I saw these flowers on Simply Stated
and thought they looked so pretty. I wouldn’t have thought to put them
in black and white vases and that made me ponder “thinking outside the
box” when creating new possibilities for our homes.

Sometimes in
decorating our spaces we become so emotionally invested in the comfort
of things as they’ve always been, that we don’t try anything new. That
is one reason why another pair of eyes is often helpful.

One
thing that I have learned as a professional home stager and redesigner
is that change is difficult for all of us. That is why when our
Interiors by Design team goes into a home to stage or redesign it, we
need the home owner to be gone for the day. It is hard for them to
envision the change while it is in process. Clients are strongly
influenced by the emotional aspects of the changes and the preconceived
notions they have carried with them for so long. It is best to go with
the “big reveal” when the project is complete.

How are you when
it comes to changing things? Are you open to the suggestions of others?
Have you been pleasantly surprised trying different options? Poke a
hole in that box you are in and peek outside. It is fun and besides,
what’s the worst thing that could happen? It is better to look for the
possible benefits. Without trying…how will you ever know?

Flickr

• Look at your room with a critical eye.   What works and what doesn’t?
• Get rid of the space fillers you don’t love.
• Get some furniture slides and start trying different furniture arrangements.
• Make a wish list of things you’d like to add to the room as your budget allows.  Rome wasn’t built in a day!
• Allow yourself a few days to get use to the new arrangement. Adapting to change takes time.
• Enjoy!   Make your home a place you and your family love to be.
• If you need assistance call a qualified professional for help.

Bonnie Matson writes about change and decor at her blog, http://interiorsbydesigndefined.blogspot.com/

Almost everyone has either had a piece like this, still has
one, or knows some one who has had a
house full of them.

They were bought cheap and considered disposable. They are
now considered so disposable I’ve seen them almost given away at yard sales and
thrift stores, most of them selling for under $20. People seem happy just to get
rid of these slightly orange-colored, light wood, boxy-style pieces. The thing
is, they are throwing away hidden little treasures. Not only do these furniture
pieces offer great storage; but they have so much potential!

In most cases, they
are amazing blank canvases. A coat of paint can completely transform them into
something simply wonderful. They are perfect for adding wood appliqués and
decorative trim. They paint up like a dream!

What are some simple steps in transforming these diamond’s in
the rough?

-First remove knobs and fill any unwanted holes with wood
putty. Drill new holes at this time.

-Give them a light sanding to rough up the surface so the
primer has something to stick to.

-Use a dark tinted primer if you are going to be using dark
paint to make the job easier.

-Paint with a latex paint. I prefer either satin or eggshell
finish.

-Get creative and paint art work or patterns with acrylic
craft paint. Use a stencil or freehand it. If you don’t like it, it’s only
paint, you can redo it!

-Seal piece when finished with a poly acrylic to keep it from
chipping and enjoy you new treasure!

Come and see what else Jenn is redoing at Sanctuary Art

There is no better way to add your personality to your home
than by putting the things you love on display. So the question arises, how do we display our beloved stuff without
having it look like clutter? The answer,
my friends, is to group them. Group your
stuff. It sounds easy enough. But it begets another question, how do we
group them?

One suggestion I often give people is to use pretty
containers to display small items. My
family loves the beach. We go there
several times each summer. We ALWAYS
come home with seashells. Look at this
pretty jar full of white seashells, what a great summery accessory it makes as
well as providing a display space for our collection.

I love old buttons, especially old white buttons. Since the buttons are tiny, I didn’t want to
overwhelm them in a large container. So
I found this tiny canning jar shown in the picture above. Don’t
they look charming?

Place them together and they create a lovely little
vignette. Two collections. One vignette. No clutter!

The same idea can be used with larger pieces. Check out this grouping of garden
statuary. It graces the top of an
entertainment armoire. It makes a lovely
statement and again…no clutter!

How do you display your collections? Let’s talk!

Wendy blogs about
decorating and creativity in a busy world at The Shabby Nest .

Earlier this year, my sister Amie and I thought it would be fun to put on paper some of our
experiences/predicaments we have found ourselves in since having children. We
wrote story after story. It just kept flowing and we kept emailing them to each
other. We really would love to write a book and put all this in there.

We would call our book “That’s
Normal”. The book would be about how we stick to the rules and how we
break the rules. Our stories are no different than any other mother out there. We
tell it like it is. Mothering is hard – but it’s all normal! We think our take
on motherhood is realistic, informative and funny.

MULTITASKING

This word is foreign to my
hubby. Oh, yours too? That’s not unusual. I am confident enough to say that I,
personally, am a master at multitasking. This word has made me capable of
raising children.

