Featured Designer on AvaLiving.com

I will be the Featured Designer for the Week of July 20th on AvaLiving.com. You can visit the website at www.avaliving.com. My recently completed living room for a condominium model will be featured.

Bringing The Indoors Out ~ Part 2

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

It is important to include layers of height to your outdoor room. Except for the patio umbrella, everything tends to be the same height, giving a "flat" feel to the décor. Don't be afraid to use unconventional items to achieve this. I have an inexpensive metal baker's rack that I use outside. It helps lift plants up to eye level, as well as candles and any outdoor accessories that I want to highlight.

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

If you plan on using your outdoor room quite frequently at night, use white plants and flowers,and touches of white in your accessories. This helps to brighten up the area and garden.

Pick up real dishes (not plastic) at the dollar store or an outlet store. The same goes for glasses. Make your table outside as pretty as your table inside.

Pots of plants will bring instant color to your outdoor room. Plus, you can move them around at will depending on your mood or outdoor activity. Be sure to pick up colorful plants that work for the spot they will be in. Don't ignore colorful foliage, like coleus, which comes in many colors and can do better than some annuals. The pot you put them in should suit your outdoor décor as well. Try to be consistent as to style or color.

Coleus photo courtesy of Old House Attic

With some simple sewing skills, you can make your own pillows or "slipcovers" for your outdoor furniture using outdoor fabrics.

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

For slipcovers, put the fabric together like a pillowcase, with one end open to slip over an everyday outdoor folding chair. You've dressed up an inexpensive folding chair and coordinated it with the rest of your outside décor.

Just like when you are decorating inside your home, save your accessorizing until last. Look and see where there is an empty spot and fill with either pots of plants or accessories. You don't have to fill every blank spot; just like inside your home, your eye needs a place to rest.

Copyright 2008 Creative Home Expressions

Bringing The Indoors Out

photos courtesy of Restoration Hardware

No matter the size of your yard, deck or patio you can extend your indoor living outdoors. Even if you live in the Northeast, you can make good use of the six months of good weather we get to make the most of your outdoor living spaces. Paying more attention to your outdoor rooms is even more important as people downsize and are looking to make better use of the space they do have.

You can screen out areas of your yard with a wall of evergreens, which is great for the working areas of your yard as it allows separation from your entertaining areas. If you have a compost pile or an area where you let your dog do its business, screening this keeps any mess or smell from areas where you sit and entertain.

While most people set out the standard table, chairs and umbrella, you can take your outdoor décor up a notch just by adding some simple accessories. With the wide array of outdoor materials now available you can dress up your outdoors to reflect your indoors. Color is just as important outside as it is inside. You can get quite a bit of help from the plants in your yard whether they be evergreens to set up your "walls" or splashes of color in pots.

Structures such as gazebos, trellises and pergolas add some architectural interest to your outdoor room, much the same as moldings do inside. Adding an outdoor fabric to these structures softens the wood or metal and adds some color.

Lighting - garden lights, candles or a mix of the two can give your yard a warm glow and extend your daytime enjoyment into the night. With the variety of lighting options from easy to install light kits to solar lighting, you can create ambiance in your own back yard. Candles can be used from floating tea lights to pillar, there are numerous ways to incorporate them into your décor. There are many decorative candle holders that fit in with themed décor or blend in with your landscape.

Outdoor fireplaces - not only extend the hours you can spend outside, but can also extend your season outdoors. There are many different styles to choose from; you can even build your own fire pit.

Fabric - outdoor fabrics have come a long way over the years offering a lot more than the usual awning stripe. You can use these fabrics for pillows, to cover cushions, make tablecloths or even be used as outdoor curtains.

Furniture - your outdoor rooms are a great place to use found furniture pieces. They can easily be freshened up with some spray paint. Metal baker's racks made great vertical storage and also help break up all the horizontal surfaces. Don't be afraid to bring pieces from the inside out for the day - just bring them back in at night.

Pillows - pillows add softness to your chairs and benches. How inviting a cushioned chair looks for reading a book or just sitting quietly.

Outdoor area rugs - Define the seating areas, just like they do inside your home.

Many things that you use indoors can be recreated outdoors. You can use mirrors, lighting, pillows, candles, statuary and plants. If it's not welcoming or comfortable you won't use it, just like the living room with a "hands off" feel.

Finding a table that suits your needs is a good place to start. A round table helps to break up the straight lines of many backyards. In addition to any chairs you get with the set, it is always a good idea to have extra seating. This can be in the form of larger chairs, a bench or lounge chairs, all with cushions. Small side tables suitable for outdoor use make it easy for placing a book or drink on.

