The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ helps you discover your own Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real with another Perfect Holiday Gift

With Christmas just days away thoughts, either calm or panicked, turn to the gifts still on our list. Okay, maybe we’re just a little panicked. Allow me to share with you an alternate gifting idea (thank you to Charles Schultz) that offers a “real” approach to giving a priceless gift; the gift of caring.

The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz,
the creator of the ‘Peanuts’ comic strip.

You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just
ponder on them. Just read straight through, and you’ll
get the point.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best
actor and actress…
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is: None of us remember the headliners of yesterday.
These are no second-rate achievers…
They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies.
Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not the
ones with the most credentials….the most money…or the most awards.
They simply are the ones who care the most!

Always searching for Smart-Design-Daily

2HQDGY4JHGB6

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real with The Perfect Gift

Q. Christmas is here and I need a gift idea for my Mother-in-Law. She’s a designer; her home is perfect and filled with every imaginable beautiful thing. She’s the most difficult person on my list to buy for. I need the perfect gift.

A. With all the holiday spirit I can muster let me be the first to tell you; there is no such thing as the perfect gift. Perfection, while something we strive for at times in our lives, is fleeting at best. What is ideal today will be tarnished tomorrow. Such is reality here on earth. Deal with it.

My suggestion to you, Dear Reader (whose heart is clearly in the right place) is to transcend what is expected and give a Gift of Relationship, instead. I’m not anti-gift giving (pick a collection of your Mother-in-Laws and add to it; cashmere anything; a first edition of Edith Wharton’s “The Decoration of Houses”…etc.) but I’m coming to believe that there are more important things we can offer those around us, both at Christmas, and through-out the year, which will strengthen the bond of family or friendship. I find that to be a rather smart gift giving idea.

From our dear friend Deah in Los Angeles comes this list of 8 Priceless Gifts to give this Holiday Season

These are eight important ways we can contribute toward whole and healthy relationships. They cost nothing, yet they may well be the most valuable gifts
we can ever offer another. This simple checklist can help measure how you are nurturing your relationships. The author of these thoughts is unknown but deeply appreciated.

The Gift of Listening
But you must really listen. Don’t interrupt, don’t daydream, and don’t plan your response. Just listen.

The Gift of Affection
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds.
Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

The Gift of Laughter
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say,
“I love to laugh with you.”

The Gift of Solitude
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone.
Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

The Gift of a Favor
Every day go out of your way to do something kind.

The Gift of a Written Note
It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet.
A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime.

The Gift of a Compliment
A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job,”
or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.

The Gift of a Cheerful Disposition
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone.

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

DesignCoach™ helps you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holiday Decorating Real

At DesignQuotient we look for Smart-Design-Daily because we believe that, like politics, all design is local. We are on the look out for beautiful events, places and things which raise our readers Interior Design Quotient (IDQ).

Today DesignFind features the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston Massachusetts and it’s famous courtyard decorated for the holidays.

The Gardner Museum Courtyard

Isabella Stewart Gardner first welcomed visitors to her museum on New Year’s Day, 1903. On that evening guests listened to the music of Bach, Mozart, and Schumann, gazed in wonder at the courtyard full of flowers, and viewed one of the nation’s finest collections of art. Today, visitors experience much the same thing. The Gardner Museum has remained essentially unchanged since its founder’s death in 1924. Unchanged but certainly not stagnant. Three floors of galleries surround a garden courtyard blooming with life in all seasons. The galleries are filled with paintings, sculpture, tapestries, furniture, and decorative arts from cultures spanning thirty centuries.
A Holiday Garden (on view through December 2009)
This festive holiday tradition features holly topiaries, white amaryllis, begonias, and hundreds of dark red poinsettias.

Closer to home my holiday decorating efforts continue. Yesterday brought a winter storm to the North East complete with a power outage. While on order, my portable generator (for moments like this) was only a good idea so I broke out the candles, lit a fire and spent a few hours wiring a collection of vintage red toy ornaments onto a small tree.

A Winter Strom

With that complete my table top in the breakfast room is complete. Time to review the decorating map and see what’s next.

Vintage Toy Tree

Old Fashioned Toy Ornaments

DesignQuotient is always looking for Smart-Design-Daily.

