Cable Knit Sweater has a new life as pillow

Many of us are trying to save money has our New Years Resolution.....When it comes to following decorating trends a little creativity goes a long way....

It you have opened any magazine or pottery barn catalog...you know the trend for this winter is cable knit.

Cable Knit Bedding

pillows for couches

I took a four dollar $4.00 cable knit sweater found at a thrift shop and make a pillow in about two hours... So have fun trying to recreate some of the trends that are happening....while saving a lot of money....

Corinne

Visit our Website at 

www.harmonizehomes.com 

or our sister company 

www.shorechicydesign.com or give us a call at 917-699-1262 

Five Tips for Creating Curb Appeal to Sell Your Home

With the spring quickly approaching, now is the time to begin thinking about getting your home ready to sell. Adding curb appeal never hurt anyone; in fact, by investing in a few upgrades, your home is sure to sell.

Think about it, if you do not like the way the landscaping or exterior of a home looks, the odds are slim that you want to enter the home. For me, the condition of the exterior says a lot about the interior of a house. If the outside of a home is a mess, odds are the inside of the home is the same way.

Luckily, there are relatively inexpensive upgrades you can make to your home to help increase curb appeal and chances of selling.

Five Tips for Creating Curb Appeal

1. Paint: Adding a new coat of paint or new siding goes a long way. Your home will have a face-lift and the freshness of the paint or siding is sure to attract potential buyers.

2. Update the Front Door: Since the front door is one of the focal points of a home, updating the door and the hardware will go a long way. Whether you want to add a pop of color by painting the door or change it to a custom wood door, a new front door can make a huge statement about the home. Upgrading the hardware on the door is also important. No buyer wants to see old, rusted handles and locks.

3. Landscaping: The possibilities are endless when it comes to enhancing your home’s landscaping. From trimming the trees and bushes, to adding plants and flowers, the landscape of your home can truly add value to the price of the home. Be careful though, you want to make sure the landscape has undeniable charm without giving the impression of high maintenance.

4. Outdoor Lighting:  Landscape lighting not only enhances your home’s curb appeal, but it also provides safety and security. The lights can illuminate pathways or simply add accent lighting to your home.

5. Clean Out and Replace Gutters:  Nothing that says, “I don’t take care of my home” like dirty, leaf filled gutters. In addition to cleaning out your gutters, if you have an old system, it might be time to replace them. Whether you choose vinyl gutter systems or the more expensive copper system, you will enhance your home’s curb appeal instantly.


Source: Better Homes and Gardens
Post by Corinne Kaas of Harmonizing Homes

TURNING A SUMMER BUNGALOW INTO A FULL TIME HOME Part 1 the master suite

After losing my full time job of eleven years in New York City on October 2011, we decided to sell our apartment and move to our Summer Home Full time.    I thought it would be a great series of blogs "the transformation of each room, on a very limited budget".   It is one thing to decorate when you have an unlimited budget and it is another to decorate on a very limited budget.  I hope to make this series entertaining and fun.....

Let's start out with the master suite... the door entering into the bedroom, remains knotty pine at this point in time, with the original hard ware attached. Knotty pine is contiguous to the Jersey Shore for sure...


As you may notice by the picture the door is on a slant....which is fine for me to walk in as I am only 5'3"...but others have to tilt their heads as it is in the front dormer area of the house....

Some items transferred from NYC to down the shore

another architectural elements  

These little windows (two of them) have such character...and are so non energy efficient ....this year we had plexi -glass cut to help with the draft.....but in the summer time, the open windows bring the seagulls voices right into our room..

After

The bed is the focal point of the room, we haven't refinished the floors as of yet, but we did add a fresh new coat of paint.  The rugs are new along with the bedding.  The end tables are borrowed from another one of our homes, and the art work was ours...As you can see the layout of the room and the walls are very challenging with designing this space...

Before

 I love to mix up art work.....I have one of my own pieces, and some that I've picked up along my travels and local home stores...I also mix a lot of various size mirrors in my designs....which reflects the light and brings an entirely other dimension into a room

There really isn't a way that I can create a head board, without blocking the windows that I so love.... I I added a collection of Art work and some big European pillows...for reading...

I love to collect custom jewelry... and it adds to the warmth of the room

a must read each morning to keep me in prospective (thank you Joan Bruno)

A reminder of beach years gone by and hoping they will return a but if a catch all

  I hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation of our room......on a limited budget.....

