We considered how to apply two wardrobe tips From Rita Wilson to our homes in a recent blog. Here is one more tip and its connection to decorating our homes.

“Your haircut and color tell people a lot about you.” OK, so you’re wondering how we’re going to connect hair to home, right? Well, it’s easy. Hair is one element of our wardrobe that stays with you no matter what. Of course, no haircut or color is permanent – thank heaven, but day after day, no matter what you wear, you’re wearing your hair. Given this, spending money on your hair is a better investment than any item of clothing, because it’s the most permanent part of your current look. In the same way, our home decoration budget should reflect this position. Spend your extra dollars on the most permanent and hard to change parts of your house: cabinetry, flooring and window treatments. Better furniture and fancy accessories can be added any time!

If you enjoy tips like these, to see the other tips in this series, click here.

In our last post, we took at look at the first wardrobe tip Rita Wilson discussed on a recent Oprah episode and how it could be applied to her home. Her second tip, “trust your own personal style,” can also be easily applied to your home.

Over the years, have you found yourself drifting from your own taste due to the influence of others? When you look around your rooms, do you feel proud of how well your space reflects your personal style? By spending time with magazines and catalogs, as well as visiting model homes and shopping, start planning what you need to do to make your space match your style. Make a plan to turn your home into a place that fits you. Even if it takes a while for your budget to make the changes happen, you can be proud that you are moving in the right direction.

Whether you’re talking about your living room or your closet, take advantage of these ideas to enrich your look and your space. Your home can be a true reflection of your taste and style, which will make your home your own, and make it a place where you love to live. We can help you.

For insights into converting more wardrobe tips to home tips, click here.

Rita Wilson, actor, producer, and style columnist for Harper’s Bazaar, recently put together ten wardrobe tips to help you look fabulous no matter what your age. Watching her appearance on a recent episode of Oprah, it struck us that many of those same tips could be applied to our homes.

Her first tip, “If you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it,” applies in an indirect way to our décor. Do you have furniture, accessories or other elements in your home that are dated, worn, or otherwise unsatisfactory? Consider whether you want to keep them, or if it’s time to eliminate or replace them. If your carpeting is aging, or you’re ready for a new look, what’s stopping you from making changes – bit by bit to match your budget – so that your home doesn’t look like yesterday’s space. Can you separate the “classics” in your home from the out-of-date items? Like the clothes in your closet, it’s important to keep your home’s look current.

Just like you can update an old dress with a new belt, updating your home might mean just moving accessories from one room to another, or even redoing something.

Stay tuned for more tips like this!

Applying Basic Feng Shui Ideas to your Home: Part 3 – Change Your Space, Change Your Life

How long has it been since you really looked at your home with the eyes of a stranger? Start by walking in the front door and go through every room in your home. Unless your home is brand new, and sometimes even then, you may discover dead plants either inside or outside, a few boxes that you’re planning to sort through sitting in a corner, a stack of magazines you haven’t had time to read, and possibly some laundry that needs folding. According to Feng Shui concepts, your life is stagnating when you have neglected areas in your home.

According to the principles of Feng Shui, various spaces in your home as defined by compass directions represent different areas of your life. These include health and family (east), career (north), education and self improvement (northeast), wealth and prosperity (southeast), marriage (southwest), fame and recognition (south), children and personal creativity (west), and mentors and friends (northwest). Proponents of Feng Shui have recommendations as to steps you can take to improve your life in each area, which you can explore by reading a book on Feng Shui or searching the Internet for more information, but the most important factor is addressing uncompleted projects or ignored problems.

Do you have holes in the wall from pictures you moved? Fill them. Does a window lock need repairing? Fix it. Have you postponed any basic home maintenance either inside or outside the home? According to Feng Shui, wilting plants in sight of the career area of your home can lead to a drop in your job performance; keeping files of old papers that are no longer useful are taking the space you should be leaving for new projects. Want to make room for a new and better life? Clear out and fix the old problems first.

It’s easy to see the psychological benefits from making these changes, and certainly your home will look better. Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not, why not make some changes and see what happens? If you need our help, all you have to do is ask!

Applying Basic Feng Shui Ideas to your Home: Part 2 – Corners and Curves

Many people have heard of Feng Shui, but most of us haven’t explored its concepts. Although the practice involves many steps and years of study, there are valuable insights anyone can apply to a home.

Feng Shui means “the wind and the water” and focuses on the placement of furniture and accessories to create an energy-filled and inviting environment. You may have noticed that some rooms are naturally welcoming, where party guests tend to gravitate. Other rooms feel uncomfortable. According to Feng Shui, the placement of furniture and other home items affects the movement of “chi” or the living energy of nature. Even small changes can make a room more pleasing and enjoyable.

One fundamental of Feng Shui is avoiding sharp corners and edges, or compensating with curves. Have you ever walked into a commercial office and found the reception area cold and unfriendly? Often the furniture has sharp corners and there is very little soft material in the space. To Feng Shui adherents, these sharp corners and edges create “poison arrows,” or inauspicious energy. To compensate, furniture and accessories with rounded edges or plants can help eliminate the poison arrows. Think about it, adding a few plants or circular ottomans would warm up a commercial space, and make it feel more welcoming.

