AtHome IN OUT 0610 Cover.indd

Indiana County
AT HOME
Special supplement to The Indiana Gazette June 30, 2010
Designs for Living 2010
Inside&
Out
Design
Non-stop Inspiration
Both Indoors & Out!
Man Cave
Mania
The Great
Guy-Escape
Toddlers to Teens
Downright Delightful Decor!
2 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010
What’s
inside?
PAGE 3
Get your home ready for summer
with these easy and quick ideas.
■
PAGE 4
Organize the perfect nursery for
baby.
■
PAGE 5
How to help your teen express
their style in their bedroom and
keep the design tasteful at the same
time.
■
Photo courtesy of Family Feature
CREATING an aesthetically appealing outdoor space for summer doesn’t have to take a lot of time or a big budget.
PAGE 7
■
Take the “man cave” up a notch.
PAGE 8
Creating the ultimate cooking
space.
■
PAGE 10
The secret to creating a
sensational summer mantel.
■
PAGE 11
Bringing garden statues inside
is a stylish way to bring the
outdoors in.
■
Creating outdoor living spaces
Adding useful space, enjoyment, appeal and value to
homes, outdoor living spaces
continue to be a popular home
improvement project. While the
economy slowly recovers, many
budget-conscious homeowners
are looking for simple, cost-effective ways to transform their
homes’ exteriors into inviting
outdoor “land-escapes” that can
be enjoyed year-round.
If you are like many homeowners who are interested in adding
an outdoor living space, time and
money may be preventing you
from getting started. The good
news is that creating a durable
and aesthetically appealing outdoor area does not require a lot of
time or a large budget if you
focus on the basics and choose
the right materials. Here are a few
tips that can help turn your project into a reality in a weekend.
hard, level exterior surface, including bare ground, gravel, concrete, brick or asphalt. The deck
tiles simply snap into place for
secure installation, instantly
transforming a drab exterior surface into an eye-catching foundation for an outdoor living
space — no special tools, skills or
instructions needed. You’ll save
time and eliminate worry about
misaligning tiles or uneven spacing, while creating a versatile
floor that can be easily rearranged into new designs.
Composite deck tiles are available in multiple colors, patterns
and sizes, and complement a variety of architectural styles. Like
other composite products, they
are durable and easy-to-maintain, and provide a splinter-free,
slip-resistant surface.
CREATE A DECKED-OUT PATIO
ADD A PERGOLA
OR AN ARBOR
To begin your outdoor living
space, start from the ground up.
Consider using interlocking
composite decking tiles as a
quick and easy-to-use surface to
create a new patio or improve an
existing one. Deck tiles can be
used to enhance virtually any
To further define your outdoor
living space and provide shade
for hot summer days, add a pergola or an arbor. Both can use attractive composite deck boards
as nonstructural finish elements
to match the composite deck
tiles. How-to books and websites
provide material lists and easyto-follow installation instructions for motivated do-it-yourselfers, or a professional can be
hired to do the job.
FURNISH FOR
FUNCTIONALITY
With the flooring and structural
elements in place, it is time to
decorate your outdoor space.
This year’s most popular outdoor
living features will be essential
items, including seating and dining furniture, grills and fire
pits/fireplaces, according to the
American Society of Landscape
Architects.
To help guide you in your product choices, consider the size of
your outdoor room and its intended use.
Will you use the space for entertaining and dining with
guests, relaxing, cozying up
around a fire pit, or a combination of these activities?
With a wide selection of amenities to choose from, do your research and choose the products
that best fit your needs and
budget.
Or work to save money and
complement the flooring and
structure by constructing your
own Adirondack chairs, benches
and planter boxes with composite decking boards in the same or
complementary color. Adding vibrant weatherized outdoor cushions to the chairs and benches
will make the space more inviting and comfortable.
ENHANCE WITH LIGHTING
To ensure the maximum enjoyment of your outdoor space, outfit it for evening hours by adding
lighting fixtures. There are many
ways to do this, from simply
hanging string lights from overhead beams to installing permanent lighting fixtures on posts.
