decorating ideas needed

Hi everyone
Does anyone have any good resources for home decorating – magazines or
tv shows. I just bought a new townhouse which will be built by this
spring!!! but I have no idea where to start with decorating.
I am going to the builders design center next week, but I would like
some ideas to start with and to work out what looks will complement each
other
Thanks :))
Sandra
––
I'm what Willis was talking about.

Hey I have cats too!
As a former art major, my best advice to you is simple – go with what
you LIKE. That's very important, because people will try to influence
you with their ideas, and you may end up with a house decorated for
somebody else. Also, make a folder (go buy one for a quarter). Go to a
Barnes & Noble and take your time going thru decorating mags and keep
anything you like. Also, you can go to Lowe's or Home Depot and look at
all the paint chips and pick your favorites. Throw all these pictures
and notes into a folder. Then at a later date, take the folder out and
look through it. I'll bet most of the things you've picked go together.
Also, start with the most prominent thing in the room (i.e., the
biggest) and work down. So you might go: wall color, sofa & chairs,
furniture, carpet, accessories.
As an example, I completely gutted and redesigned my kitchen. I
originally had about 4 different looks for the kitchen which drove me
crazy trying to make a decision. I finally decided that what I really
wanted was a red kitchen. Yep, that nice Macintosh red you see on an
apple in fall. I went and found the shade I wanted at Lowe's, then
walked over to the cabinets. I didn't want plain oak cabinets (yawn). I
settled on hickory, which has a nice grain running thru it. I then
selected (actually, my kids selected) a countertop which complemented
the hickory cabinets. Just took the sample and held it against the
cabinet to see if it would go. To finish up, I have lighting fixtures
and cabinet knobs in wrought iron, and I also put up tumbled marbled in
shades of honey and beige as a backsplash. I love the looks I get when
I say I have a red kitchen and then they SEE it. Never had a bad review
yet! Then about 6 months later I saw a very similar design in a Lowe's
magazine. I was NOT happy lol.
Sorry for babbling...
Cyn
catmom wrote:

I love watching all the decorating makeover shows. You can get some
great ideas at www.HGTV.com.
Susan
http://susansspa.blogspot.com/

Home Depot offers free home decorating workshops and I imagine Lowe's
does too. When I redid my kitchen I worked with a decorator who just
charged for the time I actually used her. Sometimes it was just 15 to
30 minutes to get her opinions on things I was considering. This spring
I am going to redo my daughters' bedrooms, and incentives for them
getting rid of tons of clothes and unnecessary junk. I've begun by
letting them choose new duvet covers from the Pottery Barn and we will
work the paint colors around these items. The furniture has to stay but
it is fun just to add a few new pillows and other inexpensive items to
"redo" a room. For my living room I ordered new lamps from Pottery Barn
and they are a perfect match for the tables I've had for eight years, a
much better match than the lamps I replaced.
You can get all sorts of ideas from television makeover shows and just
by browsing on line and in stores. Usually I do lots of browsing and
then I just know when I am reading to purchase.
Audrey

Hi everyone
Does anyone have any good resources for home decorating – magazines or
tv shows. I just bought a new townhouse which will be built by this
spring!!! but I have no idea where to start with decorating.
I am going to the builders design center next week, but I would like
some ideas to start with and to work out what looks will complement
each
other
Thanks :))
Sandra
As far as magazines it all depends on what is the style that you like.
There are so many of them that you should take the time to go to B&N
and browse through them all. If you don't know what your style is once
you start collecting pictures of rooms you like eventually you'll see
most of the pictures reflect a specific decorating style.
A lot of designers recommend that you create a portofolio with magazine
photos of items you like. It could be the design of a room, or a piece
of furniture/lighting/accessory you loved. Another thing which is
really useful is to include in this portfolio those little paint color
strips they have in paint stores; they are very helpful when you're
considering wallpapers, and fabrics to see if the colors/print are a
good match.
The last time I decorated one of my rooms I had a big portfolio and a
smaller version which I always carried with me (including measurements
of the room I was working on)...since you never know when you'll see
something that catches your eye.
One thing I would recommend that you do first....is think about the
bones of your rooms. Meaning, consider the architecture of your rooms.
Do you want moldings, do you want better hardware, do you want to
change your flooring, etc., etc. it makes more sense for those sort of
things to come first.
Good luck,
––Maria

I think going to model homes can really give you some great
ideas..take a
camera and notepad to sketch and write on ! You can also get
manufactures names off furniture you like.
good luck
j