Need: Interesting Bookcases...

...especially if they are a built-in focal point of the room. Quick tip: if your furniture arrangement is symmetrical, change up the shelving heights (but do balance each side if flanking a fireplace or TV) - just keeps the composition from being static. In addition to books, here is where your small collectibles can have some impact...some ideas below to get you started...

A casual arrangement

This would be fun to peruse; lots of interest

Geometric wallpaper a great choice as backdrop

Stacking all the books is a good treatment for the cubby size

Nice worn patina and textures here

Contrast paint makes this

Another geometric wallpaper

Color-blocking book spines another artsy device

Building in a niche for sofa gives room some architectural detail; instant library feel!

Mixing up the wallpapers another good foil for changing up symmetry

Here is where small groupings can shine

Clearly for bibliophiles and art hung outside is a nod to style

A "Real Simple" colorway and composition

Some gleam offset by the moody grays

Effective room divider

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Want: One-of-a-Kind Headboard

I've never been a fan of matching bedroom pieces -we have multi-faceted personalities and this is private space, so fill it with things you love! Here are some ideas that can achieve a certain look....

Ornate door surround fitted with mirror and art

Sculptural panel

Mirrored screens and illuminated art

Fabulous mirror

Organic touch - though the mirror could have hit a different note as contrast

Re-purposed fireplace mantle

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Love: Slipcovering Something

I have always loved having a seasonal wardrobe change for my rooms that coincided with spring cleaning. I'd roll up the rugs, take down the velvet side panels and knot the sheers, exchange the oils for watercolors, put heavy linen slipcovers on the leather seating and switch out the toss pillows.., a nice visual change, but almost a necessity in our antique, center chimney colonial without central air...where's this going? I was channel surfing and hit on "Something's Gotta Give" - a movie I remembered where the house should have gotten Best Supporting Actor, and yes, filled with slipcovers...some ideas below that can change the look of your rooms, whatever the season...

Dining room from the movie; great way to lighten up traditional pieces

A little frumpy, but think that's the point...

Restrained change in a small dining room

What's not to love?

Along with the stenciled border, keeps this from being staid

...and perfect here

Love the dressmaker details throughout

Here as Shabby Chic

Works in a spare context...

...as well as a formal setting

Sink-in comfort here

Softens the hard edges

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101: FAQ'S - Measurements and Spacing

While I've been known to color outside the lines on occasion, there are some 'rules' that are just spatially pleasing or physically necessary; at the very least, they need acknowledged before they are broken!

1) How high off my dining table should I hang my chandelier?

• Typically, a chandelier should hang about 30" from the table with an 8' ceiling. Exceptions: taller ceilings require raising chain 3" for every extra foot of ceiling height.

2) How do I size a chandelier for my dining room?

• There are some factors in play here, but you can have some fun with this one; a good rule of thumb would be to measure the width and length of your room and add together, i.e., a 12 x 12 room would need a 24" diameter chandelier (though consider using two smaller ones over a larger table, especially if one  fixture would visually hang between two windows and obscure a great piece of art... not to mention how magical night-time illumination would look from the outside) Note: with a normal height ceiling measure dining table width and make sure fixture is about 12" less in diameter so folks don't bump foreheads into it getting seated... 

3) What size rug should I use in my dining room?

• Usually, you want to allow 18' to 24" of flooring to show beyond the rug borders, but do size it big enough that the table and tucked in chairs are on it.

4) How much room do I need from dining table to wall?

• Allow 32" for a chair and access to it  - if you need to walk behind seated persons, allow 44" (this can get squeezed during holiday dinners without fatalities)

5) How far from my sofa should I put the cocktail table?

• You want  18" between the two so you can access the sofa and have a comfortable reach for your martini.

6) How high above my sofa should I hang my art?

• Between 8" to 10" above the sofa, depending on the size of both - which brings us to...

7) How big should my picture be that is going above my sofa?

• Soo glad you asked: keep artwork length to about 2/3 the length of the sofa; the height can vary wildly according to ceiling height and desired effect...however, this rule is subject to dramatic license on a case-by-case basis...the only rule that is in stone would be: Love the art! or pass it along...

Need: Mirrors

Interestingly, in my search for mirrors in room design, I came across more examples of what not to do...a few tips: if hanging over a console or chest, let one be the star of the composition; scale the mirror to it's purpose; don't hang opposite direct sunlight and reflect something worth seeing twice...my favorite mirror as a tool are convex mirrors: provides some movement in a room and really love them tucked behind lamps, especially on nightstands...

Fair amount of glare here, but imagine the light dances at night from the hanging pendants

Empty picture frame in front of mirror

Love what it's reflecting

May blind if this is a western exposure

A bit contrived overall, but an example of proper scale of lamp to mirror

Changes the architecture in a room

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Need: An Organic Touch...

...because it grounds even the slickest of interiors and brings the energy of the natural world into our space...if only as a reminder there is a force greater than us...

Floor sculpture from Arteriors

Side table

Love the embedded energy this implies

Sculpture and function

Clamshells have been around a while, but adds some grit here - though I would have liked it better in an earthy shade

Anvil side table

Adds depth here

Beautiful live-edge dining table from Harden

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