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 

DesignCoach™ helps you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holiday Decorating Real

I’ve been working daily on my decorating plan for the house. Yesterday I was asked about the origins of holiday garland. What I found was many interesting bits of history related to Christmas Trees and Garland.

Here are some of the highlights:

Historically, there has been opposition to the custom of the Christmas tree because of its pagan origins. In 1851, parishioners in Cleveland, Ohio, condemned as a pagan practice the actions of the pastor, Henry Schwan, for decorating one of the earliest Christmas trees in an American Christian church.
Scottish author Robert Chambers in his 1832 Book of Days asserts that the festivities of Christmas “originally derived from the Roman Saturnalia, had afterwards been intermingled with the ceremonies observed by the British Druids at the period of winter-solstice, and at a subsequent period became incorporated with the grim mythology of the ancient Saxons. Two popular observances belonging to Christmas are more especially derived from the worship of our pagan ancestors—the hanging up of the mistletoe and the burning of the Yule log.” Regarding the Christmas tree itself, Chambers asserts that it “seems to be a very ancient custom in Germany, and is probably a remnant of the splendid and fanciful pageants of the Middle Ages.”
Other traditions relating to Christmas that may derive from Germanic pagan practices include the Christmas ham, Yule Goat, stuffing stockings, elements of Santa Claus and his nocturnal ride through the sky, and elements of Alpine folklore.[1]
While the Christmas tree’s pagan roots are generally accepted, there still are various legends of Christian origins for the tradition. Such legends often relate to Saint Boniface, such as: Boniface, in the process of converting local pagans, cuts down Thor’s Oak, a hallowed tree for the locals, and claims a fir tree growing in the Oak’s roots to be a new symbol Jesus Christ for the converted locals. Francis Weisler argued that Christmas trees are “completely Christian in origin” and that “the Yule tree had no direct pagan connotation…” [2]

Christmas garland history tells us that the early settlers to America brought the custom of Christmas garlands to the country. They where used for decorating the room or the house during the Christmas season. Making Christmas garlands added to the family income after the harvesting season and before Christmas. Selling the garlands fetched a tidy sum, which was spent in buying clothes or other household articles. We find from the Christmas garland history, pine, spruce and cedar trees were used in the making of the Christmas garlands. There were other things used that include cornhusks, orange and scarlet pods of bittersweet, mosses, and dried fruits. The Christmas garlands were not only for home decoration they were used for decorating, churches, business establishments, shops, and hospitals also. The decoration with green garlands made an attractive picture in the background of white snow covered ground.”

Here’s a picture of the garland on my fireplace mantel.

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real

As our readers know we are always looking for Smart-Design-Daily; design that has a point of view that we can learn from or be inspired by. I’ve been thinking about and working on decorations for my home (see below) and this prompted a bit of research. I was interested in learning how our new First Family have approached decorating their new home. I’ve included two of my favorite photographs and a link for you to seem more. “Reflect, Rejoice, Renew” is the theme announced by President Obama for the White House Decorations. Nice.

Portrait of President Kennedy

The Red Room

“Do what you can, when you can with what you have…..” seemed to be my marching orders when it came to my holiday decorations. After ordering the cream velvet ribbon I set about sorting ornaments for two specialty trees. The first tree (I use a three foot tall artificial for this location in the house) is a fun, food tree that I place in the kitchen. I’ve collected food ornaments and though my inventory told me that I probably do not have enough food themed ornaments I can augment the food with a very pretty group of stained-glass ornaments. I’m pleased with the results.

My Kitchen Christmas Tree

Stained glass and Gingerbread Ornaments

Cream ribbons are the order of the day today….the ribbon is water-resistant (for use outdoors as well) which makes it more challenging to work with. I believe I’ve got a good formula for making the bows I want for pine-cone sprays to be used on the staircase. I’ll work on making these up today and post the results tomorrow.

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

DesignCoach™ helps you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holiday Decorating Real

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

My “decoration map” is complete and I’ve outlined the themes I’d like to explore this year:
-Vintage toy ornaments on a miniature tree in the breakfast room

-Vintage food ornaments on a miniature tree in the kitchen
-Cream velvet ribbon and pinecones on wreaths (as purchased) then include this same detail on staircase garland
-Vintage glass ornaments and cream velvet ribbon on fireplace mantel garland
-Main tree in the Living Room to display a range of vintage, antique, new glass and handmade ornaments and gingerbread figures.

