Part I - Creating Harmonious Homes - Managing Clutter

Your home should bring you calm and peace!

I found an uplifting article about how to create and maintain a calm, harmonious home listing multiple steps and strategies.

Your home gives you a foundation to connect mind, body and spirit. Your home grounds you and gives you a sacred space to connect to your inner light. Your body allow you to move with energy and vitality as you go through your day and connect with your world. A calm mind lets you face everyday challenges with ease, grace and poise. Connecting to your spirit allows your inner light to radiate and illuminates your path on your journey - link to article

A key step is to "de-clutter". Evidently, cluttering is a major negative energy drainer and disrupts the positive vibes one should get at home.  There are TONS of articles, books, advice columns about managing clutter. I found that many refer to distinguishing types of clutter and working with the easiest form first.

Clutter is a thief that robs you day after day of happiness and energy. Most people have two kinds of clutter: memory clutter or "I-might-need-it-one-day" clutter. However, we all struggle with the 'lazy clutter' and that's what we need to tackle first. Lazy clutter is all the stuff that accumulates out of negligence over time. It's not stuff you care too much about, so you ignore it: un-filed papers, unopened junk mail, magazines, unwanted gifts or that freebie cap you brought home from the grocery store but will never wear. Lazy clutter is little more than trash and one of the few purposes it serves is to accumulate on every flat surface in your home. link to more information and articles. 

We are not particularly messy people but are always working on de-cluttering strategies. One effort we make annually has had enormous benefits. We have a garage sale which encourages me to go through every corner of my home to contribute items and to judge whether something is useful or not. Whatever doesn't sell, goes to charity. I highly recommend this strategy. Or, if you don't enjoy the garage sale process (I, of course, do), just skip that part and bring the stuff immediately to a charitable organization. It really feels good!

My daughter and husband are both much better at de-cluttering than I am. Here are a couple of unique/interesting strategies they use:

• Small children are constantly bringing things/toys/stuff out and leaving them laying around. Toys have a way of making it outside of the bedroom and play rooms to all parts of the house.  My daughter has placed attractive baskets on her steps - one for each of her two children. The kids place items to be returned upstairs into the basket and they go upstairs every evening to be refilled the next day.
• Spices and other packaged//long-term items in kitchen cupboards tend to be forgotten and when using new or infrequently used recipes, I had forgotten what I already had and was buying multiples (up to 4X in some cases) which just ended up being stored with the other clutter in the cupboards. My husband actually took an inventory (laminated it) and placed it in my spice drawer. I have proudly shown this to friends who would like his services. I have not had to buy any spices or condiments for quite a while.

I agree that minimizes clutter in a home has enormous impact on both the physical space and your feelings about it. I am will be featuring additional strategies to create a harmonious home in the next few weeks.

Pinterest Dreaming - My Beautiful Pieces in Well Designed Settings

Every now and then, I "combine" some of the photos of well designed settings that i have saved on my pinterest boards with my fine refurbished furniture to visually depict how well the pieces complement the space. It helps me picture the various combinations possible and confirms the fine fabrics selected for the pieces. For this session, I only pulled photos from my "Decorating with Yellow" pinterest board link to my board and source of all setting photos below.

Yellow is one of my favorite colors - it is always cheerful and surprisingly versatile as demonstrated in these settings. Most of my house is yellow - all major walls (except bedrooms) are yellow and I have not grown tired of this color.

Here are some of the nice combinations - all my items are available on Ebay or Etsy - my website is, unfortunately broken and I need to just take it down - it is totally out-of-date. Some of my pieces are available through the premium, curated site "Charish" (but more expensive on that site).

I love the combination of black and white and this nice antique settee is fully brought up-to-date in this color combination. The woodwork was redone in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint graphite. I can easily see this with all the bright colors of the rainbow or in a more subdued grey/black/neutral setting- link to Etsy listing

This sophisticated setting highlighted a bright Palm Springs, CA, home. The blue is the most eye-catching feature in the room and my chair and ottoman would complement it beautifully - link to eBay listing.

