Someone's going to love your stuff!

“How many things are there which I do not want.” Socrates 

After my divorce a good friend gave me some wonderful advice when I was trying to decide what to do with my wedding ring. She said that I needed to get it out of my home in order to make room for all the good things that were waiting for me to make space for them.

That really hit home because without realizing it, by holding on to that token of my past I was keeping myself from opening to new love.

Now I work with clients trying to make fresh starts in their own lives, and I always share that wisdom with them. Every time we start I hear the list of excuses why they CAN’T get rid of Aunt Ann’s chair, the second set of dishes, the broken mirror, the dusty records in the attic, etc... At this point, after reminding them that they are trying to move FORWARD in their lives, I gently remind them that instead of hoarding the stuff out of fear and guilt, they can let someone else use and enjoy it! Not only will the stuff have a new life, but there will be room in their home and heart for things that will bring them joy to look at and use.

If you are ready to tackle your home and lighten its load, here are five helpful tips to focus the project:

1. 1.Contain the project. Choose one half of a closet, one quarter of a garage, or one box of papers. Make it an area that you can finish in an hour or two.
2. 2.Get comfortable and prepared. Have a chair or pillow to sit on, have water on hand, and have boxes ready for the things you are keeping, the things you are letting go, and the things that need further consideration.
3. 3.Set a timer for one hour. During that one hour do not answer the phone, wander to the fridge, or otherwise get distracted. When the timer dings, take the box for Goodwill to the donation station immediately. Move the Craigslist items to a corner and post them within 24 hours. Action is the key!
4. 4.If you are going to sell your items through Craigslist, decide how you want to use the money you make. Write down that goal or post of picture of it in the workspace you are organizing. By posting a picture nearby of what you DO want then as you hold each item you can ask yourself if it supports the life you WANT or the life you have.
5. 5.Unless you are focussing on paperwork for the hour, NEVER read, sort or file the papers you find while decluttering. You’ll NEVER finish because either you’ll drown in nostalgia or get overwhelmed. Instead, have a small box on hand, toss the papers you find into it, and make that a separate organizing project.

Once you finish an section, celebrate. Imagine how much closer you are to having the life and home you want, and smile!

Create a "Conversation Room"

“I find television to be very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book.  

Groucho Marx

Long Live the Living Room

Home stagers, TV advertisers, and greeting cards companies make their money selling a fantasy.  They sell you a make-believe world in which friends come over to your home to linger over a cup of tea and celebrate the ups and downs of life.  They convince you that this home, this brand of coffee, this holiday card is the missing ingredient, the key, that will give you a life filled with friendship and meaning.  

Of course, that’s a bunch of hooey.  There is no magic product that will create a meaning-filled, love-filled life.  The “secret” is, in fact, that any house can be a home, any cup of coffee can give friends a reason to stay a little longer, and any  sent to a loved one shows you’re thinking of them, even a halloween card sent at Easter.

There is, however, something you can do to increase your chance for a a magical, meaningful life.  It has to do to with creating a place amenable to conversation, a space in your home where distractions are limited and the focus is on the human being in front of you.  What started long ago as the parlor and then morphed into the now unused living room I’d like to reintroduce as...

Before, the focus of the room was a giant TV.  That TV is still in the room, but now the focus is on gathering and talking.

“The Conversation Room.”

It all started with the parlor, a pristine room where guests and host met over tea.  As cultures became less formal parlors fell out of fashion and living rooms took over.  They were less formal than a parlor, but still tended to be a grown up space.  

As we started focusing more on involving children in every aspect of our lives, and as the TV became a bigger and more important fixture in our homes, many created a separate room to play in as a family, aptly named the “family room”.  Soon the formal living room became a sort of museum; polished, pristine, and unused.

Finally, the family room devolved (yes, I am biased) into a media room, a room completely centered on, focused on, the TV.  As a result, now when our friends come over they all crowd into the kitchen!  Why?  It’s the only public room left in the home where it’s polite to talk (admit it, if the TV is on, it’s generally considered rude to talk - amazing how the TV program gets precedence over human interaction!).

But I say you CAN have the magic they show in the coffee commercials?  All you need to do is create a conversation room in your home.

How do I create a conversation room?

A conversation room can be created in your old ‘formal’ living room, or even created out of your current family/media room (if the TV junkies are open to the idea).  Of course you’ll want the room to be attractive, the furniture comfy,  and the colors to look well thought out, but those are details; the key is in the *furniture arrangement*.

