Beat Recession Depression- Start With Your Powder Room

The powder room is the crown jewel of the home. For those of you that are lucky enough to have them- they are just swell! They serve the purpose of giving visitors to your home a place to relieve themselves when they've shared too many maragitas to hold in. Then they get to wash their hands in your lovely little sink and vacate without having to see your many toiletries and the contents of your shower that you have in your main or master bathroom. Yes, the powder room, it's like the builder's little gift to us creatives and those of us too exhausted to clean the rest of our house. How dirty can a powder room get anyway?

As a designer, the powder room can be a decorative dream. Because it is the most viewed by client's friends, family and strangers, they typically like to make a big impression by going all out in this room. You can get a lot of bang for your buck in this room (although I have done a few powder rooms over $10,000 too). I will share some secrets with you on how to make the most of your powder room for little dollars, and will also share what I do for my clients.

Tip #1:

Trash that medicine cabinet or plate mirror and replace it with a framed mirror for dramatic impact. Some of the best places to find mirrors from traditional to contemporary for little dollars?- TJ Maxx and Marshalls (the same store), Ross (for the west coasters), Lowes, Home Depot and Bed Bath and Beyond. I have picked up some of my best mirrors from these stores. If you are going to BB and B, go when you get the coupon in the paper for 20% off. You can save a pretty penny and typically you can get a nice, new framed mirror for between $30 and $80. (SHH! designer secret!!!)

Tip #2:

The decorative towels that you display on the towel rod should not be used for guests to wipe their hands on; not only because it's not sanitary, but because it always messes up the special way you wrap the towels with that pretty ribbon and tassel! LOL. Seriously though, I realize that we are all trying to go green and I am the first to advocate green practices, ESPECIALLY in my own home. I do have to say, with all of the viruses going around lately, unless you can install a hand dryer in your lav- stay away from regular towels. Now, there's a sustainable solution for my method of madness. Buy recycled paper towels and a decorative vertical paper towel holder. Or, for even more elegance, buy a long decorative tray and use long decorative napkins inside (preferably recycled). You now see this done in many commercial bathrooms and it will work just as well in your powder room.

Tip #3:

Replace that germ filled bar of hand soap with a decorative soap dispenser. Now, there is really NO excuse for this one. I have seen some really cute ones in Target and have even seen stainless steel dispensers at Wal-Mart. Don't just buy one for your soap, buy a second for lotion and place that on your sink counter as well. Make it a great fragranced lotion and matching liquid soap from Bath and Bodyworks, if you can. CALLING ALL BACHELORS- us women love this stuff-try Moonlit Path! While you are at it, repeat this step in the kitchen. You hands will thank you!

Tip #4:

If you have not already, and if your space allows it, replace your round toilet with an elongated. Not only will the man in your life thank you, but the seat's longer curve feels far more comfy on the toushie than the short round style.This fix can cost you as little as $69.00 with a toilet in a box at the big box store. Many times you can even find one at a building supply reseller-a big place where people take their old fixtures rather than throw them away. You can get one for a song and save the planet while doing so. A lot of times the products are in perfect condition, one might have just removed it for a particular brand or model of toilet. Trust me, my clients do it all the time!

Tip #5:

In case you have not already done this... and this is FREE... get rid of that nasty germ infested toilet seat cover with the matching wrap around toilet rug and tank cover. UUGGHH! They have absolutely No place in the world of design... enough said here.

Tip #6:

If you have a nice vanity, consider replacing your sink top. I have been to many "Liquidator" places that sell granite counters pre-cut to specific smaller vanity sizes, with the single center hole cut out to fit a vessel sink. You can also go to a granite supplier's "Bone Yard" and have them or another granite installer cut you a piece to fit your vanity and a hole for your new vessel sink. I keep saying vessel sink because they are dandy and right on trend. I found a basic, yet classic white vitreous china sink at the Low Box Store for under $100. I then found a great 31" top at a store called Construction Lots, they all have names similar to this. lol. The faucet at $99.00 and the top at $200.00 gave me a brand new look to the powder room for $400.00. If you do not want to go that elaborate, you can find adorable solid surface 1 piece counters with bowl attached for under $300.00.

Tip #7:

Get rid of the dressing room bulbs overhead and replace them with an updated light fixture, again- the big box store will have some inexpensive options- but so do Target and Wal-Mart, where a client once scored a decent 3 light fixture for $40.00. What a bargain!

