Creative Home Expressions - Thoughts from Long Island

Helping Long Island's Hungry

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 14:16:23 -0800

My title may seem like an oxymoron to you, since Long Island is viewed as a rich area, but there are many families who can not keep up with the pace of day-to-day living expenses here on Long Island. They are just making ends meet paycheck to paycheck. We have many soup kitchens and food pantries in action.

I recently found out that Long Island Cares, Inc., and The Harry Chapin Food Bank have been a great resource for residents in need. To aid in this fight, there will be an "Acoustic Long Island Winter Concert" at the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts on February 9, 2008, from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. You can enjoy an evening of great music and help build up the food resources for our pantries and soup kitchens.

According to a 2005 study by Long Island Cares and Island Harvest, the number of people visiting food pantries is up 67%, while the numbers of those turning to soup kitchens and shelters have increased by 54% and 34%, respectively. Some of these food pantries and soup kitchens have been forced to turn people away due to lack of food resources.

To obtain tickets for this concert, or for more information, call 631-207-1313. Those unable to attend the concert but who would still like to contribute can visit http://www.licares.org/. Long Island Cares is also sponsoring a "Holiday Tribute Gift" project, where donors may make contributions in someone's name. The gift recipient will receive a personalized card informing them that a gift has been made in their name to the food bank.

As little as $30.00 will feed a family of four for two days; $105.00 gift will feed a family of four for one week. I don't know about you, but $30.00 is what I used to pay when I got my nails done every two weeks for a fill-in, plus tip. My son has been volunteering at a local soup kitchen since April of this year, and I know that he feels a great sense of responsibility to make sure he is there every Thursday afternoon after school to fulfill his duties for them, as well as having more of an appreciation for what we have.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, redesign, home staging and color consultations. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information about our services.

Help Someone Dress For Success

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:04:18 -0700

PLEASE NOTE; I do not have any affiliation with this program. I am just sharing community information.

Dress for Success, a non-profit organization run by Brookhaven Town's Department of Women's Services is partnering with Dress Barn to encourage residents to donate new or gently used clothing for financially disadvantaged woman to outfit themselves appropriately for an interview, so that they can gain meaningful employment. Dress for Success has served more than 2,800 women since its inception in 1997.

Clients who are referred to Dress for Success have two things in common: they have a low income and are ready to begin employment, meaning they have had training about the interview process, how to create a sufficient resume and more. They will be outfitted at the Dress for Success boutique with a suit and a couple of additional outfits for the beginnings of their working wardrobe.

Donations will be accepted from March 30 through April 5, 2008. Clothing should be clean, in good repair and on hangers. For more information or to make a clothing donation you can call Dress for Success at 631-451-9127 or visit their website at www.dressforsuccess.org/brookhaven .

Kathy Passarette, and Creative Home Expressions, is based on Long Island, New York, and offers interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and color consultations. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.creativehomeexpressions.com/.

Paint & Wallpaper Tips ~ My 90 Second Interview With Energized Seller

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:56:46 -0700

I did a 90 second interview last week with Dan Eason from Energized Seller. Below is the full text of what I wanted to say {90 seconds does go by rather quickly}.

I am in the midst of selling my own home, and while I'm not seriously looking yet, I do check out what's on the market. This is what I'm seeing a lot of, and my perspective as a potential buyer and a home stager are in agreement on these things:

•v Red walls ~ They may give your dining room the dramatic look you were after, but a prospective buyer is seeing a lot of priming and painting going on here. Keep in mind that buyers are looking to the internet first. When I see a room with red walls, I pass and move on to the next one. Saying it's "just paint" is one thing but many dark colored walls don't fall into that category.

Photo courtesy of BH&G

•v Wallpaper ~ Wallpaper, and particularly outdated wallpaper, is a personal choice. Just like how you decorated your house with your pictures, artwork and accessories wallpaper is a personal choice. Unfortunately, unlike the other items, you're not taking it with you! It needs to come down and the buyer is not the one who is going to want to take it down. As with the previous point, make the time and effort to remove wallpaper.

