Welcome Summer!
Hello, my name is Lena and my passion is French Country Design, fabrics and anything hand painted. I am currently working towards my C.I.D. certification in Interior Decoration. I have recently closed my online showroom/boutique with my web host and will plan a redesign soon. My boutique carries home staging supplies like pillows, candles, room scents, towels, artificial florals, slipcovers and more. I specialize in European and Classic Decor. I love to work with a mix of fabrics on soft furnishings and the colors and textures of floral designs.
As an Interior Decorator I offer the following services and consultation:
1. Interior Decorating
2. Home Staging
3. Interior Redesign
4. Soft Furnishings
Although I read many design books for inspiration, I do not follow after other designers and have my own unique design secrets that I use. I hope to get some sample pictures of my tablescapes, florals and work up soon.
My Decorating Secrets:
1-No Need For A Focal Point: Almost every designer with tell you to start with a focal point when decorating a room, I will tell you why you don't need it. Yes, its nice to have a big beautiful amoire or a grand fireplace but I believe that when you decorate your rooms they need to flow and not get your eyes stuck on the great focale point! When you walk into a room your eyes should carry you around the room from one area to the next. This can be done with balance. I also like to have little surprises that pleases the eye where it lands so when someone walks into your home, you hear, oh...oh...and oh everywhere they go.
2-No Need For Color Popping: When you are decorating a Modern Room that is monochromatic for instance using mainly blacks and greys then by all means pop a color like pink or apple green! you could add pink flowers on one table, pink candles on another table and a couple of pink pillows on the sofas. Just gorgeous in the modern rooms, but not neccesary for classic styles.
3-No Need For Painting Main Livig Areas: French Country Style is best done with neutral walls, as with most classic styles, with the expection of Powder Rooms, Boudoirs, Guest Rooms, and Bedrooms. The reason is this, the walls of the main living spaces are the backdrop to all the decor thats goinig on and you want your home to flow through all the open spaces. The light neutral colors open up the rooms and they will appear larger, not to mention less jarring on the eyes.
UPDATE: This year I believe painted rooms are comming to a new beginning. I have recently been though some showcase homes that have room to room different paint colors (and textures) and I was quite impressed! Last year that would not have sat easy with me, but I believe now the trend for color decorated rooms are more easily accepted to the eye. Again its not a neccesity for getting style in the home but it does add a touch of wow!
4-Wallpaper or Paint Treatments a must for small private spaces: To bring the softness and the comforting feel of the home into the stark, hard surfaces of the powder room I suggest wallpaper or a special paint treatment. You can't bring much furniture or accents to these small rooms so pattern is a must, to warm up the space. Because this is a private space the transition from neutral walls to pattern is almost expected. One idea would be if you use toile accents in your living areas then do a switch and put the same color of toile wallpaper in the powder room, this helps the flow and looks very proffesional. The same rule applies to boudoirs and sometimes bedrooms. Baby and childrens rooms are so much warmer with special wall treatments. I would not suggest wallpaper on your master bedroom unless you are really ready for all the pattern, but if done right it is spectacular!
5. Home staging secrets:
Remove family pictures from frames and replace photos with a picture from a magazine. shoppers are distracted looking at personal items and pictures. You goal is to create a fantasy home, so magazine cut outs should include example: bride and groom, children at beach, etc. etc. Remove at least half of your clothing from closets to make them appear spacious. No shoes and No wire hangers. Uplights from Home Depot placed under plants pointed at walls for shadow effects. Only 10% of homebuyers can actually visualize the potential of a home. This is why having a vacant home professionally staged is so important. Buyers will actually profile the sellers in other words clean and organized sellers have taken care of the home and vice versa.
I will be adding more secrets soon!
Yes I will vote for Hillary, even though at age 18 I registered in Oregon as a republican and voted for Reagan! I also later voted in california for Bush Senior! Well I still believe in the death penalty and a strong military (my stepfather was in the Airforce). Without our Military we are nothing! But, because of Hillary I will register in Tennessee this year and vote for her even though she's democratic.
For my men friends, I know your thinking that all women think with their emotions! This woman has proven that wrong! If that was true she would have bounced her husband off a cliff after Monica! NO....she had other plans, no matter what her husband did and what others said she stuck to her goals. She has a mix of true compassion and understanding with a skin of steel, which is exactly what I think this Country needs at this time.
I believe she will handle our current problems with a definite strength and class that we have not seen before.