Tip #8:

Tile, tile, tile. So many powder rooms still have linoleum in them. Why? You can find such gorgeous tile nowadays for $3.00 a square foot. If your powder room is a standard 4'x8', including an added 10% for waste- you are looking at under $120.00 for a brand new floor! Floor tile in such a small space is not hard to do, and if you must call a contractor to install it- you can find an odd job guy for next to nothing. You can even get fancier in this room than you might in your other bathrooms, because of the cost. Add a border or listello (trim or deco tile strip) to the edges of your tiled floor. This will create a custom look for little dollars.

Tip #9:

Wallpaper is back baby! If you are afraid of wallpaper in a large space but find a great pattern, this is the room to do it- and it does not take many man hours to install. Once again, if you can't DIY this, please consult a pro- but this is another project that doesn't have to cost a fortune. You can even do just one wall and paint the remaining three. I would strongly suggest that you paper the wall behind the sink, no matter where the rest of the fixtures are. This gives the most drama when washing your hands and looks smashing behind that new framed mirror you just bought! Although it is on the sink wall, the paper of today is easily cleanable and far more durable. A splatter of water, which should be stopped by your backsplash anyway, will not stain or damage the paper. This is what most high end clients prefer in their homes. We call it a jewel box bathroom because it is packaged up all pretty in a decorative little box with rich colors and vibrant patterns! Even the most demure, calm and color-phobic client will generally allow me to go a little crazy in the powder room. It's a room they themselves don't often see, never use and are not worried about ruining with a bad choice. They always love the end result!!!

Tip #10:

When all else fails, you cheapest option- outside from the soap dispensers and the FREE one- is paint. If your bathroom is small enough, 2 quarts of paint at Wal-Mart in their Color Space brand will cost you around $16.00. Don't make the mistake and think you only need one can because the room is so small. You will have to do two coats and that nearly always means 2 cans. If you have gotten good lighting for this room, meaning a fixture with several 60 watt or higher bulbs, you can even go dark with the color choice for this room. Paint the trim a nice crisp white and all is forgiven on the darkness front. If you are using warm colors, you can even paint the trim in a bright ecru, but don't go any darker.

Although there are many other more expensive ways to improve this room, I have stuck with the least expensive to provide some great options that you can use to add a little flair to one of the littlest rooms of the home and help you to BEAT RECESSION DEPRESSION!

Hola Todo,

I am excited to share with you that I did an interview with Urban Latino Radio in New York City. The host of the show, Erik Rivera, is a stand-up comedian favorite in the NY comedy scene, including regular appearances at The Comedy Cellar, Caroline's on Broadway, Broadway Comedy Club and Comic Strip Live. He, together with a panel of comedians and lifestyle experts of Latin heritage, interview celebrities and talents in all aspects of fashion, home trends, music, politics, comedy, etc... I am proud to have had a great, although somewhat tongue-tied, interview with him and his panel on the radio. It will reach thousands in the Latin community and will be simultaneously broadcast on i-tunes. As soon as I know the date and time, I will fill you all in. Go Latino, Go!!!

Still Trying To Sell Your Home?- Stage It For Quicker Results

This recession has been a tough marketplace for those of us trying to sell our homes. Latinos have become empowered and are attempting to make good choices when it comes to their homes and whether or not to hold onto a bad investment. Many of us are upside down in our properties, owing way more than our homes are worth. If we are able to, with a good credit score, solid job history and a nice down payment, we can put our homes on the market and take advantage of the great buys out there for us to either downsize our mortgage payments or increase our home size for not much more than what we are paying now. El problema grande es- unloading our current home. It is truly a buyer's market and having our homes sit for months at a time, when we are trying to upgrade is bad for our wallets. One way to alleviate this stress is to hire a home stager.

When we have lived in our homes for many years we tend to become immune to our personalization of our space. Us Latinos love our vibrant colors, our familia and the ten thousand photos we have all over our walls of them from when they were 8 months old ( and they are now 26). We overlook the minor things that make up who we are, but can detract potential buyers coming into our homes for the first time. A Home Stager can see our place with an objective eye, the eye of a potential buyer. They are trained in the art of depersonalization. They will turn your home into a more neutral space, opening up the view of a new homeowner to visualize themselves in your home. They take this wonderful HOME that you have created and turn it back into just a HOUSE (an impersonal space), which is important, because a potential home buyer will not invest in a place that they cannot visualize themselves in. Many homeowners do not understand that buyers are visual creatures. Most can't see past the furniture and personal items in the home as they walk around. Think back to when you made the decision to purchase your home. What attracted you to that house? Was it a new model freshly decorated or the layout of the previous owner's living room furniture? Whether it was a new build or a resale, homes are sold easiest when a buyer can understand the layout and this is done best when a home is staged.

