Refresh your home for spring!

/

Springlike weather has arrived in southwest Florida, and this is the time of year that most of us start thinking about what we can do to our homes to spruce them up a little for a new season. Although we don’t really have a change in seasons, even in Florida, it is fun to make a transition from the winter months into spring. So, if your home is in need of a little decorating magic to give it a new look for spring, check out the tips below from our latest News-Press Column.

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to news-press.com • February 26, 2011

Photo of Wrenda GoodwynStart at the front door. Paint the door a fresh, new color. Purchase two ceramic pots which you can leave as they are or paint them a beautiful spring color and put them at the entry. Or to save money, buy plastic pots and paint them. Fill them with seasonal flowers.

• Think about color. Maybe an accent wall that you have wanted to try. Or perhaps you would like to replace a color in a bathroom with a beautiful white and give it a spa look with all white accessories. Or add some color with a new set of towels or sheets.photo of colorful flower pot

• Rotate your artwork. Everyone has too much art. Keep some of your favorite pieces and switch them out. Spectacular spaces recommends doing this seasonally. And while you are thinking about art, do some rearranging to give your walls an art gallery look. Hint: Less is more.

• Rearrange and regroup. Too many collections scattered around? Or maybe your taste has changed. Don’t be afraid to eliminate something that you no longer love and open a space for something new and wonderful.

• Declutter. Get rid of anything that you do not love. This one alone will make a world of difference.

• Lighten up. Evaluate your furniture. Is it too heavy for the room? Think about replacing cumbersome pieces as your budget permits.

Read More

Home inspirations: Romancing the closet

/
Home inspirations: Romancing the closet

Technically, it is still the new year.  So, if one of your resolutions was to gain some control over your closet, check out the fun, fast and affordable tips from Spectacular Spaces that were in my column in this weekend's Fort Myers News-Press.

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to news-press.com • January 29, 2011

Photo of Wrenda GoodwynIn "Sex & the City," Carrie Bradshaw told Mr. Big that she would rather have a really big closet than a diamond. It is a woman thing.

Closets are very complicated. They have the power to make us feel happy, fat, thin, sad, unsettled. It is an emotional relationship that we have with our closet.

As a decorator, I get to peek into a lot of closets. They tell me a lot about my clients. And I tell my clients that your closet is the one area in your home that you can control with minimal expense and effort.

We go into the closet at least 10 times a day. It is first place we stop in the morning. And usually the last stop at night. Unless you have a Mr. Big around to drop a bundle, a Carrie-style closet is probably out of reach. But I have tips on doing a closet makeover that will give your closet a designer look.Photo of Elfa designed closetKeep your closet organized with an Elfa system.

If your budget allows for a total redo of the closet - including lighting furnishings, drawers and all of the amenities - go for it. You can also check out some of my favorite closet systems: California Closets, Elfa at the Container Store and IKEA Pax. These vary in a medium price range and are easy to customize.

For budget systems that are easy to install, try Closet Maid (Lowe's and Home Depot) and Rubbermaid.

Once you have a system in place, we need to make it pretty:

- Select a yummy paint color. This will give you immediate results. I love Benjamin Moore's Blue Dusk.

- Depending on the size of your closet, pick out a beautiful runner or square rug. Something whimsical and fun. West Elm's Chrysanthemum rug is hand-tufted wool and starts at $129 for a runner

Read More

Easy tips for turning your bath into a blissful spa escape

/
Easy tips for turning your bath into a blissful spa escape

Check out my latest Home Inspirations column in the Fort Myers News-Press for tips on turning your bath into a blissful spa escape. 

News-Press, October 23, 2010 by  Wrenda Goodwyn

There is no more peaceful escape than retreating into your own personal spa. You can include soothing colors, candles, aromatherapy, a new spa robe and slippers, fluffy white towels, neck pillow, relaxing music, favorite soaps, body lotions and oils.
It is possible to include spa and bath products from some of the most popular boutique hotel collections in the world, from a showerhead that gives a sense of standing in a rain forest to popular curved hotel shower rods that save space and create a beautiful design element.

You can do them all with a few tips to get started.

• Explore hotel collections. Some of my favorites are the showerhead from the Fairmont Hotel. Eco-friendly products from Marriott Hotels. Trendy and hip decor from W Hotels. Bath products from Sonesta Hotels. All have websites that sell everything from the furnishings to lighting.

• Declutter. Keep all surfaces clean and sparkling. Use attractive baskets or jars to hold and store accessories.

