The Fyrkat charcoal grill is a must have for any tailgate party. Cook up some brats or burgers in the lower level and veggies on the top. Add some beer and everyone’s happy. This grill roasts up at $179.99.

Who wouldn’t love this cute table lamp from Faroles? Place it on a desk, a side table, or your kitchen counter. At only 18″ high, it will look great just about anywhere. Take it home for $99.00.

Last, but certainly not least. I totally love their Rig bar stool. It’s made of sustainable mango wood. Whatever. I love good design that doesn’t cost the moon. In this case, you can be sitting on this stool for $149.00.

Previously, I’ve used my living room as a template for two interior design companies that offer an online service. You can read my reviews of Designer At Home and and RoomJuice to see their solutions. The upshot is that, while I think this is a growing trend, it can’t yet compare to creating the best interior design solution without actually seeing the space. Read my reviews to see exactly what I mean.

I thought I’d share my interior design plans with you.

Here is the horrid picture of the living room “before”. I know, it’s a sad tale of woe.

I’ll spare you the gory details. But it involves no time and not enough parties. I definitely need to change all of that. Anyway, I did enough interior design work so as not to totally embarrass myself. The art placed along the floor was not part of the plan. I wonder how it got there?

Getting down to business, the major problem with the interior design of this long and narrow (23′ x 14′) room is that the coffee table is out of scale. It’s way too big. Basically, this is called Trying to fit the furniture from your old house into the new one. The sequel is called Then I got too busy to fix it.

The room is long and thin. That makes it very hard to create one seating area without wasting a lot of space. So I divided the room into two groupings.

First, I tossed the curtains. We don’t need the privacy and the windows are lovely by themselves. Next, I bought two Westside loveseats from Duralee and covered them in a taupe fabric from Clarke & Clarke. I tucked one loveseat slightly into the bay window and placed an existing console table behind it. Two small Studio Adjustable floor lamps from Visual Comfort on either side. The other loveseat sits at the opposite end of the room, but not directly across. Don’t be afraid to lose symmetry in a room. The idea is to make it work as a whole.

I’ve placed my McGuire nesting tables to the right and a really cool and inexpensive Palm Barrel table from Waterworks on the left. The coffee table is Pottery Barn’s Moroccan table. I thought a round table would be nice as there are so many square shapes in the room. Mixing geometrics is a good thing. It’s also important to have tall and low furnishing as well. It all creates movement. It’s a great way to create an interior design style that looks terrific.

Who doesn’t love a bargain? I bought the McGuire chair (shown on the right) at a sample sale. Score! It’s covered in the perfect yellow fabric. My antique chair (covered in a Larsen fabric) sits across from it. Behind that is a bookcase I bought 100 years ago. I painted it indigo and covered the inside with Farrow & Ball wallpaper (see below). Yum. We’ll get to my color palette in a minute.

Now for the other half of the room. I have an antique Polyphone, (a sort of primitive “jukebox”) that’s tall and plays giant metal discs. No photo, but it sits behind the loveseat. Opposite is my great grandmother’s writing desk. I mixed all sorts of styles in the interior design of this room. It’s really okay as long as the scale is correct and you mix it up enough. Don’t use all modern with one antique.

The other seating area consists of the same loveseat, a round table and new side table, in the same finish from Milling Road. I went for symmetry here because I was determined to buy these gourd table lamps (in an antique silver finish) from Visual Comfort. I adore their lamps. Anyway, the tables had to be the same height for the lamps to look right. Score! (My husband likes to say that).

Next, I chose the Tanner coffee table from Pottery Barn. The glass creates a sense of more space. That’s good for a small room. Plus, it was inexpensive. You can definitely mix inexpensive with their opposite as long as the cheap stuff is well put together.

Finally, I bought two Carter Club ottomans from William Sonoma Home and had them covered in an awesome red fabric. I’ll add red accessories to tie it all together.

The main fabric attraction is Ellington velvet from Clarence House. It will go on the ottomans. This was my starting point for the rest of the room. It’s so gorgeous I want to marry it. The Clarke & Clarke taupe is on the loveseats. The carpet is Trellis from Godfrey Hirst. And the colors on the side chairs pull the whole look together. Finally, I painted the bookcase a dark indigo and used Farrow & Ball’s Rosslyn paper in the back. The living room mantle will be a darker version – almost black – of the bookcase’s indigo.