A stager will walk through your home and show you what to display and what to store away for your next house. They might suggest a small investment in new paint for your living room or remove 70% of the clutter in your kid's room, only displaying a few key items. They might have you rent a dining room table and chairs that will better reflect the size of your eating area or tell you to invest a few grand into refinishing your kitchen cabinets to update their look to a more appealing and current style which will attract buyers. The main objective of a home stager is to help your home sell faster than a non-staged home, and they do! Most staged homes sell three to nine times faster (depending on whose statistics you read- they are all over the internet!). They are even finding that, despite the bad economy, staged homes can still sell for more money than the average non-staged home.

Real estate agents are really starting to realize the importance of a staged home as well. I would really hope that all of my Hispanic agents will jump ahead of the trend and specify staged homes for their sellers. Not only will the small investment benefit the seller, but it will increase sales in your portfolio and therefore, increase your profit margins. I love it when Latinos can get ahead in any positive way!

When considering a home stager for hire, make sure that you interview more than one, but no more than three. Too much choice is not always a good thing and can just make the decision more difficult. There is a Home Stager accreditation, but do not necessarily base your selection on whether they have this or not- as it is only a course that they need to complete after paying a third party and not a state accredited test or license. It is also not necessary in most states to be certified in this field at all, so just make sure you are happy with their work. Ask for references from 3-5 past clients and actually call a few! Also, ask to see their portfolio and hopefully it will have before and after photos of their work. Now, understand that these photos will not be as dramatic as an interior design portfolio. When you are looking at their work, notice if you are happy with the result in the "after" picture. If the "before" picture showed a cluttered bedroom, did the "after" picture look calm and inviting? If the "before" picture showed an empty living room, does the "after" picture show nicely placed furniture that shows off the best features of the space, or are they covered up by too much decoration? A little decoration in a staged home is necessary, but too much will look less like a model home and more like a decoration store.

The other important thing is to realize that you have to spend a little money to make money. A good home stager will probably charge between $80.00- 150.00 an hour. If they charge less, I would question their self worth and whether or not they know their field. If they charge more than that, know that they are not worth it. An Interior Designer with a degree makes an average of $150.00 - 200.00 per hour in most states and home staging requires far less knowledge. If the stager is charging by job, they can charge anywhere from a percentage of the the sale price of the home to a flat fee of anywhere from $250.00 for a do-it-yourself list of repairs and how to stage your home to a few thousand for their work and a possible furniture rental fee, which you will usually pay directly to the rental store. Some might see these prices and want to run for the hills, but, when you put this small price up against the amount of money you will save by your house selling quickly, it's a no brainer. The small investment in a home stager's services is ALWAYS less than the amount of money you will lose on the sale of your home with the first price reduction. You see, each month that your house sits on the market, the real estate agent is forced to reduce the sale price to entice buyers to purchase your home. If your agent does not reduce the price themselves, you will notice that the offers that come in for your home will usually reflect the buyer reducing what they feel the house is worth by how long your home has been listed, anyway. This reduction is anywhere from 5% to 20% ( usually around 10% in most parts of the country). A good home stager doing your entire home including furniture and accessories and storage fees will charge an average of 1.5- 3%, saving you a ton of money in the short and long run.

Let's make wise decisions for a bright future. Nuestro dia viene.

2010's Color Forecast- For The Hispanic Home

Hola Todo,

Recently Pantone released it's color trends for the coming year. This information is the coveted top secret from which we design all of our trendsetting interiors and new furnishings. Much of it is common sense for where the trends were heading anyway combined with one or two suprises just for fun! Sometimes I think someone who gets paid a whole bunch of money just sits around in an all white room for a week until they come up with the craziest concept that they can possibly find, and then try to interpret it for rooms- like "Purple Leapard print wallpaper will be the new black". At any rate, just like fashion, we all follow like foot soldiers. We have to have it and soon it's all you will see in the stores. The only problem with it all, is that it is far from timeless in your home. And while you can throw out those high heel sneaker shoes with the red numbers on them ( I still have a pair from the city in my closet), you don't want to spend thousands of dollars on your home to only have to get rid of half of what's in there next season! ?Quien tiene el dinero? Not I.

