Decorating Do Bits Newsletter September 2000 Archived

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Decorating Do Bits
MyInteriorDecorator.com Newsletter
A Web Site Dedicated to Decorating & Interior Design
September 2000
Vol. 1 Issue 9

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"Be creative. Don't limit yourself and your ideas. If you think outside the box and think about things rationally you can make those really creative projects happen." -Rhonda Morin (formerly Rhonda Layton), The Decorating Bible

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Table of Contents:

Letter from the President
Spotlight on Decorating
Feature Article: I Want What I Want When I Want It, But What Do I Really Want?
Sponsors
Decorating Do's
Updates & New News
Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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Letter from the President
Hi everyone,

Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend. Seems in the East that on the first "unofficial" day of fall, fall has indeed arrived. I love this time of year for the change in colors. I am anxious to get things in from outside and begin preparing the house with new colors and decorations.

Every fall I bring out fall decorations, waxed leaves, pumpkins, apples and corn. It helps to spice up the house a little and makes everyone happy.

I have this odd theory about our houses when we decorate them. I think they know when we do things to make them pretty. I think they smile when we clean, add a new window treatment, or set a vase of flowers in the foyer. Yes it's weird but try it sometime and see how the whole feeling of your home changes.

This past month The Decorating Bible was completed. If you haven't picked up your copy, please do so, the reduced Newsletter member price will be raising the end of this month.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter. By the time our next newsletter is out, I hope to have a lot of new advice questions answered. There are so many wonderful things I try to answer for you all and I want everyone to know. I am also looking to change the format of the site a little. The Interior Design Store has moved in a way to a new home and we should have a wonderful announcement about that next month. I would like to create a one-stop shop kinda place for you as well as create a space for some of our Entrepreneurs to earn a little cash for their decorating projects. Please look for some major advancements and overhaul on the site in the next few weeks.

Until next time, please enjoy this newsletter. If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you would like to be removed or not receive the newsletter any longer, please let me know that as well.

Happy early fall,

Rhonda Morin (formerly Rhonda Layton)

President, MyInteriorDecorator.com

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FEATURE ARTICLE

I Want What I Want When I Want It, But What Do I REALLY Want?

How to find your decorating style and know where to begin...

If you are like most people, you know what you want and what you don't want. And that's great! Sometimes, however, we are unable to communicate what it is we want in a way that others are able to understand.

When you are shopping for items in your home, this kind of shopping can be extremely frustrating. If you don't know what you are looking for, you wander aimlessly searching for things. Sometimes you see something and it may not be the right selection, but you purchase it anyway because you are just exhausted and need to get something.

Once you get it home, you find it doesn't work or you just don't like it and have to return it. What a pain that is!!! So, how do we determine what we like and dislike, what we want, what we may need and what we really desire?

The answer is simple, you need to get clear on all of these things through education before you go out shopping.

Shopping 101

Lets begin by having you find out what you like and discovering a way for you to communicate that to others.

I want you to go to a bookstore or grocery store and sit with the home and decorating magazines. Begin flipping through them, finding photographs of rooms you really like and appeal to you. Make note of them or set the magazines aside. You can also do this with decorating books but magazines are much less expensive.

As you are searching, you will find things that jump out at you and eventually you will see a pattern emerge of rooms you like and styles that represent the kind of home you want.

Styles are typically grouped into the following basic categories:

Traditional (formal, dressy, rich fabrics, cherry wood)

Country (antiques, pine, collectibles, cozy warm feeling)

Contemporary (clean lines, dramatic)

Romantic (soft, elegant, ruffles, lace)

Oriental (antiques, dramatic colors, high style)

Southwestern (earth tones, textures, artifacts)

Transitional or Eclectic (mixes of any style)

Knowing basic style categories will further help define your style preferences.

Purchase a couple of magazines that represented your style so you will have them as reference. It will help you when you are looking for furniture, colors, accessories, etc. later on. This exercise will also help you find a definition to your style.

