Wow…this 100 Decorating Ideas in one week gig is intense. I may not have any ideas to blog about after I’m finished! Please don’t hate me if idea 100 is “paint your walls”.
Yet on we go…drumroll please…
21. Don’t believe everything you read in magazines, read in blogs, and watch on home decorating television shows. These “experts” aren’t the be all and end all of design. Some designers make a name for themselves breaking the “rules” you see/hear! (But it is much easier to break the rules once you know them.)
22. Put a Kleenex or paper towel under your toes when you paint them.
23. When you have a party, pay attention to where your guests move the furniture. They’re telling you something.
24. If you have a staple in your room (for me it’s silk flowers in a tall tin next to my entertainment center), find a way to change it up seasonally. I have red sunflowers in the fall, amaryllises in the winter, and hydrangeas in the spring/summer.
25. Put a piece of furniture with some storage in your living/tv room. Stash extra blankets, video game controllers, and NetFlix dvds in here. You’ll keep this stuff out of the way, but it will be at your fingertips when you need it (which if you’re like us, is often!).
26. Have an open space in your living room. I can’t tell you how important this one is for me. An open space allows an area for you to roll around with your dog, for your children to build forts, and for you to dance with your husband.
27. Designate a “dumping area” for purses/ keys/ wallets/ etc. near the door you use most. This helps eliminate clutter in other areas of your home and allows fewer “where are my keys?!?” moments.
28. When you have guests, ask them to describe to you their favorite/ least favorite parts of your home. Seeing your home through new eyes can sometime inspire you, or at the very least, spur you into action!
29. Embrace your inner garage saler. Garage sales can be a great place to find special pieces for your home. You can often find vases, furniture, and candle holders that look ugly to the casual shopper, but with a coat of spray paint can be turned into something that would rival a Pottery Barn find.
30. If you have a fireplace, make sure something is in it…if it’s wood burning, make sure there is always wood stacked and ready to go (even if you never light a fire…it will look much nicer). If you really never use it, consider filling it with pillar candles…
31. A bowl of fresh fruit is a great centerpiece!
32. Put a pop of color somewhere unexpected. I have a container full of black utensils next to my stove, but I keep one bright red spatula in there, and it always makes me smile.
33. Hang your drapes a few inches above your windows and let the curtains pile on the floor a bit. Your windows will look larger and and your ceilings will look higher.
34. Make peace with the fact that your house will NEVER be perfect. That’s okay. We all have bedrooms we want to paint, kitchens we want to remodel, toenail polish stain we want out of the tile in our bathroom (see rule number 22)…
35. Don’t feel obligated to buy high-end furniture, but know that you’ll almost always get your money’s worth! Furniture from stores like Ikea, Pier One, Target, and yes, sometimes even stores like Restoration Hardware is cute and trendy, and sometimes even reasonably durable, but you WILL need to replace it in a few years (and that’s not always a bad thing if you like to change your look a lot). Well made furniture from high-end stores is often more expensive, but it will last for decades!
