CasaSugar

Tips For Decorating With Cool Colors

CasaSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:00:54 -0800

This week, we've looked at cool colors during Color Theory month. See my advice on decorating with gray, with lavender, and with turquoise. Or click here for all of my coverage so far. Today, I'm going to offer some tips for using a variety of cool colors to their greatest advantage.

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10 Great Ideas From Ashley's Craft Room

CasaSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:00:29 -0700

Crafter Ashley Henley recently renovated her craft room. She was kind enough to share photos of her craft room, and I noticed some great organizing and decorating tips and tricks. If you're thinking about establishing a craft space in your home, check out Ashley's rooms to get some great ideas for making your space pretty, organized, and productive. Then check out her Etsy site, The Ripe Radish, to pick up some of her great crafted goods, including gocco cards and button rings.

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10 Ways to Californify Your Crib

CasaSugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:00:30 -0700

In the July issue of SELF Magazine, the mag's associate features editor, Cristina Tudino, hooked up with Los Angeles interior designers Kristen Buckingham and Tracy Hutson to share their easy ideas for creating a cozy-chic pad that will bring the sunshine outside into your home. As Tracy and Kristen prove with their quick and easy tips, you don’t have to spend a ton of money to add a little of the Golden State to your home.
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How-To: Elizabeth Bauer's Flea Marketing Tips

CasaSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:00:42 -0700

Interior designer Elizabeth Bauer has a true passion for flea marketing. She loves mixing eras, patterns, colors, and textures, and finds that flea marketing is a great way to find inspiration and great products. Her love of unusual, unique home goods, all things lucite, and feminine finds can be seen in her West Village store Elizabeth Bauer Design. The store is filled with vintage high-end furnishings and accessories for the home, almost all of which are one-of-a-kind, refurbished antiques that reflect her modern eye.

Elizabeth recently shared her favorite flea marketing tips with me. She notes that, "Flea marketing can be very overwhelming if you are not a regular, since there is so much stuff to look at and in no specific organized format."

Eager to hear Elizabeth's tips? Then read more.

Elizabeth Bauer's Flea Marketing Tips

Identify one or two items that you are looking for prior to arriving at the market. For example, I am looking for a great lamp and would like to add to my silver collection. By pinpointing exactly what you want, your eye is already trained to look for these items instead of getting lost in what sometimes can feel like a lot of junk.
Trust your eye. Since there is sometimes so much to choose from at a flea market, it can be very hard to make quick decisions. Always go for what you noticed first. I have missed out on so many great things because I changed my mind at the last minute and, for example, decided to buy the item right next to it only to go back an hour later and find that it was gone! These mistakes have caused me many sleepless nights as I’m always on the lookout for unique finds to sell in my store, Elizabeth Bauer Design.
The early bird gets the worm. If you are a serious collector, you must arrive at the markets early. Chances are you are not the only one out there collecting this certain something. I collect vintage, linen, cocktail napkins and trust me, they go fast! Last week, I arrived 30 minutes later than I normally do, at the Antique Garage, one of my favorite local markets (25th and 6th Ave in NYC), and lost out on a perfect set of six linen napkins with my monogram. They were one of a kind so I will never see them again.
Network with the dealers. If you are looking for something very specific within a certain genre, don't be afraid to ask the dealer if they have what you are looking for. Dealers have so much more than what you are seeing in their booths on any given Sunday morning. I have gotten so many great things this way. Even if they don't have it they may be able to send you to one of their dealer friends in the aisle over.

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Thom Filicia's Top Tips For Design

CasaSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:00:07 -0800

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to interview Dress My Nest host Thom Filicia. Thom, who recently authored Thom Filicia Style, talked about his experience making over The View's dressing rooms. Thom also appeared on the show to promote the Kimberly-Clark Room-a-Day Giveaway, which gives 16 participants the chance to each win a $25,000 room makeover. Thom also shared his personal philosophies for creating cohesive and beautiful rooms. Thom's style, which blends relaxed elegance with each client's individual sense of style, seemed to be a perfect resource for CasaSugar readers interested in making over their own homes. You can peruse some of Thom's design tips from his new book when you read more.

Mix Timeless and Timely: Timeless is a fresh look at traditional design and timely is a more livable version of what we know as modern design. Pair a classic rug with more contemporary furniture. When Timeless and Timely pieces are used together you’ll create an interesting, eclectic room that’s entirely your own.
Color Your World: There’s nothing that will transform your space as easily and affordably as paint. When looking to refresh your world, bring in your favorite color with the ease of a roller. And when looking to strengthen the foundation of your room bring in a stylish and bold rug layered on your basic wall to wall carpet. Pick colors that suit your personality. When painting a room don’t be afraid to be bold and choose the colors you love, not colors that are safe. And remember, a fresh coat of white paint can bring an old piece of furniture back to life and help it fit in anywhere.
Decorate Outside the Box: Don’t allow a home’s architecture to limit your decorating options. Just because your house is a colonial, it doesn't mean that you have to decorate like you’re a pilgrim. Your interior should speak as much about you as it does about your architecture, so be free in making choices and make sure your home tells your personal story.
Personalize Your Space: Your home should be an extension of your personality and reflect your individual aesthetic. Personalizing your space is key to any successful design. Choose artwork and accessories from throw pillows, to books, to picture frames, and interesting objects and artwork that collectively tells your story and make you smile.
Well Read: Layering your room with books is a great way to add depth, color, and visual textures. A stack of books can make a great, interesting little side table.
Lose the Matchy Matchiness: Each piece you select in a room should have character, be eye-catching, and tell your story. It doesn’t matter if your furniture, artwork, and textiles are collected during exotic trips or sourced from
local design shops. As long as the overall look is original with intriguing juxtapositions and unexpected contrasts you’ll create a room that is interesting, unique, and beautiful.

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How-To: Decorating Tips From Top Design Contestants

CasaSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:00:18 -0800

We've finished the second season of Top Design, but there's still plenty of material to reflect on before we bid it adieu! Recently, PointClickHome assembled 11 decorating tips from the final three contestants. I've gathered together six of these tips. For all of the contestants' tips, check out PointClickHome's article. To see my fave tips, check out the slideshow. Photos courtesy of Bravo

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Do You Decorate With Ruffles?

CasaSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:00:35 -0800

Kristina, from Tidy Tips Photography recently sewed these linen ruffle pillows for her home, and I love the way that the natural color offsets the girliness of the ruffles. Tell me, do you decorate with ruffles in your home?

Link Time!

CasaSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:00:13 -0800

When do you start your holiday decorating? - Simply Stated
What do you think of these wall drawers? - AT:LA
Go typographic with your coasters. - Craft
Get grain sack style. - Re-Nest
How do you hang pots and pans? - Shelterrific
Check out decorating tips from the Crosby Street Hotel. - ShelterPop
Peruse these interior painting tips. - This Old House

How-To: Organize Out in the Open

CasaSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:14 -0700

Sure, you can hide your media materials, linens, and glassware away in a closet or drawer, but what's the fun in that? Check out these ideas for organizing out in the open, and looking great in the process.

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How-To: Decorate With Gray

CasaSugar — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:00:49 -0800

If you read my November must haves, you know that this month I'll be giving you tips, advice, and ideas for adding color to your home. As part of these "Color Theory" posts, I'm going to focus on different ranges of color each week. This week, I'm beginning with cool colors, showing you how to decorate with specific colors, how to use color in small spaces, and how to paint and upholster with color. I've covered turquoise and lavender, so now it's time to move onto one of my all-time favorites: gray!

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