{rules to live by:decorating}

Two things I've learned from redecorating my living room: One lesson is from Domino Mag and one is from my charming sister-in-law, NieNie.

The first is that the placement of a sofa can do a great deal of good in a room. I moved my white sofa from against the wall to a great open area in front of our exceptionally large window. The natural light bounces off the white fabric and makes the room seem so fresh. I also noticed that all the pictures that I like of family rooms all have a coffee table of some sort. I especially like the bold fabric on this one.

NieNie and I shopped together for a few fabric selections when we were both set on recovering some upholstered chairs for our homes. I felt so lucky to have her there for her opinion and as we walked through the aisles of fabric, she looked through anything and everything and picked very different things. When she had selected a few seemingly "uncoordinating" fabrics, she asked what I thought of them to which I replied, "Well, they are very cute but they don't really match." And then NieNie's secret to her lovely decorating style came out. She said, "Oh, I don't really pick things that go together. I just pick things that I love." That's when I realized why NieNie's home is so wonderful. When you walk in, you feel something that you love but you can't put your finger on it. It's stylish, whimsical, charming and very pretty but it's also very lived in and very loved. Every piece of furniture, every piece of fabric is loved. She loves her home like she loves her family and you feel it when you enter her Dutch door and see the silhouettes hanging on the wall, the delicious green kitchen, the red armoire that my brother made, the leather couch that the children jump off of onto piles of blankets, the fireplace hearth where they sit together as a cozy family, the larged framed Family Proclamation on the wall showing their family beliefs, the uncovered windows leading to the backyard with orange trees dressed in lanterns and the soon-to-be Mulberry Bungalow. It's a very comforting sight for anyone. No matter who you are, you feel at home. I don't know about you, but that's how I want my home to feel. So, I bought a coffee table and purchased a few things that don't necessarily "go together" but I love them. I'll post some pictures after I complete a few finishing touches. Does anyone out there have a few decorating tips that they live by?

{a home office}

My mom's house is very yellow. Not, like bright yellow or even mustard yellow, but a very muted and hardly noticable yellow. It's very pretty and I've always liked it. The outside matches the inside and it's happy and cheerful - just like my mom.

My mom is repainting her yellow house. Guess what color she is having it painted? You guessed it - yellow. However, I think I successfully convinced her to paint one of the guest rooms a natural spring green and her home office a light blue (think the color of my bedroom).

When we had dinner over there on Monday night, my mom and I did a little rearranging and some brainstorming about her home office. I know I've seen some great ideas out there for organizing a home office but I can't seem to locate any of the websites that held that inspiration. Can any of you help?