Sheila Rich Interiors

No matter which holiday you celebrate at this time of year, most of us look forward to bringing out our old family decorations and enjoying them just as much as if they were new. And in a way, they are new – it’s the one time of year that our home takes on a whole new and different look because of these traditional old pieces. Add to the mix celebrations with family and friends, and our homes come alive with nostalgia for the holidays.

But what if you don’t have any heirloom decorations? A reader of my Rich Ideas column had a creative solution to this problem by collecting meaningful future heirlooms in a unique way.

She and her husband were excited to have bought a home that was perfect for them to raise their young, growing family. As the first holiday season in their new home approached, she longed to fill it with family heirloom decorations, but unfortunately her ancestors didn’t leave much behind. The few items that were passed down had been distributed among aunts, uncles, and cousins in her large family, all of whom had children of their own.

In order to fulfill her vision of a future filled with holiday heirloom decorations carrying special meaning and stories of their own, she decided that she’d put a slight twist on her first seasonal party in this new home.

Rather than filling her tree with all new ornaments, she asked each couple or family to bring an ornament that signified something special about their relationship to her family in lieu of a hostess gift. In one case, a couple she was friendly with throughout college brought an ornament with the college’s name, school logo, and their year of graduation on it. She and her husband had met another couple while vacationing in Italy, and they brought a hand-blown glass ornament of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

When each guest arrived at the party, they placed their ornament on her lightly-decorated tree, and soon she had a wonderfully eclectic tree filled with ornaments that would always carry special meaning. Not only would she enjoy the memories generated by these decorations, but her children and future generations would now have heirloom decorations that could spark warm stories handed down through the years.

Whatever your special traditions are, I wish you and yours a happy holiday season!

Heirlooms are an important part of every family and every home; I receive questions regularly from people asking how they can integrate their family heirlooms into their décor. But heirlooms aren’t just decorative pieces that can be used as accessories or wall art, there are also utilitarian heirlooms that tend to get tucked away if the family that inherits them already has their own crystal, china, or silverware.

This doesn’t have to be the case. I received a question from a woman who had inherited her grandmother’s silverware and wanted to know if there was any way to use both her own and her newly inherited silverware at her holiday table. Her grandmother’s set held wonderful memories for her, but she didn’t want a chaotic-looking table. With the holidays upon us once again and holiday tables being planned, this question is particularly relevant now.

Mismatched silverware used in an aesthetically appealing way can add a lot of character to a table at family gatherings, especially when one or more pieces hold memories or have special meaning to your family.

One way to use two different silverware patterns together is to use the place settings from one set and the serving pieces from the other pattern. You can also alternate the patterns at the place settings around the table – every other place setting will have grandmother’s silverware, and alternating settings can have your own silverware. This also works well with china patterns; my daughter selected a china pattern that would coordinate with mine so that when she took over hosting our large family gatherings, she could easily intermingle each set with the other. In addition, her total number of place settings doubled when added to the coordinated second set. This is something new brides may want to keep in mind when registering for their china and silverware selections.

Besides inherited and handed-down silver, some people enjoy finding unique and beautiful serving pieces in their vacation travels or at antique shops. Each piece then has a story and a memory behind it and becomes a part of your own personal history.

Personally, I love the idea of mixing silverware patterns – when done correctly, it can create a very charming, interesting table.

The powder room is one of the most important rooms in a house to update. Not only will it be used by your guests, but it’s also in the main area of your house and will be seen by everyone. An added bonus to keeping your bathrooms well-kept and up-to-date is that they add to the value of your home.

Being so visible, the powder room is where you put best foot forward. Here you can afford to get a bit fancy, since all you need in that room is a sink and a commode. Today’s trends lean toward vessel sinks, which sit above the vanity instead of inside it. Made of glass, ceramic, or metal, vessel sinks can also be used on a shelf of beautiful material such as marble. Some sinks and vanities are suspended from the wall instead of standing on the floor, which creates a very open and airy look.

Generally, you don’t have to worry about storage space in a powder room, since you can keep extra necessities like toilet paper and tissues nearby. Pedestal sinks are another option, but a creative alternative that is popular today is bath furniture – actual pieces of furniture into which sinks are placed. While some manufacturers are producing bath furniture, the same result can also be achieved with an antique Bombay chest or other piece of furniture that you can adapt by taking out the back and cutting a hole in the top. With wood, it’s a good idea to put a piece of marble or granite on top to protect the surface.

When updating any bathroom, you have more liberty to go for the popular new trends and get a lot of mileage out of your efforts. This is one of the areas of the house in which people like modern conveniences and equipment. In the resale market, luxurious new, attractive, and forward-looking bathrooms are important features of the home.