Photo courtesy of BH&G

•v Borders ~ Fall into the same category as wallpaper. Remove them. Borders are dated, especially if used alone on a painted wall. If you are looking to make the top or mid-portion of your wall interesting, put molding up. It adds to the value of your home, adds the interest, and everybody loves molding. Molding can be done fairly inexpensively and you can even ask your local lumber yard or Home Depot to make the cuts for you.

•v Faux painting ~ If done properly by a professional, faux painting can add a nice touch to a room. If the faux painting in your home was done DIY and you "just wanted to try it" it should be painted over. This is another area where prospective buyers are going to think they have quite a bit of work ahead of them.

Some paint color suggestions: Sherwin Williams: Sensational Sand, Latte, Hopsack, Dover White, Whole Wheat, Bagel and Interactive Cream.

Benjamin Moore: Blond Wood, Carlisle Cream, Everlasting, Lady Finger, Southern Comfort, and Antique Lace.

On a budget, you can get most colors made up at Home Depot or Lowe's using their color match system, but you will need a sample of the original color.

If you do have subtle colors - a light yellow, a light green, leave it as is. If you have pink, blue, purple, brown, black, red, orange, bright yellow, dark green - you should prepare to paint.

Final Thought:

As much as you may not want to do these things to prepare your home, a buyer is not going to want to do them either. Nobody wants to have to tackle repainting over a dark color or removing rooms filled with wallpaper. Make the time and effort to do these things prior to listing your home - it will make it more appealing to a larger number of prospective buyers. That is the goal after all.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Immediate Window Shades Recall

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:21:10 -0700

MSNBC has a story this morning about 5.5 million window coverings that are being recalled. You can read the full story here. This recall is effective immediately.

The following businesses are participating in this recall: Pottery Barn Kids; IKEA; Vertical Land, Inc.; Lewis Hyman, Inc.; Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.; and Victoria Classics. Victoria Classics Roman shades and many of Lewis Hyman's window shades were sold exclusively at Target stores.

The Window Coverings Safety Council sponsors October as Window Coverings Safety Month, which I would normally post about at the end of September. Given this recent news and recall this post is coming early.

In the event you do not know if your window coverings are among those being recalled, you can click on the left side tab for a free retro kit.

What's Under Your Bed?

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:31:01 -0700

Photo from fanpop.com

Cool name for a scary movie, but I'm talking about using the space underneath your bed for storage, especially when you are selling your house.

Prospective buyers will be looking in closets and the cabinets that come with the house. You need to cut your clothing closets in half to really give a good visual of how much space they have. Out of season clothes can be put in storage bins in the basement or attic, but what about all those extra light jackets, sundresses that may see the sun once all summer and those shorts the hubby won't wear because his legs look like sticks.

I suggest you take advantage of the space under your beds. There are so many different items on the market now from Space Bags to boxes, for storing anything under your bed.

From plastic to wire to canvas, that bed skirt can hide a wealth of storage.

Check out some of these resources for under bed storage:

Stacks and Stacks

Target

Walmart

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more on Long Island, New York. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Fall 2009 Adult Education Class ~ Furniture Placement

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:51:36 -0700

The Fall 2009 Mount Sinai Adult Education Program booklet is out and my class for this session is Furniture Placement {see description below}. You do not have to be a resident of Mount Sinai to participate in this program. This class is 1- 1/2 hours, not 2 hours as listed in the booklet.

Furniture Placement

Ms. Kathy Passarette HS 107

Not sure how to place your furniture in a room? Purchasing

new furniture and not sure what pieces to get?

Making interior design choices in your home can be

overwhelming and stressful. This class will look at

these questions and more. Learn how to place your

furniture to its best advantage in your home. Bring

photographs of your rooms and furniture for some

helpful ideas and tips from a professional decorator.

