Lexington Lounge Set from Brookside Patio Furniture

Traditional ideas of interior design stop at the walls of the building. Gardens and interiors are, after all, quite different, or so we thought. Recent trends are extending the realm of interior design, with joint projects between interiors specialists and garden designers becoming more common. The goal is to produce outdoor spaces which complement their owners sense of style as well as providing useful, usable space. So why the change?

From the time of the Ancient Greeks and Romans living areas were planned around a courtyard space and not only in Mediterranean nations. With modern trends towards smaller rooms and interior spaces, outdoors may be the only space large enough for practical entertaining. Advances in materials science have made it possible to buy weather resistant furniture and fabrics, so while some areas of the garden continue to use the traditional garden bench or statue as a focal point, others can be planned to contain furniture of all kinds, from the relatively common dining table and chairs to a full outdoor media room. With a little effort any back yard can be planned to provide a beautiful setting to eat and play as well as relax and unwind. With patio heaters and electric fans there’s no need to feel quite so restricted by the weather, so how do you plan an outdoor room?

Most schemes begin with an outdoor eating area which needs to be close to the house. Noone wants to carry plates of food a great distance, and level changes are to be avoided. Put your eating area close to your kitchen door and surround it with fragrant plants, either in flower beds around your patio or planted in pots. Most fragrant plants work well as insect repellants; catnip, citronella grass, rosemary and marigolds are particularly good at repelling mosquitos. Lavender comes in a variety of sizes and colors, and creates a fragrance which seems to go very well with food. Since adults like to spend time at the table, plan the space so you can supervise children using any outdoor play areas such as a pool, trampoline, swings or climbing frame. If you enjoy entertaining think carefully before you buy your patio table and chairs. Are your guests mostly couples, or couples with families? If the latter a six person table may not be big enough unless you plan two areas, one for adults and one for kids.

If you have a lovely deck or patio this is the carpet for you outdoor room, but if not there are many weather resistant outdoor rugs which can be used to cover concrete. If you are having a patio or deck built, don’t forget electricity. Apropriate lighting can turn a lovely outdoor room into a magical one after the sun has gone down. For best results, think about your color scheme. An outdoor area filled with random pots and color will have an eclectic appeal, but one where outdoor rugs, chair cushions, umbrellas, plant pots, place mats and accessories are all chosen to coordinate will create a designer look. Stone pots with brown and grey seem somehow traditional, but deep blue schemes are my personal favorite, using glazed blue pots of different heights and umbrellas with contrasting yellows or turquoise as accents. If you prefer a more modern look, matte black or Chrome pots filled with topiary balls and grasses will give you the right ambience along with a dark sofa and chairs. Resin patio furniture is very versatile. In white it creates a country cottage feel, ideal for an English country garden of hollyhocks and roses while in darker colors it looks at home in a far more modern scheme.

If you have ugly fences, feel free to cover them. Bamboo screening can camouflage the inside, or choose fast growing climbing plants. Hops will cover a fence in a season as long as they are well watered, and the variegated varieties are very decorative with splashes of white on large green leaves. Though they may take a few years to produce flowers ,they’ll repay your patience by attracting butterflies to your outdoor living room.

Every outdoor space needs some sort of covering to provide shade from the sun and cover from the rain. You may choose to bring this indoors in winter, in which case choose from free standing tents or umbrellas. A pergola covered with fragrant plants (my favorite is honeysuckle) can make a lovely canopy for a dining table, in summer the stems may well be so dense no rain can penetrate and you can grow these climbers in pots, as long as you remember to feed and water them! Where the soil is right wisteria and honeysuckle make a beautiful mix. The large showy flowers of the wisteria compensating for the tiny blooms characteristic of fragrant honeysuckles and since wisteria comes in a range of unusual colors, this gives you even more opportunity to play with the color scheme of you outdoor room.