So how do we work with the new colors in the coming year? We disect the trends and extract the colors and patterns newly introduced that can become staple pieces in our homes. Let's look at some of them now:

Galaxy Palette:

Most of us latinos will love the bold mixes of colors in the new forecast. Cues are taken from all aspects of nature and, thanks to all of our lab created hybrids, we have given ourselves a lot to choose from. This palette pulls from the vibrant colors in the night, stormy skies and outer space. What this means for us is bold blues, green/ blues and violets. If there's one common theme in all of the palettes we are seeing for the coming year- it's the continuation of blue and the resurgence of anything with a violet base. Violet, from deep purples to fushias, mauves and pinks... that's right mama, I said MAUVE! Oh man, did I have a lot of mauve back in the day. That was the color! Now it's introduced in a new hue. It is not your mother's mauve. The other common theme you will find throughout all of the palettes is metallics. Yes papi, bling is still the thing. Gold is making a comeback in fashion and the home. Combine gold with a bold blue and you have the galaxy and sun together for one good looking room.

Gatherings Palette:

African styles are back this year. The same basic colors are repeated in this style, just with an ethnic flair. This one also introduces a Lemon Curry and Copper Coin. The colors resemble Adobo and a nice penny. No, African themed doesn't mean you can bring out that black framed picture with the 2 lions on it... We are talking about a scaled back African design. You can do this with hints of bamboo, rattans or woven grasses. Try a tall seagrass pot of Birds of Paradise (the flower). Add a few throw pillows weaved of jute. You can use these colors as accents to what you currently have in your home.

High Definition Palette:

This one is simple... Black and white goes with everything. Next season pair it with a bold color for a statement. The only colors you want to mix with these next year are gold, fushia, purple or silver. And we can mix our metallics again- it's in season. The best thing about this palette is that you can keep all of your black and white you already own, and just toss out the gray we added last season.

There are some color palettes introduced that I will wait to touch on, so that I can provide you a visual of how they should be done. I will do this for you soon, así que usted puede ser "En el Sabe".

The last and safest palette I want to touch on is:

Tinged Neutrals:

This palette is also easy to apply en la casa. The idea here is to use neutral colors that have a hint of an actual color in them. So your white paint has a tint of blue, your beige pillows have a hint of a champagne metallic to them. Remember rose gold neclaces- that's what this is all about. ( and that's in again, by the way- so break out your rose flower ring.

I will have more on these trends in the coming weeks, as this is just an introduction to what will be hot in homes next year. Talk to you soon, and enjoy the sneak peek!

Using Mexican Design In A Neutral Interior

Traditional Mexican Interiors are known the world over for their rich, saturated colors, hand painted tiles, rough wall textures and staple decor pieces. There are many who visit this country and adore the idea of a Hacienda Style Home but are too fearful of color to apply this design style in their own settings. There are so many ways to capture the soul of this playful, bold type of design that does not involve going crazy at the paint store. You too can pull these elements into your home. Let me show you how.

As you can see above, on the left is the fairly standard version of a bold walled interior, using neutral furniture and placing the high powered hues on the walls. Mexican interiors are known for their hand hewn woods in warm mesquites and rosewoods, giving furnishings their rustic appeal.

Through the magic of Picassa... on the right we have now taken all of the elements of the first interior and carried them to our more neutral room, updating the interior and still maintaining the same furnishings, with a few minor exceptions. For the faint at heart, we have neutralized the color palette on the walls with beige tones. You can go with a combination of beiges and tans, contrasting from one wall to the next. On the previously orange fireplace, how about adding a decorative glass mosaic in a fire red? I have also made the mantel more prominent by increasing the height and showing it in an espresso stained wood. This combined with the black oval coffee table add a touch of modern into this eclectic space. I have then taken the bold wall colors and applied them to what was once the more neutral accessories in the room. Rather than a white lace curtain, let's continue with a red panel curtain hung a foot higher than the actual window to give this cozy room a slightly larger feel in scale. Instead of the matchy matchy blah beige sofa and chair pair, how about reupholstering the sofa in a richer brown, or if you can step a bit outside the safe box, try using a printed fabric on the accent chairs in a red or blue, even the great sunny yellow. In this example I have used throw pillows to add splashes of bold color to the monotone chairs and added a throw in a royal blue on our brown sofa.

Only you know your color limitations, but now you know that you can do color! Mexican design is just one of the many diverse design styles you can infuse into your space, brought to you by our Latino people. Whether you try it full scale, or in moderation, it is guaranteed to add a smile to your home.

Time to Lose The Knick Knacks!

