Design on a shoe string...

above: these are fab designer finds but paint for same effect

While every Stylemaker's dream is the "unlimited budget" with the recent down market most North Americans are being cautious with their purchases so those projects are rarer than ever. Clients today want HGTV lux for little...so in the spirit of interior designing on a shoe string budget I've compiled 5 tips that cost  little or nothing. With assistance from Katherine Alvarado  http://EzineArticles.com/expert=Katherine_Alvarado 
here we go....

5 SUPER-SMART budget interior decorating tips:

1. Surf it up!
Craigslist is the low budget-ers dream. What could be better than a place where people post ads for things they want you to take ~for free! You can find everything from bed frames, to art, to accessories, to grand pianos  if you are persistant.

2. Use Elbow Grease -
Nothing is as stylish as a vintage piece of furniture restored by you. Buy something old and worn for cheap, and then unlock its inner beauty or make it into something entirely new and amazing by sanding, painting or sewing.

Sweet upcycle with used pop caps!

3. Look for diamonds in the rough and D IY-
Have you seen a designer throw pillow that you think would look perfect on that couch you found on Craig's list last week? Buy a discount fabric of a similar design and sew it yourself. Utube tutorials show even the craft challenged how to make it themselves ~all it will require is time and effort.

4. Curb shop-
One man's trash is another man's treasure. So Garage sales are the name of the game...they have most everything for very low prices and you can haggle to arrive at a price that suits your pocket. Remember people would much rather sell it than pay to have it removed.

5.  Get 'buy' with a little help from your friends-
Ask your friends and family if they are getting rid of any old decor or furniture, as a general rule, they won't charge you money for their old stuff. Know someone with some artistic talent? Ask a friend to do a painting or an enlarged landscape photo to hang over your couch in the living room~you will have a truly unique work of art that you can brag about to your dinner guests.

Frame it- now its art.

I know this list has been helpful ... The key to budget design is really only a little bit of creativity, elbow grease and persistence!

Thanks for reading and be sure to visit Katherine's blog at http://www.housedecoratingideas.net

P.S. If this list has only served to fatigue....contact me for full service professional interior decorating and design services ~where all you do is write the cheque!

Till next time
Charmaine

3 Fun Ways to Color Block your rooms!

geometric color blocking painted on walls

COLOR BLOCKING it's hot!  Clashing and contrasting is a contemporary way to compliment and pair opposing colors together to create a bold 2012 design statement.  When used as a fun source of whimsy matching up hues that don't match can freshen and energize a space.

                                How do you to get the look?

1. Select a 3 color combo like:

Navy, Hot pink, Ivory

Brown, Teal, Silver

Sapphire blue, Gold, Tangerine

color blocking on the runway and in home fashion

2. Whether used as paint, wallpaper or on textiles ~ geometric or botanical graphic prints are the way to go!

3. To complete the dramatic makeover use on:

Walls- either as large oversized art prints, wallpaper or paint

Floors- area rugs, or stenciled designs in smart bold hues

Furnishing - drapery panels or as toss cushions on a neutral sofa

teal,brown and silver color blocking in botanicals

Like these tips?  Be sure to like Wynter Interiors on Facebook and share us with your friends... also please post a comment here to let us know the content you want for future blogs... we'll listen...

Until next time

Charmaine

"How Many Clients Have I Slept With?"

"All of them... oh I'm not talking about sex" (sorry) I'm talking about personal intimacy- the ability to empathize with my client is key to designing the space that they have always wanted. 

"You know the whole until you've walked a mile in their shoes idea"
For instance; a clients husband wanted to clad their Ensuite accent wall in  stone, his wife hesitated concerned about the longevity of that style being 'in'.  A perfect blended solution is the faux slate wall paper shown on the left.
More important than color selection, materials and finishes or furniture layout is correct guidance. 

A Stylemaker must find out what makes a client toss & turn until 3 a.m
And then do all that is earthly possible to resolve it!                                                      I also presented the Granite and Mica stone wall paper pictured here as a possibility....

They were both thrilled with the options as they had only thought of glass mosaic tile; while pretty especially as pictured in the kitchen on the right it was not the best solution for them.
                                                                               
So for me all it takes is a listening ear and once I’ve listened ... and tapped into their personal desires or deepest wishes... then I’ve metaphorically slept with my client or so it may seen to them!

I hope you've found this entry helpful...which "stone" effect would you choose?

4 Tips for DECORATING after DIVORCE

She's gone,she's taken her half and your half also NOW what do you do? 

Ok so maybe it’s not so dire....your company has you relocating, downsizing or you've suffered through the loss of a spouse. Either way, 

You've earned the right to live beyond the futon, beer fridge & foil covered windows! 

So what if during the marriage you never bought a towel or made the bed and have no clue where to buy furniture? 

You’re a working man you don't have time for errors, you want the job done well and you deserve to live in a style that shows off your accomplishments.  

Above: the color scheme foundation is netural with bold color accents

While you can opt for the tried and true, you know -beige and sparse- with loads of technology… Or, if you’re female you could "girl it up" by introducing pink and petals "everywhere"...

Neither direction is your only option so whether it’s coordinating your interior decor, furniture sourcing or installing art to enliven empty walls, a professional can offer you unique custom options.

Above: The use of color and light create dramatic stylish effect



If you opt to keep the matrimonial home, here are some design tips to refresh your post divorce pad.

·    Paint: To effect real, yet subtle change.

·    Redecorate the bedroom: Buy new bedding, add new pillows and incorporate masculine or feminine touches as desired.

·    If it’s in your budget, get a smaller dining table or bigger chairs – anything that will draw less attention to the empty seat where your spouse once sat.

