color can also come from being in the midst of the city. Look at the materials used on buildings and how color affects the feel of the architecture. Check out the sidewalks and roads, which use various colors of gray and black combined with pops of white and yellow of the lines on the road. Translating this palette creates a surprisingly sophisticated interior.

All the colors you see in everyday life can be a part of your home. Carry a camera to take snapshots whenever you find the perfect combination. If you see something in a store that inspires you, pick it up and make it a part of your home.

By David Bromstad, HGTV.com

I have been working on creating a list of questions to ask new clients in the initial interview process. I think have 40 or so questions so far under 4 categories. 

Multiples. Do you have multiple items of the same color, shape, or style around your house? This is one big “tell” I look for as I look through clients’ home. A kilim rug in the front hall, a kilim rug in the bedroom, another one in the living room? That means that you like Kilim rugs! It sounds way too simple to be that easy, but most people stop seeing their style even when it’s right in front of them.

How do designers get that “done” look? It all comes down to 10 essential steps—and we’ve got them all right here!

Know what you want from a room.
The first step in designing a room is figuring out exactly what the room will be used for. “When people have great rooms,” observes designer Katie Leavy of Capital Design in Washington, D.C., “they put their television in there, their kids play in there, they’ll even eat in there.” If you’ve got the space, try to narrow things down. Decide, for example, if your room will be a living room that you’ll entertain in on just a few occasions, or a family room you’re going to use everyday. A room’s purpose should be one of the strongest cues for the decor.

Remember who lives there
Will children use this space? Will pets play here? The occupants should always be considered when selecting fabrics and finishes. Interior decorator Jackie Glisson of Just a Decorator in Memphis, Tennessee, notes that while silk slipcovers would be a sophisticated choice for an adults-only room, they wouldn’t make it through one season in a space that routinely hosts kids and pets

Know what pleases your senses
Most designers want to see any photos you’ve earmarked from your favorite design magazines. In fact, one design company insists that all clients compile and share their favorite looks as a “homework” assignment. Designer Alia Myer of Jessica Hall Associates in Larkspur, California, tells clients: “Try to turn off your internal filter, the one that says this is good, this is bad, and put a Post-It on anything that appeals to you. Let your first reaction guide you.” When you go back and look them over, these images tell a story of what you like and what your room should be.

Keep size in mind
One of the biggest issues facing homeowners today is the ever-expanding scale of sofas. “When I’m called in to rescue a room, it’s often because the furniture pieces really don’t fit the size of the room,” shares Jackie Glisson. “Most people think they have much more space than they do,” says Alia Myer. Then they buy oversized furniture, “and it feels moshed together.” The solution? Take out a measuring tape and a piece of graph paper. Draw a floor plan of your room to scale (let one square equal one foot, for instance). Or if you can find your blueprints, use them—and make extra copies. As you consider buying additional pieces, mark off their intended location and make sure they’ll fit before bringing them home.

Go with your flow
A beautiful home should have continuity from room to room. You wouldn’t wear a yellow shirt with purple pants and green shoes, so why would you decorate each room in your house with an entirely different color palette or style? To prevent each room from looking out of place, try to maintain similar tones and themes throughout the house. “When you do one room, you have to think about everything that touches it, all of the spaces that connect. And stay with the whole scheme of the house,” says designer Stephanie Henley of Beasley & Henley Interior Design in Winter Park, Florida. Jackie Glisson notes, “When I do a home, when you walk from room to room, there’s some element that continues.”

Focus on one great piece
Designers say that sometimes an item you already have and love can become their inspiration for the rest of the room. “It can be one tile, one chair, one pillow—it depends on who it is, what they like and what they’ve got, and we go from there,” explains Katie Leavy. What looks do your favorite things inspire? Maybe Grandpa’s handsome desk would be more at home in a ’40s-themed home office. Perhaps the rustic seascape you picked up on your honeymoon could become the centerpiece of a beach-cottage bedroom. Or a vase of your prize roses might look just right in an English country living room surrounded by lots of floral upholstery. Line up a few of your favorite things in the room you want to redo—and let the one that moves you most lead the way.

Formulate a plan
Some designers can keep all of this information in their heads, others carry their floor plans, photos and design ideas around with them at all times—but they never dive in without thinking it all through. Try to envision your room when it’s completely done, and then plot out what steps you’ll need to take to get to that point. Be sure to create your own room-design file. You’ll want to include key measurements and inspiring images. You’ll also want to keep a shopping list based on things you’ve seen in stores, on websites and in catalogs that are a good fit for your dimensions, theme and budget (you may find something even better down the road, but it’s good to have a point of comparison). Designer Stephanie Henley suggests keeping Ziploc baggies of the fabric swatches, flooring samples and paint chips you’d like to use (label their purpose clearly, she notes, but write in pencil because you may change your mind). Clearly everything is flexible, but having this plan at your fingertips will help you make decisions and keep the momentum going.

Shop around
“Sometimes people buy the furniture showroom. They get a bedroom suite where the nightstands match the headboard and the headboard matches the dresser,” says designer Jackie Glisson. “Instead we want it to look like we put some thought into it, so it’s not something you’ll see in your neighbor’s home.” The best way to accomplish your own unique look is to avoid buying matching furnishings from one store—and instead, shop from a variety of retailers, auctions and flea markets. You don’t need to buy everything at once. Establish a basic look and feel and let your style—and decor—evolve over the years. Also, when they’re shopping, the pros know that form and function are equally important. You’ll never relax on a rock-hard sofa no matter how much you love the fabric and working from home won’t feel right if your desk isn’t big enough to keep everything organized.