Paint                                 90.00      Benjamin Moore (2 gallons)

Rugs                                120.00     Ralph Lauren - Home Goods

Bedding                           100.00     Raymond Waits - Marshall

Bench                              125.00     Home Goods

Small Mirrors behind Bed  10.00    Garage Sale

Picture Of Bike                  39.99     Home Goods

Jewelry Stand                    29.99     Home Goods

Lamps                               80.00    Home Goods

Total                            $590.00

Harmonizing Homes LLC  

917-699-1262

Fun at the Thift Shop

I am not sure that I ever shared this information ......but....I volunteer at a thrift shop one afternoon a week in Lakehurst New Jersey.  

The Thrift Shop is called  "The Treasure Chest Thrift Shop" ....If you  have never gone into a Thrift Shop,  for collectibles, furniture or fashion
I highly recommend it..  

As a decorator and stager I really have fun at the shop creating new looks...

I thought I share this idea with you.....I did this for display, but what a cool look this would be for a masculine room.... I just draped the neck ties around the shade...they would need to be a bit more secure..

 If you are in the area....stop in for some inspiration -  We are located on the route 70 in Lakehurst New Jersey.. All proceeds go to Kimball Medical Center...(see link above for more information).

For more ideas and inspirations - visit our website at www.harmonizehomes.com or www.shorechicydesigns.com  or call at 917-699-1262

A day of Redesign and Orgnaization

It took an entire day to de-christmastize my home....It started out like this..a few broken balls.....


I placed everything into the back bedroom so that I could completely clean the living area.....Windows and floors were washed....

I took the advantage of moving items around....a sort of redesign of space...taking from one room and moving into another room...

This is where the Christmas tree stood....I was not happy with where the chair was before, so I moved it over by the window and borrowed a round table from the bedroom as a new accent table....You don't have to shop at a store...just look around your own home...don't be afraid to mix things up a bit...

The result is a great clean open look.....

The dump table is clean and organized for the photo shoot...but by the end of the day, the chairs will have back packs, coats, keys and sunglasses for sure...not to mention the mail.

I took the old antique planter table that was in the living room and placed it on the porch for a winter garden....which can be seen from the living room window....

Before Shot of Tiffany

After

 I added Tiffany a piece I just finished designing...Tiffany is a piece that I found at a garage sale in Island Heights, New Jersey...She is originally from North Bennington Vt from a furniture store called Cushmans.  She is finished in Annie Sloan Provence and Graphite ...I used a Dark, Clear and Silver Gilding wax....The knobs are from Anthropology.    She will be on display until she is sold....

She fits in just great...

The point is don't be afraid to mix, and move things around in your house......Give me a call
I would be very happy to help you out......what do you have to loose???

www.harmonizinghomes.com or visit our sister company www.shorechicydesigns.com  or call is at 917-699-1262

T

Now I can read my new book My French Life

Post Christmas Clean Up

 Its time to get motivated.....

Coco and Old White Chalk paint on this $45.00 thrift shop table

Okay, I could not prolong this any longer....the decorations have to come down....Since we were all sick during Christmas and New Years week....I was hanging on thinking we would all get together for a belated Christmas Dinner....well that didn't work.....

So I am blogging to show you what our  house looks like on a typical day....the uncensored look....As you can see we do enjoy the comforts...and had lots of fun looking through old photo's....

Presents still under the tree.....need to send out thank you cards!!

I call this the dump table....everything ends up on this table ....from coats to book bags, keys, phones, computers....

This is totally unedited as you can see...even the pillow is upside down......This will surly give me motivation to clear this all up......and show you some after pictures..

Once I am done....this will be my reward....I order this book from Amazon..  by Miss Mustard Seed... Can't wait to read about her techniques on using Chalk and Milk Paints... (check out her link....)

What to do with the Pile Up? Be Ruthless!

Each folder is labeled

As a decorator and stylist.....you can only imagine the amount of magazines, catalogs and books I have accumulated...  It is virtually impossible to keep up with  it all...  A few years ago, I decided  to tear out the articles and pictures that I like best in each of the magazines and throw the remainder into the trash (recyclables) .

This folder contains all types of styles of bathrooms

A great cardboard box with a lid which can be hidden in a closet or stacked on a shelf

I found this to be a great way of keeping  and sharing ideas....When I visit with a client I will bring the entire folder for a specific room...let them go through the folder picking out photo's that they like... We then work on  ways to create the look they like at an affordable price... Its a great time saver...and  a great way of keeping organized....   Below is a link to Target where I bought my boxes.....

http://www.target.com/p/greenroom-recycled-file-box-with-hanging-files/-/A-13421700?reco=Rec|pdp|13421700|ClickCP|item_page.vertical_1&lnk=Rec|pdp|ClickCP|item_page.vertical_1Target


Visit our website at www.harmonizehomes.com   or our sister company www.shorechicydesigns.com

917-699-1262