Design Guide: Lamp Shades 101

October 25, 2016

So many of you have left comments to tell me how much my Design Guide series has helped you with decorating your home. A few of your favorite design guide posts have included tips on Styling a Sectional Sofa and Key Measurements To Know When Decorating. And my Color Rules posts has helped you confidently decorate with color.

Today’s post continues to deliver tips and how-to’s for decorating and focuses on lamp shades. I’m giving you an overview of lamp shades styles and tips on picking the right size shade for your lamp.

Lamps are a key element in any room design and can make or break the style of a room. Continue reading for my Lamp Shade 101 Design Guide…

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Best of ConfettiStyle: Design Guides

September 7, 2016

One of my missions on the blog is to share design advice and decorating tips to help you decorate your home in style. A few years ago I started a series called Design Guide which covers a range of topics related to design and decorating. Today’s Best of ConfettiStyle post highlights many of the design guides I’ve written so far. I hope these design guides give you the information and confidence you need to make your decor dreams come true.

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Favorite Design & Entertaining Posts of the week!

July 30, 2016

I came across so much great design content on the web this week so today in my Saturday Favorites post, I’m sharing some of the goodness with you. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit back and enjoy. There’s lots of eye candy and inspiration coming your way.

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I’ve been a fan of lighting designer Barbara Cosgrove for years and loved this look into your beautiful home.

I like simple. I like form. I don’t like piddly little statements. If you’re going to do it, do it.
— Barbara Cosgrove

The art of layering your decor happens before your eyes.

These are the colors that are dominating the design world in 2016.

Life should be chic, glamorous and colorful, and so should your home.

–Jonathan Adler

Summer entertaining secrets and a beautiful table setting.

Celebrity designers spill their decorating tricks.

Be a ruthless editor of what you allow into your home. Ask yourselves, “what does this object mean to me?”

–Nate Berkus

No more ugly clay pots…especially when you can UpStyle them in a flash.

Enjoy your weekend friends.

Musing for the first day of summer!

June 20, 2016

Hooray for the first day of summer! Is anyone else as excited as I am that summer is officially here?

Even though the calendar didn’t reflect it, I’ve been acting like summer was here for a couple of weeks. This is undoubtedly my favorite season of the year so I though I’d share a few things that are on my mind on this first day of summer.

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I have always loved being out in the sun and although I was born with a natural tan :), I still love soaking up the rays and getting a little extra glow on my skin. If I were to design my dream outdoor space, it would look a little something like this–an area to entertain in and a stylish and relaxing lounge space next to a pool because I also love to swim.

house beautiful

And speaking of entertaining…isn’t this tablescape just gorgeous? Pattern mixing your dinnerware and glassware is a great way to create an eclectic placesetting and infuse your table with color. And creating extra spot at the end of the table runner is pretty genius.

apartment therapy

If you’re not the one hosting the summer gathering, here’s a really unique idea for a summer hostess gift. #ideasworthstealing

one kings lane

I usually don’t make many decor changes this time of year but when I’m working with design clients, here are two simple summer decorating ideas I share with them.

♦ Replace ceramic and solid colored flower vases with clear or colored glass jars and bottles. Glass provides an airy feel which is perfect for a seasonal decor statement.

better homes and gardens

♦ One of the quickest and most cost-effective ways you can give your decor a summer refresh is by switching out the pillows on your sofa. Try a colorful mix of patterns and textures.

tip: when possible, buy pillows with removable covers to you can reuse the inserts

better homes and gardens

One of the things I love most about this time o year is all the fresh fruit. I discovered a couple of u-pick blueberry and blackberry farms about an hour outside of Atlanta so we’ve added this to our summer bucket list. #yum

source

Don’t be surprised if you pass me on the road that I have tunes blaring in my car. #itsasummerthing. I had this song on repeat all weekend long to usher in my favorite season.

Enjoy Your Summer Friends!

The 60-30-10 Color Rule

May 27, 2016

How confident are you when it comes to decoration with color? Like many people, this might be one area of decorating that you find challenging but don’t worry because there’s a simple design formula that can decorating with color easier.

The 60-30-10 decorating rule is a tried and true method to help pull together the color theme for a room. The rule relates to how colors should be proportioned within room to achieve a balanced and harmonious feel within the space.

The 60-30-10 color rule is really simple for anyone to apply, even the novice decorator. Here’s how it works…

60%

The main color you selected for a space should represent 60% of the color within the room. In a family room the 60% would be represented by the wall color, large decorative pieces like a rug and in some cases the larger furniture pieces like a sofa. The 60% color should serve as the dominant impact in the room and anchor the space.

30%

The 30% should be represented by the secondary color within the room and have half the impact and presence as the main color. In a family room secondary color can come from the drapes, accent furniture or even artwork. In a bedroom, the secondary colors can represented through the bed linens or smaller accent rugs. The goal is to have the secondary color (30%) be an accent and enhance the main color (60%) within the room while adding to the overall personality of the space.

10%

10% of your color within a room should be represented by accent colors. In a family room setting your accessories will provide your accent–decorative pillows, tabletop decor and smaller pieces of artwork and lighting. In a bedroom the accent colors will come from the pillows, lamps and nightstand accessories. The accent colors that represent 10% of the overall color palette should be pulled from your drapes, area rug and larger upholstered pieces so that the overall color theme ties together.

Here are a couple of examples showing the 60-30-10 color rule in use…

Using the 60-30-10 color rule can make choosing color simple, and help you achieve balance in decorating.

