Last Friday I had the pleasure of participating in a Q&A call with Nate Berkus and several other bloggers.   He was so nice and patient with all of our questions and took the time to thoroughly answer everyone.  I have to say it was a very fun experience for me.

His show airs Monday through Friday- check your local listings for station/time information, or you can go to the Nate show.com  to get more information.

Here are the list of bloggers that joined in on the fun.

Myself  representing  Blissfully Domestic,  Vivian Manning-Schaffel from momlogic.  Christine Koh from Boston Mamas.  Beth Anderson from Chic Galleria.  Erin Renzas from iVillage.  Emily Johnston from Material Girls Blog.  Katja Presnal from Skimbaco Lifestyle.    Angela England from Untrained Housewife.  Linda Sellers from LindaSellers.com.  Danielle Smith from Extraordinary Mommy, Laurie Turk from the Tip Junkie, Duong Sheahan from Live Healthier and Happier, and Kimba (Rue) from A Soft Place to Land.

I thought I would share a little from my conversation-

{Me} I’m a Mother of five, and a grandmother to seven.  All my children live far from me….one of the things I like to do is to send them little gifts in the mail.  I usually like to include  in the gift something they can use in their home.   Do you have any suggestions on what I could send to them that would be…something worthwhile for use in their home?

Nate Berkus: Yes, what a great thing to do. I wish my Mom would do that. She’s going to need to read your blog.  One of the things that I think is probably one of the most  meaningful things to send are taking old photos of your kids, whether it’s them with you, them with the whole family or just them with their siblings, turning then into, you know, going to Kinko’s or going to FedEx or something and turning them into like, a black and white or antique looking sepia or something like that, and then Michael’s sells pre-framed mats, or pre-cut matting that fits in really inexpensive frames.

And I love the idea of them helping you to assemble a gallery wall in their home, whether they’re contemporary with white frames and white mats or a little more traditional with wood frames and linen mats, framing.  I think photos of their past and sending those off would- and writing a note on the back of the actual frame.

My Mom did it for me once and, you know, I still have that in my house and I just- I think it’s the coolest thing that any Mom can do when their kids are starting to assemble their own homes.  And the other thing is, start a library for them.

{Me} Oh, Okay… =)

Nate Berkus: If they’re interested in different topics, you know, go to the vintage shops and the thrift stores and the book stores and start a library for them.  And you can print out  book plates that you can design on your computer and glue to the inside cover that just says, you know. “From the library of …….Love, Mom,” with the date on it.

I think that every home should have a library, everyone’s interested in something, whether it’s fashion or flowers or travel or cars or boats or whatever it is.  But I think that’s also a gift that just really lasts forever.

I really appreciated how honest he was with us, like taking to a friend. {minus the nerves =) silly me.}  I also liked that on many occasions  he  suggested that great places to find things for the home came from thrift stores- {You know how I love a good thrift store, Happy day}

When asked  ”Is there one thing on a budget that you would suggest that we buy first.”  He replied-

Nate Berkus- You know, the thing is, if you really want to have a beautiful room on a budget you have to do some leg work.  One is, go to Good will and thrift stores and things like that, buy dresses or old cashmere sweaters or beautiful printed shirts, and turn them into pillows.

Another would be to update your lampshades.  You can go to Target and get a new lampshade that will completely change the look of your existing lamp.  And another tip is to paint the inside of the lampshades a soft color, pale blue, pale pink, pale gray, which changes the whole feeling once the light is on.

Adding pottery, a collection of pottery in an accent color.  All the same or like a rainbow of greens…for instance.. on your mantle that you can find for under $5, $10 a piece if you got to a few different thrift stores and yard sales and the sort of inexpensive antique malls and things like that is another great way of adding huge impact for not a lot of money.

But it takes effort to have a …to live beautifully and not spend a lot of money on it.

His show is fun and fast paced full of ideas….that are obtainable.

Check out his show November 25-