Where once it was difficult to find a suitably weatherproof table and chairs for the occasional outdoor picnic, weatherproof sofas, easy chairs and coffee tables now allow us to create a second living room and more, outside. Add some paving, lighting and an easily installed fountain and the result is an area of tranquility ideal for work, relaxation or play; an outdoor extension for your home.

Lesley C. is a guest writer for www.brooksidepatiofurniture.com, which is an e-commerce store that specializes in outdoor wicker patio furniture.

One of the things that I enjoy about doing interior redesign is that you have to think and decorate on the fly. If you really want a creative and unique design when decorating, you need to think out-of-the-box. How many times have you brainstormed and from the silliest things came the greatest ideas?

When I teach my students, they are so nervous about trying something new in the beginning. What I ask them is, “What is the worst thing that can happen?” The answer is that the homeowner doesn’t like it and we move it back. That is the wonderful thing about interior redesign: nothing ventured, nothing gained and nothing lost.

So, let’s look at some of the more common items that we all have in our homes and see how we can think out-of-the-box and be creative on the fly with our furniture.

Just because you bought a piece of furniture for the entry in your last house doesn’t mean that’s where it must live out its life in every home. A nightstand is a nightstand only because it’s the label the manufacturer placed on it.

Is you family room overflowing at the seams with too many pieces of furniture, i.e., big-screen TV, kids’ game table and desk? Do you not have any place for a home office but have an empty living room, dining room or extra bedroom? What are you waiting for to make your home function?

Many times I hear, “We really don’t plan on using these rooms very much, so we want to wait to furnish them.” What? Sorry, that just doesn’t make sense to me. Just because the builder labeled the rooms as the formal living and dining room doesn’t mean that’s how they have to be furnished and used. It’s important to use all of the space and items in your home so that they work for you now, no matter what labels have been placed on them.

So let’s look at other ideas on using furniture pieces.

• Do you have a three-shelf-high bookcase? Place it on top of a buffet and it becomes a china hutch, as shown in the accompanying picture.
• Do you need a dresser but have a buffet? It has doors and drawers just like a dresser.
• Don’t have a nightstand? Well they don’t have to match. Instead you can use any number of pieces, including:
• End table. You really don’t need a table next to every arm of your upholstery; just make sure each seat has someplace that you can reach to place a drink.
• Stacking tables or nesters. These are one of my favorite pieces of furniture; they are multifunctional and perfect for every room. Since there are two or three pieces to a set, you can use one in your family room and one in your bedroom.
• Decorative shelf. No one said that a nightstand has to have legs. Plus it will get your alarm clock off the floor.
• Bookcase. That three-shelf-high bookcase that you thought about using as a china hutch can be brought into the bedroom as a nightstand.

Do you have a long and narrow bedroom with lots of space at the end of the bed? Let’s be creative with the space and put it to use.

You can create an additional seating area. Bring in the two arm chairs that you don’t use in the dining room and place a small table in between them.

Create an additional work area. Now I don’t like to suggest bringing work into the bedroom, as that really should be your place to retreat and relax at night, but if you really need a private place to work and don’t have space anywhere else in the house, you can add it here. One rule though is that the area must be kept neat and clean so that you don’t see the piles of things you need to do each day staring you in the face every night.

Create an additional eating place. Why not bring the bistro set that you have in the yard into the bedroom? Now you have an extra place to have your coffee in the morning on your days off.

Create an additional hobby space. Do you like to do puzzles but don’t have the room anywhere else? Bring in a card table and folding chairs to start. Then look around for a sale on a nicer set when you’re ready.

Flying with your tables in the upright and locked position

Have you found an old table to use in your entry at a yard sale but it needs to be refinished and you don’t have the time? Well, go no further than your linen cabinet and you’ll probably find at least one of these things to disguise the table’s condition, along with adding some color and texture besides using a table cloth.

