When you're writing your New Year's resolutions, don't forget to add a few that will help your home be its stylish best in 2010. I asked a few of the designers I work with to join me in sharing their own decorating resolutions to help inspire you.
MARY CAROL: COMBAT CLUTTER
This year, I resolve to organize the clutter in my home. Since I can't seem to get rid of it, I might as well make it look pretty, right?
I've already begun my crusade by tackling Dan's towering mountain of newspapers and magazines. I found the perfect tool to get the pile of periodicals off the floor: a wall-mounted magazine rack. I first used this gorgeous black metal rack in a designer show home I decorated. I hung two racks, one above the other, in the home office and liked the look so much I did the same at home, next to Dan's favorite reading chair. The wall of periodicals reminds me of an English men's club and doubles as interesting artwork. Now, I'm ready to take on the rest of the clutter!
RICH: FRESHEN UP PAINT AND ARTWORK
For the price of three gallons of paint, Rich is going to transform the look of his living room and spare bedroom. In the past, Rich has chosen warm colors for his home, so this year he's going to try something new: shades of gray, from steel to oyster.
Once the walls are freshened up, Rich will rehang his artwork in brand new places. He's a big fan of switching out his artwork on a regular basis because that allows him to showcase a variety of pieces and experiment with different arrangements, from classically symmetrical presentations to kooky asymmetrical montages.
BETH: SPRUCE UP YOUR BEDROOM
Beth has worked hard to make every room in her home beautiful, but like most of us, she has neglected her own bedroom. So this year, she's resolved to make this tired room into a beautiful retreat.
Because fabulous bedding can take a bedroom from dull to dramatic, Beth wants her bed to be the focal point of the room. To make her existing bed more spectacular, she will affix curtain rods to the ceiling above the bed then hang luxurious curtain panels from the rods, achieving the look of a canopy bed on a shoestring budget. She's picked a color palette of white, cream and gray-beige fabrics for her bedding and is really going to mix up the textures. For instance, her dust ruffle will be rough burlap, which will provide an interesting contrast to her more refined monogrammed linen accent pillows.
BECKY: BREAK OUT THE CHINA
This year, resolve to use your most beautiful pieces in your daily decorating and entertaining. When you have guests over, bypass your everyday dishes and instead spoil everyone by setting a spectacular table featuring your china. Then, for daily dinners, mix in pieces of china, like a serving platter or a dessert plate.
In addition, use your china in your interior decorating. Fill a china bowl with fruit for a fast and easy centerpiece. Use your plates as artwork on your walls, mixing them in with existing montages, creating a grid or using them to flank a large piece of art. Prop plates in easels and use them as backdrops for displays in your bookcases or on your mantel.
NANCY: ORGANIZE HOLIDAY DECOR
For years, Nancy packed away her holiday decor in a hodgepodge of boxes stacked willy-nilly in her basement. When it came time to decorate the next year, she never could find what she was looking for. So last year, she resolved to finally organize her holiday decor.
She put up metal shelves in her unfinished basement and purchased plastic storage boxes and a label maker. When she packed away her decorations, she placed like items together and labeled the boxes. Once the boxes were neatly stacked on the shelving, she hung curtain rods from the ceiling and covered them with curtain panels to conceal the shelves.
(Mary Carol Garrity is the proprietor of three successful home-furnishings stores and is the author of several best-selling books on home decorating. Write her at nellhills(at)lvnworth.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
SHNS