Archive for the ‘improvements home’ Category
July 15th, 2011 | 
Author: Decorating your second home can be as overwhelming as it is exciting.
With so much to consider — lighting, flooring, paint colours as well as appliances, furniture and flooring, the task can be somewhat daunting. Where do you begin?
The best place to start, say experts, is with a look at your lifestyle. What kind of home décor is going to best suit your needs?
Designer Susan Friesen, who works with Carpet Castle in Vernon, B.C., has helped numerous people design their second homes. Whether people are planning on using their homes for retirement or strictly for investment, choosing the right look requires some serious thought, she says.
“Your second home will reflect your style and what you like to do,� says Friesen. “Certainly, people with a second home who plan to retire here, they want something nice, and not just for summer but in the winter, too. Even if it’s going in a rental pool, people (who are renting) want to rent out a lovely vacation home.�
The majority of second-home owners are looking for some luxury, she adds. “It depends on the pocket book, but what we’ve experienced is that owners are not looking for entry-level — they want something nice, and their homes are beautiful as a result.�
Designer Crystal Sturgeon, owner of CK Design in Vernon, B.C., encourages second-home owners to have a five- or 10-year plan.
“Is the space big enough? Are you planning to be there short term or long term? Is your family growing or are you downsizing? Are you retiring?� asks Sturgeon, noting these things will impact your design decisions and help determine the look that best suits your needs.
Decorating your dream home, as opposed to an investment property, will most likely affect your choice of décor.
If it’s your dream home, then chances are you’ll put more thought into what you like, what you need and how it will look.
Friesen recommends taking the time to look through magazines or websites, and saving those that showcase the looks you like. “There’s so much to choose from it can be quite overwhelming. I like to know what (homeowners) need, what they dream about, what they can afford, and then break it down into smaller pieces,� says Friesen. “It’s not just about the flooring, but it’s about the architecture, the furniture, the floor plan — it may even be about incorporating a particular piece of art or furniture.�
Durability, of course, also plays an important role. Most people don’t want to worry about replacing, refinishing, or redecorating their second home.
“If you build a nice home, you want it to stay that way,� says Friesen. “Many people want value, but it still needs to look nice, even showy.�
A combination of “showy� and “durable� is exactly what Robin Arnold was after when she hired Friesen to help her decorate her family’s two homes on Okanagan Lake. Although both homes are being used strictly as investment properties (the homes are now for sale), she wanted them to have “all the bells and whistles� that should be found in a lakefront home, including a bathroom and walk-in closet for each bedroom; a washer, dryer and dishwasher on each level (for company); a bar by the downstairs patio; solid granite countertops in the kitchen; tile floors near the outside areas; a wine cooler and ice maker; and gas hook-ups on the patio and deck.
“We wanted a few more conveniences because you’re entertaining more in the summer,� says Arnold.
As for outside living space, Arnold says they maximized the deck size, and have covered and uncovered living space on both the lower patio and upper wrap-around deck. This, says Sturgeon, was a wise choice.
“Outdoor living space will increase the square footage, and the value, of your home — it’s a good investment.�
She recommends decorating it as an extension of your indoor living space, so the same style carries right through. Popular right now are outdoor kitchens with state-of-the-art barbecues and appliances, trendy heating lamps instead of fire pits, and beautiful outdoor furniture with matching accessories.
Although luxury rated high on Arnold’s list, so did ease of maintenance. This holds true for many second-home owners, regardless of whether they’re living in the home or placing it in a rental pool.
“However, real wood may not be feasible,� says Friesen, depending on the homeowner’s budget. “But it’s very possible to put something together with the same style while keeping the costs maintained.
“You can decorate a second home regardless of your budget.�
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The walls in Charee Godwin-Smith’s home looks like Easter eggs. In Shona Besselman’s, they’re like “candy for the eye.”
Both Amarillo women know what home-decorating TV shows and glossy shelter magazines have been preaching: Embracing bold, unexpected use of color.
“I’m not afraid of color in my house,” Godwin-Smith said. “Almost every room is a different color.”
The kaleidoscopic effect “makes a more cheerful atmosphere,” she said. Plus, “I get bored easily. I don’t like change at all, but I’ll change my wall colors. I don’t like moving my furniture around, but I’ll change the walls.
“That’s just enough change for me.”
Besselman likes her house to offer something “bright and happy … wherever you look.”
“It reminds me of what my mom told me about why you paint your toes,” she said. “When you feel bad and look down, you see something smiling back up at you.”
They’re not alone in Amarillo, said interior designer Marjorie Hagan Ellis.
“In this area, we really like more intensity in color because we lack it outside,” said Ellis, a partner in Stephens Hagan Interior Design. “Our clients here like more color.”
