Ask Gail « GMJ Interiors

Wine enthusiasts seek ways to put a cork in it

DEAR GAIL: We are avid wine drinkers and, like most, save the corks. We’ve filled up jars, large wine glasses, bowls, drawers and lots of plastic bags. What can we do with them besides start throwing them away? — Katie P.
DEAR KATIE: I, like you, have lots of wine corks as we enjoy a bottle [...] [...]

Bookcases are not just for books

DEAR GAIL: We have a wall unit in our family room with a set of bookcases on each side of the TV armoire that’s just been junked up with books. We have a lot of books we’d like to keep but some can go. How do I go about decorating them so that they look [...] [...]

Learn More About Color

A new year is on the horizon and you’ll be seeing new colors entering the home fashion industry. Each year new color palettes are forecasted and those colors are then used as a guide by product designers in developing and creating new consumer products.
Color is the very first thing that we react to when entering [...] [...]

Green design doesn’t have to be expensive, challenging

DEAR GAIL: I read a lot about green and sustainable design, but how can I incorporate it into my home? I’m not able to remodel, but would like to do what I can. — Jamie T.
DEAR JAMIE: We all need to be thinking green and sustainable whenever we can. With the world’s population growing and [...] [...]

To Reupholster or not

DEAR GAIL: We have a sofa and chair that have seen better days and we’re considering reupholstering them. Is it better to reupholster or just buy new? ROBIN S.
DEAR ROBIN: Reupholstering is one solution to refresh your sofa and chair, but you need to take a couple things into consideration first [...] [...]

No basement and desperate for storage space

DEAR GAIL: We are desperate for storage space. We moved from back East where we had a basement and just can’t fit everything into our house. Right now we have a lot of things in storage but want to get them out as the extra monthly fee doesn’t make sense. Some of the things like [...] [...]

Updating a conference room

DEAR GAIL: Our office is located in the downtown area and we’re looking to give our conference room a new look. It has the original wallpaper which we want to remove and give the walls a fresh look. Our office is southwest and we like the bolder colors in the red, teal, [...] [...]

Staging to sell

DEAR GAIL: Help! We have just found our dream home and need to quickly sell the home we’re in. We’d like to spruce the house up before contacting our realtor, what can we quickly and easily do to get our house in shape? – Apollonia
DEAR APOLLONIA: The saying is true "That [...] [...]

Ugly Tile

DEAR GAIL: I am moving into a condo that has old and ugly tile on the kitchen counter. At this time I can’t afford to re-do it, so what can I do in the meantime? MICHELLE C.
DEAR MICHELLE: There are several different things that you can do until you’re ready to replace [...] [...]

Wall Liners

DEAR GAIL: We’ve got moved here from New Jersey and have always had wallpaper in our homes. But our new home has texture on the walls, what can we do besides painting them. – Mary Claire L.
DEAR MARY CLAIRE: I’m originally from the East Coast and when I moved here 22 [...] [...]