“Some composite decking lines
offer complementary railing and
posts with pre-cut channels to
hide wiring for lights and sound
systems,” says Gwatney. “It’s an
attractive and easy way to expand the enjoyment of your
deck.”
By focusing on the basic features of an outdoor space and
choosing durable, easy-to-use
materials to construct it, you can
create a simple and affordable
outdoor room that can be enjoyed for years to come.
— Courtesy of ARAcontent
Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — 3
Easy ways to
spruce up your
home for summer
By NICOLE ROSER
[email protected]
It’s finally that time of year. It’s
time to get out the summer
wardrobe and soak up the sun.
Chances are you have already
washed the car, planted a garden
and mowed the lawn. But, have
you thought about how to make
the inside of your home ready for
summer?
One of the simplest ways to
spruce up your home for summer
is to bring the outside in. Walt
Carter, an interior designer at
Douds of Plumville, suggests
doing whatever you can to bring
the outside in by taking down the
drapes and opening your home
up to the outside.
According to Marilyn Moore,
also an interior designer at
Douds, bringing fresh flowers
into your home can make all the
difference. If you are worried
about fresh flowers dying too
soon, silk floral arrangements are
an option.
Hobart Bell, owner of Executive
House Furniture, in White Township, agrees.
“Bring the outside into your
home by placing several pastel
floral arrangements throughout
your home.”
If you don’t have floral in mind,
Carter suggests painting your
walls a new color, because you
can open the windows in the
summertime.
Mary Sirwell, a designer at Affordable Interiors, in Indiana,
suggests painting with brighter
colors.
White, light greens and blues
help let the sunlight in and make
rooms look bigger.
Another great option to help let
the sunlight in, Sirwell said, is to
update window treatments.
She suggests replacing curtains
with shears or Roman shades,
which are designed out of different types of fabrics or wood.
If looking for a small investment, Andrea Eller, an interior
designer at Furniture World East,
in White Township, said area rugs
can give your house a whole new
look.
“You can buy one or two a year,
and that will make a collection,”
Eller said.
Accessories such as pillows,
placemats, slipcovers and candles are also an inexpensive investment and can create a whole
new look by adding color and
patterns, according to Eller.
Ila Weaver, an interior designer
at Douds, believes that changing
artwork and pictures can also
give your home a fresh look. She
also suggests having a dramatic
center of interest so everyone
sees that.
Updating light fixtures by using
fluorescent lights with warmer
bulbs will also give a new look,
said Curtis Lentz, owner of Lentz
Kitchen and Bath, in Indiana.
For updating your kitchen,
Lentz suggests changing your
countertops and cabinet hardware, such as knobs and handles
to make an impact.
When changing countertops,
Sirwell suggests using natural resources, such as granite or recycled glass countertops. “These
are things that are going to last
forever and add value to the
home.”
For changing the bathroom,
Maylene Miller, the showroom
manager at Penstan Bath Boutique, in Indiana, suggests
themes such as the beach to give
your bathroom a summer look.
She suggests changing the color
of rugs and towels by using white
and light colors to create a
beachy feel.
Updating the bedroom can be
as simple as changing the bedding to lighter colors and lighter
fabrics.
“I change all of my bedding to
make it seem fresh and a little
summery,” said Lori Gradwell, an
interior designer at Douds.
There are many ways to make
your home look fresh for summer, but keep in mind that it is
important to keep spaces uncluttered and streamlined, according
to Sirwell.
It is also important to keep it
simple and decorate with what
makes you happy.
“I think you have to decide
what you like yourself, and make
it yourself,” Weaver said. “Use
something you love and are passionate about.”
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4 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Organizing the perfect nursery for baby
Home and Garden Television
These tips and tricks from
Home & Garden Television are
perfect for baby’s room.
FUNCTION AND STYLE can work together to make a beautiful nursery that’s perfect for baby.
BABY CLOTHES: Layette items
should be available at the changing table/bureau for easy reach
during frequent newborn changing.
Use baskets, bins and containers that are designed specifically
with the changing table in mind.
Keeping similar items together
will help create a system that will
make staying organized easier.
A well-designed closet will keep
all the little items of clothing together.
