Guest Blogger: Shay Geyer, The Designer Detective!

Here are the amazing Shay Geyer's Five Tips for Creating a Unique Interior for Your Home:

1. Invest in great art. It doesn’t have to be a Picasso or cost millions of dollars. Be on the look out for local or up & coming artists. Buy pieces that you love & you feel a connection with. Art is a fabulous way to express your personal style in your home as well as bring in color.

2. Hand painted finishes on furniture are a marvelous way to add a unique touch. Whether you custom order a piece with a special finish or find a fabulous vintage piece & paint it yourself, a piece like this can add lots of style to your home. One of my favorite furniture lines, Hickory Chair, allows you to customize their pieces with any Benjamin Moore paint color.

3. It’s ok to mix & match. If you don’t fall into one of the traditional design style categories, it’s ok to blur the lines. Traditional looks are getting a fresh update these days with cleaner & more modern lines. The transitional style was born out of a desire to mix traditional pieces with more modern or contemporary looks. You do have to be careful though. A mixture of too many different styles can easily become busy & confusing to the eye. Some styles also don’t mix well. Shabby Chic & modern would not complement each other in the same space. There still needs to be a cohesive feel to your design. A neoclassical console table with a refined straight edge can be balanced with a more transitional sofa with a track arm and straight back. The straight angular lines of the pieces are what help tie them together.

4. Select pieces with designer details. Not every piece in your room has to be custom, but it’s nice to have some of your larger pieces tailored to your liking. Designer details such as tapes, nail head designs, contrasting welt cords & unique finishes help create a truly one-of-a- kind piece that will have your signature on it. Custom does not have to mean expensive either. It helps to work with an interior designer to create custom furniture so that they can help you stay on target with your budget.

5. Every home needs great accessories! Accessories are like jewelry for your home. Lamps are a MUST! There are so many gorgeous lamps in the market. This is such an easy way to add instant style & freshen up a room. I also love to pick up unique finds while I’m traveling. Displaying items that have a special meaning to you help tell your personal story & add character throughout your home. Less is more! Not every inch of your tabletop or bookshelves needs to be covered. Pick the accessories that have the most significance to your home. Use items that relate to your color palette & design style. My favorite must have accessory is coffee table books. You can stack them to vary the height of your other accessories. I also love to use geodes, hand blown glass & fabulous photo frames.

Trends in Outdoor Living

Now is the time to invest in your homes out door spaces! Spending quality time out side enjoying a great book or visiting with friends is like nothing else. It is truly an investment in yourself and, of course, will increase the value of your home. This year I have seen a few new trends in outdoor living spaces and I wanted to share some of the ideas with you!

-Lighting....I am so excited to get home from our trip because Justin has arranged to have a vintage chandelier that he found at a sale installed from a tree branch that

crosses over the center of our outdoor table. This simple and inexpensive trick will give our table even more charm and make it feel like a room of it's own. Here is a photo! You could look for fixtures at locals sales or shops like Smith and Hawken or even IKEA.

-Upscale Kitchens....Go the extra step to build in your grill. You won't believe how easy and affordable it is to build a countertop and surround for your grill and convert it to an upscale outdoor kitchen. You could install it yourself or ask a contractor. Check out the one that Justin put into our back yard using Tejas Textured Stone.

-Drapery....If you have a covered area or cabana your should warm up the space by adding some outdoor drapery. I like the simple and affordable ones offered by Ballard Designs. They will truly frame off the room and also add a coziness factor! It really gives your outdoor room that polished look.

Dwell With Dignity

I am head over heels crazy for the latest Non-Profit group I have discovered. Dwell With Dignity is made up of a group of Interior Designers who volunteer their time designing and installing all of the furniture, art, bedding and kitchen supplies that a family battling poverty could need. They even stock the pantry. All of their "clients" are dealing with major hardships (for some, they are finding a roof after homelessness) and DWD fills their new homes with great design. Their goal is to bring good design to those less fortunate inspiring them to maintain a standard of living they can be proud of and thrive in. They believe that changing their surroundings can change their outlook on life. Children especially see the standard of living and will most likely carry it forward. It is inspiring and provides a peaceful and cheerful home surrounding. I am sure that the fact that they have volunteered and provided for them inspires the recipients as well!

Here is how you can help: You can donate dollars to underwrite needed furniture, donate your gently used furniture (in many cases they will refurbish it or reupholster it) or you can volunteer. Volunteers on the installations do everything from making art and sewing pillows to hanging drapes and making beds! Click here to see some of their amazing design projects!

Fire place safety tips

There is nothing like curling up next to a fantastic fire when it is this cold out side! I love it!

Here are few tips to keep your fires safe and comforting....

1. Always keep a clear draft and remember that Fire Wardens recommend that you have your chimneys cleaned once a year by a certified Chimney Sweep.

2. Keep a screen closed in front of your fire. I got ours at Target (pictured above).

3. If you have glass doors in front of your fireplace, remember to keep them clean of buildup by using a razor blade on them when they are cool.

4. Install a chimney cap if you don't already have one. It prevents nesting animals and debris from collecting.

Candle Care 101

• Whether it is a party with friends or a relaxing evening at home, nothing sets the mood better than candles. So here is what I call Candle Care 101:
• A little trick to extend the life of your candle: wrap the wick in saran wrap and place your candle in the refrigerator of a couple of hours before burning. A cool candle will burn more slowly. This is really helpful during a long dinner party!
• Long wicks create black smoke that can mark your ceiling. To avoid this, trim wicks to a 1/2 inch before you light them.
• To remove wax that has collected at the bottom of your glass votive, stick your votive in the freezer and after it freezes, the wax will crumble easily.
• If wax drips onto your fine linens, simply warm up the wax with a hair dryer then cover it with a cloth that you don't mind throwing away. Run a warm iron over the cloth and wax will adhere to the cloth! If that doesn't work, check craft or fabric stores for wax removing products.

Remember to keep candles away from foliage and drapes as well as children and pets.

Save Energy Everyday!

Houses account for 35% of all greenhouse-gas emissions and 32% of air pollutants and if you don't care about that, imagine all of the money you could save by taking just a few simple steps.

-Unplugging your electronics such as your cell phone charger can eliminate 5 to 10 percent of your electric bill!

-Shut down your computer when you are not using it. Set your computer to enter sleep mode automatically after thirty minutes of inactivity.

-Lower the setting on your hot water heater to from 140 to 120 (the minimum to guard against bacteria) and you can save six to ten percent in energy costs according to the EPA.

-Treat your furnace and air conditioning units to regular makeovers. Change the filters once a month and give them an annual service call. The dirt and gunk in the air filters makes the systems work harder and there fore adds to your heating and cooling bills!

-Installing a high performance shower head can not only transform your shower into a spa bu it also uses 1.5 gallons of water per minute as opposed to 2.5 gallons used by an older model! A family of four could save $135 a year on your electricity costs according to the Department of Energy/

-Use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs and you could save $30 per bulb over it's lifetime which averages 416 days. That will add up if you change all of your bulbs!

If you want to put your home to the test you can visit www.energystar.gov and go to the Home Advisor. After you take the test, the website will give you a customized list of things that you can do to save energy. You can also hire an energy auditor to come thru your home and give you a very thorough investigation.

There are many tax incentive and rebate programs for energy saving home improvements. Check out your states programs at www.aceee.org/energy/state.

Let me know what you are doing to save energy at your home!