Simple ideas help beautify spaces
"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning, but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us." Hal Borland (1900-1978), American author, The Tomorrows -- December 30, "Sundial of the Seasons" (1964)
As another year comes to an end, I once again want to take this opportunity to thank you for reading Inside Spaces each week and for sharing your decorating issues with me. Enriching lives through our home environment is foreign to some, but not to me and not to you, my readers. I know how important it is to have just the right lamp, the perfect color in the floor tile, the most luxurious throw on the sofa and exactly how high to hang those pictures.
And while making sure the traffic pattern works in the public spaces of your home may not contribute to world peace, it will surely help those in your household achieve harmony. Being organized in your domain will add so much clarity and ease in your life you can't believe it.
Never underestimate the value and impact of a beautiful home. And that's whatever "beautiful" means to you. We may not share the same views on that, but we all agree that it's very personal. And thank goodness, we don't all like the same thing.
We know also that it's not about the "things," it's about the comfort and serenity our special belongings bring to us.
So, as we move into this new year, here are a few of my favorite fun tips that have served me well over the years. I hope some are useful to you and others may even make you smile.
1. Make your space look like "your" space.
2. Glass tables take up less "visual" space.
3. Ottomans make great coffee tables.
4. Use the rule of three, five or any uneven number.
5. Establish a focal point in each space.
6. All furniture in a room doesn't have to match; mix old and new or mix many, many patterns in a room.
7. You can put large pieces of furniture in a small space.
8. Buy furniture that has dual purpose.
9. Water features bring great calm to a room.
10. Pillows soften a room and make it more welcoming.
11. You cannot have too many pillows.
12. Every room should have some black.
13. Each room should have an anchor.
14 Don't put fresh flowers in a guest room -- your guests may have allergies.
15. Never buy blue carpet.
16. Make your patio an outdoor room.
17. Do not line your furniture up around the walls.
18. If there are too many "legs" in a room, drape the table or slipcover the chairs.
19. Plants make great softeners for hard corners.
20. Fresh fruit is an awesome accent in public spaces of your home.
21. Make your home office more like home than office.
22. Cover up "bad" paint cut-ins with trim, a fun stamp or molding.
23. Pick out one major wall or architectural feature and paint it a bold color.
24. Put "stuff" on top of your chests and cabinets. It draws the eye up.
25. Put a "fancy" rug in your kitchen rather than a kitchen rug to dress up the space.
26. Beds with comforters are easier to make than those with bedspreads.
27. Tables draped with floor-length cloths make great hiding places.
28. Dish towels make great napkins, especially for really messy meals.
29. Table runners can be used to make window toppers.
30. It takes about half a yard of fabric to cover a dining room chair seat -- and takes about 5 minutes. Change them often for new looks.
31. Every room should have a clock.
32. Hang a pretty shower curtain in front of your impossible-to-clean shower doors.
33. Be sure to use a floor mat under any kind of rolling office chair.
34. Hang pictures in groups.
35. Use up lights behind greenery or on top of bookcases to bring the eye up.
36. Everybody should own a hammer, a Phillips screwdriver, a glue gun and a heavy-duty stapler.
37. A soft chair or piece of furniture makes a standard bathroom more elegant and warm.
38. Every room needs greenery.
39. Angle your furniture if you can -- even in a small space.
40. Every room needs books.
41. Family photos are better in a bedroom or den.
42. Palm trees are the most elegant.
43. The best "live" flower is the orchid.
44. Bookcases are not just for books.
45. Group collections for a greater impact. Three or more is a collection.
46. You can put area rugs over carpet.
47. Rotate your accessories like you do holiday decorations. You don't have to use them all at one time.
48. It takes about 18 yards of fabric to cover an overstuffed, rolled-arm sofa.
49. You can elevate lamps and photos by stacking them on books.
50. Eye level is "your" eye.
51. You can mix artificial and live plants. Remember which is which.
52. In the cooler months bring out throws and area rugs to warm up the space.
53. A room that smells good and is neat will cover a multitude of clutter.
54. When hanging pictures center them between furniture and doors, not necessarily the wall.
55. Spaces should always be works in progress.
56. Dead plants and flowers will ruin the best interiors. Remove them quickly.
57. Tablescapes should have different shapes and heights.
58. Learn what a tablescape is.
59. Moldings dress up any room and add style.
60. Mix styles -- every room doesn't have to be Mediterranean.
61. Room dividers soften corners and can hide things. They also can divide rooms.
62. For your home office, take the closet doors off and put your desk, filing cabinets or the bulkiest piece in that space and it will make your room appear much larger.
63. It costs approximately 80-90 percent of the purchase price to reupholster furniture in comparable fabric.
From my home to yours, many blessings and happiness in the new year!
Carolyn Muse Grant is a founder and past president of the Architectural & Decorative Arts Society, as well as an interior design consultant/stylist specializing in home staging. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home section of the Review-Journal. Send questions to creativemuse@cox.net.
