Decorating for the Holidays..Fa La ..oh wait..it's still Thanksgiving!

Yes it is!!! Oh yes it is...go check your calender...see, I told you! Thanksgiving is next week and the official start of the Holidays! Make your home festive for Thanksgiving..it is soooo easy. Trust me, your guests will feel so comfortable in your home and tell you they had a fabulous time. But they won't realize why...want to know the secret? Ok, I'll tell you..was that a please?? Lol..I'm teasing you I know..sorry.  If you make your home just a little festive it will affect the mood of your guests, they will feel special and in turn really enjoy themselves. Just a few easy steps I use every Holiday.

• Start outside. Add a few pumpkins along the path leading to your front door. Better to group in small clusters than just to use one. I prefer to mix colors. Orange, bright red/orange, white and the blueish gray ones. Put a few large ones on either side of the doorway.  You've just set the mood...
• The foyer or entryway need a punches of Fall. Drape a Fall garland over that mirror, or wrap around your coat tree, or drape over a table and add a few small pumpkins. Better things await around the corner now..
• Strip off everything off your dining table and buffet. Only using Fall table settings, runners, and don't forget a few items from nature. Twigs in a large glass vase, handfuls of branches cut from your trees places upright in large containers. Go ahead...add a few small pumpkins sprinkled on your buffet and table. You're doing great so far...but let's go further..
• Go to your guest bath...add some Fall themed finger towels...not too cutsey. Fall leaves or pumpkins will do. Go ahead..sprinkle a small pumpkin or two on the sink, cabinet or tank of the toilet. Now your guests are getting impressed at your attention to detail...
• Remove some items off your mantel and cocktail table...replace with more greenery and twigs and yep...pumpkins..lol. Oh..don't forget to replace your candles with rich fall colored ones instead. Let's keep that same theme going through the house...It's looking good!
• The kitchen. Clear the counters just a bit, you probably already did this since you need the space to cook....pull out your beautiful Fall dishes. Stack them up off to the side...stand up a plate or two on a plate stand along your backsplash. Replace the candles,  add a vase or two of the greenery...and do I even need to say it??? Go get more if you need to! Pumpkins...now even you are impressed at how festive your home looks..right? I knew you could do it!

Keep it simple, it doesn't have to cost a lot of money. The secret is to remove existing items and keep from adding to your clutter. If you just add to it, it begins looking disheveled and over decorated. We can't ever, I mean must not ever "over decorate"!!

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy yourself...relax and put your feet up. The dishes can wait, because they are adding to the decor!! lolol

Blessings to you and yours..Candace:)

Fall Back?... why yes it is!

Well my designing friends...it is that time again. It is time to start moving things back...the time, the summer pillows, the lawn cushions, the summer florals etc. Pack em up and move em out!
It is time to get cozy! Oh how I have missed you soft faux fur throw...and soft down pillows in darker, muted colors...come to Momma...I've so missed your soft texture and warmth. You are just as loved as my fluffy bathrobe and soft furry slippers...mmmm.
As you pull out the sweaters in preparation for cooler weather, you too must prepare your home for the cooler weather as well. Get that fireplace in good working order, bring out the pumpkin and cinnamon candles. Soft pillows, throws and a stack full of books and favorite unread magazines piled high because you were hanging out at the pool...it's time to Fall Back...fall back into that comfy chair, warm your tootsies by the fire, light a yummy scented candle and snuggle up....now relax...because the countdown is on for the madness to begin...the Holidays! :) Sorry..I ruined the mood didn't I? You're stressed aren't you? Oops..sorry..:) Happy Falling!

Love Where You Live

I just read this somewhere, from a really unexpected place actually. But it hit a nerve in me..or tugged at a heart string I should say.  We all do things we love, we live to love...but true happiness comes from loving yourself. From loving those around you. Loving everything around you..loving your surroundings. I can honestly tell you that I LOVE where I live. Not the fun weird city of Austin, Texas..but more specific. I truly LOVE my newly built home...I designed my office in my home to inspire me each and every day. I love starting my day in my beautiful office. Why wouldn't I ? I chose a wall color in a pale shimmery aqua that I have always loved, my handscraped dark wood floors, I have my antique Spanish trestle table as my work space, I love my cabinet and it's glass windows so I can actually see what I'm looking for. I have my beautifully embellished mirror with aqua and copper beads. I have my small carved cross collection...and an antique print of a french desk that inspires me. My space is simple...yet bold by having my few truly favorite objects. My objects of desire you might say... I LOVE Where I LIVE.....and I want that for you too!
Peace out, Candace

Fireplaces, How to decorate??

I think the mantle itself is very important to a fireplace. I love to see large rustic pieces of wood or large blocks of stone, carved corbels, etc. The mantel adds architectural elements to the space. I always make my Client's fireplaces the focal point of the room by taking stone or tile up to the ceiling. I then like to decorate them with architectural elements. Old windows, doors or iron etc. Unique Art...and a must is to highlight with light! I use the fireplace and it's decor as a whole to add the wow factor to the room.

