Pre-Teen Bedroom Makeover

This cork board from the Pottery Barn Kids catalogue was the inspiration for Hannah’s bedroom renovation. We decided to open up her rather small room by painting wide horizontal stripes all the way around the room in three different tones of blue-green with a white stripe between them. The treatment conjured up, at least in my [...]

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Paint Your Old Golden-Oak Cabinets!

Saddled with old golden oak cabinets? Why not paint them. I did and it was very easy (though time consuming). I started by removing the doors from the cabinet base and unscrewing all the hardware. Then I lightly sanded all the surfaces. A good primer like Zinsser’s Bulls Eye 123 covered easily and provided a [...]

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When Roof Selection Becomes a Headache

Whoa! Does anybody else get a headache from this dizzying roof and brick combo? Although selected for the brochure of one of the major roof manufacturers, I find this photo to represent all too many not-so-great roof decisions. The brick in this home is very busy since it has a lot of color variation. Adding [...]

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Do My Windows Need Shutters? What color?

Most of our homes do not have as many windows as this beautiful historic Federal style house, but some windows just call out for shutters. If your house is a colonial or ranch style with double-hung windows (“six-over-six” panes of glass separated by “grids” or mullions), then you should consider investing in shutters to add [...]

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It’s All About the Windows

Whether we’re all craving light or fresh air, who knows, but the focus these days is on windows. And we’re not talking about the old standard white replacement models anymore, that’s for sure. Now we have choices from black to almond to green and even red. And whatever the shape of your space, we have [...]

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In Times of Trouble, Paint!

If you’re hunkering down to wait until economic conditions improve before making changes to your home, just remember that a gallon of paint costs only about $23 (Valspar from Lowe’s). I’ve moved to Valspar from Benjamin Moore (they don’t pay me so I can do that) because the paint is a better value. I have [...]

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How Current Events Affect Color and Decorating

For the past several years, post 9-11, we’ve cocooned in our homes painting them rich warm cozy colors like dark chocolate and rich rusty red, colors that evoke warmth and safety and home. Lately, we seem to be moving out of that intense color phase and into a new light phase with wall color being [...]

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My Old House is Just Not Me

Many of you have a modern aesthetic. You like clean lines, unfussy details, neutral colors, and minimal furnishings. You probably should have moved to a downtown loft space, but you are now part of suburbia. You write in that you’ve decorated the inside of your new home to reflect your taste, but the outside is [...]

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Bring Your Summer Vacation Home: How to Achieve the Cottage Style

If you own a cottage or rent one somewhere, you know what the cottage style is all about: old painted furniture, vintage fabrics, mixes of woods and different styles of furniture. It’s all about care-free and comfortable living because that’s what vacations are for.

To bring that feeling and more importantly the lifestyle home with you, [...]

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Updating Old Furniture

I love a bargain. And if I can get something for free, all the better. I got this wicker settee from a friend moving to a city condo and the chair was a consignment store find. Both original pieces were not so great-looking. The chair was a dingy “white” and the settee a pretty banged-up [...]

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