More Q & A

(botanicals from Southern Living online)

Darlene said... Hi Rhoda,What a great idea.....we might get you as our personal designer....cool!My question is we have a l*o*n*g* hall that the bedrooms are off of. What do you think looks good in long spaces like that? On the side that is exceptionally long there is the second bathroom door at one end and then the long hall down to our bedroom (so one bathroom then our bathroom butts against it and a closet inside our room would be behind that long wall). I hope I made sense.

Dear Darlene: There are a lot of things you can do in a long hallway. I love a collection of pics like I've showed above. Not sure how much space you have width-wise, but if it's not too wide you might not have room for shelves or anything that sticks out too far, so a collection of pics like this would add a lot of interest to an otherwise bland long hallway. I've seen small tables added in hallways too, but again, this depends on how much width you have. I love a small table at the end of a hallway, with a lamp on top.

Diane:Okay...here's one. I have these two picture frames from Pottery Barn that my son displayed vintage postcards in. He has taken the postcards down, but left the empty frames. The frames look really good and I want to use them for something.There are 6 spaces in each frame...the spaces look square but the dimensions are 12 by 14 inches. Right now I have nothing in them! LOLSo...I would love ideas.

Dear Diane: Those are great looking frames & I'm sure we can come up with some interesting things to do with them. One that comes to mind immediately is to use scrapbook paper. There are SO many fun papers out there and I can see collecting a set of scrapbook paper that all works together and use these in both frames. I'd keep the colors and styles cohesive and that would really add a lot of pop to this wall. Check out Bonita's project that she just did with an old window frame, which would be a similar look to this. One more idea is to use pressed flowers with decoupage sort of like the window in my laundryroom. I didn't do this one, but found it at a yardsale, but it would be easy to duplicate. You could always paint them black too if that would work better with your home. I love black accents around the house & picture frame are a great way to do that. Anyone else have ideas for Diane's frames??

a day in the life of bella said...
Oh Goody!!! Here's mine...I have these moldings in my Dining Room and I am thinking of putting something inside of them, like a decorative tin or plaque in each one, or decorative molding (scroll, fleur de lis, etc) or a painting technique (would have to be something EASY)...the pics are here:http://bella1104.blogspot.com/2008/08/my-dining-room-all-dressed-up-for-fall.html

Dear Bella: I went over and posted back to Bella on her post, but thought I'd include this here. I love moldings and wainscoting, so I just suggested that she leave them alone. I'm not a real big fan of making those stand out by themselve, and wainscote molding is such a classic look. In fact, I'm going to do that in my DR, since it's missing at the moment. I have chair rail, but none of the molding below, so that is on my list of things to do. Don't mess with a good thing! You can add wallpaper or a paint technique to these frames, but I really love them as is.

Sue said... Oh my, the questions!! BTW it looks like we have the same living room rug -- the one with the black ground, red border. Karastan (sp?) Williamsburg. My question is about paint. I never like the paint color I've picked out as it is going on the walls. We have had painters here for two weeks patching, painting trim, etc., and now they are going to start on the wall color. It's a blue gray -- the color of the sky in winter around here. So yesterday I asked the painter if I could change my mind and go lighter but he had bought the paint just that morning. Thanks for reading this far, so my question is -- do you ever like your paint color right off or does it have to grow on you. Should I switch the color -- bear in mind I will own first color -- no returns.

Dear Sue: Which rug do you mean?? I don't have a rug with black and red, so I'd love to know which one you were talking about. Oh paint color...my biggest suggestion to anyone when it comes to picking paint is to buy the sample quarts or small samples (like Ben Moore sells) first before making a decision. It is amazing how paint colors can change in lighting, from room to room, so that is a must before you commit to 5 gallons of paint. I always do this now, even though I'm getting much better at picking a good color. You just never know until you get it home and try it out in the actual room you're painting. I hope you love that color, it does sound pretty, but I would have suggested you try it out before getting the painters there. You'll have to let me know how it turns out! I usually know immediately if I like a color or not.

Debbie said...
What a great idea Rhoda! I've got several "BURNING" questions and you're the one in the "KNOW"!We're building a house and we’ll be able to pick out all the stuff. So here goes...• What color of wood flooring would you recommend? Pretty much all of our furniture is a dark chocolate color.• What would be a good color for my kitchen/breakfast bar walls? My kitchen/breakfast bar is next to and opens into the family room. The family room has the dark furniture accented with the green plants and blue and white pottery. I'll be painting the family room with the Sherwin Williams Blonde (many thanks to you). The kitchen will probably have dark brown granite counters and accented with the celadon green pottery from Korea.• What color would you recommend for the dining room walls? The furniture is dark brown and the seat covers are off white. My china is Lenox with just a simple gold rim.• I’m up in arms about the ceiling color throughout the house. What do you advise?• I would like the home to have a nice flow from one room to the next. What would you suggest for paint color for the halls and main living areas? My furniture is dark wood with accents of blue, white, yellow, green and some reds. That is pretty much the flow of our home.