Flip through a magazine and look at the images of inviting living rooms - unlike many family rooms you see today with the furniture all directed towards the TV, the seating in these rooms faces other seating, making it easy and natural to talk.  It’s kind of like tree stumps in a circle around a fire pit.  That’s it.  That’s the key!

So here, along with that most important furniture arrangement key, are:

Five tips for creating a great, living, conversation room.

1. Make it intimate.

This is that first key - make sure the furniture allows for easy conversation.  No one should have to overturn their head to chat with a friend.  Equally, no one should have to shout to be heard or struggle to hear the conversation.  Of course a conversation room can be created in a great big room, but it should still be broken down into small conversation spots, small enough for two to gossip, and large enough for four friends to pass an afternoon. 

2. Make it comfortable.

Forget stiff and formal living room furniture.  And lose the old futon that swallows your friends.  The furniture should be comfortable and inviting - and that means not only the right level of “squooshiness” but also that it should be neither so clean, nor so dirty, that people are afraid to sit.  Also make sure that the temperature is comfortable; have a couple of throws in easy reach for friends who might feel chilled. 

3.  Make it private.

A conversation room should feel “safe” for sharing secrets.  It’s not meant to be the center of attention, or right off the kids’ play area, or next to the main phone in the house.  It should be free of distractions friends can come together and plot their next conquest and commiserate over their latest lost love.

4. Invite a little distraction.

While it is important that there be no TV in the conversation room, or if there is, that it has a very good cover that conceals it and that the furniture is *not* oriented towards it, you still want a little distraction in the room for those comfortable pauses in any conversation.  Light music, a garden view or interesting painting, and a few good books on the table will do.

5. Make it stylish.

Give the room a theme or style that inspires you to sit and stay a while.  Prefer a clean, open, contemporary look?  Or a cozy, country feel?  Maybe a fascinating global adventure?  Play with it, but give it a distinct personality; it shouldn’t feel like a forgotten or catch-all room.  Give it the honor that you want to give to your visiting friends.

It’s time to reclaim a LIVING living room - good luck!

PS - for a little help accomplishing this design mission consider hiring an interior “redesigner” - their focus and mission is to decorate using ‘what you have’!  

Finding Your Design Style

“Her hat is a creation that will never go out of style; it will just look ridiculous year after year.” Fred Allen

Finding your ‘style’ may feel impossible as you flip through the pages of home design magazines; there are so many beautiful rooms and furnishings!  With my clients I use mood boards that reflect five general styles; this eliminates some of the confusion and reduces the number of overwhelming options created by all those pictures.

Instead of confusing my customers with the intricacies of what might differentiate a French Country room from a Neoclassical room, or fussing over whether a Ming Dynasty vase belongs in a Japanese-influenced room, I keep the categories simple and broad so we can get down to the business of creating the new look.

Let’s begin with what we’ll call the “Classical” style.

CLASSICAL style feels timeless and honors history and tradition.  A classical room looks balanced and polished, features rich, luxurious fabrics and finishes, and exudes an air of quality.   You might like this style if you enjoy a clear feeling of antiquity and balance, and prefer old world treasures and marble floors with luxurious draperies.

Next consider the “Contemporary” style.

CONTEMPORARY style feels clean and open.  A contemporary space leans toward a minimalist feel, shunning clutter in favor of clean, crisp lines and a few key features that focus the room.  In contrast to the Classical style this leans towards the modern and new and tends to have an edgy, avante-garde look.

Perhaps you enjoy the natural, well-traveled look of the “Global” style.

GLOBAL style honors the world traveler and cultural collector.  A global room features natural fibers, varied textures, and colors common to nature.  It invites the viewer to take a journey.   This style can reflect one culture (such as a japanese-styled dining room or african-styled family room) or reflect a more general feeling of global travel.

For the fearless, perhaps a “Dramatic” style. 

DRAMATIC style feels fearless.  A dramatic room is far from ordinary and always leaves a lasting impression.  Built through drama, theme, and color, it is ‘extreme design’ and not for the faint of heart.  A dramatic room frequently begins with one of the other design styles, but that style is pushed beyond the ordinary to the spectacular.  This style is where theme rooms come into play - maybe a medieval castle for your basement media room, or an adventure filled jungle room for the kids!

For the hearth and home, “Country” style.

COUNTRY style speaks to tradition and family.  A country room embraces visitors with warmth and might feature family treasures, flea market finds, and cheerful, patterned, often mismatched fabrics.  It invites the visitor to sit and stay awhile.

And finally, you might find that you feel most suited to a combination of all the above.  This has become a very common in decorating, and we call it “Eclectic” style.

