A FREE bi-monthly home decorating ezine!
published by KatieDid Design
April 2000
brought to you by:
KatieDid Design
www.katiediddesign.com
mailto:contact@katiediddesign.com
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March 27th, 2000 - April issue
Hello Dear Readers!
Spring is coming! Aren't you looking forward to it? What decorating
projects do you have planned for this spring? Painting? Florals?
Renovating? I hope this month's article will help you in your project.
It's not the guest article I hoped to get.. it's taking longer to get that
than I anticipated. Oh well. :-) So enjoy this month's issue, and may
your projects all go well!
Don't forget that I am starting a monthly drawing for all subscribers.
The prize for March will be a free Fabric-Covered Fan! (see
http://www.katiediddesign.com/accessories.html ) I'll even pay for shipping!
The winner will get to choose from a variety of fabrics, or send their own!
E-mail notification will be sent to the winner in the beginning of April.
For more information on the drawing, see my E-zine page at
http://www.katiediddesign.com/ezine.html.
And, is there anything specific you'd like to read about? Tell me at katie@katiediddesign.com. Feel free to forward this on to your friends who may enjoy it. On with fun stuff!...
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. THIS MONTH'S SUBSCRIBER'S SPECIAL
- Hats and Flower Baskets!
2. TIPS & TRICKS
- Keep the mail neat & tidy!
3. GUIDELINES AND SUGGESTIONS - FEATURE ARTICLE
- Achieving Balance in your Decorating. (Part 1)
4. CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH
- The Front Door
1. THIS MONTH'S SUBSCRIBER'S SPECIAL - Hats and Flower Baskets!
This month I'm offering specials on Decorative Hats and Flower Baskets. I
think that this is appropriate for now, with Easter coming and all! I'm
going to take 15% off any hats or baskets that you order through the end of
April! Hats come in straw and crocheted and are great for walls and front
doors. They can be decorated with many different types of flowers and
ribbons and in many different styles. Flower Baskets must have custom
quotes, so if you'd like one, let me know the type of basket and flowers
you like. I'll do some shopping and e-mail pictures of a few
possibilities. When I find what you like, I'll figure the quote and take
off 15%!
And don't forget that everything is a special in March for subscribers!
Yes, I will be taking 10% off all orders placed before April 1st! This is
no April Fool's either. :-) This includes custom orders also. For custom
orders, I will provide the quote according to my usual procedures, then
take 10% off! The larger your order, the more you save! Go browse and then tell me what you’d like! www.katiediddesign.com - katie@katiediddesign.com
These offers are available to anyone who is already a subscriber, or who subscribes when they place their order. Just tell me what you'd like and mention that you're a subscriber!
2. TIPS & TRICKS - Keep the mail neat & tidy!
There really is a simple way to keep the mail from taking over! It goes
like this...
1) Buy two pretty baskets - one small basket just large enough to hold a
few pieces of mail - and a second large one that will comfortably hold a
weeks worth. Any type of basket will be fine: wire, straw, wicker, shaker,
et.
2) 'Display' the small basket somewhere very near your front door - perhaps
on a hall table.
3) 'Display' the larger one somewhere near your 'bill-paying place' -
whether it's the kitchen table, a study armior, or a computer desk.
4) When the mail comes and you're about ready to drop it on the table or
kitchen counter, walk over to that large basket and drop in there instead!
Do this every day so it's all in one place when you go to do the bills or
checkbook. When the basket gets full, it's time to sort it!
5) When you write out the bills, but don't want to put them in the mailbox
yet, walk over to your front door and drop them in the little basket! Get
into the habit of checking your little basket every time you go out - you
won't have to worry about a late payment because you wrote the check out
and then lost it!
3. FEATURE ARTICLE - Achieving Balance in your Decorating. (Part 1)
Do you ever look at a professionally decorated room and wonder what
exactly makes it look so good? There are many aspects of decorating that
come together to create the perfect room... but there is one element that
brings it all together into a harmonious whole. That all-important element
is balance. I'm going to talk about on colors and materials this month,
and furniture, accents, and the entire room next month.
Balance is an extremely important part of your color scheme. Not in which
colors to use, but in how much and where. When it comes to color balance,
it's important to remember that darker colors take up more visual space.
For example, if you have one hunter green pillow and one soft rose pillow
on a light-colored floral sofa, the majority of people coming in the room
will notice the green pillow before they notice the rose pillow or the
sofa. The problem with this, is that you didn't decorate your room for
people to look at your green pillow - you decorated it for them to notice
the beauty of the whole room and feel comfortable in it.
