How to style a sofa with custom pillows & a pillow giveaway

Pillows are the icing on the cake, the statement necklace to an outfit, the centerpiece to a well dressed table. Owning original and unique pillows makes a space more interesting and invites a second look.

Now that my CSIL has opened her etsy shop, Therese Marie Designs, and is offering her one of a kind custom pillows, I thought I would share my thoughts and ideas on how to use several of them in styling a sofa.

My pillow styling tips:

1) Start with a color story
2) Mix up the fabric pattern sizes; use some larger scale, some smaller scale, not all of the same
3) Give the eye a place to rest by using a solid or a small scale pattern that is not too busy
4) Mix up the sizes; use lumbars and squares together or different sized squares
5) Include pillows with interesting details; special trims, contrast cording, appliqué or embroidery
6) Use a common theme; all geometric, all striped, or all with the same visual element like a feather
7) More often than not it works best to use an odd number of pillows

Want to see what I am talking about? 

Great pillows look good on a sofa of any style,  modern or more classic, it doesn't matter. 

Starting with a bunch of Therese Marie Designs pillows and using the tips above,

 voila….. pillow happiness!

Crate & Barrel Aidan sofa | Crate & Barrel Essex sofa
 Find each of the pillows pictured above here

And now since you know how to style your sofa with custom pillows, the best part…
a give away!

Therese is offering not just one but two of her custom pillows to one lucky reader.
Your choice of anything in her shop, value of up to $150.
Keep one and give one as a gift, or maybe keep two or give two.
Which pillows you choose and what to do with them, it's totally up to you!

Follow the directions below for entering and good luck! The more entries the better your chances.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Which look is your favorite?
Is there one pillow that strikes your fancy?
Do tell…..

A big thanks to Therese for sharing her talents with this give away, I can't wait for the winner to see her work!

--------------Cathy--------------

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Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design?  I would love to work with you to help your room "feel better."  

Contact me for more information about my design services.

Patchwork: 6 ways to decorate with quilts

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Fine Art of Fiber show at the Chicago Botanic Garden. What a delight to be immersed in the beauty of the work of many talented artists whose medium is fiber. From quilts to clothing and everything in between, the pieces were painstakingly created, with an incredible attention to detail. I was especially taken with the patchwork quilts....

 

How would one incorporate a quilt into their home in a way that avoids the cliche, "country" look?

1) Frame the piece and make it a focal point. The crisp pattern of this quilt adds a graphic touch.

Mrs. Howard Personal Shopper

2) Upholster a brightly painted chair in a more traditional quilt pattern.

Fiber & Fire

3) Frame individual squares to create a gallery.

Martha Stewart

4) Make a large lumbar pillow, let it steal the show as the only pattern on a sofa.

Blue Nickel Studios

5) Add seat cushions on kitchen stools, sewn from pieces of a quilt.

allpeoplequilt.com

6) Hang an oversized quilt, in a time honored way, as an accent wall.

Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman via pileoffabric.com 

Have you used a patchwork quilt in an interesting way in your home? I would love to hear, and to see. Leave a comment and a link and tell me all about it! 

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me, I would love to help your room feel better with a Room Rx.

Shade Sails

While we were in Boston on our family vacation in July, I came across an inventive solution to creating shade for an outdoor seating area. Given that a couple of my clients have outdoor spaces that are quite sunny and lacking for shade, I was intrigued.

We saw this in Cambridge on the Harvard campus...

A quick Google search and look what I found....

 1800shadeu

umbrellas ganteng 

I love the organic look and feel of these shades as well as the potential for using them in creative combinations. 
How difficult would it be to do this? Well you can buy ready made sails here 

 Shade Cloth Store

And here.

Or if you are clever and creative like Jessica from Running with Scissors, you can make your own with her great tutorial for a DIY shade sail project.

 Shade sails seem such a great way to make a cozy, shady spot in any yard, don't you think?

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me, I would love to help your room feel better with a Room Rx.

Long Distance Design: 5 Tips for Success

Today I am guest posting over at the House of Fifty Blog, sharing my tips on how to make the most out of working with a decorator or designer long distance.  I'd love for you to come over, read and share your thoughts on this process.

If you have not had a look at the on line magazine House of Fifty created by founding editor Janell Beals, you need to get on over there and have a look.  Janell has assembled a talented group of contributors and has put together a beautiful e-zine that is chock full of approachable decor, helpful articles and tips, a sprinkling of fashion, yummy recipes and more.  The magazine is down to earth,  fun and a must read.  The House of Fifty Blog is a great read as well, novel in the concept that Janell has invited other bloggers to write about and share a variety of topics.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Finally, if you are new to Room Rx, welcome!  I am glad that you stopped by and hope that you'll come back often, maybe even become a follower or add a comment as I would love to hear from you. Enjoy!

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? 

If so please contact me, I would love to help your room feel better with a Room Rx!

