Decorate Your Summer

SUMMER HOME & GARDEN VIEW THE PRINT ADS
	Ace Excavating – Garden Supply
	Aqua-Soft, Inc.
	At Home America – Decorating
	Baker’s Nursery
	Beco, Inc. – Kitchens
	California Closets
	Central Jersey Nurseries
	Century 21 – Kathleen Sucharski
	Century Kitchens & Bathrooms
	Chamberlin & Barclay – Garden
	Coast Nursery
	Cranbury Paint and Hardware
	Cream Ridge Garden Structures
	Creative Ceramic Tile, Inc
	Custom Wood: Kitchen & Bath
	Danish Designs
	Decorator’s Consignment Gallery
	Designer’s Treatment
	Doerler Landscapes
	Drago Flooring Center
	E & B Distributors
	Ever After Antiques & Furniture
	Extension Patio
	Fan World
	First Jersey Mortgage Services
	Gardener To Gardener
	Gasior’s Furniture & Acces.
	Glenns Furniture
	Graves Design – Studio Store
	Hamilton Greenhouse
	Henry’s Paving
	Herman’s Landscape & Mason.
	Jack’s Famous Furniture
	Jamesburg Hardware & App.
	Jefferson Bath & Kitchen
	John August & Co. Construction
	John Deere
	Jones Furniture
	Joyce’s Early Lighting
	Keris Tree Farm
	Kitchens Direct
	Lawrence Fuel
	LMI Landscape Materials
	Miller Equipment Co.
	Montalbano’s Pool & Patio
	Morris Maple & Son, Inc.
	Mrs. G’s Appliance Superstore
	NorthEastern Construction
	One Of A Kind
	Patio World
	Peterson’s Garden Center
	Poss’s Concrete
	Princeton Air
	Rosskam Leech Murals
	Ski Barn
	Solar Sun, Inc
	Spooky Brook Herbary
	Suburban Fence
	Swimland Pools & Spas
	Ten Thousand Villages
	The Closet Doctor
	Trenton Building Block
	Vector Security
	Village Paint and Wallpaper
	Water’s Nursery
	White Lotus Home

OH
WHAT A SITE

   You’d think a business that trains professional paperhangers would be reluctant to give free
advice to do-it-yourselfers, but not the American School of Paperhanging Art in Commerce, Ga. The school’s
Web site at www.paperhanging.com/class offers
a wealth of instructions and tips that can help anyone do a better job.

Illustration courtesy www.paperhanging.com

   The site explains not only what should be done, but why — why it’s essential to prime the walls first, why you should always remove the old wallpaper before hanging new, why you shouldn’t use tools such as a water tray or a plastic smoother, and so on. It also provides information that’s not included in most home-improvement books, such as tips on choosing patterns and instructions for planning a project so you’re not left with those impossible narrow strips of wallpaper to hang.

   There’s even a list of wallpaper brands that the pros love because they’re so easy to work with.



A LITTLE MORE MODERN

   If contemporary is your thing, check out "Living Textures" by Katherine Sorrell (Chronicle Books, $19.95) for an inspiring guide to designing a texturally rich interior without the help and cost of a decorator. The main book is filled with expert advice. But the swatch-book portion with 600 textures and colors to choose from helps you weave your own look.

   Functional design principles include ideas on how to create a textural room, how light affects texture and how to choose one dominant grain with a host of secondary fabrics.

   Chapters for the texturally inclined include: Neutrals for living, sleeping, eating and bathing; Soft colors for working and playing; and Strong colors for every room in your home.



REALITY CHECK

   Lyn Peterson is one of us, not one of those la-di-da designers who gild persimmon branches all day. She has four children and a husband and refers to her furniture as "not child-abused, more like child-destroyed." She’s coped with not enough money, not enough time, not enough space.

   So when Ms. Peterson talks about decorating, it’s likely to be about "Real Life Decorating," which also is the title of her book (Creative Homeowner, $27.95).

   "It’s meant to give women confidence," Ms. Peterson said. "It’s like a book of recipes that you can pick up when you need to know something, like how high a chandelier should hang over the dining room table (30 to 34 inches)."

   Ms. Peterson’s no-nonsense approach has earned her the nickname the Erma Bombeck of decorating. Her advice for summertime decorating is practical and very doable: "Take some things away; take the throw rugs away and leave bare floor; if you have four pillows on the couch, take two off;. take away a piece of furniture, leaving an airy feeling. Fold your heavy comforter up and put it in a closet, a summer bedspread can be a lovely thing." But most importantly, Ms. Peterson advises: "Enjoy the process."



   Source: Copley News Service