Expect the Unexpected

Every year I anxiously await the arrival of the new designer fabric collections from my favorite vendors. Like a child on Christmas morning, I tear into those boxes with excitement and wild abandon. Why? Expectation!

This years collections began arriving a few weeks ago and I have been nearly speechless. I can honestly say that in my twelve years as a Designer have my expectations been exceeded like they have been this year. The new color palettes are fresh and inviting, and the patterns are subtle, yet interesting.

If your home is in need of an update, now is the time!

Spring Into Action!

As Mother Nature begins the rejuvenation of our landscape, it is time that we all consider the endless possibilities for our indoor living quarters. Throw back those dingy time worn drapes, and let the sunshine in!

The time has come to update your surroundings with a fabulous new color palette that will brighten your days and wow your guests. So much has happened in the designs studios while we were snowed in this winter and you will be elated by the fresh new choices at hand. If you want color, pattern and trendsetting style, you will be inspired like never before.

As with any new project, find your inspiration piece and then make a plan. Remember the order of priorities: 1. Fabric, 2. Paint, 3. Accessories.

I hope you will browse the many new selections from our "Bold Expressions" collection at MyDesignerFabric.com, and as always we are here to answer your questions and guide you to the room of your dreams.

I'm In Love With Blue Again!

I have missed the color Blue. It has been absent for quite sometime from our palettes, and we need it now more than ever. Periwinkle Blue, Royal Blue, Baby Blue, even Navy Blue, is poping up everywhere. Beautiful blues, when combined with white, is cool, calm and serene; something that we could all use a little more of.

When I help a client choose a color scheme I try to encourage them to consider the psychology of color. The affect that color has on your mood and lifestyle is the most important aspect of any design project and often the least considered.

Give blue and white a chance for your next project. I promise, it will be the room that you find yourself, and your family, gravitating towards for rest and relaxation.

The Bold and the Beautiful!

Bright colors and bold patterns are this years call to action. Matching wallpaper and coordinating fabrics make it easy to create a masterpiece.

If you are craving a fresh new look, think color, Hydrangea Pink and Fanta Orange are a stunning new duo that we offer.

This inspiring combination will fling you into Spring with a show-stopping look that you will love coming home to!

Honeysuckle Is The Color For 2011!

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To Market to Market

I just returned from Market, which is my favorite working vacation. It is like Disney World for shoppers. We have been is a new trend cycle now for the last six months and you can see what is going to hang around for awhile and what is beginning to fade. Metallic and Glitz in home and fashion is still huge and better than ever. The color trends are centered on pretty. Softer color palettes, but with more pattern and fun. Metallics have really taken hold and is showing up everywhere, accessories, fabrics, paint and wallpaper.

Every time I go to Market I find the cutest jewelry and shoes. Everyone want to know "Where did you get that?" So this time I brought several things back to the shop. We found this cute line of CZ watches with colorful rubber bands. Every color you can think of, I bought about a dozen! They are only $22 and at that price you can have a color for every outfit, I do!

Bring on the Bling!

Metallic influences started popping up in home decor fabric about two years ago. At first glance I thought this will not go far as my customers were staunchly "Tuscan", Red and Gold. But, along came Candice Olson with her new fabric collection and
everything changed! Main Street America has embraced the bling. They are shedding their tuscan decor for light and fabulous. Now I'm finding many fabrics and wallpapers with that metallic flare in every price range. This is a bandwagon you will just love jumping on! It is fun, romantic and creative.

You can mix metallic pieces with other fun textures like animal prints, chenilles, and sheers. There are several great choices on my website MyDesignerFabric.com. Just use you imagination and start with something as small as a pillow in blinged out fabric. You will find your inner Diva emerging in no time!

New Year! New Colors! New Trends!

Don't you just love the promise of a New Year poised before you. A renewed since of adventure, a fresh perspective, and best of all renewed inspiration! I just returned from the Home Decor Market in Dallas and it was just the boost I needed to get the creative juices flowing. The bright shining showrooms were resplendent with color. Turquoise has been chosen as the "Color of the Year" by Panatone, so you should start seeing fabulous accessories and fabrics awash in shades of Turquoise, in your favorite magazines and stores soon. Buy a new vase or cover a chair it is amazing what a simple new splash or color can do to brighten your surroundings, and your mood. Turquoise is a great accent with Lime Green, Golden Straw, or bright Corals. Like visiting a gorgeous Caribbean Island, with bright punches of color, let your imagination go wild!

