Home Decorating For Dummies E-Book

Katharine Kaye McMillan

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: General Trade
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 508

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Do you long to create picture-perfect rooms but can't quite seem to achieve them? Do you want better functioning spaces for working, playing, or living? Do you clamor to express your personal style? If you said "yes" to any of these questions, you've turned to the right source for real answers from the pros. Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition is for all kinds of people in all kinds of decorating situations, including: * First-time buyers or renters. You have a whole new place to decorate. Where do you start? * Second- or third-time home buyers. Whether you've gone up or down in size, stayed in the same region or moved to a whole new one, you need to know how to make your old furniture work in a new setting, how to add furnishings, and how to make your style seem fresh. * Newly blended families. He has furniture, she has furniture, they have furniture. Can it all work together harmoniously? Indeed! * And anyone else who loves decorating. Don't forget: Imagination counts. Each part of Home Decorating For Dummies, deals with a broad area of decorating, and each chapter contains specific and detailed information. You'll discover tips on * Basic planning - where to begin when you want to start decorating * Creating surface interest - the effects of color, pattern, and texture, and the problems created by too much or too little of them * Creating backgrounds - what you need to know about the special decorating requirements of your walls * Tackling tough rooms - how to effectively decorate rooms that have special functional requirements * Accessorizing with art and other stuff - adding the final flourishes to every space in your place Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition contains all the basics - including how to figure out what you can spend; how to spend it; and the latest and greatest in styles, trends, and technology. What do you do with your space next? The possibilities are endless.

Leseprobe

Home Decorating For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

by Katharine Kaye McMillan and Patricia Hart McMillan

Home Decorating For Dummies®, 2nd Edition

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2004 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

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LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003113311

ISBN: 978-0-7645-4156-8

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6

About the Authors

Katharine Kaye McMillan, former senior editor of a New York City-based national magazine, is a writer whose work appears regularly in magazines and newspapers. She is a contributing writer to internationally circulated Florida Design Magazine. She is the co-author of several books on decorating and design, including Sun Country Style, which is the basis for licensed signature collections of furniture and accessories by three leading American manufacturers and importers. A graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, she holds a masters degree in psychology and is a doctoral student in psychology at Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida.

Patricia Hart McMillan is a nationally known interior designer, whose interior design work for private clients, designer showcases, and corporations has appeared in publications worldwide, including the New York Times and USA Today. Known as a trend spotter and for clearly articulated views on design, she is quoted frequently and extensively in both trade and consumer publications. She appears on TV and talk radio. A prolific writer, she is co-author and author of seven books on interior design and decoration, with Sun Country Style signature collections of furniture based on two books. She has taught decorating courses at several colleges and conducted numerous seminars across the U.S. She is decorating editor for Christian Woman Magazine and reports on design trends for The Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune newspaper based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She has been editor-in-chief of two publications and was head of a New York City-based public relations firm representing some of the most prestigious names in home furnishing and building products. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in art history (with an emphasis in architecture), from the State University of New York (New Paltz). She was awarded a certificate from The New York School of Interior Design.

Dedication

To my cousin, Margaret Walls Ephlin, loving friend and daughter to my late mother and sister to me.

— Patricia Hart McMillan

To Jill, Jon, Naina, and Richard — friends who decorate my life.

— Katharine Kaye McMillan

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Our names are on the cover of Home Decorating For Dummies, and we get most, if not all, of the credit. But, fortunately for us and for you, dear reader, there is a small army of people who worked enthusiastically and efficiently to place this book in your hands. To these wonderful souls, we give credit where credit is due.

First, our continuing gratitude to acquisitions editor Holly McGuire, who will always have a special place in our hearts and consciousness, and Jennifer Ehrlich, senior project editor par excellence on the first edition. Second Edition editors Tracy Boggier, Jill Burke, and Joan Friedman deserve deep bows. So does our rigorous copy editor, Chad Sievers. Technical editor Rose Bennett Gilbert, herself an author, contributing editor, and syndicated columnist, deserves kudos. And Liz Kurtzman, whose illustrations continue to enliven, enlighten, and entertain should know that we love her work and thank her for sharing it with us, and our readers.

We especially thank those industry leaders whose endorsements appear on the covers of this book. Their kind words mean a great deal to us.