With the happy discovery of fresh garland’s cost effectiveness (in my area) I’ve made that purchase and installation. My plan for today was to begin making and wiring the cream velvet bows for the main stairs and, eventually, the Living Room tree. And so goes the best laid plans. I went to town yesterday to purchase yards and yards of cream velvet ribbon only to discover I could not. By this I mean it was not in stock with the one shop in town that carried something other than red velvet ribbon. So, faced with a decision I made one and decided I could busy myself with other decorating tasks while Greg, the very helpful shop owner ordered my cream ribbon and had it shipped in. If the decorating gods smile on me he will have the ribbon on Saturday morning.

Not willing to let days go by with no progress here’s what I accomplished yesterday:

-selected a basket and went for a walk in the woods. I need pine and spruce branches along with pinecones to make corner sprays for the garland

Mother Nature helps out with these beautiful finds

-sort my vintage toy ornaments and prepare these to be wired onto the tree

Sorting ornaments

-install my new corner sprays on the exterior garland. This needs to happen today (Wednesday) as the weather report says we will have heavy rains tomorrow.

Added corner sprays of boughs and pinecones

The front door looking better for the effort

It seems as though I have much to keep me busy so off I go for a walk in the woods. With some luck Mother Nature will help me here a boom to my budget and the aesthetic of this years holiday decorating projects.

Remember we’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

With wreaths in hand and part of my holiday decorating inventory my focus turned to the next item on my shopping list; garland. My “decorating map” calls for garland in three locations: 1. on the pediment over the front door, 2. Baluster and handrail at the upper hall and staircase and 3. fireplace mantel. Since I am figuring out my budget as I go; hoping to spend less not more I am not clear on how much of my mapped out locations will be realized and I won’t know until I compare costs. One car ride into town brings me the answer I need. In my little community synthetic garland actually costs a bit more than beautifully hand-wrapped fresh garland. There is an amazing cottage industry here that pops up during the holiday season making wreaths, evergreen sprays and thick, lush pine garland. The 60 feet of garland I hoped to acquire turned out to be more cost effective than I imagined. I soon met Karen, a neighbor with a lovely 19th century farmhouse on the main highway leading out of town, and we were loading my car with garland. Ladder, hooks, wire and about 30 minutes of my time and the exterior installation was done. On to the staircase and today I’ll get the mantel draped.

Pine garland over the front door

Staircase with pine garland

Yesterday I mentioned that a “shelf mushroom” had been used on a wreath I purchased and hung on my front door. I received a few emails asking what a “shelf mushroom” actually was. I’m no specialist but many in the local community refer to these (see picture) as “Shelf Mushrooms” From a Google search I believe these are Polypores and are actually referred to as fungi. They grow on dead Birch stumps, are hard and woody and look like a shelf. If anyone knows more about Polypores and can help us with this conversation please let us know.

A Polypore growing in the wild

Happy Holiday Decorating

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real

Always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

I had such positive response from yesterday’s reader question having to do with Holiday Decorations. Our 5 Steps to Beautiful-Holiday-Design helps tackle this task and it seemed important to many so I decided to return to the topic today. And since we’re taking a look at “real” decorating I would like to invite you to join me as I put up my holiday decorations.

Here’s the back-story: I’ve just moved into a new house. I’ve just moved into a new community and it’s just me and my digital camera. No cast and crew on this project gang; it’s just me. I did a round of tag sales (yard sale, garage sale…here in New England they seem to call them tag sales) back in September and struck a small holiday gold mine when I came across 3 large storage bins filled with holiday ornaments. I am still taking inventory, learning what I have and what I need.

I knew what I wanted to do with the front door. Just like a warm handshake or a welcoming embrace the front door sets the tone for what is to come. I went local for help with this trekking off to a local library’s fundraiser to buy 2 wreaths (main door and mudroom door). Cream ribbon, turkey feather and shelf-mushroom (a local fungus that grows like a shelf on dead tree trunks) caught my interest and the place of honor for the front door. The same cream ribbon with pinecones holds court on the mud room door.

The Front Door

The mudroom door

Enjoy the pictures and join me tomorrow as I add yards and yards of pine garland to the pediment above the front door and the staircase inside.

Please send pictures of your holiday decorating projects in process. Your idea may be just what another reader needs to spark them into holiday action.

