Decorator On Demand

Junk Mail Never Looked So Good

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:15:00 +0000

Sandhi Schimmel Gold is a recycling genius and an artist on top of that. She turns every day junk mail into the most amazing art!

She hand cuts, sorts and manipulates thousands of pieces; images and text to assemble a mosaic portrait.

I hope you can see the detail but here is a tighter picture to show up close just how detailed these are.....

She does custom portraits too, I know what I want for Christmas, honey are you reading this? ;)

She is probably the one person who actually gets excited by her junk mail each day.

Stainless Copper Sinks

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Say what? I know you think those don't go together but they do now...

Rohl has come out with a copper stainless sink...It's the look of copper with even more durability than stainless due to the PVD coating they finish it in. It's scratch proof finish has a brilliant shine and is resistant to abrasion.

Copper is a "living" finish, meaning it changes and ages which most of my clients don't like for a kitchen sink due to it's higher mainentance...But these new sinks give you the finish/color without all that hassle.

So are you thinking copper could be an option for your own kitchen now?

Lighting Up in Unexpected Places

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Wow, I can't believe the last time I posted was back in February, time flies right? I hope you are all well and enjoying your summer so far...I have so much to share with you all including lots of projects that I am currently getting photos snapped of, but in the meantime....

I have been wanting to share this very cool innovation, from Keeler Products....It's light integrated trim (LIT).

You can add this trim to crown moldings, decorative trim, baseboard, cabinet and backsplash, stair railings, recessed ceilings, etc.

It's a safe (low voltage), highly efficient lasting up to 50,000 hours and lights up your dark spaces, which we all have right?

I am all for lighting spaces but I think I will need some time to warm up to the backsplash trim in the kitchen, what do you think?

Your Photo Inspiration Realized

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:50:00 +0000

Back in January, I posted "Your Life, Your Colors", about a Glidden Paint quiz to discover your color palette for your own walls. If you haven't taken the quick/fun quiz yet be sure to swing by and check it out...Takes 2 seconds and seems really accurate from all the feedback I got.

Anyway, I wanted to talk about the depth of Glidden's My Colortopia website today, not just about the quiz which I already liked, but they have a section on their site called My Image Inspiration. It's a great place to find colors to paint your walls and even accessorize with other elements in your room.

So I will walk you through the steps so you get an idea of how easy this very helpful tool is to use...

1st: Let's Upload a photo...

My client loves orange and if you didn't know this already The color of the year just happens to be Tangerine Tango.

To get her excited about the palette for her office I sent her this picture....So for this exercise we are going to use it as our photo for inspiration...

2nd: Now we are going to "select your/my favorite"...

So you pull the box over any part of the picture you want to pull colors from. And you can enlarge the box if you want or need to as well.

3rd: Last step, browsing color palettes....

Don't panic, like I initially did when I first saw the colors that I "supposedly" liked...At first I was thinking oh oh, I don't see or want "deep coral" or "red grapefruit" those are way to pinky....But I didn't read the directions thoroughly, ha!

Of those 4 color selections you click on the one that best represents what you want....So on mine it was the "Vibrant Day Lily".

The next step shows the palette I am intending on using in my clients office....It worked, that is exactly the palette I am using.

If you are like my Mom for instance and don't know how to upload a photo or are just not overly inspired by any photo that comes to mind...You can go directly to The Inspiration Gallery (scroll down the page from here) and pick a photo from there and do the steps above. It will look like this...

They have some beautiful photos already chosen, so super easy right?

Oh and it took me 5 minutes tops to do this exercise and what great feedback I immediately got.

***** (five stars) Glidden, I am feeling inspired already.

Oh and a cool feature after you have your palette selected is the 1 click option to share it with others if you want.

I look forward to hearing from you on how this worked for you. Please let me know if you uploaded your own photo or chose one from the Inspiration Gallery as well.

I have been sponsored by Glidden brand paint to write this post but the thoughts and opinions expressed are all my own. :)

Change the Face of Your Fireplace, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:50:00 +0000

One of the most popular posts I ever wrote was Change the Face of Your Fireplace. I guess my clients aren't the only ones who don't know what to do with their fireplaces and how to update them.