Savor The Moment

We've decorated the tree, the mantle, the dining table, and the landscape outside. We're hustling to find those last minute gifts and stocking stuffers. Soon our homes will be filled with family and friends, and hopefully fun and laughter. Take time to savor it, live in the moment, and realize that it is all too fleeting. It is not the gifts that we give that endure the test of time, it is the memories that we give. Think about that as you gather together. What do you want your family to remember about you, and you them?

The greatest gift you can give to anyone is letting them know that they make a difference in your life. A gift of the heart is one they will always cherish.

Merry Christmas

Get Organized with TeuxDeux.com

I found this new innovation TeuxDeux.com thru Seth Godin's blog and it is FABULOUS! So easy, uncomplicated, versatile, and quick. As a small business owner I wear many hats, as my Mom would say, "You are the chief cook and bottle washer." I am a habitual note writer. My desk and drawers are littered with 4x4 notes some legible, some not, of phone numbers, measurements, and names. I don't throw even the most cryptic note away for fear that I will need it "someday." (I live in fear that Oprah will show up with a camera crew for her next hoarding show.)

I realize this is a departure from my usual information about Interior Design, but I like to think of this little tidbit as my way of helping you design your time more effectively so that you will have more time to devote to the "fun" things, like decorating!

Are You A "Right or Right Now" Client?

In the course of a design project you may be faced with a dilemma that is going to force you into making a choice. A choice to either delay the project or make a new selection. I call this the "Right or Right Now" decision. If the delay is based on a crucial element of the project, you have to decide what you are willing to sacrifice for the eventual outcome.

Many of the projects that I begin for clients are "event" projects. The client has put off purchasing draperies for the home they moved into three years ago because they just couldn't decide what they wanted to do. But now, they have agreed to host their best friends bridal shower in four weeks and it has to be done by then. As a Designer I love these life events, it spurs people into action! (And I work well under pressure) But, invariably, some element of our choices will be "backordered" until the week after the event.

Now, in most cases this is not a crisis because we can find a suitable substitute. But what if there isn't a better substitute? What if this is the best choice for the project. I have to ask my client "Do you want it right or right now?" Only they can make that decision because they have to live with the choice.

Design projects are expensive, time consuming, emotional, and aggravating. But they can also, more importantly, be fabulous and worth the effort if your willing to make the sacrifices needed for a beautiful result that you will enjoy for years to come.

Candice Olson, "The Queen of Bling" in Home Decor

We don't usually think of "Bling" as being a home decor element, but we do now! Candice Olson has introduced a gorgeous line of designer fabrics chocked full of metallic threads, rhinestones and shiny patent leather. Her own unique style of "Contemporary" is not the sparse, often cold hard-edge styling that has in the past been associated with that genre.

Candice has perfected the fusion between the clean lines of contemporary and the soft and warm touch of traditional and a smattering of bling, to create a style that is now coveted around the world by thousands of Divine Design junkies.

If you are a fan of her show you have no doubt begun to see her new fabrics, that she developed with the help of world renown textile giant Kravet Fabrics, on the latest episodes. As these fabrics have been introduced, sales have skyrocketed sending many patterns into "backordered" status overnight. Never before has a single collection had such an impact on the home decor fabric industry. Now anyone can have Candice Olson styling right in their own home by covering a chair or adding window treatments with fabric from her gorgeous collection.

If you have not had the pleasure of seeing the Candice Olson Collection you can go to Kravet.com to see the entire line or you can log on the MyDesignerFabric.com to order fabrics and swatches from the collection. And, just let me say, you must order at least a swatch of the fabric in order to appreciate its true beauty, the computer screen does not do them justice!

Out With The Fauxld, In With The New!

That's right, faux finishes are out and wallpaper is in! Wallpaper is making a comeback in home decor, and it is better than ever. Gorgeous colors and fabulous textures abound with metallic finishes leading the way to a new era of cutting edge design and style.

With wallpaper you can make dramatic changes to your decor in just a few hours. Pair a bold print with simple accessories and "Voile´" a magnificent transformation in a weekend. Checkout the latest collections on Thibautdesign.com. It is a veritable feast for the eyes!