What is it? www.reference.com describes it as:

“Human multitasking
or multitasking is the performance by an individual of more than one
task at the same time. The term is derived from computer multitasking. An
example of multitasking is listening to a radio interview while typing an
email.”

Comprehendo? I will give
you my definition:

“Human multitasking is the
performance of several tasks at the same time. An example of multitasking is
talking on the phone, making a piece of toast, putting the dog outside,
building a spaceship from Lego and smiling at my little man’s red painted
fingers.”

I can easily do so many
things at once. Boy I was stressed before this new ‘function’ became obvious to
me. How was I expected to get anything done? How on earth could anyone consider
having more than one child? That’s what I used to think. Along came baby number
2, then baby number 3, and I instantly needed to create a new way of doing
things.

I think as mothers we all
have the skill automatically programmed into us, but it is developed much more
professionally over time. You may laugh, but I am being serious. You need to
put this on any future resume! If she is a mother, then she will
understand and recognise your high level of skill.

My hubby looks at me
blankly when I even suggest that he might like to ‘multitask’. Once I asked him
to quickly close the toilet door so our toddler did not start playing in it.
This was whilst he was talking on the phone. He actually had to stop the
conversation, put his hand over the phone and ask what I had said. Then he put
the phone down and walked to shut the door. Gee – it would have been quicker if
I had done it myself! Then I also wouldn’t have got that he look he gives when
I am really annoying him.

Multitasking comes in very
handy when it comes to bedtime in our house. My children have formed a bedtime
routine and it rarely varies. It is more along the lines of what THEY require
to take place before they actually go to sleep. While it can get rather
tedious, I don’t begrudge going along with them. I know that eventually they
will go off to sleep as long as I follow the correct steps. It is important to
find a routine and stick to it. The same every night, over and over and over
and over.

It begins with screaming
and crying about not wanting to go to bed. No one likes to brush their teeth.
Sound familiar? Terrible, terrible mother I know, but if it’s all too much I
let them get out of it (yes I can be a rule breaker depending on what my mental
state is like for the day!).

Next we (we being the
operative word as I don’t let my hubby get out of it that easily!) put the
little one in his bed with his stuffed monkey. He’s easy. No fights there. Then
the eldest gets into bed with the light on and waits for me to return. Then we
put the middle one in his bed. At this point my hubby retreats to the couch. My
middle one asks me to get into bed with him. We play a little game where I
pretend I am stuck in his cuddle and will have to sleep there all night. This
goes on for a while. Finally I edge out of the room. On to the eldest… he
requires me to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him EVERY night. This has been the
usual song for 2 years.

Next the middle one yells
out again. This time it’s for a band aid. He asks for a band aid nearly 5
nights a week (I now buy the mega packs). Not sure why! It’s just one of those
things! Then back into the eldest’s room who suddenly decides that I forgot to
tell him how old he was turning (because I sang Happy Birthday remember?). It
has to be a different age every night!

Phewwwww……………..

Katrina
Chambers writes from “down under” at www.katrinachambers.blogspot.com

I am a white freak! White, white, white is
all I can think about – most of the time. White looks good with everything, it
brightens up your home; it makes areas seem larger than it really is. Blah, blah
you already know this, right?

I have ‘been there - done that’ with
feature walls. I have had red walls, blue walls, sponged walls, suede walls and
even metallic walls! I think I had to try all of these effects before I
realized it just wasn’t for me. So, back to basics I go. Antique white walls and
white ceilings. This backdrop has provided me with a much clearer sense of how
my decorating ideas can flow throw the house. I have my own ‘style’ and this is
easily reflected in each room using a plain canvas to work with.

But
every now and then I feel I have to throw caution to the wind and spruce things
up a little – just a little.

My favourite decorating idea is to grab a
chair, a little cupboard, nothing too big and paint it in a wild colour. This
injects something special to the room and I guarantee someone will comment on your
feature piece!

This photo above is of one of my sons’
bedrooms. All of my children have these little cupboards and for this one I
decided a nice aqua colour would brighten things up. I also added the chippy
green chair for contrast.

The photo above is of my recently painted
black bed. This was white but I decided it needed a change and this has created
huge interest in this room! I am on the hunt for new bedding and accessories in
(you guessed it) white …and silvers.

Red…red… glorious red. I will admit
that after white, red is my favour colour. Heck I even have a whole lounge room
suite in red fabric (ask me if you want to see photos of this). Red livens up
any spot and I think it looks amazing with a white backdrop!

Again here is a funky chair I painted in
blue and furiously rubbed back with steel wool. Then of course I added touches
of red!

Katrina Chambers writes from “down under” at  www.katrinachambers.blogspot.com