Class:......................Wednesday, October 14, 2009

(1 Session)

7:30-9:30 pm Fee: $10

FREE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. For more information on our services and fees, please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

~ Open House . . . . And It's My House! ~

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:45:01 -0700

As most of you know, we are selling our house and this weekend is the first open house! My Realtor, Lourdes Hoglo {of Prudential Douglas Elliman} will be holding the open house on Saturday from 2-4 p.m.

Because I can be shameless in plugging myself when necessary, here are some pictures of my house that I stole borrowed from her blog. You can see more at Lourdes' blog {click on Lourdes' name in the paragraph above}.

Exterior:

Great Room:

Den:

One of four bedrooms:

Master Bath:

You, too, can be a prospective buyer of the "famous" {ha!} interior decorator, Kathy Passarette's house. If you would be interested in a showing, please contact Lourdes Hoglo at (631) 751-6000 x221.

A Staging Consultation and a GIRAFFE! A funny "Sold" Story!

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 13:54:12 -0700

From Teresa Mills-Schremm in Ohio. Smart homeowners who had a home staging consultation PRIOR TO listing their home, did the work themselves and were in contract in 2 weeks! Great little story too!

Via Teresa Mills Schremm, ASHSR Online Home Staging - Coast to Coast (Looking Fine by Redesign, LLC):

I received an email this morning from a client that I just had to share. This little story shows the seller's advantage by hiring a professional home stager for a pre-listing consultation. Here is a brief recap:

In January, 2009, Looking Fine by Redesign was contacted by a homeowner in Avon, OH for a pre-listing consultation. On January 29th, my assistant/husband and I met the sellers, and did a two-hour walk-through consultation. The homeowners were "all ears" and were very anxious to hear what we had to say about their home. This was a six year old, detached cluster home in a popular Avon, Ohio neighborhood where there are at least a half dozen other homes for sale within a couple of blocks. The home didn't need a lot of cosmetic work, but did need better furniture placement, depersonalized, and a "punch" of interest.

The sellers had done a lot of traveling and LOVED to collect unique art, including wood carved African Safari animals. One of our suggestions was to use their wood carved GIRAFFE as an "eye-catcher" on the plant shelf in the VERY high ceiling foyer...something "memorable" and "unique" that a buyer would remember after touring the home.

We followed up with a comprehensive assessment and action plan for them to complete the staging on their own. Fortunately, they were VERY motivated and both had a decent eye for design so they got to work on the changes immediately upon receiving the plan. As a standard practice, I checked in with the sellers periodically via email to see if they had hit any road blocks or needed additional help. They were progressing nicely.. great!

Fast forward two weeks..the home is put on the market. I sent another email this morning to "check in." This is the reply we received back from the seller:

"You won't believe it but we sold our house in 2 weeks! We got lucky and found the perfect buyer. Inspection was last weekend and everything looks like it will fall in place. All the feedback we got from the showings was great, so thanks so much for your help. And you'll get a kick out of this, we moved that giraffe to the foyer plant shelf as you suggested and the buyer loved it so much they wanted it as part of the deal. Hilarious! Thanks again!" Cameron L., Avon, OH

WOW...SOLD IN 2 WEEKS!!! These sellers did it right from the beginning. They hired Looking Fine by Redesign BEFORE they listed the home, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work and BELIEVED that staging their home would pay off. All homeowners should understand that a consultation with a professional home stager WILL make a difference. In these tough economic times many homeowners don't have the financial resources to pay to have their home staged, but a consultation will work wonders!

Did the giraffe sell the home? No. But the staging consultation, the motivated sellers' hard work, and pricing the home right did. The giraffe obviously helped the buyer "remember" this home though! While nobody really thought the giraffe would be a part of the sale....the homeowners were happy to include it in the sale. Little changes....BIG results!