Shelving fitted with appropriate
containers and baskets is the best
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Small wooden hangers are great
for special-occasion clothing and
for keeping upcoming sizes of
special clothing in view.
Store diapers, wipes and creams
in a basket with handles so you
can easily tote everything from
one room to another.
DIAPER-CHANGING ESSENTIALS:
The changing table/bureau
should include all essential items
for changing the baby’s clothing
and diapers.
A diaper caddy is a great way to
keep diapers, wipes, lotions and
creams together.
Once a family determines the
rooms or areas outside of the
nursery where it will spend most
of the time with the baby, diaperchanging essentials should also
be kept in these areas.
BEDDING: Reserve a shelf or an
appropriately sized container in
the closet or under the crib for
extra bedding.
MEDICINES: Keep medicine
where you would administer it.
If your child is teething, you will
want to have the teething gel
both in the nursery and in your
diaper bag.
A small-lidded plastic container
is a good place to store all necessary medicines (of course, out of
reach of the baby or other children). Returning everything to its
place will ensure that you will
have what you need when necessary.
FINDING THE RIGHT FURNITURE:
Time frame is an important consideration.
It is best to order furniture 12 to
15 weeks before the baby’s scheduled due date.
This will ensure that the furniture arrives, that it can be assembled and that other nursery components can be put into the proper place.
Consider how the furniture is
going to fit in with the overall
decor of the house and the size of
the room.
Pick pieces that are timeless.
Some will last well past when the
baby is out of the crib.
ASK YOURSELF: Will the furniture be used for more than one
child?
If so, gender-neutral colors and
classic styling is important.
You wouldn’t want to purchase
furniture that is so trendy it will
feel dated by the time your second or third child is born.
Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — 5
Let teenagers rock their room decor
By DOUGLAS BROWN
The Denver Post
One day they are 9-year-olds affixing Hannah Montana or SpiderMan posters to their walls.
Then they are teenagers.
He wants to paint his bedroom
walls black. She demands a vampire-themed suite. Mom and Dad
are bummed out and prepared
neither to embrace nor indulge
this evolving outlook.
Relax, say interior designers with
experience negotiating parent/
teen tensions over room décor.
Establishing independence is
the very marrow of adolescence.
And bedrooms are oases of autonomy. For most kids, it’s the only
part of the house over which they
— and nobody else — can claim
sovereignty.
When it comes to children’s
rooms, experts recommend giving
kids some leeway. Work with — not
against — them to change the
space and make it feel like their
own.
“I had a kid who wanted his bedroom black, and the mom was like,
‘What do I do?’” says Kristi Dinner,
a Denver interior designer. “We
compromised with a very dark
chocolate brown with white trim
and white built-ins. The mom was
scared, but it ended up being
beautiful.”
It’s just paint, Dinner adds.
“There are a lot of things that
would be a lot more permanent
and cost a lot more money than
paint.”
Another example: A girl who
wanted the frilly Victorian canopy
bed versus the mother with a refined taste for clean and contemporary.
“We ended up getting a custom
upholstered bed with different
fabrics,” Dinner says. “The daughter had her own taste and voice,
but it was in the context of this
very modern house.”
Negotiation is key, says Joyce
Clegg, owner of Daydream Designs in Denver.
“Can we paint the headboard of
your bed, instead of the walls? Can
we give you a black bedspread? I
had a kid who painted his ceiling
purple rather than black” (after he
talked about it with his parents),
she says.
As kids age, some things remain
the same. Teenage girls, in general,
cling to their love of bright colors
and shiny things, Clegg says.
What’s in right now? Beaded doorways (the kind popular during the
1970s), and mirrors. The designer
recently created a chair rail around
a girl’s bedroom made entirely of
small, round mirrors.
Boys have “very one-word-specific design inspirations,” she says.
Like blue. They might want an entirely blue room, perhaps with
some favorite team stuff on the
walls.
Boys, Clegg adds, value their privacy more. “They want a dark
room,” she says. “Heavy drapes
(for) sleeping until the crack of
noon.”
One thing that sticks with boys
and girls alike as they grow older,
Dinner says, is a reluctance to jettison childhood possessions.