So how do we apply color balance to our decorating? It's not really
difficult. Once you have decided on your colors and patterns, evaluate
them. Figure out which of your colors will take up more visual space and
weight, which will take up less, and how much more or less. Evaluate each
pattern as a separate color. Think of everything in terms of how many
parts of each should be in the entire mix. In the above example, since the
green is very dark, and the rose and floral are very light, then you'd
probably want to use a mix of approximately 1 part hunter green, 4-5 parts
soft rose and floral. If your floral was darker - perhaps using more of
the hunter green than the rose - then your mix should be more like 1 part
hunter green, 1-2 parts floral, and 3 parts soft rose. But if your floral
was still light and your green was a medium sage - then your mix should be
something like 1 part sage, 3 parts soft rose and floral. You must use
more of your lighter colors to balance the weight of the darker colors and
make them appear equal. Perhaps place two rose pillows in front of two
green pillows, or trim two rose pillows in hunter cording. If these are
the colors in your bedroom, you might want to keep the hunter for your
bedskirt and a throw pillow or two, and use the lighter colors and prints
on the more prominent parts of the bed, such as the comforter and larger
pillows.
What if you don't want your your colors and prints to appear equal? Maybe
you want to use lots of the print and a sage, and only want the rose and
hunter to be accents. If this is the case, then you'll evaluate your main
color(s) separately from the accent color(s). Figure out how many parts of
your main colors and prints balance each other, and figure out how many
parts of your accent colors and prints balance each other. If the sage and
floral are equal, then use them equally all over the room. But use
approximately 1 part hunter to every 3 parts rose in your accents.
Otherwise the rose will disappear and hunter will be the only noticeable
accent color.
These principles in color balance apply first to the entire room, then to
each section or part of your room. And they aren't hard fast rules, just
guidelines that will help bring everything together. I'll touch on color
balance in your room as a whole more next month.
Materials must be balanced also. Here I'm talking less about colors, and
more about textures and designs. Some materials will take up more visual
space and weight, while others will take up less - regardless of their
colors. For example, a sheer material will be overpowered by a heavy
tapestry - unless you use about four times as much sheer material as
tapestry material. It's the same principle used in color. Evaluate your
materials individually based on the colors used, the size of the print (if
any) and the weight of the fabric. Darker colors, larger prints, and
heavier fabrics must be used sparingly compared to lighter colors, smaller
prints, and lighter, softer fabrics.
For example, I'm using medium-weight damask fabrics as well as extremely
light sheer fabrics in my living room. The key to making them come
together is to balance more of the sheer material with less of the damask.
For window treatments, I've got long, full scarves and drapes of the sheer
material, but only a simple tailored valance of the damask above the drapes
and under the scarves.
Another example would be if you had two co-ordinating prints - one with
large roses scattered all over, and another with tiny pin-stripes. If you
wanted them to appear as equally noticeable, you would have to use more of
the pin-stripe material than the rose material - even if the colors were
about the same. The large roses would draw your attention to them, while
the pin-stripe would fade into the background. If you had a comforter in
the rose print, you'd want to make the bedskirt, shams, and throw pillows
all use some of the pin-stripe since the roses are such a prominent and
noticeable place.
The principle for both colors and materials is the same... use less of
the more noticeable, and more of the less noticeable. Next month I'll
write about using balance in arrainging your furnishings and accents, and
bringing it all together in the entire room as a whole.
_.~*~.__.~*~.__.~*~.__.~*~.__.~*~._
This article Copyright 1999-2003 - Kathleen Peters, KatieDid Design. Reproduced with permission.
Kathleen Peters - 'Katie' - is a custom window treatment and bedding designer, and owner of KatieDid Design, her online shop. She is also the editor-in-chief of Decor, Decorating, and Design, a free bi-monthly ezine filled with articles, tips, and guidelines to help with your home decorating.
http://www.katiediddesign.com
4. CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH - Your Front Door
When you have a guest visit, what is the first thing they usually see?
The front door as they're waiting for you to answer their ring or knock!
Have you ever stood in front of your front door for a minute or two and
really studied the view that it presents? Does it give the message that
you want your visitors to get first? This is my challenge to you this
month. Go take another look at your front door. Does it need painted?
Does it need a wreath, decorative hat, antique door knocker, or other
adornment? Make sure that it gives the message you want your visitors the
receive! katie@katiediddesign.com
Well, that's all for this month! :-) Remember, if your decorating isn't
fun, it isn't worth it! So enjoy it!
-Katie <><
KatieDid Design
www.katiediddesign.com
e-mail: katie@katiediddesign.com
Custom Home Decor Design and Giftware
PO Box 381235
Murdock, FL 33938-1235
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