Take a look at your home, particularly your entry way and living room. Are there only sharp corners and lines, or have you softened your space with curtains, plants and pillows? Do your chairs and sofa invite sitting, or discourage it? Does your home have a welcoming energy? If not, think about what you can do to change the chi in your space – creating the kind of positive energy that makes living more enjoyable.

Applying Basic Feng Shui Ideas to your Home: Part 1 – Clutter Control

Many people have heard of Feng Shui, but most of us aren’t sure what it really is. Books on the subject can be confusing and hard to apply to the standard American home. Feng Shui does have some basic ideas that can make your home more inviting. Let’s look at how we can apply elements of Feng Shui into our own home plans.

Clutter elimination. For most of us, clutter in our home is a case of “out of sight, out of mind.” Our homes may look clutter free, but please don’t check our closets or drawers. In Feng Shui, clutter issues go to the foundation of a home. Closets and cupboards represent the inner workings of our minds, so if our closet is a mess, so is our thinking. Now, that may seem extreme, but think about how nice it would be to know exactly where everything is in your home.

This idea goes back to mom’s concept of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” This kind of clutter control is much harder than our standard approach, but once you complete it, you will find it much easier to manage in your own home. Want to wrap a package? You will know exactly where your paper, tape, ribbon and scissors are. Sewing on a button? Needle and thread only a step away. Getting ready to entertain? Grab your serving dishes without going on a hunt for them.

Now don’t feel obligated to turn your whole home into a source of controlled order all at once. Pick one area – maybe a constant source of your frustration – and get that organized. Maybe it’s your bill-paying place and process, or setting up a space for homework and school projects with all the supplies organized. Live with it a while, then add another space. In the meantime you’re making your life easier and maybe your mind a bit clearer too!

Debating between Laminate or Hardwood Floors? Here are Some Questions to Consider.

In many ways, the choice of wood or laminate is comes down to personal preferences and lifestyle. You may want to consider some of these personal issues before you head to your store, so that you are prepared to make a good decision.

How will the floor be used? Are spills going to be a way of life in that room? Will furniture be dragged around regularly? Are there clearly defined high and low traffic areas? Then a good laminate will look better over its life than wood.

How important is the feel and look of real wood to you in your home? Although laminates are remarkable mimics of a wood floor, the repetition of the wood grain doesn’t have the distinctions over a space that wood does. Many people never notice the difference, and the ambience is very similar. Be sure to visit somewhere with a good laminate floor before you make your final decision.

Can you live with the imperfections of a real wood floor? Unlike laminate, wood will age over time – with scratches, dents and fading. These issues can be more prevalent in a home with children or pets. Many people feel that this is part of the charm of a wood floor, but not everyone agrees. Think about what you are comfortable with in a floor.

How willing are you to spend time and energy maintaining the floor? Laminate requires just a damp mop to keep it up, while wood does better with re-waxing or polyurethane coating every few years if it is a finish in place application.

Both laminate and wood floors have much to recommend them. It’s up to you to determine which will work best for your lifestyle, your personal preferences, and your home. No matter which decision you make, you will be happy with your choice as long as you select a good quality product and a reliable installer. We are here to help you determine what’s right for your lifestyle, so don’t hesitate to ask us any questions to help you decide!

Ready to take a chance on color? Some tactics for increasing your likelihood of success.

Are you ready to add colors to your home but aren’t sure where to start? Well, start with your closet! I don’t mean paint it bright pink, I mean that you already know your color preferences. You choose them every time you go shopping for clothes. Pull out your favorite three or four outfits. What color trends do you lean toward? Choose one or two and actually drape them around the room you want to redecorate. Move them around and change outfits until you find colors that work in the space.

If you have trouble visualizing clothes as furniture or accessories, wrap them over pillows or vases to resemble furnishings. Does this sound strange? It may be, but it works! Thinking about an accent wall? How about draping a sweater in the potential accent color over a picture hanging on that wall? You can narrow your color choices down to the ones you think will work best in that room.

Once you’ve discovered your colors, call us. Let’s work together to use your colors in your home to get you the look you want. If you want, bring your selected clothing along with you and we can find samples that match, or come close. You know you can’t lose; you love those colors enough to wear them! Let’s get started, together!

The Effect of Lighting on Color – Why Colors Change in Different Lights and Making Sure Your Color Choices Work

Have you ever noticed that fabric looks different under different lights? That’s because light itself has a color that affects the look of anything it shines against. At one time, the most common light at home at night was incandescent light, which is the light from a standard light bulb. Incandescent light is a warm light with a bit of a yellow tone. Fluorescent lights were generally only used in offices, and tend to give everything a cool bluish tint. Natural light – or sunlight – is perceived as the most neutral light. However, it is affected by the colors emanating from our sun. On another planet, “natural” light could be anything from blue tones to reds, depending on the type of star.

Since daylight is the most common lighting in our homes, when you’re selecting colors for your home, your best light source is natural light. Bring your fabric, flooring or furniture choice to the closest window. You may be surprised at how the colors change. At home, if you want that natural light all the time, look for full-spectrum compact fluorescents for your light fixtures. These lights are the closest in color to natural sunlight, and they have the added advantage of saving you energy. If you live in a climate with limited sunlight during the winter months, using full-spectrum lighting in your home can also make you feel better.