Orange Drapes

Orange is a color that remains popular for drapes. Here in New Orleans silk taffeta, or silk drapes still rule the day. Not everyone has the budget, and I have been using a faux silk drapes found at Overstock, Half-Price Drapes, and through Houzz. Right now Houzz is having a great sale on these drapes.

The trick is to have custom rods and rings made. I use Shading Places, (985) 373-4134, ask for Jennifer. My rod of choice is  return to the wall.

Here's the link to Houzz sale. 
And the link to Overstock.
Also the link to Half Price Drapes.

Usually when a sale like this is so widespread the merchandise is about to be discontinued. So get them now!

The high end drapes in the second picture were made by Perch. Shading Places also does beautiful high end drapes, and is part of my team. The "low" end drapes in first photo are from Overstock and are also sold via Houzz.

Faux silk drapes in Harvest Orange I used for a client on a budget - Interior Design by Valorie Hart

High end drapes in apricot silk I had custom made for a client - Interior Design by Valorie Hart

Orange IS The New Black

"Orange offers emotional strength in difficult times. It helps us to bounce back from disappointments and despair, assisting in recovery from grief."

"The color orange radiates warmth and happiness, combining the physical energy and stimulation of red with the cheerfulness of yellow. Orange relates to 'gut reaction' or our gut instincts, as opposed to the physical reaction of red or the mental reaction of yellow." from Color Psychology

My living room - Orange "helps us to bounce back from disappointments and despair, assisting in recovery from grief."

I have always loved the color orange from soft apricots, to a clear clean orange, to neon, to muted harvest oranges...well you get the picture. It is perfect to use in any dose you choose, from an accent color up to the main event. 

Use an orange throw if you just want a little accent of it

I use orange in my bedroom as an accent color

I did a product pick on Houzz that made it to the Houzz home page and it struck a chord. I posted a ton of cute affordable stuff in orange. Go check it out, Keep Your Eyes Peeled for Orange.

Here are some images to get you going with orange. If you are an orange lover, tell us how you use it!

Very pretty and trad use of orange in a bedroom, and some vintage elements mixed in

I am so doing this color block idea next time I paint a chair

Mod, retro, Mid Century Modern is where orange rules!

Orange taffeta drapes look wonderful - I tell you where to buy affordable ones at Houzz - this is a room I did for a client

The softest of oranges in this bedroom

Orange drapes in a contemporary room with a mix of antiques and modern art

Pop in an orange lamp or bedding or toss pillows - go to Houzz to see some I found for you

Ten Hideous Things

Houzz had a funny and cute post, 10 Things People Really Don't Want in Their Homes.

Of course, I took I look around my home and found a few of the dreaded ten things. Sometimes these things cannot be avoided. You buy a house that has something you cannot afford to change. Or you rent a place where you are not allowed to make a change.

The dreaded recliner - photo from Houzz

I believe you can always work with what you have through the super powers of the decorator and the magical use of smoke and mirrors, the offensive can be made tolerable and sometimes even beautiful.

Guilty guilty guilty! Laminate floors came with the house - I actually don't hate them -They are the easiest thing to keep clean - Fabric on wall is meant to look like wallpaper - Fake flower cherry blossoms are mixed with real ones for the photo shoot  - photo by Sara Essex Bradley

I also believe that one woman's/man's ugly is another ones beauty. It's your home and it should be the way it makes you happy.

Now when it comes to clients, they may love fake plants or something that doesn't jibe with a designers vision or aesthetic. Our talent is to make it work, because we don't live there. Just stash the plant for the photo shoot.

Guilty, guilty, guilty! Fake flowers on nightstands, walls painted to look like wallpaper (by Mitchell Settoon), laminate floor, and does this rug qualify for carpet? What about the padded fabric covered wall behind the bed? Photo by Sara Essex Bradley which appears in Susana Salk's New book Decorate Fearlessly published by Rizzoli - Get that book!

Decorate Fearlessly by Susanna Salk - From Rizoli: "Featuring inspiring interiors from today’s top designers, Decorate Fearlessly shows us how to be bold and personal with our design choices, creating spaces that we love to live in. Decorate Fearlessly is both a photographic trove of fabulously designed homes—by such renowned designers as Mary McDonald, Ashley Hicks, Alex Papachristidis, and Jonathan Adler, among many others—and an inspirational how-to-decorate volume with spirit and verve."  I am one of the "many others" - There are two photos of my work in this book!

I went through some of my pictures to show you the offending things I have that Houzz says that people really don't want in their homes.

