Spring Cleaning: Windows

Window cleaning is an important part of getting your home ready to enjoy as summer approaches.  


The first step is to clean the glass.  We like to use a homemade solution that works better than any commercial product we have found.  


Window cleaning solution:
1 gallon warm water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. dish soap

Pour all ingredients into a bucket, wash windows with a clean sponge and use a squeegee to remove.  This solution will clean windows without streaks both inside and out.


Next, step is to clean the blinds.  We like to use Swiffer Dusters Extender because they make this process quick and easy.  

Start by closing the blinds so that they are facing you.  Take the Swiffer Duster and run it from top to bottom sweeping dust as you go.  Repeat the process until the entire face of the blind is dust free.  Next open the blinds again and use the duster to get any remaining dust from the surface of the blind.


Congratulations!  Now you can sit back and enjoy your sparkly clean windows.

Mirrored Wall Project

Looking for a big splash on an otherwise boring wall?  You make want to consider this easy and inexpensive way to glam up a dining room, entry way or bedroom.  


For this project, we started with Ikea's Malma Mirror in Black-Brown.

Via Ikea

At $2.99 each, you can cover a big area for very little money.  Start by measuring the space you wish to cover and use that measurement to figure out how many mirrors you will need.  In addition, you will also need to determine how much space you want to leave between each mirror and add that into the overall measurement.  In this project we used 2 inches between each mirror, but since the frames are 3 inches wide that would also create a balanced look.

The frames were painted using  Ceremcoat acrylic paint in Metallic Kim Gold.  We only pained the top of the frame leaving the sides and interior the original black brown color.  This made the job easier as well as giving the mirrors a nice finished effect.

The final step is to place small nails in the grid pattern you have decided on.  Place nails 2 inches apart and hang finished mirrors.

Staging Your House the Feng Shui Way

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of enhancing positive energy flow and the resulting effect it has on life.  By utilizing some basic techniques you can enhance how a home that is for sale will appeal to potential buyers.

Staging to Feng Shui the Sale

Add Light:  Soft light is best, and the bulb should not be visible.  Mirrors can also intensify light, but be careful with placement.

Banish Clutter:  Cleaning and de-cluttering increase the opportunity for money to flow to you.

Use Plants:  Live plants or a good representation of live plants signify life.

Wisely Use Color:  To avoid stress and irritability, use neutral colors around the house.  To lift the chi, add flashes of color in the art or accessories.

Clear a Path:  Keeping your pathways clean and unblocked allows the wealth to flow into your front door.  Make sure you trim and bushes or shrubs that overhang pathways.

Hang a Gentle Wind Chime:  A wind chime actives the sound energy, greets visitors, and draws chi to your house.

Get Packing:  Packing to move sends a positive intention: You expect to move, you expect to get a sale - and you will.

* Taken from "Home Staging for Dummies" Rae, Maresh

Mad Men Chic

Via

Like many of you I rejoiced when Man Men finally returned to the airwaves last week.  Cocktail in hand, I breathlessly watched the new episode unfold and exclaimed, "great apartment!"  I was referring to Don Draper's new digs.  It seems that in the off season Don has gotten married, and with a new wife came a new Manhattan apartment.  It got me wondering, what would Betty think if she laid eyes on this new place?


With all of these Mad Men images brewing around in my head, I just had to create my own Mad Men inspired living room...

Sofa, Artwork, Lamp & Rug:  Crate & Barrel
Chair & Bar:  Design Within Reach
Coffee Table:  cb2
Pillows:  West Elm

Design Inspiration: Lonny Magazine

The editors and contributors at Lonny Magazine have produced yet another gorgeous issue that provides oodles of inspiration.  You can view the entire issue here, but I have put together some of my favorites that I wanted to share.

This room while beautiful, illustrates how a breakfast nook can be created in a very small space.  Design is so much about problem solving and finding a way to live in a home that you love.

I love the aesthetic of this room in general, but the faux moldings really make it pop.  These details are easily achieved using painters tape to mask the area and create the look of expensive mouldings.

I love this classic chair and it is perfect for one of my design clients.

I love the colors in this office, but I also am inspired to use tag boards in my own office to hand fabric, paint and wallpaper samples.

I love the graphic patterns and am contiually obsessed with sunburst mirrors.

This dresser is a very close match to the Ikea's Edland 5 drawer chest.  With a little bit of paint it could be a very close match, but at $299 for the Ikea version is a bargain compared to this $4940 price tag for this piece.

I hope my inspiration provides you with inspiration as well.

Painted Furniture Made Easy

Painting existing or purchased furniture can be a great way to save money and get exactly what you want.  

In this case we used an IKEA Liatorp coffee table that we purchased for only $199.  The lines of the table were perfect, but the white color was not going to work.  The price of the table allowed us to spend more on other more important elements of the room.

 

After attending a Benjamin Moore color trends seminar for designers last spring, I learned about a great new paint that would be the perfect choice for this project.  

It's called Advance and it provides all of the great qualities of an oil based paint with a easy water clean up. 

We began our project by removing the glass from the table and setting it aside in a safe place.  We then sanded the table with a fine grit sand paper and wiped the table with a damp cloth to remove any sanding residue.

After the prep work we were ready to get started painting.  It is important to use a good quality brush when using oil based paints to insure a smooth and desirable finish.  A great trick to get the right amount of paint on the brush is to place a rubber band around the paint can.  This allows you to dip the brush in the paint and easily run the brush against the rubber band to remove excess paint.

The paint itself went on extremely well.  Any brush strokes created during the application smoothed out as the paint settled and dried.  In around two hours our first coat was completed.

We let the piece dry overnight and applied another coat which provided a uniform finish.

Paint is a great way to make a statement with furniture, but also can be used to unify various pieces in a room in order to give a cohesive look.  I hope you feel confident and inspired to try this paint on your own project.

Luxe for Less

Would you believe you could take a $79 IKEA dresser and make it look like this?  Well that is exactly what you can do with a great new product called Overlays.  Overlays are fretwork designs that are made of composite material that can easily be applied to a variety of furniture pieces.  Overlays can be used to embellish new IKEA pieces or to "upcycle"an existing piece of furniture or a flea market find.  The results are impressive and the options are endless!

Check out this stylish copy of a classic Dorothy Draper Dresser.  The 1940's original (below) can cost as much as $4,000.  With a little time and effort you too can have the Luxe look for Less!

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