A FREE bi-monthly home decorating ezine!
published by KatieDid Design
July 2001
brought to you by:
KatieDid Design
www.katiediddesign.com
mailto:contact@katiediddesign.com
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June 25th, 2001 ------ July Issue ------
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This free e-zine is published monthly for
3500+ subscribers. Thanks for joining us!
We do not spam, and keep a record each
subscription request.
Links for Subscribing, Unsubscribing, and
deleting duplicates are at the bottom of this
issue.
Past issues are posted on-line:
http://www.katiediddesign.com/ezine.html
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Hello Dear Readers!
This month I get to wish you a happy
Fourth of July! Even for those of you who aren't
in the US, I can still wish you a happy Fourth
... and fifth, and sixth, and every day of the
month! I guess most of us are deep into the heat
of summer by now. (Except those of you who are
in the Southern Hemisphere.) I guess I need to
start realizing that this is global and not just
a US thing! :-) Anyway, no matter where you are,
or what your weather's like, or what holidays you
have coming up, I wish you the very best this
month.
I'm finishing my 'Achieving the Look
You Want' series this month. The final article is
about choosing and using furniture to create the
look you want in your home. If you've missed the
first three articles, you can get them instantly
by autoresponder. The links are below, right
before the article.
Congratulations go to two Canadians!
Wanda in Alberta was the winner for April, and
Maureen in Manitoba was the winner for May! They
each won a free custom-designed 12"
Fabric-Covered Fan. Wanda chose to have hers
done in Victorian blues, and Maureen wants hers
done in hunter and peach with a modern look.
Drawing Page:
http://www.katiediddesign.com/drawing.html
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IN THIS ISSUE:
1. THIS MONTH'S SUBSCRIBER SPECIAL
- Pillows!
2. TIPS & TRICKS
- Quick Mess Pick-up!
3. FEATURE ARTICLE
- Achieving the Look You Want With Furniture
4. CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH
- Instrumental Music!
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BE A SPONSOR! Put your ad in this Premium Ad
spot, or in the Featured Ad spot! This quality
publication went out to 3500+ subscribers this
month and gains approximately 250
subscribers/week.
Details are available online:
Advertising Opportunities:
http://www.katiedidddesign.com/advertising.html
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1. THIS MONTH'S SUBSCRIBER'S SPECIAL
- Pillows
I've got a unique sale for you this
month. All subscribers can get 10% off my labor
charge for any pillow(s) style already on my
site. BUT, if there's a style of pillow that you
want that's NOT on there, you can have it made
for 25% off! This way YOU get a great deal, and
I get a photo of a new type of pillow to put up
on the web! These can be pillows for your bed,
your sofa and loveseat, a window seat, anything!
All you have to do is place your order by July
31st and mention that you're a subscriber.
All Pillows are in the
Fabric Accessories Department:
http://www.katiediddesign.com/accessories.html
And don't forget that you've got a few
days left to take advantage of the June
Subscriber Special on samples. From now until
June 30th, you can buy any of the remaining
sample items for 40% off! Just e-mail or fill
out my contact form and tell me you're a
subscriber! It's first come (paid) first serve,
so don't wait if you think you'd like something!
Sample Department:
http://www.katiediddesign.com/samples.html
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.
If you have something in mind right now, drop me
a line and ask
mailto:katie@katiediddesign.com
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2. Tips & Tricks
- Quick Mess Pick-up!
This tip was shared by Sharron, owner
of Another Thyme
"My all time favorite household tip has
to do with cleaning/organizing.
"When you clean the house take an empty
laundry basket to the first room you start in.
Put everything that doesn't belong in that room
in the basket (eg, say you're in the LR, put the
kids' toys, hubby's pipe, etc in the basket)
then take the basket along as you do each room
dropping off what belongs in the right rooms. "
Visit Another Thyme:
http://mypage.direct.ca/m/moonsage/AnotherThyme'sTeas.html
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BE A SPONSOR! Put your ad in this Premium Ad
spot, or in the Featured Ad spot! This quality
publication went out to 3500+ subscribers this
month and gains approximately 250
subscribers/week.
Details are available online:
Advertising Opportunities:
http://www.katiedidddesign.com/advertising.html
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3. FEATURE ARTICLE
- Achieving the Look You Want With Furniture
Note: The first two articles in the series are available in the Decorating Resources section under "Achieving the Look You Want."
Achieving the Look You Want With Furniture
So you've gone through all the magazines
and decorating books, and you know the general
look that you want your room to have. But you
don't want to copy it exactly... so what do you
do to get that look with YOUR colors, patterns,
fabric, and furnishings? This article deals with
achieving the look you want with furniture. Of
course, many of us don't have the option of
buying all new furniture if what we've got
doesn't help achieve our desired results. But if
we understand how our furniture is affecting the
look of our room, then it's easier use color,
patterns and fabrics to adjust that look to what
we DO want!
Furniture comes in many styles and
finishes. From Traditional to Modern,
white-washed to mahogany, painted to unfinished,
wood to metal, and antique to new... if you can
dream it up, someone's probably made it
somewhere. But despite this wide range of
styles, there are only two major aspects that
must be considered - style, and finish or color.