Very special thanks go to Lis King, writer and public relations representative without peer, on whom we always know most certainly that we can rely.

Of great help and worthy of gratitude are officers of many companies, including: Aristokraft’s Stephen Mangin and Kathy Parker, Bernhardt’s Heather Bloom, DJC Design Studio’s D. J. Cole and Karen Carpenter, Garcia Imports’ Barbara Garcia and Linda Souza, Kim Shaver of Hooker Furniture Co., Kim Craig Boos of Kraftmaid, Gary McCray of LaneVenture for Raymond Waites, David Petersen of Maine Cottage, Michael Riley of Sphinx by Oriental Weavers, Rudy Santos of RoSan Imports and RoSan Custom Kitchens & Baths, Storehouse President Caroline Hibble, and Tiffany Mullis of Vanguard Furniture.

Perhaps least recognized, but greatly to be thanked, are public relations experts who so ably represent America’s top interior and product designers, manufacturers, and importers. These professionals graciously and nimbly responded to our requests for information and photographs. We must tell you the names of these who usually serve incognito— even at the risk of omitting one, and should that happen, we ask forgiveness. We thank: Brewster Wallcoverings’ representative at Lou Hammond & Assoc., Annie Scranton; Bassett’s Chris Madden Collection’s Janet Schlesinger of the Wm. B . Johns Co.; Glen Eden Wool Carpet representative, Brooke Wilson of Freebairn & Co., who also represents MTI Whirlpools; Hunter-Douglas representative Suzan Zevon of Lou Hammond & Assoc.; Pennsylvania House representatives Andrea Wasiak and Kay Degenhardt of the LC Williams company, Karen McNeill Harris of McNeill Communications for Stanley Furniture and Storehouse, Inc., and James Cross of PR21 for Whirlpool.

Bless you all!

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editors: Jill Burke, Joan Friedman

Acquisitions Editor: Tracy Boggier

Copy Editor: Chad Sievers

Technical Editor: Rose Bennett Gilbert

Editorial Managers: Christine Meloy Beck, Michelle Hacker

Editorial Assistant: Melissa Bennett

Cover Photos: © Eric Kamp/Index Stock Imagery/PictureQuest

Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Ryan Steffen

Layout and Graphics: Michael Kruzil, Shelley Norris,Barry Offringa, Heather Ryan, Brent Savage, Jacque Schneider, Julie Trippetti, Shae Lynn Wilson, Melanee Wolven

Special Art: Liz Kurtzman

Proofreaders: John Greenough,Angel Perez, Carl William Pierce, Aptara

Indexer: Angel Perez, Aptara

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel

Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Who Needs to Read This Book?

How to Use This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : Basic Planning

Chapter 1: Bringing Your Vision to Life

Taking the First Steps

Decorating All Through the House

Adding Professional Finishing Touches

Chapter 2: Planning Your Budget

Coming to Grips with Your Budget

Creating Your Decorating Road Map

Checking Out Costs

Hunting for Bargains

Calling on the Professionals

Chapter 3: Evaluating Your Space

Preparing a Floor Plan

Putting Furniture in Its Place

Chapter 4: Understanding Design Principles

Deciphering Design

Befriending the Basic Design Elements

Introducing Yourself to Design Components

Feeling the Rhythm

Balancing Your Act

Part II : Creating Surface Interest

Chapter 5: Eyeing Color Basics

Taking Color 101

Understanding Color — The Color Wheel

Using Basic Color Schemes

Chapter 6: Applying Pattern Basics

Considering Pattern

Planning for Pattern

Practicing Makes Perfect

Chapter 7: Feeling Your Way Through Textures

Getting to Know Texture

Making Magic with Texture

Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Basics

Asking “What’s My Room’s Problem?”