I hope you enjoyed this quirky...yet SUCCESSFUL staging success story!

Teresa Mills-Schremm, is a Certified Professional Home Stager and owner of Looking Fine by Redesign, a North Olmsted, Ohio, Home Staging and Redesign firm. Providing homeowners in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties with Affordable and Creative Staging Solutions! Call for a consultation at 440-655-5831, or email teresa@LookingFineByRedesign.com. "Let's Get It SOLD...Together!"

~ A Quick Peek {Bedroom Before & After} ~

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:57:11 -0700

Just taking a break from cleaning and thought I'd get a "before" and "after" posted. This was my daughter's room and while she moved out, much of her stuff did not! I remembered to take a few pics right before I put the mattress frame together.

My daughter was into an Asian type of decor and had her mattress and box spring on the floor ~ no frame. I thought we had kept the frame but I could not find it anywhere so I went to Sleepy's and bought the least expensive Queen size frame they had {I believe I paid about $79.00 for it}. I also moved that very small sofa table {which has had many incarnations in my house over the years} to work as a side table/desk. I also used her small bookcase in here on the wall to the right; putting about 5 nice books we had {no picture, sorry} on one shelf and the bottom/second shelf I had a wicker/rattany type box with lid that is supposed to be for files, centered on the shelf.

AFTER:

The comforter set I got from Target. I wanted to work with the yellow walls and orange curtains already in the room and this set fit the bill. I also found the picture above the bed at Target. The lamp had been a previous Home Goods purchase and I love it because it has a pull chain {love that in a lamp}.

The "Write" thingy is my daughter's {hey, she didn't take it, so I get to use it} and I had this little nature looking journal stuck in a closet that was never used and added those things to the table/desk.

The orchid I got at Pier 1 several months ago and the colors in the flowers work well with everything else going on here, plus it brings a little color over to this side of the room. It is sitting on top of the bookcase I mentioned.

Some House Prep Updates ~ Finally!

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:43:30 -0700

I know I've been away from Active Rain for just FOR-EVA, but I have been trying to remember to take pictures along the way, and I finally have some "before" and "afters" to share. As you probably recall from my past posts, we are preparing our house to put on the market.

This room I'm sharing today is on one side of that long hallway I posted about here. It is part of the original den to this house (the hall was the other part of the original den but became a hall when we added our great room). This room was a toy room when my kids were little, a home office at one time, and back to being a room for the kids - basically their den where they could hang out with their friends. This room is 9 x 17.

So you have my amateur faux painting (don't even ask), which I knew had to go. Things are moved about because we were getting ready to paint. There was an Ikea cabinet (double doors on top and bottom) in that little niche area.

Kids den before

Afters:

And, of course, the Realtor, Lourdes Hoglo, took this picture {below}, which is better than any I could have taken!

As you can see, everything pretty much stayed the same in this room. Besides painting, we removed a cabinet in the niche and put in shelves; these hold the televsion and baskets for any miscellaneous items. The paint color is Sherwin Williams' Sensational Sand.

I'm hoping to get the long hallway's "after" up shortly. I have a couple of pictures I bought for it, but I broke the glass in one of them getting the staples from the protective cardboard covers out.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Having staged my own house for sale, I can honestly tell you that "I know what you're going through". For more information on our services and fees please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Special Anniversary Offer & The Oaks at Broadlawn

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 08:37:26 -0700

To coincide with Creative Home Expression's four year anniversary, I am offering a special to the residents at The Oaks at Broadlawn (Massapequa, New York).

Having decorated the model condominiums at The Oaks, I have been working with several of the homeowners. I am setting up two weekends for first time consultation appointments - Saturday, July 25^th and Saturday, August 15^th. The first time consultation fee will be $60.00 per hour (down from $75.00), and the waiver of the travel fee will continue - that's a savings of $65.00!

If you've been considering making an appointment for a consultation - now is the time! I can help you with furniture lay-out and placement, color, window treatments, accessories, lighting and purchases.

