Archive for September 18th, 2007

September 18th, 2007

Trading Spaces trends

hotelroom.jpgI think that budget decorating shows like “Trading Spaces” started the trend that’s in the picture. It seems like even fancy hotels are now just making the bed with sheets. This saves a lot of money on down comforters & duvets. It even makes the bed easier to make.

Yes, it is a very minimalist look. To me it says college dorm, or “I haven’t finished unpacking from the move yet”. However, I’m pretty sure that it started just because a “Trading Spaces” designer couldn’t afford to buy a comforter. What other designs have you seen that have probably come about because a designer ran out of money?


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September 18th, 2007

Home business, literally

I love a good success story that involves a home business, especially when it’s literally a home business. Let me explain. In 1999 Justblinds.com was a small home business that specialized in window treatments. They have everything from Roman shades, roller shades, & even faux wood blinds. Roman shades are one of the hottest items in decorating. Trust me, do not try to make these yourself. It’s a lot cheaper & more enjoyable to just buy them.

Justblinds.com has over 200,000 satisfied customers, talk about successful. They are one of the largest independent dealers in window coverings in the US. I’m the decorating princess, & they had products that even I hadn’t seen & at great prices. It’s truly an inspirational story about a home business that deals in window coverings for the home.


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September 18th, 2007

Free art

cdcovers.jpgI have a lot of CD album covers leftover because of the way I organize my music. Of course, I can’t throw these away because they might be worth money someday. Ok, so probably not. So I have a special drawer where I keep all of these extra album covers, & it’s what the professional organizes call “A fantastic waste of space”.

I’ve seen record albums framed before. However, I think that I really need to think back to when I was in kindergarten & make some sort of CD cover collage. All of the artwork is so unique & colorful, but since everything is the same size, it will all match. Besides the fact that it’s free art, & reminds me of my favorite music. It would be a great conversation piece. At least I hope so.


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September 18th, 2007

Hope chests & outdoor furniture

I still come from a part of the country where girls receive hope chests for high school graduation. For those of you who aren’t deeply in touch with the last century, a hope chest is where a girl keeps all of the nice blankets & china that she’ll use someday when she gets married. A hope chest is an heirloom piece that is passed from mother to daughter. This was probably the most stressful product that I’ve ever shopped for. I ended up settling for a piece that wasn’t what I had planned on. There just didn’t seem to be the craftsmanship around that such a piece required, there were just a lot of laminate blanket chests available.

I was looking at CedarStore.com today & they have a fantastic selection of cedar outdoor furniture. They also have the largest selection of hope chests that I’ve seen in one place. My favorite is the waterfall cherry chest with the optional cedar lining because it is so simple & classic looking. It’s something that could be cherished by generations to come. Plus, the cedar will help protect anything that is stored inside of it, besides the fact that cedar smells fantastic. It’s a true heirloom piece.


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September 18th, 2007

The Quiet Storm of Messiness

I would describe my house as a quiet storm. Everything looks neat & well decorated. However, there is a huge mess that lurks beneath the surface. This mostly has to do with the fact that my books really should have their own house to live in. I have a full book shelf, an extra dresser drawer for books, & the entire space under my bed is filled with books.

Yesterday I set out to organize my CD’s. Sounds simple enough right? This led to me cleaning out all of the “junk drawers”. Pretty soon the room looked like this.

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It got worse before it got better. I ended up taking out 6 trash bags full of things to donate. All that from just one room. So after four hours the room looked exactly the way it had when I started, there is just a lot less stuff lurking beneath the surface now.


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