Duck!

Here it comes. That time of year where over indulgence is a way of life. Eat too much, drink too much (and my favorite) shop too much. Be sure to watch for the best deals. Don't let an item's price alone determine yeah or nay. What are the shipping charges? Will you get it in time? All of these things factor into a good bargin.

Happy hunting!

EeeK!

The holidays are coming! The holidays are coming!

What is the single most common mistake for holiday decorating? Over doing it. Step away from the 8 foot tall tree that would go in a 12x12 living room. Organize those holiday knick knacks into groups instead of spreading the clutter throughout the room. Bring out the holiday cheer but avoid making your house look like Santa threw up all over it.

Project Burnout

What is the hardest part of any project? Finishing it! Take my house as an example. Right now I have the dining room about 75% done (and I'm not counting the floors since they count in every room). The painting is done, shelves are hung but the crown molding is still missing. Mostly because my future husband and I cannot agree on the style. Then there is our bedroom. Again, about 75% done and again it is the molding that is the hold up. Painting is done, molding has been stripped-sanded and primed, now we just have to get it put back up. I need to be busy and if some detail holds me up from completing a project (i.e. the bedroom window needs to be completely redone before the molding can go back up and it's the middle of the winter (at the time) ) then I get started on something else and POOF I lose interest in the 1st project. Oh and lets not forget the bathroom - the walls have been repainted and I painted the vanity - but the sink still needs to be replaced and the floor redone. Maybe this winter I should forgo any new projects and just concentrate on the old.

Lets talk about floors

Hardwood floor seem to be the "in" thing. And while they are very pretty, there are some drawbacks - at least in my house. First off, pet hair blows all over the place. I currently have tumbleweeds made of dog hair that ambush me when I least expect it. Plus, it gets cold in the winter - unless your one of those luck few who do not live in the midwest or have under the floor heating installed. There is nothing like climbing out of a warm bed in the middle of the night, to answer natures call, and stepping on a freezing cold floor. Talk about a rude awakening! On the other hand, it is so much easier to clean up spills from a wood or laminate floor. And it stays cool in the summer. Plus it looks wonderful. So, if your like me and have wood floors but want a little extra warmth, add a great area rug.

Painting Techniques

Have you seen a cool painting technique on TV that you'd like to try? If you do not know anyone who has done this technique before try doing it first on some plain white poster board and then hold it up to the walls you want painted. See how the natural and artifical light makes it look. If you still want it done, but are still uncertain as to the total effect, do 1 wall first as an accent.

oops

It helps if I give you the website. Http://www.itsurhomenow.com.

We're Live!

Woo Hoo - we went live today! Still have soe products to add and will be constantly looking for more unique and special items to add. But we're live! Check us out!

Almost Time

Well, it's almost time. Just a few things left to do and we go LIVE! I'm really hyped. Now I can get back to the things I really enjoy doing, like decorating and fixing up the house. I've already finished the dining room, except for the crown molding. I love doing great paint techniques and in this room I did a "leather" look on the bottom of the walls under the chair rail. It was very simple. I started out with a deep red paint - let this dry well and then take a clear glaze, add just a touch of dark brown and then use a DRY brush to speckle onto the wall. Twist your wrist back and forth as you do it, so that the marks look random instead of planned. Make sure the brush is dry and don't worry about using those high price brushes that the paint stores will try to sell you. Any strong fiber brush will do. I added a great caramel color above the railing. The room looks warm and inviting now.

Let's go back to the 70's (or not)

As I was working on some of the categories for the site, I had this disturbing thought.....Do people still decorate in "Early American" like my parents did? I sure hope that's not a style anymore.

Time Marches On!

Time marches on! I'd hoped to have the site up and running by now. But, finding decent suppliers is proving to be more challenging than I had anticipated. Though I have found a supplier for areas rugs and I love their products. Great traditional and modern designs. and I still need to get the merchant account set up. So at least another 2 weeks, hopefully no more. Since it will always be evolving and changing, I need to let go and "go live" with it as soon as possible. Blogging is going to be limited until I can get it running. Guess I'll use my lunch hours to keep this up.

Oh - I saw the coolest show last week. Check for it on HGTV.com - it was called the "25 most common decorating mistakes". Great advice, though I did disagree with a couple. Watch it if you can.

In the mean time, stay cool out there (it is August after all) and keep coming back.

Decorating Show Don'ts

A lot of us enjoy watching decorating shows. But be careful and think things through before you try any of their designs. Remember - they have a whole crew of professionals doing these jobs. One of my favorite shows also has my least favorite designer. She staples silk flowers to the walls, she makes card board furniture. Everything she does is impractical. Take the silk flower walls, or the fabriced walls she's done - who is going to clean those? Personally, I have a house full of animals (2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabbit) and their hair threatens to take over the house every day. Do you have any idea how bad it would be if there were fabric (of any kind) on the walls? It would be a nightmare. So, keep in mind, the design may look interesting but is it practical for your lifestyle?

Blogging and other nonsense

This whole blogging thing is new to me. So please be patient as I learn.

Anyways, I have been off all week working on the site. It is coming along slowly but surely. The hardest part, and the part that has consumed most of my time this week, is finding suppliers and products that I want to offer. I don't want to offer cheap things, but I don't want to offer products that are so expensive that they are out of reach for the normal customer.

The begining

I've actaully started writing this blog before the website is ready. What webiste you ask? I am creating a website for home solutions. Not just products to buy (though there will be many), but for people who are like me - DIY junkies. I want to bring the years of experience that my friend and I have, good and bad, along with the products you need to accomplish certain projects. We'll also have a section for people to write to an Interior Designer for suggestions. Eventually we plan to put up a forum too.

Now for the why. I was originally an Interior Design Major myself. But, well, there's no real excuse - I just dropped out. Home design, in all it's forms, is still an obsession of mine. I watch as many of the home improvement and decorating shows as I can fit into my day. Plus, when I purchased my first home I found that I loved to be able to do things myself.

Anways, this is just the beginning. I will be posting more regularly as the website gets closer to completion.