Home Decor: DIY has a fun post on painted floors as a new/old design idea!

Afraid to tackle such a project that seems so permanent? How about Floor Cloths?! Yes, they have returned. Including, from Vermont’s own CanvasWorks FloorCloths! They also offer “make-your-own” floor cloths, and sell primed & hemmed “blank” floor cloths and paints.

Catching up with some of my favorite design blogs, I simply could NOT resist posting a link to this scrumptous recipe for Julia Vandenoever’s Fudge Brownies with chocolate frosting.

I, too, camp among the “fudgy”! Click on the image to ENJOY!!

In anticipation of Michael Payne’s visit to the Burlington Home Show, we post this YouTube video from Michael’s home base of LA– wouldn’t you like Michael to help with your design issues? That’s the prize for Home Show visitors on February 25 and 26th: an hour’s consultation with design Michael Payne can be yours!

We’ve unearthed some useful links about Michael Payne, so you can become better acquainted with him before his Burlington visit:

• a Q&A session with Michael and Victoria Hecht – notice Michael’s thoughts on “energy efficiency” trends and natural fibers
• a 2002 discussion of Michael’s show Designing for the Sexes
• Michael “Serving Up Style” at the Portland 2011 Fall Home Show - a new YouTube video
• a great Blogspot about Michael’s visit to Charlotte in Fall 2011 – again, Michael’s commenting on “green” trends
• information on the Burlington Home Show, February 25 & 26, at the Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center
• ENTER the Michael Payne Contest by February 17, 2012. The lucky winner receives a pair of tickets to Friday’s reception and design seminar. Sunday, you’ll have your own 1-on-1 design consultation with Michael!

Michael Payne’s Burlington visit is sponsored by
Gordon’s Window Decor, in Williston, Vermont.

The article which this photograph (by Erik Johnson) accompanies describes a “restful palette”. Indeed!

To see more photos of this spectacular home, and read Julie Sanders‘s history of the home and its redesign, visit the January/February 2012 issue of Home & Design: The Magazine of Architecture and Fine Interiors.

Some telling phrases from the article (which never names the couple): “crisp use of color and contrast”; a focus on “finishes” like “walls faux-painted to look like linen, textured wallpaper and distressed wood furniture”; “a family house and it has to be practical”.

Read -Look – Learn.

There was a time when I was looking for a couch for my mother. I remember visited the local Ashley Furniture store. MY! What Big Beds You Have! (The couches were a normal size, however.)

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve a post-WWII cape; there are sloping roof-lines to take into consideration in the two upstairs bedrooms. Large canopy beds, for instance, need not apply…

So it was with great interest that I found in the last issue of the New York Times an article fit for the “supersize-it” era we seem to be living in. Oh, the houses ARE getting smaller again, but it seems the furniture is not. Read along with me. “Relax. There’s plenty of Room” was written by Steven Kurutz.

 The homeowner — who’s had this bedroom for ten years — calls the bedroom “a cold box”: plain walls, crammed furniture. As it’s not a room visitors see, so this couple has left it to last. What decorating ideas does Nate have which will help them??

Five tips:

• Start with a headboard – save space and money with no footboard
• Bedding – take advantage of sales to change the ENTIRE feeling of a room
• Lighting – nightstands, bed-side lamps give ambiant light a chance to add tranquility
• Window Treatments – draperies add warmth and architecture, framing out your window shades
• Seating – a bench or chair, one “odd” chair is great in a bedroom!

Watch the video — clicking on the image (above) will bring you to The Nate Berkus Show’s website video on Bedroom Basics.

Michael Payne: On the Road, had a short run (2001-February 2008); filled with houses, landscapes, and Michael Payne meeting-and-greeting fans.

Design and Tea evidently lasted only a few months, January-June 2008. Some nice design ideas via photos.

The House of Payne never got off the ground; a “welcome” message only.

Michael Payne’s Photo Blog - posts for 2007, 2008, 2009 and a couple from 2010: photos from the self-professed “serious amateur photographer”.

When I had cable, one of my favorite shows on HGTV was “Designing for the Sexes” – hosted, of course, by Michael Payne. He always had sound advice, and it was just a delight to listen to his thoughts and rationales. HGTV still carries the show (the host has changed) and you can get information on that program at HGTV.com

 Read the “About Michael” posting on his main webpage: how surprising that he studied physics and mathematics and was once in the computer industry!

Get an inside look at the home, their sense of “style and taste”, and “What your Candidates may be really like” by reading the article.

At CellularWindowShades.com we look forward to some exciting changes in early 2012 — we’ve got a new shade style, some fantastic new colors, and — we trust — the same great customer service. Join us!

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A ‘Made in the USA’ company, CellularWindowShades.com is thankful to everyone who contacted us in 2011, made comments on our product, needed help with shade solutions, or just wanted to say ‘hi’.

We appreciate your patronage, and send out this THANK YOU to one and all!

Q: — “We have cheap temporary blinds. Is it worth investing in better window coverings before selling?”

Jennifer Ferland, a real estate agent, tellingly suggests: “‘[I]t’s funny the little things that can steer buyers away from feeling comfortable in a home.’ … If your blinds are lackluster, ‘You should absolutely invest in new window shades,’ she said. Adding upgraded window coverings would help it show better.”

Celerie Kemble, an interior designer, adds: “‘But it’s an investment… To elevate a space, you obviously need to pick something that’s a step up….’”

One customer who purchased from CWS.com a few months ago was going through this same dilemma. In a tough housing market, this seller knew that new cellular shades not only gave her an additional selling point, she also gained the benefit of living in the house with the shades!

Better than my friend who put in hardwood flooring — which she had LONG wanted — then moved out of the house and let the realtor do his business.

Rather than checking out the box places the article suggests (The Shade Store, Smith & Noble, Janovic, Pottery Barn), check out our selection of fabrics, lift options and blind style combinations at CellularWindowShades.com!

Only yesterday morning I was talking with a gentleman in Randolph, Vermont, who said, “If I had realized CellularWindowShades.com was in Vermont I’d have ordered long ago.” Yep, each shade in an order is individually produced and hand-assembled, right here in our Williston, Vermont, home. And our blinds cost less than you might think, especially with our current 20% off sale (until 2 January 2012).

Mr. McKeough’s September column is discussed here in Market Ready?