submitted by: Jennifer
08/31/10
Have you ever received a beautiful canvas or the latest family portrait only to let it sit in the corner for six months? You’re afraid to hang it- what if you don’t hang it with the right nail and it falls? You don’t know where it should go. You hate damaging the painted walls. The reasons why folks avoid hanging their treasured artwork go on and on. Real Simple Magazine is here to help!
- Beware of sunlight and heat, both of which can damage art. When you have pieces framed, ask for UV-coated glass. And take note of windows and radiators before you choose a spot for anything precious.
- Tighten slack wires on the backs of frames, especially if your goal is precision hanging (lining up art in a grid, say). A loose wire makes it hard to control the height of a piece.
- To protect walls, use peel-and-stick clear rubber bumpers on the back corners of frames. Rubber pads, $4.50 for 18, dickblick.com.
- Choose the right hooks for the weight of your art. Ook brand hooks offer a range of up to 160 pounds and leave tiny holes that are easy to repair if you change your mind. Shields professional hangers, from $5, ooks.com.
- Fix mistakes on a white wall with Spackle (sold at hardware stores) and a fingertip. Apply a tiny dot over a hole, then smooth with a damp paper towel. (White toothpaste can do the job in a pinch.)
Tags: canvas, hanging artwork, photos, portraits, Real Simple Magazine
Posted in DIY | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/29/10
Designing Diva Interiors LLC wouldn’t be what it is today if not for the clients and social media fans. To reward your gracious referrals and loyalty DDI is offering freebies to the 600th Facebook Fan AND the person who invited them! What’s in it for you? You will win a Designing Diva Interiors gift certificate plus a gift certificate for Showplace Market (www.showplacemarket.com). Moore, Oklahoma’s newest shopping experience has over 100 local vendors offering everything from baby fashion to unique home decor. Our two lucky duckies will win gift certificates to this bargain mecca, or, if you live outside of the OKC Metro, a gift certificate to Starbucks or Target, winner’s choice. So check us out on Facebook today under “Designing Diva Interiors” and tell your friends! Each day you will find the link to my daily blog, Back Talk, as well as useful design tips, heads-up on sales, both online and local, and so much more!
Tags: designer, Designing Diva Interiors LLC, facebook, fan, following, freebies, Giveaways, interior decorator, Jennifer Hicks, prize
Posted in Drawings/Prizes | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/26/10
Designing Diva Interiors LLC wouldn’t be what it is today if not for the clients and social media fans. To reward your gracious referrals and loyalty DDI is offering freebies to the 600th Facebook Fan AND the person who invited them! What’s in it for you? You will win a Designing Diva Interiors gift certificate plus a gift certificate for Showplace Market (www.showplacemarket.com). Moore, Oklahoma’s newest shopping experience has over 100 local vendors offering everything from baby fashion to unique home decor. Our two lucky duckies will win gift certificates to this bargain mecca, or, if you live outside of the OKC Metro, a gift certificate to Starbucks or Target, winner’s choice. So check us out on Facebook today under “Designing Diva Interiors” and tell your friends! Each day you will find the link to my daily blog, Back Talk, as well as useful design tips, heads-up on sales, both online and local, and so much more!
Tags: facebook, freebie, Giveaways
Posted in Drawings/Prizes | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/25/10
Maybe its the vibrant colors, or the intricate detail in every square inch; there’s just something about the works of French painter Jean-Leon Gerome that thrill my heart (and my eyes!). I would love to hang this hand-painted reproduction above an 18th century buffet with gray-blue walls for backdrops.
You can see all of Gerome’s work and order reproductions at http://www.jeanleongerome.org/.
