What is Your Style? Part II

Today's post is a continuation of yesterday's. Melanie does not know what her style is- and we are going to figure it out :) So- today- same thing- I found photos that combined your two favorites from yesterday- so- let me know today- do you love any of these rooms? Which is your favorite? How about your least favorite? 1. Bold with Blue

2. Retro Orange

3. Chic Green and Gray

4. Funky Yellow

5. The Bookcases and Boat

Thanks to Coastal Living June 2009 and July/ August 2009 for photos.

What is Your Style?

Hi Christine-

My sister-in-law just forwarded me your blog and I'm so excited. We have a large brand new house in the southwest after many years of apartment living through grad school. So the entire house is a blank canvas, we barely even brought any furniture with us. While I'm eager to get the house set up, I'm totally overwhelmed and not even sure what my decorating style is so I can get started. Do you have any pointers to help me get the ball rolling?

Thanks for your insight,

Melanie

Dear Melanie,

Every time I start working with a client- the first job of mine is to determine what their style is. I ask them to prepare for our first meeting by selecting photos from design magazines that really move them. I will also ask them what stores they like? Do you prefer Ballard Designs, or West Elm? Do you like a clean simple look, or do you love beautiful accessories everywhere? Refined or rustic? After you find photos that you like, really study them- what about the room do you love? Are there any aspects that you don't like? Knowing what a client dislikes can be equally helpful for me. Think about the eye doctor. You know how he says, "Which is better? This one, or this one?" Well- we are going to do that exercise and determine your style. Today I start with five photos. Which of these do you most prefer?

Starting from the top of the post:

• Modern Edgy
• Cottage Comfort
• French Flair
• Today's Transitional
• Retro Fun
  
  
  
  

There are sooooo many different styles out there- but we have to start somewhere- so- we'll start with these. So- what is your favorite? What is your least favorite?

thanks to the photo sources:

photos 1 from Lofts and Condos 2009

photo 2 from Coastal Living 2008

photo 3 from Southern Accents July/ August 2008

photo 4 from Country French spring summer 2009

photo 5 from Dwell September 2009

Wallpaper Wednesday

Catch up with Mrs. Holland here, here and here. Before we are done- every home needs some wallcovering variety- start with a powder bath and you will catch the spirit of wallpaper. I selected a few for Mrs. Holland. The top pic is from Osbourne and Little. The piece above is from Designer's Guild.

The bottom three papers are from Seabrook, Silhouettes. Which should she go with?

Do you have a favorite?

1. Paisley Perfection
2. Giant Damask
3. Silhouette Branches
4. Silhouette Floral
5. Silhouette Cherry Blossom
   
   

Mrs. Holland Part III

Taupe and White

Taupe and White with Red and Blue

Catch up with Mrs. Holland here and here.

Dear Christine,

I love the taupe colored walls with white trim and am thinking of leaving this color as is. The kitchen appliances are black and all cabinet knobs, ceiling fans, etc. are silver. A large part of my dilemma is color. I have no idea where to go with furniture and accent color. I am open to suggestion and would be more than appreciative if you could lead me in "any" direction.



Best regards,
Mrs. Holland





Dear Mrs. Holland,



Let me address the window treatments in this room- as I have a good view of them. I love using Roman Shades on French doors. They are pretty when up- and pretty when down. I would do Roman shades- just a flat fold Roman- on each door and the windows above. The window will not be finished without panels- add some floor to ceiling panels to each side.





Liking the paint color gives us a start on your color scheme. Taupe is not a hard one to coordinate with. At the top of the post I included some pics from Windsor Smith that show a taupe and white combination- as well as a taupe, white, red and blue combo. I wanted to show you a third direction- taupe, yellow and green. I like it combined with golds and yellow- they brighten it up- and make it warmer at the same time. This sofa is from Restoration Hardware. With the walls and floors in taupe- DO NOT go taupe on a large item like your sofa- go for the contrast. Find some patterns that combine your gold and taupe. This Roman Shade is from Smith and Noble. This stripe has taupe and gold as well as greens and blues. A rug can also be a starting point on defining your color scheme. These rugs are form the Asian Trade Rug Company. Find a rug that you love that has your wall color. You could do a rug like the one above with the gold Restoration Hardware sofa, and add green and taupe pillows.
When you have more than one rug in an area where you will see them both- don't match them- but rather go with different rugs that look nice together- like the one above and the one below. Combine your patterns also- with a stripe on the window- use the circles- not the stripes nearby. For example- say the area meets up to an office- in your area where you use this striped rug- combine that with a pattern on the windows- like the one below from Smith and Noble.

Whereas you do not want to add a lot of taupe- since there is already so much- an accent chair is a good place to go taupe- this will tie your feel together- the chair below is from Designer's Guild.

Your home is beautiful! Can't wait for you to invite me to New Orleans for some gumbo and a house tour! (do they eat gumbo there? what is gumbo?)

Help her out- which way should she go?

1. Taupe and white with some chocolate brown.
2. Taupe and white with red and blue.
3. Taupe and yellow with green and blue.