But creative color can be tricky. Here’s advice from experts on how to do it right:
Unexpected places
Bursts of color are perfect for areas that normally get little attention, says Cortney Novogratz, co-host of the new HGTV series “Home by Novogratz.” Stairs, alcoves and unused corners of rooms, she said, are spots “that people don’t realize they can really dress up and have fun with to show a reflection of who they are as homeowners.”
For her show’s first episode, she painted a beach house staircase white with pink and blue stripes from top to bottom. This narrow approach to the second floor suddenly became bright and inviting.
Ellis said she leans toward color “that has more longevity to it unless it’s in a smaller area.”
“That’s where you could do something really bright and change it when you get tired,” she said.
Skip standard pairings
Black and white. Red and green. Brown and light blue. These common color palettes surface frequently in home decorating. Freshen up these typical pairings by bringing in a third color no one would expect, says Brian Patrick Flynn, HGTV blogger and founder of DecorDemon.com.
“If you really want chocolate brown with pale blue, which has been done to death, then add something like celery green,” he said. “All of a sudden, it’s fresh and you’ve made it your own.”
If you love wild colors like bright orange but aren’t sure how to decorate with them, Flynn suggests using a bright hue alongside a very dark and a very light one. Orange might be a disaster mixed with green and yellow, but it can look sophisticated when used with silver and dark charcoal.
“A bright orange or a red or even a vivid yellow, if you put them with a deep-toned charcoal or gray or brown, it’s more sophisticated,” Ellis said. “It’s got a lot of energy to it, but it’s sophisticated.”
Paint isn’t permanent
Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply, so it can be the perfect vehicle to bring in wilder colors. But what happens when those colors just don’t work? Slap a different color on.
“We have painted a wall and gone, ‘Oh no, never mind,’ and gone back and bought a new color,” Godwin-Smith said. “We did that with a yellow one time. We painted one wall and said, ‘Nope, can’t do it.’”
Flynn finds that some homeowners are intimidated by choosing a bold or quirky color for their walls: “They feel like it’s permanent, even though it isn’t,” he said.
If you prefer neutral walls, you can easily bring in edgier colors with furniture, window treatments and accessories. Novogratz suggests another option: Choose vibrant pieces of art, and then frame them in brightly colored frames.
She and her husband, Robert, who is also her design partner, sometimes take basic wooden picture frames and repaint them in a vivid red lacquer. Besselman repurposes a variety of fabrics – from neckties to clown costumes – to add bright colors to pillows and furniture.
“Everything that is in here is something I got in a garage sale or found in the trash and combined with something else,” she said. “I think there are maybe three pieces of furniture in my whole house that I bought new.”
It’s all in the shade
No color is off-limits, provided you choose the right shade.
Even pink doesn’t have to be saved for children’s bedrooms, Novogratz says.
A tip from Burnham: If you want to use a color like teal or chartreuse but are worried it will be overpowering, look for what she calls a “dusty” version of these colors – one that’s tempered by a bit of gray.
And when you use multiple colors and shades, it’s easier to match furniture later on, Besselman said.
“If you’re tied to one color or one color scheme, you’re screwed. One color of blue will be a little different next year. … That keeps you from having to repaint every year to keep up with the colors and textiles,” she said.
Balance bright, quirky colors with wood tones
The edgiest colors can be tamed nicely by pairing them with natural wood tones.
“You don’t want to have that jarring feeling,” Ellis said. “You need a neutral thrown in there.”
Burnham often adds furniture with black wood finishes to rooms where she has used intense colors.
Novogratz did the same in a master bedroom where she used a single shade of bright yellow for the walls and floor. A large wooden bed in the center of the room created a calming break from the energizing yellow that filled the space.
Overall, says Flynn, give yourself permission to experiment and indulge your creativity.
“Every time I do my own space,” he said, “I think of it as a canvas where I can experiment with completely unusual color combinations.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Striped staircases and lavender walls? They’re not just for high-profile designers anymore.
Home-decorating TV shows and glossy shelter magazines have many homeowners embracing the bold, unexpected use of color that cutting-edge designers love. But creative color can be tricky. Three experts offer advice on doing it right:
UNEXPECTED PLACES
Bursts of color are perfect for areas that normally get little attention, says Cortney Novogratz, co-host of the new HGTV series “Home by Novogratz.” Stairs, alcoves and unused corners of rooms, she says, are spots “that people don’t realize they can really dress up and have fun with to show a reflection of who they are as homeowners.”
For her show’s first episode, she painted a beach house staircase white with pink and blue stripes from top to bottom. This narrow approach to the second floor suddenly became bright and inviting.
