Interior Decorating with Cynthia Havens

Decorating for the Baby Shower

08 12 11'

Written by Cynthia

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The baby shower was fun! Wow… it is a lot of work getting all the food together, mailing out invitations and of course…decorating! Yes, I think for me this was the fun part, it began by Victoria selecting a cake that she liked. Then we created the theme for decorating around the cake. It was so cool, hot pink, black, zebra! Here are a few pictures of the cake and a great idea for creating a fast table candle holder. We took beer glasses, and wine glasses and turned them up side down placed a candle on top and filled the inside with sweetheart pink roses. Tadah! A nice quick candle holder to add to the table center piece. Here are a few pictures of the decor! www.MyAwesomeInteriors.com

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Awesome Interiors, Custom Drapery

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Custom Headboards

08 11 11'

Written by Cynthia

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I really like this bed. Adding custom beds to your room is Awesome! I was shopping for a bed for one of my clients and I found this one! The great thing about a custom bed is you can make your own fabric selection to coordinate with the fabrics in your room. This bed has brass nail heads around the edge of the headboard… a very nice touch. I like it – what do you think? 

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Custom Drapery

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Ask the Decorator

07 30 11'

Written by Cynthia

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Hi Guys!   This is a new area that I have been thinking about doing for some time now.  The purpose of this page is to be interactive with my readers.  If you have a decorating questions just post it and I will get an answer for you!  Thanks, be the first to ask a question!

 

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Addicted to Decorating

07 23 11'

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I recently took a vacation. A time to refuel, refresh and renew! I think everyone needs a change of environment occasionally, don’t you?  Regardless where I go inspiration for decorating shows up. When we arrived in Costa Rica,  I thought… OK, I am not going to think about decorating, this is a break.  A day passed and I rearranged the furniture in my room. I kept thinking of all the ways the room could be improved, to the point I was thinking I should call the hotel manager and give her a quick tip on how to refurbish the vanity mirror. Well, so you see… I am admitting, I am addicted to decorating.  :) :)
I was amazed by the wood products that I found in the little town in Costa Rica where we shopped. There were a variety of wood carvings and trivets, bowls and vases! The wonderful rain forest and huge trees fascinated me with the variety of trees, tropical flowers and colorful birds in the jungle.  I felt inspired!

I love the natural color combination!

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Custom Drapery

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Great Childrens Room Inspiration!

07 07 11'

Written by Cynthia

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Custom Drapery

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Linen: Fabric of the Pharaohs

06 14 11'

Written by Cynthia

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I thought this was an intesting information about Linen fabric. It was an article from Matt at Greenhouse Fabric. Linen is a very fashionable fabric for home decor.

Mummy wrapped in linen
Linen textiles are some of the oldest in the world going back many thousands of years. Fragments of straw, seeds, fibers, yarns, and various types of fabrics which date back to about 8000 BC have been found in Swiss lake dwellings. Dyed flax fibers found in a prehistoric cave in Georgia show that there were probably woven linen fabrics from wild flax made back even earlier to 36,000 BC.
Linen was a very valued fabric in ancient Egypt. It was sometimes used as currency and Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen because it was seen as a symbol of light and purity, and as a display of wealth. Some of these fabrics, woven from hand spun yarns, were very fine for their day, but are coarse compared to modern linen. Linen was worn by the ancient Egyptians daily because of the extreme heat. They wore white linen to stay cool in the hot sun.
Flax Seeds
Flax, which is the primary ingredient in linen, is not an easy product to come by. Flax takes a lot of effort to grow and must be heavily attended to during the process. Flax is also extremely difficult to weave since it is not very flexible. It has a tendency to break easily so the cost of making something linen is higher than other fabric types.
-Matt

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Custom Drapery

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I Love this Quote :)

03 04 11'

Written by Cynthia

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Love this quote!

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me’.” ~Erma Bombeck

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Awesome Interiors, Custom Drapery, Interior Redesigner, Interior Decorating, Interior Decorator, Real Estate Stager, Real Estate Staging

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What is faux finishing?

11 12 10'

Written by Cynthia

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I have recently had issues with clients not understanding information on Faux Finishes. Clients beware! All faux finishing is not created equal. Faux Finish artist are trained in techniques and color- then we have painters that paint homes and have not been professionally trained in the art of faux finishes, yet that try to copy the artists and charge a fraction of the cost. I have seen this over and over. So my word of advice to myclients is: not all faux finishing is created equal.