I thought it was time to add a part 2 to the original post with some more fireplace updating ideas.

For a cleaner, more contemporary feel you could consider all glass, definitely a fresh look right?

This tile is great, it adds really nice texture without seeing any grout joints.

On this fireplace, we did a Contours tile from Diamond Tech with a travertine slab on top of the hearth. The slab was a little more money, but worth it to my clients who don't like grout lines.

This client wanted to get rid of the polished brass fireplace insert, it was too shiny to him. But there wasn't anything wrong with it other than the shiny brass. So a really inexpensive way of fixing that, was to paint it a flat black, it does the trick every time.

Now when I looked at the mantel it just looked soo wimpy it was driving me crazy for his larger family room. After getting to know this client and his taste..I recommended we try something different....

(Family Room: Before)

I have been driving by this place for years never having the right client to suggest something like this until now....

I showed him some pictures like this one and he bit...I was sooo excited! After measuring, carefully of course, I found the perfect one and had it installed.

And voila....He loved it! It added the perfect amount of weight to an otherwise dull/boring fireplace. Oh and yes I took out the tired marble surround and replaced it with the travertine tile I used in the floor of his kitchen to tie it all in.

(Family Room: After)

The backside of this fireplace is another fireplace. He loved the family room fireplace makeover sooo much he let me do the same thing on the other side.

(Office: Before)

Of course I painted the polished brass a flat black, changed the surround again to a warmer travertine tile and check out the mantel, BAM right? Well I mean the paint helped too, ha!

(Office: After)

We were on a roll! I think this client will never look at a plain fireplace the same way again...He immediately wanted me to do something, actually the same thing on his other 2 fireplaces in his house for his master bedroom....That is where I drew the line...Nah uh, you can't put that in master bedroom, no way...But we can do something grand and elegant.

(Master Bedroom: Before)

We could do this!

(Master Bedroom: After)

He LOVED it! It's even more stunning in person. It added the perfect amount of weight to that side of his room and painting the walls a bit darker really made it pop too.

So please don't be afraid to change the face of your fireplace...It can be done for very little money or alot, but always with a big impact...Remember most of the time your fireplace is a focal point in your rooms, do you really want a sad/dated focal point in your house? I think not. :)))

Of course I love feedback, so let me know what you think of my latest installment of fireplace faces okay?!

Baby Got Back Splash

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

I think one of my favorite parts of remodeling a kitchen is adding some WOW to the backsplash...Alot of times I am working on other parts of a clients house and I see a BORING backsplash and I talk them into adding some WOW like these...

(Before)

(After)

(Before)

(Hmmm this looks nice...)

(I think we have a winner...)

(Just installed, bad phone pic though...)

(Wish I had a better pic of this backsplash, it's gorgeous in person)

The granites remained the same along, with the appliances and cabinetry as well.

Simple but impactful and usually it doesn't cost alot to tackle something like this either. I personally like "shiny" ie: glass on a backsplash, they look particularly gorgeous with under cabinet lighting.

What kind of backsplash do you have, boring or WOW?

Learning Thermo

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

..As in thermostat...

Yawn you say....Well check this out....

This thermostat learns YOU and improves with time. There is no more programming or constantly changing the temperature, The Nest, that is what it is called, will program itself in a week to keep you comfortable and save energy too.

See that little leaf in the above pic? Well that appears when you are saving energy....You do know that changing the temperature just one degree can cut your energy use by up to 5% right? Well if you didn't know that before, now you do...I love a challenge.

Check out the video and admire it's cuteness and ease of use too, which I could use.

Their website is really friendly, right down to their DIY install videos.

Even the "guts" are easy looking....

Can you tell I am sort of digging this new product? Here it is in its box..Oh and it's $249 each and they are currently sold out, so if you are interested in it, it looks like there is a list you can be added to and they will alert you when they get more in....