ECLECTIC style feels fun and vibrant.  Within an eclectic room all five styles may coexist harmoniously.  A well designed eclectic room showcases collected treasures and creates a jewel box of a room.

I find that while any room can reflect a given personality, an eclectic room will most fully represent its owner.  This style of room is most like a treasure chest and is filled with varied objects that may not all ‘match’ but that each speak to it’s owner I find that while any room can reflect a given personality, an eclectic room will most fully represent its owner.  This style of room is most like a treasure chest and is filled with varied objects that may not all ‘match’ but that each speak to it’s owner on a personal level.  The eclectic style is also well suited to the modern concerns for ecological friendly design because it allows for a viable combination of already-owned furnishings, consignment store finds and antiques, and new purchases.  

These are very broad categories, but are a wonderful starting point for figuring out the kind of room and home in which you’d like to live.  Try applying these style categories to the rooms you are drawn to as you flip through the magazines - you might be pleasantly surprised to find a common theme, and then suddenly you have a starting point for your new design!

Mood Boards: A great communication tool

After your interior designer has a good idea of what you have in mind for your project, they will put together a design concept for your home.  One of the tools they might use is called a 'mood board'.  A mood board is a communication tool that uses visual language to make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the colors and 'mood' wanted in the newly decorated room.  

Mood boards are not meant to be interpreted literally.  There is no need to nitpick the board and say that you don't like the arms on the chair or that you don't actually own (in the case of this board) a chocolate lab with it's own set of pearls.  You want to step back from the board and decide if the feeling, the essence it suggests, is the feeling and essence you want to live with in your new room.

This mood board was created to communicate the feeling of a 'vintage chic' style. 

The next picture shows one of the areas in the home that grew out of the mood board's concept.  Can you see the relation in the color scheme and feeling between the board and real life vignette?

There is no reason why you can't create a mood board for yourself, too!  If you are planning on working with a designer, most will welcome the advance time and thought you put into the dream and vision you have for your room.  And if you are paying your designer by the hour, you save money, too!  Don't worry about making it perfect, or even about things matching.  It can be a pile of clipped images that may not seem to relate; your designer can often distill your design style from vary disparate images.

On the other hand, if you are do-it-yourselfer, a complete mood board is a great tool for making sure that as you are out shopping you don't stray too far from the feeling you want, and you are more likely to end up with a cohesive, finished room than if you shop without this kind of a map and just buy on impulse.  Impulse shopping usually just leaves you with more stuff and a still unfinished room, crying out for cohesion.  So try your hand at a mood board.  Let your imagination run wild with the room you'd Love to have.  Clip images from home magazines, off the internet, from your own photos, and even from travel, fashion and cooking magazines.  This is about setting a mood with texture and color - the details of the arms on the chair will be worked out later.

Green is the new Black

I attended a seminar the other day at the Seattle Design Center by Bob Margulis of Ravenworks Joinery. For those looking for truly green, truly beautiful cabinetry, I highly recommend making an appointment with Bob!

Sustainably built kitchen cabinets by Ravenworks Joinery.

The seminar was designed to educate interior designers on "green building" and how they can educate clients and sway them towards "green" choices. What struck me was a comment Bob made about working for some of the wealthier clients in the Puget Sound area. When asked if it would violate his "green" principles to work for a client with a 10,000 square foot home, he said no, that he'd certainly take the job. Is he looking to cash in on a big project? While I am sure that the paycheck is nice, he had a more important reason for this choice. If he didn't take on the work, someone else surely would, and who's to say that that contractor would be using sustainable practices in his or her work? Regardless of Bob's (or my) opinion of living in that large of a home, making the cabinetry in such a home out of FSC wood is a great big checkmark on the side of the environment! It also gives Bob a chance to educate the customer or his contractors on other green choices that could be made in that home.

Bob made one other (I think) fantastic point. As environmentalists we *must* be careful about getting too high and mighty about our green choices. As he points out, what's "green" today may be "black" tomorrow. Take bamboo, for example. Just a few years ago this was touted as a fabulously green option for cabinetry, flooring, and other uses. Since then we have recognized that while it does *grow* sustainably, it is engineered using glues that off gas toxic fumes and it is also shipped halfway around the world, requiring enormous amounts of carbon based fuel to export. There is very little black and white in "green" - maybe green is the new gray.

Where to start with an interior designer

So you've decided to have a designer come over to look at your decorating dilemma.  If you've never worked with a design professional, you may not know what to expect.  This article is meant to give you some tools for making the most of that first meeting in terms of communicating your design wishes (please see "Up Front Budgets" for help on the financial side of that first meeting).  