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Keeping Your Holidays Real

Q. It’s time to decorate our home for the holidays. My dilemma is simple…I don’t want my home looking like the holiday displays at every department store in the country. How can I make my home beautiful for the holidays without looking as slick and glossy as most window displays I see around town?

A. There is no getting around the “corporate” trappings retail holiday decoration concepts. The simple reason is that they are created and installed by corporations and they meet with their requirements for “selling” Christmas in their highly competitive business environment. Making your home a beautiful and personal reflection of YOU is key to avoiding a slick corporate approach to holiday decorating.

Here are 5 Steps to Beautiful-Holiday-Design:

1. What resources are at your disposal? Look through the attic, basement and spar closets and gather an accurate inventory of holiday decorations on hand. Then asses what resources you have in your community giving particular attention to crafts and unique handmade items that are unique to your area of the country. From hand-made wreaths to one-of-a-kind holiday stockings you need to know what special products you can easily (and often inexpensively) find in your own back-yard. I find that by using local arts and crafts you quickly and effectively avoid the “too corporate” look. The holiday season is about family…so make your decorations reflect things important to yours. Also consider your time. It’s a valuable resource so be responsible with how you use it. There are only 24 days until Christmas!

2. Create a “decoration map”. Put on paper the areas of your home which you want to decorate. WRITE IT DOWN. Just having these ideas bouncing around in your head is not enough. Commit your ideas to paper (list, annotated floor plan..etc.). By doing this you can break each area down into lists of what you “have” vs. what you need. Shopping becomes a snap.

3. Pick your theme. You can use one theme throughout the house or on a room-by-room basis. What inspires you? What makes you smile? What family traditions would you like to feature? Maybe you’re crazy for angel? Antique toys? Animals? Vintage glass ornaments? You decide and then notate your “map” accordingly.

4. Allocate your resources. Understanding what you have tells you what you need. Make your lists and then take a serious look at your budget. Realize that holiday decorations, like holiday traditions, roll-over from year to year. You may not get to everything on your lists this year… shop smart all year long and you’ll be that much closer to your dream when 01 December rolls around next year. Also there is nothing wrong with keeping things very simple. Sometimes JUST beautiful garland (sans the bows, bulbs and sparkling lights) be perfect. Mother Nature does still know what she’s doing.

5. Make a schedule. As we’ve said there are 24 days ahead which are filled with great demands on our time. Set reasonable goals and get everyone in the family involved. Time spent together is always time well spent.

Let us know if we can help with your design dilemma. Send us your questions and together let’s find Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: French Periods, Number Five

Regency Style (1700 – 1730). Regency 1715-1723. The beginnings of economy in architecture and decoration. Large scale of rooms continues, but free curved forms are introduced. The first transitional style.

Lit-a-la-Polonaise- Bed with pointed crown canopy

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: French Periods, Number Four

Baroque Style (1643-1700). Reign of Louis XIV, 1643-1715. The Golden Age of France; the first purely native style. Splendor and magnificence. Use of classic architectural orders. Rectangular wooden wall paneling. Enormous rooms, large-scale furniture. Richly carved ornamentation and strong color contrasts. Curves formed by a compass. Edict of Nantes revoked 1685.

Laque’- Lacquered

C. Mariani

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has arrived. In 84 hours (give or take) many of us will be seated at a table with family and friends; our sole purpose will be that of giving thanks. While many in our midst have had great challenges this year, we can still find much for which to be thankful.

Rather than our usual Monday DesignCoach installment today I thought I would share with you images which prompt, for me, feelings appropriate to the season.

Late Fall Sunset in Maine

The Damarascotta River with Fall Foliage

On Peaks Island; Leaves waiting to be raked!

Count your blessings and always be on the look-out for

Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: French Periods, Number Three

Late Renaissance (1589-1643). Reigns of Henry IV and Louis XIII. Italian Renaissance influence continues with mixture of Dutch and Flemish influence. Enlargement of wall paneling with overall more formal effects. Edict of Nantes, 1598.

Something new today:

Jardinière- Plant container

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: French Periods, Number Two

Middle Renaissance (1547 – 1589). Reigns of Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. Gradual elimination of Gothic forms, with greater use of Italian ornament and Renaissance architectural detail, with local variations. Catherine de’ Medici dominates the kingdom.

