Decorating to Give Thanks

For most people, Thanksgiving decorating involves turkeys, gourds, and a few well placed Fall items such as reeds and even feathers. However, for others the allure of Thanksgiving decorating has gone out of style and replaced with the desire to create something unique, eye catching, and of course, filled with grace and splendor. The right home accents can give a home that Thanksgiving charm without pulling out the Styrofoam turkey.

Follow these tried and true tips and your holiday decorations for Thanksgiving can be taken to the next level.

These days, people are decorating their homes with more subtle hues. That means a few simple changes to the dining room can call out "Thanksgiving" without having to plant the ten year old stuffed turkey scene on the table as a centerpiece. Starting with an array of muted browns and oranges for your table setting will be enough to remind everyone why they are gathered around the table. This year, try a simple but elegant fall flower arrangement as your centerpiece. Using off-colored hues throughout the remainder of your home accents will give the home that autumn glazed look with an especially subtle appearance that can be appreciated by everyone. Brass home accents can set off the orange hues and the browns with a little flair. Of course, don't overdue the drab colors. Adding red and burgundy will help tie it all in together.

When choosing home accents, remember to keep it simple. If you're going to use coverings on your end tables, and you choose a typically fall color, adding a brass or even a bronze statue, bells, or other decorative pieces that whisper the holiday season rather than screaming it, you can usually draw it all together with the color red.

Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season for most people. About 30% of all Americans use Thanksgiving Day to ready themselves for the Christmas season. However, people are paying more attention to fall décor before blending their Thanksgiving decorating with Christmas decorating. Using auburns and reds make an excellent lead in for the blended look.

Using home accents in brass and gold, even bronze, can ease into any holiday décor. By adding just a few new brass or gold wall hangings, almost any room in the house can become a myriad of Thanksgiving and Christmas blend, which can be perfect for the anxious holiday individual who marks their season's start with the culmination of Thanksgiving. With a little preplanning, the holiday décor from Thanksgiving can blend right into the Christmas season with only a few minor changes.

Wall hangings and home accents can be used in any number of rooms to draw attention to the finer points of a room. If you create a beautiful ensemble in one corner, using an illustrious wall hanging just off to the side or even right above it, their eye will naturally follow the rhythm of the hanging directly to the ensemble.

Thanksgiving decorating is also a great time to delve into candles of all types. Candles in wall scones can accentuate a busy room just as easily as they can stand alone along a hallway or a staircase. Candles create that perfect holiday ambiance that we all want to share in, they light up a room with more than just a pleasant aroma. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for help decorating your home for the season.

The Truth About Rent To Own

Most of us are very familiar with the term “rent to own”. Places such as Prime Time and Rent A Center have built an empire with rent to own merchandise, although the buyer normally ends up paying double what the merchandise is actually worth. While this may be great for those who have bad credit, most of us prefer to avoid going this route. Homes are no exception, especially if you are buying a home on a rent to own basis.

Even though rent to own may be good for a short period of time, it proves to be an expensive way for someone to buy something they intend to keep. Rent to own merchandise for example, may sound quite compelling at a few dollars a week. The agreement is normally for around 15 - 20 months, which is where the company makes their money. Although you may be paying just a few dollars a week, the total amount quickly adds up to nearly twice the cost of the item.

Along with paying rent, you’ll also have to pay applicable sales tax as well. Like merchandise, rent to own real estate has its disadvantages. Even though it can be great for those with not so good credit, you’ll normally end up paying back a lot more than you would with a mortgage. You’ll still have to pay back your lender with a mortgage, although that amount won’t be nearly as high as it would if you decided to get a house on a rent to own basis.

In most cases, rent to own homes are put on the market by the owner. This way, you’ll deal directly with the owner. It’ll start out as a traditional lease, then proceed to a rent to own basis if you decide you want to keep the home. You and the owner will then work out an arrangement, which will normally be quite a few years. Some owners are very flexible and will work with you just to get the price they want for their home, while others will charge you a bit more in order to make a hefty profit.

If you have bad credit and can’t get approved for a mortgage, then rent to own would be your next best option. Although some don’t like to do it because of the price, for many it’s a better alternative than renting an apartment. With rent to own houses you are paying money towards the home, instead of just paying rent which goes into never-never land. In some cases this is fine, although you should make sure to double check with the owner before you agree or commit to anything. Either way, once you move in, you’ll want your furnishings and accessories just “so” …contact us to make that happen.