Now for the color palette. All my paints are Benjamin Moore. I love their Aura paint especially. It’s scrubbable – no matter how dark you go. The walls are Fog Mist. The trim is Mascarpone. The bookcase is Twilight. I added Drop Dead Gorgeous to the palette because the living and family rooms are open to each other. The red will go on the family room walls.

It’s really important to tie colors together when they’re situated like this. I guess that’s obvious. It’s also a good idea to have your colors make sense throughout your home. You can do this by using at least one color from one room in another and so on.

So that’s my plan. Everything is ordered and I’ll show you the results when it’s complete. I can’t wait!  My living room is finally going to look like humans live in it.

What do you think?

My niece has fashioned these one size fits all must have fashion headbands using a variety of colorful new socks. Each headband is finished with a special button or bow. To check out what’s she has in stock, go SockTales and check them out.

Each headband sells for $12.00. Awesome price! I love a one of a kind accessory. As I always say in the interior design biz, accessories are the jewelry that make a room look finished. The same is obviously true for fashion. It’s the shoes and the headband that make an outfit look pulled together.

Take a look at SockTales. These are original and fun.

The grey dots represents the recessed lights, or “downlighting” as we sometimes call then in the interior design trade. The first thing that might strike you is that they’re not placed in a grid pattern. You don’t need one because you want to highlight different areas of the room.

First, you must have proper ambient light. That means enough light so you can see. I’ve accomplished that pretty much with the lamps (in blue). Recessed lighting, set to their own switch, can add more if you need it.

Now for the most important part of your overall design of the room – the placement of your recessed lighting. You want to create drama! You may want brighter light on a rainy day. But you definitely want a romantic feel for parties and… well, use your imagination. Do this by putting you recessed lights on dimmers. This is essential! It might be the art, or it might be the seating.

Next, spot different areas you want to highlight. These can be things like artwork and separate seating areas, as I’ve done here. Set your switches so you can control what you want to highlight. Let’s take a look a few essentials.

On the left, I’ve installed three adjustable recessed lights to frame a large piece of art (in green). Lighting art obviously, brings more attention to it. The same goes for another adjustable recessed light over the mantle. By adjustable, I mean you can aim the lens at whatever you want. They’re not facing straight down.

Now, think of walking into a gently lit room for a party. The recessed lighting is focused on the seating and, therefore, highlights the people. There, again, is focus. That’s really important to creating a romantic and dramatic feeling. (Please note that the placement of my recessed lights aren’t perfect. Have your interior designer or a lighting expert plan the placement)

Here are a few tips  to think about

Don’t place the recessed lighting directly over your guests’ heads or they’ll look like Frankenstein. Use a professional to help with the placement.

Step away from the grid! I promise you, no one will notice the recessed lights. They’ll be looking at that hot guy sitting on the love seat.

Use small, 4-inch recessed lights. The giant 6-inch “cans” are so last century.

Note that there a variety of adjustable recessed lights. You want the ones that don’t fall below the ceiling height. Halo makes a good product.

Don’t buy your recessed lights from the big box stores. They’re not the quality you want and a few dollars more will be money well spent. Go to a local electrical supply house. Or have your electrician buy them for you.

Have any questions, comments, photos you’d like to share? Ask away, comment away, and email your photos to me at designholeonline [at] gmail..com. Caio for now!

Which brings me to FLOR, our favorite carpet square company. They’ve entered the competition with Reoriented. It looks really good, doesn’t it?

If you don’t have the moolah for Moroso’s version, or don’t have the guts (me!) to try making one yourself, this is a nice alternative. Also, I like their color choices.

Pink, teal and purple a good hues to show off the nature of the “distressed” look without having any spaces left white. Though it would be nice to see a indigo version.

I have FLOR carpet in my office and love it. I also used it in a show house. Their styles are too fab. And they stay on trends. That’s why I like them so much. They also have staples plains. But you can’t beat them for carpets that are bold. And I wasn’t paid to write this (though the Interface rep I used to work with was also hot).

