pull your sofa OFF the wall!

In honor of "pull your sofa off the wall month" I'm sharing some of my favorite client transformations with you.

Moving the furniture around in your rooms can transform a space in ways you cannot imagine until you do it (or hire somebody to do it!).

This wonderful client hired me to help with color, window treatments, accessories, flooring and while we were at it, we rearranged the furniture in this difficult living room.

The room had a large sofa, love seat and matching chair, in addition to a few tables. The challenge was a doorway on one wall, two windows on another and french doors on a 3rd.

We found a great arrangement during a "mini-redesign," completed in under an hour with the help of the client.

(before, the furniture was all placed against walls, but was too far apart for conversation;
oh, and there's the issue of the wall color, window treatments and carpet, but we took care of that too!)

(after, we removed the large upholstered chair and moved the love seat off the wall to form a conversation area with the sofa. Once the color and floors were complete, we accessorized and added an area rug to anchor the space).

(after, floor plan — we added a side chair and table across from the sofa and love seat.
this arrangement promotes conversation and leaves room for foot traffic from the doorway to the french doors.)


(before, love seat and sofa across from each other, but too far apart for people seated there to really interact).

(after, a place to sit and chat, with room for getting around and through the room).

Ideas for great spaces:

• Consider breaking up matching furniture sets to create a more modern look,
  
• Not all pieces from a set need to be in the same room and often don't always fit in one room (we moved the large chair to the master bedroom in this house),
• Switch pieces with other rooms to create great pairings with your existing pieces,
  
• Add a throw and pillows to break up a matching set that need to stay together.
  

One sofa remained against the wall, but the other pieces came out of hiding and joined the party!

If you have multiple openings (doors, doorways and windows) and traffic flow challenges in a room in your home, consider bringing your furniture off the wall — it can make a big difference and give your room new life!

happy decorating.

Oprah says...

Well, her magazine says (and isn't it filled with her ideas?) that if you force yourself to be creative you can have fun redecorating your living room!

In her Jan. issue, Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, writes about "How to Break FREE," and mentions redecorating your living room.

"Getting unstuck requires serious innovation.
Here's a snazzy little trick from Oprah's favorite right-brain creativity expert, Daniel H. Pink, to get your creativity flowing."

Remember, you are supposed to thinking about your sofas in a new way this month. "Pulling your sofa off the wall" should challenge you to think outside the box when it comes arranging the furniture in your home. Or, it should encourage you to read my blog to learn about new ways to arrange your furniture.

happy decorating!

where is your sofa?

Happy February!

I've declared February "pull your sofa off the wall" month (yes, you can name a month!) because there are so many sofas out there that have been pushed aside, backed against the wall and not allowed to shine in the way they can and should!

(BEFORE - this furniture arrangement didn't allow the family to maximize the functions of the rectangle-shaped room)

I understand that deciding where to place the furniture in your rooms is hard (that's how I stay in business!), so the easy, predictable position - against the wall - is an obvious first choice.

But you want to be original, not obvious, right? Furniture placement is the most important aspect of your room's design. Really. An ugly sofa in the right spot is better than a beautiful sofa in a terrible position. Placement is king because function is king. Add quality pieces and color and you've got it all (but that's another post)!

Don't get me wrong, there are many rooms where against the wall IS the best position for your sofa, but not every room.

(AFTER - the new arrangement includes a conversation area, lines the pieces up with the window, the fireplace and now most seats face the television (not shown); the space behind the sofa is now hidden storage!)

I'll celebrate this month by showing you how to arrange your furniture in ways you may not have considered. And the sofa is the first thing you should consider in a living space, so we'll begin there!

I think this is a cupcake-worthy occasion, don't you agree? So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of milk and peel off the wrapper of your favorite cupcake and let's make you and your sofa happy!

Ground hog sale @ the Old Lucketts Store

I love a great find! Combine a great find with musical ground hogs and an appealing sale promotion and I'm there.

The Old Lucketts Store, in Leesburg, VA, is holding their 14th Annual Ground Hog Sale Feb 5 - 7.

"Killer deals on one-of-a-kind items will make you want to sing and dance like
a rock star — you can't miss it."

If you've never been to their store and Design House you should make the trip for this event. A ground hog wouldn't lie, right?

Happy decorating!

HUEmor me: decorating with ivory & cream

Happy New Year! I took some time off from blogging, but now it's time to get back to sharing my decorating thoughts with you (aren't you lucky?).

What better way to start the year than with a look at color? I have been in love with cream and ivory lately. It's so clean and fresh and makes any other color pop. A great way to help your favorite colors to shine is to pair them with a great neutral and cream/ivory does that job perfectly.

My life contains two messy kids and chocolate brown dog, so I have to live with and wear cream sparingly, but it always makes me happy when I do so! A scarf, a soft throw on a sofa or a ceramic vase can lighten and bright anything they touch.

(A lovely ivory room with great pops of green, design by Victoria Pearson.)


(Blue, green and cream! The warmth of the cream color allows everything else to stand out, design by Annie Selke.)


(A soothing room that wraps you in warmth. The subtle pattern on the sofa and chair are a nice surprise, design by Jason Bell.)


(Orange is so very happy in this ivory room.)


(The beautiful wood table and the strong color of the chairs are the stars of this peaceful room, design by Kay Douglass.)


(The pale aqua blue throw and pillows are a happy greeting in this light and lively room, design by Ginger Barber.)

Try out a dose of ivory in your spaces — it might be just the kick your room needs to make the other colors and feature SHINE!

Happy decorating.

faux snow - my 13th favorite holiday decorating item!

I am surrounded by about 2 feet of snow here in Elkridge, MD. A blizzard blew through here Saturday and we had a ball playing in the snow all weekend. So, it's funny that my final favorite holiday decorating item is faux snow!

Snow is so pretty, why wouldn't you want to bring some indoors for the holidays?!

(Faux snow from Pottery Barn.)


(The snow grounds this lovely holiday decor.)

Toss some on your shelves, around displays, in glass containers or on a tray. Instant winter!

(More snow-filled decor, from Pottery Barn.)


(My own little bit of snow....there are three of these stacked on three shelves.)


(This is my favorite snow decor - metallic, evergreens and glass - LOVELY - from Pottery Barn.)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Happy holidays!

bells & mirrors - my 11th & 12th favorite holiday decorating items

I'm not sure why I'm combining bells & mirrors, but why not? My next two favorite holiday decorating items are bells & mirrors.

Bells are somewhat obvious with their jingle sound, but their shine and shape also appeal to me. My grandmother used to hang a garland of silver bells over a door way in her house and now I have that strand. I use it in different ways each year, but it always says "holiday" to me.

Here's an unusual take on bells for holiday decor, by designer Robert Rufino (as seen on housebeautiful.com).

(Paper wedding bells in red & white cover the banister, Robert Rufino designer)

Bells shaped as wreaths, star shapes or bowls filled with bells are other great ways to include this great decorating item.

(Bells in bowl with greens, easy right? From bhg.com.)

I love mirrors for the same reason I love bells - the sparkle factor. When placed properly they reflect light and create shine. I love them used as trays to hold candles, silver and glass containers.

You can also embellish your existing mirrors by hanging swags or wreaths in front of them.

I have also used them as backdrops to fire place displays (when you are aren't using the fire place for fires!). I wish I had some photos of mirrors with holiday decor, but I don't! Maybe you do? Send any pictures my way and I'll post them!

Happy decorating and lucky number 13, my last favorite holiday decorating item is next! Stay tuned.