Carpet Shopping

Hi Christine,

My wife and I are buying carpet and pad for our living room, hall, and bedrooms, about 815 sq. feet. I have read on the web that Masland carpets are "good" quality, but am unsure, and clueless about how reasonable the quoted price is. Could you please give us info about the quality and reasonableness of the price of:Masland - Monte Cristo carpet - this is a "textured" carpet. Price quoted is $5.68 per sq. foot.Ultra Life Deluxe - pad. Price is $1.05 per sq. foot.Installation is $.80 per sq. foot and take up/dispose is $.40 per sq. foot.We would appreciate any help you can give about quality and/or price.Thank you,

Frank and Elaine (no small children)

Dear Frank and Elaine,

I looked up your carpet- and it is "private labeled"- which is very common. Usually you would not find it by the same name within a certain geographical area. This is to make it harder to "price shop" the product.

In my experience, Masland is a wonderful brand. I have had three homes- and only installed Masland in all of them- (and many client's homes) and been thoroughly happy with them- (and I do have small children :)

If you could go to different carpet stores that carry Masland and get three quotes- that will be the best way to determine if you are getting a fair price. It will be easier to identify if you have a more distinctive carpet.- Good luck with that- as the names will likely be different at the different locations :)

My carpet experience was primarily in southern California- and from my experience- your labor and pad look pretty expensive to me- It is important to have the best installer you can find- especially if you have a looped or patterned carpet-- but that is quite a bit more than what I am used to. These prices vary quite a bit by region. You must live in Hawaii :)

With those prices on the high side- it does make me wonder about the carpet price as well- I hope you can find other dealers for additional quotes, and I hope you are happy with your new carpet- I love carpet installation day. It is one of my favorite days- up there with Christmas :)

Wish I could have helped more..

Thanks,

Christine

Mrs. Holland's Built-Ins

Catch up with Mrs. Holland here.

Dear Christine,

Our new home is everything we ever dreamed of owning, but because I have very little experience with decorating and I am a nervous wreck trying to make decisions. I am turning to you for advice. There are tall windows everywhere. The main room is huge and the living room, dining room, and kitchen are all combined as one large space. As you can see there are beautiful built-in bookshelves, a space cut out of a wall in the living room area for a large screen t.v. and there are two sets of french doors which open up to a large balcony that overlooks a small waterway (bayou).

I love the taupe colored walls with white trim and am thinking of leaving this color as is. The kitchen appliances are black and all cabinet knobs, ceiling fans, etc. are silver. A large part of my dilemma is color. I have no idea where to go with furniture and accent color. I am open to suggestion and would be more than appreciative if you could lead me in "any" direction.

Mrs. Holland

Today let's work on your built-ins. I love a home with wonderful built-ins and it looks like yours is one of those. With that said- a couple of things I would do:

1. Add a sofit. It looks to me like you have less than a foot or so above the built-in. That is nothing but a dust catcher- plus the lack of moulding at the top feels so unfinished to me. I would add- starting from the ceiling- a crown moulding- similar to your kitchen cabinetry- followed by a flat panel- large enough to cover the gap to the existing built-in- finished off with a bead that covers the transition from the new to the old- then paint it all to match. It will look something like the bookcase in this post.





2. After that- the decorating of the bookcase area is very important- don't just fill it with your books. THIS IS NOT A STORAGE AREA :). Decorate the area carefully and beautifully. I really want to come there and do it for you. But if you follow my instructions you can do a terrific job. Look for my instructions in this post. I really do want this area to look like it was staged for a magazine. That will be the difference from it being AMAZING or cluttery.





3. I am going to give you some specific ideas on accessories to purchase for this area- add to this some good looking books. place larger items in first, then medium sized items, small items, and end with books. Use books vertically, horizontally, and under accessories. Have greenery items throughout- here and there. This tray is from Uttermost- get a plate stand hand have it sitting like a charger. Buy some nice picture frames like these from Pottery Barn. I would use all black and white photos. There are so many cool "containers" out there. In my home I use them for putting things like my old trophies or ribbons or things I can't seem to get rid of- but don't want to display. The containers above as well as the round one below is from Uttermost. I like a little statuary going on also- birds- rabbits, golfers- whatever you are into. The bird below is from The Import Collection. Baskets are our friends- a great place to put some books that are not pretty enough for display- or a throw blanket- toys for the kids- leapsters- whatever- they hide it. I would get about six or eight for your area- find some that are as close to the width of your shelving areas as you can. The baskets below are from Pottery Barn. I love a nice table clock- place it at eye level. This one is from Uttermost. Add a splash of color. I like the idea of combining yellow with the taupe- as I suggested in the bedroom post- so I went with a few yellow accessories. These urns are from The Import Collection. You absolutely need to add some greenery- but I wouldn't expect it to grow- so I selected some faux items for you from Uttermost. Chargers are a nice look- and easy to find- I like a simple look in your case as it is going in such a busy are to begin with- lots of different patterns would cause visual competition. I am not suggesting you light any fires in your bookcase- but you can get little LED candles- and some candle light- even fake- is great for atmosphere. These holders are from Uttermost. Beautiful book ends are very helpful- and a nice look. These are from Uttermost again. I like using bowls in my decorating- and then also using them when I need them for entertaining. This set is from Uttermost. Another splash of yellow with these canisters and you are done. (from The Import Collection) Be deliberate in decorating an area like this- set aside enough money for accessories- it will make all the difference.