Above:Sleek kitchen with pops of colored accents


·    If kids are in the picture, be diplomatic when expunging memories of someone they still love. Relocate family pictures to a corner of the house that you don’t walk past 10 times a day or put them in the kids’ rooms, but don’t remove them outright.

I trust you've found these steps

for simplifying your decor after

divorce helpful. What steps

have you taken to personalize
your interior decor?

Charmaine Wynter's design firm offers –a decorating after divorce service

which creates warm welcoming personal spaces for those who are single for

the second time. Visit http://www.wynterinteriors.com/ for more 
information

5 Sure Fire Ways to GET What You Want!

How do you decorate & live happily ever after with the results?

         
    The following five actionable tips should drastically help you get the interior you want!

1.   Show us.
This one is the most important. It’s very hard for designer to visualize the ideas in a clients mind.  Being creative is difficult when the canvas is blank. If you can give us a picture to start with, illustrating some sense of what you’d like, it’ll help us enormously on the creative side.

2.  Admit you’re just a tourist.

                                                                                                     Clients often feel like they are visitors in the design world. They know that they don’t understand this stuff one-tenth as well as the professional does. They feel like they’ve stepped  into a subculture  where misinterpreting one decorating trend can lead to drastic results; thus they often shy away from  the possibility of making  weird suggestions,  or demanding certain color schemes that probably don’t matter (but sometimes do).  Know that we can tell you are all tourists. No matter what you do, you won’t blend in so relax and allow someone who is trained assist in accomplishing your vision.

3.   Understand the boundaries.
If you’re building a basketball, you know what you can and can’t do. You could probably make one that’s bouncier or more durable than competing products. But you couldn’t make one that goes in the basket every time. Likewise since you don’t know the rules of the design and decoration game, you often don’t know what’s possible. More often than not, you’ll assume that something isn’t possible when it actually is.  I have a good solution for this: I ask clients to create a folder of their wish list, and dump ideas in there. More often than not, I’ll contact them saying, “Hey, that’s possible. Let’s try it out.” But remember you know your financial limitations, sometimes creativity is only able to flourish inside the reality of those limits.

4.   Ask us.
Good designers are flexible and can adjust the vision to meet the reality of the situation. If you wants something, but the designer points out that it would be costly or not be worth the extra effort.  Request a workaround if you want, or just ask if there’s another way. Decorators are usually great at creative solutions; we make our living by avoiding barriers. But we can only avoid barriers if we know what they are. 

5.   Find a visionary.
Everyone appreciates an expert.  When a client told me that he was considering downsizing from a 35000 sqf home to a 180 sqf room, I said something like, “Well, it fortunate that I started my career working out of a 100sqf studio.” He appreciated my experience and by demonstrating my expertise I was able to ease and instill trust while reaffirming that he had made the right decision to hire me.

I’d love to hear from you on how you got the best decor ...also post photos of your interiors so others  can learn from you.  Finally, be sure to come back again to view all the feedback.
 Charmaine Wynter   http://www.wynterinteriors.com/

On Point, Current and Fresh!

I'm thinking its time to roll out a new look.  I've kept my current style for 18 years and you know, we all can do with a bit of a maintenance... or so Cosmo magazine says .. and we all know Cosmo never lies; so yeah a little update, a makeover, yes sirree a genuine face lift.

But I'm undecided .. I mean how much is enough? How much is too much ?  I wanna still be recognisable but my new look should say that I am:                   on point, current & fresh!

So I'm appealing to you my online friends I know you'll give me the straight goods.  The unvarnished truth...I know I needn't worry about jealousy, or haters cause this is a place of love and well wishers... yep your vote will cinch it... you decide how I'll roll out ...for the next 18 years (or so).

Please select the image you most like and post your comment here, the look with the most votes will be my new face for the next wave of life.

             1                     2                      3               4            5

To view present logo click below http://www.wynterinteriors.com/

                                                                                                                 
I really appreciate your help with this.... after all there really is no decision harder than how your business  will present itself in the future.

Till next time

Charmaine

Are you one of the New Traditionalist?

If you’ve been reading my blog, for a while, you'll recognize that I love giving readers a heads up on design news.  The New Traditionalist style is one such insight.  

                                                     

Do you believe a traditional and a cool decor can co exist?  Yes? Then you’re one of the New Traditionalists.

What is New Traditional Style?  It involves using classic pieces interpreted in exciting new ways; these twist’s on conventional furniture design may be a change of:  the color, the finish or the material.

left: Chairs designed by Molyneux for Barrymoore. 

  

While I've sprinkled this blog with images that illustrate this style; I  invite you to join me at the upcoming Delectable Design, a Junior League of Toronto- fundraiser event running Oct 27-30/11 at the Heritage Court, Exhibition Center, where I'll showcase this style yet again. 

So enjoy the images with a reminder of a few important observations I learned from a wise friend:

• Great design is timeless and can and should be enjoyed for more than a fleeting moment.
• You’ll get the most beautiful results when you allow creative people a little more room to spread their wings.
• Interior design is more than an overnight process.

• Interior design involves time and a financial investment.  (And the two do intertwine.)
• Quality always shines through.
• A vision can only be fully shared when the project has been completed.  The real picture will then come into focus.

The photo above is a reinterpretation of the classic wingback chair originally fabricated by industrial designer Tom Dixon.

The photo below is a room set designed by Bjorn Bjornsson and Andy Young.   

• If your designer is happy, chances are you will be, too! 

So let us do what we do best and your results will be rewarding. 

What questions or comments do you have about the process of design?  I’m happy to share so post your query in the comments and I'll get back to you!