SKIP THE STANDARD PAIRINGS
Black and white. Red and green. Brown and light blue. These common color palettes surface frequently in home decorating. Freshen up these typical pairings by bringing in a third color no one would expect, says Brian Patrick Flynn, HGTV blogger and founder of DecorDemon.com.
“If you really want chocolate brown with pale blue, which has been done to death, then add something like celery green,” he says. “All of a sudden, it’s fresh and you’ve made it your own.”
If you love wild colors like bright orange but aren’t sure how to decorate with them, Flynn suggests using a bright hue alongside a very dark and a very light one. Orange might be a disaster mixed with green and yellow, but it can look sophisticated when used with silver and dark charcoal.
BOLD DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN BRIGHT
Being adventurous with color doesn’t always mean using loud hues. Betsy Burnham, founder of Los Angeles’ Burnham Design, recently chose lavender for the entryway of a home in Beverly Hills.
Her client had expected the walls of this two-story space to be painted a classic neutral — maybe cream or taupe. Lavender was an unexpected choice, but the owner was thrilled: It gave the entryway subtle drama without looking outrageous.
PAINT ISN’T THE ONLY WAY
Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply, so it can be the perfect vehicle to bring in wilder colors. But Flynn finds that some homeowners are intimidated by choosing a bold or quirky color for their walls: “They feel like it’s permanent, even though it isn’t,” he says.
If you prefer neutral walls, you can easily bring in edgier colors with furniture, window treatments and accessories. Novogratz suggests another option: Choose vibrant pieces of art, and then frame them in brightly colored frames. She and her husband, Robert, who is also her design partner, sometimes take basic wooden picture frames and repaint them in a vivid red lacquer.
IT’S ALL IN THE SHADE
No color is off-limits, provided you choose the right shade. Even pink doesn’t have to be saved for children’s bedrooms, Novogratz says.
A tip from Burnham: If you want to use a color like teal or chartreuse but are worried it will be overpowering, look for what she calls a “dusty” version of these colors — one that’s tempered by a bit of gray.
BALANCE BRIGHT, QUIRKY COLORS WITH WOOD TONES
The edgiest colors can be tamed nicely by pairing them with natural wood tones.
Burnham often adds furniture with black wood finishes to rooms where she has used intense colors.
Novogratz did the same in a master bedroom where she used a single shade of bright yellow for the walls and floor. A large wooden bed in the center of the room created a calming break from the energizing yellow that filled the space.
Overall, says Flynn, give yourself permission to experiment and indulge your creativity. “Every time I do my own space,” he says, “I think of it as a canvas where I can experiment with completely unusual color combinations.”
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July 11, 2011
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Striped staircases and lavender walls? They’re not just for high-profile designers anymore.
Home-decorating TV shows and glossy shelter magazines have many homeowners embracing the bold, unexpected use of colour that cutting-edge designers love. But creative colour can be tricky. Three experts offer advice on doing it right.
UNEXPECTED PLACES
Bursts of colour are perfect for areas that normally get little attention, says Cortney Novogratz, co-host of the new HGTV series Home by Novogratz. Stairs, alcoves and unused corners of rooms, she says, are spots “that people don’t realize they can really dress up and have fun with to show a reflection of who they are as homeowners.”
For her show’s first episode, she painted a beach house staircase white with pink and blue stripes from top to bottom. This narrow approach to the second floor suddenly became bright and inviting.
SKIP THE STANDARD PAIRINGS
Black and white. Red and green. Brown and light blue. These common colour palettes surface frequently in home decorating. Freshen up these typical pairings by bringing in a third colour no one would expect, says Brian Patrick Flynn, HGTV blogger and founder of DecorDemon.com.
“If you really want chocolate brown with pale blue, which has been done to death, then add something like celery green,” he says. “All of a sudden, it’s fresh and you’ve made it your own.”
If you love wild colours like bright orange but aren’t sure how to decorate with them, Flynn suggests using a bright hue alongside a very dark and a very light one. Orange might be a disaster mixed with green and yellow, but it can look sophisticated when used with silver and dark charcoal.
BOLD DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN BRIGHT
Being adventurous with colour doesn’t always mean using loud hues. Betsy Burnham, founder of Los Angeles’ Burnham Design, recently chose lavender for the entryway of a home in Beverly Hills.
Her client had expected the walls of this two-storey space to be painted a classic neutral — maybe cream or taupe. Lavender was an unexpected choice, but the owner was thrilled: It gave the entryway subtle drama without looking outrageous.
PAINT ISN’T THE ONLY WAY
Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply, so it can be the perfect vehicle to bring in wilder colours. But Flynn finds that some homeowners are intimidated by choosing a bold or quirky colour for their walls: “They feel like it’s permanent, even though it isn’t,” he says.