Kids tend to gather piles of
stuffed animals, trophies or collectibles. When they are 15, they
don’t spend much time with them
anymore, but they still cherish
them.
“They don’t want to get rid of
them, but they don’t have room for
them,” says Dinner. “So we tend to
do very high shelving, sometimes
on two or three walls, above the
door height, where they can still
see their stuffed animals and trophies, but it gets them up and out
of the way.”
As tweens turn into teenagers,
though, it’s not just wall colors and
posters that change. Suddenly,
their homework duties have increased dramatically. They want to
hang out with friends in their
rooms — not down in the basement “playroom” or in the kitchen
with Mom.
Both factors influence how bedrooms evolve as kids march
through high school.
“I divide rooms into different
Continued on Page 6
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6 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Let teenagers rock their room décor
Metro Creative Graphics
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Continued from Page 5
spaces: sleep, study and entertainment,” says Clegg. The
“study” portion of the equation,
she says, can foster the most
changes.
“They need a lot of storage options. It’s important when they
get into high school. More
books, more research materials,
and it has to include technology.
Teenagers all study with music.
They have to have their docking
stations, they have to have the
Internet, so they can do their research.
“It’s important that space is
functional for them and that it
has some organization to it.”
One difference from the recent
past: The spread of wireless connections within houses, coupled
with laptops, means studying
has the potential to be more mo-
bile. Some parents create separate rooms just for studying.
Others turn quiet nooks or corners in their houses into dens for
scholarship.
“Life has changed. You don’t
have to be in a specific spot
doing homework,” says Marjie
Goode, owner of The Goode
Touch Interiors in Denver. “The
old idea, that you have to have
the desk in the room, especially
for teenagers, has totally
changed.”
The owners of one home she
decorated removed all desk
areas from the kids’ bedrooms.
In their place, they had Goode
design “socializing areas,” complete with couches and televisions. “They became minisuites,” she says.
Goode advocates putting
study areas in places other than
Negotiating teen
room makeover
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bedrooms. Kids, she says,
should learn how to work in
noisy environments.
“Look at how many people do
work in coffee shops,” she says.
“I think we have to think of our
teenagers growing up and working in this world.”
It is natural for parents to
lament the old days, when bedroom walls and shelves were
spectacles of innocence.
But in many ways, working
together with teenagers on
rooms is more rewarding than
when the parents dictated the
décor.
“This is a great opportunity for
parent and child to bond,” says
Clegg. “Remember that when
you reach the point where you
don’t want to talk about it anymore. Everybody gets frustrated,
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■ Open your mind. There’s a
way to implement nearly every
bizarre decorating idea a young
person can come up with. “Think
about the fact that your child is
starting to make decisions and express their individuality,” Montano says. “This is not the best
time or place to stifle that.” Allow
them some freedom, and ignore
the urge to insert your own tastes.
■ Research and development.
Ask your teen to spend some time
researching ways to implement
their ideas. They can look at
rooms on the Internet.
■ Make a game plan. For instance, start with bedding, then
pick wall color and lamps later.
Another popular approach: Pick
the rug or carpeting, then select
other well-coordinated pieces.
■ Meet them halfway. When a
teen requests all black walls, compromise by painting one wall
black, or doing black and white
stripes.
Or, if they requests that an entire
room be an intense purple, do one
wall in that color.
■ Shop together. Besides being
a chance to spend time together
and learn more about your young
person’s developing style and
taste, this drives home the idea
that the teen is spending someone
else’s money and should take into
consideration that person’s opinions.
Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — 7
Taking the ‘man cave’up a notch
By MARY CAROL GARRITY
Scripps Howard News Service
Does the guy in your life have a
“man cave”? You know, that sacred
spot he’s carved out for himself in
your home, the one outfitted with
the ugly recliner he can’t live without and the other dubious furnishings you’ve banned from the rest
of the house?
He may ardently declare his love
for this sanctuary of masculinity,
but chances are, if you could help
him make this space more attractive, comfortable and functional,
he’d be over the moon.
Like most men I know, my husband, Dan, has a man cave. It’s sort
of like a clubhouse with a “No Girls
Allowed” sign hung from the door.
