Before You Paint That Room–Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

The selection of paint color for our walls, the largest area of color in our homes, is the decorating challenge that causes the most angst for many of my clients.  This decision may be less daunting if a few rules of thumb are followed.

While painting is one of the first things we ‘install’ in a redecorating project, it is always one of the last things we select.  Since wall color needs to be guided by the color of the floor (the second largest area of color in any room), fabrics, cabinetry, and art in the room, it is usually a mistake to paint before selecting these design components because it limits other choices.

The first step in the color selection is to gather the small paint chips from your paint store.  Or, your decorator can bring a full set of larger paint chips to your home to begin the process.  When the possibilities have been narrowed to 3 or 4, it’s time to apply them to your walls for a real visual test—the most important step in the decision process.  The samples should be painted about 3’ wide and extend all the way down to the base trim, ideally on walls that get good natural light.  If there is a particularly dark corner in the room, it is a good idea to paint a smaller square of each color there to see whether that area looks too dark at night.  Apply two coats to each of the squares so that the existing wall color doesn’t bleed through.  After the paint is dry, study your squares in morning, afternoon and evening light.  Take your time….you will live with this decision for quite a while.

After you’ve made your decision, you must then decide upon the finish of the paint.  The general rule of thumb is that the rougher the texture of the wall, the flatter the paint finish needs to be.  The greater the sheen, the more obvious any blemished will appear.  Generally, flat finishes look more appropriate with traditional decors, while glossier finishes seem right for contemporary styles.

Monochromatic color schemes in a room tend to provide a more serene ambiance, while a room with highly contrasting colors will impart a sense of excitement.  Accent walls are a simple way to add a splash of color without committing to a whole room of a strong hue.  Ideally, accent walls will start and end at inside corners or another area where the transition is subtle.

Remember that fifth wall…..your ceiling!  There is no rule that says all ceilings have to be white.  Especially if you have crown molding, consider a shade for your ceiling that is just a step or two lighter or darker than your walls.  If you are a little more daring, choose a color from a different palette altogether.  Saturated colors can go a long way towards making up for a lack of architectural character, as does crown molding, which is best installed before you paint.

Working with a Pro–Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

Once considered a luxury, decorating services are more of a necessity for today’s busy homeowners who simply can’t afford to make costly mistakes, or run all around town trying to ‘pull it together’ from retail stores or the Internet.

The best professional to decorate your home will most likely come from a combination of compatible personalities and tastes. During your initial consultation, ask to review the portfolio of the decorator to assure yourself that (s)he is capable of working in diverse styles. This is also the time to judge whether your personalities are a good fit. Remember that you will be working together for several weeks, if not months.

Working with a professional designer should be an enjoyable experience. Since interior decorating projects are highly personal and collaborative, the final results are always much more successful when the lines of communication are open and ideas are freely discussed. Be candid with your decorator regarding such important elements as priorities, timing, budgets and tastes. If a style, color or item is suggested that you do not like, feel free to say so.

To ensure that you get off to the right start with your decorator and also get the results you are looking for, keep in mind the following tips:

–Be a keen observer. Consciously make note of what catches your interest as you peruse decorating magazines and the internet for interesting rooms and make-overs. Start a file of colors, patterns and designs that appeal to you. You may notice a chandelier, mirror, color combination or window treatment that you like. Once you clip and track these for a brief period, you will be better able to draw a conclusion as to your personal style.

–Take an honest inventory of your existing décor to determine which pieces you want to keep. Assess your furnishings the way you periodically review your wardrobe. Plan to keep the pieces you truly love and put all others on the to-be-replaced-eventually list.

–Based upon your initial consultation, your designer should present you with fabric samples, sketches and pictures for your evaluation. Since professionals have access to a world of options unavailable in retail stores, be reasonable about asking to see more and more of everything available. Remember that the first two or three designs you are shown will be, in the decorator’s opinion, the best looks for your home. One of the most important services a professional offers is sparing you the confusion of the unlimited choices available. Trust your designer’s advice and stay focused on the overall design goal.

–Give your decorator some latitude to decide for you the small details such as trims, pillows, accessories and botanicals. Your project will move forward more smoothly if (s)he doesn’t have to get your approval on every button and candle.

The last piece of advice is to give change a chance. The most dramatic changes usually come from introducing a strong new color or a different pattern. Don’t panic! We are experts at color coordination, and we work with the best painters in SW Florida to ensure you get the quality paint job your home deserves.

