Designing Tips from a Pro!

This week's post is brought to us by Jen N. about interior design! You want to take the time to read these great tips. Thanks, Jen!

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Are you sick and tired of all your furniture? Do you appreciate good décor, but feel like you don’t know how to pull it together yourself? Do you want to change the look of your home’s interior, but just don’t know where to start? Décor can be so important, as it sets the stage for the feel of your home and provides the backdrop for your family’s life. When you’re satisfied with your home’s appearance, you want to spend more time there, you feel more relaxed, and even cleaning becomes more enjoyable! But if you’re unhappy with your home’s interior, it can be something that bothers you every day and makes you less likely to entertain or otherwise enjoy your home. Here are some simple design tips to help you improve and love your home - on any budget! I’ve also included some different resources that you might find helpful or inspiring in your quest for a beautiful home.


1. DON’T START WITH PAINT! A common mistake a lot of people make when trying to redecorate a room is to pick their paint color first. This should literally be the LAST item on your list! It is so easy to find a paint color that will complement a grouping of furniture and accessories, but it can be very difficult to find furniture (particularly upholstered pieces) to match a specific paint color. It’s okay to have a color in mind, but leaving the specific paint color for last lets a room evolve - you don’t want to find a piece you love and have to pass it by because it doesn’t complement the paint you chose at the beginning. Instead, be willing to adjust the final color to accommodate the choices you make along the way. This is true even if you think you’ve chosen a “neutral” color. There are very few true neutrals; most “neutral” colors are still either cool or warm to some degree, and the tones may not work with items you find for the room. (Can’t-Fail Color Schemes by Amy Wax)

2. FIND INSPIRATION. Inspiration for a room can come from anywhere – photos from a magazine or website, a friend’s room, a painting, nature, a piece of fabric, a TV show, books, clothing, one item you love that you know you want to include in the room, or even a piece of scrapbooking paper. If you don’t have any inspiration yet (you just know you want a change!) then look for some. There are endless websites with endless photos of gorgeous rooms (another good place for photos is your local bookstore)– look through them until you find at least 20 rooms you really like, even if you don’t know why you like them, and even if they’re not the same type of room you’re redecorating. Then compare – what are some common themes you see? Do you favor rooms with a lot of dark wood? Incorporate some dark wood pieces in your own room. Are you looking at twenty photos of blue rooms? Maybe blue is a color you should consider . . . Are all the rooms light and bright? Work on achieving that feeling in your own room. (hgtv.com; getdecorating.com; home-designing.com; Pure Style by Jane Cumberbatch; The Illustrated History of Textiles by Madeleine Ginsburg; Secret Gardens by Jennifer Potter)

3. GET SHOPPING! While shopping for your home is fun, there are a lot of things to keep in mind. First, everyone’s on a budget. It’s easy to redo a room from top to bottom in a short period of time if you have a large amount of money to spend – you can find almost anything if you’re willing to pay enough. However, for most of us, that’s not reality, and when your budget is small, bargains are your best friend. Here are some tips for redecorating affordably:

• Be patient. If possible, expect to redecorate your room over a period of time – perhaps a few months – so that you can buy good deals as you find them, instead of forcing purchases just to get the room done. That means if you want the guest room to look awesome for the in-laws at Christmas, start working on it now! You’re never going to find a whole room’s worth of items you love and that you can afford all at one time, unless you have a sizeable budget to work with. If you need to get a room redecorated more quickly, expect to either make some compromises or spend more. To save, wait for items to go on sale or clearance – almost everything does, eventually. Also, keep checking back again and again (and again!) at places like thrift stores – your diligence will pay off!
• Stay open-minded. It’s great to have an idea of what you want to do with a room, but be willing to adjust that vision as you find pieces you love – you may surprise yourself!
• Don’t tempt yourself. Shop only at stores where you know you can afford to buy. Getting inspiration from pricier stores is fine, but there’s no point in seriously falling in love with something you could never purchase – you’ll just be disappointed with what you do end up buying, feeling it’s “not as good.”
• Be thrifty! Thrift stores are an awesome resource. Be open-minded and look at the lines (not the color or fabric) of pieces. Would that hideous purple table be really cute in white? Would that old flowered armchair look beautiful when reupholstered or slipcovered? I bought a large armoire at a thrift store a couple of months ago that was actually labeled “badly painted cabinet” by the employees – and it was! But once I got it home and painted over the hideous blue paint and magenta diamonds with a nice cream color, it was beautiful – and it cost me all of 9.95! Also, be willing to make minor repairs to pieces and to change out hardware, and you’ll find some great deals. Or . . . “shop” in your own home – do you have pieces that could be repurposed/refurbished so that you love them again? (Book Recommendations: The Complete Photo Guide to Slipcovers by Linda Neubauer; Painted Furniture Decorating Ideas and Projects by Better Homes and Gardens)
• Don’t forget the internet. There are so many places to get great deals online, so make sure you comparison shop when possible. Online garage sales and auctions are a particularly fabulous resource – all the selection, none of the driving! (Great Websites: atlanta.craigslist.org; ebay.com)
• Don’t buy everything at one place. Rooms look much more sophisticated and tasteful when there’s a good assortment of “found” items – in other words, don’t go buy a matching set of furniture all at one store, and all of the matching accessories to go with it. Instead, find individual items at different places whose tones, lines, and scale provide a nice balance of complement and contrast with one another. I could go on for a whole other article on how to achieve this type of balance, so if you want to discuss that, just ask me! (Book Recommendation: Home Design Ideas: How to Plan and Decorate a Beautiful Home by Clifton-Mogg, Simmons, and Tanqueray)

