Holiday House Tour

As always, I'm a little late to the party, but I just found out today about the Hooked on Houses Holiday House Tour, and had to get in on the fun.

So here's the start of my holiday decor...it's still a work in progress, so stop back soon, as I'll be adding more, as soon as we get those holiday bins out of the hallway!

We have a family Christmas tree, that I lovingly refer to as the mosh pit, because it's fully loaded with every kind of ornament you can imagine, from ornaments the kids made to the Incredible Hulk to blown-glass Santas.

Because the mosh pit tree is a family endeavor, the decorator in me needs to just enjoy the fun of putting up decorations with the family, and not be a dictator about the exact placement of every. single. ornament.

Therefore, I have my own tree. Known as Mom's tree. My tree lives in the low-traffic living room. Here it is...



Yes, indeed, it is seafoam green! Isn't it glorious!

And since I have a bird problem, I decided to decorate my tree with strands of pearls, delicate pastel ornaments, and lovely birds!

Here are some of my fine feathered friends...



Of course, I've taken a lot of flack from my family for my bird tree. My husband and my teenage daughter poke fun at my birds, and my sister thinks it's "creepy"...


...and between my standard poodle - a proven bird dog - and my cat who clearly needs a job with the Department of Hunting and Fishing - there is a fair amount of bird hunting going on in my tree...


...so I have to sit around and guard my tree much of the day, but it's not so bad, because I get to admire its loveliness all day long!


Another wonderful result of my bird tree is that my 8-year-old son enjoys sitting with me, asking me, "What kind of bird is that, Mom?" and we talk about all of the birds. Can't get any better than that!

Stop back soon to see the mosh pit tree!

A Bird Problem

According to my sister, I have a bird problem.

No, I don't have a flock of annoying Canadian geese over-running my yard.

Actually, it's more that I like faux birds and enjoy decorating with them as well.

Along those lines, I made this lovely little bird assemblage...


A faux bird appears to have nested in a vintage purse...


I had it listed in my Etsy shop, AngArtica, but as soon as someone expressed a shred of interest, I realized that I didn't think I could part with it. So I decided to keep it & find a home for it in my own home.


Sigh. Will I ever become a minimalist?

Probably not.

Table on a Budget

This year, because money is tight, the theme for our Thanksgiving table was "don't buy a thing" decor. Also known as "use what you have decorating".

I wanted to do something different from last year, so I went on a treasure hunt, and scored!

First, I gathered up a couple of tree branches that I've been hording for a while. (These branches have been close to being thrown out more than once by my husband!) I gave these lovely branches a quick spray painting with an off-white that I had in my garage.

A trip to my basement yielded a couple of blue candles, as well as a couple of small blue mod floral plates. I gathered up some faux pearls and a faux bird.

Then I threw it all together and here's what I came up with...



The brown tablecloth & napkins were purchased for last year's holiday...


And the plates are a combination of two sets, since I don't own a large enough set for our once-a-year big event.


Not too bad for $0!

I encourage you to set your holiday table using a $0 budget if money is tight in your household. After all, the holidays are all about spending time with family and friends.

Virtual Decorating

Recently, I took part in an interesting event - I delivered a virtual decorating workshop on Etsy.

Basically, it was "e-decorating" - I made decorating suggestions, using handcrafted products from various sellers on Etsy for this room...


The homeowner wanted to "modernize" the room.

It was a fun process, and I wrote a follow-up article, Black & White & What All Over? that your can read here.

The homeowner has purchased many of the suggested items, so hopefully we'll get an "After" photo soon...

The Things We Don't for Love

Don't let this happen to your house...

With Valentine's Day fast approaching, it's time to think about giving a little loving to your house.

Home maintenance is an oft boring topic, in addition to being all too darn time consuming!

But after working recently with a couple planning to put their house on the [very bad real estate] market in the fall, it reminded me of the importance of keeping up with the very dull & time-consuming reality of home maintenance.

My clients have lived in their 50+ year old house for almost 15 years. Over time, they, like many of us, have kept up with the big-ticket repairs, which are important to the upkeep of any home, but have forgotten about some of the smaller things.