I love this yellow with a slight hint of green color. The tailored slipper chair and ottoman would work well in the setting. 

Ahhh, what a soothing combination! I love the green and yellow look! These great chairs are upholstered in the best ultrasuede money can buy (retailed at over $100 per yard at Calico Corners) - the chair itself is a Woormark - very fine USA-made furniture link to Charish listing.

I love this tall and graceful chairs with their Annie Sloan Chalk Paint finish (graphite) and grey linen outlined in cream. They would work so well in this and other settings.

These stylish chairs would work well with yellow walls and also would coordinate nicely with wood-tone pieces. It is hard to see but there is a dark taupe/brown in the pattern as well as black and cream.

One of my favorite pieces - it has a wingback chair that matches. It may not be ideal for a bedroom setting but if there is space for it (it is tall but not deep), it might be a delightful surprise in a room like this!

I love houndstooth fabric and particularly in this popular color. With a footstool, this becomes a very comfortable reading and snoozing chair!

Finally, yellow with yellow - bright sunshine all around!

I love all of these combinations and bet I could go to one of my other color boards on Pinterest and find another set of images that would work as well!

Home Design Trends - Chevron

Chevron Fabric on Accent Pillow - for ease of source identification, I placed all images on my pinterest board - source

I have been fascinated by the ubiquitous presence of chevron fabrics (and rugs and walls and plates and furniture and clothing, etc. etc.).  I just finished a set of chairs in a seafoam blue and cream chevron and thought this might the the time to do some research on this decorating trend.

First the definition:

A figure, pattern, or object having the shape of a V or an inverted V: as

a : a heraldic charge consisting of two diagonal stripes meeting at an angle usually with the point up 

b : a sleeve badge that usually consists of one or more chevron-shaped stripes that indicates the wearer's rank and service (as in the armed forces) - source

 And some early history:

The chevron occurs in early art including designs on pottery and rock carvings. Examples can be found approximately 1800 BC in archaeological recovery of pottery designs from the palace of Knossos on Crete in the modern day country of Greece. source.

And transition from historical patterns to modern usage:

The chevron symbol is commonly used to represent rankings, government groups or company logos. The word chevron comes from the French word for the roof of a house – where the two rafters meet making an upside-down V. You can see why this symbol has been used on shields and flags throughout the years.

Then moving forward the chevron has been a very popular pattern used on flooring and decking especially with wood. Still tending to keep with a more literal symbolism of the rafters. When used in a repeated pattern such as in flooring the chevron symbol makes what many people see as more of a zig-zag. source

The following images - all found on my pinterest board under fabrics (see link above) for source information, represent the interesting ways chevron has made its way into our lives.

And here are my lovely chevron-upholstered slipper chairs - by North Carolina's Charles Stewart Furniture.  What do you think of this trend?

Jukeboxes - History and More!

Estate Sale in Sandy Springs Neighborhood - Atlanta Area

Friday was a beautiful, clear day in the Atlanta area and I spent some time going around to several estate sales in nearby neighborhoods. I did not buy anything but was impressed with the fact that two of the sales were selling jukeboxes that had been used in the home. It's been some time that I've actually seen a jukebox but they certainly did remind me of my (long-ago) youth when they were ubiquitous in all the my favorite places - bowling alleys, pizza parlors, dance halls, etc.  No-one I knew had one in their home - a luxury that would have been unheard of.

Estate Sale in Roswell Neighborhood - Atlanta Area

This bit of nostalgia encouraged me to do some internet research on the history and current state of jukeboxes and I found that there is a lot of interesting information available.

First, the DEFINITION:

a coin-operated player for records, discs, etc., used in restaurants, bars, etc.: 

a record, disc, etc. is chosen by pushing a buttonany device for playing CD's, accessing CD-ROM's, etc. in which one of several discs may be selected for use Source - Websters

Next, the ORIGIN of the word:

The name jukebox is thought to derive from an old Gullah word "jook." "Jook" meant "to dance" although with a somewhat wilder, more rowdy or sexual connotation. The makeshift bars workers on Southern crop fields used to frequent where called "juke joints" and these establishments were among the first to install the new machines. The History of Jukeboxes.