If you prefer neutral walls, you can easily bring in edgier colours with furniture, window treatments and accessories. Novogratz suggests another option: Choose vibrant pieces of art, and then frame them in brightly coloured frames. She and her husband, Robert, who is also her design partner, sometimes take basic wooden picture frames and repaint them in a vivid red lacquer.
IT’S ALL IN THE SHADE
No colour is off-limits, provided you choose the right shade. Even pink doesn’t have to be saved for children’s bedrooms, Novogratz says.
A tip from Burnham: If you want to use a colour like teal or chartreuse but are worried it will be overpowering, look for what she calls a “dusty” version of these colours — one that’s tempered by a bit of grey.
BALANCE BRIGHT, QUIRKY COLOURS WITH WOOD TONES
The edgiest colours can be tamed nicely by pairing them with natural wood tones.
Burnham often adds furniture with black wood finishes to rooms where she has used intense colours.
Novogratz did the same in a master bedroom where she used a single shade of bright yellow for the walls and floor. A large wooden bed in the centre of the room created a calming break from the energizing yellow that filled the space.
Overall, says Flynn, give yourself permission to experiment and indulge your creativity. “Every time I do my own space,” he says, “I think of it as a canvas where I can experiment with completely unusual colour combinations.”
Editor’s picks
Striped staircases and lavender walls? They’re not just for high-profile designers anymore.
Home-decorating TV shows and glossy shelter magazines have many homeowners embracing the bold, unexpected use of color that cutting-edge designers love. But creative color can be tricky. Three experts offer advice on doing it right.
Unexpected places
Bursts of color are perfect for areas that normally get little attention, says Cortney Novogratz, co-host of the new HGTV series “Home by Novogratz.” Stairs, alcoves and unused corners of rooms, she said, are spots “that people don’t realize they can really dress up and have fun with to show a reflection of who they are as homeowners.”
For her show’s first episode, she painted a beach-house staircase white with pink and blue stripes from top to bottom. This narrow approach to the second floor suddenly became bright and inviting.
Skip the standard pairings
Black and white. Red and green. Brown and light blue. These common color palettes surface frequently in home decorating. Freshen up these typical pairings by bringing in a third color no one would expect, says Brian Patrick Flynn, HGTV blogger and founder of DecorDemon.com.
“If you really want chocolate brown with pale blue, which has been done to death, then add something like celery green,” he said. “All of a sudden, it’s fresh and you’ve made it your own.”
If you love wild colors like bright orange but aren’t sure how to decorate with them, Flynn suggests using a bright hue alongside a very dark and a very light one. Orange might be a disaster mixed with green and yellow, but it can look sophisticated when used with silver and dark charcoal.
Bold doesn’t have to mean bright
Being adventurous with color doesn’t always mean using loud hues. Betsy Burnham, founder of Los Angeles’ Burnham Design, recently chose lavender for the entryway of a home in Beverly Hills.
Her client had expected the walls of this two-story space to be painted a classic neutral — maybe cream or taupe. Lavender was an unexpected choice, but the owner was thrilled: It gave the entryway subtle drama without looking outrageous.
Paint isn’t the only way
Paint is inexpensive and easy to apply, so it can be the perfect vehicle to bring in wilder colors. But Flynn finds that some homeowners are intimidated by choosing a bold or quirky color for their walls: “They feel like it’s permanent, even though it isn’t,” he said.
If you prefer neutral walls, you can easily bring in edgier colors with furniture, window treatments and accessories. Novogratz suggested another option: Choose vibrant pieces of art and then frame them in brightly colored frames. She and her husband, Robert, who is also her design partner, sometimes take basic wooden picture frames and repaint them in a vivid red lacquer.
It’s all in the shade
No color is off-limits, provided you choose the right shade. Even pink doesn’t have to be saved for children’s bedrooms, Novogratz said.
A tip from Burnham: If you want to use a color like teal or chartreuse but are worried it will be overpowering, look for what she calls a “dusty” version of these colors — one that’s tempered by a bit of gray.
Balance bright, quirky colors with wood tones
The edgiest colors can be tamed nicely by pairing them with natural wood tones.
Burnham often adds furniture with black wood finishes to rooms where she has used intense colors.
Novogratz did the same in a master bedroom where she used a single shade of bright yellow for the walls and floor. A large wooden bed in the center of the room created a calming break from the energizing yellow that filled the space.
Overall, said Flynn, give yourself permission to experiment and indulge your creativity. “Every time I do my own space,” he said, “I think of it as a canvas where I can experiment with completely unusual color combinations.”