Abode Casa Home: Real Home Feature

I love it when I see a home that has been done so nicely by someone that has no professional training in interior design. Probably because it makes me think of my own abilities. Today I am featuring the home of a friend of mine, Christina. She has done a fabulous job on her home. I asked her to share any information that she would like to and she has come up with some great tips.

Christina describes her style:

I love traditional looks with simplicity and a bit of a twist of color as you can see by my front room. For examples, adding mirrors to the end tables makes it not as traditional. It adds a bit of a twist. Taking traditional shaped chairs and covering them in a non-traditional color, like chartreuse, makes them more interesting.

A few inspiring tips from Christina:

Brown is out! Grays, blues and greens are in. For a long time now the only way to decorate was using browns and other earth tones. Especially here in Arizona where everything is the color of dirt. I wanted my house to be nothing like everyone elses. My house was completely brown when I moved in, complete with cherry wood blinds. Changing and adding all the moldings to the entire house, completely changed the look. Made it more unique and allowed me to play with bolder colors on the wall. What many people forget though, is that not only gray is a nice neutral with pops of color, but blue makes a great neutral. The right colors of blue compliments many other colors of the rainbow.

I would also say, don't be afraid to try something bold, especially on the walls or in a piece of artwork you are trying to paint. Many people doubted me when I wanted to paint the black in the front room, but it makes an architectural statement and makes the room much more interesting. It is also a natural frame to the beautiful wallpaper. Take your time and anything with paint can be repainted. Trust me, I made my husband paint the baby's room twice. But if you are going to use a bold color, make sure you have a lot of white to counteract it, by adding a wainscoting for example.

And her lovely home...