Role Mommy 411

Friday, January 18, 2008

INSPIRE YOUR PERSONAL SPACE WITH THE FIVE TOP 2008 DESIGN TRENDS

Does the soft real estate market mean you will stay in your home during 2008 instead of selling?

“Staying put gives you the license to update, renovate and create an interior for your home that is more comfortable, enjoyable, and that will show better when the market improves,” advises interior decorator Marion Glinert of Decor&You, who works with homeowners and small business owners in the Westchester and New York City area.

Though Decor & You designs emphasize client style and preferences, Glinert notes, at the same time, “we gently interpret major trends in people’s personal spaces so that redecorating projects work to enhance our clients’ investment in their home interiors.”

Glinert suggests that redecorating with elements of 2008’s five major design trends can change feeling stuck in your home into feeling inspired by it.

1. Political forces may be putting the environment into the headlines, but design pros are quite successfully putting it into people’s homes. In 2008, Americans have a renewed interest in using natural materials, especially in kitchens and bathrooms now that varnishes and technologies have made treated wood virtually impervious to water spillage and steam.

2. U.S. fabric importers say the hot color news out of Italy (and yes, anything Italian, as in the 1960’s, is hot again) are yellows and blues and more blues, especially in fabric and wallpaper, and blues mixed with warm sands and camels. Ecological motivations have a role again in popularizing nature colors: greens and warm browns. Celebrated international design author, Mary Gilliatt, exclusive design advisor to Decor&You in the U.S., thinks of color as useful for retailers, because nothing dates as quickly as last year’s colors. To be momentarily fashionable in your home, Gilliatt advises using color only in accessories like throw pillows, throws or even a lamp base which can be easily and comparatively inexpensively replaced when the color trends change again next year.

3. Over the centuries, the pendulum of design history has predictably swung from simple to more elaborate and then more elaborate still before returning to simple, from the Greek orders on (remember learning about those simple Doric columns being replaced by those elegantly refined Ionic columns and then by the rather fussy Corinthian variety?) Minimalism is slowly evolving to a more decorative – as opposed to decorated – look so that very often even the most rigorously contemporary rooms have at least one decorative piece of furniture or fanciful accessory. Fabrics too, are going luxe along this trend, incorporating hints of metallic, glitter and sparkle.

4. Wallpapers began a renaissance in 2007, and this year they’re back in force but more refined. A D.C. homeowner who is dedicated to contemporary looks recently called to ask for wallpaper in her bedroom and we knew the floodgates were opening.

5. Almost all current ‘new’ furniture looks are based on retro designs with endless variations on the Modern Movement which first saw the light of day at the end of the 19th century. Mary Gillatt toured the ‘Moderne’ Design Exhibition at the Park Lane Armory in New York in October, featuring many famous originals dating from the 1860s to the 1980s. Gilliatt said the glossy lacquered French designs of the 1940s and 50s are sure to surge back during the next few years, along with a continuation of the Art Deco designs “so rudely interrupted by World War II,” she noted.

Marion Glinert is a professional interior decorator with Decor&You, a national interior decorating franchise that offers comprehensive personalized service with a complete line of fine custom furniture, window and wall coverings, art and accessories for all budgets. Contact 914-302-2083 or visit www.decorandyou.com for more information.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Find Out How You Rate with the Presidential Candidates

Kudos to my husband Darin on turning me onto a new site where you can see where your opinions stack up with the presidential candidates.  Visit www.glassbooth.org to see if the candidate you planned to vote for is actually the one who supports all the issues you're passionate about.  Even though I am a die-hard Hillary Clinton supporter, my opinions actually matched Barack Obama's and John McCain's more closely!  And so did my husband's.  So I guess that means we're a perfect match then.  Either way, it's a really cool site and a great way to see where the candidates stand on all the important issues facing Americans today.  Be an informed voter...visit www.glassbooth.org today!