A clean and contemporary bedroom featured on eurofurnitureonline.com

You've probably decided to hire a designer either because you feel that you 'have no style' or that this particular room is outside your problem solving comfort zone.  Regardless, please don't tell the designer to do "what ever they want" because you may not get what you want, but you'll have to pay any way.

How do you direct the conversation?  Do your homework.  My clients start one of three ways.  Either they have an inspiration piece they want to use to focus the room, they have a collection of images from the internet or magazines to share, or they get handed "The Book", my own collection of images for those too busy or uncertain to have started before I arrive.  

One of my clients asked me to redesign her bathroom.  She had a light fixture already chosen and purchased, and my job was to create a room around the fixture.  That was a great starting point!

Other clients have torn out 10, 20 or more pictures from design magazines and printed pictures they've downloaded from the internet.  To do something like this try typing in a search like "modern bedroom images" or "traditional kitchen images" in Google.  Then click on the "images" button right at the top of the Google search page and print out any that inspire you.  By going through these images with my client I learning what they like (or don't like) identify a common design thread and style.

Finally, many of my clients are overwhelmed before I arrive and have done practically nothing. They get "The Book."  The Book is simply a three ring binder full of images I have torn out of magazines over the years, and I have the homeowner go through with a stack of post-it notes and mark images that they love (and at least three that they hate).  From there I go through the ones marked, learn what they like and dislike, and again identify their design preferences.

I do this in addition to asking questions about their house, lifestyle, and wishes for their home.  All this is critical to making sure that 1) I understand what the client wants, 2) that my own design style is in line with their wishes so that we work together seamlessly and 3) that I am able to communicate effectively with this particular client; without effective communication the project is doomed.

Every designer that comes to your home with have their own way of running that first meeting, but the more prepared you are beforehand, the more you will get out of the meeting and the more quickly you'll know if this designer is the right designer for you and your home.

To Permit or Not To Permit... do you need a permit for your bathroom remodel?

As a homeowner you might not be sure whether you need to get a city permit for your bathroom remodel.  This information is meant to help clarify that question, but please keep in mind that this information is *only a guide* and that you need to evaluate each project individually.  There are some good resources to help you answer that question for your specific project, listed below.   Additionally, this article is only for Seattle area homes, because while the same rules may apply in other jurisdictions, they are not my area of expertise.

In all likelihood, you probably do not need a permit for your bathroom remodel.  If you do, you probably only need an “over-the-counter” electrical permit, for which you can quickly apply online, no need to wait for hours in a city office.

There are three basic kinds of permits you might face - the first is a building permit.  You might need this if you are removing structural beams or moving or resizing a window.  In a standard bathroom remodel you are probably leaving the walls alone, and perhaps replacing, but not moving or resizing a window.  No permit needed.  

The second kind is a plumbing permit.  You'll need this if you are moving around the rough plumbing, that is if you are, for example, moving the tub across the room, adding a stand alone shower, and moving the new double sink vanity to a new wall.  That is significant plumbing work and you should have a permit.  However if, like in many Seattle area remodels, you are just replacing the fixtures (and perhaps the shower diverter) but not moving the plumbing to new locations, no permit needed.

Finally there is the electrical permit.  This is the one permit that you might need, and you might need this even if there is no need for plumbing or building permits.  You want this if you are moving around the wiring (adding new recessed lighting, for example), changing the kind of wiring, or (especially) if you are running new circuits from your electrical box.  When would you need a new circuit?  In older houses it may simply not be done right and when you open the walls you may realize the circuits have too much load and need to be redone.  Or you might be adding electrical underfloor heating that should have it's own circuit.  You (or your contractor) might be tempted to skip an electrical permit, but they are not that hard to get (you can apply online!), and when you go to sell the house, you want that all in order.  Not to mention that you have no need for any new fire hazards, and having an inspector check the quality of your contractor's work is not such a bad thing.

So, what it often comes down to is what kind of remodel you are really doing.  If all you are doing is giving everything new clothes (tile, fixtures, paint, even sheetrock) but you are not changing any of the bones (plumbing, wiring, beams) then you likely have no need of a permit.  But I'll say it again, this is only a guide, so judge each project on it's own terms and, if you need more help, check out the Seattle Department of Planning webpage to learn more about building permits, read here to learn about plumbing permits, and click here to learn about electrical permits, and about applying online.

If you have any further questions, I'll be happy to help you find an answer, so don't hesitate to email me, too!  I am at design@rivalee.com.