lavidajoelle

Style-Does your home reflect who you really are?

How well do you know yourself? Do you know what the elements of your style are? How exactly does one find or create S T Y L E ?

www.omniartedesign.com

Your home is a snap shot of who you are. A reflection of your personality, your likes and dislikes. Does your home really show you off? Often times when I go to a potential clients home it is like stepping into a 20 year time capsule of their life cycles instead of their life STYLE. Strolling through an ill assorted casket of treasures from the cherished to the unknown. I find it funny how so many of us "hang on" to something from when we were "in college", "first married", or "just because". And we are ALL culprits of this mentality. We ALL do it. But does it really show us off? Show the unique, extraordinary individuals that we are?

Lori Dennis

Our homes are our havens. Our refuge. A place to come home to after a long day of work, or a place to work from. It is by far THE largest investment that we make in our life times. Our homes bring us peace, security, comfort, and they support us through all our moods. Our homes see the best and the worst of us. They verifiably see and breathe our authentic selves. The old saying of "if these walls could talk" is truest to life. So why is it we allow ourselves to live in life cycles rather than a life STYLE?

www.omniartedesign.co

Lifestyle Caravan
(This is a Travel Trailer)

So often consumers want to rush out and BUY as much as possible-ALL AT ONCE! The idea of instant gratification. This is not a lifeSTYLE. This is making a lot of unwise buying choices all at once, and one of two things will happen. 1) You hang onto it for 20 years (for reasons yet to be understood) or 2) After a few years you realize the choices were made in haste, you hate everything, and all those dollars are thrown down the drain, and you start the life cycle over again by running out and making more unwise purchasing decisions. ~insert hiring a Professional Interior Designer here~
Lori Dennis

Creating a lifeSTYLE isn't as perplexing as Martha Stewart's inability to age. It is about making wise purchasing decisions, and having a plan. (Don't know where to start? Try reading my post on Designing a Room, where to start. )A lifeSTYLE is all about living your best life. Living amongst things that bring you the most joy. Is that inexpensive Ashley sofa really bringing you joy? Or was it appropriate for that particular life cycle two years ago?

You want your home to be a genuine representation of who you ARE, not who you have been or were 20 years ago. Your home should bring a smile to your face and give you undeniable bliss. Don't allow it to become a junkyard of days past that may have been difficult. Our lives are complicated enough. We need to be surrounded by things that are pleasant and agreeable. Things that bring us pleasure whether they be simple or complex. When you live in a life that surrounds you and supports WHO YOU ARE, you become even better. You perform at your best and become your best. This is a lifeSTYLE.

So the next time you want to rush out and make a quick buy to update your room ask yourself these questions:
1) Is this a part of my plan?
2) Do I LOVE it? Does it bring me joy?
3) Am I looking at the object or am I looking at the price? (If you are looking at the price you are being sucked into your pattern of life cycle. This will only add to the junk yard casket of treasures)
4) Does this fit my lifestyle? My personality? Does this add to living my best life?

We can all use a little less stuff in our lives and add a little more
STYLE!

How to select the right lamp shade by Nashville Interior Designer

This room below is what I call DESIGN MAGIC! The scale is beautiful, the colors are striking, and the LAMPS are the perfect size in proportion to the sofa, for reading, knitting, doing crosswords or anything that requires SEEING stuff! A+ for meeting our GO BIG or GO HOME motto!

New York Times

In an effort to over come all your decorating woes, I thought I would do a follow-up on our 'How to select the right lamp' post. I could not believe the overwhelming response I received! I think that it is truly great that everyone is running out to purchase great lamps, on behalf of my advice. Wow, so this is what Oprah feels like! Ha!