Zeroing In on a Sound Solution

Considering Case Studies

Part III : Style and Substance

Chapter 9: Living with Historic Decorating Styles

Considering Lasting Styles

Using Historic Styles in Your Home

Understanding Styles of the Past

Creating Your Own History-Based Style

Chapter 10: Decorating with Contemporary Styles

Moving from Historic to Contemporary Style

Focusing on Modern Style

Catching Up with Contemporary Today

Chapter 11: Determining Your Personal Decorating Style

Discovering Personal Style

Finding Your Personal Style

Exploring Your Personal Style

Personalizing Your World

Chapter 12: Finding Out about Furniture

Sizing Up Different Furniture Types

Buying Quality Case Goods

Finding Quality Upholstered Furniture

Working Furniture Magic

Part IV : Creating Backgrounds

Chapter 13: Creating Wonderful Walls

Forming a Unified Look

Decorating with Architecture in Mind

Considering Your Material Options

Chapter 14: Finding Fabulous Floors

Installing Hard Surfaces

Stepping on Soft Surfaces

Solving Problems with Flooring

Chapter 15: Sprucing Up Ceilings

Considering Form and Function

Painting Your Ceiling

Disguising Your Ceiling

Building the Ceiling You Want

Chapter 16: Dressing Up Windows

Exposing Windows

Looking at Shades, Blinds, and Shutters

Heeding the Curtain (and Drapery) Call

Creating Special Effects

Chapter 17: Lively Lighting

Understanding Lighting Basics

Lighting Up Your Life

Lighting 101

Planning General Lighting

Buying the Right Bulbs

Picking Perfect Fixtures

Lighting Your Home, Room by Room

Part V : Tackling the Three Tough Rooms: Kitchen, Bath, and Home Office

Chapter 18: Cooking Up Your Dream Kitchen

Considering Your Wallet

Reviewing Design Guidelines

Determining Your Dimensions

Finding the Right Furnishings

Decorating Do’s

Chapter 19: Beautifying Your Bathroom

Budgeting Matters

Strategizing for Resale

Customizing Your Bathroom

Accessorizing Your Bathroom

Meeting a Bathroom’s Needs

Transforming Tacky into Terrific

Chapter 20: Setting Up Your Home Office

Locating Your Work/Study Space

Measuring Your Space

Lighting Up

Equipping Your Office

Wiring Up

Color Scheming for Productivity

Accessorizing for Productivity and Fun

Part VI : Fixing Up Four Easy Rooms

Chapter 21: Styling Serene Bedrooms

Considering Function First

Selecting the Right Bed Type

Storing Your Stuff

Placing Nightstands and Tables

Beautifying Your Bed

Arranging Your Furniture

Decorating for Your Bedrooms’ Needs

Chapter 22: Creating Your Living Room

Thinking about Function

Creating a Great Backdrop

Handling Accessories

Chapter 23: Designing for Dining

Preparing a Comfortable Table

Putting Style on Your Menu

Creating the Formal Dining Room

Dining ’Round

Creating Instant Dining Magic

Chapter 24: Transforming Bonus Areas

Annexing Attics

Beautifying Basements

Perking Up Porches and Patios

Enlivening the Laundry

Part VII : Embellishments: Accessorizing with Art and Other Stuff

Chapter 25: Acquiring and Arranging Art

Affairs of the Art

Buying Do’s and Don’ts

Finding Art

Placing Art in the Right Relationship

Artful Backgrounds

The Art of Art Placement

Relating Artwork in Groups

Displaying in Off-the-Wall Ways

Chapter 26: Accentuating Your Style

Hunting for Accessories

Updating Your Arrangements

Finishing with Pizzazz

Accessorizing One by One

Part VIII : The Part of Tens

Chapter 27: Ten Quick and Easy Centerpieces

Indulging in Child’s Play

Adding an Artistic Touch

Bejeweling Your Holiday Table

Creating a Colorful Collection

Flying Your Flags

Using Your Marbles

Thinking Fresh

Sharing the Bounty

Lighting Up the Table

Bowling Them Over

Chapter 28: Ten Tips for Leftover Wallpaper

Slipcovering Your Lampshade

Adding Flower Power to a Paper Shade

Refreshing a Wastebasket

Dressing Your Books in New Jackets

Wallpapering a Backsplash

Lining a Shelf

Decoupaging Your Lamp Base

Transforming a Box

Covering a Notebook or Journal

Decorating Kitchen Canisters

Chapter 29: Ten Favorite Sources

Subscribing to Magazines

Sighting Online Sites

Cataloging Catalogs

Buying Books

Watching TV

Talking on the Radio

Asking Associations and Institutions

Dropping by Designer Showcase Houses

Scoping Out the Dailies

Checking Out the Library

: Color Insert

Introduction

D o you long to create picture-perfect rooms but can’t quite seem to achieve them? Do you want better functioning spaces for working, playing, or living? Do you clamor to express your personal style? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve turned to the right source for real answers from the pros. Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition can have you up to speed on what you need to know about decorating with style while staying within your budget. This book contains all the basics — including how to figure out what you can spend; how to spend it; and the latest and greatest in styles, trends, and technology.

