A Bounty of Ideas

MMM I love the new Bounce Dryer Sheets-the natural collection. They are from Heaven.
And a whole website on making your house smell yummy.
See it!

Tips from the South

 
For some of you, Gail Pittman is a staple. For those outside the South, you may not know about famed Gail Pittman. It's true for the Mississippi brides....when you register for gifts upon your engagment, you are asked 3 questions: What is your china pattern? (and is it at McRae's, now somewhat known as Belk)... What is your everyday pattern? What is your Gail Pittman pattern? I promise you this is asked, as I know first hand as a bride in...2001. Man that seems a long time ago.
I registered for the ever popular Annabella. That's what everyone had back then. Now, things have changed. Patterns are more fun and I love the new ones! And of course my tastes change...I wouldn't pick the same everyday pattern that I chose then. But I would pick the same husband!
My new favorite is anything but Annabella. Please no more of that. But I love these Chinatown mugs I received as a gift...displaying them proudly. Enjoy! She's also a featured artist for Southern Living at Home, if you order any of their products. I highly recommend those for any decorating projects.

In process

 
Dwell Well is in the process of reorganizing the kitchen of our home offices in BSL to get ready for the holiday season. Rearranging, reorganizing and redefining spaces is necessary often! Check back to see what we design for Holiday 2007.

MMMM

 
My bedroom. A haven of luscious pillows, high thread counts, and enough comfort for a king. or, Queen!

Guest room? Office? Both!

 

Need a change?

 I flipped my guest bedroom around to facilitate a home office with more room and style. You can come spend the night and browse the internet on our wireless! In style, at that.

Tips For a Smooth Household
by Kate Gosselin
Kate is the star of Jon and Kate + 8 on TLC. She is so great. I like her tips for life:
Tip #1 Organize
As a mother of sextuplets and twins, one of the best methods for keeping a family organized is lists! No one has the memory of an elephant! Keep a constant running list of "To Dos" and then cross things off as they are completed! My to-do lists consists of meals for the week, which loads of laundry need to be done, and which parts of the house needs attention. Lists will keep you and your family organized.
Tip: If you are an Internet person, an online calendar might work for you. Problem is, you lose the joy of crossing off items.
Tip: Prepare for Outings
Plan ahead! If outings are well thought out in advance, it will allow for a better time for all! Always take plenty of drinks, snacks, clothing and supplies. Make a mental plan of how the day will unfold and then adjust it as necessary!
Note: this includes a camera if you are a doting, sentimental mommy like me. you'll feel better with a camera.

Tip :Count Your Blessings
On days that your role as mom seems mundane and pointless and repetitive(we all have those), remember to count your blessings! Take a moment, see all that is positive in your life and the life of your children and it will give you that boost that you need!

Tip: Provide Order
A schedule will help everyone in the family. It removes the guesswork and a lot of frustration. It allows the things that need to get done to get done because life becomes somewhat predictable.
Note: this is the same tip as the first, but she is so organized she had to have this tip twice. funny.

Jewelry Organizing

 
Jewelry boxes don't always keep necklaces untangled. I used a French Bulletin Board and stick pins to keep my favorite pieces untangled. It's also a nice way to see your collection so that you can get dressed more quickly. Sometimes you can start with the necklace, then find an outfit to wear for the day.

Fall Table

 
For a total of $1.50 for the baby pumpkins, and some fall colors on the palette, table is ready for Fall. Browns and beiges mix well with orange and green!

Fall is falling

How do we decorate for fall? Oranges, reds, browns. Fabulous. Make a statement for your front door with inexpensive pumpkins, bales of hay. Tip: Don't carve pumpkins until 5 days before Halloween. They tend to rot easily.
Indoor decor: Browns, tans, beige. This is hard for me-I love the bright colors. Let's all get ready for the holidays by starting with reds and browns, then we can shift to reds and greens!
Happy fall, yall!

fall dwelling well

So a certain company, i'll call them "pottery farm" for privacy-i take lots of hints from them-they are doing lots of pewter and natural items for fall.
that means decorate with pine cones, sticks, and any silver or pewter pieces you have. colors are all neutral.
i'm about to do my fall tablescape and will post photos when i'm done.
i replaced my daisies on my front door with sunflowers and mums-fall flowers for sure.
you can decorate for fall the least expensive of all the seasons-think outdoors, things you find around your house.
good luck with your fall decor! call me if you have questions!

you can dwell well while traveling

Even when you travel, you can search for signs of dwelling well, as well as learning tips. This bed looks perfect, and they don't have 100 pillows on it. The right touch. The perfect contrast of reds, yellow, and then brown. No heavy curtains, but upholstered window treatments that do not match the bedding, but tie into the same color scheme.
This room Dwells Well because it is not matchy matchy, not over done, and is very relaxed.
Great job, Maison Louisiane in Natchitoches, LA!

flowers are so relaxing-they are a thing of beauty. surround yourself in flowers and beauty and you will be dwelling well.

pillows, pillows, pillows can spice up anything-a bed, a floorspace, a chair. these are my guest bed pillows, and they are daring but fun.

