HGTV's Front Door has a great piece today that I wanted to share with you. If you are not sure what style of home is for you, watch these short videos about the history and architecture of the various styles. It is fun and very informative.
From Blissfully Domestic
(My additions in orange after the article)"Shoes, handbags, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, scarves. Seriously, I have a teeny bit of an obsession when it comes to the peripheral portion of my closet.
Mainly, because I am cheap. And the thrifty fashionistas secret weapon is understanding that the most frugal way to stay "current" is to let your accessories do all the work. Remember this:
Buy classic clothes that flatter and pair them with trendy accessories for a look that is always in style.
The End."
Unfortunately, while accessories are the easiest way to keep up with the latest fashion trends, they can also be the most overwhelming to figure out. It can be difficult to determine how much is too much, which colors "go" and which ones don't have to.
Everything You Need To Know About Adding Accessories To Your Wardrobe
1. Make A Statement - but just one.
Our grandmothers used to call them "signature pieces". Of course, they usually meant the strand of pearls you never left home without. In today's style world we've moved beyond the classic strand and you now have a wide range of Statement Pieces to choose from.
Experiment with a large attention getting bracelet or a brightly colored necklace. Maybe you'll finally put on those leopard print shoes or chandelier earrings (that I am not giving up no matter what is supposed to be "in").
Whether you're an accessory hog or just learning to be more brave with your style, it's always smart to let one bold piece have center stage.
2. It doesn't have to match - it just has to "go".
Fans of the show What Not To Wear will have heard Stacey London use this phrase over and over again. Because it's true. You aren't limited to your shirt and pants when it comes to picking out colors for your accessories. In fact introducing a new color can be a great way to create a pulled together look.
I find that the easiest way to do this is to start with a fairly neutral outfit. An all black dress or a mainly solid top paired with denim provides the perfect blank canvas for your more colorful shoes or jewelery.
How do you know which colors "go"? Think in terms of color palettes. For visual tips (and new ideas!) you can use an online tool like this one at COLOURlovers.
3. Accentuate The Positives That No One Notices
The most timeless way to use accessories is to pull out a color that is already somewhere in your wardrobe. A slight cautionary note here: this is only a good idea if you are already wearing quite a few colors! A black dress with black shoes, black bag and black jewelry is only appropriate for a funeral. If you're the widow.
A better way to draw from your existing color palette is to match your jewelry (or shoes, or bag or scarf or whatever) to a color that isn't otherwise understated in your outfit. I have a pair of yellow shoes that I absolutely love with what is mostly a burnt orange top. The yellow in the shirt is barely noticeable, but adding the Cannot Be Ignored shoes creates an overall look that is both warm and striking.
As a rule, you don't have to use colors that are exactly the same when you're picking up on details. Keeping it in the family is usually your best bet to make this style tip work.
And that's it.
No - really. That is truly everything you need to know to start playing around in the accessory aisle with confidence. As with almost everything in life, the key is to relax and keep it simple."
I was thinking about this article and the similarities between interior design and fashion are amazing. I am in complete agreement about buying classic and adding the bling. By accessorizing with fun items in both your home and your wardrobe you can really step it up and make your look more unique.
I have a real thing about not having everything match. Matchy ~Matchy is very boring. Too much sameness is ho-hum. Asking yourself if it goes together is a better criterion to use in making your determination if something works, than asking does it match.
To me one of the things that makes something striking is a little element of surprise or whimsy. Change it up a little and you can have a lot of fun, stay relatively current and create your own signature style.
Like the article says, one reason to think this way is that accessories are the least expensive way to decorate anything~your home or yourself!
When you make an effort to look your best~you tend to feel better about yourself too. I like Fly Lady's
thing about getting up and getting ready for the day the first thing in the morning. If not, the day tends to slip away from you. When I do that, I feel crummy and out of sync all day long.
The same goes for our homes~a morning routine that spruces things up and sets things in order makes for a better day~everyday.
Just like your home, the way you dress yourself affects how you feel and how you feel affects just about everything in your life. You don't have to be beautiful, or thin, or rich, or exotic looking or young to look good. You just have to make an effort and put some thought into it. Being your best self is an important and fun thing to do.
The same goes for your home. Be it ever so humble~make it beautiful. It doesn't take a lot of money or talent, as much as it requires a desire to live your best life.
Be reasonable though, OK?
Just kidding~If you Like It~
There is Something Good About it!
Claim it and make it YOURS!
Imagine my surprise today when I received an e-mail advertising Room With A Past's upcoming sale. I blogged about them once before. Each month they send out this e-mail and then they attach some pertinent info.
Apparently they have started a blog themselves. I was reading the second entry on the page and found this post featuring my blog! Whoa, such great advertising for me here in our local area. I love this place, these sweet ladies, and the blogsphere! Such kindnesses as sharing information in our areas of interest and business is simply SWEET! I cannot wait to hop on over there this weekend for their sale. It is a real treasure hunt every time!
Some flowers to brighten your day to begin!
Anything would be better than empty, right?
Taken from the stairway landing.
The wall in the living room opposite the front door.
The dining area is connected to the
I kept the kitchen really simple as it is small
Upstairs the condo has a master bedroom, one bathroom
In the office the same type of geometric, modern art has
It is nearly impossible to photograph a small bathroom but I wanted to show you what I came up with for the towels. I found and purchased this art piece and remembered I had some black and white towels in the warehouse with a design very similar to the design at the top of the picture. I thought it might be fun to combine the black and white and orange and this is the result.
