Team Decor's Profile

I just moved from a house to a condo, about five miles apart. At the suggestion of the moving company, I hired four guys. They sent along a fifth at no cost, a truck for furniture, and a van for delicate items, and they arrived at 8, and were gone at ten. I couldn't believe it. A move that took two hours. I had packed 30 boxes. They were all lined up in the living room, three deep. I had labeled all my boxes. LAST TO FIRST is the last one I close, and the first one I open, with the coffee pot, phones, silverware, everything to make coffee, etc, a beer opener, and a corkscrew! (And in my case, a travel cat pan, with cat food with dishes.) I also had a box labeled bed linens. To make a long story short, every important box was on the top. It made unpacking so easy. They charged $175 an hour, but it was so worth it. AND they smuggled my cat into my no pets allowed building. They packed her last, in a carrier in an open box, put her in the front seat of the van, and then brought her up the freight elevator mixed in with the other boxes. She had an adventure!

I would never try to move myself.

I like it! I did this with built in shelving, but I painted the backs of the shelves the same color as the walls. It was hard! I did it free hand. But after all that work I wondered if I was crazy. It does make the surrounding woodwork pop. If mine looks as good as this, I'm satisfied. It's hard to judge your own work. This is beautiful.

Just one thing. I think I would have gone with a slightly smaller tv that actually fit into the bookcase.

Seriously a great job. Looks professionally done!

New linens in the bedroom, slipcover the sofas in the living room, new rugs.

I recently decided I had to have a new bed, but didn't want to spend any money. I took the bed skirt off, covered the base with a queen sized bedspread with a one inch piping, which went all the way to the floor of my raised bed. I put the bed skirt on the mattress under the pad and bottom sheet. It's box fitted, and it looks great overlapping the bedspread. (It looks way better than it sounds.) Then I took throw pillows, of which I have too many, and stuffed several shams with them. With those on top of a matching comforter, now it looks like a huge day bed, and I like it so much better than before, plus I used so many more of my linens. I am ashamed to say I have 72 pieces of the same pattern. I first bought a FEW at retail, a few more at a discount shop (I got four sets of sheets for the price of one at retail, no kidding), and then the gates opened when various pieces hit Ebay. I paid almost nothing for the pieces I got on Ebay, but I have something for everything. I have lamp shades, a tissue cover, and valances with plenty of fabric to repurpose for table rounds.

Another trick, use what was meant to be panel draperies for windows in a door opening. I have an opening between my public and private areas, outside my bedroom, and I hung two sets of drapery panels on a tension rod. It makes a great divider, and a wonderful set up for the bedroom area.

Also, in the bathroom, I have glass sliding doors, which aren't that attractive. I have two shower curtains in the pattern, but I didn't want to buy the hardware. So I took a tension rod I already had, and put half a dozen sheer panels on the rod. It transformed the bathroom much more than I thought. A friend gave me new white towels for my new white bathroom, so the panels really pop. At no cost to me! I repurposed a gold framed mirror by turning it from portrait to landscape, and I don't recognize my own bathroom. And I didn't spend a penny.

Or make a new focal point. I have a LARGE open living room, so occasionally I put up a round card table near the windows covered with serious fitted linens, a pair of Henredon chairs out of the bedroom, and set it for two with crystal, sterling, and china. It has the feel of a little restaurant setting right in my living room. At night, with a glass of wine overlooking the city lights, I can imagine I am anywhere.

Or just move, and get rid of most of your stuff. I just did that. I like the feeling of having just the few things I really wanted, and knowing where they are.

I would either do plexiglass, permanently, (the illusion of no separation would be modern), or how about, 1x4s, turned at a slight angle, and lined up vertically to span the space. You have both privacy, but at a certain angle, you can see right through. My neighbor did it, and I was shocked how good it looked, and it was CHEAP, which I think is why she selected it in the first place. But it looked great, and very modern.

It's actually a nice piece except for the scallop cuts. To make them disappear, paint the whole cabinet the same color. When the scallop curves are not contrasted against a different color, they will be less noticeable.

And I would chill, and get rid of the microwave. It will give you something to talk about with your guests. It's not that bad: except for the scalloped edges.

That pink and green is so Palm Beach. You need to give your guest room a beachy name, like Scallops!! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I wouldn't put them in the same order; a little too step down for me. Maybe I would put the only one with doors in the middle, and paint the two open ones the same color, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY GET THE CRAP OFF THE TOPS!

What about putting a vintage fire screen in front of it? Or a short three panel metal screen. That way, you can take it with you when you move, or sell it in a tag sale.

I would remove all the blinds and rods. I would use tension rods to hand draperies inside the window frames. I wouldn't cover a square inch of your beautiful casements. If the door has privacy issues, I would make the windows opaque with sheets you can buy and cut to fit, or paint with a clear glaze, which will dry to white, but let in light.

I would commemorate the roof color by painting the house ONE color, a dove gray. Benjamin Moore Historical Color 169 would be beautiful. (You are right to go with Benjamin Moore. They make the best paint available.) I would do the trim in white, the porch in gray to match the roof, and use red in flower pots. You have to think of resale value. If you MUST have red, paint the porch floor red. It can easily and cheaply be changed when you are ready to sell.