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Quick Fix: Easy Bathroom Upgrades

Summer brings a flurry of activity—the kids are home, there are vacations to take, parties to plan and friends to entertain. Looking at your bathroom you may feel less than excited about company coming over to inspect it. Banish the bathroom blues with these easy upgrades!

1) Swap out linens. And I mean ALL of the linens. This includes the rugs, bath mats and shower curtains. Consider the season and try to bring in ocean blues, coral or a summery yellow. You may want to also have a rotating set of linens for the change of seasons. This is by far the easiest step (and fairly inexpensive). Even if you only do this, you will feel like the bathroom has had a mini makeover.

2) Change or rearrange. Is your toothbrush holder tired? Soap bottle sad? Change it up! There is also no reason why the same seashell is sitting on your shelf in the same spot year after year. Rearrange or replace any knickknacks you might have lying around the bathroom. Also consider swapping between bathrooms if you are not up for a shopping spree.

3) Accentuate the positive. If you’ve got a little more time and are ambitious, consider painting an accent wall in your bathroom. Remember to keep the color one that flatters your skin tone as the color will be picked up in your face’s shadows. If you are not into DIY (do it yourself), having someone paint a wall in your bathroom is also fairly inexpensive and would take less than a half day of labor.

4) Fix your fixtures. The two fixtures you should look at are your faucet and your lighting. New faucets are a great facelift and can really help keep your bathroom looking modern and on trend without redoing the entire bathroom. Lighting, typically because it is up so high, often gets overlooked. Even if you don’t replace, consider cleaning as the dirt and dust can begin to affect the radiance of the room. These are great “honey do” projects if your significant other is slightly handy.

5) Bloom with the season. A very easy way to perk up the bathroom is with fresh flowers. Summer is a great time to be on the lookout for bright bouquets. We also have some lovely and fun vases at Studio Chameleon. Consider this one that has a “barnacle” look to it.

6) Change your scent. I always like to include this because so many people don’t think about this. Scents set moods, so the warmer apple cinnamon scent of winter doesn’t fit with summer. Try a cooler scent, like one with citrus or a “spa” scent like lavender. Also, don’t be afraid to use a couple different scents that will compliment each other. Just be aware not to overwhelm the nose! If using candles to create your scent, seek out soy. Soy candles burn much more cleanly and the scent will remain right to the last flame.

Get the Look for Less: Clayton Chair

Get the look for less! Studio Chameleon sells a nearly identical chair to the one recently featured on House Beautiful’s website–for $500 less! The Clayton Chair is a great addition to any living room and very comfortable.

Energize Your Life: Now You’re Ready to Party at a Moment’s Notice

Part four of a month-long blog series that looks at energizing your life through your home.

Now that your home is revitalizing and provides you with energy, you will never need to fear guests dropping by or inviting people over on the fly. All you need to do is some quick tidying. And I mean quick. This is my list to get my home ready for company in about a half hour.

1. Perform a room check. Just take a few moments to check in on each of the rooms your guests will be seeing. If there isn’t enough time to clear up clutter, move everything into a box and put it into the garage or closet until the party is over. Check for things around the house that you are used to but may not be best left out for guests – like the hairy dog bed in the family room, or the cat box in the bathroom – and move these things out of sight for the time being. Fluff the pillows, visually check to make sure furniture is positioned the way you want it and drapes or blinds are hanging nicely.
2. De‐clutter the kitchen. If you have dirty dishes and not enough time to wash them, stick them in the dishwasher or stack neatly in the sink. Removing the day‐ to‐day things from your kitchen counter tops creates a clean and uncluttered feeling. Stick the toaster, blender, coffee pot, knife block and vitamins in the cabinets and wipe down the counter tops.
3. Light some candles. I want to appeal to all of my guest’s senses, and it takes at least 30 minutes for candles to burn enough so that the aroma permeates the house. Fresh scents that are more natural appeal to a broader group of people. I recommend Maura Peters candles, which are available at Studio Chameleon. These hand‐poured soy and vegetable wax candles are made from the finest essential oils so they burn long and clean. A few of these and you are set for scent!
4. Put your photos out. Review the photos you have displayed and, particularly if family or close friends are visiting, make sure that you have pictures out of the people who are coming over. Keep a drawer or box of framed photos of those closest to you, so that even if you don’t want to display them all the time, you have them available. This is such a simple way to make people feel that they are known and loved by you.
5. Dust the transition areas. People tend to look down at transition areas – when they are walking into the front door and other rooms and the flooring changes from wood to carpet. This is also a place that quickly accumulates dust and pet hair. Before your guests arrive, take the towel you used to wipe down the counters and do a quick rub down of this area to make sure it is clean.
6. Set the mood with music. Put on your favorite cd and enjoy a glass of wine before your guests arrive.