I think I am going to add my name to it personally, I need 3 please. :)

Your Life, Your Colors

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

It never fails...Every one of my clients has a problem choosing colors for their walls. They know what they like and don't for that matter but the process of looking through a fan deck or looking at all the paint samples in a store overwhelms them...They are afraid of making a mistake and their fear paralyzes them.

Glidden Paint has a blog now called....

My Colortopia provides inspiration, tools, and relatable advice from the Colortopia Team to help their readers build confidence throughout the painting process. This enables visitors to select colors, buy paint, get the paint on the walls and be really proud of and satisfied with the results. Basically what I do for my clients, BUT this is you doing it for you, how empowering right?

Check out their new quiz, "My Life My Colors" which you can take right here to help steer you in the right direction in painting your walls. It will help guide you in discovering colors that suit YOUR personality and YOUR lifestyle, plus it's short and sweet and fun to take, here it is.....

So do tell, after taking the quiz...What color selections did you end up with and what do you think of them? Can't wait to hear! :)

I am partnering with Glidden/Akzo Nobel paints with the My Life My Colors quiz but these are MY Opinions. :)

Color Palette, All Aboard

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:50:00 +0000

I am back and for those of you who were wondering where in the world I was, I was on the Society Islands, in the South Pacific. Anyway, I love it there, and have been 3 times now and it's still not enough...Simply put, it is paradise on earth.

From this blog post, here is that same church taken in Ta'haa 4 years later and with different light...

Since I have a design blog I better add some design to this post right?

Sooo we were on the Paul Gauguin ship.....

Rainbow showed up on Christmas day on the stern of the ship, isn't this magical?

The Paul Gauguin is already a beautiful vessel, but guess what...? In a week they are going to completely remodel the inside to the following...I took pics of the boards that not everyone got to see on the ship, I had special access and thought I would give you a sneak peek here....

Pool Deck

Promenade Area Deck 6

Le Verandah restaurant

Promenade area, deck 5

L'Etoile Restaurant

Main Cabins

Le Grille Restaurant

Suites

Deck 8 Lounge

Le Grand Salon

Reception Area

More Suites

I am sooo glad to be seeing so much blue and green used in the new deco it really compliments this kind of scenery nicely don't you think?

It will only take them 3 weeks to do the entire ship and they are sailing to Australia with the contractors working the entire time...Isn't that cool and mind blowing too that they can get that much work done in only 3 weeks? I can tell you the planning took alot more time than that.

Thumbs waaayyy up or what?

In regards to this post...I don't work for the Paul Gauguin or get any incentive (I wish) for mentioning them, I am doing it strictly from the heart which all my blog posts are if you are new to my site.

Where is Marie?

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:00:00 +0000

I am on vacation for my Christmas celebration....Can you guess where in the world I am?

Heaven on earth...

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. I will be back January 5th, 2012...Oh my gosh 2012 already...Wishing you all a fabulous new year!!!!

Ahhh Spa

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:43:00 +0000

A client I have had for a long time was ready to tackle/update her master suite....We decided on a spa blue color and went from there....

First things first....Here was her bedroom before....That Ralph Lauren pattern was soooo popular for sooo long but it was time for it to go....

My client loves toile, so I was very excited when I found this for her...

As you can tell she loved her swags so we kept them just like they were but did them in the spa color.

Then we tackled her loveseat that is in her master bedroom...She said that all her grandkids while they were growing up always slept on this loveseat when they stayed the night.

But now the kids are older and braver to sleep upstairs and so we can do a more adult color on her loveseat....This fabric is sooooo soft and luxurious, I wish you could feel it from your computer monitors.

So the bathroom was all cultured marble and I had a pretty tight budget on this bathroom but we needed to add more than some paint to really make a difference....So the first issue I had to tackle was this SILLY cultured marble area of the floor I guess that was to protect the floors originally...Not sure?

I was told that the floors had to stay BUT of course I couldn't find a perfect match, so I recommended we enlarge the shower and the tub deck and bump it up to the original tile floors...And it worked, they love it!

I was able to find a tile that was close enough for the vertical tiles that bumped up to those floors, can you tell? None of us could.

