Paint is one of the most important ingredients in your room.  You took the time to pick just the right wall shade to compliment the rest of your design, so why ignore this 5^th wall?  Too often I see a room with beautiful crown molding that gets swallowed up by a ceiling color that doesn’t provide enough contrast to show any woodwork detail.

The first and easiest solution is to pick a contrasting shade or a color several shades lighter or darker than your wall.  This strategy will instantly define your crown molding and make it stand out.  After all, you probably invested a good amount of money for this upgrade, and you want to make sure that your moldings stand out in the room.

Another great way to highlight your ceiling is to apply an Anaglypta paper.  Anaglypta is an embossed paintable wallcovering, often imitating a tin ceiling.  It is applied like wallpaper and then painted over with a semi-gloss paint.  The extra sheen in the semi-gloss paint highlights the relief effect of this paper.  It can also be faux painted to create a metal texture giving it a rustic finish.  This paper also offers great coverage for those not so perfect ceilings, hiding small imperfections.

Adding wallpaper to your dining room ceiling is the perfect way to create dramatic ambiance.  With so many textures and designs, wallpaper offers endless possibilities when applied to a ceiling and is especially interesting when applied to a tray or coffered ceiling.   Wallpaper with a metallic or glass bead finish looks great when illuminated by your chandelier.  An alternative to wallpaper is a faux finish on the ceiling.  When a design calls for this, we enlist help from Heather Pallotta at Studio-eighteen. Her work is simply incredible.  We have posted several samples in the photo section, but please stop by her site at www.studio-eighteen.com to see more.

When a client wants to kick it up a notch, we call Jim Hawthorne of Regal Moldings to install molding on the ceiling (a.k.a… a coffered ceiling).   A coffered ceiling consists of recessed panels made from a series of crisscrossed beams, crown molding and other decorative trim. These ceilings are most often seen in libraries, studies and dens, but are showing up more and more in all areas of the home, especially in kitchens and dining rooms.  Take a look at some of his extraordinary work in the photo section of this blog and take the time to visit his site at www.regalmodings.com.

With so many choices to make your ceiling stand out in your room, why settle for the easy way out with a boring white ceiling. It can be as simple as painting it a shade to compliment your walls, or as dramatic as adding wallpaper, faux finishes and architectural moldings.  It’s time we stop ignoring this important part of our home and start giving it the respect it deserves!

Here are a few things to think about before you call a decorator.

Budget…this is one of most difficult things to get a customer to disclose. Knowing what someone wants to, and can spend is important. By understanding a client’s budget I am able to research fabrics and products that the client can afford. A beautiful room can be done on budget. Your designer just needs to be aware of what that number is so you won’t need to dip into your children’s college fund. A good designer will help you establish a plan that phases in projects as you can afford them. ReDefining a room can be costly, and not everyone can do everything at once. It’s good to have a decorating strategy to follow, and introduce new design stages as you can afford them.

Have an idea of what you like. If you can’t explain it, find examples in a magazine. A picture is worth a thousand words! You will be surprised at how many common denominators you will find in all those photographs. You may think you don’t know what your style is, but you will be drawn to the same things over and over. Your decorator will help you identify those common “likes”. Share your “dislikes” too. This can be helpful to your designer as well. If I know that my client doesn’t like plaids, I make sure I don’t include those in the design plan.

Don’t ask too many people for their opinion! This just confuses the client, and your house ends up looking like your Mother-in-law’s. You are the one that lives in your home and your opinion is what matters. My rule of thumb is if someone is not contributing to the mortgage, they don’t have a say… this goes for children too! Throwing too many people into the mix will just frustrate both you and your designer. I have designed a whole project only to have to start from scratch because a good intentioned friend didn’t like something. However, if your spouse or partner has a strong opinion, they should be at the initial consultation. I have witnessed too many clients loving the design, and then calling to say we need to start over because their significant other did not!

Trust your decorator. If you could do this on your own, you wouldn’t need to hire someone. A good designer will take into consideration what your style is and not point you in an entirely different direction. They will help you think outside the box, and introduce a new spin on your style…trust them. Everyone gets into a decorating rut. You keep picking the same colors and similar items, and then you are disappointed when the room doesn’t turn out how you envisioned it. There’s a reason for that…..because it ends up looking like the old room that you got tired of! A good designer will know what the new trends and colors are. You don’t have to completely change your style, but you can infuse it with a fresh new approach.