• Drape a sheet over the table and puddle the excess underneath.
• Crisscross two table runners across the table
• Drape a chenille throw and let the fringe hang off the sides.
• Any extra fabric in the sewing basket? Pull it out and tuck the raw edges under. Pin tassels on each corner to dress it up.
• Have any duvet covers or quilts in the closet? Instant table cloth.
• How about the drapery panels or sheers that you’ve just never hung up?

Using what you have to is the most economical way to decorate your home until you can buy what you want. Don’t let the fact that you can’t afford it now stop you from enjoying your home.

Here’s the link to Part 2 - Creative ideas on the fly to dress up your walls and bring in your finishing touches: accessories.

http://www.gmjinteriors.com/2010/04/12/creativity-on-the-fly-part-2-finishing-touches-can-be-creative-works-of-art/

It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can do. You don’t have to rent items as many stagers also offer an hourly staging consultation service. They come in and walk the property and provide suggestions which then a seller can complete themselves.

I provide this service and charge $200 for a 2 hour appointment. That small investment could save you thousands in reduced pricing and lower counter offers. Think of what you spend on Starbucks and eating out in 1 month and I’m sure it is easily $200 or more.

Gail

Sellers Need to Stage Homes – By DIAN HYMER

Buyers, in some areas, complain about walking into an open house and finding dirty laundry in bedrooms. In places like the San Francisco Bay Area, so many listings are well presented for sale that sellers who don’t stage their homes are at a disadvantage.

Occasionally, a home shows beautifully as is and needs little work to get it ready to sell. A listing in the hills above Oakland, Calif., came on the market last year without the aid of a professional stager and sold for the asking price within a week. The house had just been renovated and the sellers had great taste. Their furnishings and paint colors were perfect for the house.

Most sellers need to put more effort into preparing their homes for sale if they want to sell successfully. Some of this work can be done on their own, like decluttering, painting and sprucing up the yard, if they have the skills and time.

Many sellers will benefit from hiring a stager, which is a decorator who specializes in preparing homes for sale. Finding the right stager is important. You want to hire someone who will give your home a look that will sell it for the highest price possible.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: One way to get familiar with different stagers’ work and style is to visit Sunday open houses. Usually stagers display their business cards at the property. If not, ask the agent holding the house open if it was staged. If so, ask for the stager’s name.

Most professional stagers have Web sites where you can find out more about them and preview samples of past staging jobs. Your real estate agent is a good resource. If your agent has had success working with that stager, that could be an obvious choice. You’re looking for results. A stager who has a good track record in your area is someone to seriously consider.

If you live in an area where staging is not popular, ask your agent for the name of an interior decorator to consult with about how best to arrange your furniture and artwork. Make sure, before you pay for a consultation, that this person can also select colors for you if your home needs painting.

Some sellers talk to several stagers before deciding on one. Each stager should meet with you at the property. Try to arrange for your agent to attend the meeting to give input on how the house should be staged to appeal to the most buyers. For example, should a bonus room be staged as a den or home office?
Find out if the stager can use some of your personal possessions — those that are appropriate for selling the house. The staging cost should be less if the stager doesn’t have to bring in as much furniture and accessories. Ask if the stager will select paint colors. If not, there might be an additional cost for hiring a colorist.

A stager should provide you with a written proposal including the scope and price of the job, the term of the contract and the cost to extend, if you need it. In this market, it could take months to sell your home. Staging contracts usually run for two to three months from the date the house is staged. Extensions range 10-25 percent of the original fee for each additional month.

Deciding who should stage your home shouldn’t be based on price alone. A cheap look is not going to generate an enthusiastic response. Go with the best stager you can afford.

THE CLOSING: You want your home to look amazingly good so that it creates a buzz among buyers and their agents.

Dian Hymer, a real estate broker with more than 30 years’ experience, is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist and author of “House Hunting: The Take-Along Workbook for Home Buyers” and “Starting Out, The Complete Home Buyer’s Guide.”

So here’s a Guest Post from Audrey Cupo to help you get into your closet and store your off season clothes.




