Debbie Wiener's Blog

Thanks to Better in Bulk for their great review of the family friendly Slobproof book.

Debbie Wiener a strong advocate for the cleaning-impaired and the decorating-challenged and the owner of Designing Solutions, a full-service interior design firm specializing in durable, cleanable family-friendly interiors with personality, comfort, value. Debbie is the the anti-luxury interior designer, writing about comfort, convenience and value instead of high end indulgence.  And, unlike other interior designers who write books, Slob Proof! Real-Life Design Solutions is actually affordable. You can find Debbie’s blog at www.debbiewiener.com, on Facebook, and she’s DebbieWiener on twitter. For a fun video of Debbie (that will get you laughing, I’m sure!) visit SlobProof.com.

In Slob-Proof, Debbie shares how to:

• Decorate for the way you really live. (No one can really live in a show house.)

• Get the biggest bang for each decorating dollar you spend.

• Make color your new BFF.

• Use good lighting to make even modest rooms look impressive.

• Use simple household items to quickly correct everyday damage.

• Keep bathroom floors “spot free” (even if you have boys).

My favorite tip in the book was “Color is camouflage and your best tool in protecting your home from the people who live in it.” I also loved her tips on what kind of window coverings are appropriate for the way rooms are utilized (and whether they are inhabited by kids or pets!). Debbie’s writing was down-to-earth and relateable. There’s no way that a typical design book could have held my attention because, honestly, it’s a different language to me.  Luckily, Debbie seems to speak my language. Now, if only I had some extra cash lying around to beautify my house. I could even invite Debbie over for some help–she’s local!

I just wanted to take a few minutes before the “Snowpocalypse” hits DC to share a few of my favorite interior design blogs:

http://theinspiredroom.net/: a site dedicated to authentic living

http://hookedonhouses.net/: a fun place to get your house fix

http://blog.rachaelray.com/: c’mon, you know all about this one!

http://howaboutorange.blogspot.com/: a great DIY blog

Check them out and don’t forget to look out our blog roll for other blogs we love!

Dear Designing Solutions,

I have a very open space between my kitchen, family room and morning room. It’s really like one big room. The morning room has French doors and palladium windows. It sits to the back of the kitchen area. The kitchen opens into the family room. My dilemma is how to paint them. I want to add color but don’t really want all 3 rooms to be the same color. I’m sort of leaning towards earth tones. Any suggestions as to how I can bring all 3 of these rooms together to compliment one another? Hope this makes some sense.- Color-challenged Linda

Dear Linda,

Start by choosing three complementary colors- like a sage green, golden yellow and pale terracotta- that look good together and give you the effect that you want. The most simple thing you can do is to paint each of the three spaces in one of the three colors. Use a creamy white on all the trim throughout the space and paint the ceilings the same color- try “Cumulus Cotton” from Benjamin Moore. By matching the ceiling and trim colors, the three spaces will flow together and complement each other.

Another option is to choose an accent area in each room- perhaps there’s a niche, or a fireplace or simply a wall that stands alone. Choose your accent color and use it to paint the kitchen and the accent walls in the other two rooms. Then paint the remaining two rooms with the remaining two colors you haven’t already used. For example, if you use the pale terracotta in the kitchen and on an accent wall in each of the other two rooms, paint one room in golden yellow and one in sage green. Paint all the trim and the ceilings as above.

Yet another fun option is to do some simple decorative painting. Use your accent walls to do some striping in all three colors. This can be as simple as dividing the wall into thirds, horizontally, and painting each third in one of the three colors. You can make it more complex, depending on your skill and confidence, and add thin stripes that rotate between colors. Got a fireplace or built-ins in one of these three rooms? Paint the mantel or the inside of the bookcases in a contrast color. If the wall is golden yellow, paint the mantel or bookcases in the terracotta or sage green.

Finally, if using three colors is more than you bargained for and what you really want is a more serene look, choose one color in three different intensities. This is easy to do, as paint manufacturers often provide color samples in five or six intensities on the same sample card. Use one intensity in each of the three rooms, saving the boldest color for the brightest room. To make it more interesting, you can follow the all of the advice above using the three intensities of the same color. If you divide an accent wall into thirds for horizontal striping, use the boldest color on the bottom. Or an accent wall in each room can have a different intensity of the same color. Mix up the intensities as you would three completely different colors. Use the same trim and ceiling color, just as recommended above, to keep the space unified.

With Love,

Debbie

Interior Designer to the Slobs

Is your Brady Bunch still turning your home into the Addams family house?  Here are more design tips that will help you keep your home looking like June Cleaver’s!

1.     Consider upholstery styles with an exposed leg instead of a skirt.  Skirts collect pet hairs and stain easily when your kids use the skirt to wipe the backs of dirty shoes. Most sofa and chair manufacturers offer you the option of a skirt or exposed leg. And you can match the leg color to other room furnishings or to the fabric.

2.     If you don’t want your kids sitting on the arms of your sofa, don’t choose styles with oversized arms!  The arm of the sofa is often the first place where fabric thins out and shows wear.  And with abuse, the soft padding wears down and the hard frame can be felt right under the fabric.  Smaller arms also give a little extra seating space. 

3.       Rotate the cushions on your upholstered sofas and chairs.  You’ll extend the life of the seat and back cushions and the fabric covering them.  While you’re at it, give the cushions and seat bench a good vacuum.  You’ll probably find the missing Lego’s and baseball cards that your kids were searching for when they destroyed the rest of the house!

4.       Keeping window coverings off the floor protects them from potential abuse.  Choose window treatments that raise and lower like a blind rather than closing from the sides.  They’ll last longer and look better over time.

5.       Match wood stains and paint finishes to crayon and magic marker colors.  Wonder how the pros re-touch discolorations and marks on tables?  That’s right- with crayons and markers.  As furniture legs and tops get scratched and even gouged from daily family use, you can make simple repairs with crayons and markers that will extend the life and looks of your most heavily used furniture pieces.

With Love,

Debbie

Interior Designer to the Slobs