Gone are the mini-prints and stripes with matching borders, and in come textured papers, bold patterns, and sophisticated motifs.   Say adios to the country themed papers and say yes to more transitional patterns with interesting textures, such as sand or glass beads.  Woven grass cloths, once popular in the 60’s is coming back faster than you a say Sonny and Cher.

Wallpaper definitely took a hiatus a few years ago when faux finishes exploded onto the decorating scene.  Sponging or ragging paint became all the craze and papers were cast aside like yesterday’s shoulder pads.  It wasn’t long before wallpapers were all but disappearing from homes, stores and decorator showrooms.  I really began to wonder if papers would ever come back into vogue.  I noticed that several of our vendors hadn’t introduced any new wallpaper books in years.

And who could forget trying to remove old wallpaper?  How many people swore that they would never wallpaper again after renting steamers and scraping for days?   Wallpaper removal can be a difficult, frustrating, and time consuming task.  However, if you prepare your walls properly, by priming or sizing them, the paper will come off easily.

If you have never hung wallpaper before, you may want to hire a professional.  Some of the smallest rooms, like a powder room, can be the most difficult to install because of the many objects to cut around.  A good quality wallpaper can run anywhere from $ 50.00 a single roll and up (most papers are packaged in double rolls, but are charged at a single roll rate).  A wallpaper project can be quite an expense, especially if your pattern has a large repeat, so you want to make sure it is done right. A professional installer’s rate averages about  $ per double roll.

With the resurrection of wall coverings in today’s home décor, it’s almost impossible to pick up a design magazine and not see a beautiful room featuring Thibaut wallpapers and fabrics.  Thibaut , (pronounced Tee-Bo) is the nation’s oldest continuously operating wallpaper firm located right in our back yard in Newark, New Jersey.  Thibaut designs include everything from historic reproductions, toile (patterns with a scene), damasks, textures, tropical prints and novelty patterns.  What I love most about Thibaut is their fresh, inspiring color palette and their ability to infuse classic designs with a modern spin.

So, to sum it all up, wallpaper is back on the scene.  Look for a fresh twist on traditional patterns, or try a textured weave or grass cloth to bring your home up to date.  If you are not experienced in hanging wallpaper, hire a professional!  Wallpaper can be expensive, especially when a mistake needs to be fixed.  A professional will also make sure that your walls are primed correctly so the paper can be removed easily.  Looking for that fabulous Thibaut wallpaper?  (www.thibautdesign.com) You won’t find it at a big box store.   It is available through wallpaper stores or your decorator.  If you are interested in seeing Thibaut, contact me. And oh yeah, take down that rooster border and throw it out with those vertical blinds.

Unfortunately, when it comes to decorating, we usually focus our attention on the areas of our home that other people see, and neglect the space that may actually bring us some sanity after a long day.

The size of the master bedroom has increased significantly in the past several years. Not only can this space accommodate a seating area, but many new homes offer master bedroom suites, that include a separate area large enough for a sofa and a big screen TV. If you are not fortunate enough to have a separate area, look around your bedroom for extra unused space.  (Yes, you may have to remove the treadmill with the clothes hanging on it to make more room.)  It doesn’t take much to transform a corner into a comfortable sanctuary.

The first photo was sent to us from a woman in Morristown asking how she could transform this area into a more comfortable space. The second photo shows our suggestions.  The first step is to replace the wing chairs with seating that is more plush and comfortable.  It’s hard to curl up with a good book in a chair that is not designed for that. Adding a nice tufted ottoman is a great idea and a great way to put your feet up. Choose a fun fabric for your ottoman, like an animal print, to make this a focal point.  Be careful not to overdo the animal print theme.  Keep it to one or two items in a room.

Instead of an ordinary lamp on a side table, why not try hanging a chandelier or pendant light with a barrel shade.  This frees up space on your side table and gives you extra room to display family photos or other personal knick-knacks that are meaningful to you. Add some beautiful panels or decorative hardware for a dramatic backdrop to your new area. The panels can be stationary or have the capability to close, adding extra drama and warmth to your room.  Lastly, add a few decorative pillows and a throw. It’s a great way to introduce additional fabrics into the room, not to mention they come in handy on a chilly evening.

Now that your master bedroom sitting area is complete, uncork that wine, find the remote and  … oh yeah, lock the door!

Up load your photos to Julie@40-main.com and we can give you ideas on how to ReDefine your home.