Anatomy of a lamp

First and for most-Make sure the shade is the right SCALE. Students, if you still haven't gotten this one, I'm in BIG trouble! These lamps are wrong, wrong, wrong:

Too small, too low. What am I suppose to do? Crawl under my lamp to read my cartoons at night? I might as well sit on the floor! Compare these photos, to the beautiful photo above. Do you SEE the difference? The lamps above are tall and will cast light where it needs to be. The lamps shown above are USELESS. The light is so low that it is pointless to have them. I shouldn't have to twist myself into a pretzel to use my lamps at night-or crawl around on the COLD floor!

First-Choose a harp that is the right size for the lamp. The standard height is 10" but they are available in a multitude of sizes.

The size of the harp determines where the shade will sit on the lamp and this is very important. If the shade is too high the socket shell and cap will show. (see diagram above for terminology) These lamps below have their "unmentionables" showing. But by making it a decorative element it extends the lamp shade upward allowing for a taller lamp and offers more light. So in this case, unmentionables are A-ok!

Big Site Blink decor

Next choosing a lamp shade. Measure your lamp. Find the widest horizontal measurement. The shade you choose should not be more than 2" wider than that measurement. But the BEST rule of thumb-LOOK at it. Here is an example I did in my office. Clearly the first choice is WAY too big!

Remember when you are choosing a lamp shade you have to keep the lamp style in consideration. A decorative lamp, needs a simple shade (like this one below). Also notice this lamps "unmentionables" are not showing.

Big Site

Last but not least, Shade types. There are different TYPES of shades that are available (these are THE MOST popular:)

Channel 4

This is an example of a DRUM shade

Real simple

BARREL shade (similar to DRUM but has a slight taper)

Real simple

EMPIRE SHADE

Real simple

RIBBED BELL SHADE

There are numerous more, but the above are most prominent in lamp trends today. The most popular is the barrel and drum shade. They are probably most favored because they are sleek, simple, and produce the most light. I need to SEE stuff!! (if you look back to the first photo above from the New York Times, that shade is a ribbed EMPIRE)

Lamps and shades is a wonderful book on how to view shades in a whole different way. It offers a ton of inspiring ideas and also explains in more detail how to update or improve the lamps in your own home!

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Need more help? Want more info? Email me and let me know your questions, and I will answer them here!

Nashville Interior Designer~ How to select the right lamp

Have you ever been out shopping for a lamp only to get underwhelmed? These days it has become increasingly hard to find a good looking lamp that does everything our high multi tasking lifestyle demands. One of THE most important factors in choosing a lamp for a room is selecting one with proper scale. If you are unclear about scale make sure you read this post about Scale and Proportion. As I perused the internet I was amazed to find so many photos with the wrong scale of lamp.

DIY

This is a beautiful room, however the lamp is getting lost next to the large sofa. In fact the lamp shade is really the only thing that the eye sees.

The lennox

Once again, this lamp is too small. It is too close to the adjacent wall color and the size does not work for the large items next to it.

Ivaro

This little floor lamp should go back to her super model days, she is just too skinny and wimpy in this room of high ceilings and large furniture.

When choosing a lamp always remember our motto, "GO BIG or GO HOME". A home doesn't need a lot of accessories. But lamps are a necessity. Choose lamps that are tall, 30" or higher. And pay attention to the wall color that the lamp will be up against. Ask yourself these questions when choosing a lamp.Will there be a contrast? What color is the shade? How large is the shade? Will the type of shade provide the right amount of light for my room? Does the shade work with the wall color, and the furniture next to it? Does the lamp have the right scale in proportion to the other pieces in the room? Here are some examples that will leave you with a bright idea on selecting your next lamp!

DIY

Here is a beautiful example of the perfect lamp for this room. It has a wonderful proportion, beautiful contrast with wall color and the shade also has contrast. It applies to our "GBGH" (GO BIG or GO HOME) motto and the shade is the perfect size to diffuse light onto the sofa for an afternoon of guilty pleasures with Nora Ephron.

DIY

Perfect symmetry to balance a well decorated room. Black shades are the perfect choice against the handsome burlap colored silk draperies, adding depth and texture. The height is ideal for reading and the lamps will create a bewitching glow and shadowing, in the evening as the light dances in and out of the drapery folds.

