Colorado Creative Decor

Cottage style is used widely today. It is perfect when wanting to integrate vintage furniture and collections into the room.

“Jo’s School-House-Cottage-Retreat” is the style name I selected for the bedroom I’m currently working on. But, now that it is coming together, I think “cheery” and “cozy” should be added to the title. To walk into this space just lifts your spirits and you can feel the warmth and sunshine!

My client is also my friend – Jo Tucker. We’ve had many cups of tea in her hospitable kitchen/dining area. So, in the course of some of those tea-time-conversations, she asked me to help her begin redecorating her house. I jumped at the opportunity and together we began making our plans.

Jo is a retired schoolteacher who, after losing her long time mate,  wanted to move into another bedroom in her house to start a new chapter in her life.  She really wanted to incorporate some of her “school-house” collection into the room and indicated that she liked warm colors on the expansive color palette.  From the magazine pictures that she had pulled, I knew the ‘cottage’ look fit her tastes and lifestyle. However, the light filled room she wanted to move into only measured 11 x 11 which presented a challenge in placing the furniture she wanted to use. So, the work began.

After sketching out the room arrangement that involved opening up the closet to be able to house her large beautiful dresser, we went on a shopping trip together to select paint color and fabrics.

Then, my client and friend, was off to a much needed cruise while I began the process of executing on our ideas.

[Note: Our 'mess' was not staged to make it look worse.   It was due to Christmas and temporarily displacing Jo out of her other bedroom  accommodations.]

Cleaning out the work area is critical in making progress for new ideas. It also gives you a fresh perspective for the coming changes.

Removing wallpaper is work no matter how many tricks you know! So, if you are not hiring it done, make a party out of it. Invite a few close friends to come over for two hours or so. Give them a spray bottle of diluted fabric softener with water, a putty knife, turn up the music and let the fun begin! We actually, didn’t get any ‘takers’ on our invitation but it would be fun nonetheless.

Another project that was preliminary to the success of this room was refinishing the antique bed that had belonged to the Jo’s grandmother. We decided it would be nice to have it match the beautiful dresser in wood color so earlier, I began the process off site in my own garage.

To get a nice dark finish, you can use a black base coat. After sanding and cleaning the wood, I used oil base black and oil base dark walnut to attain the desired finish color. For the final coat, I sprayed it with semi-gloss clear lacquer.

Now…we get to paint the room! Even though I would not ‘bill’ myself as a painter, I did grow up in that phase of construction. My dad was a minister but he subsidized his income in being a painter. Later, after retiring from the ministry he began a painting business full time. Many others in my family circles have been or are currently in this trade. So, by osmosis, I can handle a paintbrush if I need to! I chose to be the designated painter on this project.

Our color palette was white, a warm yellow,  a soft yellow-green,  and red.  Very ‘cottage style’ colors! We used the yellow as our primary color, and white and the soft yellow-green as our secondary color and red and even a little black as our accent color.

Most of the woodwork was painted white but Jo wanted to keep her oak window trim, so we planned the window coverings to cover them to keep the white continuity going in the room.

The open closet was to be in our accent color. After taking out the doors, tracking, and readjusting the shelving (where I volunteered my husband to help me and took advantage of his attention to detail and perfection oriented work ethic), I patched the holes in the wall and primed the white walls with an inexpensive brown/black color to make the pretty red go on evenly and to be able to put on less coats of paint. [You can purchase miss-matched paint at your local paint store for very little money when looking for a primer.]

Jo was leaving her existing carpet, so protecting it was critical when painting. I used plastic drop cloths that you can buy by the roll, and taped off the entire room around the baseboard to provide a functional work space for painting.

Want to see the finished closet? I love it!

Pretty boxes were used to provide stylish storage. Vintage collectibles, quilts and daughter’s hand prints from days gone by gives a nostalgic touch.

To make the cottage look complete, you need the perfect ‘cottage’ window treatments. A good friend of  mine and Jo’s – Brenda Stewart,  offered to volunteer her sewing skills to make this room special for Jo. I gave her our selected fabric, a picture to look at and we were not disappointed! What a difference a seamstress can make!

Using red check gingham fabric and the soft green and red plaid – the look we were going for all came together. Brenda used plaid tabs on the gingham valance with gingham covered buttons. She also lined the panels and accented the bottom of each one with a red gingham wide border. Perfect!

To diffuse the light and provide privacy, I put up sheer panels underneath it all. We are getting there…

Tune in tomorrow to see the finished room! You’ve got to the see these adorable window coverings behind our refinished bed…all dressed up. And the unexpected furniture – re-purposed as a bedside table. I can’t wait myself!

One of the biggest gifts an interior decorator can have is being able to envision the end result. Walking into a room that is ready for improvement and a fresh look, they immediately begin to see the potential and what it will look like after all the labor and strain is over.

