Video Interview: Professional Home Stager

Irwin Weiner ASID - Interior design is adding as much personality and your clients' "stuff" as possible into a decorated space. But real estate home staging, or getting your house ready to sell (or sometimes just getting your home decluttered and more organized if the home isn't for sale), is all about taking the decor down to the most elementary levels and eliminating a lot of that personality. To sell homes, staging gives potential buyers the chance to add themselves to a more neutral space. There's nothing glaring or screaming about the design that would turn them off or make them find the home unattractive ("Why the pink wallpaper in the master bedroom?!). Here's a video interview with Minnesota-based home staging professional Sarah Gordon. She does a wonderful job of explaining what she does, how she became a stager, and how she works with clients. Enjoy!

Bonus

Click here to read 5 Easy Ways to Get People to Admire Your Home - with a bonus video message from one of NYC's hottest realtors!

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Going Turkish Towel Crazy at Ottomania

Irwin Weiner ASID - Nothing is better than stepping out of the shower and drying off with a beautiful "thirsty" towel. If you love fine bath linens, too, you'll be fascinated with Ottomania, a Netherlands based business (their store is shown in the photo above) born from a love of Turkey and Turkish design. Their Hammam Towels line is particularly appealing, with delicately striped leightweight towels that are perfect for beach or travel - or everyday home use. Click on the photos for more information.

And look for their Ottomania's divine Turkish Towel line, too!

Bonus

Click here to read Pump Up Your Powder Room with Daring Styles. 

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Celebrities Are Coming Out ... As Interior Designers

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's exciting to see celebrities come out. For rock star Lenny Kravitz to say that he enjoyed decorating his room when he was a young child and he needs a well designed space in order to make his music, his "coming out" as an furniture designer and interior designer (back in 2003) injected much-needed verve into our sometimes too sedate industry. Look at his energetic, dynamic Mademoiselle chair designs in the photo below for Kartell (click on the photo for more information) or his impressive accomplishments on his Kravitz Design website.

Likewise, international tennis sensation Venus Williams has embraced the expansion of her personal brand by opening up her own design firm - and V*Starr Design is an impressive company (see website screenshot below), complete with an extremely accomplished design team.

Kudos to Lenny and Venus for confirming what I've always believed: interior design is always evolving, and personal vision and energetic drive and a strong sense of style is what it takes to be a success in our field. Enjoy today's featured videos that follow, with interviews that confirm that these two superstars are in love with the design world.

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3 Outdoor Accessories to Add to Your Summer Yard

Irwin Weiner ASID - Summer decorating outdoors usually means setting out the sets of porch, deck, patio, and pool furniture (lucky you, if you have all four!), but it should also mean accessorizing. Our philosophy on outdoor decorating is the same as indoors: be eclectic and mix up styles and looks and add objects of interest outdoors just as you would indoors. We like the look of "outdoor rooms," and just as we dislike matchy-matchy sets of furniture indoors, we think it's important to break up the monotony outdoors as well. Here are three outdoor accessories that will help personalize your outdoor spaces.

Kadai Fire Bowls (first photo) - We have four fire bowls outdoors, two small and two large, and for years we've been using them as planters. We now realize that they are truly Indian in origin and are used to prepare grilled food for family and guests at weddings and ceremonies. We know they work just fine for planters and water features, but add a tripod or base as shown in the photo, and you have an excellent handmade accessory to add warmth to your outdoor world.

Kensuke Coffee Table and T-seats from The Third Nature (second photo) - What a lovely set of contemporary concrete outdoor furniture! Durable, timeless in design, and intimate, you can add benches and tables in the same style to the individual T-seats and coffee table shown here.

Classico Pergola from Metal Design Furniture (third photo) - A pergola or gazebo creates an instant focal point for a yard, and in the case of the configuration shown in the photo, it helps further define an outdoor room by giving it a suggestion of walls and a ceiling. In this case, one would trail vines up the iron posts and train them to form a green ceiling, perfect for summer dining, conversation, and entertaining. A pergola is the ideal accessory to finish off any space (the Classico and other Metal Design features are availabile in a wide range of colors and finishes).

Bonus

Click here to read our 8 Outdoor Furniture and Lighting Favorites.

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