Guilty! My walls are not perfect enough to install wallpaper, and I can't afford the wallpaper I love, so I faked wallpaper in my office - photo by Sara Essex Bradley

Here's the real wallpaper done by designer Eric Cohler that appeared in House Beautiful

Guilty! My office, where I faked a Tricia Guild wallpaper - actually Mitchell Settoon painted the ombre wall for me - photo by Sara Essex Bradley

Tricia Guild wallpaper

Here's the list:
1. Carpet (I don't have it, I have area rugs on the dreaded laminate)
2. Laminate flooring (guilty!)
3. Taxidermy (don't have it now, but I have had it)
4. Vertical blinds (don't have them)
5. Fake flowers (guilty)
6. Wallpaper (guilty kind of) 
7. Too many knick-knacks (Duh. Define too many)
8. Fluorescent lighting (don't have it)
9. Recliners (don't have one but I have wrestled with having them in the past, trying to find a cute one)
10. Clowns (now that depends on whose coming over) 

Send in the clown - or is it an undercover decor police officer

Before the decor police come and fine me or take me off to rehab, fess up and tell us: Which of the 10 things people really don't want in their homes do you have?

Blush Crush

Runway to home. Blah blah blah. But let's face it fashion influences home decor and vice-versa.

Nicole Gibbons gets the trend right - photo from Focal Point

Blush, pale pink especially, is a huge fashion trend and yes it has trickled down to decorating, and not just bedrooms, tweens, and nurseries. Main living spaces are blushing too.

Nicole Gibbons

Nicole Gibbons

My recent post, From the Runway to Your Home: Spring Trends for 2014 at Houzz has a ton of affordable stuff you can get for your houzzzzz now. Go check it out.

From the Runway to Your Home: Spring Trends for 2014 at Houzz

Another huge fashion trend for Spring 2014 is head-to-toe denim.

This may be a little tricky to do in a room, but if you are not too literal you can do it in shades of blue, including denim. Go to From the Runway to Your Home: Spring Trends for 2014 at Houzz
to see some great denim stuff you can get for your house. 

Of course I love the denim texture wall, and probably would do a fabric covered wall because that's the way I roll

What about you guys - do fashion trends trickle down into your decorating?

Back On The Horse

It's coming up to two months since Alberto died. Grief will not be hurried. But thanks to friends and family and tango folks and clients and you my fellow bloggers I manage to put one foot in front of the other. I am trying to get back on the proverbial horse.

This is the Year of the Horse on the Chinese calendar. It will be a fast year full of conflicts according to some astrologers HERE 

But it's a great year for decorating with horse inspired home accents.

Uber designer Jamie Herzlinger masterfully uses a painting with horses

Check out my guest product picks at Houzz inspired by The Year of the Horse. I am sure you will find something you like.

In the meantime, I am hanging on for dear life.  Each day I remember the love Alberto had for me. His love will ultimately get me to the other side of grief.

Where To Buy A Little Something Plum

Plum seems to be the front runner in the color of the year arena.  I continued my love affair with it, in my post for Houzz this month.

Plum is so moody

Plum Alexandra chair designed by Suzanne Kasler - interior design by Liz Caan

I share a ton of things you can buy at reasonable prices in plum. Go and take a look at Houzz. 

Check out my product picks in plum at Houzz

How would you add a little plum to a room in your house?

Add an accent of plum to your house - I listed a ton in my my post I Heart Plum at Houzz

Plum pairs well with magenta and chartreuse - check out my post I Heart Plum at Houzz for accents in these colors

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What Do You Think Of Radiant Orchid?

By now you must know that that the color of the year for 2014 is Radiant Orchid. It's a purple pink color that one might associate with a nursery or a tween room. Could it be sophisticated enough in rooms for adults?

Orchid chairs, lampshades on the mantel, and rug pair well with green walls in this pretty trad adult room - The nuance in the stripe slipcovers make it work

I think it could. Like any strong color, if you love it you can use it liberally. If it's not your favorite, you can add a dollop or two to freshen up a room for now. After all, another color of the year will always come along.

This layered room uses shades of orchid - wallpaper, chairs, paint on ceiling, and rug

Orchid wallpaper is a great way to update the entry hall - and you could just do one wall - or you could just pop in a peony posy on your entry hall  table or chest

The bedroom is a perfect place for orchid walls and bedding

Here's the thought bubble from runway to home decor - Adding art work in hues of orchid is certainly a way to go

Paint is the easiest way to update a room - I love these bookcases painted orchid - See how it pairs well with blue

Love the orchid painted bookcases, but maybe you could just recover a couple of stools instead

This pale neutral room takes a dollop of orchid very well

Go big or go home! I tell you where to get an orchid color couch and rugs at Houzz

Throws and pillows are the easy and fast ways to add orchid

Mixing all shades of purple and pink of the same hue and value read as orchid

Adding an orchid area rug will update your room instantly

Orange pairs well with orchid - Mmmmm I have orange chairs in my living room

This month on Houzz, I chose some things you can buy in the color of the year to add to your decor. While some are a direct color match, others are a liberal interpretation in the purple-pink range.

Check out my post at Houzz for  all the great orchid things I found for you

So what do you think? Will you use it? 

You can just add an orchid plant and be done with it!

Something must have been in the air for me this past September when I colored my hair a shade very close to Radiant Orchid ha ha.

Valorie Hart with Radiant Orchid hair - photo by Kate Grace Bauer

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