With a large closet, people are often tempted to keep all their clothes in the one spot and not rotate clothing seasonally. Unfortunately, this sometimes creates cramped closets and makes it hard to see what you really have in your current wardrobe.If you have a smaller closet, this is even more of an issue. If you can relate to this situation, I would suggest the following:
 
Store out-of-season clothing in plastic under-the bed containers or pretty cardboard boxes that can fit on top of your closet shelf.
 
Folded clothes should be stored with acid and dye-free tissue paper so they won’t be as wrinkled when pulled out for next season.

Fragrant, insect-repelling herb sachets are a good alternative to mothballs. They will keep your clothing smelling fresh and well protected without being potentially harmful to your family and the environment.

Any out of season clothes that need to be hung should be stored at the very back of the closet since they do not need to be readily accessible. They should be stored in a garment bag to keep them clean and dust free in the off-season. Avoid using dry cleaner bags for this purpose. They should not be used at all, in fact, for any type of clothing protection and storage. They trap the dry cleaning chemicals which stay on your clothes and can be harmful to your health and the environment. Your clothes need to breathe so cloth garment bags are suggested.

This is also a great time to look at what you have not worn the past season and get rid of it. Chances are you won’t wear it next year either. Why pack away something you will not be wearing. Make room for new purchases next Fall instead!

You will need to start planning a time to set aside to convert your wardrobe from Winter to Spring and Summer so be prepared with the proper tools to do so.

Audrey Cupo is a full-time Professional Organizer and sole proprietor of A BETTER SPACE based in Bucks County, PA. She specializes in residential organizing and focuses her business on helping busy moms get organized with her services and her U Can Do It product line. To sign up for her free monthly newsletter “Organizing News You Can Use”, go to www.4abetterspace.com.

“Loved this class, Gail did a wonderful job. Thank You!” Patti

“Gail did a great job and really involved her audience. It was unbelievable how quickly the 4 hours went by.” Kay

“It was great to learn the effects of light on paint and liked the time spent picking paint colors to coordinate with tile and fabrics.” Jean

“Gail is a very knowledge presenter. I enjoyed the hands-on time with actual samples as well as the time for open discussion.” Linda

“Thanks again Gail for a great class! My wife and I enjoyed the day, learned a great deal and we are anxious to get going on implementing some of your ideas.” David & Xem

Check out the canvas wall gallery on Page 6.  This is a GREAT way to inexpensively add color to any room, especially is you are renting and not allowed to paint.

For those in the design industry, go to page 18 and read about their FREE online course, “Centuries in Color.” 

Have a Colorful day!

http://www.benjaminmoorenuance.com/en/issue5/index.php

I’m a Certified Dewey Color Instructor and have been teaching a Certified Dewey Color Consultant class for 4 years and my students are shocked every time they take it, how acurate the results are.   Read the article and try it our yourself.  And if you’re interetsed in a class, here’s more information about the class and my schedule..   

Favorite colors test shows CEOs are different; take the test

By Del Jones, USA TODAY

Ask CEOs to pick their favorite color and what they select will often be very different than what most people would pick.

For example, when 877 members of USA TODAY’s CEO panel took an online personality color test, they were three times more likely to favor magenta than the public at large, three times less likely to select red, and 3½ times less likely to choose yellow.

COLOR TEST: Take the free aptitude test

This, it turns out, is more than a curiosity. Psychiatry professor Rense Lange, an expert on tests for everyone from students to job hunters to those with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease, has been looking hard at color tests and he has reached the conclusion that the results all but prove that CEOs are wired differently.

They are often wired in counterintuitive ways. For example, the color test shows that the typical CEO is more sensitive and private than the typical person and is less likely to be a perfectionist or to be dominant and more likely to be emotionally unstable. CEOs, it turns out, are not as self-assured as the public at large, and they are more cooperative and less forceful than the typical person, says Dewey Sadka, who has spent the last 15 years refining the color test completed by the 877 current and retired CEOs and chairmen. The heavy response from USA TODAY’s CEO panel provided a significant database that was then examined against 750,000 others who have taken the online test.

