Decorating Ideas

Interiors by Design photo

Some of Bonnie's Decorating Ideas

An object by itself is only an object. Juxtapose it with something else and it becomes a composition

The space you leave empty is as important as the spaces you fill. Your eyes need resting places in a decorated space.

Minimalism is always at war with real life, especially in our culture.

Scale and proportion are everything.

Contemporary doesn’t mean stark.

Use most of the space in a room~avoid lining your walls with furniture.

When hanging a mirror make sure it reflects something beautiful.

A mirror hung over your fireplace reflects only the ceiling when you are seated in the room.

Use your bedding or a beautiful painting or another object to determine your color palate.

Every room should have a focal point be it an architectural element or a work of art you determine or create yourself.

Use your vertical surfaces (walls) for storage with wall units, bookshelves, cabinets, etc. Avoid the thinking that everything needs to be stored or displayed on the floor space of your home.

You Home Can And Should Be Beautiful

I believe a home should be a place a beauty. Beauty can be created on many different levels and incomes..it has less to do with wealth and more to do with desire. In the past several years, as a professional Redesigner and Home Stager and I have been into hundreds of rooms. These rooms have been in multi~million dollars homes and run the gambit down to tiny condos. These are some of the things I have observed.

Organization is the prep work for a beautiful home. A house of order, no matter how humble is a house of beauty.

Disarray and dirt detract from the most beautiful homes. Clean is beautiful. I am not saying be a slave to your home but reasonably clean is invaluable, if you want the beauty to shine through. I use to try to do the whole house in one day..now I have learned to just do a room at a time for the cleaning part and keep it rotating. It takes way less time and works pretty well without being so exhausting.



Where would you rather work? Where are you most likely to find your inspiration?
Cluttered spaces tend to clutter your mind. It actually can block your energy too. In Feng Shui it is called blocking your chi.


By using your creativity you can have a living space that is uniquely designed to meet all the needs of your family. You can make it beautiful! Remember this:

It is not What you have
but
Where you put it
that
Makes all the difference.

Good designing is a combination of science and art. When you become frustrated with not being able to get it just perfect, naturally you will try to think of a remedy. What many people come up with is buying something else to add to the room. This usually doesn't work because it is the placement of your furnishings that make is seem unappealing. Sometimes you just need a fresh perspective. You have great taste so let's just work with what you have and love already.

The most common response I have gotten when revealing a redesigned room to a client is, "Wow! Why didn't I think of that!"

If you need some help with an area of your home, I am willing to work with you via the blog. You can contact me via e-mail at <onedesigningwoman@yahoo.com> I am a certified Redesigner and Professional Home Stager through IRIS.

My fees are reasonable and commensurate with your design needs. I do accept Paypal which makes things so easy and convenient. Let me know if I can help you~no request for help is too trivial or too huge~just let me know and I will quote you a price and get to work for you right away. All I'll need is some photos of your problem areas! Before and After Portfolio Photos available upon request.

Pumpkins Galore

One of the things that use to drive me batty about my mom when she was around my age was that she would just jump in the car and go what I called gallivanting. She use to run to Longs, go home and then run out to the bank and come to our house for awhile, then go home...it was just plain weird to me. I use to wonder how she could stand not having tons of things to do that were worthwhile to keep herself sane. In my mind worthwhile translated to doing, doing, doing for everyone else within a ten mile radius.

Because I was in the summer of my life I had no concept of what autumn would be like. I was so busy with family and kids, carpooling, housework, working outside our home, etc. that it never even occurred to me there could be choices in my life someday about how I would choose to live my day.

Back then there were no real choices....I just kept at it 24/7. Oh, I could change up my routine but why, really? The laundry, carpooling, Church stuff, cooking and cleaning still had to be done. There was always that blanket of exhaustion, and rarely time to do anything for yourself.

I loved that time in my life, don't get me wrong. I know I was engaged in the most important work I would ever do. And there was lots of joy, lots and lots. I am just saying the routine didn't have many options in those days.

The opposite of all that is true of the autumn of your life. You do have a chance finally to do the things you love and are interested in and still keep a home and family in tact. You can still serve a lot and the best part of that is you say when and how. Personal enrichment is something you get to do when and how you want to do it. It is a time of wonderful freedom and opportunity and I love it.

I know I am so much happier now that I was 10 years ago. You still have lots to do and those to do lists never end, but the beauty is you can just do it another day if you wake up and see that it is a beautiful day and you should take some time and get outside and capture it on your digital point and shoot. So that is what I did today and the carpets can wait until Monday. You won't care, will you?

I totally get what mom was doing now and I wish I'd have understood it better then. She was just taking her time and doing her own thing~what a novel idea! She was enjoying her life and relaxing for the first time in her entire life. I sure miss her and what I could learn now that I know what to ask her.

So here are my pumpkin patch photos. Maybe when you are in the autumn of your life you can go take some for someone else to enjoy while they are busy doing the mommy thing!

Mums the word!

Gourds galore!

Love the tiny ones!

White Pumpkins for Bella

This is for Lee!

Lovin' the sunflowers

A real Pomegranate Tree! It has been years
literally since I have seen one of these!

This guy got a little carried away with him pumpkin purchase!
As I was walking by I heard him counting
them...78, 79, 80, 81. OK then!

So I am sure Jim will be thrilled that I only came home
today with one pumpkin! He is so far behind on reading my blog that
he probably won't even know about it until Christmas!
Love having it right here on my computer desk!
Jen, look familiar? I Love it!

Fall Fest Over Here!