4. CONSIDER GETTING SOME HELP. If you still feel like you can’t trust yourself to put together a room you would love, or if you’re really struggling with the functionality of a room (furniture arrangement, accommodating traffic patterns, etc.) think about hiring a professional. In general, a good interior designer can accommodate any budget by offering either guidance or full decorating services. Using a designer can easily save you money in the end, since you won’t end up with a room full of purchases you regret.

Most of all, don’t be afraid to try! Have confidence in your choices – you can’t go too wrong with a room full of things you love!

History 101

This week's post is brought to us by CarrieAnne D. Check out her great tips on how to learn more about history. And thanks CarrieAnne for your thoughts and insights!

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As a classically trained historian, I LOVE History! Musty libraries, brittle documents and speaking about dead people really gets me excited. For those of you who have also caught a bit of the history bug here are a few hints that will help you find quality historic information as quickly as possible.

It goes without saying that in the age of the internet anyone can write and publish anything without having to prove its merits. There are a few simple things to keep in mind when doing historic research to avoid the pitfalls that are so rampant on the web.


There are two types of sources for historic information:

PRIMARY SOURCES: This is actual evidence from the time period or subject in question. It could include diaries, photographs, actual artifacts, items of popular culture like posters or movies, court documents, old maps, government records or anything else which was created by or related to the topic you are studying in the time and place you are studying.

For example, I study British women who traveled to Jerusalem in the 19th century. Two of the types of primary sources I rely on heavily for my research are diaries of the travelers and the travel guide books they wrote and sold to the public.

How can you find Primary Sources?

1. Check out the Bibliographies of Secondary Sources (see below). Where did these authors find their primary materials?

2. Do a Google search with the topic that interests you and the word "archive" in the search engine. Archives are stashes of materials on a the same topic and can often be found in University libraries, museums, or private collections.

Also many archives can now be found online. I once wrote an article on Gertrude Bell and based almost my entire research on the photographs and original letters that were scanned and uploaded by her library to this website: http://www.gerty.ncl.ac.uk/. Before the internet I would have had to travel all the way to England for that privilege.

3. Check out your local museums. You might find artifacts of interest on display or could even request access to documents and artifacts they have in storage. Curators LOVE to talk about their collections so don't be afraid to get friendly.

SECONDARY SOURCES These are books or scholarly articles written about the topic you are interested in. Secondary Sources normally involve a historian or lay person examining a bunch of Primary Sources and creating a theory about them. This doesn't mean their theory is correct or that they have used Primary Sources in a valid way. Bad or what we call POP history (what you find a lot of on the History Channel) doesn't always use Primary Sources - in these instances it is just a guy or gal spouting their opinion without backing it up with hard facts.

How can you find GREAT Secondary Sources?

1. Check the author's credentials. Does the author have a PhD or at least a Master's degree in the field in which they are writing about. What other books have they written on the topic? If he or she is not a traditional academic are they a journalist or someone who has worked in a related field and has practical experience of the topic? All of this information is normally available on the jacket cover of the book or can be quickly Googled.