A reader asked for my help with an issue regarding her stained 12 foot sliding glass doors. She felt torn between wanting the beauty of the door to show and wanting privacy at night. Drapes weren’t an option for her because she just didn’t like them, and she didn’t want the door covered up during the day.

While you may not have the exact same situation of wanting to allow light to flow through such a large stained glass sliding door, many homeowners who have regular sliding doors want to allow natural light and a beautiful view into the room most of the time, while requiring privacy at other times. Here are a few ways to tackle that dilemma.

Plantation shutters. Because this style of shutter stacks beyond the door on either side, it creates a frame for your door and keeps it and the view visible when the shutters are open. Plantation shutters have louvers of varying widths; you should select the appropriate width for your sized door (i.e., the 12 foot door would work well with the widest slats). However, keep in mind that since they’ll be stacking on either side of the door, the width of the slats you choose depend on how much tolerance your room has for the protrusion of the stacked shutters. Part of the beauty of plantation shutters is that even when you have them closed over the doors, you can adjust the louvers to let in varying amounts of light or to give you complete privacy.

Paneled Shoji Screen. This screen has a very Asian influence and lends itself well to a contemporary room. Shoji screens also stack on either side of the door, and their flat panels don’t protrude as far into the room as plantation shutters. With either plantation shutters or Shoji screens, you don’t have to have them stacked evenly on either side of your door; it’s perfectly fine to stack more on one side than the other.

Luminette shades or Silhouette blinds. These are both soft treatments that you can see through, yet they can be adjusted for complete privacy. The Luminette draws to the side like a drapery and the Silhouette rolls up like a shade. As with the Plantation shutter, I recommend the largest vane size (suitable for your particular door size) for the most open feeling when the treatment is over the door.

It’s always a smart idea to invest in your home by upgrading or maintaining it, but it’s even more important in today’s economy. People who have been in their homes for many years have seen their homes appreciate in value, and they’re putting their money back into their homes and enjoying the benefits, both while they’re living there and when it’s time to sell.

Remodeling a home can seem like an overwhelming job; the biggest obstacle homeowners who are ready to remodel face is figuring out where to start. The first thing to do is to work out your specific needs in the house by planning your rooms around how your life functions.

Remodeled apartment kitchen, before and after.

You can then hire a professional interior designer to help you come up with a design concept that will achieve your goals. The money you spend on the right interior designer can save you lots more money in the long run by helping you consider all options and avoid pitfalls.

The next step is to ask several different contractors to give you bids based on the same plan so everyone is bidding on same thing. Though there’s always the possibility of adding or subtracting things from the plan during the remodeling process, it’s important to have all of the initial bids based on one plan so it’s fair to everyone.

Only start this process when you’re actually ready to begin remodeling – don’t do it years before you’re ready because your needs as well as the designer’s and contractors’ prices will change over time. Make the decision to go forward, then get your plans together and go for it. The sooner you make the changes, the more time you’ll have to enjoy it.

I’m often asked what the “rule” is for mixing wood tones in a home – the first thing to remember is that there are no rules in interior design. If you use correct placement and proper proportions, just about anything goes. The most important thing is to make sure you place your furniture where it fits rather than where you think it will best be seen – even a beautiful piece of furniture in the wrong place becomes the wrong piece of furniture.

With so many open floor plans in today’s homes, there are many options. I consider woods to be neutrals and I don’t care for too much matching of woods in rooms; however, an open floor plan should have good flow and coordination.

Let’s use dining furniture as an example. Personally, I’m not fond of “sets”; I prefer pieces that look like they go together rather than being part of a matched set. A dark oak dining table, for example, can work very well with chairs with fabric, such as parsons chairs, rather than buying a whole dark oak set. The fabric on the chairs can be treated so you don’t have to worry about the wear.

If your room already has plenty of wood, such as cabinetry, you can opt for a dining table of a different material, such as a table with a metal base and a granite top, which introduces a new material. Granite table tops are carefree and very beautiful. However, if you want a wood surface, you can get a painted finish that coordinates with any one of the colors in the room or you can go for distressed white with a wood or metal base.

The best advice is to purchase pieces that you love. Make sure that they are the proper proportion for the space and enjoy the freedom of not being tied down to “sets”. The look will be far more interesting and you won’t tire of it. Decorating a home is a work in progress. Take your time and choose carefully – don’t worry about just filling the spaces, it’s far more important that you love everything you buy.

Having a new house built is an exciting time, but it can be a confusing one as well. One reader said that the choices her builder was offering her in areas like cabinetry and flooring weren’t to her taste, and she was wondering if she should just go along with the builder’s selections and then redecorate later or if she should take the time to decide on different preferences now.

New construction almost always means getting involved in the selection process for things like cabinets, carpets, and tiling. If you’re planning to upgrade these builder-offered items, it’s best to have the upgrades put in during construction so you don’t end up ripping out new rooms in the near-distant future. This is especially true since so many others things will need to be done after you’ve moved in.