I call this small upstairs office
Command Central because it’s
filled with computers, stacks of papers and piles of books.
I am not allowed in the man
cave, not even to clean it. In fact,
the only family members welcomed there are the kittens, probably because they’re males. But
whenever Dan is out of town, I
break the rules and barge in with a
broom and dust rag. Once, I found
a dust bunny that was so huge, it
could have served as a science-fair
project for a high-school student.
When Dan gets back in town and
discovers that the trash can has
been emptied, the furniture dusted and the floor swept, he’s mad at
me for an entire day. But it’s worth
his ire, because without this intervention, our house would likely be
condemned by the health department.
For too long, the men in our lives
have been relegated to the least
desirable spots in our home — a
corner of the basement or even in
the garage. Now it’s time to make
their man caves every bit as appealing as the rest of your home.
Here are some ideas to get you
started.
If your guy loves pool, poker or
any other sort of guy game, why
not make his cave into a smartlooking game room? I’m a lover of
the English-men’s-club look, with
its dark woods, rich leather furniture, menswear-fabric details and
masculine artwork. This is the perfect place to bring that look into
your home.
Dan about flipped when he saw
the pool table we’d gotten in at Nell
Hill’s Briarcliff. To make this gaming table a bit more sophisticated,
we replaced the standard greenfelt top with black felt. I can’t believe what a difference that one
change made in the overall ap-
pearance of the room. We’ve also
carried marvelous leather-topped
poker tables that help elevate the
game room from cheesy to sophisticated.
Hunt for attractive furnishings to
hold game accessories. A replica of
an antique pool-cue holder adds
loads of Old World style while it
corrals all those cues that would
otherwise be laying on the floor or
leaning against the walls.
How about making the man cave
into a study where he can work
from home?
A friend recently transformed a
little-used formal living room into
a study for her husband. It turned
out so wonderfully that I wanted to
move in. First, she outfitted the
room with a marvelous desk and
comfortable chair. Then she added
much-needed weight to the space
by filling one wall with cabinets
that would keep his papers out of
sight. She finished off by softening
things up a bit with winged-back
chairs and curtain panels.
If your study has a fireplace, consider replacing the mantel with
something decidedly masculine,
like a cast stone surround. Then,
style it with guy-friendly accents,
like hunting trophies or antlers.
For most guys, paradise is a
comfy sofa and a big-screen TV. If
your man would flip over a TV
room that’s his alone, start by
housing his flat screen and other
high-tech gear in a beautiful bookcase that’s also got plenty of room
for storage and displays. This is a
great place to tastefully showcase
accents that celebrate the things
he loves, like golf, hunting or
sports memorabilia.
Pick out a sofa that’s sizable
enough to fit him comfortably. I
love sofas that have high backs and
arms because you can easily prop
yourself up to watch TV or read a
book.
And there is no better place to
nap than on a deep, soft sofa.
Make it more manly by adding a
few accent pillows in menswear
fabrics like hound’s-tooth check,
paisley and tartan plaid.
If your guy wants a bar in his
man cave where he and his friends
can gather for a drink, make it as
fetching as it is functional. How
about getting a great-looking butler’s cart, then filling it with bar
supplies? I’m partial to these attractive carts because you can
wheel them wherever you want
and they aren’t so large that they
dominate the room, like built-in
bars do.
For seating, consider adding a
high-top table and chairs.
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CARVE OUT a space for the man in
your home and outfit it with the
ugly recliner he can’t live without
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8 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Creating the ultimate cooking space
By MELISSA RAYWORTH
For The Associated Press
The kitchen is the heart of many
homes, an all-purpose area where
much of life happens. But in the
end, it has just one function that
makes it unique among rooms: It’s
where you cook.
Clutter, distractions, poor workflow — sometimes a kitchen’s layout can hinder the cooking
process more than it helps. Decorating can create similar pitfalls.
“We get too caught up in color
palettes and soft fabrics, and we
over-think it,” says Genevieve
Gorder, co-host and judge of
HGTV’s “Design Star.”
