houzz interior design ideas

Archive for the "antiques" Category

4 Tips for Downsizing

If you or someone you know is thinking of moving to a smaller home or a retirement community, here are some tips that will help make your transition smoother. 1. Start a “TO DO” notebook Here you will list the tasks that need doing, as well as names of professionals whose services you may need […]

Living in Your Living Room

This inviting seating area in the sunny bay window looks like it has always been here, but truth to tell, it just happened last week. That is, the completion of the room happened last week, but was actually year in the making. Let me back up to show you what the living room of this […]

California Country Living, Victorian Style

On February 16, 2018, I was in Potter Valley, California, working on the historic Spotswood House, when I saw this view behind the house of antique farm equipment, with an enormous willow just beginning to leaf out. This photo perfectly captures the feeling one gets while being on a working farm that has been in operation since the 1880s. In 2001 […]

Realizing Dreams: Master Bedroom Makeover

A few months ago Helene Cogen moved from Miami, Florida, to Portland, Oregon, because her children and grandchildren live here.  She had owned a home here for years, but only used it in the summer, so it was furnished like a beach house–very casual, with lots of white wicker furniture.  With a permanent move, she wanted […]

Subterranean Transmogrification

One expects transformation with a remodel.  The results of this particular basement remodel are so dramatic that I’m calling it “transmogrification.”  The beautiful space below . . . used to look like this: Since I’m not an engineer or an architect, I called upon Wade Freitag at Craftsman Design and Renovation to help with the construction design for this […]

Vintage Charm for New Construction

When the homeowner asked Emery & Associates to help her choose finish materials for the new home she was building, we found ourselves ensconced in a treasure trove of antique French furnishings, accessories and art work.  After listening carefully to her stated preferences, we created a palette around her favorites colors, plum and green.  The […]

Beyond 50 Shades of Gray

Did you ever go shopping to find sheets or towels in your favorite colors and discover they don’t exist?   At the moment there are LOTS of gray items, as gray is really hot right now.  But try finding sage green or plum bedding or decorative pillows in a retail store.  It’s practically impossible! Since Emery […]

Room Service

  This year we changed up our master bedroom.  It went from earthy, Tuscan colors–sage, gold, and red–to spa blue with crisp white linens to echo the white trim, now more prominent than ever with the draperies removed.  Never mind that the bedroom in its previous incarnation had been published in a magazine in 2007 […]

Bathed in Style

  As we began our relationship, I asked my client what kind of mood and feeling she wanted in the new house she was building.  She told me that the antique French furniture she had inherited from her beloved grandmother were the most important possessions she owned, and wanted them to be featured in every […]

I love It When a Plan Comes Together!

The Bauman family recently inherited two magnificent ancestor portraits, which deserve to be prominently displayed in their living room.  Fortunately, when we remodeled their living room four years ago, we added new recessed lighting, even though adding lighting wasn’t on their original list of “must haves.” (See my very first post on this site–put title “Tricks […]

houzz interior design ideas