Last year during at the Interior ReDecorators annual conference, we were honored to have Susan from Sphere Trending as one of our Guest Speakers. So here are some of the points she made:
Local We're all learning how to support local and reinvent local.
Smaller Homes Like our forefathers, we're doing more in less space. By 2015, the average square footage of a home will be 2330. We've embraced the casual lifestyle of forefathers (and mothers, too). There is a massive movement to declutter and reduce - if you watch TV you see it on Oprah and the new "Hoarders" show. Too much stuff just isn't acceptable any more.
Modern Homesteading, it's called More and more people are doing home cooking and gardening. People are "cocooning" more and that is why it's important to have surroundings you love. The number of workshops in homes are going up.
The lawn is drying up. You'll see vertical walls green up with edible walls- Peas, green beans
Design Trends
Our lifestyles are more Casual today than every before. This casualness flows over to every design style. Walls are being knocked-down to accommodate this casualness. Glamour is more suble and sophisticated. Gone in many homes are living rooms.
Natural Elements This is influenced by the Craftsmen era. Distressed, rusty bronze. Native American textiles. Denim blues, nutmeg browns, redwood and goldenrod. Dusty Olive and charcoal. You'e see a lot of handscraped textures and simplistic cutouts. As well as vintage barn oak that's been wire brused come into design.
Modern by Nature Design to De-Stress our life. Modern, open scroll work. Cool, icy blue. Dusted, soft blues. Teal tones (grayed down). Rich walnut. Soft brushed gold. Pearly gray. Crisp white marble.
Industrial Era A lot of menswear fabric. Muted Maroon and dusty wineberry. Mahogany and oak with metallics infused in the stain. Gray, brown and caramel. "Library" styling: rugged leather with rivets. Vintage luggage look. Rugged casters on old pieces
Blissful Home This is whimsical design. This is the old casual country cleaned up. Soft amethyst, pretty aqua, coral sunrise. Fresh ginghams. Herringbone and etched surfaces. Soft baths and open shelving in kitchens. This is very similar to shabby chic of past years.
Crosstown Chic This is mostly for the Generation Now demographics. Bold Teal, magenta, electric orange, metro green, taxi-cab yellow. High gloss black and brushed stainless steel. "Text' (words) will be the pattern on fabrics.
It's fun to update you ...and for those of you who know me...use only colors and items in your home that bring a smile to your face when you see it!
10 Years of Frustration with one Room! Read this if you are AFRAID of having a Room ReDesigned Yesterday was a delight with Bren and Vic. Vic worked in his office and Bren was extremely nervous about me coming over, even though she wanted help with her Greatroom. I recognize that when you have me come into you home - your most sacred space for you and your family- that it can be very uncomfortable. Your mind is racing - what is she going to think of the house, what is she going to think of me, what is she going to say that I won't like? Trust me, I have done room ReDesigns long enough to "know" that this is what is happening with you.
Now, here's what I am truly thinking when I walk into your doors: I really want this room to feel great for this person. I want to observe all of your rooms to see the color palette you LOVE, I want to see what accessories you LOVE and work with your special things. I want to make this home even more enjoyable for you and your family. I want to hear what is bothering you with the room and how you ultimately want it to feel and look. I want you to love going into the room.
Quite a difference from what she thinks I'm thinking and what I truly am thinking. I'm all about making Dreams come true. Your Dreams, not mine. People are so afraid that I am judging them and their home. I feel the same way when I have people into MY home!
So Bren, from the south originally, is talking one thousand miles a minute. She told me to tell her to stop talking if I saw fit. But I didn't at first (like that "at first"?... toward then end, when she kept talking and I had gained her TRUST- so she knew I only cared about her and her room- and I said, it's ok to stop talking) . I felt it was important to hear from her every which way she had the furniture in the last 10 years that created this frustration for her.
Here's when she become mortified- I asked her to show me around the house, because I knew we were missing pieces. She apologized every time we walked into a room. Here is what I was doing- looking for items that I could use in the Greatroom- one of the first rooms you walk into when entering the home. Later, she was shocked with my memory of the items I asked her to retrieve for this room, just with this one walk-through.
Then I started asking her questions about everything in and about the Greatroom- how they used it, who used it- I needed information to fill in the gap so I could create the solution for her and give her the space she TRULY LOVED. I had two solutions. I started one way, and my strong intuition took over and said, go with the other way. Wise choice.
Two and a half hours later...we were finished and she was beyond estatic..I heard numerous times "I would have never thought of that!" from her. I know I have exceed a client's expectations when I hear those words, And I hear that wonderful statement often when I am working with my clients.
I was amused to hear her say a couple of times: "This is just like on HGTV! You do exactly what I think they are "staging" just for the cameras, that have been set up in advance." She was amazed this could really happen just as they show it on TV.