Oh and by the way that is an air bath, which my client has already have several baths in and is in love.

Before: Not horrible, just boring right?

After: Fresh!

Before: Close up of cultured marble shower

After...See any differences?

Can you really have enough shower heads and body sprays when building your own spa?

Before: Vanity

After: Vanity...My client repainted and upholstered the vanity chair herself, nice right?

So my client has always loved polished brass but I convinced her to go with the Moen Antique Bronze for a more updated look...She loves it.

In person it actually has a bit of silvery tones to it, can you tell from my photos?

We got this job done right in time for Thanksgiving and her house full of 25 guests! She later told me her master suite was a huge hit with the family...My work here is done.

What do you think?

Sit(s) & Stay A While

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Today I am being featured on SITS...For those of you who don't know what the heck I am talking about, well SITS in a nutshell is a group of very supportive women, whom I love. :)

If you are new to my site, welcome! My goal is to share, inspire and guide in all things design, one time a week. I am heavy on the pictures and less about being overly wordy, because I am not a writer like most of you out there.

I post a lot of my clients' projects. I also post about design products that I come by, often before they are available to the public. And I guide....meaning, when I hear the same question over and over from clients I post about getting those answered.

Here are a few more of my blog postings....The ones with lots of "before" and "after" photos. For the rest of you who follow me already, consider this week an update on some fun past posts.

Here's a clients powder room with the most gorgeous blue...
Powder Room with Pop

Just recently turned a small, underused hall closet into a wine cellar...
Wine Cellar For a Fellar

There is a way to update your staircase, check this out...
This Stairway is Heaven

Here is a really small master bathroom I made feel all sparkly and pretty...

Jewelry Box Bathroom

I love comments. I love followers. I love subscribers. You are what inspires me to continue on this journey.

Well I am honored for you stopping by and reading my blog, thank you for visiting and I hope you come back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 15:00:00 +0000

I am thankful for all of you, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

We celebrated a day early since my Mom came for a visit. Of course we made a bunch of yummy food and ate too much but had a wonderful time.

After spending all day cooking yesterday...I would love to know what some of your signature/special dishes are.

Drifting into Driftwood

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Light woods are back and for lack of a more interesting name I am calling them all "driftwood" though I don't necessarily mean real driftwood....It seems to be the best way to initially describe them to my client, everyone knows what the color of driftwood is right?

Have you noticed lately that the trend of dark wood is fading and lighter woods are back?

Everywhere I look I am seeing reclaimed woods, natural woods, bleached woods, limed or do I dare say pickled woods and even painted woods.

They range in color from almost white to a rich taupey color with variations of shading.

Restoration Hardware, Wisteria and Ballard Designs are all top of mind companies that are embracing and spreading the love on this "new" look.

To keep your house timeless I would recommend combining all woods in your house. I think a house all done in dark woods is too much and a house done in all "driftwoods" is too much too. But mixing them together can look quite stunning.

What do you think of the "new" light wood trends? Have you embraced them yet? Most of my clients have NOT, but it's just a matter of time I think....

Blingy, Bling, Bling

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:50:00 +0000

I have been having sooo much fun with one of my clients lately.....She loves bling aka anything shiny and pretty and isn't afraid to decorate with it either.

(clients daughter, added another layer of bling to her chandelier)

In strategically placed spots throughout the house are bits of sparkle to make her smile.

I recently had a leather sectional delivered to her media room and the delivery guy, all sweaty and gruff actually said to me, "are you the designer of this house? I love the foyer chandelier, it's beautiful"....How random, cool is that?

My contractor was skeptical through it all, since he was the one who had to put all the lighting together and let's just say that was not "standard procedure"...

But the other day I was getting window treatments installed and he texted me on his own, "looking great!"...Whoa, he is a man's man and doesn't like ANYTHING "girly".

Sooo I would say mission accomplished by those 2 remarks alone...But on top of it the client is thrilled and that makes me very happy! :)

Sooo the above pictures were all the crystal lighting we put in her house but check out the formal dining room hardware for her window treatments....