Autumn Joy

There’s crispness in the air. Stores are lining their shelves with candy and costumes. Leaves are starting to turn. You know it’s time to break out your fall decorations! Autumn is such a fun time of year to decorate with the rich color schemes. Natural elements fit in nicely with the rustic fall colors, so there are many ways you can inexpensively decorate for the season. When trees are freshly painted with their burnished fall hues, take advantage of their splendor. Gather some leaves and clippings to create wreaths or swags for your gates, doors, or mantels. For a quick update on your porch, fill a pot or window box with the colors of the season. Gather pinecones, seedpods, acorns and fall leaves to put in wicker baskets. Use these on the porch or in entry ways for simple, rustic decorations. You can also use small branches with the pinecones and/or leaves still attached and place them in vases and crocks.

Potted mums this time of year are the same prices as cut flowers, or cheaper, so why not buy several, pot them up and place them around your walks, steps and porch. Tie autumn themed ribbons around the base of the pots. If you have room plant them in the ground after the blooms are gone and lay down some mulch (grass clippings or chopped leaves) for the winter.

Many areas are overflowing with nut trees, and because they are ready for harvest in the fall, these small, tasty beauties make a beautiful autumn display. To add some color and texture to the bunch, pick a few sunflowers a few days before creating your autumn display. You will want to dry them by hanging them upside down for about three days. Once the flowers have dried, remove the bloom of the flower and place it gently atop the pile of nuts. For an interesting base to this display, try using a row of sticks made into a miniature raft or plate to hold the nuts and the flowers on. All of these items can either be used or discarded at the end of the season.

GO TO YOUR (CHILD’S) ROOM

Once your child starts school, several changes are required in his room’s layout. A study place is a must, a place where the little scholar can prepare for school, learn and do his homework.

The study area should be near the window so that his arm won’t place a shadow on the books in front of him. Accordingly to this rule, if we are talking about a right-handed child, the light must be on his left, and if talking about a left-handed child, the light must be on his right. It goes without saying that the furniture must include a desk and small cabinets as well as a small bookcase.

For optimal use of space, the study table or desk should be at least 24x35” with adjustable height and inclination and drawers to deposit books, paper, pens and other school items. For this same purpose, the chair must fit the little scholar NOW and be adjustable for future growth.

Natural lighting must be supplemented or maintained by a local light. The desk should have a lamp with an adjustable arm, placed in such a way that it can focus the light precisely to the point where it is needed.

If your child has a monitor and CPU, an “L” shaped desk allows a good position for the computer, with the monitor on one side in the corner. Be careful because the distance from the monitor and to the eyes of the person using the computer has to be 20– 28 inches. To better respect this distance, some desks are equipped with a special space for the monitor, positioned a little higher than the actual desk. The nice thing about a laptop is that as long as there’s room on a table, no special equipment is necessary. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula to insure your child’s room is redesigned for optimal learning.

How to Unpack without Exploding

One of the forgotten steps in moving is the fact that physically moving your belongings from one spot to another is only part of the deal. Once you get your boxes and your mattress and your desk to its final destination, you still have to be able to find everything and put everything where it belongs. A rule of thumb when surveying your house is that no matter how many box-fulls you think you have, a good idea is to at least increase your most generous estimate by at least 50 percent. And remember, for every box you pack, that’s a box you have to unpack.

According to data from the US Census, 14 percent of all American households last year moved. That translates to somewhere around 40 million people switching addresses.

Most of us take weeks, sometimes months to slowly and painstakingly categorize, wrap and pack all of our belongings. We spend months looking at prospective houses, arguing with our real estate agent and we spend days with our fingers crossed hoping we got the property we wanted.

But once you do get your dream house, then what? You took all this time to get everything ready and then you leave yourself….

ONE

DAY

…..to move everything. Yup, it’s just about as crazy as it sounds. But fear not, there are some common sense tips to keep your head from exploding. If you have the money, there are several companies out there that will help you pack up everything, and then once the movers do their thing, they will unpack pretty much everything. They will even take the boxes with them when they go. They will hang pictures, put your toothbrush in the bathroom and put the sheets on the bed. They will even get the computer up and running.

But, as you can imagine, moving companies and their services aren’t cheap. In that case, here are some good tips for do-it-yourselfers.

• “See-through” is your friend. Stay away from opaque brown cardboard boxes and try to use as much clear packing material as you can. Clear plastic bins, Ziploc bags for small things, anything that you can think of that is clear and can hold large amounts of stuff.

