Have you seen this house?

The Dakota Home of Celebrities on Central Park West in New York City

For some, the Dakota is the creepy apartment building in Roman Polanski's chilling film Rosemarys Baby. The Dakota is also famous for being the home at one point or another of many other celebrities such as Judy Garland, Yoko Ono, Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, Rex Reed, William Inge, and Connie Chung.

AMERICAN DREAM

Dream House

DECORATING TIPS

Nothing is more frustrating, that to be out shopping, when you spot a picture, bedspread, or accessory that you love but are not sure if it will match in your home. Here is a tip that may help you shop more effectively:

Don’ be afraid to cut snippets of fabrics, from wherever you can. Under a sofa, inside a seam etc.

Once you have accumulated all your samples, including carpet, paint, wallpaper, fabrics etc., place them in a small picture album (the kind used for Grandchildren) these are small enough to fit in most purses and can be carried easily while shopping. The next time you see something you like, just pull out your small album with the samples, and you can be sure if the color matches.

Create an “Eight Step Sheet” for each room in your home. As most of you have learned by now, I recommend the completion of eight steps for each decorated room in your home. You will see in the new article “Mommy I want….”, I address the fiction rooms and list the completion of each step to help you understand each element. You can do the same. List on your check sheet the following steps:

1. Flooring

2. Walls—Trim—Molding

3. Furniture

4. Window Treatments, Bedding ensembles, Accent pillows

5. Lighting

6. Artwork

7. Accessories

8. Floral/Greenery

Create a miniature color board for visualization and shopping. Another technique I have used over the years, when I’m shopping for a model or customers project, is to staple a small clipping of wallpapers, paint, fabrics etc. to the inside of a manilla folder. Grouping each room together in a small area. This allows you to have a quick reference guide for all the areas you are working on. This is especially helpful to someone who is building a new home or decorating several rooms at one time. Of course this does not fit into a purse, but if you are out looking for specific items for your home, it’s an easy thing to carry around.

I hope you enjoy what’s left of your summer, and we will look forward to cooler days ahead. Be sure to check out the new articles and tips on the website! Until next month……….

HAPPY DECORATING!

SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW - CREATES A TIMELESS LOOK.

Decorating with a mix of architectural fragments, antiques, family treasures, old furniture, new furniture and modern building materials will accomplish a wonderful eclectic, aged look. This style is very popular in today’s decorating, and allows you tremendous freedom in decorating choices. Most of us have accumulated a variety of items throughout our lives that will work very well, saving us money in the long run. Finding new items is easy, they’re everywhere. Here are some ideas for finding the old, aged look.

Look in old salvage stores for architectural elements that can be used as dividers, doors, window dressings, pedestals, accessories etc.

Walls that are faux painted to look old are a great foundation and provide the perfect color backdrops for your furnishings and fabrics.

Use old furniture as end tables, coffee tables, and focal points. This mixes very well with new upholstered furniture. For example: I used an antique cobbler bench as a coffee table in front of my family room sofa for many years. It added charm and always conversation.

SOMETHING OLD - SOMETHING NEW - CREATES A TIMELESS LOOK.

Old garden furniture can be brought inside. Let the ruts show through the paint.

Old painted furniture, with chipping and peeling blends well, found at antique stores, garage sales, 2nd hand stores, etc.

Vintage fabrics found at antique stores, antique shows, yard sales, Grandma’s closet etc.

Much of what can provide a “timeless feel” is the choice of materials. “You can’t beat nature. It’s already old.” Liberal use of wood and stone throughout a home, will reflect age and charm. Heavy timbers that have been distressed will look like century old beams. Wood floors left natural, with a low luster polyurethane coat will give a wonderful texture to your floors, especially if they are a wider plank.

The most important tip to remember, if you are mixing old and new, is to keep consistent with your colors, as they will become the unifying element to the eclectic mix of styles and finishes.

What Hue Are You?

Match your personality with your favorite colors and find ways to combine the hues you love.

All About Color

Warm Colors

Because we see colors with our hearts -- not our heads -- they have the power to put us in a variety of moods. Read on to learn how your color preference reflects your personality.

For some, a warm and cozy red library or fireplace room makes an ideal gathering spot. Others would trade the intensity of red for a blush of rose with the same tonic effect.

In dining areas, ambers, peaches, or corals spark appetites and electrify the conversation; lemon, jasmine, and golden yellows unleash creative juices in studios and home offices.

Pacifying Colors

Pacifying colors -- blue, green, and purple -- stay reservedly in the background, cooling, calming, and reenergizing weary spirits. Put them in rooms for resting and refueling.

Pale, serene greens slip quietly into a living room, bedroom, or reading room, hushing it with a whisper. Medium greens connect to nature, grounding and freshening the spirits of a home office, family room, or spa. Deep greens comfort a library, bedroom, or sitting room. But lime and parrot greens tend to waken and activate.

Blues and Neutrals

Blues and purples work meditative wonders. Pale azure and glacier blues wash a room in coolness and unstructured serenity. Proud, strong blues work responsibility and contentment into the mood. Pale purple-blues prompt reflection and dreaming.

Neutralizers are the "noncolors": browns, beiges, grays, and white. Perfect for neutral territories of the house, such as kitchens or baths, these colors bridge together rooms, other colors, and moods. They neither activate nor pacify; they blend, combine, and cooperate.

White, another neutral hue, brings out openness, airiness, and an expansive spirit. It generously welcomes other colors into a room, framing them and showing them off to their best advantage

Activating colors, such as yellow, orange, and red, move forward, warming and cheering, and inspiring conversation in varying degrees. Red, the intense one of this group, sparks emotions forcefully. Orange applies less pressure, and yellow merely suggests.

If these extroverted colors please you, put them to work in the activity rooms of your house. Ruby, raspberry, or brick reds pack a punch in entries or halls. Even people who can't relax amid strong colors find a short spurt of red's exhilaration comfortable as they pass through a brilliant hall.