Tags: French artist, hand painted art, Jean-Leon Gerome, painter
Posted in Eye On Art | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/24/10
As much as I am a proponant of custom window coverings that fulfill your every whim, let’s be honest: not everyone has the budget for them. At times it isn’t necessarily the issue of money that holds you back, but if you’re anything like me, your tastes simply change too often to commit to custom draperies. Whatever your reason, inexpensive store-bought window panels or drapes may be the answer to your decorating dilemma. Not sure where to begin? Here are a few pointers to get you on your way along with some of my top picks right now:
1) Start with your measurements. Store-bought draperies come in limited standard sizes so those of you with odd-shaped windows or exceptionally large windows will be out of luck. 84″ or 94″ is what you will likely find on store shelves and this is the typical window length. However, I always hang the curtain rod closer to the ceiling than to the top of the window itself which makes a room appear taller. This means you will need to 94″ panels for an 84″ window, or 104″ panels for a 94″ window.
2) Pick your color palette. While its true that custom-designed draperies offer infinite color and pattern choices, there are plenty of options for the person buying off-the-shelf these days. So that you don’t get overwhelmed when shopping, take a look around the house and pick one to three colors that you want to bring out in your window treatments. Using decorating blogs like this one, magazine photos or search engines online can be a useful tool here; simply type in your color palette to see what’s out there (for example, “Red and white 94″ window panels”).
3) Know what you need them to do. If you’re buying for a bedroom and prefer complete darkness you will want to look for black-out panels which are lined with an opaque fabric on the backside to keep sun out. If natural sunlight and privacy isn’t an issue, you may be shopping for sheer panels.
Ready to start shopping? Here are some of my favorites of the season; maybe one of these will be the the perfect fit for your naked window!
"Amelia", Pier1, $24.88
"Woven Floral", Pier1, $45
"Smocked Drape", Pottery Barn, $50
"Velvet Drape", Pottery Barn, $89
"Textured Belgian Linen", Restoration Hardware, $129
Tags: 84" window panels, curtain, decorating, drapery, interior design, Pier1, Pottery Barn, store-bought, treatments, window panels
Posted in DIY, home improvement, new products | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/23/10
Never heard of it? Don’t beat yourself up, you decorating maven! Its not exactly covered on the front pages of Better 
Homes & Garden Magazine (don’t I wish). Susan Rapp of Urban Style Decor Blog writes “Mystery + Beauty surround the Bohemian Chic Lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to express your soft romantic side and create beauty in home decor. Whether it be a city loft by the river or a downtown brownstone, we all need a little { pretty } in our hectic urban lives. So, if you love culture + fashion + design, come embrace a little bit of the sweet “Vanity Fair Vintage” lifestyle.”
When someone asks me to define my style I never have a clear cut answer. Mostly because it changes every three days. I help other people mold their style. But when I saw Rapp’s blog on the Bohemian Chic Lifestyle I 
knew she’d struck a nerve in this decorator. The photos she used are every single thing I wish I had in my haven, from the 19th century Rococo-style sette to the rustic iron lantern ~ I had finally come home. And there was a name for the beautiful (sometimes beat up) pieces I was always being drawn to!!
Not sure where to begin? First I recommend soaking up the charm that vintage pieces possess. Rid yourself of the idea that everything has to be “perfect”. There is infinite beauty in the most imperfect things on this earth. Then I suggest you forget all those “rules” little miss Martha Stewart has taught you. This is perhaps one of the most liberating decorating styles out there simply because there are no rules. You decorate with what feels good to you, whether that’s a 50 year old tea pot you found at an estate sale or a wooden bench you brought back from a trip in the Poconos. So let your inner Collector go wild and uncover the Bohemian Chic in you that’s been dying for you to drop the IKEA catalog!
Tags: 19th century, antiques, apartment, Bohemian Chic, charming furniture, collection, decorating, interior decor, lighting, loft, rustic, settee, vintage
Posted in Design Trends, Fave websites/blogs, Favorite articles | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/19/10
Let me be honest; most of my blog posts are probably written mostly for women and read by mostly women. So today I would like to offer for your consideration a little something for the fellas. The single ones who think hanging a beach towel on the wall with a hula dancer on it constitutes art (it doesn’t, Ryan).
