In today\u2019s society our home reflects our personal style almost as much as the clothing we wear.<\/p>\n
As a designer I have worked on twenty million dollar homes and six hundred dollar a month rentals and they all have one thing in common \u2013 style!<\/p>\n
Style doesn\u2019t actually cost a thing!<\/p>\n
Did you see the movie Pretty in Pink? Do you remember her fabulous room? Her unusual and comfortable stylish clothing? And the character was DIRT POOR.<\/p>\n
That movie was a great inspiration to me as a young girl, because my parents were not wealthy by any means and yet I too wanted style.<\/p>\n
And so, I learned the art of the \u201cthrifting\u201d and \u201cjunking\u201d as my mother would call it.<\/p>\n
One of the greatest gold mines in home d\u00e9cor is that which someone else has gotten bored with and either donated to a Goodwill or Salvation Army or has put out on a hot Saturday morning to pawn on their own.<\/p>\n
I have gotten furniture, accessories, art work, lamps \u2013 you name it \u2013 at yard sales and thrift stores and all for a fraction of what they would cost in a store.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the trick? How do you know when a piece is right or just cheap?<\/p>\n
First, invest in some great magazines, Elle D\u00e9cor, Veranda, etc., then get on mailing lists- I know, I know, who wants more junk mail? But sincerely, a great Pottery barn catalogue or a Napa Style could have spectacular inspiration and design ideas.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve collected your magazines together, get a decent 3 ring binder and some plastic sleeves from an office supply store.<\/p>\n
Now, the real fun begins! Start ripping the pages out of the various magazines\/catalogues and use a Sharpie marker to write notes on the pages about what on the page you like.<\/p>\n
Once you have a big pile of pictures put them into the plastic sleeves (if you want to get really anal like me you can group them into categories and P-touch tabs for each category) and stick them into your binder.<\/p>\n
Now, whenever you go out for your thrifting excursions or junking take your big book with you and look for things that are similar to the items you\u2019ve ripped out of the magazines and catalogues. You don\u2019t have to have exact matches to things, what is important is that whatever you find is reminiscent of the style you\u2019ve found in the magazines.<\/p>\n
I like to keep a book that I call my \u201cDreality Home\u201d which is a little play on the words \u201cdream\u201d and \u201creality\u201d so that I can keep working at making my dream home a reality!<\/p>\n
Some of my \u201crips\u201d include architectural ideas, some are furnishings, others are just some color inspiration or something I liked the idea of for somewhere in my house.<\/p>\n
Most recently I happened upon an \u201cestate sale\u201d and I found a spectacular fire place screen that is a 3 panel screen from the 1920\u2019s \u2013 a solid wrought iron screen \u2013 it is probably worth about $600.00.<\/p>\n
How much did I pay? $25.00! It was ridiculous!<\/p>\n
Make Pretty Happen!<\/p>\n
Melinda Brownstone 2010\u00a9<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In today\u2019s society our home reflects our personal style almost as much as the clothing we wear. As a designer I have worked on twenty million dollar homes and six hundred dollar a month rentals and they all have one … Continue reading