My Family and Home

Do you entertain a lot? Do you like to read? How many people are in your family? Do all the kids in the neighborhood come to you house? Do you have small children? Do you only entertain a few times a year for family and friends? Do you have large dinner parties with business associates? Do you prefer to have a home where jeans and T-shirts are considered formal wear?

Who are you and how does your home get used? This is an important part of the process because the answers to those questions will determine where you should begin decorating your home.

I have heard designers and decorators say the first room you should always decorate is your master bedroom. The theory is you are in this room the most and therefore it should be a well centered, organized place. If you wake and sleep in a beautiful place, you will be happier.

My argument is that I am awake more in the den or kitchen than I am in my bedroom and I like my public spaces (kitchen, family room, living room, and dining room) to appear pulled together first. This, of course, is based on my lifestyle.

What is YOUR lifestyle?

If you are a person who loves to entertain formally, then you should consider working first on your living room and dining room. If you like to entertain informally with friends and family, work on your family room and kitchen spaces. If you are a cook and everyone congregates to your kitchen, then by all means do that room first. If you are a homebody and just love relaxing in your bedroom, do that room first. If you are a busy professional and are rarely home, then the bedroom theory from above may be the best for you. Typically, you will be in that room more often anyway.

Once you define what areas are most important to have completed first, you will be well on your way to a finished home.

The answer to the question, "what rooms are most important to be finished first," can not be all the rooms! If you set yourself up for that kind of overwhelm, you will not be able to accomplish anything.

If you don't focus on what area first, second and third, you will become very overwhelmed by all the things you need to accomplish. Why do that to yourself? Break it down into smaller pieces and get it done.

Figure out with your lifestyle what rooms are most important to finish first while keeping an overall eye on your whole house. If you see bedding that would work for your master bedroom and its on sale, go ahead and purchase it, but don't then switch focus to that room when you are almost finished with the family room.

Once you find your style, the rest falls into place.

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Want to learn the decorating secrets of professional
interior designers? Visit: http://decorating-bible.com
Copyright, 2000-2007. Rhonda Morin (formerly Rhonda Layton)
Article may be reprinted. Please keep this information in tact.
http://decorating-bible.com
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ARE YOU ASHAMED OF YOUR HOME?
Do you want to learn to decorate your home GUARANTEED?

The revolutionary new ebook: The Decorating Bible
will teach you everything you need to make your home
the home of your dreams!

Hurry, don't waste any time, the special discounted price
will expire on September 30, 2000!!! Money back guarantee!

http://decorating-bible.com

Get your FREE chapter at: http://decorating-bible.com

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DECORATING DO'S

Every day I hear people telling me you can't use white in your home because it's uninviting or cold or this or that. If you want to use white in your home, USE WHITE!

Apparently I am behind on magazine reading because the new (to me) edition of Country Home (September 2000) has on the cover the most stunning white room. Inside the edition, the white room is simple laced with hints of color in the accessories. I love being in a white room because the space is very freeing and devoid of sensory overload. It's calming and stress free.

So, if you want to use white, use it. I encourage you!

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UPDATES & NEW NEWS

I have gone on and on in this newsletter this month, so basically the only thing I have to report about new things are the advertising spots we have open for coming newsletters. Please Contact Us for more information.

Also get your book (The Decorating Bible) while they last!!! http://decorating-bible.com.

And lastly, I am the Co-Chair for a formal dinner dance in February, 2001. Our charity is a school for learning challenged students and young women with children. Mt. View Alternative High School is the only high school in all of Fairfax Country, VA, that has day care for teen mothers. If you have a product or service we could use for raffle packages, please let me know. Or if your company would be interested in sponsoring the event, email me and I will send you our sponsorship rates.

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DECORATING DO BITS is a monthly newsletter, serving people interested in decorating and interior design. Our mission is to provide information about decorating as well as tips and tricks to create the home of your dreams.

To subscribe to DECORATING DO BITS Join Mailing List.

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Rhonda Morin (formerly Rhonda Layton), Editor, DECORATING DO BITS
Stay up-to-date on the latest tid bits of decorating info.

(c) Copyright, 2000-2007. MyInteriorDecorator.com
All rights reserved. No portion of this newsletter may be
reprinted without express written permission.
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