When the temperature goes up, we are ready for the beach! No matter the location or price range, a cool color palette of cream, sand, and blues creates a soothing space. With the most popular wood floor a sandy/grey neutral, the next step is upholstery with a casual inviting look. All of these elements can be quickly changed to some holiday pops of color, but for now will continue on with a cool look for summer. Art with sky and or water will carry the feel throughout. Accent pillows pick up the tones. Many options of upholstered chairs have swivel options and do not look like Grandma’s chairs! Rugs with neutrals and blues pull the seating areas together or add a bedroom accent. White is a great bedroom look and again bring in the blue accents. Get the breezy feel whether you are in the desert or on the shore!
A Perspective on the Real Estate Market
With a white-hot real estate market, the time to transition to different digs is here! Sell high, buy high. More options should become available as boomers sell the family home or first empty nest home. Where should we go? Adult community with activities and others to socialize with? Near family? Your favorite locale? Certainly, with the changes we have made in the past year we have reflected on what is truly important to us. My clients have decided on comfortable chairs and ergonomic workspaces no matter what age! Swivel rockers and reclining chairs from contemporary to traditional are in demand! AND if you want it all perfect you may be building a new home in your old age! Why compromise in the years when you will be at home the most and may have special needs? Find a good team and create the best age-in-place environment for healthier living.
Happy St Patrick’s Day
Get out the green! It has been the best year to use what you have!
- A cream tablecloth
- A square of shamrock fabric in the center of the table
- Plastic green plates usually used outdoors
- Napkins used for other holidays
- Antique Japanese plates my mother-in-law gave me
- Guinness all around
- Reuben sandwiches either purchased or easily made with corned beef or other meats and cheeses as long as you add the sauerkraut!
- Shamrock cookies for dessert
Voila! You have a festive gathering with very little work! Don’t you love themed parties!
Interior Baseboards
Tip of the day! The Dunn Edwards Evershield Exterior paint is the best for interior baseboards! Who knew? I became more involved with paint selections while choosing colors for my projects only to discover that the painter typically had an account at one store and no matter what company I specified they got a color match from the store with their account. AND it was often the least expensive option. That was one of the reasons I started LuxeSpecs.com. Now I specify color, company and finish. Sherwin Williams is the largest paint company. Behr and Benjamin Moore are also great companies. However, I believe Dunn Edwards makes great exterior paints for our intense heat. Developed originally for southern California and Disneyland, their lab is on the west side of Phoenix. Evershield is such a superior paint that they recommend its use for interior baseboards. Available in a variety of finishes, it has great clean-ability and spread-ability. Every day in design is totally different, while not usually at the paint store, it happens! Coming Next – an experiment with Farrow and Ball paint to see how much difference there really is! Stay tuned!
Getting cozy
Many times when my clients move they just want to settle in so we make the most of what they have. Later when they are ready to make improvements, we do upgrades. Most of my clients want the home to be refreshed every few years.
First you see the move in shot. We had a small rug under the cocktail table and could have used one or two chairs between the fireplace and piano. Now well into settling in, homeowners want to be comfortable and aren’t moving anytime soon. Reading and television viewing are priorities. You’ll see in the after shot, we added a rectangular rug with the curved sofa and fireplace to pull the new chairs together with the curved sectional. The bold black curves in the custom rug pull the television, hearth and piano together. A round black ottoman and round table between the chairs complete the new look.
Do you need a refresh? On most projects the timing is a little slower but my vendors are working hard to be safe while also maintaining their businesses.
Virtual Travel
We are on the short side of all this down time with vaccine roll out and one thing you might enjoy after Netflix, podcasts, etc. is visiting world famous museums! I have been to many of them. I have managed to go to the most significant on my travels but unless you read a guide, listen to one or have headphone dialogue you may not realize the significance of what you are viewing. Many times we are having a great time with friends or family and art history is not the top priority.
- Musee National Picasso – Paris Picasso’s estate, in lieu of taxes, donated many paintings, sculptures, drawings, ceramics and prints to. It is always insightful to observe an artist’s most personal possessions.
- Paris Discovers Picasso is a personal tour on YouTube.
- MoMa – Has a video showing his earlier work that he sold showcasing Cubism.
- Museu Picasso – Barcelona is also on YouTube.
- The Picasso Museum in Antibes’ Experience France video will further your understanding of the artist.
- Next travel to Musee National Picasso in Vallauris to explore later paintings.
- Go Spain TV via YouTube offers another collection.
- Museo Picasso Malaga in the city where he was born.
- Dialogues With Picasso explores 80 years of Picasso’s career.
Miss traveling, culture, learning something new? Have an adventure!
Part of this information came from the Wall Street Journal, Monday, August 24, 2020.
Transitioning Decorations to Valentine’s Day
We made it through the holidays! This year we had time to sort and showcase our decorations to their best advantage, eliminate dated or tired items and maybe add something new.
So now red can stay out (my favorite color). Eliminate the holiday decor but leave the candles and basics that will transition to Valentine’s Day and gradually add hearts! You don’t have to work so hard to put everything away at once. Enjoy all things red for December, January and February! Set a special place for coffee or tea while you have time to get out your favorites!
Backsplashes Offer a New Look for Your Kitchen
Are you ready for a new look in your kitchen in the new year? A great backsplash can give the entire kitchen an updated look! Your eye goes to a contrast in color so if you want pop then add a backsplash that is colorful. The entire area from the base cabinets to the uppers can be updated. Covering the wall up to the exhaust fan over the stove is also a good idea.
It can be paint in your favorite color or a pattern you find that you love. DIY down and dirty option – use chalk paint for color and you can write on it!
You can use tile or tile banded by narrower tiles of the same or coordinating colors to achieve the desirable height. (Put the cut tiles where they show the least if you can’t use all full tiles.) Ceramic or glass tile will have many options.
Glass, mirror, stainless or copper are a totally different look and again can be combined with tiles or used in specific areas. The smooth surface requires more cleaning so use accordingly.
You can use natural stone or quartz. Either the same surface as the countertop or a contrasting solid color. Backsplashes made from slab can be cut to fit the space in squares, rectangles or slab. We had black galaxy granite on the countertops and the backsplash of our last home. Natural stone does not have to be sealed every year as you often read. It varies from stone to stone. We never resealed the black granite backsplash and regularly need to reseal our current limestone.
Don’t know a kitchen remodeling contractor? The supplier will! Or ask your interior designer!
Looking for inspiration? Visit my Pinterest Kitchen board or the Countertops board.