Just remember that all change – even vast improvement – requires a period of adjustment. Most homeowners who have selected professional decorating services for their home will be quick to tell you, “I should have done it sooner!”

Stepping Outside Our Comfort Level– Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

Every so often, most of us look around our home and wonder how we might step outside our comfort level just a bit to freshen up a tired looking living room, or how we might inject new interest and excitement to the guest bedroom.  Sound familiar?

Let’s examine some of the things that can cause a room to look a little frumpy or dated.  Trendy decorating and color schemes tire quicker than individualized decorating does.  Remember hunter green and burgundy?  How about peach and teal?  Color, more than any other design element, can precisely pinpoint the decade of a room’s last makeover.

The style of the furniture and accessories is another tell-tale sign of an aging room décor.  The days of more is more are gone, replaced by a simplified clean and open look that most people find appealing and stress inhibiting.  Thematic decorating, with an abundance of our favorite animal, tree or fruit, can become monotonous.

So, where do we begin in the freshening up process?  Let’s start with the arrangement of the furniture.  By simply pulling some of that furniture away from the wall or switching the position of a few pieces, the room will suddenly feel different.  Take all your accessories out of the room and one-by-one bring back only the things you really love, positioning them in a different place in the room, or in another room altogether.

If you would like to stretch the borders of your comfort level just a little, add a vase, lamp, throw pillow or rug in the color you wish you had the nerve to try, and see if it grows on you.  Try a mirror or painting that is not your normal style.

Because you spend very short amounts of time there, a good place to try new looks is in the foyer, guest bedroom or powder room.  You can get a little wild and crazy in those areas because you won’t tire of it like you might in the family room or kitchen.

If it is time to replace some of your furniture, think in terms of pieces that compliment, rather than match, each other.  The careful selection of furniture items and accessories will provide you with a style that is not only your very own, but one that will age gracefully.  Decorating outside our comfort level can be somewhat scary but, if you try it, you’ll be asking yourself why you waited so long to do so!

Summer is the perfect time for renovations!

What a great time to “heat” up your decorating plans with some HOT design trends!  Take a look at our award winning design trends that you might want to incorporate into your next “cool” decorating project–something for every taste.

Click here for Hot Design Trends!

A Little Leather Lesson – Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

Amazingly, over half of all upholstered furniture sold worldwide today is covered in leather.  While leather furniture is a luxury that most everyone appreciates, shopping for that perfect sofa can be overwhelming, even for knowledgeable consumers.

Most high-quality cowhides are produced in Europe – particularly Italy – and in South America from male cattle raised for beef.  The colder European climates result in hides with a finer grain and are applied to better quality furniture.  On today’s market, the price of top grade upholstery leather hides starts at $120 per square yard and goes up from there.  An 84” sofa requires about 22 square yards of leather making the leather alone cost a minimum of $2,500.  A “leather” sofa advertised for $1,500?  Lots of corners are being cut somewhere!

Before leather hides can be utilized as furniture coverings, they are judged by hand sorting and then subjected to one of three dyeing processes.  The highest quality layers of leather are colored using a translucent, pure aniline dye which renders beautiful color variations in the leather.  Since this process is used on unfinished, top quality leather, the finished product will have a softer feel.  Another coloring process, also used on top grain hides, is a surface finish application, called semi-aniline, which produces a more uniform color look.  The third option, very commonly used, is called pigmenting and coats the leather surface uniformly with an opaque color which covers most of the imperfections in the leather.

Unfortunately, in addition to using cheaply constructed frames, costs are frequently cut by using “reconstituted leather” or “bonded leather” which is approximately 17% real leather scraps.  These scraps are ground up and mixed with polyurethane or vinyl and backed with latex.  For now at least, it is perfectly legal for this concoction to be deceptively advertised as “real leather”.  This product will neither wear like quality full leather hides nor will it ever develop the suppleness or the patina that we enjoy with true leathers. A second method that manufacturers use for cost savings is to cover the parts of the furniture that the body actually touches with leather and the sides and back with color matched vinyl.  Such a practice is sometimes (but not always) mentioned in very fine print advertising.  Over a short time period, the leather and the vinyl will fade at different rates and the sofa will need to be replaced.Furniture covered with full hides of a high quality will ultimately provide you the look, feel and wear that will serve you well for many years.  Don’t be fooled by advertising that doesn’t explain why a promotional leather piece is so inexpensive.  With hides, you usually get what you pay for.  There is no such thing as inexpensive, high-quality leather.