But a well-planned kitchen can
boost your cooking experience
and make the room an even more
treasured space, says Gorder and
fellow designers Betsy Burnham
(founder of Burnham Design) and
Brian Patrick Flynn (founder of
decordemon.com).
It’s all about focusing.
“A kitchen is the most task-oriented space in the house, so it
must honor function as well as
aesthetics,” Gorder says. “A light,
bright, clean kitchen is a nice
framework for the dance that is
about to happen, which is cooking.”
How can you re-imagine your
kitchen to make it the best possible place to cook?
THINK IT THROUGH
More than any other room,
Burnham says, kitchens need to be
precisely planned. If you’re remodeling, “you need to go out and really touch and feel all the appliances,
see what’s out there,” she says. “It’s
not just, this is cool. My friend has
this, so I want it. It’s, how do I really cook? Where do I put my spoon?
Where do I like to have my towels?”
Leaf through food magazines to
see how professional cooks
arrange their kitchens.
“Professional stuff is so available
to the public now,” Burnham says.
“You can arrange your drawers
with those dowels that organize
restaurant plates. They’re springloaded.”
Installing a second sink or second dishwasher has also become
more common.
Big changes don’t have to be expensive, Flynn says. But since a
kitchen won’t be remodeled often,
“think of how far each dollar goes
in relation to durability first, then
aesthetics second.”
All three designers preach simplicity and timelessness: “Go with
classic colors, a classic backsplash,” Burnham says.
“You really don’t want a date on
that kitchen.”
CLEAR THE DECK
“When there’s a clean butcher
block out on the counter,” says
Gorder, “I want to cook.”
Devote counter space to cooking
tools and fresh fruits and vegetables, but nothing else. Keep your
go-to items (wooden spoons,
whisks, etc.) next to the stove in
one large, open container.
An airy, uncluttered kitchen is
the goal.
“Especially by the stove,” Gorder
says. “People tend to overfill the
space.”
Lose the decorative baskets and
knickknacks, she says: “If it’s not
something I cook with or I eat, it
doesn’t belong in here.”
SIMPLE SHADES,
DASHES OF COLOR
All three designers praise the
merits of a white kitchen. An uncluttered, white space with a large,
white farmhouse sink is “an invitation to play,” Gorder says.
Burnham and Gorder are fans of
white Cararra marble countertops,
which work with contemporary or
classic decor. Don’t worry about
fragility, says Gorder: White Cararra marble “made up the entire city
of Athens and it’s still standing.
You’re not going to ruin it by one
little spill or scratch. In fact, the
more it’s worn, the more beautiful
it is.” Flynn loves doing kitchens in
white-on-white or white with light
gray. For clients who don’t want
white, he favors brown with gray or
black with gray.
Continued on Page 9
Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — 9
Creating the ultimate cooking space
Continued from Page 8
“These color combos,” he says,
“work with virtually any accent
color.”
The placement of those accent
colors is the key.
“Choosing a bold-colored tile
backsplash is enough to give a
commitment-phobe an instant
coronary,” Flynn says, since those
tiles will likely remain on the wall
for many years.
Keep the inspiring dashes of
bold color relegated to items you
can replace inexpensively.
To add a backsplash without expensive tilework, Flynn suggests
using textured vinyl wallpaper. “It’s
the same material used in restaurants and hotels, so it’s easy to care
for and it’s flame-retardant,” he
says.
For a bold punch of color in a
black-and-white kitchen, Flynn
added “fire-engine red in accents
such as a pendant light over an island, a steel console table and
vinyl stool cushions. The small
doses packed a ton of color into
the space.
“But if the homeowner’s taste
were to change, it’s simple to bring
in a new color.”
“A KITCHEN is the most
task-oriented space in the
house, so it must honor
function as well as
aesthetics.”
Betsy Burnham,
designer
molding to the front of my cabinet
doors, then spray them with oil
paint in a gloss finish.”
Replacing cabinet hardware can
add style, while making cabinets
easier to use. “Glass and chrome
hardware adds an element of
glamour,” Flynn says. “The best
part about hardware updates? You
can do them yourself!”
FINISHING TOUCH
rarely used items up high to clear
more space in the immediate
cooking area.