Stretch your IDQ:

Huche- Hutch or chest

Flemish-Coffer-or-Huche

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: French Periods, Number One

French design influence did not stop at the “Empire” period, however, it did bring to a close over 400 years of royal patronage that fueled the rapid and ever changing beauty and extravagances of the French royal court.

Over the next two weeks DesignCoach will highlight major divisions of French influence (see Interior Design and Decoration by Sherrill Whiton):

1. Early Renaissance (1484-1547) Reigns of Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I. A transitional period. Mixture of Gothic structural forms with Italian Renaissance architectural detail and ornament.

Stretch your IDQ:

Guéridon- Small ornamental stand or pedestal

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Before The Fat Lady Sings

Q. My husband and I have just moved into a new house. We purchased a repossessed property which needs work. We’ve made our list of projects and now my husband wants to wait and “do it all at once”. I’m more inclined to chip away at the list one project at a time. Sometimes I think he’s procrastinating…just putting off until we have a General Contractor in place and the “real” work has begun. Is there a right or wrong way to approach this? Help.

They waited too long!

A. I don’t know your husband but my guess is that he’s found a nice way to put things off. Who can blame him? Right? Taking responsibility for work on a house is a very big step and is filled with the unknown and the unimaginable. Very few people I know are eager to jump into this very deep ended pool and the longer “things” can be put off the better.

My suggestion is this; break your project to do list down into at least two categories:

1. First will be the small things that can be easily managed. On this list I would put installing dimmers, changing out cabinet hardware and painting a wall or room. These are weekend projects which, given the right planning and a bit of teamwork, can be accomplished in one or two days.

2. The second list is big gun items (remodeling the bathroom, changing the countertops in the kitchen or converting the attic into a playroom. Items on this list involve greater amount of time and usually a support cast in the form of a contractor or two.

As with anything in life we all need to feel that progress is being made or feelings of dissatisfaction can creep into the game. Crossing items off the first list will generate a sense of accomplishment while you wait to hire out the support you need to accomplish your second list items. It is the best of both worlds and you will not be left with the nagging fear that nothing will ever get done.

Let us know if we can help with your design dilemma. Send us your questions and together let’s find Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Eight

Everything about the Napoleonic period was new. New social order as well as new economic realities presented themselves to those who had survived the Revolution. The royal aristocracy was gone; its members either murdered or immigrated to foreign countries. In their place new nobility was established. This ruling class was established by Napoleons favoritism and by the obligations, socially and politically, which had supported his rapid rise to power. The nouveau riches lacked sophistication and culture of the ancien regime their clumsy attempts at the latter’s refinement did nothing to deter their pursuit of luxury and all the evidence of wealth proper to their new position. They did, however, strive to distance themselves from too vivid a resemblance to the prerevolutionary social norms. And from these efforts was born the art period know as “Empire”. This, like other periods of French decoration, spread throughout Europe influencing established local styles until around 1830.

Etui- Container or box

Eventail- Fan

Faience- Terra cotta

Fauteuil- Upholstered armchair with open arms

Garde-robe- Wardrobe

Garniture- Any motif used for enrichment

Girandole-Wall sconce for candles, often mirrored

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Seven

With liberty, equality and fraternity proclaimed loudly the Revolution ran its bloody course. It was followed by the Directorate (1795-1799) described by historians as a period of slow reorganization which held little in the way of substantive effort on the aesthetic front. The fortunes of France’s nobility were dispersed during the Revolution and now these funds found their way into the hands of a new group whose members had little or no experience with the vestiges of culture. This brief period, sparse as it was, soon found relief when Napoleon was proclaimed consul following his successful campaigns in Austria and Egypt. Then in 1804 he became emperor of France and with this his coronation came a wave of new spending directed by the tastes of France’s new court.

Ecran- Screen

Ecran-a-cheval- Frame with sliding panel used as fire screen

Encoignure-Corner cabinet or table

Encrier-Inkwell

Entresol-A mezzanine floor

Escabelle-Chair supported on trestles (from the early Renaissance)

Etagère-Hanging or standing open shelf

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Six

The storming of the Bastillé, followed quickly by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, was the third major event in the opening act of the French Revolution. Initially the Nobility revolted and refused to support the king, Louis XVI, through the paying of taxes. Subsequent political shifts set the stage for the formation of the National Assembly and the Tennis Court Oath. Thus began the reign of terror of a bloodthirsty and bitter mob that quickly executed the king. The battle of Valmy in 1792, in which a French nonprofessional army defeated the Prussian army and ended all efforts to restore the throne, firmly established the control of the state by the people of France.

