Changes to the Blog +++

Hi Bloggers:

My apologies to all of you who posted questions during August and are still waiting to see your posting and my response. I have devoted myself to answering your questions over the past two years because I recognized that many of you do not have access to a professional decorator. The Internet now makes that possible and I have enjoyed helping you. But as the popularity of my site increased, I became overwhelmed by the volume and time required to answer each of you individually.

I intend to maintain this blog so that the collective ideas will still be available. I will continue to post my own blog entries on decorating subjects and update the site regularly. But I am asking for a $20 donation which will cover questions on one room or one exterior.

I hope we can maintain the same level of community spirit that helped make this blog a success. Buy receiving donations for my time on the blog, I can integrate your questions and my responses into my work day so I can continue to help where I can. More importantly, though, I want to be able to sustain this effort over the long term. My husband and I have college costs looming.

Finally, I have a special note to those of you who wrote to me with challenging circumstances, like roof damage from a hurricane or tornado or problems associated with buying a home for the first time. Your notes were humbling to me and I am grateful for the opportunity to help you.  Many of you returned the favor by helping someone else in need. I believe in devoting at least part of my time to ‘paying forward’ and I thank you truly for your efforts in carrying on this tradition. Given unlimited time and resources, I would continue helping all of you.

I am sorry if this sudden news is untimely. I assure you I am still engaged as a decorating professional and can be at your service if needed. Thank you for visiting Your Home & Color Coach.

Sincerely,

Barbara Meglis

Basement “Man Cave”

This basement renovation project started with a request for a palette of brown and purple. Coming from a couple with impeccable taste in furnishings upstairs, I knew this would be a fun challenge. We inserted some green into the mix along with a touch of copper and brushed nickel and ended up with more of an upscale version of the typical “man cave” (obviously there had to be two large TVs in the space along with exercise equipment, a bar, a kitchen, and a pool table).

We started with two support beams in the middle of a large space so we built a granite-topped bar between them and divided the space into a media area, a pool table area, and exercise gym.

Instead of putting the large TV on the focal point wall, we decided to build bookshelves flanking a gas fireplace with a metallic tile surround. The Monet print above the fireplace is a nod to “The Thomas Crown Affair,” the homeowners’ favorite movie and the movie of choice on “Opening Night.” The purple and brown leopard print on the little bulbous rocking/swivel chair is my favorite piece in the room. And it’s so comfortable!

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 a window to fit into it. Awhile back the trend was to update the interior lighting plan with recessed cans and spotlights, uplights, downspots, and all the specialized lamps you could imagine for your space. Now we’ve moved on to creating unique window plans to suit the house: clerestory, stained glass, enormous picture windows, and different styles of window mullions to fit the style of your house, from Colonial to Victorian to Mission. Even new homes can be made to look old — well sort of.

Word of caution: If you have an historic home or a home with a very definite style, you should try to repair the original windows before resorting to a replacement. There’s very good information at the following link to help you with windows in historic homes. Or any window decisions, for that matter.

http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Sandbar/5574/windows

If you have old wooden windows, paint the window sash and mullions a coordinating color (black looks spectacular) to add life to your home.  Those of us stuck with white vinyl are jealous…

Back from the Birthday

Hi Bloggers,

It must be spring as everyone has home renovation projects to get started. Lots of blog posts to respond to. I’ll work my way through them and will answer EVERYBODY’S  questions. If you don’t see your question posted yet, stop back again. I post them as I respond to them.

Thanks for visiting my site.

-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach

Dad’s 99th Birthday Party

Hi Bloggers,

I’m off to NY to celebrate my Dad’s 99th birthday on the 31st and will be back blogging on Wednesday night, April 1st (no fooling, really!).

More soon. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach

Color Your Spirits Bright

For years decorators have ignored an entire section of the paint color fandeck, labeling these colors as garish, for children only, or just simply in bad taste. Not anymore. Now colors like Mellow Yellow (Ben Moore’s 2020-50 that’s hardly mellow) and Bermuda Teal (2044-50) are making a fresh new statement of uplifting optimism in the design world. A splash of Marmalade (2016-40) or just a smattering of Sherwin Williams’ Gladiola (SW6875) cannot help but lift your spirits. Behr’s wonderful yellow green called Carolina Parakeet (410B-4) is such a happy color that even the name makes me smile.

