began by painting the walls a darker neutral—Benjamin Moore “Shaker Beige” HC-45.
Live Beautifullwhole y life design
TIP: Paint walls a deeper neutral to contrast with trim and enhance resale. The darker wall color not only flowed with the adjoining rooms but also made the white wood trim stand out. Denise had an existing small loveseat and high wingback chairs, which were just not working due to their extreme height difference. After speaking with me about upholstery costs and options, she realized she was better off buying new, so she donated the floral sofa to Habitat for Humanity. Since her wingback chairs were of excellent quality, it made sense to sell them at a local consignment shop. They move overseas often due to work assignments, so the furniture needed to be small in scale and inexpensive, in case they needed to part with it. They wanted to relax and read in the sunny room, so Ikea recliners were the perfect solution. “Everyone in the family wanted somewhere to put their feet up,” Denise explained. The recliner with a cozy throw and convenient Target floor lamp is now so inviting, both on sunny days and cold, rainy evenings”, she noted. TIP: You can add interest and color by layering flat rugs on top of light beige wall- to- wall carpet. Denise was surprised by my idea to layer a Seascape seagrass rug (8’ x 10’6”) from www.homedecorators.com on top of the beige carpeting, and then take the couple’s Persian rug and angle it under a wood trunk coffee table. My theory is that in a formal room, you should go out of your way to make the space as casual and comfortable as possible. Every person should have a comfortable place to sit, a rug under their feet, a table upon which to set down a beverage and adequate lighting for reading. TIP: If the piece of furniture is not a family treasure or priceless, you can de-formalize its varnished wood by painting it. Painting the stained wood butler’s tray table so that it would not be so formal and would integrate better into the room with Benjamin Moore’s Cromwell Gray satin enamel was a stretch for the couple. “I was a bit dubious that the gray color was the way to go, but trusting your judgment, I went ahead all the same. It worked very well,” Denise said. There are so many choices out there that often one becomes immobilized by the multitude of options. Add to that being new to a city and not knowing where to shop, and you can easily feel overwhelmed. “You saved us time and money by guiding our paint and fabric choices and steering us to reliable workrooms and affordable stores,” Denise said. “I was surprised at how easy you made it all seem in just one meeting! Your notes gave us a map and all we had to do was follow it on our own. Decorating no longer felt overwhelming, but doable— and if I needed help, you were just an email away,” she explained.
• interior design & renovation • new construction • custom window treatments, furnishings & rugs • art & accessories • staging 713.201.8313 www.livebeautifully.net Mary Lindsey Wilson, ASID
R EBORN G RANITE W H O L E S A L E & R E TA I L
All Wood Cabinets In Stock 96” x 26” Granite
69 ea. & Up
$
00
Expires 4/30/11
Installed
18 sq. ft.
$
99
Cabinets
5000ea. & Up
$
Expires 4/30/11
713-690-4888
14730 Hempstead Road
I
Houston, TX 77040
www.reborngranite.com 19