You can contact me via email at kathyp@creativehomeexpressions.com or phone at (631) 987-3097. You can visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Minimum of 4 appointments on each date. Offer expires on August 14, 2009. Offer open to first time consultations only. Regular hourly fee will apply if a date different from what is offered is chosen, as well as once offer expires.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign, color consultations and more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees.

Pleasant Dreams Or A Nightmare In The Making?

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 18:41:53 -0700

Photo courtesy of Horchow

A beautifully dressed bed is the focal point of your bedroom. The colors, patterns and styles are unending. There is something to please everyone.

If your current bedding is hitting the 7-year-old mark, you're most likely due for some new bedding. Worn, faded, ripped bedding is not very inviting to slip into at the end of the day.

Photo courtesy of Horchow

While you may cringe at the prices, you can get some great deals on Bed-in-a-Bag items. Some of them even come with the sheets! You can get over the "wow, this is expensive" mantra by realizing just how many years you've used your old bedding. Time for some math.

You see a set that has everything (comforter, dust ruffle, shams, sheets, decorative pillows). Let's say it's $200.00. For the average, middle-class homeowner, you think that's a lot of money to spend on bedding. Well, not really. First look at all your getting for the $200.00. Second, even if it's not this large a set, divide that $200.00 by the 7 years people typically keep their bedding - that's about $28.58 a year. Is it expensive now?

Photo courtesy of Horchow

These pictures show just a few collections from Eastern Accents, a To-The-Trade company. Eastern accents offers custom bedding, as well as some Quick Ship items. A visit to their website will have you drooling over their offerings. If nothing else, they will provide you with some inspiration.

Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents

This one has the current "cool kid" - Orange.

Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents

A girl's room design that grows up with her. The use of pattern in this bedding is young and fresh, and should last for many years.

Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents

To be fair to the boys, here's one for their room.

Photo courtesy of Eastern Accents

You can get an extravagant look on a budget too. Just look at all the pictures - the "look" is in the pillows, the way the bed is made and, in some cases, the layering. The pictures below show bedding from Bed, Bath & Beyond. Some of the patterns are similar to the more expensive ones shown above.

Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Add decorative pillows as shown; maybe drape a throw, light blanket or quilt that coordinates with the bedding (even if it's a solid) over the bottom corner of the bed. Mix up patterns and solids.

Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Photo courtesy of Bed, Bath & Beyond

Pleasant dreams!

Mentioned in this post:
Horchow
Eastern Accents
Bed, Bath & Beyond

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

Bookcases ~ A Novel Idea

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:23:37 -0700

Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

I love books, so I think loving bookcases goes hand-in-hand with that. I have a pair of bookcases my hubby made for me as a gift one year - I love them if for no other reason than that he made them for me, but they absolutely came in handy as well. They will be coming with us when we down-size.

I also have a pair of bookcases with drawers in my son's bedroom that will be repurposed into bookcases for my home office. They are pine, but I plan on painting them. My problem comes in to play as far as what color do I want to paint them; it will be a choice between white, espresso or black. There are three drawers in these bookcases as well, which will be handy for supplies, samples, catalogs, etc. When down-sizing, I want to take advantage of whatever storage I can.

Photo courtesy of Country Living Magazine

Besides loving the concept of this kitchen (above) in its entirety, I love the way an otherwise non-usable area is being used. I love that the cookbooks are on view but also teapots are incorporated into the shelves. Appropriate for a kitchen and, if you collect teapots, a novel (no pun intended) way to display them.

Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn

I like the idea of this desk doing double duty as a desk and a bookcase. For a home office these shelves will allow you to easily find what you are looking for. It also looks like a space saver having the shelves incorporated into the desk. I might consider this one for myself!

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

I love the look of this bookcase with it's lattice sides and openness. I think this would work great in a large bathroom holding towels and bath accessories or a bedroom to display photos and some of those sentimental collectibles.

