If you have been following The Trendy Home you know I love to bring you pictures of beautiful homes and great decorating ideas that you can incorporate into your own Trendy Home.  Hope you enjoy these new pictures, and some old favorites.

A Touch of Class:   I found this one on Better Homes and Gardens,  Architectural relics, such as this dramatic old bar mirror to make a great beautiful headboard.  The oversize scale of the piece works in this room because the mirror reflects so much light, giving the appearance of spaciousness.   White matelasse  linens add interesting texture while allowing the mirror to shine.

Add Class with Glass

Do you live by the Beach?  This next picture is a beautiful “Beachy” bedroom that is not overdone.   The white beaded boards and navy walls make a beautiful frame for this handsome bedroom inspired by the beach.   Shell artwork and accessories reinforce the theme but it’s not over the top.  Beautiful, elegant, and inviting.    Check out our Black and White Bed in a Bag by Royal’s Hotel Collection to help you achieve the same look as in the picture below.

Bliss at the Beach

When Two Bed are better than one!     I love this look, can you tell which one is the Ladies Bed, and which one is the Mens?   Ruffled Shams vs Tailored Shams is a nice little decorating tip to separate the sexes.     Twin beds aligned along the same wall naturally lend themselves to a symmetrical scheme — are always pleasing to the eye.    Underscore the effect by dressing the beds with matching bedding  and treating the wall space above the headboards in the same manner.    Anchor the center of the duo with a singe table for this beautiful look.

When Two are better than One!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this blog, what did you take away from it and did it inspire you to make any changes in your home?

Thank You and come visit us also at The Trendy Bed,  and remember to make your home:

Cathy Campbell

We only have a day to get our bedroom ready for Valentine’s Day, Yes… it’s TOMORROW!    So, let’s start now and enjoy the love that comes along with this day.

Last year I had fun and did 5 blogs on getting your bedroom ready for Romance, I’m going to bring these blogs out again for your enjoyment and reminder for those of us that need to get our rooms ready for Romance.

Get Rid of the clutter!

Is Your Bedroom Ready for Romance #1

Make me Comfortable!

Is Your Bedroom Ready for Romance #2

Let’s Create the Mood for a little Romance!

Is your Bedroom Ready for Romance #3

Let’s “Lite the Fire”!

Is Your Bedroom Ready for Romance #4

Are you Ready?

Is Your Bedroom Ready for Romance #5

Hope you enjoyed this blog  for Valentine’s Day and enjoyed seeing these “Dream Bedroom’s” again.  I sincerely hope they inspire you as they do me.

Your home is a true reflection of your soul – make your home  “The Trendy Home”!

Love,

Cathy Campbell

PS:  Visit The Trendy Bed, the one place for all your Valentine, Trendy Bedding!

Spring is here, now it’s time to bring it into your home, with color.   You can create a casual and colorful living room that sings “Spring”  by adding colorful vases, fresh flowers, spunky colorful pillows,  throws and accessories.

Adding fresh flowers to any room is a great way to  “Spring” up your home.    Kumquats in a vase of water make a unique base for stems of yellow tulips or any other spring flower, what a eye catching center piece this vase would make on any table.

I saw this and to be honest with you, it’s a little too much for me BUT I loved the look of the mirror.  This look is done with decoupage,  purchase a flat frame mirror and cover the frame with your fabric of choice using decoupage.  After four or five coats the surface will be smooth.   Brighten up any bathroom with a mirror like this.

Let the sun shine in and paint your walls yellow, in this breakfast nook they pulled yellow, white, and blue all together in this beautiful look.   Adding blue and white plates on the wall, blue candles on a white candlestick, and white hanging light fixture.   White baseboards and finished carpentry around the window finishes off this beautiful room.

Adding spring to this sun room is as easy as painting a floral motif on a jute rug,  adding some garden-inspired pillows, and topping a table with a simple white runner and fresh cut flowers.

As you can see yellow is the “in” color this year, it’s all you see in all the decorating magazines and it comes in so many shades, that’s the beauty of yellow.

My blogs wouldn’t be complete without adding some Trendy Bed rooms into the mix, and I found this beautiful guest bedroom, in yellow of course.  Like the  picture of the living room above,  they used the same colors;  yellow, white and green but have a completely different look.

Yellow may be the IN color, but not every room in your home needs to be yellow.    Revamp your bedroom for Spring by adding a punch to your headboard by wrapping it with a yard of mod floral fabric.   Tired of those boring white sheets,  Spring is a great time to put new, colored sheets on your bed.  At The Trendy Bed we have a great selection of sheet sets  in 300  to 1500 thread count  100%  Egyptian Cotton Sheets.

Let the sun shine in, bring Spring into your home and your heart.

