Let There Be Light

The first thing I discovered on my foray into interior design is that you need to let light into your home.  Every house can benefit from an abundance of natural light coming in through the windows.  Window treatments are an easy way to introduce softness and pattern in a room, but it is very easy to overdo it and cover up the beautiful natural light with all the fabric.  Clearly I have learned this the hard way.  See Exhibit A:


This is our front room circa 2006.  I am sure I will revisit this disaster several times so just for now ignore the flower border and paint color and furniture craziness and all that.  Look just at the windows.  The windows are very small to begin with and all of the heavy layered fabric is allowing only a small bit of light to shine through the bottom halves of the windows.  The curtain rod is hanging just outside of, and at the same height as, the window frame.  On top of that, the flowery pattern and scarves are just way too formal and fussy for our casual kid-filled house.  With a few small changes I opened up just about the whole window and filled our front room with sunshine.  First I took down the curtain rods and re-hung them 3 inches higher and 6 inches wider than the window frame.  I would have liked to hang them even higher, but then my curtains wouldn't be long enough so I compromised here.  Even just a little extra height helps.  The curtains should be hanging mostly over wall, which makes it seem like your windows are much wider than they actually are.  Hanging the curtains high and wide, so that your fabric is just covering up the window frame and no actual window, not only lets in more light but makes the whole room look larger and more grand.
I took down the panels, balloon shades, and scarves and changed to one simple panel on each window.  I think that using only one panel per window here creates a sort-of illusion that the whole wall is filled with windows, instead of two dinky ones with drywall in between.  I chose a favorite color (brick red) and something with a little texture to it, it's a waffle weave.  I considered having no treatments at all on the windows, but we do need the privacy at night and it was a little too stark without the extra fabric in the room.
Here is the room as of this morning:

Let the sun shine! 
I will post more photos of window makeovers around our home tomorrow.

Design On A Dime

OK.  So.  I have spent a good deal of last year's free time learning about interior design.  I remember exactly what kicked off the frenzy.  It was an oak laminate corner TV stand in our family room that had to be red.  It just had to be red.  Being the cheapskate that I am, instead of shopping for a new red TV stand, I went online to try and figure out how to make the thing red myself.  Not only did I discover that you can paint laminate furniture whatever color you want (prime, sand, paint, sand, paint again) but you can in fact paint all kinds of things in lots of different colors.  You can also move things around your house and make little changes to accentuate the positive elements.  I discovered blog after blog from both amateur and professional designers about color, furniture, trim, decor, light, texture, layering, fabrics, and everything else that goes into making a beautiful home.  This appealed to me immediately because, as I have told Kevin since February 22, 2002, I have to look at this stuff all day.  I am here in the house with our children every day and I enjoy a little beauty around me.  I also enjoy having a project (or two or twelve) to work on, and something new to learn.  So here I am one year later with all kinds of design ideas in my head. 
I thought it might be fun to blog about some of the things I've learned and some of the things I've done in our house.  Just about everything is copied, stolen or modified from someone else's good work.  I can't really say that I've thought of anything all that new or different, just taken it and changed it to fit what I like and work in our home.
One of the most fun parts of it all has been trying to reuse what I already have and buy things inexpensively.  I haven't spent very much money at all on my little projects.  Mostly I have moved things around our house over and over again.  It has become a running joke that when Kevin gets home from work, he has to find the thing that's been moved that day.  There is a certain satisfaction you get from making or building a thing yourself, rather than buying it or having someone else do it for you.  Plus, it is a joy to discover that anyone and everyone can have a beautiful home, not just wealthy people who hire designers.  And, as the pros will tell you, the best and most beautiful homes are built over time, and not assembled all at once, which lends itself to garage sale, flea market and clearance shopping. 
But now I am getting ahead of myself.  This is just a little introduction to what I am going to attempt over the next several weeks and months.  I hope you all enjoy seeing what I've been working on, and maybe take away one or two things that you can use in your own home.