I don't know what the problem is with me this year but I am very slow about getting my Fall decorations up and running . Although I am not a big fan of the gruesome, spooky aspects of Halloween, I do love autumn with a passion! So I am happy to finally have a few things out to enjoy for the next several weeks.

My tiny acorns from Zachery & Aynslee!
My favorite and only new thing this year for the season!

Posted by Bonnie at 8:06 AM 0 comments

Simple Pleasures

Shared with Permission from There is no place like home by Kelli

~Simple Pleasures~



I like a simple little house
With flowers by the door,
An ample larder for my needs
And not much more in store.





I like a window toward the sun
And doors that open wide,
The trickle of a bath for birds
With feathered friends beside.





I like a tidy nook inside
Where my books and slippers lie,
A cup for tea, a magazine,
A warming hearth nearby.





I like some trinkets on the sills,
White ruffles at the panes,
The comfort of a sturdy roof
To shelter me from rains.





I like the cozy ambiance,
A place of sweet retreat
Where life unfolds along the way
And each new day's a treat!
-Virginia Borman Grimmer



I found this sweet poem in a recently thrifted Ideals magazine. Feel free to share it on your blog, along with pictures from your own simple little house!

The Three P's of Selling Your Home

It use to be said that in selling your house it was location, location, location. Things have gotten a little more complicated these days. Of course in part this is due to the economy but there are other factors that contribute to my new list.


Place: Of course this is still very important but when you go to sell your home that factor is already established and you have to work with where you already are. As neighborhoods change this can be very frustrating as what once was a beautiful place can change over time. There is little we can do about how our neighbors care for their property although it totally affects the sale of our homes. We also have little influence over new construction around us that can take its toll as well.

Price: Many people think they can set the asking price for their home. Actually this is not the case. The comparable sales (comps) in the neighborhood actually set your asking price. If you have a good agent you will not be asking more than what the market will bear. There is a tendency to think our homes are worth more than they are, especially since the bubble has burst!

Sometimes it is not the best idea to go with a friend or relative as your agent, as they may tend to want to go along with your wishes even when the asking price is too high. Sometimes professionalism and friendship do not mix well. If you do use someone you know well make sure there is an understanding in advance of the listing. If you do not like the price of course you do have some recourse, as you ultimately decide to sell at the lower price or remove the house from the market. But if your real estate agent is worth their salt (and many are), you don't get to say, "I want to ask $1,000,000 for my house because I think that is what it is worth!" when the market will only bear $650,000.


If you are over-priced your house will sit on the market for a long time and you will lose the golden opportunity to sell during that incredible first few weeks when the house is fresh on the market. Once your listing becomes stale it is hard to recapture enthusiasm for it in the real estate community. The rule is the longer the house sits~the lower your selling price will be.

Presentation: This is the place where you actually have some real control. The market is very competitive and the expectations of people are high. It is industry standard now to have your home professionally staged for sale. Did you know that homes sales are based on emotional decisions most of the time? People want to improve their lives with a better house, better, neighborhood, etc.

Professionally Staged by Interiors by Design

They are often exhausted from the work they have just completed on their own homes and want to move into a great, "work free" environment. Of course we all know intellectually that all homes require a lot of work but they do not want to think about that when they tour your home.

The words flooding their minds should be fresh, clean, beautiful, comfortable, inviting. You don't want them thinking, paint, updating required, needs new landscaping, fences are falling, terrible carpeting, etc.

Of the three P's this one is where you can really make a huge difference in the money you put into your pocket as you turn over the keys. Make it shine like a diamond and you will dramatically optimize your chances for a great sale!

Beautiful Boudoirs AKA Bedrooms

Many years ago when we were first married Jim and I had the opportunity to go to Los Angeles and to stay in the home of the parents of one of our friends. This home was located in the beautiful Echo Park and I don't think I'll ever forget it. The place where we stayed was a separate bungalow on the property and the hostess had really thought ahead and made it such a lovely guest room. She had added the lovely touches, a water decanter and two beautiful crystal glasses, luxurious linens, fresh flowers, and fruit, etc. I think that occasion was the beginning of my love affair with comfy, cozy bedrooms and it has continued ever since. I decided that if I ever had a guest room it would be like that if I could possibly do it. I had once heard that you should never have a guest bed that is too comfortable as your guests may want to stay on longer than you like. Well, the bed we have is not the best, unfortunately, as I would love our guests to stay on...but I have tried to make it fun and inviting.

I hate that the lamp cord is in this photo.
It is best to unplug them for photos or get
a better cord management tactic! Whoops!
Hate me, as the Nester would say!

The bedding is from Walmart, inexpensive, but serves it's purpose very well. It is also reversible so that makes it great. It is time for me to turn it over to the patchwork quilted side for the cooler months. I love red and really enjoy it in this room.

In our room I have tried several different kinds of spreads and quilts over the years and I think this is my favorite...at least for now. I love the soothing qualities of white. It just seems so restful and clean and crisp.

You can always double click my photos for a closer look.
I love the pattern on the coverlet.

For a few months I had just a down comforter on the bed but it got so wrinkled each night that it was driving me crazy. I didn't want to give up the white so I found a reasonable coverlet at TJMaxx and now I don't spend time with my Downy Wrinkle Releaser while making the bed every morning! We love our little cottage, it isn't fancy but it is comfy and a fun place to live.

Check out this beautiful bedroom of one of my favorite couples. Again not a pricey redesign, just beautifully thought out and put together. The pretty bedding is also from Walmart. It doesn't take a fortune to have a nice place to rest from your labors at the end of a busy day.

Check out this beautiful room~love the bedding!

What have you done to create a beautiful, inviting bedroom that doesn't break the bank?
(They are doing fine on their own! But that is a discussion for another day!)