A little history about the art of faux painting: from Wikipedia

Faux finishing has been used for millennia, from cave painting to Ancient Egypt, but what we generally think of as faux finishing in decorative arts began with Plaster and Stucco Finishes in Mesopotamia over 5000 years ago.Examples of faux paintings.  Faux became hugely popular in Classical times in the forms of faux Marble, faux Wood, and Trompe l’oeil Murals. Artists would apprentice for 10 years or more with a master faux painter before working on their own. Great recognition was rewarded to artist who could actually trick viewers into believing their work was the real thing. Faux painting has continued to be popular throughout the ages, but experienced major resurgences in the neoclassical revival of the nineteenth century and the Art Deco styles of the 1920s. Throughout the recent history of decorative painting, faux finishing has been mainly used in commercial and public spaces.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s faux finishing saw another major revival, as wallpaper began to fall out of fashion. At this point, faux painting started to become extremely popular in home environments, with high end homes leading the trends. While it can be quite expensive to hire a professional faux finisher, many faux painting methods are simple enough for a beginning home owner to create with a little instruction. People are also attracted to the simplicity of changing a faux finish, as it can be easily painted over compared with the hassle of removing wallpaper.
In modern day faux finishing, there are two major materials/processes used. Glaze work involves using a translucent mixture of paint and glaze applied with a brush, roller, rag, or sponge, and often mimics textures, but it always smooth to the touch. Plaster work can be done with tinted plasters, or washed over with earth pigments, and is generally applied with a trowel or spatula. The finished result can be either flat to the touch or textured.

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Custom Drapery

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What is Home Staging?

10 26 10'

Written by Cynthia

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Here is an article written about staging…I think it is sums it up well.

Before we dive into home staging tips for a quick sale, we first need to define what exactly staging is — just so we are on the same page.

Definition: Home staging is the act of preparing a home (and the contents of the home) for sale, with a special emphasis on presentation and appearance.

It’s important to realize that preparing a home for sale and staging a home is not always the same thing. For example, as part of your pre-sale preparations, you might go through the home to make small repairs where needed. This is an essential step in preparing your home for the market, but it’s not the same as home staging.

Staging a home for sale normally involves things of an aesthetic nature, such as design, organization and overall appearance (as opposed to mechanical or functional improvements).

The goal of home staging then is to improve the home’s appearance in the eyes of potential buyers, with the ultimate goal of selling the home more quickly and for the highest possible price.

If you are selling a home, then you’ve obviously been on the other side of the process as a home buyer. Think back to your home buying experience. Try to recall the difference between the homes you thought were “just okay” and the homes that made you say “wow!” Professional home staging can help you turn your “okay” house into a “wow” house.

So to sum up our introduction: You can think of home staging as presenting your house in a way that appeals to the largest possible audience, in order to ensure a quick sale for the best possible price. It bears repeating. The key to this whole thing is appealing to the largest audience — that’s what it’s all about.

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Custom Drapery

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Design Tips on your first Design Consultation with Cynthia Havens

09 30 10'

Written by Cynthia

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Do your homework, before the first design consultation have an idea what you like. Collect pictures from decorating magazines that appeal to you. Don’t over think this – go though the magazines and tear out pictures that catch your eye, put them in a folder. Collect paint swatches that appeal to you. When I arrive at your home we will go though your folder it will help me determine your personal style. (Not Required Just a Suggestion, I will help you even if you don’t have time to do these things)

Be Open to Change, think out of the box. You are calling me for a new look. I always suggest that my clients spend some time with the potential changes that I have recommended for you( paint, fabric swatches, flooring samples, tile, granite), place the samples out if your space for a couple of days and view the swatches in different lighting. I do this is in my own home. I tape the swatch of fabric to my wall for a few days to make sure I will like it before making the final design decision.

Have an idea what your budget is, it always saves time when putting together your room makeover if I am planning within your budget from the start. Prices vary a lot in home decor. We could use an expensive silk for the draperies or if the budget is limited we can accomplish the same beautiful look using a faux silk that would be half the price. Discussing your budget saves time and money when working on the project.

Communicate your time line, do you have an upcoming party or event? If so let me know your time frame up front so that we can target that date. Communication is vital when working with your designer.

Discuss what you like in your space and what you do not like, what are things you want to keep… family heirlooms, grandma’s chair. Also, let me know what you dislike in the space.

Working with a Designer can save you money! In my over 20 years of experience I have seen this over and over, homeowners that think they cannot afford to hire a professional decorator for their project and then call me frustrated because they make costly mistakes doing it on their own. Just yesterday on a consultation with a new client I saved him money! He was getting ready to spend hundreds of dollars taking out a window and rebuilding his door– I made a simple suggestion that saved him a lot of money and he will have a better look. He saved enough money to hire me free.

If you are a do-it-yourself, at least get an hour consultation- at the beginning of your project to run your ideas by a professional, ( about $150.00 it’s worth every penny of it!)

Relax and have FUN, decorating your space is a great gift to yourself, enjoy the journey, work with a designer that you feel comfortable with. (hopefully me :) )

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Custom Drapery

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