Last week, contributor Rich Lopez interviewed gay home decorating hunk Roger Hazard before he heads to Dallas (OK, actually Allen) for the Collin County Home & Garden Show. Well, we thought before he comes, you might like some tips and advice for your own home projects. Of course, he’ll answer much more than this when you can see him live instead of just on TV — or on his and partner’s Chris Stout-Hazard’s websites <ahref=”https://www.DesignHazards.com”>DesignHazards.com or <ahref=”https://www.LoveDecades.com”>LoveDecades.com (their furniture line).
When should one edit their room/project? I edit regularly. We all love collecting neat objects. It’s a natural behavior. But sometimes, it’s worth going through a room and temporarily removing all the little items. You’ll like the uncluttered room so much that you won’t put many of the items back. There’s nothing wrong with rotating interesting objects throughout the year. Just don’t feel compelled to have everything on display at all times.
Are popcorn ceilings in the whole house really worth taking down? If you’re redoing a room, you might as well lose the popcorn ceiling. On the bright side, it isn’t as hard as it sounds. Just cover everything in plastic sheets, spray the ceiling with water, and use a texture scraper to pull off the popcorn.
Besides paint, what’s an easy/quick/cheap way to change a room’s look? Move your furniture. Rotate the seating arrangement by 90 degrees. Borrow pieces from other rooms — try using a dresser from your guest bedroom as an accent piece in your living room. Move art around, mix and match throw pillows and accent rugs, and try breaking some design “rules.” If you don’t like the result, it’s easy to return to your previous look.
Does Pinterest fool us into believing we all can be designers? Pinterest can be overwhelming. It’s best to start by finding profiles who match up with your design style and exploring from there. On my Pinterest account I file my posts into specific categories — kitchens, bedrooms, gardens, etc. Thus, if you don’t want to follow all of my boards (although I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t!), you can just follow the ones with the topic that is of most interest.
I started out by working with piles of design magazines, catalogs and books. Sites like Pinterest — not to mention all the design blogs — make it easier to reference images, but more importantly they give us access to homes that, while creatively designed, might not have ever made it into a magazine. I think it’s exciting to have a window into the design work that people, both professionals and just creative homeowners, are doing right now.
