Worst Trends of 2011

I may be a little late on this discussion...but I thought it would be worth a quick blogpost.  In January, Elle Decor magazine asked 5 designers to talk about the 5 worst trends of 2011 that have overstayed their welcome.  You can read the article here.

One designer, Sheila Bridges, said that DIY was one of them.  Just because a piece of furniture could be reclaimed doesn't mean it has to be.  I think that if something is about to fall apart, or if it's an ugly piece to begin with - without any shape or style - then I think that it should be left at the garage sale, thrift shop or curbside.  But, with all of the people who are writing DIY blogs and their countless readers - I think that DIY has never been stronger, more creative - and wonderful.  Sheila may be the designer to the stars - and, most notably, Bill Clinton, but I think she may be a bit mistaken in her assessment of a trend that has really taken hold and I don't think it's going to go away quietly. 

DIY has probably grown in recent years due to the recession.  People cannot afford very pricey furniture and they looking for budget-friendly ways to decorate their homes. I have always been a fan of re-doing furniture and will probably keep doing it even after the economy rebounds.  It's a beautiful craft and, if I must say so modestly, it's something I do well.  It also saves a ton of money for all of my clients and in this day of ever-increasing squeezes on our pocketbooks - I am glad that I can give them a beautiful home without them spending a fortune.

A $20 bamboo vanity/desk that I found in a Port Jefferson NY thrift shop!

Here it is in another staged home I did

Some of the bamboo wrungs were missing but my husband found a few "look-a-likes" around our house (stem supports from faux orchid pots) and replaced them.  When I found the piece it was sitting right outside the basement of the shop in a natural but very grayish state.  I cleaned it up and I spray painted it with gloss white - and voila - a lovely little accent piece. I use this a lot when I'm staging because it's very light and transportable and I think it looks beautiful.  In the future, I'd like to do an etched design on the glass - I think that that will really be lovely.

A $25 Craigslist find revamped with Annie Sloan Chalk paint and Royal Design Studio stencils

Our JC Penney entertainment unit - revamped. You can read about how I did this here

A garage sale find - quickly revamped with Annie Sloan Chalk paint and stencils

These are just a few things that I have done that I have some photos of. I have to begin photographing the many things I've done over the years. 

Using Books in Interior Design is on the List of the Worst Trends (but not on my List!)

The other design trend that's supposedly due to die out is the use of books in interior design.  I agree that it should not be done willy nilly but if you have lovely books just collecting dust in a bookcase - I think they should be stacked on a coffee table or placed on a console behind a sofa...or even stacked next to a chair in a reading area.  I do this all the time in my own house and guess what?  People pick the books up and start reading them!  Just yesterday two of my friends picked up design Mary MacDonald's recent book and said they would probably buy it!  If it was just sitting in my bookcase - it wouldn't have had any attention!  If you'd like to read my blog post on using books in interior design, go here.

Would love to hear and read your comments on this!  Thanks

A Quick Revamp of a Bookcase in My Great Room

Does this ever happen to anyone else?  You think you've put a nice vignette together for a bookcase and then over time it just doesn't look as good.  Well, I have a husband who likes to sneak stuff from the basement or attic and he places it where I don't want it!  I don't notice it right off the bat...but then I will be passing by a shelf, cabinet or bookcase one day - and there's a stuffed toy, a frog, a silver Mexican hat and countless other absurdities that he's collected over the years - and he think he's adding to the beauty of the vignette.

The above picture was actually worse - there also was the silver Mexican hat and a pink stuffed elephant in that mix. I had orginally done a nice little "story" that included photos and some items we picked up on travels to Europe...but slowly over time, lots of my husband's extras wormed their way into the bookcase.  This is way too crowded - and you really can't notice the items displayed because there's too many of them.

This was my first revamp. It's nice - but I'm a little underwhelmed. But I love the top grouping - a picture of me and my husband in front of a winery in Chateauneuf-du-Pape in Provence...and a pic of me at the top of the Eiffel Tower.  The frame on the right was a crappy one I picked up for a dollar in HomeGoods - but I added the black stripes and now I love it. In front of the books is a thistle that my husband picked in the gardens by the Eiffel Tower - so it's very sentimental for both of us. The other frame is one of the first Christmas presents that I gave my husband - he loves anything dealing with the sea so this was a perfect little gift.

Then I tried this, above. It's still not wowing me.  But I'm liking the middle shelf a bit.  I have some antique books by Charles Dickens that my mother owned - and a teapot that I bought in Harrads (ridiculously expensive but I bought it anyway) that has a book theme. The lower shelf looks a bit barren - have to do something about that.