Selecting lamps 101

1) Make sure the scale and proportion works for the room you are decorating. ( review the photos above. It is easy to see that the lamps are not "right".

2) Choose a shade and lamp that has contrast with the adjacent surroundings. Contrast can come from direct color variation or simple texture differences.

3) Select a lamp shade that works with the function of the room. Round shades ( also known as drum shades) put out a lot of light in all directions. Ribbed shades that are rectangular, or bell shaped will generally push light down and constrict the light to a focused area.

4) GO BIG or GO HOME. We don't need a lot of accessories. Choose a great sized lamp with a beautiful shade and you don't need any other accessories on the table. Remember 30" or higher is always a good rule of thumb.

Need to know where to shop? Here are a few of my favorites:

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And the winner is...

I have made it back from the brutal, and crazy weather that was New York over the week end. And as luck would have it, they haven't seen weather like that in thirty years!! Well we have much to discuss, but first I wanted to thank Kelly and Victoria over at Design Ties for their give away a few weeks ago, and yours truly won. Thanks ladies!!

Ohhhhh!!!

Awwwww!!

Thank you ladies! It is absolutely beautiful. Have a wonderful day everyone.

Nashville designer ~Shake it like a polaroid picture

Yup, the BIG "D", cuz that's how I roll...

This week I have been prancing (shakin' like a polaroid picture) around the office, like the BIG "D" that I am, preparing for my trip to New York. (I mean really, does it get any better than this?) Placed on earth on special assignment to create beautiful spaces, I float on candy coated pipe dreams that someday the world will be pleasant and agreeable; oh! and exercise WORLD PEACE! Waving my wand of DESIGN excellence I dream of a perfect world of beauty. A world with perfect drapery, superb lighting, glamourous colour, original art and an expert space plan. Ahhhh...the delight! Im heading off to New York to meet with my business coach and campaign amongst other BIG "D's" to mastermind, plan and orchestrate our evil plan to take over the world...I mean network. So until I return I leave you with some quick tips to update your home for Spring, on a shoestring budget.

Occasionally, everyone needs to step outside of their Winnebago providence and shake things up. (insert quarters here!) Have you ever looked at your old tired room and wondered what you could do to make it better? Well most people want to shake it up, but not everyone has the budget to achieve shakin' not stirred success. So how can you get a fresh take on your old tired space with the cash in your fourth grade piggy bank?

1) Paint-This has got to be THE easiest solution for the biggest change. Pick a color that coordinates with the items you already have in your room. (For example, if your furniture is brown and green, don't paint the walls blue!) Voila! New Paint, new look.

2) Pillows-easy and inexpensive, changing pillows can add color, pattern and style with one easy swoop. I recommend this to all my clients. Keep a few extra pillows in a closet or under the bed so you can change them up every so often. Mix them up and have fun!

3)Lamps- Change out one or two lamps. Different styles, shades and heights will add dimension, better lighting and add a decorative element to your home.

4) Goodwill-Rummage through goodwill stores to find old furniture that can be painted and updated. PLENTY left over for a trip to Olive Garden AND a package of oreos!
Look at this great piece that Dayka Robinson from Life and Style found

Or this piece that Tammy from In Stitches found

5) Cabinet hardware-I tell my clients to change hardware ALL the time. It is easy, inexpensive and will create a big change.

6) Declutter-So many homes that I go into are overwhelmed with stuff. Remove the clutter, straighten up and get the clutter out! Look how beautiful this bookshelf looks all organized with color! Whew! It's hard to be ridiculously gorgeous!

Declutter by design

7) Add mirrors- Mirrors are reflective and can add sparkle to a room. Designers LOVE shiny, sparkly things! And if it's good for Versaille....

Versaille

Hope you all have a fantastic week! Maria and I will tell you all about our trip, with pics, when we return next week!!! In the meantime here is a book to help you with your decorating woes: