Want prosperity in 2011? Then dress (your home) for success!

You've probably heard that you should "dress for the job you want", but did you know you should also dress your home for the life that you want?  

• Want to be a successful business person?  Is your office the room of a successful entrepreneur or the cave of a messy middleman?
• Want to be a healthy, energetic person?  Is your kitchen a room that invites cooking healthy meals or is it set up for grab-and-go eating?
• Want to be a generous, giving person?  Is your home neat and clutter-free, or are you hoarding lots of stuff that someone else could really use and would love to have?

It's the new year, a great time to determine where you are in your life and where you want to be.  Take a moment to decide who you want to be at the end of this wonderful year, and then make sure that your home supports those goals.  Let go of the past and leap into your future, and remember:

"You can't write the next part of your story if you keep rereading the last chapter in your life!"

If you're still not sure you deserve to create a welcoming, nurturing, beautiful home, consider these questions for Sandra Felton in her book "Messie No More":


Why not have a lovely home that encourages all who enter?  
Why not be among those who are thrilled to invite people over on the spur of the moment?  
Why not be the person to whom people say, "Your house is so lovely!"  
Why not have people over for meals without working yourself to death to get ready?  
Why not have a house that raises your self-esteem rather than tears it down?  
Why not have a house filled with your favorite colors and accents?  
Why not have a house that reflects peace so that others love to come over? 


The question is not why should we have a nice house.  The real question is why not?

You're not disorganized... you just have too much stuff.

Before you rush out to buy color-coded bins to organize your stuff and attack your New Year's Resolutions, first try this:

Place a cereal bowl on the counter.  Now pour a gallon of milk into the bowl.  What do you get?  A big mess!  Does that make you a messy person?  No.  You just tried to pour too much milk into too small a bowl.

Now look at your home.  Is the garage overflowing?  Your office creeping into the dining room?  Your kids' toys everywhere?  Your problem may not be a lack of organization, but rather a problem of too much stuff. 


You could move to a bigger house, but I suggest the cheaper, easier, and more ecological idea of getting rid of some of that stuff.  Here's how:

1. Make time.  Set a timer for two to four hours.  Turn off the phone and tv, turn on some great music.  Limit distraction so you get more done.
2. Define the goal.  Keep focussed: choose one closet, one room, one bookshelf at a time.  Otherwise you just end up with a bigger mess.  Make a pile for things to keep, things to toss, and things that need a little more thought (maybe you have to ask another family member about it).
3. Question everything.  As you pick up each item ask:
1. Have we used this in the last 3 months (or, if seasonal, in the last 2 years)?
2. Could someone else use this better or enjoy this more than I am?
3. Does owning this make my happy, or do I not really care about having it?  Or worse, am I only keeping it out of guilt?
4. Does this fit?  (This might be a dress size, or it might be a question of age-appropriateness).
4. Reconsider.  Go back to the "keep" pile and take out at least three more things to give away.
5. Take action.
1. Put the "to think about" pile in a box and seal it up.  Mark a date on the calendar 1-2 months away.  If you haven't needed anything from the box, take it to Goodwill on that date without opening it up!
2. Take the "get rid of" pile to Goodwill immediately.  If you could immediately shed 10 lbs the moment you decided to go on a diet, wouldn't you do so?  With your house, you can, so take that extra weight and get rid of it!!

Once you get rid of all the stuff you are not using you'll be amazed at how much room you have and how everything can find a home so easily.  Good luck, and happy organizing!

Let your kids redecorate - it’s a great teaching tool!

“The easiest way to teach children the value of money...

is to borrow some from them.”  Anonymous

Preteen room by decoratorJennifer Mullin of Ideal Spaces in Alabama - charming!

Is your son or daughter begging for a bedroom makeover?  This is a great chance to teach them about budgeting and let them express their personal taste.

First, set a budget.  Decide how much money your can afford for the project and decide if the child has to contribute to that fund.  For the lessons in this article, it’s not really important for them to contribute, since it’s about budgeting and planning, rather than earning.

Next, decide the parameters.  Are the floors off-limits?  But an area rug is okay?  What about paint?   It’s reasonable to let them choose the wall or ceiling color, but what about the trim, molding and doors?  Can they paint the furniture, or buy new?

Once the limits are set write them down on paper along with the budget and have everyone sign the decorating contract.  Then let them shop!  Make sure they understand that they only have this amount of money, that it needs to account for sales tax and shipping, if applicable, and help them create a complete plan before they ever lift a paint brush or buy a comforter.  Teach them to ask about return policies at stores and how to care for packaging and save receipts in case they need to take something back.

Make sure the contract states that you get to review the plan before implementation to assure that the limits were kept in mind, but otherwise try to keep your hands off the project.  Not only will your kid feel valued by being trusted and allowed to express some personal taste, they’ll come to understand the real cost of goods, learn to prioritize and make choices they must live with, and begin to learn to budget.  Priceless!

For another great article on teens and decorating try this one by Heidi Tyline King and Mary Wynn Ryan.

How to hide a huge TV with paint

[Television]: It's the menace that everyone loves to hate 

but can't seem to live without.  ~Paddy Chayevsky

Many homes have enormous TVs in the living room, but who wants that to be the first thing your guests see?  Instead of an expensive and huge entertainment cabinet, why not use paint to camouflage it?

Before, the light walls made the TV stand out.

After, the darker walls help the TV blend in to the room.
(Makeover by Rivalee Design)

In this room the walls started off light yellow and the big TV stood out in stark contrast and overwhelmed the room.  We painted the walls dark grey which not only minimized the appearance of the TV, it also absorbed some of the visual impact of the dark leather sofas and dark wood furniture, making the room feel bigger, less cluttered, and more focused on the people and conversation in the room, rather than the TV.

Don't be afraid of darker paint.  It really can make a room feel bigger and more inviting and make everything fit the space better!

What to expect when you "reface" kitchen cabinets

If you are basically happy with the layout of your kitchen refacing can be a fast, practical solution that gives you the look of a whole new kitchen for thousands of dollars less than new cabinets, and saves the environment a lot of waste.  Here are answers to common questions about refacing:

Before refacing, stained, faded, white washed oak cabinets.

When should I reface?

If you cabinet boxes are in good shape, if you like the basic layout of the space, and if you are trying not to change the counters because you've already installed expensive granite counters and have now decided to change the cabinets, too.

When should I NOT reface?

If you cabinet boxes are in bad shape (e.g., waterlogged mdf cabinets) then you will want to replace the cabinets instead of refacing, and if you are going to overhaul the entire layout of the space it might make more sense to start from scratch.

After refacing, new cherry cabinets with rich pecan stain.

What am I getting when I reface?
Refacing means that you will be using the old boxes, but that the outer skin, side panels, doors and drawer fronts will all be new.  Until you look inside a cabinet, every surface you see will be a new surface.


What do I have to decide?
Just like when you choose new cabinets, you must make a number of choices: wood species, color/stain finish, door style, hinge style and finish, and hardware style and finish.


What are my options?
You can add new pullouts inside your old cabinets, convert cabinets to drawers, and even add new cabinetry to the kitchen in addition to refacing the existing cabinets.


How long will it take?
That depends, but the kitchen featured here was refaced in three days and the homeowners endured much less mess and disruption than they would have with all new cabinets.

Refacing can be a great option that saves you both time and money.  Fair warning: you may come across contractors that tell not to reface your kitchen.  Many contractors prefer to start any remodel from scratch, some don't really understand how refacing works, and others may just want you to take on the bigger project because it's a bigger paycheck.  If you are considering refacing, talk to your designer about it or ask a refacer directly if the job is appropriate rather than relying on the opinion of your contractor.

If you have any other questions about what to expect with refacing or kitchen remodels in general, don't hesitate to email me.  Happy decorating!

Teaching kids gratitude while clearing the clutter from your home

Want to clear the clutter from your home, teach your kids great habits, and encourage gratitude in your home?  Start this new holiday tradition.

1. Set a day on the calendar for "making room" and be sure that each person or child you want involved will have time free that day.  This can be a good activity the day after Thanksgiving as a way to reflect on the meaning of gratitude, or chose a day closer to Christmas as the kids are getting more and more excited about the new toys they want.
2. On the given day, start off by reading "Too Many Toys" by David Shannon.  It's a great way to help kids relate to and understand the idea without any lecturing.
3. Set a timer.  Adjust the time based on how much you want to declutter.  Older kids and adults can probably handle an hour or two, but with younger kids, limit the time to thirty minutes.  
4. Set the example by choosing some number of things from your own closet, craftroom, or storage area to give away.
5. Have the kids choose the things they are ready to give away (you can determine how many items that should be).
6. Then let the kids celebrate by making up their Christmas wish list.

This should be a time for appreciating gifts from the past, and for learning that generosity returns only to those who are generous.  By making this an annual ritual you will not only keep the clutter down in your home, but also help teach the kids, and reminds yourself, of the importance of generosity and gratitude.




Happy Holidays!

Five steps to a better guest room

“Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they were.”  

~Author Unknown

What message does your guest room send to your friends and family when they come to visit?  Is the room the collector of the cast offs from the rest of your home?  The resting place for all the memorabilia from your kid’s school years?  

If your goal is to make your guest feel out of place and eager to leave, no changes need be made, but if you want your guests to feel cherished and welcome, a few minor adjustments can take your guest space from shabby to sophisticated quickly and easily.

Before, this guest room was uninviting and lacked style.

Guest room redone by Rivalee Design

• Remove everything from the room that is not related to your guests - ironing boards, the goodwill pile, christmas decor... it all has to go.

• Repaint the walls.  This is a wonderful first step for making over any room, and will instantly clean and freshen the space.

• Put new sheets on the bed and cover the old comforter with a new duvet cover.  This doesn’t need to be expensive - a decent set of sheets and a clean white duvet cover from Target can go a long, long way.  You can splurge as much as you want on thread counts and fine fabrics, but the point is to make the room feel fresh, clean, and prepared.

• Accessorize sparingly.  The room should have enough art and accessories so as not to feel empty, but you want to leave lots of clear space on dressers and side tables for them to easily put their own belongings while they stay.  Be sure they have a table surface next to the bed and adequate lighting should they wish to read in bed.

• Add in some extras.  Set out fluffy white towels and a small basket with little things they might have forgotten - contact lens cases and solution, travel toothpaste, shampoo and soap, lotion, a razor... think of what a five star hotel might provide.  Even a fluffy robe!

These changes can easily cost as little as a couple hundred dollars and can be done in a weekend.  It's not too late to have your holiday guests feel welcome and appreciated.