Photo courtesy of Ballard Designs

Finally, this set of bookcases would work wonderfully in any room in the house. They have an abundance of shelf space and provide some architectural interest; good for a room that might not have any otherwise.

As you can see from these pictures, bookcases can hold more than books. Interspersing accessories and collectibles among the books makes for an interesting display in your home.

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are based on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Please visit our website for more information on our services and fees at www.creativehomeexpressions.com.

A new trend that has kept us hopping....

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:46:49 -0700

Melissa Marro, a stager in South Carolina, shares these great staging stats.

Via Melissa Marro www.StagingAndRedesign.com www.RedesigningCharleston.com (First Impressions):

I'll admit it. For the past few years I've been completely jealous of many of you stagers here in AR. You with your flashy 2 days on market, 10 days on market, etc. I sat here in Charleston thinking, we are making a difference, but I want numbers like that. Once in a while we would get something fabulous - my best story ever was a home that had been for sale for 8 months with no bites, an hour after staging there was an offer, then a backup 3 days later! That really was so seldom that is almost felt like telling tall tales though. I don't like to set unrealistic expectations for my clients. We've been quite comfortable telling them things like - normal days on market 90, ours is 45 in this neighborhood.... lately, we've been seeing things a bit differently though....

A couple of weeks ago I staged a charming Mt. Pleasant condo - it hadn't been listed yet.... 9 days after listing and it's suddenly in pending status. I contacted the agent and he said, "You made the deal happen. It was the first showing."

The odd thing about this is that it's been happening almost every week these days. Nine of the properties we've staged since January have gone uner contract in the 1-12 day range!

I had to ask one of my clients if she had notices the market being more 'hot' than usual - were things picking up? She admited that they aren't. Things are about the same as they've been. So, what's going on??? Certainly nothing that I'm going to complain about, but wow!! Suddenly I don't feel the need to be as jealous as I used to be - we have our own stats and they are fantastic!!

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First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign is a nationally award winning company owned and operated in Summerville, SC a suburb of Charleston, SC. We provide high quality staging for both occupied and vacant homes in the greater surrounding areas and beyond! For more information please visit, www.WeStageSC.com. If you are interested in learning about making Home Staging your profession, please visit, www.StagingAndRedesign.com for more information.

Wallpaper Or Art ~ It Can Be Both

Kathy Passarette, L.I. Staging/Decorating (Creative Home Expressions) — Mon, 18 May 2009 10:39:59 -0700

There are some beautiful wallpapers out there and while I love them, I just can't bring myself to wallpaper an entire room. However, I can still enjoy the lovely patterns that are out there by using the wallpaper in other ways.

Photos courtesy of All Posters and Real Simple

Framing pieces of wallpaper and using them in lieu of actual pictures. Not only am I getting some of that beauty I'm admiring, but an inexpensive way to add some art to my walls! You can do individual pieces or hang three together in a tryptich.

Photos courtesy of HGTV

Photo courtesy of Thibaut

Cover an old room screen, (or make your own with narrow solid doors) with wallpaper. This makes for a nice focal point in a room that doesn't have one or adds that "certain something" to an empty corner. Some striking screens are done with the papers such as the one pictured above from Thibaut.

Photo courtesy of DIY.com

To dress up an otherwise plain window, a wood cornice can be put together quite simply and covered with wallpaper. This can dress up a window with blinds or shades without having to add drapes or valances.

Photo courtesy of Country Living

Another great way to use small amounts of wallpaper for a big impact is to line the back wall of bookshelves with it.

There are many other uses for wallpaper; small trashcans, magazine holders, book covers, take a look around and see where you can use it!

Kathy Passarette and Creative Home Expressions are located on Long Island, New York, and offer interior decorating, home staging, interior redesign and much more. Please visit our website at www.creativehomeexpressions.com for more information on our services and fees.