A 60-second test

The test takes about 60 seconds. It is almost entirely visual and asks people to click on colors, sometimes ordering as many as 15 colors from favorite to least favorite. The results turn out a personality profile that is far from perfect, but is proving to be as valid as more established and lengthy verbal tests such as Myers-Briggs and the Gallup StrengthsFinder. The results can steer people toward a career that matches their personality and strengths with jobs they might find enjoyable.

Unsurprisingly, the CEOs as a group were suited for jobs in upper management, but they also were better suited than the average person to be social workers, artists and teachers. Lange said that made sense because the ability to motivate is important to both teaching and running a corporation.

“CEOs see the big, bold and colorful picture and help others see the vision as well,” said test-taker Edward Jennings, CEO of Copanion, which provides tax professionals with Web-based applications. “Leaders are storytellers, teachers and investors.”

Administrative assistants might be surprised to learn that the color test indicates that the typical CEO is well-suited to be an administrative assistant. Jake Geleerd, CEO of Chicago real estate company Terrapin Properties, offers an explanation: It’s because CEOs probably had their assistants take the test for them, he jokes.

But Marion Sandler, a former Fortune 500 CEO at Golden West Financial, took the test for herself and learned that she might enjoy a job as secretary, paralegal, clerical worker or bank cashier.

“It made me laugh,” Sandler said. “When I was 8 years old, I aspired to be a sales clerk, but then I grew up.”

If CEOs might make good teachers and administrative assistants, might teachers and administrative assistants make good CEOs? “I wouldn’t be surprised,” Lange says. However, the test warns that people will find job recommendations below or beyond their capabilities.

Lange says no one knows why so much can be learned about a person by the colors they choose. Those answers are buried deep in neuroscience, he says, but it’s just a matter of time before marketers will be able to target products to consumers based on color preferences. Color tests are much easier to administer than something like Myers-Briggs, and color tests aren’t easy to influence. For example, someone applying for a job as a police officer might attempt to game a Myers-Briggs test by guessing the correct answers, but they would have no idea how to rank colors.

Color tests can also be quickly expanded worldwide. Vijay Eswaran, the Malaysian executive chairman of QI Group in Hong Kong, took the test for USA TODAY and said that it accurately described his personality, though he was taken aback by potential jobs he would be good at: mechanic, emergency room supervisor and telephone technician.

“The suggestion that I might have made a good dental assistant made me pine for lost opportunities,” said Phil Libin, CEO of technology company Evernote.

CEOs were promised that their individual results would remain anonymous, and it’s unknown what percentage believe the test accurately reflected their personalities. Some who volunteered comments said they were unconvinced. Bruce Clarke, CEO of consultancy Capital Associated Industries, likened the color test to a “horoscope or astrological sign analysis.”

Some CEOs sold on results

But most CEOs who provided feedback said the test was eerily accurate, including Greg Babe, CEO of Bayer, and Hamish Dodds, CEO of Hard Rock International. “I was floored,” Dodds said.

“I must say I was very skeptical, but it does a darn good job of summing me up,” says David Haffner, CEO of manufacturer Leggett & Platt. “I wonder what I’d be like if I liked lime green and purple?”

“It identifies the tension in my personality between facts and creativity,” said James Fugitte, CEO Wind Energy.

Of the CEOs who took the test, four men and one woman said they are colorblind or partially colorblind. Those include former Southwest Airlines CEO Howard Putnam and Brian Scudamore, who founded 1-800-Got-Junk 20 years ago and now has 300 locations in three countries. “I’m colorblind, yet the results were still bang on,” he said.

Dewey Color Class Schedule

Click on this link to find out more.

http://www.gmjinteriors.com/

Surfaces 2010, the leading floor covering show will be in Las Veags at the Sands Expo & Convention Center from February 2nd to the 4th with Educational Sessions starting on February 1st.

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