Finding the right color balance within a room can be challenging but if you follow the general principles of the 60-30-10 color rule you’ll be able to create a color theme for any room in your home with confidence. And if an abundance of color is what you love, follow your gut and decorate fearlessly like actress Mindy Kaling did in her home office below.

design by Nathan Turner

image source: Country Living, DIY Network

Design Chat: What Size Area Rug Do You Need?

May 19, 2016

Hi friends. The focus of this Design Chat post is area rugs. Quite often I get questions from readers who are challenged with what size area rug to get for their living/family room.

The most recent question came from Rocio who was having a hard time with a rug for her family room. Here’s the question Rocio posed to me…

“Hi Shelly, I have a sectional it measure 9 feet by 7 feet for the chaise part of sofa. I have no clue on what size area rug I need to buy. I do have a rectangular coffee table/ottoman in front and just order 2 Moroccan poufs. Do I need to place the poufs on the rug? Please help!!!! Thank you so much! Rocio”

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SELECTING THE RIGHT SIZE AREA RUG

Many times the shape and size of a room will dictate the size of rug the room needs. Other times the size and scale of furniture will influence which rug is best for the space. Selection the right size rug boils down to a few simple things:

The rug (size, placement and color) should like its part of the overall design plan of the room. The rug will serve as one of the key focal points within a room.
The rug should anchor the seating area and help create a sense of coziness.
3. The rug should not overpower a room or the furniture that surround it but should enhance the space.

Here’s a visual graphic I created that with tips on selecting the right size rug.

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After providing a few tips and suggestions to Rocio, she purchased a rug and sent me a photo of the design and color she selected. Given the small footprint of the room, this rug size works well to anchor the sectional and not impede into the dining area to the left or the area to the right. And since design is all about the details, here are some additional suggestions I have for Rocio to really pull this space together:

♦ Add a couple of pillows to the sofa at will bring in more color and pattern work.

♦ Replace the grey throw with a lighter color to highlight the lighter color in the rug.

♦ Add a side table on the short end of the sectional. A table with a metallic finish would relate to the material on the metallic poufs.

♦ Hang curtain panels on the window to anchor the eating area and add additional softness to the room.

And I quickly pulled together an inspiration board to illustrate the ideas.

SHOP THIS DESIGN:

Blue Ikat Pillow / Gold Metallic Leopard Pillow / Navy Velvet Pillow / Gold End Table / Woven Throw / Navy Curtain Panels

Gold Metallic Pouf / Navy Velvet Ottoman

Until next time…

Design Chat: Selecting a Sofa (and developing an accessory plan)

April 28, 2016

I’ve got another installment of Design Chat for you today, where I answer and provide design advice to a readers question.

Like many of the other Design Chat questions, Kimberly’s design challenge centered on finding the right sofa for her living room. Here’s the question Kimberly posed about a sectional she was considering…

“I read your blog about the do’s and font’s of a sectional and I am strongly considering this sectional for my room. Here are my questions…
1. Is the sectional too dark? I have tons of sunlight. I am wanting to steer away from the tan/beige, and I hear grays are very neutral, but I don’t want it to be a fad thing. The size is 115 X 115.
2. The back of the sectional would face the direction of looking into the room to define that space b/c I don’t want to block the bay windows.
I have a family of 5 and we purchased a single couch with the intent on adding more chairs, but they hated it b/c we couldn’t all sit together. Therefore, that’s why I am looking at the sectional, I know it limits us when it comes to moving furniture around. What do you think? ”

Here’s the space that Kimberly is dealing with. You can see that the room is pretty large, has a great span of windows at the far end and a fireplace and bookshelves that sit on one wall.

And here’s the sectional that Kimberly is considering. She spotted this piece at End Up Furniture in Greenville, SC.

Ok Kimberly, here’s what I think.

Given the size of your room I think this sectional is a great option. The scale looks good and the sofa will really anchor the room. As far as the color goes, the darker grey get two thumbs up from me. Grey is definitely considered a neutral and are a great alternative to a lighter khaki or tan colors. You can feel confident that grey will not go out of style in the coming years.

Looking at the other elements in the room here’s a couple of suggestions I have to round out the space.

♦ Place side tables at both ends of the sectional piece that sits along the wall and add tabletop lamps to make that sofa functional for reading etc.

♦ Highlight the window with drapes. You could either hang panels at the far ends of the bay window or at all the break points along the window which would give you four hanging panels. Curtains will add softness and allow you to bring some color into the space.

♦ I’d also suggest to create vignette or small sitting area at the window so that space feels purposeful. Maybe place an upholstered bench under the center window or two accent chairs with a small side table between.

♦ Finally, I’d hang a larger piece of artwork on the wall over the sofa to balance the TV wall and overall scale of the room. And relook your rug, maybe adding something with minimized pattern work. Both of these areas give you another opportunity to bring some color and pattern into the room.

Here’s a quick inspiration board I pulled together, to give Kimberly an idea for a color and accessory palette to work with her new sofa.

update: Kimberly purchased the sofa and it was delivered earlier this week. She’s on her way to a new space for her family to enjoy.

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Color Crush: Blue and Green

April 20, 2016

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I’ve been working with a new client and their design project is really exciting because it involves one of my favorite color crushes…blue and green.

While navy has always been a much-used color in home decor, it has been resurfacing as a hot color trend over the last couple of years. And ever since Pantone named Emerald Green as their color of the year in 2013, shades of green have been making a comeback as one of the top home decor fashion colors.

What I like about the combination of blue and green is the sophisticated yet modern feel that pairing has.

On a recent fabric shopping trip, I spotted some really beautiful blue and green fabrics I wanted to share with you. I’ve grouped the designs together in workable sets that can easily be combined within a single room design. Here’s how I’d use each of the fabrics within the groupings:

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