Credence- Sideboard

Demilune- Semicircular

Desserte- Serving table or small sideboard

Dos-a-dos- Chair with two attached seats arranged so they face in opposite directions

A Modern Dox-a-dos

Duchesse-Chaise-longue in one piece

Duchesse-brisee-Chaise-longue with separate foot-piece

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Finding the Balance

Q. I would love a little advice! I love a true Southern/Traditional style home. However, I do not like country/clutter. How do I have an elegant and warm home without going to modern? I have a hard time finding that balance.

Traditional Home vs. Modern Life

A. Balance is the key. Finding a balance between items you love and wish to surround yourself with and our nemesis clutter is the challenge. I understand your concerns and believe that by using a few basic principles you can achieve the elegance you desire without bumping into either of the extremes you mention.

Consider three principles for a well balanced, classic interior:

Edit. The best way to avoid clutter is to eliminate. It is said that Coco Chanel encouraged women, once fully dressed, to stand before the mirror and remove one item. Stand in your Living Room with a critical eye and decide what item you can live without. Remove it and see how the negative space impacts the rest of the room. Play this game for an afternoon; add and subtract items (large and small) and learn how their presence or lack there-of, impacts the rest of the space. As you build your understanding you will be better prepared to decide what ultimately stays or goes.

A well edited Breakfast Room

Scale. I find that by selecting objects of slightly larger size you shed the tendency toward clutter. To me clutter is defined as “too many small, busy objects”. If you gather objects that have greater scale and presence you will find that they stand on their own giving the impression of greater ease and balance.

The scale of objects can help eliminate clutter

Passion. If you buy “things” just to fill up a room you’ve missed the point of having a home. Your home should be a reflection of your loves, passions and personal interests. Learn something about yourself today…discover an interest and let that interest guide you. Personal collections make your home unique. Expand these collections and display them in interesting and innovative ways. This focuses attention in a room to one key group and by doing this reduces the tendency to have things scattered around the room. This type of focus aids in our quest for balance.

The beauty of cherrished things.....

Let us know if we can help with your design dilemma. Send us your questions and together let’s find Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Five

France suddenly found itself with a young, immature new monarch; Louis XVI. The state of the nation was sadly lacking; it had been stripped of its American colonies, lacked stature or influence with European nations, and was torn and beaten by internal political and religious turmoil. These internal struggles gained widespread visibility through the writings of Rousseau and Voltaire. France continued to labor under the inexperienced leadership when a strong leader was needed. This combined with the frivolity of his young Austrian wife; Marie Antoinette became a recipe for the upheaval just ahead. While scandals simmered and revolution percolated court life proceeded blind to the social turmoil just beyond the palace walls.

Chinoiserie- Decorative motif in a Chinese manner

Ciseleur- A Craftsman who ornaments bronze and other metals by chiseling; A chiseller.

Coffre- A Chest

Coiffeuse-Dressing table

Commode- Low chest of drawers

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Four

With the time of the regent behind him, Louis XV attained his throne at the age of 13. The level of courtly corruption and wanton pleasure seeking that had become the norm under the regent was continued by the new King. He indulged himself with unlimited luxury and every extravagance possible. And while the economy improved for a short time, the burden of taxation which the country labored under was continually added to, in order to support the court and the King’s favorites, Pompadour and Du Barry. His reign ended in that scorching deathbed prophecy, made by the king: “After me, the deluge.”

Chaise-longue- “Long Chair,” or chair for reclining

Chandelier- Hanging lighting fixture

Chêne- Oak

Chenets- Andirons

Chevet- Bedside

Table de Chevet

Chiffonier- Chest of Drawers

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan expands your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Smart-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France Part Three

When this extravagant period came to an end in 1715 with the death of Le Roi Soleil (The Sun-King) France was a state of disarray. The government was strapped with debt and all hope of additional credit was gone. It’s ships and all foreign trade was under English control leaving it’s people impoverished and starving. Louis XV (1715-1774) was a great-grandson of Louis XIV. At the age of 5 he inherited the crown and a regent was appointed until he was thirteen. In an attempt to build back the financial resources of the crown and the French treasury the Regent launched a period of wild speculation with the result of inflation. This was followed by a frightening panic and great uncertainty. The period of time when birth alone dictated ones position in society was over making way for a new society where wealth, elegance and personal refinement were the order of the day.