Crafty Storage

What to do with all of the "stuff" is a common problem if you are a crafts-person.  I am working on a craft-room project for a client and have been immersed in the idea gathering stage.  Take a look at the clever, low cost storage solutions that are out there, no boring display of craft supplies here.  We are talking about a couple of Ikea purchases (the Lack shelf, and the Flyt magazine files) and then the thrifty use of brightly covered cans, saved jars, pants hangers and binder clips to coral the myriad of "stuff" an artist/crafter/seamstress/etc. has to store.   In the rooms pictured below, the materials are easy to locate and orderly making it a snap to find what is needed for a project.

 Unplggd

Creating Keepsakes


                        

Martha Stewart                                                                       {via} 

                                                                    kojo designs

Leave it to an artsy person to have storage that is not only organized, but visually appealing!  How do you store the supplies and materials for your work or hobbies?  My client and I would love to hear about and see your solutions! 

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? 

If so please contact me, I would love to help your room feel better!

How to? - Use a Mid Century Sconce

I can't stop thinking about the cool Mid Century sconces I found at Lincoln Antique Mall and posted about yesterday...

Imagine them gracing a master bedroom as the bedside lighting like this....

photo: Lisa Romerein for Coastal Living

That got my imagination going, so here is the resulting interpretation:

Don't forget to come to the party with all things fabric for my link up on this week's 

"Fresh Fabrics Friday." I'll share the particulars later in the week.

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help your room feel better!

Displaying Photographic Art

After posting about Carolee Euritt Salat's's photographs last week here and here, I had a reader with a great question:

I love abstract photography! How would you work these photos into an interior that's transitional, but has nothing else this contemporary?

I think photography, like art, is something that can work in any style of decor and how it is displayed is as personal as the photographs themselves.  That said, I have shared ideas previously on creative means of displaying family photos, many of which I think could work for any type of photograph.  In order to best answer the question, I wanted to find and share some additional ideas for displaying photographic art such as Carolee's.

This first picture is a perfect example, the photos themselves taking center stage due to their color story, size and lack of frame.  The orderly grid display and color of the chest further enhance and tie together the look.

via

Although these examples are of portraits, canvas wrapped and hung in a block would work well too provided the right photos were displayed together, all abstracts, all landscapes, you get the idea.

 Mint Photography

 Alldrin Photography

These are more contemporary displays but note the framing, it is simple, all the same color and has no mat.

DLK Collection

 fototiller

The unifying effects here are the horizontal line and the fact that the photos are all black and white.  The room's decor definitely takes it's cue from the photos.

Homes and Gardens 

The three images below show photos identically sized and framed and hung in a grid.  The look is classic and contemporary at the same time.

 via

2 images Via {Laura Winslow Photography} 

No hard and fast rules here, just lots of ways to make the photographic art important as well as the centerpiece of a room.  What have you done to display your art photos?  Send me a photo and let me know, I'd love to share here on Room Rx!

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!

DIY: Stainless Steel Appliances

Sears 

Yesterday's post on kitchens with  dark wood generated a few comments and one really great question from a reader: 

Hi Cathy, 

I am one of your CSIL's good friends from her neighborhood.  I hear about your amazing work from her and FOR her all the time.
I am perusing your very smart and excellent website and a question popped up for my kitchen.  I don't know if you have expertise in this area but, can you buy just a door for a refrigerator?  I have a nearly brand new white Kenmore and really want to switch all the appliances to stainless now that the granite counter tops are in.  I know for my style of fridge, usually what is made is a black body with a stainless door anyway, so mixing up the surface colors doesn't seem a big deal to me.

Thanks for your help,
 
Karin

I love that my CSIL's friends are scoping out my little corner of the blog world and that they have the confidence in my thoughts and opinions to ask me such questions.  So, being rather curious myself as to the answer, I got my {Google} engine started and did a little search and lo and behold, did I come up with some interesting solutions! 

Knowing that many dishwashers and refrigerators have panels on them, I searched for stainless steel panels and found several options from  Appliance Art.  They carry both real stainless pieces for dishwashers and refrigerators, as well as a film that looks like stainless and is applied over the existing surface.  Appliance Art even has a magnetic version of the film, so that you can display your kid's masterpieces or their many party invitations! At $54.95 for a 38" x 80" roll, that is a lot less expensive than buying a new fridge.

 

Appliance Art

Next was a search for stainless steel color paint and that turned up this product, 

Thomas's Liquid Stainless Steel. It looks like an amazing product and it actually has stainless steel in the paint formula. I've included these very tiny before and after photos and if you check out the website you can actually look at some "slightly larger tiny photos!"

 Liquid Stainless Steel

Again, for $54.95 for the kit to do a fridge, and $19.95 for the dishwasher, this is a screaming deal, especially if you have a perfectly functioning appliance and are willing to invest a little time and effort.  The Thomas' site also has some wonderful testimonials.

So there you go Karin,  if it were me, I'd give it a try!  What about the rest of you,  would you go this route?  Have you tried either of these products and had success?  I'd love to hear...

Does your room need a “prescription” for a change of decor, function or design? If so please contact me,
I would love to help!