Cathy C

A few specific tasks,  done only once or twice a year will freshen up your entire home, try these time saving tips to your own cleaning routine.

Do you clean your home every day?

If you don’t,  they say you really should….   I’m not saying “full cleaning”, but they say if you follow some of these tips when it comes to “spring cleaning” it’s only limited to t

Daily preventive tasks:      Keep your kitchen organized and clean,  wash dish’s daily or put them in the dishwasher if you have one, wipe down counters / surfaces after each meal with a damp rag.    Pick up the mess at the end of day;  newspapers on the sofa, coffee table,  TV clickers all around the room, empty drink glasses sitting around,  dessert dish’s sitting about.  Take 5 minuets and pick up the dirty dishes and put them in the sink to wash with the breakfast dishes,  pick up the newspapers,  pick up the babies toys,  and put the TV controllers at a designated location every night.  You’ll be surprised in time others will pick up on these tasks.

Make your bed each morning, I know some people say they don’t have time.  Have you ever timed how long it really takes to make a bed?   Really, I timed it and it took me about 54 seconds to pull up the sheets, place 2 shams on the bed, and 5 throw pillows,  that’s even with walking around a King size bed.   Making your bed daily really has both physical and mental positive effects to your day, and it teaches your children to keep “their” space clean.

Teaching your child good habits can be really easy,  at The Trendy Bed we carry  Inseparable sheets in 100% cotton, cotton blend, and flannel;  check them out at The Trendy Bed.com.

Bathrooms:  Try to keep your bathroom organized,  there should be a place for everything, hair brush’s in the drawer, hair dryer in drawer or rack, curling iron in drawer or holder.  Here is a picture of the holder/rack my husband made for me, I love it.   Home Depot little wooden table top, he cut it and drilled the holes in different sizes to fit 3 curling irons and 1 hair dryer.

If you keep up with the daily touch-ups,  your weekly cleaning can really get done in a few hours, and your spring cleaning is really just that!

Windows, Doors, Walls :  Wash your windows on a cloudy day, when you wash them on a hot sunny day the cleaning solution will dry too fast and you’ll have streaks.   Try this washing solution:   1/2 cup of sudsy ammonia,  one pint of rubbing alcohol, one teaspoon dishwashing liquid, and one gallon of water.     Tip:  Other than washing on a cloudy day,  to determine whether streaks are on the inside or outside, wipe with vertical strokes on one side of the window, horizontal on the other.

Scrub and vacuum sliding glass door tracks.   You’ll appreciate doing this once the outdoor entertaining season gets into full swing.   Tip:  Use an OLD toothbrush to loosen debris in the track, then using your vacuum hose to remove it debris and the finish with a wet rage or sponge.

Wipe down your baseboards, door frames and walls.     These can get overlooked during the year, but once a year give them some T.L.C.    Wash them with a sponge and a squirt of dishwashing liquid mixed in a bucket of warm water.   Tip:  Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for spot-cleaning, good for those big boys, and little men fingerprints, scuffs, and even crayon marks I’ve been told.

Floors:  Deep clean your carpet and rugs.  Should be done every 12 to 18 months,   granted depends on the number of people living in your home, if you have pets or not, and where is your carpeting.   Mine is only in the bedrooms and the “formal” rooms in the home,  so once a year is perfect for me.     This is where you can have them professionally done, rent them from your local grocery store for a day or two, or invest in your own if you have pets.

This is the time to move the furniture and clean under and behind…   Tip:  If your range has a drawer, remove the drawer and vacuum underneath.     If you can slide out your appliances,  now’s a good time to clean under and behind those also.

Furniture, Fabric, Fixtures: If you are having your carpets professionally done, now’s a good time to also have them clean your upholstery.    Restore smooth leather with an upholstery/ leather cleaner and conditioner.

Window Treatment:   In all likelihood, your curtains and draperies aren’t dirty enough to launder.  To clean,  go over them thoroughly with the upholstery attachment on your vacuum.  I do this at home about every 3 months because I love to have my windows and doors open, helps to keep them looking fresh.  Tip:  To remove dust from sheer curtains, put them in the dryer on LOW with a fabric softener sheet, clean and smelling good also.

Dust your light fixtures, ceiling fans, and lightbulbs.   Using one of those microfiber or lint-free cloth to dust fixtures and bulbs you can reach.   For the ceiling fans you can skip the ladder and use an extendable duster, good to wipe those high light bulbs also.

Spring cleaning is one of those hate it and love it tasks…   Hate doing all the work, but we LOVE it when it’s all done.

Nothing better than a nice, clean home to make your home,  “The Trendy Home”…

It’s spring, which means flowers, rain, baseball, gardening,  Bar-B-Q’s,  desperate attempts to get in shape before swimsuit season,  skipping work to be outside before it gets unbearably hot…

Spring also means it’s time for home maintenance after a winter of neglect, and you are NOT alone on this one.   I have already started the “Honey Do” list of items for this weekend.