An unexpected surprise don't you think? Remember "shiny and pretty".

Paris Time

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:50:00 +0000

I have decided to not fight jet lag and instead embrace Paris time...The problem with this though is most of my clients don't want to have meetings at 5am....Sooo I am hoping that within a few days my jet lag will have worn off and I will gradually go back to USA Central Time, I know this weekend we'll be falling back so that should help.

Sooo anyway, the trip was fantastic....Want to hear about it???

My Mom and I arrived in Belgium and of course immediately had to taste all that they are known for....Chocolates, beer, french fries and waffles, almost in that order and you know what.....They are all better there! :)

We walked around Brussels and of course had to see the Mannekin Pis statue...He was sooo much smaller than I pictured him being...Oh and the picture on the right is a day trip to Brugge, beautiful, quaint town.

Next we trained it over to Amsterdam, where anything goes, and I mean anything! I didn't buy the cannabis starter kits or buy a woman from the red light district either, though I saw them....Oh and if you want coffee go to a Cafe, Coffee Shops are NOT what they appear...

I haven't ever seen sooo many bicycles in my life!

We departed Amsterdam for the Rhine and Moselle rivers via a river cruise, through Germany...This did NOT suck! This was my Mom's first cruise so she was VERY excited...

We visited some great towns along the way, such as Cologne,

Rudesheim,

Heidelberg,

Koblenz,

Cochem,

Bernkastel,

(Even on a foggy morning it was beautiful!)

and many other charming sites along the way....

If you haven't done this part of Germany don't hesitate to consider it for a future vacation destination area...Especially if you like wine, which my Mom and I do.

We then disembarked...

And went on to Paris...My Mom left and my hubby had flown in for 3 days of romance, which was bliss, though he had jet lag when we met up, ha!

(This is where I met up with him but he was posing for this picture, I didn't really find him with his tongue out, ha!)

We walked ALL over Paris, as in over 8 hours, only stopping to eat occasionally...It's truly the only way to see Paris up close and personal.

The next day we rode bicycles all around Versailles.

We stopped at a local outdoor market and stocked up on must-haves including wine, cheese, baguette, olives and of course some french pastries...

and picnicked right here on the grounds....

(At the other end of this lake is the Palace)

You could bike around this forever and just get lost in all the beauty around you...

Then of course you see this, the gold gate....

We were shocked with the opulence of it all, and now I think I know what those women must have thought when they arrived to take down the Monarchy...

I will blog more on the Palace of Versailles at another date, I promise.

It was a fabulous trip and yes it's hard to be back, and yes I wish I was there still...If it wasn't for my baby dog here in America, I would still probably find a way to be there, for work of course. ;)

Hope you enjoyed a peek into our trip aboard.

Euro Bound

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Well my Mom and I are off to Europe until the end of the month. Sooo looking forward to a nice break and some hang time with her.

Here's a pic of my Mom from last month, isn't she cute?

I will be back to blog posting on November 3rd...Yea, November...Can you believe it's right around the corner? I can't.....The holiday season is almost upon us....

Have a great rest of October and Halloween too....

Coyote Beautiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

If you don't know this about me as of yet I have a complete and utter obsession to anything shiny ie: glass products.

Sooo of course this came across my desk and though I have yet to use their products, I just had to show you their creativity.

Melissa Paxton is the owner and artist and has been creating fine art in glass for over 25 years. Her expertise obviously covers the full spectrum of art glass techniques.

They do custom commissions for private residences....Can you even imagine a powder room sink done in one of these?

Okay and for you out there that feel like these are too much, even their solid colored vessels are beautiful....

Coyote Glass Design is located in Salado, Texas..If you are kind of new to my blog, click here to see when I visited Salado, a cute little artist town.

Powder Room with POP!

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:31:00 +0000

I wanted to to add some WOW to a client's boring powder room, as you know from past posts I love bold colors in powder rooms!

This powder room had been originally faux painted probably 10ish years ago and it just felt old and tired in there. Also, look at the dinky sink and toilet, that is not an illusion, they really were....I felt like a giant in there.