ApartmentTherapy.com has this awesome section on the ultimate bachelor pad. Check it out here: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/house-tours/jeremy-ralphs-bachelor-pad-house-call-124725! Need to get your bachelor pad in shape (come on, that sofa you found on the side of the road isn’t exactly wooing the ladies)? Call Jennifer Hicks, C.I.D., at Designing Diva Interiors LLC!
Tags: apartment, bachelor pad, decorating, loft, men
Posted in Fave websites/blogs, Favorite articles, Home staging, home improvement | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/15/10
“We didn’t have much time to get our home ready to be put on the market. Jennifer quickly worked with our realtor to stage every room so that buyers would be “wowed” by the space. We love the openness she created and how every inch of our home is showcased now for maximum effect!”
-Kim Grignon, Edmond
We love these kinds of words from happy clients! You might be asking yourself what home staging actually is and more importantly, does it actually work? I have listed a few links below that will answer these questions and help you decide if professional home staging is what your home has been missing!
“Selling Emotions”
http://blog.edmondoklahomesforsale.com/index.php/selling-emotions-by-jennifer-hicks-cid/seller-tips/855/
“So What Can A Home Stager Do For Me?”
http://blog.edmondoklahomesforsale.com/index.php/so-what-can-a-home-stager-do-for-me/seller-tips/969/
“What To Look For In a Home Stager”
http://blog.edmondoklahomesforsale.com/index.php/what-to-look-for-in-a-home-stager/seller-tips/1012/
Tags: edmond, Home staging, moore, mustang, norman, oklahoma city, Oklahoma real estate, ryan hukill, yukon
Posted in DDI in the media, Fave websites/blogs, Favorite articles, Home staging, home improvement | No Comments »
submitted by: Jennifer
08/11/10
I have a new crush. Its green. No, it isn’t money (although I appreciate that, too)…. its actually green- the color. Its all over 
the design scene right now and my attraction to it has taken me by surprise. I’m usually drawn to pinks, blacks, greys and milky whites but I’m seeing glossy green on everything from tables to floors and I’m completely infatuated! We’re not talking about mint or olive. This is like a color from “Alice In Wonderland”- bright yet not obnoxious, playful yet classic.
Using the laquered version of this color in my home probably isn’t going to happen- not on the scale I would like. My husband isn’t one for bold colors or patterns, he’s more of a rustic, earth-tones fan. BUT! There is hope for me yet… he has zero preference 
about the back patio and I’m claiming that space as my own come fall. I think I’ll have OKC’s Custom Powder Coating makeover my outdoor furniture with a high-gloss green; the color of poison ivy. My mind swirls with the possibilities I’ll never get to incorporate into our abode (but maybe I can use yours to play in?):
*Painted on the floor of a loft apartment
* Laquered on the cabinets of a small kitchen
* Glossed onto a bathroom vanity
* Used on an end table
* Used on Baroque frames in a foyer
This could get fun…
Tags: accents, ceiling, color, floor, frames, furniture, green paint, high gloss, laquer, mirrors, trends, walls
Posted in Design Trends, home improvement | No Comments »
Designing Diva Interiors LLC wouldn’t be what it is today if not for the clients and social media fans. To reward your gracious referrals and loyalty DDI is offering freebies to the 600th Facebook Fan AND the person who invited them! What’s in it for you? You will win a Designing Diva Interiors gift certificate plus a gift certificate for Showplace Market (www.showplacemarket.com). Moore, Oklahoma’s newest shopping experience has over 100 local vendors offering everything from baby fashion to unique home decor. Our two lucky duckies will win gift certificates to this bargain mecca, or, if you live outside of the OKC Metro, a gift certificate to Starbucks or Target, winner’s choice. So check us out on Facebook today under “Designing Diva Interiors” and tell your friends! Each day you will find the link to my daily blog, Back Talk, as well as useful design tips, heads-up on sales, both online and local, and so much more!