Then I came up with this arrangement.  I think I like this one the best. But - I still have to work on it a bit.  I added a picture I painted of a sunflower that I gave to my husband as a present on our first anniversary - I think it would look better in a frame on the lower shelf...so I have to work on that.  It adds some needed color to the vignette. I love the antique books in the lower shelf...but perhaps I need something other than books in this space.  Maybe I need to add the small yellow Italian vase (I also have another one like it) on the lower shelf.  These little vases were the first antiques that I bought on Long Island after moving back from here from Seattle WA. So, they hold some special thoughts for me. They would look nice with the framed sunflower artwork.  OK - now I am on the hunt for a great frame! 

I will post again when I am finished with the arrangement.  Would love to get your ideas and suggestions on what I've done so far.  The changes that I made took me about 10 - 15 minutes and the items that I see here now mean so much more to me - so I get a good feeling about this bookcase now when I see it.

I'll be posting my revamp of the entire bookcase - it's really a beautiful piece. Here's a picture of it and how I decorated it when we first got it.  The bookcase section to the right now has husband's trademark "put everything on the shelf" design aesthetic all over it (unlike how it looks above). That's his desk in front of it and he feels that the bookcase is his personal office bookcase.  I will publish it very soon even though I am embarrassed by it.  I have to figure out a way to make it beautiful - yet functional for my husband.  Oh boy - that's going to be a tough one!!

Using Books in Interior Design

The great decorator, Billy Baldwin, called books the greatest accessories. Books are one of my favorite ways to bring color, texture, height and interest into a room. Not just for lining library walls anymore, you can use books to add height and color to a tabletop display, place books in tea carts, on a server in a dining room - and much more.

If you are anything like me, you have more books than you have storage space. So, by default, I had to devise ways to 1) organize my books, so that I could find them and 2) use my books in other ways rather than just on bookshelves.

One of the first things that I had to do was to whittle down the number of books that I had. When I got married, I also married into my husband's books. And when my father-in-law passed away - we inherited his vast book collection! That was more than my little house could take! Several garage sales later - and then I had a somewhat manageable number.

A Christmas vignette on my piano.  Books add height, texture & interest

I didn't style the above picture yet in my great room, but I wanted to show how some of your larger books can be used decoratively on a table top.  They add height and color.  Plus people looking at this may think I am smarter than I am with that huge tome of Shakespeare!

Even in small spots around the house, a grouping of books adds a lively note.  On top of a chair next to your bed, stacked next to a reading chair or in piles on a large coffee table, books provide warmth and informality to a space. 

Think of books as accessories and even art!  I advise that you should take off the book jacket because most of the time it's a lot nicer underneath!  Group the colors of books together - and make sure they coordinate with your other accessories and room colors.  Also, combine books by category - gardening, design, travel etc to bolster a theme in a room. Use books to heighten other accessories and objects - you want to stagger the heights in a display for greater interest.

Margot Austin, the senior design editor of Style at Home - the Canadian magazine, uses the following books as her "go to" accessories.

1. I Married Adventure: The Lives of Martin and Osa Johnson

2. David Hicks On Living - with Taste
3. Slim Aarons, Once Upon a Time
4. Century
5. The Way We Live
6. The Garden Book
7. Axel Vervoordt Timeless Interiors
8. Tom Ford
9. The Hamptons
10. Chanel

I would add some of the larger books (like my Shakespeare in the first photo) plus...Domus, Wall Painting in the Roman House, anything by designer Tricia Guild (her books you can keep the jackets on - they are gorgeous) and two great books for the kitchen - Bouchon and the French Laundry Cookbook by Thomas Keller. I'd also add any fun and colorful Cupcake Cookbook - it will brighten up any countertop!

Books can also fill huge, otherwise empty and bland spaces. The hallway, above, would have

looked far too intimidating and vertical without the lively addition of the books.

Instead of filling an entire library, install bookshelves on one focal point wall.

In a family room, books share space with the TV, accessories and family photos

Or...use books to create furniture

Books can also be the subject of an artwork, as in British artist Su Blackwell's work...

So get your books out of storage or off the shelves and use them in interesting ways in your home.  Let me know how you have used books in your designs. 

Sources:  1 and 2) Linda Leyble; 3) Margo Austin 4) bhg.com 5) Absolutely Beautiful Things 6)  Contemporist  7 and 8) LM Interior Design  9) Stylist, Grace Light of Poetic Home and 10) Su Blackwell