About This Book

This book demystifies decorating — it’s like having a pro guiding you step by step. At your fingertips, you have one of the best decorating teachers available. Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition is your guide to good decorating decision making. You find tips, tried-and-true techniques, and helpful hints that will have you decorating like a pro. The best part is that you won’t be breaking the piggy bank to get a million-dollar look.

What makes this book perfect for decorating novices? It’s written by a team with several years’ experience decorating and reporting on decorating. We’ve done all sorts of projects on all sorts of budgets — from creating rooms decorated with penny-saving ideas to adding customized wall coverings and textiles to the New York City townhouse of legendary designer Oleg Cassini (the man who created First Lady Jackie Kennedy’s signature look). We’ve traveled the globe to attend important decorating-related shows. We’ve interviewed and written about other top designers and decorators, counting them as friends and colleagues. TV appearances — both live (scary!) and taped (not so scary) — and live talk (make that talk-back) radio have beckoned. So have in-store seminars and book signings where we’ve discussed design. We’ve designed furniture and accessories for leading manufacturers and importers, too. When it comes to home fashions, we’ve done — and are still doing — it all.

What’s new in this second edition is a lot. We’ve updated information about appliances, fixtures, lighting, and decorating facts. We’ve added a whole new chapter (Chapter 29) of great sources for information and resources about products and services. New black-and-white photographs illustrate various chapters, and all-new color photographs offer the latest newsmaking decorating ideas. You’ll find dozens more pages of must-read decorating information all written in a fresh, new way.

Who Needs to Read This Book?

Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition is for very smart people who want to have professional-type knowledge without spending tons of time and effort. If you want your house to look like your dream, this book is for you.

We’ve written this book for all kinds of people in all kinds of decorating situations:

First-time buyers or renters. You have a whole new place to decorate. Where do you start? How do you budget? What can you buy that travels well into your next place? This book has the answers so you can keep your sanity.

Second- or third-time home buyers. You’ve gone from starter home to bigger home. Or, you’ve downscaled from a large space to an intimate one. Whether you’ve gone up or down in size, stayed in the same region or moved to a whole new one, you need to know how to make your old furniture work in a new setting, how to add furnishings, and how to make your style seem fresh.

Newly blended families. He has furniture, she has furniture, they have furniture. Can it all work together harmoniously? Meshing two or more personal styles into one calls for decorating magic. Decorating can save this household from stylistic splits. Whether you’re marrying for the first or second (or third or fourth!) time, merging furniture is oftentimes more difficult than merging families. We can help.

And all the rest of us who love decorating. This book is for anyone who wants to transform an ordinary space into an extraordinary place, make a small room look larger, an odd room seem normal, an ugly room look pretty — all through the power of decorating. Great decorating results in a great-looking residence and smart-functioning home. This book is for anyone who wants to develop his or her imagination. How do designers and decorators get wonderful ideas? From thin air? Not quite. The answer is, from their imaginations, which they’ve developed through education and experience. A surprise here and there makes a room uniquely yours. Don’t forget: Imagination counts.

What is your decorating situation? Write us at [email protected] or [email protected]. We’re eager to hear from you.

How to Use This Book

We wrote Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition for you to use as a resource, almost as you would use an encyclopedia. You can flip through the book to find the topic that intrigues you most (or gives you the most headaches) and skim those sections first. You can check out the table of contents or the index and go straight to the relevant section to find answers to a specific decorating problem.

If you want to glean every bit of information that you can about home decorating, feel free to read the book from cover to cover. We lay the book out in a series of logical steps and fill it with fun tips designed to give you a basic foundation of understanding. Feel free to take your time exploring, reflecting, and educating yourself about a vitally important subject — your personal taste.

Your copy of Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition is your personal reference to your home, filled with invaluable tidbits of information. You may have so many brainwaves that you’ll need to start a file folder and notebook. Take the book (and your files) with you when you shop for home furnishing items. You’ll find yourself referring to it frequently for measurements, concepts, and good advice.