Now that they're planning to put their home on the market, they have to scramble to fix years of minor neglect - nothing earth-shattering - just time-consuming, at a time when they have plenty of other things to do.

Not to worry about them, because after a marathon four-hour pre-staging appointment, I have given them an exhaustive list of everything that needs to be fixed, cleaned, changed, or somehow improved to get the most money in the shortest time when they list their home. Especially important in a downright lousy real estate market. And they are on-task and on-target to make these improvements by the time spring rolls around.

The time I spent with them got me thinking...unless you're a clean freak (and I'm not...remember, I have a dirty little secret), you may be letting these little things go too.

I know the drill, because I'm an expert at it myself. With work, kids, family, dogs, activities, and whatever else you have in your personal mix, there's not a lot of time.

And besides, you're not planning to sell your house soon anyway, right?

At least that's my thought process...and as a professional in the decorating & staging business, I should know better!

Sometimes, unless you're one of the 596 remaining clean freaks that live in North America, you let it go.

How about a different perspective?

When we sold our last house, and I was completing the laundry list of things that had to be cleaned, tidied, or shined before the for sale sign arrived, an amazing thing happened...

I realized that my house looked beautiful, and that I loved it.

Then I wondered, "Why the hell didn't I ever do all of this grout cleaning, lime build-up removing & generalized spit shining for myself? Why only do it for some stranger that might buy the place?"

So, I vowed to do more of that minor maintenance for myself in our new home.

Of course, much of that vow has gone by the wayside.

However, in honor of Valentine's Day, I'm proclaiming February as Love Your Home Month! Instead of thinking of all the things we don't do for the homes we love, let's do a little something for the home we love.

For my home, February will be clear the clutter month. How about you?

Ladies & gentlemen, get out those scrub brushes and love your home!

And someday when we decide to sell this home and move to our next space, whatever or wherever that is, maybe, just maybe, we won't have to spend precious time undoing years of living.

My Dirty Little Secret

Door to Chaos...

I have a dirty little secret...it's called my *house*!

I know, I know, as an interior decorator, I'm supposed to live in a showplace. In fact, I'm almost certain that it's at least a state, if not federal law.

A law that I break on a daily basis.

Somebody call the decorating police!

Of course, as with most people who live a secret life, I have scads of excuses...not enough time, messy kids, messy husband, too much stuff, waiting for the perfect furniture piece to come along, I want to live in a house for a while so it can speak to me, etc.

But the bottom line is that I'm a perfectionist & wait until all of the planets are in alignment and the world is perfect to decorate my house with the precision of a surgical strike.

It's strange, how I can go into another family's home, and not only can I sense their style & the direction they want to take their home, but I can take action and make their decorating dreams come true. Now!

But like the nurse with sick kids and the landscaper without a lawn (yes, we lived next door to that guy when I was a kid and it nearly *killed* my stepdad, with his perfectly manicured fescue!), I put my clients' homes before my own.

No longer!

This year - actually very early in this year - I pledge to get a move on, and finish decorating my house!

No more inviting strangers into my living room and listening to them ask when we moved in as I see them scan the unopened boxes! No more embarrassment as I ramble senselessly about why we still have boxes after a year and a half!

Nope, I'm on a mission!

I will decorate my house, and not just yours!

Starting today!

[Phew! It feels good to get that off my chest! And while I'm at it, I'll confess that I don't clean as often as I should.]

Stay tuned for updates on how I'm doing...

Moving in...

I received my January 2008 catalog from Anthropologie, and while most of their clothing couldn't even fit on my pinkie, I do love their style & photography.

Since the line between fantasy & reality is often blurry for me anyway, I decided that I'm just going to move into the Anthropologie catalog, since it is totally the kind of place I'd love to live...at least in fantasy.

It's rustic, yet classy, with all kinds of funky antiques and beautiful fabrics! Very European & tres chic! Who wouldn't want to live there? Well, probably a lot of people, including those who have a better grip on reality.

But for those of us fantasy dwellers, check out my new home.

You can get a better feel for the inside of my home toward the back of the catalog. In the front are mostly girls wearing finger puppet-sized clothing...