Reinvent Your Home for the New Year
Fresh perspective is a cool thing. It gets your brain humming a new tune. Every January, we get calls from people who have been to a party where the house knocked their socks off. “I want my house to look just like theirs,” they tell me. GREAT,” I say, “Now how can your home be just as fabulous, but completely different?”
Make it yours. Every home is different and special – it should have life spilling out of it. Not just any life, but your life. Sounds crazy, but it applies to home décor more you might think. Every home has a family in it that has vastly different interests, travel experiences, history, and lifestyle. I want to walk into a home that is livable with just the right touches of whimsy and drama. A home that can host both a dinner party and a sleep over – it doesn’t take itself too seriously, but can if it needs to.
I have a hip, fun client who finally bit the bullet last summer and said very Susan Powter-ish, “Stop the Madness”. When they first moved to Southlake, she hired the decorator all of her friends were using and who consequently put all the same cookie-cutter décor in her house that she saw at every Bunko. Sort of a “Stepford Decor.” She loved the style for her friends, but it just didn’t work for her. That is where the old adage – just because you can, doesn’t mean you should -- comes in. We revamped her home, giving it a more urban, clean-lined look that fits her family to a tee. The moral of the story is: What works in your friends’ homes may not cut the mustard in yours.

We glimpse these “aha moments” frequently. I was recently reviewing a project with a client. She was so excited about the new colors on the walls and all the changes in her house, but when I came back the next day she was in tears, “My friend hates my walls!!!” My immediate question to her was, “How does her house look? “Not so good,” she said. We both laughed and moved on to the next project. Your best friend is a great sounding board, but not necessarily the best designer for your home. Trust your own instincts.

Find YOUR Style So how can you reinvent your home for the New Year??? A thousand mile trip starts with a first step. Take some time and find examples of what you love. There are many magazines and books with thousands of ideas to spark your imagination. Find the ones that make you smile and create an idea file. Look at the rooms and the colors and reflect on how they make you feel, good and bad.

Get Fresh Ideas Next, you need a plan and some fresh perspective. A professional designer is a good first step. I know hiring a designer can be scary – it costs money and they may encourage you to make choices you wouldn’t ordinarily make. But, a designer brings hundreds of scenarios to the party including space planning, color continuity, and many ideas you may have never even dreamed of (the great ones will blow you away with creativity). A designer is a translator who can take your ideas and experiences and create the personality that your home craves. Designers should be a one-stop shop for the whole shebang; they speak that special contactor lingo and have the experience to get the job done. Remember, a contactor is not a designer…someone has to direct them to the finish line.

Make it Yours Finally, add touches that make your home uniquely yours. Isn’t it great to go in to a house with lots of pictures on display??? Maybe I am just nosey, but I love to see where you have been and what you looked like as a baby. I love framed letters, too, Some of my favorite things are the letters my kids have written to the tooth fairy and the letters my dad sent to my mom from Vietnam. I’ve even framed the journal entry from my first date with my husband -- priceless art in my opinion. Also fabulous: a doorknob off a childhood home, an old pocket watch from a great-grandfather, an old letter jacket, meaningful record albums, wine labels, baby dresses and shoes. There’s nothing like a cool trinket with a great story (even if you have to make one up).
Probably most importantly, don’t be afraid of change. Make it fun. At the end of the day, if you always do what you have always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got – make change your theme for 2007!

January 2007 Home Style article for Southlake Style Magazine by Cheap Thrills Décor, Bob & Jami Zimmerman

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