So, if you are like me, your abuela was a mean collector...of anything and everything she could get her hands on! Mine had 1,000 figurines, statues and random inatimate objects of no particular theme spread out all over her wall unit and on the coffee table. They took a while to dust off and me, with my creative eye, would spend half an hour every few days rearranging them on the wall unit. She also had this blown glass statue of a clown, that my brother and I swore would stare at us and follow us wherever we moved around the room! Now that she is in heaven, I'm sure she knows that we "accidentally" knocked that clown over and broke it during one of it's staring sessions. (Oops!)

We all have that family member, or maybe it is you, that has a large collection of elephants (because they bring us good luck) or capias that we have collected from every baby shower, quinceanera and wedding, or gifts that we have gotten throughout the years. Yes, us Hispanics, we love our STUFF but we often lose sight of how to properly arrange them within our space, or whether they even belong there in the first place. My fellow Latinos, it's time to get rid of some of those knick knacks. It's time to simplify our style.

Take a look at the curio cabinet above. The items inside the cabinet are random, but follow a theme and a color palette. They are scaled back and grouped together in varied numbers. Here are some rules to follow when creating a grouping on or in a cabinet.

1. Rule of 1's 2's and 3's. Design will tell you that grouping similar items in sets of threes and fives is most appealing to the eye. The problem with that rule is that people take it so literally, that they will line up three of everything in a space and leave a path of little soldiers. Too much structure leaves nowhere for the eye to gaze then rest. You will tend to focus on the overall picture instead of the individual pieces within the space. Try taking items of different shapes and sizes and dispersing them on each shelf in a random number. On one shelf place three items, on the next focus on just one larger piece, below that group four together.
2. Stagger your arrangement. This goes back to the soldier theme. Don't line them all up in a row. Place a larger piece behind, as an anchor for that arrangement. Then place a coordinating piece in smaller size and shape further up on the left and maybe a taller, yet narrower piece off to the right. This will create visual interest.
3. Coordinating doesn't mean all in the same color. Matching colors is nice, but too much of the same is not always a good thing and is also a bit outdated. As you see in the cabinet above, the adjacent room's palette is of warm coppers and the wall where the cabinet sits is a khaki green. In the cabinet you find a mix of copper and salmon colored pieces, together with peachy yellow pieces ( a few tints lighter than the main color) and then small hints of khaki in accent pieces. This creates the perfect blend of the two spaces.
4. Have fun with it! Creating a beautiful, updated space doesn't mean that we have to be so serious and grown up, well...maybe a little grown up! Mix a serious collection of items with a witty statue or a crazy picture you got on your trip to the islands. You don't have to get rid of every fun thing you have- use that one favorite elephant, but then store the rest of the herd in a memory box with all of the important things you just can't part with. Stuffed animals (I'm sorry novios) have no place in an adult decor. Take a few of those Valentine's Day gifts that he bought on the street corner with the balloon in it and neatly display them on the top shelf in your daughter's room. Or tuck one away for safe keeping, but separate the attachment you have for the bears and update your style. A Latin interior can be just as beautiful as we are, if you take the time to do it right!

Latin Interiors...the beginning!

A good friend of mine on Twitter gave me my thought process for the day which just might have created a whole can of worms. I am very proud to be a Puerto Rican Interior Designer, and the only one I currently know. My clientele ranges from the moderate income earner to the high-end home. I am even prouder to know that there are Latinas y Latinos out there who are making it big in this world, although I have yet to work on the home of another Hispanic- and that saddens me. I know they are out there, I just have to find them! But back to the subject at hand. Hispanic people, no matter where we are from, are some of the most vibrant, creative, passionate people on the face of the Earth. We live, love and play hard and it is reflected in our culture, our lifestyles and our homes.

Although we are the largest growing population in the world, we are the smallest represented group in media. Where do we, as a culture, go to find ideas for decorating, design, art and fashion? There are a small number of resources for these items, but you have to truly search for them. On the concept of good, classic interior design and decoration, there is virtually NOTHING that speaks to our people. I have found a few articles in magazines throughout the years that show "Mexican Style" of interior design as this multi-colored jumble of of what looks more like a circus than anything that I would ever want to call home. Has no one done their research? Go to a resort in Mexico and you will find colors more like the beaches, the sands and the tranquil sky than you will find what's in your local Mexican restaurant. The same can be said for a visit to Brazil or Puerto Rico. We have a taste for the refined and luxurious, just as much as the next nationality. I have made it my duty, to dedicate some of my life to give back to interior design within my culture and that of others of the Hispanic community. Starting with this blog post, Latin Interiors is now born...