Soooo bye bye booorrinnnng and dated....

And hello Azure Blue.....Don't you just love that name....Conjurs up a vacation on a tropical island for me....

Since we carried the new hardwoods into this powder room, I really wanted to carry that richness into the vanity.....Doesn't it look beautiful against that Azure blue?

No more white toilet...I actually first got a white toilet for the powder room and the client hated it. So we ended up with this one, they win, I think it was a beautiful choice with the travertine sink and countertop.

This isn't just some ordinary flat paint color, it's a LusterStone, (which is sooo hard to capture the true beauty of it by camera but here is the ceiling)...See how the light reflects off of it?

Quick Tip: When painting your own powder rooms ALWAYS do your ceilings, it makes all the difference.

Only the true diehard do-it-yourselfers should attempt this...I had my professional faux painter do this room. But if you must here is a how to.

My client's cross looks beautiful on the wall, whether in the dark but most definitely in the light. :)

In the Dark

In the light

This color always makes me feel like I had a mini vacation, I love it! Sooo happy that the client let me make a bold choice in their powder and of course they have no regrets...It's actually a popular visiting spot now. ;)

Solar Tubin'

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Okay so it's official, I am in loooovvveee with Solatubes! I have now added them to 3 different clients master closets that originally didn't have any daylight and now they are being flooded with it!

The innovative tube shaped designs transfer light through attic space and deliver light in ways that traditional skylights can't. They quite literally take less than 2 hours to have installed without any structural reframing and I think they are worth every penny too.

Every time I walk into my clients closets after install I feel like the lights are on already but they aren't, clients giggle with delight in showing me, which of course I love. It could be too that natural light can enhance mental and physical well being, boost concentration and energy levels and a variety of other unexpected perks, ie: giggling with delight. ;0

Of course there is the "green" aspect of this wonderful invention....You'll save on your electric bill by not having to turn on your lights as much and of course your heating and cooling loss from inefficient window and skylights. In other words, installing just 1 10" tub can save about 19 lbs of carbon emissions annually. Oh and I believe there is a federal tax credit out there for these, even better right?

Think about other places that don't have a lot of light too besides closets....A dark hallway, stairwell, laundry room, etc. pretty cool huh?

So do you get it? Do you think these are as cool or what?

Please note: All pictures "borrowed" off of the actual Solatube site, I had to because my pictures don't show the befores and afters correctly, might be my flash ie: me.

Wine Cellar For A Fella(r)

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000

My client's foyer was definitely lacking some color, interest and well even some love.

The mini hall closet door under the stair case was a total eyesore and though my client isn't a big wine drinker he loved the idea of having it turned into a conversation piece if nothing else...A wine cellar with presence.

We lost the door and to play off on all the other arches already in the foyer, decided to add an arch to this new cellar as well.

We had the wine cellar insert custom made obviously to the closet, so you can easily pull it all the way out to store wines on either side as well.

Anyway, it lights up beautifully at night, but of course I haven't ever been to my clients at night WITH my camera so you will just have to trust me.

with flash, faux doesn't look as good up close and with bright lights...

It's normal look....

Sooo my client LOVES showing it off, but I am not sure if he is into wine anymore than before.....

I think it made a BIG difference though to the foyer don't you? Oh and of course some new floors, and paint helped. ;)

Creative Bath Storage Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 20:23:00 +0000

Hi, everyone, I'm Susi and I write as a guest blogger for Design Shuffle, a fabulous social media site that promotes Interior Designers and their work from around the world. My writing focuses on things I'm passionate about; interior design, home decorating ideas, home furnishings, gardening, travel and art. I get to look at gorgeous things all day and write about them. I'm a very lucky girl!

Thanks, Marie, for inviting me and Design Shuffle to visit Decorator on Demand to talk about creative bathroom storage. I just saw the article on suzanis... and just wanted to say that I share the suzani love. Not sure if suzanis would work in the bathroom (maybe as a towel pattern), but I think I've come up with some great examples of creative bathroom storage ideas. Hope you enjoy them!