And more HISTORY:

One of the early forerunners to the modern Jukebox as we know was the Nickel-in-the-Slot machine. In 1889, Louis Glass and William S. Arnold, placed a coin-operated Edison cylinder phonograph in the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco. It was an Edison Class M Electric Phonograph in an oak cabinet that was refitted with a coin mechanism patented (U.S. 428,750) by Glass and Arnold. This was the first Nickel-in-the-Slot. The machine had no amplification and patrons had to listen to the music using one of four listening tubes. In its first six months of service, the Nickel-in-the-Slot earned over $1000.  source

Two Jukeboxes Found at Friday Sales

 The demise of the jukebox is attributed to the availability of personal devices that provide users with multiple music options. Today, jukeboxes are most often seen in decors reminiscent of these times - whether commercial or residential. Finding the required records is also a smaller and smaller business specialty.  I just enjoyed seeing them in these settings!

I did not do any extensive market research on sources and prices for today's jukeboxes but found a nice one called "The Digital Bubbler" - love that name - here are the specifications - source!

The Digital Bubbler

The Digital Bubbler is a full-size commercial quality reproduction of the classic Model 1015 jukebox designed for the home. Rotating color cylinders and eight bubble tubes help recreate the look of this timeless jukebox. State of the art technology allows you to digitally store up to 600 of your favorite CDs on it’s 250 Gigabyte hard-drive with no loss of sound quality. The embedded database of over 1.6 million song titles makes cataloging your music as easy as inserting your CDs. Update the database with an update DVD or through the Internet using an Ethernet or modem connection. 250 watts of pure digital sound output through five speakers provides outstanding sound reproduction and ample volume. External speakers can be added by simply plugging into the external speaker jacks. -Upload Music Easily -LCD Screen Display -Authentic Details - The Digital Bubbler is for home use only

Price $3,999.00

Use of Personal Art in Home - Photo Canvasses

My photographs on canvasses - water theme.  Lighting in this area is limited so this photo is not as bright as I would like although it does seem I could hang a little straighter/better.

In the fall of 2012, we finished renovating our terrace level (aka basement) and we have been enjoying it ever since - link to renovation story. One of the decisions I had made was to maximize use of "personal art" in this space. Throughout my house, I have very nice pieces bought from varying venues including art galleries and art auctions (and, of course, estate and garage sales). I wanted to incorporate pieces that were more personal in two categories - my own photography work and art work created by friends and people I actually know.

In this posting, I am showing my photographs rendered on canvas that I used near the "foyer" area of this space and providing some tips and techniques of how to make this personal art option work for you.

Foyer area of renovated space.  I did end up placing a lamp on table and choose to place it in front of picture with least detail - not ideal but as workable as I can get it.

I made several decision before starting my search through 1000's of saved photo images to find four photos that would work together.

• Finished canvas size was determined by availability from photo canvas vendors as well as the amount of space that I wanted to cover. I made my decision when I was able to pick up an online 50+% off deal for photo canvasses that included 20X24 - just big enough to work together for the space available and at a good price (about $50 per image - reduced from almost $130).
• Image selection and composition was strongly influenced by my interest in using black and white images to create a more cohesive look. Since none of my photos had been taken in black and white, I had to find ones that could be converted to black and white and retain their interest and power.  I looked for strong value contrasts (lights and darks) and experimented with quite a few before selecting a theme and then the final four.

Once I found my photos I saved them and cropped to correct (20X24) size. This is a critical step because if you don't make adjustments to get to correct size, it will be done once you download to vendor site and corrections (image placement) are harder to make at that time.  It also forecasts how the image would look on canvas.

The other element to consider at this time is photo resolution - you need to make sure the image selected is sufficiently large to create a good image. I always take large resolution photos - at least I have for prior three years. Earlier images tended to be too small for a crisp 20X24 size.

I liked how this set turned out and how it looks on the wall.  For anyone who takes lots of photos, this is a nice personal art solution for the home.  This posting is linked here - Romantic Home