Dear Debbie: That's a lot of space! I do like to keep things flowing in a house & it sounds like yours is pretty open to one another. I think a lot of this depends on what fabrics you will have in each room, so since I can't see all of that, this is just a shot in the dark. You upholstery fabrics should have a major bearing on what colors you choose. Since you're already set on Blonde (and I have that in my master bedroom), I would suggest sticking with a neutral in your hallways and other main areas. If you love the Blonde, then you could also use it in the hallways and main living areas, or go up one to Ivorie on that same strip. I like to use colors all on the same strips to help with flow. I used 3 colors on one strip for different areas of my house (Whole Wheat, Camelback, and Believable Buff). That's an easy way to keep it all flowing. As far as adding other colors to the mix, again, it depends on what fabrics you're bringing into the window treatments, as well as upholstery. You could easily bring in reds (think bricky reds), I love olive greens too with this mix of colors and with your blue and whites. For flooring, I like a medium stain, that's what I have in this house & really enjoy it...not too dark or light. You've got mostly chocolate brown furniture, so a medium stain would work great OR you could go even darker. I've heard darker floors are harder to keep clean though and you may not want to go too dark with all the other dark woods. That's a real personal decision too, floor coloring. For ceiling color, I'd probably stick to a light neutral, maybe the lightest color on that Blonde strip. You could always use an accent ceiling color in each room too. I love painted ceilings, I just haven't done all mine yet. Good luck with your new home!

Alyce said...
Oh wow..can we just set up an appointment?? haha..OK..My upstairs is getting to me. When we built (3 years ago) we painted the play room bright yellow. Butter in Ben Moore to be exact. This is a large room w/ no windows. Once school starts, I will be cleaning out toys and rearranging. There are 3 bedrooms up there also, a bathroom and a "library". The guest room is the same bright yellow, but has three big windows. One bedroom is lavendar, one is pink. I have GIRLS! The bathroom is a Blue. I want to change the bathroom. Right now its ducks. Girls are getting older and I wanted something different. I was thinking of chocolate and teal/blue (you know what I am talking about). But I didn't know if it would clash w/ all the rest of the colors..or if it even mattered. I am not ready to paint the girls rooms over yet. I have even thought about changing the play room color..but its a big room and it would take a lot of talking to my hubby. The guest room is a beachy room. This bathroom is separate ..a room on its own..not shared w/ a bedroom. So...do you have any suggestions. I know this is long, and I am sorry. but I would like some ideas. Maybe I should post pics on my blog soon. Thanks so much..this is fun..

Dear Alyce: Without seeing pics, I'm just winging it here. With all the other somewhat light and bright colors you have, I would suggest a lime/pear green for the bathroom. It would be different enough from the other colors, but still flow with the pink and lavendar and yellow. You could add so many accent colors to lime green and make it a fun & happy bathroom. That way you won't have to repaint the playroom and upset your hubby! Green looks great with pink, or even red accents, as does aqua blue. Lots of great accent colors for green.

Victoria said... I need the answer to Kim from Happy @ Home's question too! Also, where do you store your yard sale finds, various items you aren't using but want to use in decor at some point? I keep things because I know I'll use some other season, etc but it is so unorganized and I have a hard time finding it once I am ready to use it.

Dear Victoria: I answered inside that Question post in the comment section about how to add signatures, but I'll post this link that I did last year as for everyone who wants to learn how to do that. It's easy! Scroll to the end of this post, for directions. On the yardsale storage, that's a tough one too. I have limited amount of space to store things. I do have a nice under the stairs closet that is ALL mine & that's where I keep my extra stuff, there and in the garage, but I really don't have room for a lot of big stuff. I can't bring home extra furniture, just a few accessories. I need to clean out soon & get rid of some older things!

Tara said...
Oh...I thought you meant questions about you...and I cannot resist--which is your fave room in your home and why??

Dear Tara: Hummmm, my favorite room. I'm not sure I can pick just one. I love our livingroom, just the colors and textures and I love to lay on the couch there and read with all the light pouring in the windows. My 2nd favorite room is probably the diningroom with the creamware collection. And then, my office nook and laundryroom, cause they make me happy! And I enjoy our bedroom too...see, hard to pick just one!

Anonymous said...
Do bloggers get paid or get any compensation for what is online? Is there a financial component to blog? Do you submit or receive payment?

Dear Anon: Bloggers do not get paid for blogging, however, there are many ad sites that can be added to blogs for revenue. I currently am running Blogher ads and I do receive monthly compensation for that, but that is the only large one I am running. Since I'm going to blog anyway, I thought it was a good way to make a little extra money. This is like a part time job anyway!

Jill said...
What are your thoughts on silk floral arrangements vs. fresh flowers? All the decorating shows say to never use silk flowers but some of my favorite decorating shops have beautiful (and expensive) floral arrangement. I love fresh flowers but they can be hard to maintain (I travel for work) and it could get expensive to replace them every week or so. Thanks!