Cabinet-secrétaire- Desk with cabinet above

Cabinet-vitrine- Cabinet with glass doors

Cabriolet- Any chair with a concave back

Cachepot- Pot of china or porcelain used as container

Canapé- Sofa

Canapé -a-corbeille- Kidney-shaped sofa

Chaise- Side chair

Always look for Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 

Each Monday on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Los Angeles Designer James Swan answers readers’ questions. Post your design dilemma today.

DesignCoach™ can help you find Smart-Design-Daily.

This week on the DesignCoach: Doing It For Yourself

Q.Help. The holidays are minutes away and I need to do something to help my Dining Room. We have my Grandmothers antique oak table and chairs and a lovely needle point area rug we found at a flea market. I’d like new drapes but don’t have a lot of money to spend and the window is large (almost seven feet across).

Draped Walls Using Inexpensive Fabric

A. If you have a sewing machine now is the time to dust it off. Seriously, if you have the ability to sew you are half-way to new drapes. If you don’t sew then find someone who does (sister, mother-in-law, neighbor, or local seamstress) and strike a deal with them. The next challenge will be fabric. Get out the yellow pages and look for the following store types in your community: 1. Discount fabric store. 2. Theatrical fabric store. 3. Dressmaker fabric store. I once found bolts of natural muslin at a theatrical supply store. It was 90” wide and was on sale for $2.95 per yard. At that price I was able to buy two 50 yard bolts and use it in such generous amounts that my room (college bedroom) was a wonderful success. Better to have a lot of an inexpensive fabric than too little of an expensive one. Think outside the box when checking out these stores….look for inexpensive fabric in large quantities. With enough fabric you may find that draping the windows is just the start. Maybe you will decide to draper the entire room and create a dramatic, chic dinning pavilion for your families holiday season. A few tips you should remember when making (or having made) drapery. 1. Unless you want a shear, diaphanous look always line your drapery fabric. It’s an added cost but it makes the difference between doing it and doing it right. 2. Shop for your drapery hardware the same way you shopped for fabric. Research discount sources in your community and think outside the box. You may discover that rings-on-rods will work fine for you rather than a more typical (and often costly) fully drawing mechanism. 3. Don’t skimp on the fullness of fabric. Few things look as sad and inadequate as skimpy, wimpy drapes. I always insist on at least a 2.5 x 1 fullness and when I can get 3 x 1 fullness I do.

Let us know if we can help with your design dilemma. Send us your questions and together let’s find Smart-Design-Daily

The Curb Appeal Journal is out! http://t.co/O9c405xT ▸ Top stories today via @destinedforhome @cookitaly @wahmrevolution @leonidark29

This image was twitted on Thursday, January 1st, 1970 @ 00:00

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Daily, on the DesignQuotient™ blog, DesignCoach™ Designer James Swan tests your knowledge about the worlds of decorating and design.

We’re always looking for Good-Design-Daily

Today on the DesignCoach: Viva la France

While we dig deep into French terminology it’s a good time to brush up on our French history (just the high points). So let’s jump in when things kick into high gear; with The Sun King himself, Louis XIV. Ascended to the throne as a child of five he reigned for seventy-two years (1643-1715) first under the considerable control of Mazarin (regent) and later as absolute monarch. And what years they were! Under Louis XIV’s continuous influence the arts flourished to an extraordinary degree. The decorative arts, fueled by Louis vast wealth and his love of pomp and splendor elevated all things visual to a magnificence unknown since the days of the Roman Empire. Viva la France, indeed.

Bombe’- A swelling curve; when applied to the front of a piece of furniture, it swells outward toward the center, at which point it recedes again.

Bonheur-du-jour- A small desk with a cabinet top.

Bonnetière- Hat cabinet.

Bouillotte- A small table with gallery edge also a foot-warmer (Louis XVI)

Boiserie- Carved woodwork.

Bronze-dore- Gilded bronze.

Buffet- Sideboard or cupboard (Gothic and later).

Bureau- Desk

Bureau-a-cylindre- Roll-top desk.

Bureau-a-pente- Folding slant-lid desk.

Always look for Good-Design-Daily