Part 2 Coming Soon

Copyright 2008 Creative Home Expressions

Affordable Decorating Tips

One of the easiest things to do, without spending any money, is to look around your rooms and clean up any clutter. This includes too many knick-knacks on display, too many family pictures, too much of anything. Remember, less is more. Your accessories will make a bigger impact when they can be fully appreciated. If too many things overwhelm your eye those special items will not stand out. If necessary, pack up some items for six months and then rotate them back out.

Move things around. Furniture, accessories, and pictures. Move things to another room to see it in another light.

Make a duvet cover out of two flat sheets. Sew, or use iron-on hem tape on, three sides with right sides together, turn right side out and use buttons or Velcro to close the top.

One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure. I got a cute two-shelved teacart someone grew tired of and put out with their garbage. I knocked on the door and asked for permission to take it. Now painted and stenciled, it sits in my dining room holding some of my many collections.

Utilize online auction sites, such as ebay. I got four old 11x14 floral bookplate prints for around $18.00, and four new 11x14 frames, with glass, for around $25.00. I now have a nice series of pictures that would retail for upwards of $100.00 and only cost me $43.00, plus shipping.

Think outside the box. A lazy-susan for your craft paints, a mug or tumbler to hold pens; just because it’s sold as one thing doesn’t mean you can’t use it as another.

Buy a tall, thin, clear glass bottle carried by many stores (including dollar stores) for just a few dollars. Put your dishwashing soap in it. It’s something you use all the time, it will be handy, and the color of the soap will give you some color by your sink. Top it off with a decorative cork topper.

Buy ready-made drapes, curtains or valances and add your own trim with iron-on hem tape, hot glue or sewing. Get a custom look for a ready-made price. You can do this with your decorative throw pillows, too.

My next project is a corkboard with a decorative frame. The one I like costs $179.00 retail. Find a corkboard the size you like, a little larger even for fitting to the frame and possible cutting. Next, find a decorative frame you like whether it’s from an old picture you already own and don’t care for anymore; flea market; garage sale; or thrift shop. Fit the corkboard to the frame (cutting to fit if necessary) and attach with staples, small wood braces across the corners, or picture divets. Along these same lines, you can do a chalkboard by getting a thin piece of wood, such as luaun, cut to fit your frame, paint with a few coats of blackboard paint, and attach it to the frame. You have a corkboard or chalkboard that retails for a minimum of $120.00, that will cost you, maybe, $25.00 and a Saturday afternoon.

Change out your lampshades instead of replacing the whole lamp. Sometimes that little change is all you need. Just remember to take off the plastic.

Use a stack of hardcover books to elevate your tablescapes or a too small lamp. Your side tables should have items of varying heights on them. Since you most likely have books in your home, take the paper covers off and utilize them in your décor. They will also become a part of the tablescape.

Copyright 2008 Creative Home Expressions

Spring Decorating Tips

Spring is coming, Spring is coming! Thursday, March 20, 2008, to be exact! (Daylight Savings Time starts March 9th, which will certainly help too!)

Is your home still in Winter mode? Use these tips from interior decorator, Kathy Passarette of Creative Home Expressions to freshen up your home for spring.

To freshen up your living areas for spring, and while doing a good spring-cleaning, move some of your collectibles around to give you a fresh perspective and appreciation of your belongings.

Keeping your décor simple adds to the relaxed feeling of the season and readies you for the summer months.

Use colors a couple of shades lighter than the existing colors in your rooms. This way you are not disrupting your color scheme, just giving it a lighter, more airy look.

Remove thick, and dark colored, area rugs. If you must have an area rug, use a natural fiber rug in its place; sisal, sea grass and jute are just a few of the many options available.

Take down heavy drapes, and replace with sheers or unlined curtains. They come in all colors and textures, so there is always something to match your décor.

Clean out your fireplace, but don't leave it bare. Fill it with a display of varying heights of candles, a floral arrangement, or white birch logs stacked neatly. Or you can display a decorative fire screen, one you've made or purchased to fill the space.

Lighten up your mantle by leaving it decorated simply; a vase or pot of spring flowers or flowering stems (like forsythia) will add some color and fragrance to the room. A simple painting or mirror with a couple of votive candles is all you need.

Trade out dark colored throw pillows for light colored florals or stripes. If you want to sew your own pillows, today's outdoor fabrics are being used indoors now for ease of cleaning and durability.

Slipcovers in denim or cotton duck fabrics look clean and crisp; they also wash up easily.

Finally, a fresh coat of paint, whether on your walls or to update some tired furniture is the least expensive thing you can do for the most impact.

Copyright 2008 Creative Home Expressions