2. Who published the book or article? Though in many cases general publishing houses like Penguin or Random House do publish legitimate works of scholarship, you are almost always safer if the book you are referencing was printed by an Academic Press. These are signified by the name of a University in the Publishers name - for example: Rutgers University Press, New York University Press, etc.

3. Paying expensive tuition for your beloved son or daughter to attend BYU or another University? Get something back from this investment. All Universities extend to their students library privileges and these privileges extend to online scholastic journals that non-students have to pay big bucks to access. Some schools even let students print articles for free. JSTOR is an excellent and commonly use database for scholastic articles. Have your student search JSTOR for articles which interest you. Articles have a much shorter publication process and so are often much more current in their theories and discoveries than books. University libraries also have inter library loan privileges. Get your little cutie to order a hard to find book for you that you just can't get in your local public library which has a much smaller book purchasing budget. You can even get great primary sources in this way. If you student balks at such notions as entering the library or doing these little academic favors for you I suggest withholding home cooked meals and laundry privileges when they come home for a visit.

I hope this brief tutorial on basic historical research gets the Indiana Jones in you fired up. Whether the topic that interests you is how the rolling pin was invented or why WWII was started, doing a little research to learn more about the world we live in, inevitably teaches us more about ourselves.

Dinner Delights!

"What's for dinner?" That age-old question that we sometimes meet with dread. But what if it wasn't just about food on a plate and sitting at the table? What if the question really sparked some fun, and some simple activities that liven up an occasional meal?


It's vital we meet together at meal time to re-connect, to talk, to teach and learn from each other. How about if we jazz it up with the unexpected sometimes? Our family has loved doing these kinds of things through the years. It builds memories and brings laughter and warmth when we share good times together; it should be positive and delightful. A little zany is a good thing!

Be creative. Become the adventure coordinator; what you serve is secondary. HOW you do it, now that's the key. Enjoy!


Some Ideas for "Dinner Delights": 

• Treat them to a "Sdrawkcab" (backwards) dinner!
• everyone turns their clothes inside out or wears them backwards
• serve dessert first/main course last
• try to say a few phrases backwards; try some words that are the same backwards and forwards (example: "wow" (which upside down is also "Mom")
• pass things the opposite way you usually do. If you discuss things about your day always starting with the oldest, start with the youngest, etc.
•  Use crazy utensils
• set each place with serving pieces like slotted spoons, toothpicks, chopsticks, straws and everyone has to eat with whatever they have been given
• make up limericks about your experience while you eat (example: "There was a young lady from here, who ate with the wildest gear. . . " etc.)
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  Have a progressive dinner in your own house!
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  have a picnic on the living room floor for the salad
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  use the dining room for vegetables
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  eat the main course outside
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  perch on stools for dessert
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  if you're really feeling adventurous and your kids are into it, have them set up a different area with "decorations," etc.
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  Go camping inside!
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  put a big sheet over your kitchen table and sit on the floor
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  eat by the glow of a camping-type light
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  make s'mores in your microwave for dessert
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  sing camp songs
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  Get a "Round" to it!
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  make everything you serve round in shape
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  sit in a circle to eat
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  play a name-everything-you-can-that's-round game
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  play ring-around-the-rosie afterwards
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  talk about ways we "circle up" today for strength and protection just like the pioneers did
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  Use a color to build your dinner theme
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  for example, how about "orange?"
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  have everyone wear whatever they have that's orange
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  serve chicken with an orange sauce, orange slices, orange Jell-O, carrots, and food coloring in the milk or water
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  ask "Orange they glad they came to dinner?" and then you can ask "What else do you think of when I say 'Orange you glad about __________?" and they fill in the blank with things they're happy about
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  Celebrate wacky things! For example:
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  Sept. is National Potato Month, National Honey Month
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  Oct. is National Popcorn Month, National Pizza Month
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  Nov. is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month
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  each month has some national item like this; or make up your own!
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  use balloons, posters, noise makers, whatever you have on hand to celebrate the food!
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  we've even had the kids bring bits of info. on the featured food (how/where it's grown, where it originated, etc.)

When family time equates to fun time, kids want to be there, to be a part, to join in and participate. Soon, they'll even come up with their own ideas for "Dinner Delights!" Have fun!

Thanks so much to Melanie M. for her contribution this week! Can't wait to try some of her ideas!