I wrote about this topic months ago when we started to watch our savings go down the tubes, etc, etc, (no need to drag us through a rehash of events), and today’s Boston Globe has a great article entitled “What is the Color of Hope.” Here’s the link:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/house/articles/2009/03/19/what_is_the_color_of_hope/

Even if you’re not planning any massive redecorating projects this spring,  adding clear happy color as an accent either on a wall, backsplash, or pillows on the sofa may actually improve your mood, enhance the good feelings in your home, and help you cope. A note of caution: If you decide to paint with these bright colors, be sure to mix in lots of white in trim, furniture and accessories not only to bring out the color but give the eye a little rest if needed.

Happy Spring!

Excited for Spring Spruce-Ups

Hi Bloggers,

It’s been ages since I posted although I’ve been busy answering your questions both on the blog and via email. Keep them coming. I’m happy to help you prepare for spring painting projects.

I’m working on a big basement re-do at the moment and I’ll have photos to post as we go along. I also have some new photos of the chocolate brown bedroom. Check back again.

Thanks for visiting.

-Barbara, Your Home & Color Coach

Over the River and Through the Woods

We’re off again to visit the family in Northern New York until New Year’s. I will check the blog as often as I can get to, yes, the library to use the internet. Might as well be in Siberia — my apologies to Siberia.  But, hey, it’s home.

Have a wonderful holiday and let’s blog in 2009.

-Barbara, Your Home and Color Coach

Color Your Spirits for the Holidays

Remember when the Grinch stole Christmas? All the trees, lights, stockings, and gifts –  the trappings associated with a wonderful holiday celebration– were suddenly gone? They had vanished during the night while everyone down in Whoville slept. What happened next in this wonderful Dr. Seuss tale was even more remarkable for its simplicity. Despite losing everything, Whoville didn’t seem to care. All the Whos down in Whoville celebrated anyway.

Of course, the story has a happy ending, but for many people this year,  the heartwarming bedtime story has led to a nightmare from which they cannot awaken fast enough. This year it truly feels a little like the Grinch has been here again. With the world-wide recession, job loss, and home foreclosures, many of us around the country are struggling to find that holiday spirit that we used to have and that we desperately want our children to experience in the midst of all this mess.

If you’ve had to cut back this year from your more typical shopping, decorating, and holiday festivities, you are not alone. Keep in mind that gifts can be simple (like homemade cookies), acts of kindness can mean more to people than more stuff,  and spending time with our kids is ultimately the gift they’ll remember long past any particular disappointments on Christmas morning.

And to lift our spirits and with the festival of colors inspired by a child’s gingerbread house, let’s all go a little crazy with color this Christmas.

Dig out that snowman sweater from the back of the closet and wear it. Often. It’s going to bring a smile to somebody’s face and that’s a good thing.

String a row of colorful neckties, like garland, from one end of the wall to the other. Your kids will think you’re nuts but who cares?

Fill a big bowl with scraps of colorful ribbons and little balls of leftover yarn and a few silvery mismatched ornaments and display it in the middle of the coffee table. Now you’re getting the idea.

The holidays don’t have to be the way we knew them as kids. Times are different now. But you don’t have to spend much, if any, money at all if you dig deep into your hope chest of creativity for some colorful decorating ideas that will raise your spirits and everyone else’s too.

Mary Myers Cole: An Inspiration

Mary’s gift to her little cousin Barbie: an eye shadow kit. It was a large gray plastic case that, when opened, revealed rows and rows of fabulous rich colors and came with several little brushes, perfect for experimentation, not on eyelids but on paper, like watercolors. I was hooked. Little did I know that decades later, I would look back at that gift (which probably had been free with a purchase at the Macy’s cosmetics counter) as one of my earliest inspirations and a huge clue that I would someday work with color. Mary had no idea at the time that her gift made such an impression. But Mary always made a huge impression on everyone she encountered.

Her love of art and color and style was evident just looking at her. From her tightly coiffed hair to her beautifully manicured hands, she was a study in elegance. And she wore her refined sense of color so we could all share her joyful effervescence. Her radiant smile and eloquent words spoke kindness and love to those for whom she cared most deeply: her dear friends at The Pines on Fire Island; her friends, neighbors and colleagues in New York and the art world; and her large network of family with whom she corresponded frequently.

Words cannot express how saddened we are by news of her untimely passing. Although she left us too soon, she left the world we live in a more beautiful place. Thank you Mary.