Now you’re ready to party!

Our White Orchid Tealights are lovely to light up when guests are on their way. Available in store and online.

Energize Your Life: Reupholster, Re-Stuff, Replace

Part three of a month-long blog series that looks at energizing your life through your home.

Welcome back to energizing your life! We hope you enjoyed your Earth Day and were inspired to support the beautiful AND the green out there. Let’s talk about how taking a look at your furniture can reinvigorate a room.

While it is common for us to clean out our closets and toss clothing that is worn, out-of-style, or no longer flattering, reconsidering furniture use is less customary. Why is this a problem? Because just as the items that you wear reflect your personality and style, so too should the furnishings of your home. Like clothing, furnishings should be reevaluated and updated so that they represent who we are and, above all, make us feel good. For some of us this can be as simple as mixing up throw pillows, bringing out your favorite china for a casual dinner party, or just filling your home with fresh flowers. For others, this may mean a real overhaul – rearranging entire rooms or a deep cleanse of the pieces that have stayed too long and are no longer contributing anything positive.

There are three things you should look at when deciding whether or not to keep a piece of furniture:

1) Condition: Is it worn? Stained? Missing Pieces? This kind of shabby is NOT chic! It doesn’t help you stay positive if you are cursing every time you sit in a chair with collapsed cushions or have to fuss with busted drawers.
2) Function: Is this piece still relevant to your lifestyle? Is it the best use of space in your home? In general, do you have a room that gets little or no use? For instance – think of how you could re-purpose your formal living room to invite activities.
3) Style: Is it outdated and no longer fits in with your primary décor? Maybe you’ve already had it refinished and tried it in every room of the house. If you’re keeping the piece for sentimental reasons, store it or let it go. There is no reason to have an eye sore out of guilt. Let someone else enjoy it! As with any still functional furniture (or clothes) there are plenty of people who would love to take it off your hands and recycle – After all, we did just celebrate Earth Day!

Looking to replace a worn-out chair? We love the Barber Chair! Available in store and online.

Art, Wine and Design

Please join us next Thursday, April 28 from 4-7pm for great wine, fabulous art and 15% off the entire store!

Earth Day Inspirations

We’re taking a break this week from our “Energize Your Life” series to talk a little about Earth Day.

I’ve always been inspired by nature in my design work. Its unique beauty is something you can’t replicate. Which is why I’m always excited to find gorgeous pieces that have little or no impact on nature in the process. This Friday, April 22 is Earth Day (and this is also Earth Week!), so I thought I’d share a few earth-friendly items I currently adore.

For the wine cellar I designed at this year’s OC Philharmonic House of Design, I featured two eco-friendly pieces that were the talk of opening night. The wine crate art piece features the salvaged wooden labels from old wine crates. It’s completely custom, so we can highlight wines that you love from crates you have collected. It serves as memory of great wines that you’ve enjoyed with friends and family. It’s a great conversation piece!

The striped buffet is a sustainable, organic and contemporary piece. It is made of reclaimed teak. The stripes are formed from scrap wood, which is why each is different hue and adds a “rainbow” effect.

The striped buffet and wine crate art displayed in the wine cellar of the OC Philharmonic House of Design.

We’re also loving these earth-friendly frames from Dedo, which are made from the unusable scraps of woodworkers. For Father’s Day Studio Chameleon will be doing a special event with Dedo. Be on the lookout for more details!

Bamboo frame from Dedo.

We hope you’re inspired to find ways to be both green and beautiful this Earth Day!