At the end, she finally confessessed and said, "I didn't think there was any hope or that you could fix this room because I had done everything in the room to make it feel better. Now I understand when you use an expert what a difference it makes."
We used Bren's own things that she loved. The only major, immediate purchases that needed to be made- 3 lampshades. She was left with a Design Plan for the future if she wanted to change some items- such as a larger sofa and an ottoman. Vic was so happy that his wife would no longer be moving furniture around and that she didn't have to replace the furniture- after 10 years of unhappines. What a cost savings for them. Using the Design Plan, there will be no costly mistakes in the future. And for less than $100 for lampshades the room feels and looks great- now she feels more comfortable having friends over. Their hospitality was so nice, Vic offered to take us all to lunch to celebrate. However I had to decline, I was running late for meeting a Move'N Designs client- to plan a fun, easy move.
Your home is a special place...are you truly loving it?
A Little Girl's room Makeover OK, where have I been? How do we get so busy. A couple of months ago, I worked on a Youn Lady's room- she was probably 5 years old. Mom and Dad had already painted it, it had a a nice antique iron bed and the valances that Mom had made. The bedding was white with adorable bright flowers and butterflies on it- just the girly type of bedding every Princess needs. It is an old home in Upper Arlington, so it has the sloping ceilings. So what did we do? We found out what kind of things the little girl loved to do, then created a room for her.
To open the room up, we changed the ceilings from white to a lighter shade of pink that was on the walls. Next, we had Mom sew more "valances" for around the top of the canopy- every little princess needs her curtained throne. And for the arts and crafts, a table with two chairs was recommended. Now what to do with all of that artwork? A bulletin board wrapped in fabric was just the wow factor- of course hung at her height so she could hang her own pictures.
She loved to read. So we recommended a white bookcase only about three feet high for all the books she would be accumulating over the years. She could add baskets to hide away toys to the shelf also. A storage ottoman was added (you know, the cube ones where the lid can be removed) for additional storage and seating in the room. The room just needed a place to play on the floor since it had hardwood floors- a fuzzy faux fur shag was added for the soft place to play. All of this for less than $700- extremely thrifty for people on a budget!
When working in children's rooms, SAFETY is first and foremost. So there were a few issues that I identified and pointed out to the parents: 1. The blinds had the draw strings hanging down to a level that the little girl could reach- strangulations have occured all over the country. I recommended a cleat be installed so the string is wrapped around them. 2. The book case and the dresser should be "bolted" to the wall in the event the children attempt to climb the bookcases or have all drawers pulled out at once and the dresser falls over. The father identified with this since he had done that as a child.
These parents felt focused and empowered once we had finished. They had a plan and direction. There was no ambiguity in the process. Once again, our Design Plan worked wanders for a family in need!
Over analyzing the Design Process AKA what's keeping you from Designing a Room People are so amazed at how simple a process Decorating a room can be when there are less options. People shake their head and look at me asking "how'd you do that?" It's because once I find out what the client ultimately wants, then there are very easy, simple steps they will take to reach the goal. In fact the process is so easy, some people can't believe it will really come true. Because they over analyze the information I've given them, many times they re-create the paralysis of being stuck again.
Another reason people into trouble and get stuck is because they ask everyone they know their opinion- and of course, most people's opinions are based on what "they" like, not what the homeowner likes.
Case in point: Theresa, a real client, had a color consultation with me. This home was a newly built home, and she had never had color on the walls outside of "builders white" in prior homes. She had gotten my name from the parents of her son's friend when the son said "mom, you must see the colors in the Smith's (real name) home- we need to have colors on our walls, too." Well, brave Theresa called me for a color consultation. She painted the family room and the kitchen and loved the colors. The living room color was quite a bit bolder than the other two rooms to make a dramatic effect as you entered the home. She hung her color samples for the room that I had sent to her. She was a little scare so she proceeded to ask everyone she knew what they thought about the color. Of course, they didn't think it would work because it was "too this, or too that." Finally, she called me and was frantic after about a month of asking peoples opinions. She couldn't paint the room. She was paralyzed. Because I am able to envision the final results, I knew it would be fantastic! She, of course couldn't see what I envisioned for the room and flow of color through the home. She told me that everyone said it would look horrible. I told her that now was the time to trust someone like she has never trusted anyone in her life. She was instructed to move forward and paint it. I then promised her that if she hated it, then I would personally come over and paint it "builders white" for her. Well, you guessed it- within two weeks, she called screaming and so excited about how beautiful the room looked.
I am generally called into someone's home to help them decorate because they have over analyzed the room so much that they have paralyzed themselves and cannot move forward. So this is what I do and you can do it too, because it's this simple: 1. Set a goal for what you want the room to look like 2. What are you missing to reach that goal? These are the simple steps to write down to complete your plan 3. Stick to your plan and don't waiver. 4. Don't ask friends and family member's opinions!
