I’ll never forget the day my new coffee table was
delivered, and my carpenter, who happened to be
there that day, helped me bring it into the living
room. When we took off the plastic wrap he said “Oh,
I think you’d better call the furniture store, it’s
damaged!” I started to laugh and said “It’s supposed
to be like that.”
I continue to use old furniture, antiques, and
reproductions in my decorating and love the way it
makes a room feel warm and welcoming. But I still
get people who ask me why I would use something old
in a new room.
Imagine re-living all of the great memories of your
childhood and feeling close to your parents or
grandparents because you were able to use some of
their furniture in your decorating, and it actually
looks great! The eclectic style of decorating or the
Shabby Chic look allows you to mix and match the new
and old in a way that gives a room a nostalgic feel.
So don’t think of antique furniture as old and used,
think of it as mature and deep-rooted.
Lori Brasseur
LB Designs & Room For Improvement
We now have an online store!!!
Room for Improvement now has a collection of
items available for sale online. We use the PayPal
service, but you can also pay with a credit card if
you are not a member.
Please keep in mind that our website is still under
construction and we will be adding items as we go.
Thanks for your understanding.
Check out the new site and go shopping here
Tomboy Tool Consultant now in your area!
Guess who? It's us! We are offering Tomboy Tool
Parties right in our own store to teach women tool
use and simple home improvement projects complete
with all of the tools you will need to get the job
done.
Log onto our class schedule for more information and
a list of upcoming classes.
Click here!
Order Tools online here!!!
Just enter our consultant ID#19769 when you place
your order.
Click here to shop now.
Decorating and Organizing your Child’s Bedroom
Now that the kids are back in school it is the
perfect time to think about redecorating and
reorganizing their bedroom. And if you want your
child to keep their rooms neat and clean, then you
need to give them a sense of pride when it comes to
taking care of it. The easiest way to do this is by
getting them involved in the whole process from
decorating and organizing, to keeping it clean.
Start with a meeting with your child to discuss the
overall look they want for the room. It could be a
themed room such as a princess room, sponge bob, or
maybe they just love the color blue. Write down
everything they say about what they like because
after you gather information and even start
shopping, you will see some patterns that keep
repeating themselves. This will help you to
determine their style even if they can’t verbally
express it to you.
So you don’t end up with a child that hates their
room in a couple of weeks when they decide they
don’t like the race car theme anymore, remember to
keep the themed items as accessories that can be
easily replaced with something new without having to
redecorate the entire room over again. For an
example of a young boy who turns pre-teen, paint the
walls a primary color like blue or red, have a
neutral carpet, and good sturdy wood furniture.
These things will stay while the car themed
curtains, race car boarder, and car collection can
be removed and replaced with plaid curtains, a
wooden chair rail, and trophy collection. This gives
you whole new look by exchanging just a few items.
Next you will need to determine how to make the room
work for them. Ask questions like “What will you use
this room for?” The answer could be homework, TV,
hanging with friends, housing collectibles or
trophies, playing games or with toys. Again write
down everything including the obvious like storage
for clothes and sleeping. Now write a list of items
to purchase to make these activities easy to
accomplish. It could be more shelving, a desk,
storage containers, more storage pieces, or a place
for TV and video games.
Now the last thing you will need to do is to get
down to their level. If you keep in mind that their
size does matter, you will realize that if you make
things accessible to them it will be much easier for
them to follow through with the upkeep of the room.
For example, kids can’t reach the pole in most
closets to hang their clothes. Buy a pole extender
that hangs off of the existing pole to give kids
double the closet space and make it easy for them to
reach.
You know that saying, “A place for everything and
everything in its place?” It’s so true. If they have
separate storage containers for books, cd’s, toys,
games, puzzles, magazines, pens and pencils, or
school papers, those things won’t end up in one big
pile on the floor. Make it even easier by labeling
everything so they can see in a pinch where
everything goes. And if your child can’t read yet,
hang a picture of the item on the container.
Listen to your child when it comes to designing
their own space. Their rooms have a lot to say about
who they are inside. Give them a space where they
can be surrounded by things they love. Not only will
your child be exited to have the room of their
dreams, but because they helped to create it, they
will have a sense of pride and ownership in it and
they’ll want to keep it clean.
Lori Brasseur ~ LB Designs |