Dear Jill: Great question! This was just on an HGTV show that I'm going to recap soon about the 25 decorating mistakes many people make. They were absolutely NO-NO on fake flowers or plants of any kind, however, I can't agree with them totally. I do think fake plants have probably been overdone the last 20 years or so, but I still enjoy a pretty silk flower arrangement OR a nicely done faux tree. I still have many fake as well as real plants in my house & will continue to keep both. I recently removed a couple of floral arrangements in my livingroom that were getting a little old to me. I had them for at least 10 years and was ready for something else. I moved them out and added some new things in their place & am happy with the changes. I think you just have to make it work for your space. I love dried arrangements too & have used more of those over the last few years. A few silk flowers will go a long way, so I think the key is don't overdo it. Of course, many of those "designers" out there would never have fake anything! I just can't adhere to that rule completely. Just keep it tasteful is my motto.

Mary said...
Rhoda, I want to know how you stay so slim when you are such a good cook and we have all seen pictures of the food you eat dining out! Also, besides decorating what is your favorite pastime other than spending time with family? ~ Mary

Dear Mary: Well, girl....I excercise! A lot. I started working out when I was 25 and haven't stopped since. I really think that is the key to staying younger and fitter as we get older. That's one thing that I've been a stickler about and it works for me. I do something at least 4-5 days a week, whether it's spin class at the gym, eliptical machine, treadmill, or simple taking a nice walk in my neighborhood. I'm also into lifting weights, as we need to keep building muscle as we age. I try to eat fairly healthy, but as you can see from my pics I post, I don't always do that. I have a terrible sweet tooth and could eat sweets constantly, so have to try to limit those intakes. I don't have to diet as long as I get my exercise in all the time. It's part of my lifestyle and one that I couldn't give up. I most always fit in time for exercise! I know it can be hard to do that, when you are working fulltime or have kids at home. I did manage to go to the gym after work when I was working fulltime for many, many years. I didn't have kids, so I know that is a whole other schedule to work around, but I can't stress enough the benefits of regular, consistent exercise. Find something you enjoy doing! As far as other past-times, I do love to read. Have always enjoyed a good book. Traveling too is fun for me & I would stay on the go constantly if I could.

Nancy Hood said...
I wondered how long you've been in your present home and if you have a favorite one? Also, are the homes out past St. Vincent's Hospital as expensive as they look? I loved driving that street during the azalea blooming time! The homes are large, but homey and loved.

Dear Nancy: We have lived in our house for 3 years this December. Before that, I lived in Atlanta in a house that I had owned for 20 years, which was near and dear to my heart. I don't move much! If you're talking about the Mountain Brook area, you're right about that. Mountain Brook is about THE most expensive part of Birmingham, a beautiful area for sure. Homewood is also a popular spot for young marrieds to land. There are some really cute and quaint cottages in Homewood, but they are also pricey.

Kimberley said...
You probably hear this all of the time, but here goes...how do you accomplish a beautiful, layered look in your home where everything ties together and it is not too overwhelming? Is there a big secret or rules that are for decorators only?

Dear Kimberley: Thank you for the compliments! I do think that is what is missing in a lot of homes, that layered look. I love accessories and how they make a room come alive, so that is one of my strong suits. I have a lot of collected things that can be moved from room to room, so that helps too. I think if you stick to things you like that have a common color theme, then you can easily move them around your house & they will work. I like larger pieces opposed to small little knick-knacks and try to keep things in scale that way. Larger just works better for the most part. Those small little items can look so cluttered very fast. I'm not sure how to explain how to layer things, but I think just add height to an area, so that the eye travels up and down and everything is not on the same level. That is one suggestion for layering. I also like to add lamps and things in front of pictures too instead of having everything just stand by itself. That adds a layer too that is pleasing to the eye. Hope this helps a bit!

sarah @ a beachcottage said...
hmmmm the ones I was going to ask were asked, so I'll be looking foward to the answers, one quick one, have you had many blog meets?

Dear Sarah: I have had several blog meets! Several years ago I got involved in a decorating board and there were many of us who met over the years, so that was my first experience in meeting online people. It was always a positive experience. And now since I've been blogging for a year and 1/2, I've had the pleasure of meeting probably 8 bloggers in real life. It's been a wonderful experience to meet other bloggers and they were exactly as I imagined them to be!

I got several questions about fireplaces and mantels, so I'm going to do some research and come up with some mantel ideas for all of you! Stay tuned for more! I didn't quite get to all of them in this post, but will go back to the ones I missed and come up with something next week on those.

And if you didn't know it, Ballard Designs is having a 15% off sale on EVERYTHING at their site! I love Ballards and always wait for a sale to order, so now is your big chance if you've spied something you have to have.

Thanks ALL for participating! This was fun for me and I hope you all enjoyed it too. See you when I'm back from the mountains....