How This Book Is Organized

We divide Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition into eight parts, each containing several chapters. Each part deals with a broad area of decorating, and each chapter contains specific and detailed information.

Part I: Basic Planning

Where do you begin when you want to start decorating? This part opens with an overview of home decorating and has chapters on everything from how to budget to how to draw up a floor plan. You also find information on basic decorating concepts that can help you know why a particular room may look better with one all-over treatment or with wainscoting and wallpaper.

Part II: Creating Surface Interest

Every room, every piece of furniture, and every object in a room has a surface — surfaces are everywhere! What do you do with huge expanses of space? Or with little swaths of space? This part deals with the effects of color, pattern, and texture, and the common problems created by too much or too little of them.

Part III: Style and Substance

Style is an integral part of design. It’s the look, the mood — and it’s more than skin deep. In this part, we introduce you to Historical, Contemporary, and personal styles.

Part IV: Creating Backgrounds

Every room has ceilings, floors, walls, windows, and lighting that form a background. This part covers what you need to know about the special decorating requirements of these elementary parts of a room.

Part V: Tackling the Three Tough Rooms: Kitchen, Bath, and Home Office

This part covers what you need to know to effectively decorate rooms that have special technological and functional requirements. You find copious information, rules, and resources for coping with these rooms that have to be more than just plain pretty.

Part VI: Fixing Up Four Easy Rooms

Find out how to create picture-perfect yet livable rooms. This part covers the special needs for beauty, comfort, and serenity of public and private rooms.

Part VII: Embellishments: Accessorizing with Art and Other Stuff

This part helps you put the finishing touches on every room in the house. Find easy, foolproof advice for adding the final flourishes to every space in your place.

Part VIII: The Part of Tens

Aahh . . . now comes the part of the book that includes power punches of quick ideas for decorating your home. The Part of Tens gives quick advice on great, cost-effective (cheap!), and fun ways to freshen up your home.

Icons Used in This Book

As you work your way around this book, you may notice little pictures, called icons, in the margins. Icons alert you to important information.

This icon flags decorating tips from decorators — tips you don’t want to miss. With this icon, you find ideas that you can use without taking out a second mortgage. (Your billfold will thank you for checking out these paragraphs!)

This dummy alerts you to technical information, such as the difference between foot-candles and lumens in lighting. You may not need to know these facts, so you can shortcut through these sections if you like.

This symbol alerts you to any dangers or pitfalls that may blow your decorating scheme or budget.

When you see this icon, sit up and take note; you need to remember this important information.

Why work harder than you have to? Take advantage of these shortcuts to success. Don’t bother reinventing the wheel. You can always rely on these surefire decorating solutions. Watch out for these guys; you find them next to ideas on how to create a little decorating sleight of hand.

Where to Go from Here

What do you do after you’re armed with Home Decorating For Dummies, 2nd Edition? Go shopping, of course! Pick up samples and swatches. Read decorating magazines if you want even more hot trends, tips, and information. Log on the Internet and chat about decorating. Pick up brochures, books, and other sources of information. The possibilities are endless.

Part I

Basic Planning

In this part . . .

S uccessful decorating is equal parts down-to-earth practical matters and heavenly inspiration. Practically speaking, start your project — no matter how small or large — with three basics. First, figure out your budget. Next, size up the space you’re working with (using a tape measure, not your imagination). Then, get a good grasp on tried-and-true design rules (or guidelines). The chapters in this part take you through this basic training. This part prepares you for the true joys of decorating.

Chapter 1

Bringing Your Vision to Life

In This Chapter

Decorating like a pro on a budget

Adding finishing touches and professional flair

A fresh coat of paint for the kitchen, a few throw pillows for the family room, a nice centerpiece for the dining room table . . . how hard can home decorating be? As long as you have a decorating plan, home decorating can be easy and fun. We promise.

So why write an entire book dedicated to the subject? We want to simplify your life by helping you decorate using our quick-and-easy, foolproof approach. You can make some frustrating (and expensive) mistakes if you start your decorating projects without doing your homework. Our friend, HGTV’s Chris Casson Madden (host of ), calls this book “a must-read” for her staff. That’s high praise. Consider this book a really important (and fun!) homework assignment.