For an infusion of fresh style,
Flynn says, “cabinet doors can
sometimes be very cost-effective
to update. New cabinetry gets
pricey because of fabrication, removal and installation,” he says,
but “if cabinets are in good shape,
I have a carpenter add a band of
Once the space is cleared of all
clutter and decked out in a clean,
crisp color palette, and all your
cooking tools are conveniently at
hand, Flynn has one last recommendation: Hang just one or two
pieces of inspiring art.
“It’s not necessarily something
most people think of doing,” he
says, “but it really personalizes a
space.”
STORAGE CHANGES
Metro Creative Graphics
KEEP KITCHENS clear of anything not used to cook or to eat.
Consider changing your cabinets and storage to suit your cooking style, Burnham says. Do you
prefer closed drawers or open
shelving?
Could you use more storage
close to your stove?
It’s possible to change just one or
two cabinets, rather than the entire set.
Gorder suggests extending cabinets to the ceiling and storing
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10 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Secrets for a sensational summer mantel
By MARY CAROL GARRITY
Scripps Howard News Service
You can say goodbye to manteldecorating angst because it’s really
very easy to make magic on your
mantel when you know how. All
you need is a few tips from the
pros, and you’ll be off and running.
So I grabbed Nell Hill’s visual directors Becky and Marsee and
asked them to show us how they
style the show-stopping mantels at
the Nell Hill’s stores.
SET THE STAGE
Marsee says when she styles a
mantel she always starts with a
blank slate. Clear everything off
the mantel and give it a good dusting.
Then, stand back and decide
what look you want to create.
Something simple or complex? Serious or playful?
What colors, textures or themes
do you want to introduce? Do you
have a favorite piece you want to
showcase?
Once you decide on what direction you’re going, pick the right
backdrop.
What do you want to have
hanging or leaning above your
mantel?
For our example today, the girls
hung a gorgeous replica of an antique gilded mirror. This wonderful mirror is one of my favorites,
and we sell a ton of them in the
stores.
Becky and Marsee liked how the
feminine curves of the mirror offset the coldness of the stone mantel.
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STAND BACK and decide what look you want to create for your mantel. Once you decide on what direction
you’re going, pick the right backdrop and play with colors, textures and sizes.
ADD WEIGHTY ACCENTS
Becky warns that one of the
biggest mistakes people make
when decorating their mantel is to
fill it with little knickknacks, creating a mass of diminutive pieces
that get lost and give off a feeling of
clutter.
Instead, pick a few weighty
pieces that are larger in scale to
serve as the foundation of your
display.
For our example, Becky and
Marsee selected six similar mahogany pillar candlesticks in varying heights and shapes. By picking
candlesticks that repeat the same
color and style, they’ve created
harmony in the display. But by
mixing up the heights, they also
brought in lots of energy and interest.
When you pick the pieces that
will anchor your mantel display, be
sure to pay keen attention to scale
and height.
We picked tall candlesticks because we have a massive mantel
surround and very tall ceilings at
the store.
But if this were a home with
lower ceilings and a smaller man-
tel, we would have likely gone with
slightly smaller pieces.
I love how the girls also topped
the pillars with battery-operated
candles.
I used to use only real candles in
my decorating.
But after waiting on far too many
customers who were replacing the
contents of their homes because
they lost everything in fires caused
by candles, I have changed my
tune.
I’ve found a few companies that
make battery-operated wax candles that are every bit as beautiful
as the real thing.
You can even get fake candles
that work on a timer or are controlled by a remote.
They are absolutely fabulous,
and now I couldn’t live without
them.
If you are going for a simple,
clean look on your mantel, stop
here. It looks sensational.
ADD LAYERS OF INTEREST
If you love displays loaded with
layers, you can easily add a unique
focal point to this simple mantel
display.
For our sample, Marsee and
Becky first picked a riser to lift up
the pieces they will use in their
tableau, giving the display more
prominence so it is not lost among
the large candlesticks.
They used one of my favorite
types of risers — a replica of an antique wooden box.
Pedestals, books and cake plates
also make ideal risers for mantel
displays, so use your creativity.