Have you watched those shows on TV where the decorator has a big idea that seems untraditonal and the homeowner has to trust that they can bring their ideas together into something acceptable?

The second biggest gift an interior decorator can have is to be able to communicate what they see to the homeowner. To help my clients be able to see the ‘vision’ I have for their space, I like to sketch a picture of the room arrangement and then build a story board inside a notebook. With the magazine pics they’ve selected, the fabrics, color swatches, flooring samples and materials we’ve agreed upon, it is fun to be able to begin to ‘see’ what will evolve into an aesthetically  pleasing and functional room.

As explained on my ‘Fees’ page along with the procedures on tackling a project, I love for the client to begin gathering pictures of what they like and what they love. Favorite colors, lighting examples, furniture arrangements all play an important role. It gives me a glimpse into their personality and preferences but also builds a foundation for the plans that will be formulated. With these tools, it is easier to envision the end result…together.

Getting organized can be fun! And the new year is a good time to start taking steps toward what I call “organized bliss.” I call it bliss because it feels so good to have everything where it belongs – and to have a place for everything to belong!

In my experience, ‘getting organized’ doesn’t happen overnight. So, simply taking steps toward this blissful goal is the best action.

First of all, choose one room. Then, choose one area of that room. Is it your bedroom? If so, choose an area in your bedroom that needs the most attention.

Here are some bedroom organization tips:

(1) Utilize the space under your bed for organized storage – not just kicking it under the bed. If your bed is higher off the ground, building drawers or storage units can provide a wonderful out-of-the-way retreat for lesser used items such as out of season shoes, scarves or hats. It can also be a great place for extra bedroom linens. If your bed is lower to the floor, re-purposing 4-6 inch tall boxes can provide the same utility.

(2) Corral those shoes! If you are a shoe-aholic, you may need to add a storage unit to your property, but for the rest of us – simply installing a shoe rack or canvas shoe bag in the closet will minimize tripping over stray shoes.

(3) Assess the use around your bed. Do you read at night? Do you need traditional end tables on each side? Do you watch TV in the bedroom? Organization expert, *Cathleen McCarthy suggests: “If you have limited space around the bed, ditch the bedside tables in favor of a headboard with cabinets to hold lamps, books and glasses. Look for tall, narrow dressers and armoires and corner cabinets to stretch your small bedroom’s storage space. Opt for a compact entertainment center for your TV, stereo and related media, or free up floor space by wall-mounting towers for DVDs and CDs.”  I like to remind clients that you don’t always have to purchase new furniture to achieve your goals, you can also switch out furniture from other rooms in your house or find pieces in storage to refinish to make this important space of optimal use.

(4) Ultra organize the closet. When we first moved into our 1980′s log house, the closets in our bedroom were two small closets (2 1/2 ft x 6 ft) that were in ‘L’ shape in the corner of the room with the ‘extreme frustration’ sliding doors. You know the kind that pop off the track every time you try to open them! We ripped those doors off and built a wall diagonal across the front of both, forming an open triangle walk-in closet. I painted the walls a pretty color scheme, we added stylish and efficient lighting, installed shelves for canvas baskets, changed the rods to form two levels on one side, moved in a small dresser that was in storage (after painting it up!) and now, I  love organized bliss in my closet!

(5) On the decorating side, if you want to take this new year’s motivation to the next level, clean everything out of the room and start completely over. This will be a good opportunity to put a fresh coat of paint on tired walls and woodwork. Choose a color that fits your personality but also the mood you would like to create for the bedroom. Starting completely over will also provide a clean slate for cleaning carpet or dusting down the hardwood floors under furniture to give a fresh beginning to the year.

You don’t have to live in clutter that has been proven to cause extra stress!

Take steps today toward organization bliss!

After all, getting organized feels good. And when you finish one area to achieve this organization bliss, you will no doubt be inspired to tackle another.

*From the quote on Tip #3, Cathleen McCarthy writes about home design for Country Living, New Old House, Smart Homeowner, Art & Antiques and AmericanStyle.

Color is integral to design and pleasing decor, so choosing the right color and/or color combination is important.

There is much to learn about color, but mainly there are two areas that give insight to this relative topic.

(1) Color Theory (2) Color Psychology

Without giving too much detailed information, I will give a brief overview on each one:

Color Theory

This is the color schemes and which colors compliment and go with each other. Using a basic color wheel, one can learn the basic color combination that make for pretty decors.

Color Psychology

Colors in the red, orange and yellow families are called “warm” colors and can emanate warmth and energy. Colors in the blue, green and violet family are called “cool” colors and can bring relaxation and peaceful feelings.

With just a bit of basic color design…let’s  color me pretty!

Ready to start your project? Leave a comment and I’ll get back to you!

Here we go…decorating Northwest Colorado!

“BRINGING CREATIVE INTERIOR DECOR TO YOUR SPACE”