• Lists! Lists! Lists! Write down what goes in every single box, so when you wake up that first morning in your beautiful new home and you want that first cup of coffee, all you have to do is grab that list and see that it’s in box 91. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula to help you organize your list.

• Have the utilities turned on before you move in. This is especially important if you have kids. Moves are traumatic enough for adults, but when little Johnny is having his universe ripped apart, it helps to be able to plop the kids in front of Dora the Explorer for a bit while you try to recover from exhaustion.

While nothing can really prepare you for the mental and physical stress of moving day, being prepared and taking a few common sense steps can help keep things from getting too out of hand. In the meantime, contact us to help you when you move in as well!

Letting the Sour Housing Market Work for You

With mortgage rates inching higher every month and the burst bubble of the real estate market, just about everyone is staying away from buying new homes. So, what reason does anyone have to buy sooner rather than later?

Incentives.
According to the National Association of Home Buyers, somewhere around 75 percent of builders are offering incentives right now.

A CNN-Money article documented this curious trend in the housing market, as things get tighter, realtors and home builders are looking for any possible enticement to get people to buy now.

For instance:

• No Closing Costs
• No payments for six months (Yes, on your house, this isn’t a car ad).
• $10,000 towards an in-ground pool
• Upgraded appliances
• Free expert landscaping
• Plasma TVs
• $5,000 gift certificates to upgrade your home.
• New Cabinets
• New Countertops (granite, of course)
• Marble baths
• Price cuts up to 6 percent
• Price cuts of 10 percent or more on new homes
• Lower mortgage rates

And those are just the incentives offered from realtors and builders. If you’re looking to buy direct without the aid of a realtor, you can still get in on the incentive deals. One couple in Colorado is offering round-trip airfare to any destination in Europe, or an expensive bottle of wine to anyone who will buy their condo.

Other offers in the same area included a month of professional massages or the use of a personal chef for a period of time.

Brokers across the country are reporting similarly strange behaviour, like sellers willing to give a 20 percent discount to anyone who bought by a certain date. Or others offering merchandise, like a Vespa scooter or plane tickets to anywhere in the US if their house was bought quickly.

One unique buyer in Rhode Island was actually offering a Lexus automobile with his property.

While it’s unknown if this trend will continue, these incentives are helping to move properties that might not other wise sell as quickly. Take it as a sign of desperation or a sign of sillyness, but as long as the housing market across the United States shows signs of slowing, incentives, big and small, serious and bizarre are here to stay.

Design Ideas for a Beautiful Bedroom

Your bedroom is one of the most important rooms in the house. It is the sanctuary away from the troubles of the world, the ultimate escape from day to day life.

To create a setting for restful slumber, think about what colors and styles produce the greatest happiness and peace of mind. In your bedroom, you can have the “off the wall” decorations you’ve always wanted. The bedroom is private, so the design is all about you. Your bedroom does more than just serve the need for a place to sleep.

It accommodates you at all times of day, providing space for reading, studying, watching TV, talking on the phone, eating, and using the computer. Because of this, the bed is no longer the primary piece of furniture in the bedroom. Bedroom desks, large nightstands, or a television might be a better focus for your design. If you watch a lot of television in your bedroom, you might want to consider a chair and ottoman for more comfortable viewing.

If you like to read in your bedroom, pay special attention to the lighting there. Dim, moody lighting may be restful, but it will cause eye strain when reading.
The lighting should be at a level where you do not accidentally shade it, and tall enough to shine light on the book or magazine. When using lamps in the bedroom, the lower edge of the lamp shade should be around eye level when seated.

Remember to choose colors that you find restful when decorating your bedroom. Exciting colors such as red should be avoided unless you personally find them comforting. Strong colors have been said to promote insomnia. Designing your bedroom interior with a splash of a bright color will liven up a room, but it should not be allowed to dominate. Contact Interiors Refined by Paula for a color consultation.

Layered curtains in the bedroom are an excellent design choice. This allows you to wake up to filtered light, open the curtains for full light, or black out the room for naps and sleeping in. Blackout lined draperies will protect you from morning sun, whereas sheers or thin blinds will filter light for a gentle glow in the morning.

Bedroom design has many options, and can be tailored to your personal preferences. The bedroom should be your sanctuary, and it is important to feel comforted and restful when you are there.