Reader mail: sofa fabric

Hey Decorno,

I need some feedback to make sure I don't make a big decorating mistake.

Redoing my living room (a very, very, very belated farewell to RA Shabby Chic!) and the first purchase will be a sectional. Not the prettiest piece of furniture, but it is the most functional choice for our lifestyle. I have a black dog and a fawn dog - pugs - which you probably know means they live on the couch, shed like mad and leave curious little stains behind. I also have a husband who has been known to spill a thing or two. Me? Thanks, I am perfect.

I am stumbling on the best choice for fabric. I am looking for something that will look nice for the next 10 years?! After living with slipcovers, which offer about as much stain protection as a Q-tip to grape juice and, hence require constant washing, I need to move to upholstery. What is the best choice? Color-wise I want to go with solid off-white or a light stone/taupe. I know: bad choice but I get bored easily and want to have a light, neutral room so I can simply switch out bold/colorful pillows and accessories and deal with my fickleness inexpensively. For fabric, I am being told leather (I can see the scratches already and that cold fabric would almost make me cave and buy a Snuggie) or ultra-suede (which I like but it seems like it would tear easily and act as Velcro to pet hair). The sales people and decorator giving me this advice do not have pets of their own. I would love to hear firsthand what stands up the best.

I am on a budget and looking at Mitchell Gold and Room & Board and both seem to carry the basics.

Please help me off the ledge I have been standing on for 3 months.

Thanks,

Jill

Best fake color names we wish were real.

This comment came in response to a thread asking people to confess costly decorating mistakes. I am not sure anyone can beat John's color name, but let's try.

Winner gets a free pony. (Must pick up in Seattle.)

Nick Olsen for hire.

This just in:


As of today I am no longer in the employ of one Mr. Miles Redd, my boss and mentor and friend of 5+ years now. This was no easy decision, first of all because I adore Miles and owe him, uh, everything ... and there's that unfortunate Great Recession/record unemployment situation. But I'd be a traitor to my ME generation if I didn't feel entitled to leave a perfectly stable job and pursue true BLISS. Whatever that is. But I gotta be me!

So I'm officially hanging out my own shingle. Open for business. In 2010 I resolve to update this blog on the regular and get back to what brought me here in the first place -- high style decorating for folks who don't have a Mugatu-client-size budget.

You can read more on Nick's blog (HERE).

Costly mistakes?

HOLYHUDSON recently posted this comment:


Will you think hard and see if you have anything to add to my latest post?
http://holyhudson.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-biggest-design-or-renovation-mistake.html

I want to gather helpful, funny stories from as many bloggers as possible. I feel like you think long and hard about your decisions (and have a pretty enviable budget) so you may have avoided any royal f'ups. But maybe you have something to contribute?


This is a great question. Honestly, the biggest way we avoided costly mistakes was by not doing anything major for the first 4 years we lived in the house. This is my first house and I didn't know anything about remodeling or even, say, patching plaster. So we did nothing. It was very frustrating not being able to make big changes, but I am so glad we just lived with the house as it was for a while while I figured out what I really wanted. During this time, I saved a good chunk of money. This helped later on when it was time to update the kitchen. This way, I didn't have to cut corners on things I wanted to splurge on like the counter and the faucet.

KITCHEN MISTAKES
But I did make other mistakes. Lots of them. We didn't figure out under-cabinet lighting before we started the project and we still don't have them. I did ask the contractor to wire for it, but that part is left unfinished. Amateur move on my part. Not paying enough attention to lighting at the start of the project was my biggest mistake. So now, when people at work talk about doing their kitchens, I tell them 2 things: (1) figure out your lighting first and (2) splurge on your faucet if you having something special in mind (you will be touching it ALL the time, so buy exactly the one you want once you've saved for it).


COLOR MISTAKES
The other mistake I have made (or currently am making, really) is not making a color plan for the whole house at one time. I am not great with color and I've made several mistakes already. I should have sucked it up and hired someone to help with that early on. But, it's kind of a catch 22, because 5 years ago, hiring a color expert or designer was not in the cards and now it's possible. So, you know, maybe ask a friend with good design sense to help you figure it out if hiring someone is not an option at the moment.


GO SLOWLY
The other mistake I would have made if I'd had the money to do it back then would have been decorating the place all at once. I am certain I would be regretting furniture purchases made five years ago if budget hadn't kept me from making them at the time. My taste is kind of settling in. I am more sure of the things I like, less excited about trends, and more interested in buying things I will have for a very long time.


This is a great topic, so thanks for throwing the question out there.

What mistakes have you made? Any advice to give a new homeowner? Post them to comments below or post them on HOLYHUDSON.

Carrier and Company

Stumbled on Carrier again today. More info on the designer over HERE on So Haute.

Photography lesson.

I was poking around online looking at Peter Dunham stuff, and I noticed these two photos. Isn't it amazing what good photography (on a tripod, with natural daylight...) can do for a room? When I look at the top photo, the whole scene looks tired and a bit granny with that harsh light. And then I see photo B and I want to move in.

With more people blogging about their own homes, I thought it might be useful to re-post THIS bit of interior photography advice that Paul Costello was kind enough to email me a while ago.

Last night.

Good news! My night was nothing like theirs.










HERE.

Angie's lamps.

Dizzy with love for these lamps. Where does she find them?







You can see Angie Hranowsky's work HERE.

Not in love with any of these chairs.

I am still shopping for dining room chairs to love forever, but no such luck yet. Elle Decor featured a top 10 dining chairs list, but I am not in love with any of them. You?

What do you want to talk about today?

Seattle Municipal Archives (item number 63990).

Better.

I love the commenters who think we shouldn't have removed the tree. Guess what? There's another giant fucking tree right behind it! Lucky me. I live a block from an arboretum. Those trees can clean my air for me.

This yard needed a haircut. Much better.

Goodbye tree.

Thanks for breaking our sewer pipe and dumping little swimmers in our basement. Thanks for dropping a branch on our car last year. The time has come for you to go. (Ugly bushes... you're on notice, too.)

Allure

Does anyone check to see if the links you print in your magazine actually land your reader anywhere? Just wondering. Page 6 of the January issue is a disaster.

The Allure website is a mess. (I know this is probably not your world to manage, but it should be.) Let me know if you want some help over there. I love NYC and I will work for Juvederm.

In more general terms, why can't Cande Nast figure anything out? THE INTERNET IS NOT NEW ANYMORE. And why do the websites of otherwise nicely-designed magazines look like a web version of Better Homes and Gardens?

In related news, in her recent letter, Margaret Russell promises us a new an improved Elle Decor website. (You can read the letter HERE.) I really like Elle Decor (though it's always the same formula... a Carlos Mota-ified clean-lined leggy room, with white walls, Serious Art, Important Furniture and some fucshia flowers strategically placed, but hey, I go for that..) so I am hoping the website will evolve as promised. A magazine-specific name might be a good start. (Point Click What??) But let's hope it gets better soon. It's not very inspiring today.

Frederic Mechiche

Pure LOVE.