Double click to see the pattern on the picture.
Here is the Master Bedroom and the aqua we started with. 
These two photos not the greatest but gives
I count you as true friends for hanging in there with us through this remodeling project. I know I have been blog perserverating on it. The kitchen being the heart of the home, it seems to command our attention always but, when it is in upheaval it affects us on many levels. I feel so blessed and fortunate to have it done finally. The big miracle is that I managed to lose 30 pounds during all this stress of five months of remodeling. Talk about the ultimate test of one's endurance...yikes. I think we only ate out about two times during all of it which is a major miracle as well.
The biggest miracle of all is that I have a husband who is phenomenal, persistent, and perfectly professional in his work. I think I love him more right this second than I ever have! (Labor and Delivery Rooms would be a strong contender also.) Anyway, here are the last of the photos of some of the places not previously shared.
Jim's very good friend, Dave came to help him hang the doors last night.
Two hours later they were done! 
The Reward!
Above the stove I have this great Sunflower I bought in Salt Lake last year during Hazie's long hospital stay. It reminds me that there is sunshine and hope if we look to the Son.
~The Inside of my Antique Cabinet~
It was cold this morning so here's the fire!I really enjoy reading some of the posts on Julia's Hook On Houses blog each Friday. People go there and just link posts about anything that makes them happy. Check it out here. This post is also being shared on theinspiredroom.net on Melissa's Happy Life blog event today. And don't forget to check out Kelli's House for her Show and Tell blog party today.
Today I am hooked on the remodeling we have been doing lately. Not only do I love the new look we are creating but I love the unity it brings to my husband and to me as we work together to create a home we enjoy. Day by day things are getting done. Jim has been working tirelessly on all the aspects of making this a great place to be. The process has been slow and laborious and so worth it. Here are a few sneak peeks as we are still working on the cabinetry. Double clicking will enlarge any picture.
I have used a lot of copper in the room so decided on the burnished copper hardware. I really love it. It compliments the Silestone, brick tone counter top and white cabinets nicely.
I got this copper tray with the black leather liner from a client that was moving. If you love garage sales and thrifting you would love my job. People are so generous when they are moving and delight in getting rid of a lot of their things to lighten the load. This happened to belong to my friends, Helen and Larry, so it has added meaning to me, plus it has the colors and textures I was working with to create an old world Italian look in the kitchen. I actually used three things they gave me, I'll point them out to you.
I have a rather extensive pear collection and they go great with the colors I used in the room. The jar I have showed once before and it was my thrift store find for $4.99. I went online and researched pears in Italy to see if it could work in with my Italian theme. Much to my delight I learned that pears were grown extensively throughout Italy until about 100 years ago. So Voila, the authenticity was there, so I brought them into the kitchen.
The fruit on the copper plates in these art pieces were my inspiration for the room. The cat on the shelf is for all the cats that inhabit the Vatican area. I heard there are more cats than residents there. The sculpted bust is representative of all of Italy's beautiful art.
Last year we made our first trip to Italy and loved every place we went. Venice was a real favorite and I happened to find this wall art with the perfect colors. When I see it I remember that enchanting time and can just see our grandsons, Spencer and Ross making a silly face, standing on the bridge getting their pictures taken. I love to accessorize with things that bring wonderful things to my remembrance.
I love this little wire covered tray and decided to make a little bird cage out it to give these little wooden birds a place to live. These little birds were purchased on a very special shopping day with our daughter, Laura, when they were living in CA near us.
"I also love this because it says to my brothers..
I was able to take a lot of the accessories out of my home decor inventory from our design business. That was helpful. I think these flowers are perfect in the room.
We a had our first company for dinner last night~a couple of great young missionaries and Barbara and Alex came. It was fun and has been quite awhile since we have had people over.
Loved these dishes that came from our inventory as well.
The large wooden mortar and pestle was a gift from my last client and is actually from Italy. She is a professional chef and I will treasure this gift. I had actually been looking for one online at the time she gave it to me. The large terracotta urn was a purchase made on a great shopping trip with my dear friend Michelle. I think of her when I see it. Now she is living in Canada and we all miss them! The black metal garden element on the hearth was captured from the front porch and painted black by Jim.
More pears!
I like these bottles and again, they came from the warehouse.
This is one thing I did buy new. When I saw this table it just seemed like it was made for our room. The colors on it could not be more perfect and the old world look is fabulous. The copper rooster...warehouse find. I'll show you the cabinet side of the room when it is done~soon hopefully!
The old broom and the copper plate that holds the crock on the table with the vines are both from Larry and Helen's home. The grandkids call that broom the Harry Potter broom! I just love its gnarly old broom handle.
The large copper clock is from our library. I use to have a regulator clock in here so I just switched them out to bring in more copper. Jim painted our ceiling fan blades black to go with the black appliances and black fireplace. Shopping the house makes sense as we all tend to have a thread of similar things that we collect because we like them.
I had a coppery, metal wall art piece of an olive branch so I put that over the window. I bought it to put over a couch in a home we staged once, and remember thinking I'd probably never use it again. Now we enjoy it everyday. We have complete privacy so we are not putting window coverings in the room. Until next time~enjoy the home you are creating each day! I think I said "love" way too many times in this post! Each was heartfelt, however!