• Color. This one is subjective but no color says "spa" like a beautiful clean white. Blues are also calming and greens are relaxing. Some of my favorites: Benjamin Moore's Sweet Dreams, Brilliant White, Silver Satin, Fresh Dew.

• Mirrors. If you are going to paint, replace the mirror. If your bath is small, use one with a frame or consider framing a plain mirror. Or frame the mirror on the wall without the expense of removing it. Check out mirrormate.com. If you have a double vanity, replace a stark, large mirror with two framed mirrors (Pottery Barn, West Elm, Home Goods).

Read More

Home Inspirations begins in Fort Myers News-Press

/

Photo of houseCheck out my new decorating column, Home Inspirations, that began today in the Fort Myers News-Press with this intro.

The column will focus on  fresh approaches and imaginative solutions for renewing your spaces.  Transforming your bath into a spa-like retreat, clutter-busting secrets, finding flea market treasures and much more!  Follow us and let us know what you would like to know more about in this column and blog. 

News-Press, August 28, 2010 by Wrenda Goodwyn

For as long as I can remember I have been redoing rooms.

As a child, some of best memories are of my mother and me moving all of the furniture around in every room.  This became a seasonal ritual and my father would come home from work in the evening to a different house.  We didn’t have a lot of money for decorating so we used what we had.  When we got bored, we moved everything around and just made it look completely different.  Always better.

Then there was the time that we painted the master bedroom purple.   My father was on a short business trip and we had to work fast.  To this day, I have a soft spot for Benjamin Moore Violet Mist #1437.  We loved it.  My father was not so sure.  I told them that it was the perfect dreamy color for a bedroom.  I was 10 years old.  My mother and I were convinced that we were ahead of our time as decorators! 

So after redoing my own small apartments, condos, homes, beachouses and estate homes, as well as the homes of most of my friends, I decided to put my talents to work. I did not want to be a traditional designer.  I wanted to start with what people already had and work from there.  I had done my own homes on every level budget.  Most important, I knew that I could make any home, regardless of the budget or style, look better.  I knew that I had a passion for decorating and that I had always been able to make a room look better.  What amazed me were the small changes that had a big impact.  

Read More

Selling your home? First impressions are everything!

/

One of my favorite services is helping clients pull their homes together for a sale!

I take a lot of pleasure in making a home show like a model for the owners to enjoy until the for sale sign flips over to "sold."  I love it when the client tells me that they like what I have done so much that they don't want to sell the home.

Spring is the time of year when (in Florida) lots of part-time residents are thinking about putting their comes and condos on the market.  It is also when homeowners hopefully try to sell their home over the summer and try to get settled before school starts. 

At least that is the way it was before the market took a tumble.  Times are uncertain.  Money is tight.  That home could sit on the market for a while.  But I still receive lots of calls asking me what I can do to help a home sell and to increase the resale value.

We all know that first impression are everything.  Sometimes it is the only chance you have to make the sale.  And sometimes the best ideas are the simplest.

So, with my tools of the trade in hand, ready to share some secrets of how to beat out every other house for sale on the same street, I show up at the front door.  But the appointment actually starts the minute I pull up in front of the house and step out of my car.  Everyone is so concerned with the inside (and rightly so) that they often forget that the first impression begins with the front yard.  So, before I share some guidelines for the interior in a future blog,  let's run through some quick, inexpensive, totally effective ways to get prospective buyers in the front door!

And even if you are not selling your home, try these tips for an easy spring refresher to your home: 

Read More

Take Me to the Movies for Design Inspiration!

/

I love movies.

If I am having a stressful day, writer's block or decorating block, I sometimes will close up my officePhoto Courtesy of Universal Pictures. (advantage of being your own boss!) pick up my purse and head to a movie.  The total escape always reshapes my attitude.  Even when I worked in the corporate world, I would often give my staff a mental break in the middle of the afternoon and take them all to a movie.  Of course, I was their favorite boss!

A good friend from LA came for a visit a couple of weeks ago.  She was coincidently one of my "staff" who learned early in her career, the benefits of sneaking out to a movie midday.  Now she is all grown up and is a successful NBC Universal vice president and I am very proud of her accomplishments.  One of her responsibilities is dealing with product placement and sponsorship in the theme parks and movies.  It is a great job and being in LA, she is immersed in all things Hollywood.  So, our conversation always turns to movies.

This time to the talented Nancy Meyers, the wonderful writer/director who gave us It's Complicated (see kitchen above), Something's Gotta Give, Father of the Bride and more.  Her movies are an interior decorator's dream.  She creates rooms that we love.  They make us want to walk right in and sit down.  They are as beautiful as a

Read More