Reoriented comes in three colors: pink, purple and teal.  The squares measure 19.7 inches and retail for $14.99.

Red is my favorite color, so I know I can’t go wrong with this red bamboo bowl.($28.00) It’s 14-inches wide and hails from Ten Thousand Villages.

I love a mix of cultures. This 7-inch square bowl is perfect to sit atop books, or to stand amidst other accessories on a table ($44.95). Find it at Novica.

Since my first trip to Colombia I have been trying to find an authentic bowl like these, to no avail. While the originals have a darker patina, these are the next best thing. I found these Naan Bowls at Restoration Hardware. The large size is about 20-inches in diameter at sells for $149.

Don’t rule out the tried and true shopping spots like Pottery Barn. If you accessorize them right, they will be uniquely your own. I like these authentic, antique dough bowls from Hungary. They comes in different sizes, starting at 37″ long and the small size sells for $199.

Spend a little, spend a lot. Buy it new or old. But make it your own and you’ll love where you live just a little bit more. Cheers!

I want you to love where you live. All of it! So make sure you’ve got the tchotchkes. They’re just as important as the right pair of shoes.

Today, I’m focusing on tabletop decorating. I love doing this for my clients. Here are some great accessorizing ideas to inspire you. And my tips along the way.

Let me start with the opening photo. This is the entry to a beautiful country home. There are no written rules, but if you’re feeling timid about arranging tabletops, take your inspiration from the style of the home. The accessories here are appropriate to the architecture and furniture.

Collections are a good thing to have, or buy. I love the hats! Did you notice there are three on each side? Odd numbers are a major rule when accessorizing.

If you need a place for the dog toys why not  hide them in plain sight. A simple basket is just the thing here.

Groupings, like this collection of Colombian pots, make for great tabletop displays. To give them a sense of unity, use stacks of books or trays. Don’t have a collection? Go shopping for one. Tag sales are a terrific way to find things that have some age to them. It makes a collection look more curated (Snob alert!).

Use height to create interest. Arranging objects with different heights creates a sense of movement which can turn some so-so things into something more interesting. The books might be overdone, but they’re used to create the different heights. You can do the same thing using vases, topiaries, and plates or bowls set on stands.

A beautiful coffee table arrangement begins by dividing the table into sections. Three is the rule in accessorizing, but you can break it on a coffee table, especially if its square. Leave two sections plain if you like. Here, boxes were used as dividers. A simple bowl with wicker balls adds interest. Alternatively, keep things simple with one large bowl.

Dried grasses are terrific. They look great and they don’t cost a bundle. Great idea! Use a woven place mat to create a tray. On the left, you can see that there aren’t just three things, but they’re grouped as if there were. On the right it’s the same idea, but with the wheat bundle added to create height. Imagine how boring this table would look without it.

Mats are also a great way to unify accessories on a table. Above, A Chilewich mat sits under an Asian sculpture with aluminum apples (three) stacked on either side. The baskets on either side are a nice extra touch. Below, a strip of fabric sits across a rustic table. Books sit next to a handmade dish. Hey! What happened to the three thing? As I said, if you’re comfortable with accessorizing, break those rules.

Group photos together. This is sooo adorable. One way to unify photos is to reprint them in black and white. Mix them with old family photos. Interesting – at first I would have put the candle in the back. But it works better in front, doesn’t it? Play around with your arrangements. Don’t go for the standard thing.

Don’t be afraid to make a statement with balls. I know you see them everywhere. But they haven’t turned into shag carpeting yet. There are such a variety out there. What’s different with this arrangement is the basket instead of a bowl, and the balls are not only different but different sizes. Again, there is an odd number of objects. The eyes like it that way.

So I guess you could say the eyes have it. I would love to know your favorite accessorizing ideas are. Share!!! (I used three exclamation marks)

Resources

Chilewich: table runners, square and round place mats

Crate & Barrel: baskets, botanicals

Lazy Susan: just about every type of accessory you could want

Poppytalk: inexpensive art, accessories & vintage items

The Well Appointed  Home: Preppy waste baskets, and lots of unusual decor

Hammocks & High Tea: table runners

Restoration Hardware: Get that vintage look in an instant.