Considering the finish or color of your
furniture is easy. Wood finishes come in
anything from white-washed to natural pine, oak,
cherry, mahogany and a host of others. Painted
furniture can be in any color of the rainbow.
And metals are finished as anything from white
enamel to black wrought iron. All you need to do
is consider whether your furniture is light,
medium, or dark in color, and how that color will
affect your room. This follows the same basic
color principles that I outlined in the
"Achieving the Look You Want With Color" article;
dark colors take up more visual space and look
more formal, and light colors take up less visual
space and look more casual. So a frosted maple
living room set will look best in a casual room
and give it an open feel to help it look larger,
while a dark cherry living room set will help
your room to look more formal and masculine.
The style of your furniture is a more
complicated consideration. To help, I will break
it down into three aspects of the design --
simplicity, weight, and grace.
The simplicity or complexity of the
furniture's design is important to consider
because it needs to be 'matched' to your
decorating style. A simple design would be
straight legs, straight or simply curved chair
backs, etc. A complex design would include lots
of carving and curves in the wood or metal. This
doesn't mean that you have to put a simple
bedding set and simple curtains in a room with
simple furniture; it simply means that you need
to balance the simplicity or complexity of your
furniture with the decorating style of your room
to achieve the look you want. If you want a
simple looking bedroom and you've already got
simple furniture, then all you need to do is keep
your curtains and bedding simple. But if you've
got simple furniture and you want an ornate and
luxurious bedroom, then you'll need to get
extra-rich looking fabrics and styles to dominate
the room and achieve that rich look you want. On
the other hand, if you've got Great-Grandma's
ornate antiques, but you prefer a simple
decorating style, then you'll have to go
ultra-simple in the rest of your decorating to
compensate... perhaps simple painted walls,
straight elegant silk draperies, and simple table
scarves will simplify your room enough to create
the look you want.
When considering the weight of your
furniture, you need to focus more on the visual
weight, and less on the actual scale weight. A
simple wrought iron bed could weigh more than a
cherry sleigh bed. But the sleigh bed has more
visual weight because all you see is a thick
solid piece of wood across at both ends of the
bed, while the wrought iron allows you to see the
wall behind the bed. The visual weight of your
furniture will affect how much room it looks like
it takes up, and therefore how large or small
your room looks -- the heavier your furniture
looks, the smaller your room will look. So if
you've got a small room and heavy furniture, then
use other decorating techniques such as light
colors and simple designs to 'lighten' up your
room. And if you have tiny light-weight
furniture and want a dark, masculine look, then
consider using dark colors on the walls, and
heavy-looking bedding and draperies to add weight
to the room.
Finally, consider the grace of your
furniture's design. By grace, I mean the amount
and type of curves used in the design. This is
important in determining whether your room looks
feminine or masculine, romantic or modern, and
rich or simple country. Gracefully curving legs
and scalloped pieces work wonderfully in a girl's
bedroom or a Victorian sitting room. And
straight Shaker-style chairs or beds look great
in a country kitchen or boy's room. But again,
if your furniture isn't ideally suited to your
decorating style, then you simply need to
effectively use your other decorating options to
alter or disguise the look of your furniture. If
you've got a simple country bed set, and your
daughter wants a frilly Victorian bedroom, then
plenty of ruffles and floral fabric will easily
dress it up. Or if you've got a beautiful fancy
Queen Anne bedroom set, and a husband who hates
frills, then simple, solid-color drapes and
bedding should add enough of a masculine touch to
make you both feel at home in the room.
To sum it all up, achieving the look
you want isn't as difficult as it may seem. Just
take one aspect of your room at a time, and
analyze it to determine what it contributes to
the room. Once you've done this, you'll have a
much easier time figuring out what the room
needs. And above all, use what you love... no
matter what you do, you can't create a room you
love out of colors and fabrics you hate.
Sometimes we have to compromise on something, but
if we can figure out how to balance those items
with things we love, then we can still achieve a
room that is comfortable, beautiful, and makes
you feel right at home.
Have fun!
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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
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4. CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH
- Instrumental Music!
I'd like to challenge you all to try
out an instrumental music style that you don't
usually listen to. Keep an open mind, and give
it a chance! Maybe you'd like Classical, Jazz,
or an ethnic variety. Maybe you'd like some of
the newer 'nature recordings' that combine
waterfalls, thunderstorms, or the ocean, with
different styles of music. Remember that the
sounds in your home can have an even greater
effect than what you see. Enjoy!
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Remember, if your decorating isn't fun, it isn't
worth it. So enjoy it!
-Katie <><
KatieDid Design
http://www.katiediddesign.com
e-mail:
mailto:design@katiediddesign.com
PO Box 381235
Murdock, FL 33938-1235
1-877-KATIEDID
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Your FREE subscription to this e-zine
is brought to you by:
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Don't hesitate to forward this newsletter to
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permission before reproducing the content in any
form -- I would just like to know who you are,
that's all. Thanks!
Copyright 2001 KatieDid Design - All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced in whole, or in part, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
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