Liz Marie via

The humble, versatile Mason jar makes great storage for small stuff in the bathroom. Mounted with pipe clamps, this is a clever DIY project.

Martha Stewart via

Finding extra space for storage in a small bathroom definitely takes some creativity. Above the door is the perfect place for extras that you don't need every day.

My Home Ideas via

Walls provide ample opportunities for additional storage. A hanging basket system designed for the kitchen works to hold towels, soaps and other bathroom essentials. This is definitely one of those very useful bathroom design ideas.

Real Simple via

Reuse and repurpose flea market finds for clever storage solutions. Old wood crates have a natural vintage charm.

Better Homes and Gardens via

Colorful metal buckets make for charming cottage or beach style storage. Would be cute in a kids' bathroom too.

Beyond the Baby via

A ladder bookcase works in the bathroom to store towels and other essentials without taking up a large footprint. A vintage wood ladder leaning against the wall would work too.

Katy Elliot via

A small piece of furniture, like an ÈtagËre or side table with a shelf, makes a lovely storage space in the bathroom. Measure the space and look for small tables, bookcases and cabinets that will fit.

Boho Bed Love via

Natural elements, like these wood bowls, make for interesting storage ideas. Think outside the ordinary for creative bathroom ideas and clever storage solutions.

This content is provided by Design Shuffle, where you can find and share talented interior designs from New York Interior Designers, to Los Angeles interior designers, and more, check out the latest at Design Shuffle.

Check out more home decorating tips.

Life is NOT a HGTV Show

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Shocking I know...Let me explain further...

1) HGTV shows make remodels look easy and painless, weekend handyman be warned...If there is something that will go wrong it will....Costing you more money, time and of course your sanity and the sanity of those around you.

2) HGTV shows make remodels look like they are done with a wiggle of the nose (remember Samantha from Bewitched?) Those shows have large crews who planned everything out months in advance and have you heard of editing? What is a wiggle of the nose to us takes time behind the scenes.

3) HGTV shows make remodels look inexpensive. I love it when I watch one of those shows and at the end they will say something like, "and this room only cost $1,000.00 to complete"...Who are they kidding? Most of those shows don't factor in the lots of free product, labor, etc.

That said, I do love having first meetings with clients, because most of them really have a pretty good grasp on design elements already, which in turn make my job easier. Clients nowadays seem a lot more open and willing to experiment or step out of their comfort zones and I think it's because of shows on HGTV.

So at the end of the day, I think it's important to walk into your remodel with your eyes wide open and not be lulled by HGTV magic. Be prepared and buttoned up with your crew; ie: Architect; Designer; Contractor, BEFORE moving forward, I promise you will have a lot better experience that way.

Now back to my HGTV show...Ha!

Suzanis, Suzanis, SUZANIS!

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Do you know what Suzanis are? They are large embroidered textiles originally from Central Asia.

Traditionally made by Central Asian brides as part of their dowry and were presented to the groom on the wedding day. They represent an artistic realization of prayers for blessing and happiness of the future young family.

My fav's are the antique Suzanis (hand embroidered)....A great source for these is over at ebay.

Now they seem to be popping up all over the place....Calico Corners has a Suzani inspired fabric....

I am crazy for these chairs...all 3 of them. I have a favorite, the orange one, but seriously I want 1 of each..

How do you feel about Suzanis? Do you feel the need to inject some color/life into your own color palette?

Mirrored Kitchen Cabinets?

noreply@blogger.com (Marie) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:00:00 +0000

I know it sounds very, disco ball/70's maybe right?

But I just saw these the other day and thought it was a very creative and wonderful idea to consider for your own kitchens to add a little something to dull/boring kitchen cabinets.

Everyone likes the texture of glass but not everyone wants people to see in inside their kitchen cabinets, some plastic cups or mismatched plates aren't worth displaying, ha!

With mirrors you still get that same feeling of them being glass but everything is obviously hidden.

I transform old kitchen cabinet doors all the time with glass inserts but now I am going to try mirrored...I am looking forward to using this technique for my clients.

Do you like this idea as much as me?