Next, the girls topped the
wooden box with a faux fern to
introduce a pop of color and soften up all the hard surfaces in the
display.
To finish out, they added a blue
and white Chinese import jar to
bring some much-needed pattern
to this sea of solids. You could use
just about any favorite piece as the
third object in this display, like a
conch shell from your last vacation, a bronze figurine or even a
lovely dish.
Adapted from nellhillsblog.com,
which can be linked from the nell
hills.com home page. Mary Carol
Garrity can be reached at mary
[email protected].
Scripps Howard News Service
Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010 — 11
Garden statues
add flair inside
By MARY CAROL GARRITY
Scripps Howard News Service
What started as a crush has now
ripened into a lifelong love that
shows no signs of fading: Garden
statues are in my house to stay.
If you share my weakness for
these rustic beauties, but aren’t
quite sure how to weave garden
statues into your interior displays,
try these ideas.
Last fall, I faced a decorating
challenge extraordinaire. Colin
Cowie, designer and party planner
for the stars, was coming to Nell
Hill’s Briarcliff for a benefit luncheon. For the event, we needed 60
table centerpieces that were elegant and interesting, yet packed
enough punch to hold their own in
the massive venue. What could be
more perfect than garden statuary? On each table we featured distinctive statuary tricked up with
honeysuckle vine, pumpkins and
gourds. The effect was stunning.
While we used a mixture of statuary on each table, I have to say,
the ones featuring birdbaths were
among my favorites.
I know it’s unconventional, but I
like to use tall, thin cement birdbaths as table centerpieces because they really grab guests’ attention. Before you plunk a birdbath down on your table, make
sure it’s not too heavy. For years, I
loaded my dining-room table with
massive statues — and almost
made the legs give out. You’ll also
want to put a piece of cardboard
under the birdbath (or any statuary) to protect your table’s finish.
Place the birdbath at your table’s
center, then fill in around it with
interesting accents like a pair of
candlesticks or urns holding seasonal greens. Rest a wreath on the
basin and insert a gazing ball in
the center. Or place a compote
holding fruit in the basin. How
about a vase filled with faux vines
that hang down over the bath’s
sides? Or put a large lantern on top
that has a birch bark candle
tucked inside.
If you have a short, squatty birdbath, use it as the focal point of an
arrangement on your coffee table.
Put it atop a stack of books or on a
silver tray. Fill it with pinecones or
green apples. For an interesting
twist, cover it with a glass cloche.
A friend just gave me a tour of
her new home, and of all the lovely
things she had on display, the one
that grabbed my attention the
Scripps Howard News Photo
GARDEN statues are a great way
to bring the outdoors in.
most was a concrete birdbath
filled with seashells and coral.
That was it. Simple. And so, so dramatic.
I really enjoy decorating with
garden figurines like busts or fullfigure statues. While antique concrete statues are fabulous, I often
use reproductions made from a
lightweight material like terra
cotta because they are inexpensive
and easier to lift.
Figurines, meanwhile, look wonderful in any tabletop tableau.
Place them on your kitchen island,
powder-room vanity, mantel or
console table or in a bookcase. For
added fun, ring them with a seasonal wreath or encircle their
heads with greens.
I’ve discussed how much I like to
use iron garden urns to hold
arrangements of seasonal greens
and fallen branches. But don’t stop
there. Urns are great for so many
things. Place a concrete urn by
your fireplace to hold wood for
your winter fire. Top one with a
round piece of glass to make a
unique table. When you entertain,
ask your urns to help serve. Line
an urn with a clean plastic liner,
then fill it with ice to chill drinks,
appetizers like shrimp — or simply use it as an ice bucket.
Add a bit of whimsy to a display
by including a quirky garden
planter. My friend Cynthia has a
very elegant Tudor home that’s
decorated magnificently. When we
shot some pictures for my book
“Nell Hill’s: Feather Your Nest”
there, I just had to include a shot
of her elegant bar, which is anything but stuffy, thanks to the inclusion of a curious garden planter
featuring a woman’s head with a
plant as her “hair.”
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12 — Indiana Gazette Designs For Living, Wednesday, June 30, 2010