One word of advice during the selection process: don’t choose strong colors that will tie you in to a potentially dated color scheme for the long haul. Colors like dark green and burgundy may seem dramatic now, but in no time they’ll look completely outdated. Instead, go with neutral colors in major areas, then accent with the colors of your choice. Accent pieces can easily be replaced with the ebb and flow of various styles and colors, and you won’t be spending a fortune to update your look. This will also work to your benefit during resale.

A reader of my blog asked a question that many people who love fine furnishings have on their minds: “Can I decorate my home with fine furniture in such a way that my guests feel comfortable?”

A polished, more formal interior doesn’t have to be stiff and uninviting. You can buy the types of furnishings you like and still make people feel welcome in your home – as long as you don’t create a museum with your selections.

Being afraid to let guests sit on your furniture or keeping it covered with plastic certainly doesn’t create a friendly environment, so if you have a rare or irreplaceable piece of furniture or accessory that you want to keep out of harm’s way, put it in a place like the master bedroom that’s further away from the possibility of spillage or breakage. It’s fine if you cover your sofas and loveseats with plastic or sheets to protect them from being damaged by kids or pets, but make sure to remove these coverings when you expect company. There’s no point in having beautiful things if you keep them covered up or boxed away in closets for safety; the goal is to use and enjoy your treasured pieces in a safe but practical way.

Thanks for the question, I always love hearing from visitors to my blog!

Many people ask me whether it’s better to use trendy faux finishes on their walls or to simply paint them. My answer is always the same: What’s popular now may not be the correct thing for your home, and chances are that it won’t be popular forever. I recommend using more classic solutions when redecorating; it’s much easier and less expensive to add trendy touches as accents than it is to refinish walls.

Although faux and painted finishes are being used a lot, I personally like to use wall coverings because they’re more durable, washable and they give depth to a room. Wall coverings don’t necessarily have to be prints – there are many beautiful selections made with textures to simulate stucco, various fabrics, brick, and all kinds of things.

While most faux finishes simply give the illusion of texture, there are certain types of finishes that actually require the use of additional plaster on your walls. These can only be undone by replacing the sheetrock, which can be a deterrent to future buyers or become a major expense and a good deal of extra work for you once the style is passé. In addition, the cost of having a faux finish put on your walls can be prohibitive because you’ll be paying for artistic labor in order to create this illusion of texture. In my opinion, it makes more sense to invest in wall coverings that provide the actual textures you want than to pay more for an illusion of the same thing.

Wall coverings are generally a more practical solution, especially in bathrooms, kitchens, and heavily trafficked areas like corridors. And since most walls are far from perfect, wall coverings can help to hide blemishes and irregularities better than paint.

In those areas of the house where you do plan to use paint, I personally prefer to see a room done with flat paint on the walls and ceilings to make them appear higher (use semi-gloss on moldings for easy cleaning) rather than a faux finish. Don’t be afraid to use paint with color, even in smaller rooms. Small rooms don’t necessarily need to have lighter walls, nor do larger rooms need darker walls; your rooms will feel more spacious overall if your design concept flows from room to room.

Once you figure out what will look best on your walls and what look you want to achieve, have fun choosing from all of the wonderful selections you’ll find. The choices are almost limitless!

All too often, home and condo buyers complain that the previous owners have covered one or more walls with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, especially if the interior hasn’t been updated recently. The idea behind mirrored walls is to use mirrors to visually increase the size of a room or add reflective light to a dark area, but some do-it-yourselfers overdid it.

Mirrors should be used as a decorating tool, not as an entire interior. Nothing should ever be overdone, no matter how attractive it is or how much you like it. As a general rule of thumb, it’s important to remember that too much of a good thing isn’t a good thing at all.

If properly used, wall mirrors can add flair and drama, reflect light where it’s needed, reflect a beautiful view and bring it into the room, and give depth and size to small areas. Don’t avoid placing furniture against mirrored walls, just place your furniture as if the wall had no mirrors, allowing those walls to be functional as well as purposeful. Mirrors can also be used to hide wall blemishes as well as damage on furniture tops. A mirrored tabletop can make the accessories on it look like they’re floating, and mirrored placemats can add fun and glitz to your table settings and give dishes that same floating appearance.

In the kitchen, a mirrored backsplash can add more light and depth to the darker area which is usually enclosed by cabinets, but keep in mind that a mirrored backsplash will require more maintenance, as it will show splash marks. A mirrored folding screen in the bedroom allows you to get different perspectives when dressing; it can also fill a dark corner without using a typical wall hanging.

If your home or condominium has too many mirrored walls, by all means remove some, but first figure which ones, if any, are in strategically good areas as discussed above. Then you can eliminate the overkill and keep the ones that work to your home’s best advantage.