| Q: |
My home has oak colored cabinets, including the Master
bath area, and I
am considering new bedroom furniture. There are white doors, and the walls are a newly painted light, creamy beige tone.
What color bed frame/dressers would coordinate? I can only think white or light oak to "match", any ideas?
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| A: |
As you probably know, the days of Oak cabinetry have come and gone. But
have no fear! There are many great and inexpensive options for updating your home without replacing cabinets. I'd love
to share those with you with a home or store visit.
As for the bedroom furniture, I would suggest mixing your woods and not trying to match so much of what you
already have. Perhaps a black headboard, cherry dressers and some painted accent pieces for the night tables.
Or, you could change that up a bit with a cherry or maple bed with black dressers. The key to having a well
designed home is to keep your pieces as neutral as possible, as well as versatile which will allow you to them
move around your home in the future or move into different locations in a new home.
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| Q: |
I wanted to know if you can "mix and match"
pictures in a room of different frame sizes and frame colors? What do you recommend? Does it depend on your color scheme?
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A: "Coordination" is the word that I would use for this question. Without seeing what you have exactly, I would
recommend trying to keep art/pictures together in ways that seem similar. Whether it is by themes, color, or size,
I would try to pull items together that make a nice grouping. If you are working with many small pictures, this would
be especially important.
One way to accomplish this is by setting your art out on a flat surface (floor or table) and assemble the "layout"
there. This will help you see the pieces together before you start putting holes in your walls.
Feel free to take photos of your rooms and pictures and stop by Yours & Meyn, Simply Designed for more help with this project.
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| Q: |
How do your design fees work?
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| A: |
At Yours & Meyn, the focus of design is really about you and your home. To that end, we create spaces based
on the individual need of the homeowner. Mary does as little or as much as you need, so we charge an hourly
rate or we will put together a proposal when an entire room needs an update- whatever you need Mary to do.
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| Q: |
What if I get home and the accessory I bought
doesn't look right, but I love it?
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| A: |
Loving an accessory is the key! Whether it is a lamp, art, or a candle holder, how and where you display that
piece can make a room shine, and that's where Mary's affordable home consultations (and the buyer's club) come
into practice. Mary can come to your home and re-accessorize an entire room, house or just one wall or corner
for a nominal fee.
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| Q: |
Can you mix wood tones in a room, and are there
certain colors/tones that do/don't mix well?
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| A: |
There is an exception to every rule, but gone are the days of everything being "matchy matchy". The trick with
mixing wood tones is confidence, if you have accent pieces that are different wood tones but you love them, then
work with them. You can offset big variations and balance in a room by accessorizing each piece. Are there tones
that are more difficult to pull off together? Sure. Try to keep browns and golds together and use other accessories
to tie them together. If you have woods with red in them, you can mix in some browns to tone down the red.
Hope that helps!
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| Q: |
I have a neutral kitchen; cream and browns with
oak cabinets. What accents could I add to accentuate?
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| A: |
It sounds like you have a nice warm palette to work with, so there are a couple of options for you.
A nice "mist" blue or soft green might work really well with the cream and brown, and you can find some unique
accessory pieces in those colors at my store or in others. Another more traditional accent would be red. Red
is a great contrast to the browns, and adds a lot of ‘pop' to a space. I would suggest mixing in some florals
to soften the hardness of the cabinets and countertops as well. You can do that by adding stems to vases or
just setting a silk bouquet to the counter.
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| Q: |
Do you recommend Holiday decorating ideas and if so, are there "in" color-themes this year?
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| A: |
I do recommend simple and easy Holiday decorating ideas, many of which you can view at our store "Yours & Meyn,
Simply Designed." I think the trick to a beautiful, non-stressful, decorated home can be achieved using the following ideas:
First, go to Nature to find inexpensive and easy to find foundational items that I use for the beginning of my Holiday
Decorations: Start with items such as red twig dogwoods branches or other branches (add a little spray paint of white
or silver for an extra touch), pine cones, any evergreen tree (use the bottoms or over grown branch), acorns, etc. You
can mix those items with the glitter and shine of artificial greenery and ornaments and you are on your way to a Sparkling
Holiday Season! Use these items on mantels, buffets, tables and other display areas throughout your home and on protected
outdoor areas.
Next, keep your table dressings simple with a swag of greenery mixed with acorns, pumpkins and pine cones that can easily
go from Thanksgiving to Christmas Dinner with just a few items being swapped out.
Lastly, remember that the Holidays are about gatherings of Families and Friends and the celebration of our many blessings.
Play Holiday music, have plenty of good cheer and all of your decorations will radiate the beauty of the season and the
people viewing them.
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