But lets be honest, our home is our biggest investment that “most” of us will ever make and we need to protect that investment.  Doing your seasonal maintenance duties will only help to ensure your investment, and help you give you that pride of ownership that we should feel about owning our home.

Spring and Winter are too season’s that one should really look at their home and make sure it’s ready for the climate change.

It’s time to open up those windows and let the sun shine in.    When I was a little girl it was a family affair, my father would get the ladder out and my older brother and Dad would take down all the storm windows for the winter.    My older sisters would wash the windows, and us “young ones” got to wash the screens all before my Father would put the clean screen back up over those nice clean windows.    Making it fun and most of the time we would all be soaked when we were done, but we would all be laughing and here I am talking about those memories 50 years later.

Taking the time to do some Spring maintenance on your home can ensure a summer full of fun.  Check your hoses, did the winter season make them brittle,  or freezing water split them at the seems, or do they just need new washers?

Maintaining your home’s weather-resistive properties is a simple but effective method of protecting your investment for years to come.  Use a screwdriver to probe the wood trim around windows, doors, railings and decks.  Make repairs now before the spring and summer rains do more damage to the exposed wood.  Chalk it up to Caulking!

10 Home Maintenance Tips

Schedule an annual tune-up for your heating and cooling system.  Clean or change air filters and remove dust from around grills and ducts.  Outdoor air conditioner condensers need attention now, too.  Disconnect the power from the condenser and clear away any leaves and debris with a vent brush or power blower.  You can minimize problems with debris by wrapping fiberglass mesh around the condenser coil;  just be sure to regularly check and replace the mesh as needed.

If you have window air conditioning units, remove the covers and clean the filters.  Make sure they’re running properly before the hot weather arrives.

Remember, not all spring maintenance is outside!

Now’s  a good time to make your home  “The Trendy Home”!

Thanks,

Cathy

Back of Home – Contemporary Mediterranean home, built in 1972, has 20′ high living room ceiling.

Upstairs looking down into Formal Living Room with Christmas Tree in the corner

Beautiful French Kitchen with Marble Counter tops.

Large,  20 ‘ high ceiling Formal Living Room with Baby Grand Piano,  fireplace on the west wall.

Formal Dining Room right off the Formal Living Room.

Beautiful view at night of the LA  City view.

One of the two Master Bedroom suites with balconies.

This home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms,  approx.  4,000 square feet.

A dancer since childhood, Lythgoe, 60, is executive producer, co-creator and a judge on the dance competition how “So You Think You Can Dance” and he is an executive producer and director for “American Idol”.

A one-bedroom, one bathroom guest house overlooks a swimming pool with a waterfall.

Hope you enjoying looking at our first “Celebrity Home” on  The Trendy Home.com.

I live in Southern California and we don’t get snow here where I live (valley),  BUT I can see it all around me in the mountains and I do watch the news.   I must say we have had a lot of rain this year in Southern California and that also keeps us indoors.   That gets us to the reason of this blog – Lift up your spirits with COLOR!

We all know that color can effect your mood, I’m sure some of you have even felt it.

How does a bright, well lite room with a lot of natural light make you feel?

Now compare that to a dark paneled, heavy furniture,  all artificial lighting make you feel?

For me the first makes me feel light in the mood, light in the step, full of fun and action;  the second makes me feel very serious,  no laughter in my heart it’s like I’m waiting to hear bad news!

Here’s some tips to brighten up your home with color.

Blank staircase?   Your not into having your family history up the wall, that’s OK!  But make a statement, paint it in a light cheerful color to give it a personality,  it wall say “Look At Me”!

This is a perfect example how to brighten up a room with color.  They have medium to dark wood kitchen cabinets,  hardwood flooring, wood beam ceiling, and wooden blinds. All this wood and there’s nothing masculine about this room with the addition of  yellow walls, blue and white accents on the wall and fabric chairs to brighten up this everyday look.   Now, this is a place I would enjoy sitting  drinking my morning coffee watching is snowing outside.    (I know, it’s the shoveling we all look forward too!)     And by the way:  I’m originally from Pennsylvania – spent the first 24 years of my life in York, PA…

One of the easiest ways to add color to any room in your home, and the less expensive is to add colorful pillows! Mix and Match your fabrics, colors, and style.

This is my first blog under our new name  ”The Trendy Home”…  I sincerely hope you enjoy reading my blogs and taking advantage of some of the great decorating tips I bring to you – make your home “The Trendy Home”…

Enjoy, and have a GREAT day!

Cathy Campbell

The Trendy Home.com

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