Serving the design and event needs of the greater Saint Louis area
THE FINISHING TOUCH
-Putting home accessories in their place-
In my last blogs “Decisions, Decisions,” we talked about the importance of choosing and installing your background first, and adding accessories last. Remember, vegetables before dessert. Well, now that the furniture is in place, it’s time for dessert…..
HOME ACCESSORIES ARE LIKE DESSERT
-It’s not the first thousand dollars you [...]
BARGAIN HUNTING
-Finding deals, insisting on quality-
“JUST BUY IT,” SAID MY OLDEST daughter, who thinks my purse taps directly into Bill Gate’s bank account.
“Not at that price,” I snorted.
She rolled her eyes. Boy, did that feel familiar.
We were browsing through a nearby furniture boutique, and I had found a sink vanity I liked. I love the [...]
WHEN SOMETHING’S GOT TO GO
-Dealing with furniture mistakes and deaths-
TO KNOW MY MOTHER-IN-LAW is to know her red sofas. For six months they were all she could talk about. Every conversation led to them:
“So have you been exercising?”
“I would, but these sofas have been so consuming. What color could I put on the wall [...]
PULLING THE TRIGGER
-Why furniture shopping is so hard, and how to start-
I’M HAVING LUNCH WITH several women from the neighborhood. As often happens among women, the conversation turns to home decorating.
“Do you have your dining room set yet?” One neighbor asks Lisa. Lisa hangs her head shamefully and stops eating her rigatoni.
“No,” she says to [...]
RIP-OFF SOURCE #3: REALITY TV SHOWS
“How do you do it?” I plead. I’m on the phone with Evan Farmer, host of TLC’s While You Were Out. I’m torn between begging for advice and giving him a piece of my mind.
While some say these shows inspire people, they make me feel inferior, because the smallest home [...]
FOUR PLACES TO FIND INSPIRATION (AND RIP OFF IDEAS)
-What to take away from home magazines, TV shows, home tours, and the color conspiracy – and what to ignore-
Rip-Off Source #1: Looks from Books
I OFTEN SPEND MY LUNCHTIME flipping through gorgeous home-design books and magazines while eating my well-balanced lunch of nonfat yogurt and peanut M&Ms. [...]
THE GOODS ON THE GOODS
-Furnishing your home: Copying good looks, using what you have, finding what you need, getting deals, buying quality.
So you know your design style, and you have a plan. The backgrounds are in. Next on the divide-and-conquer approach to home design comes furniture. Your design plan will dictate the style of [...]
HONEY DO, HONEY DON’T
-How to know when a home improvement job is for someone else-
BOB IS HERE. I LIKE BOB. Bob has no idea how much I like him, nor how long I’ve waited for this day. Dan has some idea, but it’s better if we don’t talk about it. We inevitably wind up in [...]
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT BEGINS AT HOME
-Building character one doorknob at a time-
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Dan asks when he hears a hammer banging. As you know, he gets nervous when I’m wielding a hammer.
“Building character.”
“Your character is fine.”
“Not mine, the house’s.”
“What’s wrong with the house’s character?”
“It needs more. I’ve given up developing character in you and [...]