Our favorite option is the woven wood folding door. Woven wood blinds, a.k.a. “match stick” or “bamboo” shades, have been updated with lots of new detail. They are hand woven from natural bamboo, woods, reeds and grasses. They look great on any window adding texture and a natural element to your room. They are also available in a vertical orientation for your sliders. Think of an accordion door that folds to one side in a woven wood texture. The nice thing about this option is that the folds stack tightly back, taking up a small amount of space so it will not obstruct your view.

Woven woods are also available in a sliding panel option. The track has several flat panels that traverse to one or both sides of your slider. They slide behind each other when they are in an open position which allows for minimal stack back and an optimal outside view. This is a great product if you desire a sleeker, more contemporary look.

Hunter Douglas offers a beautiful solution to your slider with their Luminette Privacy Sheers. They provide precise light control with translucent or room darkening options. Sheer fabric is permanently bonded between vertical vanes creating a softer effect than a vertical blind. The Luminette Modern Drapery line is an innovative twist on the traditional Luminette. This product consists of contoured columns or folds, much like a traditional drape and is available with a decorative rod. This is a great option if you are looking for a more traditional look, but need the shade to stack tightly so it doesn’t obstruct your view.

Shutters are a great solution for any window, and especially for that problem sliding door. Shutters can be installed as a bi-pass system, where one shutter slides behind the other, or a bi-fold, where the shutters open in a traditional fashion. With vanes now available up to 4” wide, the shutter, while in an open position, will not block your view. Shutters are available in wood, composite or vinyl. The vinyl shutter is perfect if your home is located near the ocean or is in a bathroom as it will not warp or corrode from the damp air.

If your sliding door has a lot of wall space, a traditional pleated drape can be a stylish option. An average slider, 75” wide, can easily require 12 yards of fabric. Once the fabric is pleated to fit the door, the drape will cover almost half of the window when it is open. If you have adequate wall space you can have the drape stack past the door and on the wall. The nice thing about this option is that you can introduce a beautiful fabric and decorative hardware into your room. A drape can also have an insulated lining which can provide additional energy efficiency.

So what does this boil down to in terms of cost? You can expect to pay anywhere from, $750.00 to $3000.00 for an average slider. This will depend on your product and manufacturer.

Well the 80’s was a decade of things we would like to forget, like big hair, shoulder pads and Milli Vanilli–and hopefully we can add one more thing to that list–vertical blinds.

The number one rule in ReDefining your home is “pick your paint last.” There is a reason that Benjamin Moore has run out of names for paint colors. “Dill Pickle?” Really? There are so many colors on the Benjamin Moore design wheel that every adjective and object has now been used to describe all the colors in the spectrum.  Too many times a customer will call wanting to hire us for a home project and has already painted the room. And we get it.  You fall in love with a color, whether it is a spicy hue like Mayflower Red or, a restful spa shade like Stratton Blue.  Sometimes that color choice will limit you in finding other design elements in your room.  Our customer that chose Dill Pickle unfortunately could only find a handful of fabrics in a showroom that has thousands of choices.

Paint potentially has the greatest impact in a room.  Some people play it “safe” by painting a room a neutral color like beige, only to be disappointed because the color looks too pink in the room.  We call this “Paint Roulette”…or fanning open the color wheel and randomly picking a neutral tone.  It is slightly more reliable than the “einy, meany, miney, mo,” method but produces equally disappointing results.   There is nothing more unsatisfying to a designer than having to pick fabrics and wallpaper to a paint that doesn’t match ANYTHING.   What’s even more disappointing is the customer usually ends up settling for fabrics that are not their first choice, but they match the paint.

The first rule of thumb is to start by choosing the item that has the least amount of choices, such as a patterned rug.  There are only so many patterned rugs available, but paint selections can be endless, especially if you factor in that custom color matching is a snap for paint companies. Matching paint to your rug gives you endless possibilities, while matching a rug to your paint drastically limits your options.   By choosing the paint first, you are boxing yourself into and limiting your choices for the design elements that could have been the perfect complement to the room if the paint was selected LAST.  Now that you have chosen that perfect patterned rug, or fabric, the paint wheel becomes your friend and the possibilities for paint colors become endless.

Finding the right paint color can be stressful, and ReDefining your home should be an enjoyable process.  Just remember, first select the item for your home that has the least amount of availability, usually rugs, followed by wallpaper, then fabrics and lastly, paint.  Hiring a professional designer can, in the long run, be more cost effective than calling your painter to repaint your room. Most importantly wouldn’t it be nice to nail it on the first try?