Check out these tips! How-to-Decorate-a-Fireplace-Wall 

Granite/Stone Yards are my Playgrounds!

The coolness to the touch, the rock hard strength, the durability that lasts eternity, the exquisite beauty...no, I am not talking about "Edward Cullen"..:) I am referring to the uniqueness of stone and granite!!
The correct use of stone and the right level of granite in the design of your home can make one look like a Prince instead of a Pauper. Then myself being in Texas and near the Granite Capital of the World...I must use granite in every situation possible...while it's an oath I had to take, written in bold letters in the textbook Designing 101 Texas style!
Funny how something naturally found all around this area is also the most expensive choice in designing your home. When building a home going with the level 4 granite and not the level 1 can add $8k to the cost of your home, or building an all upgraded stone two story home added $26k to my bottom line too!..I mean it can to yours! It's crazy talk....but oh so worth it....As long as there is never a mutation of rock eating termites that is:)
Happy Blogging! Candace:)

Adding some Oomphf to your Walls

Ok, we all know I am crazy for unique decor and wall hangings and well, ok ok the actual walls themselves. Arches and niches, mosaics, murals all excite me!! Moving on...Yes, we've all heard wallpaper is back, and you're still scared of that fact and so am I a wee bit....and yes faux finishing your walls is so last year. But...and I strongly emphasize this BUT....there are options and new technologies that can turn your walls themselves into fabulous works of art and still be contemporary and cutting edge, modern whatever your choice word is of being current and in style.
I recently painted my own dining room a pale, muted aqua blue. To add some wow factor I used a shimmery pale, muted aqua blue glaze of it. It's not over the top, or too much ( I know what you're thinking, like me..lol )...it's just a little oomphf to a nice muted serene color. I'm all about glitz and glam and my little shimmery wall satisfies my needs perfectly.
What are your needs? Did you know that you can take your favorite baby photo in black and white and enlarge it to a whole wall covering? That really cool fabric on that awesome blouse you own can be transformed to your walls! Pretty much anything you like can be transferred to your walls these days very easily! As I see it, wallpaper, faux painting, glazing can still be done...it's what you do that transforms it to modern times. Add some shimmer in glazes, some flocking in your wallpaper, some texture added to your paint, use faux stones, glass tiles...whatever tickles your fancy...fancy walls that is! Add a little Oomphf into your home! Happy Creating!
Candace:)

Going a rug shoppin??

So you've decided something is missing? Something really important...but you just can't put your finger on it...hmm...well, how about putting your toe on it?



Ah ha...that's it!! The anchor for your room! Yes...the RUG! Now...I prefer not to build the room around the rug. I mean you can get a rug in any size and it's a whole lot easier to start everywhere else other than the rug. But, because I save it for last does not mean it is NOT important!



If the curtains are the earrings of the room then the rug are the shoes! We don't necessarily say..." wow...rockin shoes" but we would notice if there was a scuff or blemish on the shoe....and we would judge that whole outfit on that itty bitty scuff.



Sooo...you must make sure those shoes fit! My advice...if you are able to...take home on approval several rugs in varying sizes and try them on. If you are unable to do this then use what you have...a blanket...tape out the area, you get the idea. There are no specific rules on rug sizes...it all depends on the room, the walkways, the size of the furniture, etc etc etc...(which is why hiring a professional decorator pays for itself). It needs to pull the room together and make it complete....you should not walk in and say.."wow..a rug"..you should walk into the room and say..."wow, what a great room".

Happy Rug-ging!

Yes you can! You can have an updated modern space!

Who says you can't use that one color that makes you feel AWESOME..that one color that puts a smile on your face everytime you walk into a room!!?? Just do it..go for it...I mean within reason of course. We went with such a bright color because is was a color that

made my Client feel good. It was also a color that was in a few pieces of artwork already in the room. Now we could have gone a few different directions here..we could have embraced it and chose all sorts of bright colors and ran with it. But to keep my Client from saying..what was I thinking?? We brought in her traditional leather furniture from the game room and added some modern style store bought drapery panels with many existing colors in the room. Now what pops is this room...the walls...and guess what else? The Artwork! And now, can you guess what my Client asked for the first time she saw me? Yep...to accentuate her artwork in the room..:) Job done..Client happy!

Modernizing Antiques

I love taking odd pieces and mixing them together...I love mixing wood and brushed metal, gold leaf and sterling silver, light with dark and best of all...old with the new...this chair was my Client's Great-Grandmother's chair. Talk about making it her own...my Client wanted a more modern space but wanted to keep the old chair from her past. With some trendy peacock fabric we breathed new life into this baby. To make sure we did not lose the orginal allure we kept the contrasting welt. I think it's a beauty that can last 2 more generations!

Peace out! Candace

This is a Townhome project I had. My Client was new to town and would have lots of out of town guests and needed a space for some private R&R. The room is small but we made the most of the space to give her the soothing, calming comfy space she needed. I accomplished that with the calming color palette, plush bedding and chaise and large rich furniture pieces.