Cowboy Blue Designs Interior Decorating Tips for Common Folks

DECORATING FOR COMMON FOLK

Place ten people in Elvis Presley's Bedroom, ask them to write ten "adjectives" that best describes the room.

You will receive 100 different descriptions of the same room. It's call Individuality!
Everyone is an Art Critic!

The definition of Art via Wikipedia is:
"Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging symbolic elements in a way that influences and affects the senses, emotions, and/or intellect".

Decorating a Room is a form of "Art"
No Wait! Where are you going? Don't run off!.....
you say "I'm not an Artist, I can't draw a stick man"?

Art takes on many forms and shapes. Decorating is a personal expression of one's self. The colors, fabric, Art Pieces, or lack of, we choose says a lot about the person. If you pick the clothes you wear every day, then you can pick the colors and fabrics to put into a room. Try using a few tricks of ours.

"IT'S EASY". And you can say "I Did It!"

THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT, NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN, IN DECORATING FOR YOURSELF!
Does your hamburger look like the picture on the menu you are ordered from? No it doesn't! Because those pictures are" STAGED"
The pictures of homes decorated by Professionals in Home Decor Magazines are "Staged" Photographs. Unless you have a spare bedroom, or a Formal Living Room that is used a few times a year, your room will not look or stay looking like the magazine picture.
We have rode the waves of countless "Home Decorating Shows", surfing from channel to channel. We have waltzed through a ton of Home Decor Magazines only to find that most of the rooms showcased are not actually functional living spaces.
For example, several "Professional Rooms" put up drapes or leave the windows without any covering to let the beautiful warmth of Sunshine beam through 10' windows. That is very pretty but who is going to live in town, or in the country, and have windows that they don't close curtains or blinds to have a little of privacy? Also, we have not seen a kitchen, that is being used, have completed cleaned off counter tops.
Our favorite, are decorating shows that place beautiful expensive Art pieces carefully around a living room, that has no TV, that was decorated for a family with small children and a couple of large dogs. We can visualize a trash full of expensive art, in pieces, being towed out to the curb, in a large plastic trash bag by one angry parent. The last and most important topic we will touch on now is MONEY! Seriously who has $100,000.00 to remodel a bathroom? That is almost as much, or more than, many people paid for their homes.
Keep it Real! Keep in Functional!

No. 1: Create a List: Ask yourself...

Want is the function of your room?
Do you use, or do you want to use, the room for other functions?
Do you need extra storage space (Who doesn't?)?
Where can you find extra storage? (under chairs, couches, tables)
What is your life style, do you have time to fluff up pillows, clean every day? Or like most of Americans today, do you have to schedule bathroom breaks on your IPod or Blackberry?

Example List:

Living Room Function;
Entertaining,
Watching TV,
Relaxing,
Mobile Office

From this example we know that we need Comfortable Seating (couch, chairs,), TV and/or Stereo including place to put them, and something to place a laptop on or writing on. We will be looking for furniture to accomplish these functions in the room. If more storage space is an issue, we should be looking at furniture that can double as storage.

Helpful Hints on Furniture and Placement:

Place mirrors across from windows to reflect light into small rooms. Always place mirrors so they will reflect an area, in the room, that is aesthetically pleasing.
For Large Rooms: Place shelving 1 foot below ceiling around the room helps draw eyes up.
Small Rooms: Furniture-Skinny legs or glass gives the impression of more space
Dark Rooms: Place a lamp in front of a mirror to reflect light

No. 2: Help with Picking a Style:
Experts want to label a style on a room. Don't worry about it! By picking a "style" you are putting yourself into a box and limiting your options. However if you really want to pick a "style" go to your closet. Take a good look at your clothes. Do you dress conservative with black and white modest clothes? If so, you may be most comfortable with Modern or Traditional furnishings.
Maybe you have bright colors that are fun and funky? You might try Modern or even Victorian Bright Color Furnishings. Is your wardrobe jeans and cowboy boots? If so, you are Western Cowboy Type for sure and you are in the right place!

Helpful Hints on Picking a Style:

Browse through Home Decor magazines, catalogs, and the internet to find rooms that really triggers your emotions.
Visit your local Fabric Store and browser through the material, find a material that you just love and/or to the Poster Store see what Prints you like the best.
Make copies of items you like, or buy a small piece of the fabric that you like.
Paste them onto sheets of paper and keep them in a binder to refer back to.
Be true to your home! There is nothing worse than walking into a beautiful Victorian home that has been gutted and decorated in Modern Style. Take a good look at the architecturalform of your home. Try to keep your designing ideas in harmony with the design of your home. That is not to say that you shouldn't decorate an apartment in your own style. Apartment complexes seem to be except from this guideline.

