Guest Post – Design Shuffle & Detail Orientated Decorating

Hi, I’m Susi, a writer for Design Shuffle, a social media site that brings together designers and design lovers from around the world to share projects and inspiration. I’m excited to be guest blogging about detail oriented decorating for A Fashionable Life for Me. In interior design, personality can really be expressed in the details. It is the little things, the little touches that turn a well-decorated house into a home. Enjoy!

This bedroom is a great example of detail oriented decorating. Piping on the linens, nailhead trim, tufting on the bench and a beautiful vignette on the nightstand give this bedroom a polished look.

Create a vignette rather than just put things on a table top or bathroom counter. Group items on a pretty tray to make the objects feel special.

Good design is in the details. Trim on the sofa that coordinates with the pillow and tassels on the throw are both décor details that add the extra something.

This entry is a chic greeting to guests and family alike. Coordinating the blue glass with the lamp in the living room ties the two spaces together—just one of many great decorating ideas seen here.

Paying attention to the details in your existing décor can transform a room, or at the very least a bookshelf. Style your bookshelf in vignettes with books, objects and art. This is a great way to add style to your living room designs.

Create décor details of your own by stacking books by color, adding a small work of art or printable, mixing in unique objects. Make it a personal statement through the details.

A mix of colors and patterns in this bedroom design is held together by the details that tie everything together. Embroidery on the throw pillow and trim on the lampshade are both easy details to add to existing pieces.

A chic Mad Men inspired décor detail for the holiday entertaining season is a bar cart filled with pretty bottles, glasses and libations. A bar on a buffet or console table works just as well.

Images [ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 ]

Looking for more details to include in your designs? Head on over to Design Shuffle and you’ll find our brand new interior design guide along with great inspiration from Boston interior designers and more!

A fashionable guide to getting your house ready for the festive season!

Oh the lead in to Christmas! I love it all, Christmas is my favourite time of year. I devour the Christmas editions of interior magazines in the hope to emulate their vision of a family Christmas.
Before long our houses will be magazine shoot tidy and full of festive cheer. Artfully draped baubles and bling around the staircase, the tree decorated, a fire burning and the scent of a lit Christmas candle. What an illusion! My house is currently a mess and in no shape for any decoration, tasteful or not. In anticipation of a a festive flood of themed posts, I’m getting my house in order first and these are my top tips in preparation for a Norman Rockwell Christmas!

Identify the problem areas.
1.Mine are obvious: too much clutter around the house. I haven’t kept the house under control and I have a lack of storage. There isn’t much I can do about new storage right now but I am going to get cleverer about dealing with the clutter now. I spend far too much time talking about the mess rather than tackling it. If I don’t have a clear out and a clean up now, I will just be adding to the clutter with even more items in the run up to Christmas.

Control your Clutter
1.Off the top of my head, I can think of loads of problem areas; my airing cupboard has bags full of old toys and clothes for dry cleaning in a waist high pile on the floor. If I spent 10 minutes bringing everything downstairs and put into my car, I will the have an empty space to put other items that actually do need storage and if the bags are in the car, I will be able to drop it to a charity shop. I also have a cardboard box that lives on the turn on my stairs and it’s filled with papers to be filed. The stairs would look so much nicer without an overflowing box on it. And believe me they are only two examples…..
2. Once you identify your problem spots and make a conscious decision to sort them out, it is easier to do.
3.Pick an area a day and tackle it. If you choose something small you won’t get overwhelmed. It’s much easier to do it stage by stage.

Reuse, Recycle or Regift.
1. Put a bag upstairs in your hallway for items to be recycled (dropped to charity shop, recycling bin) and take the time at the weekend to drop them off.
2. We all get presents that we never will use. I keep mine together and regift when I can. Just label who the item originally came from so you don’t give it back accidentally.

Clear out excess Toys.
If you have children you know that you will end up with a lot more toys after Christmas. The kids will be thrilled but you will have more things in the house to find homes for.
It make sense to go through their toys (definitely when they are not there). There are always tons of toys they have outgrown or don’t use. I pass toys and books in good condition to friends with younger children.

Repair!
Do you have clothes in bags waiting to be dry cleaned or a button sewn on? I do. Tackle these. I have two gorgeous dresses sitting in a bag for 2 years now. Both need a dry clean and one needs to be shortened. At this stage if I get the dresses sorted it will be like having 2 brand new dresses to enjoy.

Organise Clothes.
1. Go through your wardrobes and your children’s. I know my kids have lots of outgrown clothes hanging in their wardrobes. It’s a quick and easy job and will give more wardrobe space.
2. Clean out the bottom of wardrobes. I have lots of bags and shoes stored in the bottom of mine but there is definitely unused storage space at the bottom of the kids wardrobes.

I hope by the first day of Christmas there will be a definite improvement to my house. What about you? Share your tips and tales!

Weekend Fun

As is fast becoming the norm I spent Saturday working on college projects. I did however go out Friday night which is sadly not the norm for me! Sunday was spent with my father wandering around Dalkey.

I spent the rest of the weekend in comfy clothes and my new slippers. The slippers proved to be popular with the rest of the family.