Be fresh, not faddish
Do you plan on redecorating every two years? Can you afford to change things often? If not, you may want to avoid trendy patterns on expensive pieces. The pros suggest choosing neutral colors for large upholstered pieces (like your sofa) and using more of-the-moment accents (like pillows in a hot new hue) that you can easily replace when trends change. If you want to make a bigger splash, there’s always paint. “Just painting a room can make it feel entirely different,” notes Alia Myer.

Light it up
“Lighting is some of the best decorating you can do,” says Jackie Glisson so be sure to have a variety of lighting installed in every room. Include task lighting focused on what you’ll be doing in the room, whether it’s reading or checking your e-mail, as well as ambiant lighting to set the appropriate mood. Designers suggest converting your light switches to dimmers and including a few different lamps to provide a number of lighting options. “You can never have too many lamps,” says Glisson.

Make it personal
Great design and personality are not mutually exclusive. Your room should be a reflection of your style. In fact, designers consider their work a success when clients say a room feels like their own, explains Alia Myer. Blow up a beautiful photo taken on a recent vacation. Devote a shelf to favorite books or a seashell collection. Jackie Glisson also observes that buying original artwork is more accessible than ever. At art shows and online galleries, an original painting or unique print can cost the same or less than mass-produced art from the local furniture store. And there’s no way your neighbor will have the same thing.

By Emily Lapkin, HGTV.com

1. First impressions are everything. Spruce up your front door — things like a fresh coat of paint, a new knocker or even a shiny knob work wonders. Make sure your doorbell works, too. No one likes to be ignored.
2. Refresh your walls with vibrant colors. Pick a room in your home and designate it the “summer room.” Repaint, refresh and rejuvenate the walls with one of those luscious, incredible hues found in the vibrant summer blooms. Muted yellows, soft blues and vibrant greens are great choices.
3. Recycle fabrics and textiles. Lighten up any room by giving up heavy fabrics for light and airy ones. In the living room, for example, take down your old drapes and replace them with an open weave such as chiffon or organza. Change out dark throw pillows and slipcovers by adding crisp white, a bright solid or even modern, floral patterns.
4. Bring the beach into your home in a simple way. Buy some synthetic coral from your local aquarium or fish store. It lasts longer than real coral, comes in amazing colors and costs a lot less. Try mounting coral on wooden stands, framing them or using them as centerpieces for your dining room table. How about using a giant clamshell as a decorative bowl?
5. Clean up your kitchen cabinets. Spruce them up with a fresh coat of paint or stain, or simply remove the doors for a truly European-style kitchen. If they are just plain dirty, use a brush and a wood cleaner to get those dirty fingerprints out.
6. Fix up an old ceiling fan. Have new blades installed, or just clean out and repaint the old ones. Not only will the fan look more attractive, but your air quality will also improve.
7. Declutter for a quick makeover. Just like little squirrels, we hunker down and store our goods during the winter. But come summer, your home can get cluttered with knickknacks, heavy blankets and bulky furniture. Put some of it away in storage. Larger, clutter-free spaces create the impression of a bigger house.
8. Let the sun shine in. Strategic placement of a mirror can add an enormous amount of natural light in your home. If possible, hang a large mirror in the living room directly where the sun beams in. In addition to bouncing light, it creates virtual space and overall appeal to a small room.
9. Clean out the garage for a drive-in theater and more. Home theaters, gyms, game rooms and computer rooms are the latest trend, but with every room in your house spoken for, the next best place to turn for extra space is the garage. Paint the walls, put in that big screen, set up your sound system, and throw in a seating element to add comfort and style. Have friends over, open the garage door, and have yourselves a party.
10. Follow my three “R’s” rule for design: Refurbish, Repaint, Recycle. Going green takes simple smarts and small steps. By reusing items such as old furniture, frames and artwork, you can make your own small contribution to saving our planet

Creativity is key when it comes to decorating on a dime. Here are savvy ways to add style without maxing out your budget.

Paint
“Paint is the cheapest investment you can make, but the one with the most dramatic result,” says 24 Hour Design’s Angelo Surmelis. Go ahead and put some color on those walls for a fresh — and inexpensive — new look.

Leah Hennen is a freelance writer in Oakland, Calif., who writes on interior design topics. She details her design finds and decorating obsessions in her blog: More Ways to Waste Time.

Fun with flat screens
One of the biggest design trends today is driven by technology, says Kenneth Brown. TV is a big part of people’s lives, but the big armoire in the living room is no longer needed thanks to flat-screen TVs. “Something as simple as flat-screen technology has made a big difference in design.” 

Bathroom as sanctuary
“We’re treating the bathroom as if it’s another living room by bringing in furniture pieces and getting rid of the clinical feeling,” Brown says. Mirrors are framed with wood, tile is stone instead of ceramic, light switches are on dimmers, there’s color on the walls and a comfortable place to sit. “It’s more of a spa environment—a sacred space or oasis where you can escape,” he says. “You should be able to close the door and feel free.”