Helpful Hints on Picking Fabrics:
     If choosing pattern fabric, such as floral, strips, etc. either
     #1 Keep them all in the same color pallet or
     #2 Keep the pattern in the same size.

*At this point we know the function of the room, a list of furniture we might need for the room, and what style we are leaning towards.

Time to get to work!

No. 3 Make a Grid:
Not an important step in decorating, however it makes placing furniture so much easier. To simplify; buy a pad of grid paper and count each square 1 foot. You may have to tape a few sheets together to complete your floor plan .

#1 Measure your room, including the placement of windows and doors. Using the Grid Paper create a floor plan of your room.
#2 Measure your furniture you wish to use in the room, cut grid paper to mimic the furniture size.

To make this easier, we cover the floor grid of our room with packing tape so we can use scotch tape in placing our furniture around the room to see where the furniture would best be placed. Play with the grid, remember to allow yourself 2 to 3 ft walkway around furniture. Be aware of the furnace vents in your room , do not place furniture over these vents.
When it comes time to move the furniture in, you will be happy that you completed this Grid!

Color

Doctors and Experts of all Types have written lengthy dissertations on "Colors affecting our Emotions". While reading, different websites and books, you will notice that not everyone agrees on what colors effect what emotions. Please keep in mind while reading anything; the book, article, etc is written by a human being who has an opinion and no matter how hard a person will try to report "the facts" the facts are influenced by the writer's/reporter's opinion. Studies that are used to "Prove" a point are just a "Study". You are an individual You decided what colors make you feel happy, sad, productive, etc.

If you are interested in " significance" of colors and moods stimulated by color, below is a guideline.

There are many articles on the internet that reach deep in the soul of the matter.

Red - Strength and energy
Orange - Confidence and well being
Yellow - Wisdom and a quest for knowledge
Green - Balance, grounding and connection to nature
Blue - Calming and decisiveness
Indigo - Intuition and connecting to the subconscious
Violet - Creativity and inspiration, healing

DO NOT BE AFRAID OF COLOR!:
If you paint your walls a color that you do not like once it is done, Paint over it! It's not that big of deal! Always wait a week or so, live with it. Paint will change as it dries. we have done several faux finishes and have never like any of them while we were painting them. After waiting a few days; the paint dries and the color perfect.

It's easy to pick color when you have picked out a favorite Art Print or Fabric for your room. Pick out 3 colors from the Art Print or Fabric to paint your room. Many "Do It Your Self" super stores have color matching now. When buying paint always save a color swatch for future use.
**We keep a small jar, of the paint, handy in the closet for touch ups.

Helpful Hints on Wall Paint Color:
Black is the absorption of all colors. What this means.... example: paint a piece of furniture black, take it into a green painted room, the furniture will look dark green. Take that same piece to a blue painted room and the furniture will look dark blue. The Black will absorb the color that is around it. Keep in mind there are different "Colors of Black", which means the paint is made by using more of one primary color than the other. We have seen some beautiful rooms painted in black trimmed in white. If you have beautiful Paintings or Expensive Art Prints that you wish to focus attention on, neutral walls are the way to go.
White is the reflection of all colors. A White painted piece of furniture will reflect the color of a room but not absorb it like Black does.
LOW CEILINGS AND SMALL ROOMS

Paint a small room light color and/or Use a shade lighter of the same color on the ceiling and baseboards. We normally will buy white paint and mix a little of the room color in the white ceiling paint.
Painting a ceiling with Semi-Gloss or Gloss makes the ceiling look higher
PICK THE RIGHT SHADE: Painting Deep Yellows or Creams will reflect light. Dark Blues, Purples or Reds will soak up light and make a big room feel cozy. This doesn't mean you are confined to Yellows or Creams for a small room. All colored paint is mixed, mostly by computer programs. If you are looking for a red ask the employee of your favorite paint store to tell you the formula for the color you choose. Look for a color that has a high percentage yellow.
Paint colors should blend from room to room.
Vertical Strips makes the room look larger.

There are several good websites that explain the different types of paint, such as flat, egg shell, semi-gloss, gloss, and high gloss. Take some time and read a few of these articles before purchasing your paint.

You have your style, furniture, fabric for curtains or pillows, wall and ceiling colors, a grid to tell you where to start placing furniture (after the wall and ceiling painting is done).
Most of All. Take your Time, Have Fun!

Remember Rome was not built in a Day!

Check back here often, we will be discussing many more decorating tips for us "Common Folk"