SHEER ZEBRA CURTAINS

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What do you guys think about these sheer zebra curtains? I love the hot pink zebra bedding set and the funky bookcase headboard of the bed...but those curtain panels just don't fit with the decor in the rest of the room.

This is perhaps a perfect example of too much zebra print in a teen girl's bedroom. Maybe if they lost the scarf drape over the curtain rod and did something in white faux fur or made some cool tie backs rather than have them just hanging there like that then that would tie things together? I'm really not sure that would do the trick. Replacing the sheer zebra curtains with beaded curtains was mentioned and I kind of like that idea with this teen girls bedding set. What would you do? Would you keep the scarf or lose it and add accessories to bring the zebra print curtain panels more into line with the comforter set?

COOL COLORS

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It’s hot as HECK and even though autumn is just a few weeks away, cool colors are STILL on my mind. For one thing, it doesn’t feel like fall to me and my patio thermometer backs me up telling me that my feeling that we’re still smack dab in the middle of summer is right on Target. And when I’m still wearing shorts and sweating like wild, I like to surround myself with cool colors, don’t you?

CHARACTERISTICS of COOL COLORS

Not only is it lovely that shades of blue, violet and green make me think of cool, refreshing ocean water, they are especially useful in decorating a small bedroom because they tend to recede or feel as if they are pulling away from you which make the room seem bigger! Not a bad thing when decorating a dorm room or a small bedroom in an apartment.

It’s so hard to let go of airy colors like turquoise blue and teal green that bring lazy days at the beach to mind or colors that remind me of that visit to the farmers market where I got inspiration to decorate a master bedroom with colors that I pulled from the fruit and vegetables that I saw there.

But even though summer feels as if it’s dragging on and on and on and the heat outside is unbearable I have to grind the gears and shift my decorating focus from breezy and colorful to fall colors. Looking back on the last few month’s inspiration boards it’s easy to see that the season inspired the purchase of more than a few beach bedding sets with fabrics in cool colors that reflect the soft and breezy atmosphere of a cottage at the shore resplendent with cool shades of blue balanced by neutral colors and plenty of texture.

Looking at my notes detailing some teen girl bedroom decorating ideas with pictures, the blue and yellow color scheme of the comforter she chose makes me think of sitting on the porch of a beach cottage, sipping a cold glass of lemonade and enjoying the breezes blowing in from the ocean. If you have any imagination at all you should see why I’m being dragged into decorating for fall kicking and screaming!

Oh well, the first crisp breeze that blows my way will have me out shopping for teen girls bedding sets in earth tones and cool colors will be on my back burner until next spring.

GIRLS DORM BEDDING IDEAS

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Ok, college kicks off in my area early next week and I'm still looking for girls dorm bedding ideas for two girls' rooms. YIKES! The good news is that they are not divas who are pitching ego-maniacal hissy fits. They just want their dorm rooms to look cool and are willing to wait for the perfect bedding set.

Leave it to me to save the most challenging design project until the last minute. And in case you're wondering why I'm here typing away on my decorating blog rather than in the mall or online looking for comforter sets for these girls I want to tell you that I have a really good excuse.

It's hot and I just don't feel like it right now. Yeah, that might sound lame to you but the heat index here is over 116 and it has left me exhausted. That being said, I saw a cute example of dorm room decor for sorority girls that you might be interested in so take a look and let me know what you think while I'm cooling off and trying to come up with some girls dorm bedding ideas before time runs out on me.

Clear Out Closets and Clutter Before You Put Your House on the Market!

This is Part 3 of "Get Ready to Sell Your House."

Two weekends ago we had our garage sale. We started on Thursday - definitely the day to start a garage sale. About 3/4 of our stuff was gone by noon on Thursday! Friday morning I sold a little bit, and then I just started telling everyone to take whatever they wanted. And did the same thing on Saturday. It's all gone now! I was more interested in it going away than in making some money on it.

People told me they liked my signs because they were easy to see and to follow. I just bought those cheap $3 small garage sale signs at Home Depot, and I covered them in hot pink posterboard, and drew big arrows on them. Make your signs easy to see and easy to follow!

So now I am in the "cleaning out closets" stage. When people look at your house, you want them to see how big your closets are. Also, not a good idea if your closets need a sign hanging on the door knob warning of possible avalanche if opened. So if your closets are packed to the brim, pack some of your stuff and go rent a small self-storage unit.

And think about things like this - I had been storing some of my odd kitchen stuff in the linen closet down the hall from the kitchen. Things that I don't use much, so I didn't want them taking up prime space in my kitchen. But...if people open my linen closet and see that it is full of kitchen stuff, they are going to instantly assume my kitchen doesn't have enough storage. NOT what you want them to be thinking! So I am packing the kitchen stuff that is in the linen closet, and it is going to go to the storage unit, too. After I get all the kitchen stuff out of this closet, I will round up the towels and sheets that are stored here and there, and put them all in their proper home in the linen closet - they have not been in there in four years!

As you are clearing out the clutter, throwing away or giving away as much as possible, make sure you clean as you go. Dust shelves, clean the baseboards, etc.

And while you are decluttering your closets, clear the surfaces in the room. You need to just have one or two items on top of your dressers and coffee tables. You want buyers to be able to picture their own stuff in your house, not be overwhelmed with all of your stuff.

We have about a week to go before our house goes on the market. And still have so much to do! I need for there to be about three more of me...

Shannon