Said about…Cliff Welles, ASID and Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

Decorating Den completed a major renovation of our condo on Ft. Myers Beach last summer.  They removed walls, laid new hardwood floors, designed and installed a spacious new kitchen, and provided beautiful new furnishings throughout the living areas.  We are delighted with the results and with their friendly professionalism throughout the job.  Cliff and Judy have a great design/build team and organized the entire renovation around our summer trip home to Michigan.  Highly recommended.  We have already referred them to friends.

Dan & Bev Buckley, Waterside/FMBch & Michigan   Jan ‘12

Judy was great!  She has so many creative and fun ideas.  She worked tirelessly with me to totally renovate my living/dining area in a bright and colorful contemporary theme that I just love.  And my kitchen & master bath were completely refurbished by the Decorating Den Interiors design/build team.  What a difference!  I’m so happy with the results that I’ve already referred them to four of my friends and now get to follow similar progress in their homes.

Marie Hatton, Pelican Landing, Bonita Springs, FL   Nov ‘11

Cliff and Judy of Decorating Den Interiors came up with an excellent and versatile plan to put life and fun back into our condo association’s 1,800 sq. ft. Social Room.  Now it really is a perfect place to be “social”- it is colorful, comfortable, works great for large and small groups, and surpasses our highest expectations. Their team was professional, creative and very resourceful in overcoming all obstacles discovered during the summer renovation.  Communication with the Board was clear and timely.  Would recommend them without hesitation.

Chip L., V.P. Board of Directors, Waterside V Condominium, Ft. Myers Beach, FL   Feb ‘12

For our new executive physicians’ facility on Miracle Mile, we used Decorating Den Interiors to give our  2,800 SF office a very elegant and comfortable feel.  Our gorgeous waiting area looks like a sophisticated club room, and the layout of lab rooms and doctors’ offices maximizes the space and staff efficiency.  Custom woodwork and reception areas are highlights regularly complimented by our clients.  Thanks, Judy and Cliff!

Eris Thomas, Pres; Coral Gables Executive Physicians   Oct ‘10

The Finishing Touch – Judy Underwood, Allied ASID

Did you notice again recently that when you took down your holiday decorations, your home looked surprisingly bare?  Perhaps you should consider adding a few new accessories to make your room look festive all year round—to give it that “finished look.”

Accessorizing is the way we put our personal stamp on our homes.  It can be considered an embellishment on the theme of our lifestyle – an extension, not only of our personal decorating taste, but also of our personal lives.

Once relegated to only the extremely wealthy, who displayed articles that looked like they belonged in a museum, home accessorizing caught on with the general public some time ago.  To a great extent this is due to shelter magazines, which show exquisite close-ups of tabletops and decorated walls.  Every tabletop becomes a still life, every wall a vista.

Hopefully, the memorabilia displayed in your home includes meaningful items, accumulated over time, with special significance for you.  Mix your cherished pieces among your current decorative items for a look that will please.  If you have a very large assortment of special keepsakes, display them together for impact.  Try putting away half of them for a few months, then exchange them with the ones on display for a fresh look.  They will be far more interesting and you will avoid the cluttered look that a huge collection can have.

The arrangement of your collections can be just as interesting as the collection itself.  Some people arrange by subject: a medley of jade turtles or a grouping of horse pictures together.  Others arrange by what we call predicate, the most common being in size and color.  Books are perfect example.  Analytical personalities will classify their books by subject.  The more visually oriented person tends to sort by predicate-size and color.  Collections are far more impactful when displayed grouped together rather than scattered over every table top.

The next step is to determine how to arrange accessories.  Some prefer traditional symmetry.  For example, two candlesticks and two objects d’art, flanking an oil painting over a mantel, would be suitable for a formal arrangement.  Others prefer a more contemporary asymmetrical grouping, as in variable-sized framed photographs, high/medium/low glass candlesticks with a free form sculpture.  Placing accessories in uneven numbers, i.e. 3, 5, or 7 provides more interesting groupings, as in this photo.

When a room begins to look stale or uninteresting, a few great accessories can change everything for the better.  Walk through your home and decide what areas could use some simple accessory changes to brighten that spot for your own enjoyment!  Then search for that one special piece or grouping around which you can re-build the décor.