Designing Diva Interiors

The leaves are beginning to turn and we can finally sleep with the windows open! Fall brings about many of my favorite things and decorating for the cooler season is definitely one of them. That’s why I’m offering a

September Special!

$20 off first hour of Fall Decorating Service, entire month of September.

This service, like all DDI services, is completely customizable and includes anything from decorating fall trees to creating the perfect living and dining spaces for your fall parties!

Ties he’s got. Tools he’s expecting. This Father’s Day give dad something he wants but will never ask for- his own custom Man Cave, media room or home office. THIS WEEK ONLY Designing Diva gift certificates for dad’s special space are available at a special price! Receive $20 off each hour purchased using a gift certificate!

Offer expires June 27, 2010.

Gift certificates expire 3 months from date issued and must be purchased in hourly increments.

I’m not generally one for decorating in over-the-top fashion for the holidays but this is one of those things I could easily put in every room. Make that 10 in every room. Check out creator Kathryn Jordan’s Facebook Marketplace page for more photos and details!

http://apps.facebook.com/marketplace/view/-/1853821909/?orig=NEWSFEED&cm_mmc=Product_Feed-_-Posted-_-edit_listing_news-_-1853821909

These handmade Easter Follies are absolutely adorable and truly unique- custom made to your specifications and color scheme! Put a few in a three-tiered serving stand or pile them into a glass bowl lined with moss (found at craft stores) to create a DIY tablescape. If I were hosting a brunch I would place a small one on each plate on top of the napkin. Or draw some serious attention to kitchen islands, buffets or fireplace mantels by setting a small egg on each arm of a candle stick (in place of candles)! Artist extraordinaire Kathryn Jordan will design these holiday gems just for you and ship them in time for Easter! I’ve ordered two for myself just to get started but plan to have others made for Christmas and Thanksgiving.

*Though this was originally written for and published in the Thanksgiving issue of Edmond Active Magazine (www.edmondactive.com) I have re-posted it here. Many of us need affordable hostess gifts year-round, not just during the holidays, and this is one that can easily be customized for any season and occassion! Article published by Sherri Hultner, Hultner Publications.

In need of a unique hostess gift? The following is not only a delightful alternative to the standard bottle of wine, but the recipient may later use   the contents as fall decor. You will need:

- A tin pale (found at craft stores or dollar stores)

- Four cloth napkins in a striped pattern, ideal for fall (found at  Target)

- A petite pumpkin with the hostess’s last name written in a paint pen (or
stick with the first letter of the person’s last name).

- A small canister of flavored tea (room6.com) such as Spearmint Tisane or
White Tea and Pear.

- A scented candle to welcome the scents of the season, such as cinnamon,
nutmeg or Red Current.

-Tie a grossgrain ribbon around the pail, display your goodies in the
container and become the hostess’s favorite guest!

Approximate cost: $15-25

By Jennifer Hicks, C.I.D.
Owner, Designing Diva Interiors LLC
405.816.9716
WWW.DECORATEOKC.NET

Visit my friends at Cedarburg Square (http://cedarburgsquare.com/) this week to take advantage of their store-wide OFF CLEARANCE SALE! Take home your favorite accessories and gift items like table lamps, accent rugs, artwork, fragrance diffusers and more at prices you won’t likely find again soon as the store prepares for new shipments arriving from market in the spring. Holiday items are 50% off, home accents are 10% off!

Need a little help creating a designer look with your new finds? Designing Diva Interiors, LLC offers guidance from beginning to end with shopping assistance to decorating your new space.

DESIGNING DIVA INTERIORS LIMITED TIME OFFER:

Receive $5.00 off initial consultation. First-time clients only, please.

Expires 1.31.10

My Diva E-News goes out periodically and keeps readers informed on the latest trends in design, my favorite home decor must-have’s, DIY tips and other info I collect from professionals across the country! If you would like to subscribe to this free newsletter, please contact Jennifer@decorateokc.net and simply type “Subscribe” in the subject line. Happy Decorating!

Every year we spend money buying new candles, especially during the holiday season. The problem is most clients I visit have a closet full of partially used, dusty and forgotten candles which means their money is literally going up in smoke every time they bring home a new one.

Stephanie of Mustang, OK  (aka Diva’s Mom) discovered a handy tip that will give her old candles new life this Christmas and she wanted to share it with us!