dwell well for your boring mirror

my mirror was boring. so i hung a frame upon it. this frame was discovered in the hurricane (ryn, i have it for you) and it makes my bathroom mirror way more exciting. i hung some ribbon, and there it is. a great, inexpensive subsitute for a standard mirror in any home/bathroom.

dwelling well with necklaces

need a way to find your funky necklaces, as well as have some colorful art in your bed/bathroom......also keeps them untangled! what i did was purchase a decorative hook, and hang my beauties on it. of course, it's tempting to baby kate, but she knows they are mommy's. helps me get dressed each morning-i can see most of my collection, and don't have to dig through a drawer to untangle them.

did you dwell well this week? this could mean some small steps, like gardening, or cleaning out that closet you don't want to tackle.
dwelling well is hard work-and it needs to be tackled. if you are scared, let me know and i can advise and coach.
moving soon? let me know and i can give some good tips on packing well and unpacking efficiently.

how do you dwell well with kids?
you have to ask for help. distribute chores among family. if you have no family, a maid is a necessity for sanity.
if laundry is the problem, try the drop off service at the local, friendly laundromat. it's a blessing. i've done it, and it's amazing.
paper plates never hurt.
you can dwell well-it's just about getting creative!

new dining room tablescape

a fun dining room table setting-zebra print, black and white swirls, black and white polka dots, with a punch of color from the gerber daisies.
don't be afraid of color! it can be exciting.

organizing stuff on a budget

use diaper boxes-they are a perfect fit for small baby clothes, they stack nicely, and they are inexpensive.....keep them to use for organizing your little one's clothes and toys! the closet will be cute and colorful, and you'll be swanky for saving so much money!

dwell well. make sure your trash is taken out each night- that can be a problem area. it's just so easy to take it out each night: just do it and your load will be lighter.
let hubby/other do it.
you can sigh with relief.

do I dwell well?

you might think that my closets are picture perfect, my garage is ready for a photo shoot with pottery barn, and my bathrooms are neat as a pin.
these tasks are nearly impossible unless you live alone.
since i don't want to live alone, my goal is to do the best i can with what i can while i train my family on dwelling well, picking things up when necessary, and letting things slide when they need to.
dwelling well is not always about perfection, but about knowing what is organization and what is not; what is clutter, and what needs to be thrown out.
it can be hard to throw out things that are important, but what really is important is family-not things, or messes, or closets.
so dwell well with your family today, and don't worry about the mess.....for right now! we'll get to that later!

dwelling well is not limited to your home-it can happen in your car, it can happen in your business, it can happen in your garage.
it can be overwhelming to organize, sort, and dismiss items, but let me help you figure out what you need and how it needs to be organized.
website is still forthcoming; i'm here for decorating and organizing questions in the meantime!

these dwellings are not good at all

these may look like cute bird houses...are they real? are they buttons? no, they are KNOBS on a chest of drawers that i inherited, and today they were removed. who wants bird house drawer pulls? (if you do, please see me for counseling). they were replaced with some nice silver round pulls.
the chest of drawers was one we inherited with the purchase of our home in louisville, and finally, today, the birds were liberated and were set free to fly away (into the dumpster).
Fly away, little birds!

this is how you really fluff your pillows. it's called the karate chop, and it's a tip i learned from an interior designer. fluff your pillow, then chop it in the middle, and it is now imperially fluffed.

dwell well for kids

kate is about to turn 2, and we celebrated (or mourned) the loss of her high chair yesterday. her new dining set looks great to me-i'd love to eat there if i could fit in the chairs. (they were my chairs when i was a child).
kids need bright colors, and encouragement to sit at the table and eat from plates. that can help the young ones to dwell well!

laville frames

i found a fabulous company from louisiana that makes frames from 150+ plantation homes. the colors are amazing, the frames are homey, and i have a set in my living room. i love the bright colors and the shabby chic-ness of them.
they can be purchased at Behold Frame Gallery in BSL.

Welcome!

I want to introduce you to my new business, under my umbrella of businesses. My newest endeavor is "Dwell Well" which is a business that I own that can come into your home, help you organize and clean, and make your house truly a home. i already have a client in the bay and i am excited about it. she wants me to come in monthly, help organize her home, and take care of her home and i can't be more excited about it.
Dwell Well is something i've been toying with since i lived in louisville, when i wanted to open a home store called "dwell", and do some organization then, but i think now is the time for Dwell Well and i'm ready for the challenge.
so if any of you need some tips, advice, coaching on how to make your house a home, organize your home, drawers, closets, etc, i'm the one to call.
I can teach you to Dwell Well. I'm no Martha Stewart but i have my own swanky take on things and i can help your life be more relaxed.
website to follow...
My Dwell Well tip for the day: Swiffer. Swiffer creates a great product for vacuuming and sweeping, and if you don't have a swiffer vacuum, your life is more complicated than it should be.

coastal flair

my friend frank designs and builds these frames from hurricane katrina roofing material, and he gave me a few pieces to play with. i made a few for my wall, and i love them. they are very unique and fun-my photo is by one of my favorite french photographers, doisneau.

frames can really make the picture. it helps to make a friend at the frame shop so they can help you choose something that matches your house, your style, as well as the photo!