What Did I Miss?

OK, so yes...I fell off the face of the earth. No, I can't promise it won't happen again. There are a lot of changes going on around these parts. I finally launched the D&E blog, we got our move date for Ft. Lee (which is not until next year but I have to start stressing about it now because I must remain true to my nature), and I'm hosting a family-wide gathering in about 2 weeks. Also, I've been spending too much time on HGTV and Pinterest, which both remind me that all of these things need to be done with style, pizazz, and attention to detail. We also spent 2 nights in Atlanta last weekend and hit up the Carter Presidential Library (because a person can only visit the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium so many times in this life and because it's entirely too tropical to be outside at the zoo). But I'm back with some stuff to share (or cut and paste, as the case may be) from the May edition of House Beautiful. The 101 Designer Tips in May's issue made the entire year's subscription totally worth it and I'm going to share some of them with you, randomly, 10 at a time. If you've watched as much HGTV on hotel cable as I have in the past 4 days, you will absolutely appreciate this. Here we go...

1. Start your living room furniture plan with the best seat in the room and work from there.

2. To give rooms architectural detail when they don't have any, paint a 1 1/2" to 2" lining stripe around the ceiling and up the walls in the corners. It's a rich touch, a way to get a lot of look with just paint. (I wish there was a picture of this because I'm having a hard time envisioning it. Seems to me, you would just be outlining your box, which would further emphasize that you live in a box.)

3. Where to hang artwork? 63" on center above the floor is a perfect viewing height for most pieces.

4. When hanging a series of pictures together, keep the gap between them 2" to 2 1/2" to really utilize wall space and keep a minimum of 9" between art and tops of chairs and sofas. (Presumably so guests have some time to react should something fall off the wall.)

5. 3M Command Strips are fantastic to use when hanging art over mirrors, millwork panels, or vintage wallcovering. (This suggestion brought to you by 3M.)

6. When framing artwork that requires a mat, specify a mat with 8-ply thickness - the increased depth of the resulting bevel can make anything look important. (I should try this with my college diploma, which I am not at all using.)

7. Don't hang a mirror between windows. The spatial void it creates distracts from the view. And don't fall prey to using mirrors in every room or over every mantel. Mirrors are not art, and a room needs art. (Unless you are me and would look at yourself in a clock face if that's all that was available.)

8. The perfect amount of space between a mirror and the top of a mantel is 7". (Someone else has been reading House Beautiful as this quote is ALL OVER Pinterest right now.)

9. The ideal height to hang your flat-screen TV is at eye level when you're in viewing position. The ideal viewing distance is 1 1/2 times the size of your flat screen. (Unless you're at our house, where we've attempted to squeeze as much furniture as possible into 1500 sq feet and viewing the TV gives the exact same experience as being at the IMAX.)

10. Float something in the room - a sofa, a lounge chair - to avoid the dance hall look. Think of it as an opportunity to show off the back. Do something with the back. (Check Pinterest for ideas on DOING SOMETHING with the back.)

And now I'm going to attempt to write something for tomorrow. Because it seems I might have gotten my groove back...in that cut and paste sort of way.