Spray a small amount of Pam Cooking Spray (or a similar non-stick product) on the dusty candle and wipe clean with a damp cloth.

Make last year’s pillars look like this year’s favorite accessory by adding the following for a completely refreshed look:

1) Add sprigs of garland at the base of the pillar and surround with cranberries (I used a cake stand as the candleholder).

2) If the color of the candle is still faded after using Pam spray to dust clean, coat the candle with a glue stick and  roll in a glitter that matches your color scheme.

3) Unwanted broaches and pins make lovely additions to larger candles. Simply push the broach into the side of the pillar candle so that it stays put and you’ve got instant bling!

People tend to believe that their decorating problems are unique; that they are the only people on the block with outdated furniture, with a bad room plan, with a themed room gone wrong. But truth be told I hear a lot of the same complaints from homeowners and that is never more true than at this time of year. Holiday decor has always been a mish-mash of collected items from over the years, in my home and in most homes I visit.  I don’t know anyone who has a perfectly coordinated Christmas look– sure, your gift wrap may match your ornaments but that’s as far as most people get. I’m not encouraging a Stepford Wife approach to holiday decorating, either, I’m simply saying that most folks have common issues with their holiday decor and its my job-I mean joy- to solve them! The most common gripes include “Everything I have is hand-me-down and nothing matches,” or “My Christmas decorations are so old, I don’t even know what’s in style this year.” My solutions to these individual households are very customized but in general you could safely stick to these rules:

1) If you have a collection of odd and end decorations, work with it! Its called “eclectic” (or “Bohemian” if you’re from the east) and it works because it looks effortless! This usually ends up looking very colorful and its okay if every ornament isn’t color matched or if you have pink ribbon in one room and green in the other. Think more “Dr Suesse” than “Martha Stewart” and you will easily pull off this playful style on a tight budget.

2) Add a little sprinkle of “new” to your decor. So obviously the kids’ reindeer cutouts from kindergarten have to go up but there’s nothing stopping you from adding a few new pieces to give the room an entirely different look from years past. But be disciplined and make a list before you go shopping otherwise you will get easily overwhelmed and end up purchasing more than you had intended. I recommend replacing the garland every two years depending on its quality. Replace the tree skirt every year (3-5 yards of fabric will do the trick and is only $8 compared to a $50 off-the-rack skirt. Tuck under the raw edges and no one will notice!) and the silk floral arrangements every 3-5 years.

3) For a more tailored look, choose three colors. Two will be your main colors (what your ornaments, tree skirt, gift wrap, candles, etc will be in). The third will be your accent color (use on throws, candle holders, decorative plates, ribbon– smaller doses). Carry these color scheme throughout the home for a designer look.

4) Stick with classic pieces and ornaments if in doubt. Trends are..well, trendy, but if you haven’t shopped for Christmas decorations in several years you could run the risk of going in the very extreme opposite direction (having very outdated decoration to having very modern decorations all over the place, which looks forced) in the middle of the excitement.  You can never go wrong with glass ball ornaments in clear urns, vases, bowls, etc. 

*Photos by Cheryl Meares of Captured By Cheryl Photography www.capturedbycheryl.com, Edmond, OK.

“Although we find Christmas tree alternatives intriguing here on AT, there is nothing quite as satisfying as a fresh Christmas tree to cheer up your home. If you have the yard space and inclination, you can select a living tree and lessen your environmental impact of this holiday season. Here are some trees that will thrive out West.

Sunset Magazine put together a guide for selecting the proper Christmas tree for your “zone”.

Left to Right, Top to Bottom:
1. Alpine Fir
2. Deodar Cedar
3. Australian Black Pine
4. Douglas Fir
5. Giant Sequoia
6. Norway Spruce

Say you don’t want a Christmas tree in your yard after the season is over? You might consider getting a living Christmas tree and then gifting it to a friend with ample land when you are through with it. If you are lucky enough to live around Portland, Oregon you can rent a living Christmas tree from The Original Living Christmas Tree Company. For $80 you can have a tree delivered to your home mid-December and picked up on January 2nd.”

So now that your options have been laid out for you, get thee to the nearest tree farm (my family loves the Coffee Creek Tree Farm in Arcadia, OK) so you can start enjoying your fresh dose of Christmas cheer! Need decorating tips for that beautiful new tree? Keep an eye on this blog for more inexpensive tips you can do in a hurry!

*Note from Designing Diva Interiors, LLC:

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