What I am working on ...

Color and Design Consultations

All of a sudden I have a lot of decorating projects that I am working on again. This mudroom above, is an after photo in a home that I color consulted on about 5 or 6 years ago. It is an historic home with lots of great architectural details and the homeowner was not afraid of mixing it up a bit by using coordinating trim colors in most of the rooms. I recently went back to choose paint colors for three more spaces. I can’t wait to see how the dining room is going to come out with its new gray and cream color palette. Also on the agenda is choosing accessories for a teenage girl’s room, and a complete overhaul of another client’s pet-friendly living room. 

Brick walkway at the Wenham Musuem

North Shore Design Show at Wenham Museum

It’s official! I am one of the participating designers once again for the Wenham Museum North Shore Design Show in May. This show is a perennial favorite of mine, as I have been involved in it since it first began back in 2009. This will be my fourth “favorite space” and I will be including a really cool item from the Designer Bath showroom. It will not, however, be a bathroom! Below is a sample of the carpet from Company C at Circle Furniture that will be part of my vignette.

Showroom Design Project

Speaking of Designer Bath, we are in the process of changing up some of our Beverly showroom displays. This soaking tub from WetStyle will be moved to another area and be replaced with an amazing new piece from Zucchetti. I won’t give it away just yet, but if you get the New England ASID newsletter, we featured it in our most recent ad (Spring 2012 – just arrived on my desk yesterday!) We recently stopped by to visit Lucy Dearborn at the Lucia Lighting showroom to pick out an amazing lighting fixture to go with our new look. It is going to be stunning! 

A Summer Nursery by Yvonne Blacker

Elizabeth Wertz Photography

Decorator Pop-up Shop

This weekend I am having a retail sale of my own. Visit me at TaggArt Studio in Wakefield on Sunday, March 11th from 10am to 4pm. This will be a One-Day Decorator Pop-up Shop featuring dramatically reduced prices on design inventory that has been seen on the pages of New England Finery Magazine. It will be priced to sell! The magazine is scheduled to undergo a slight makeover of its own (more info later!) so I am making room for the changes to come. I will also have lots of fabric remnants, trims, vintage items and even custom window treatments from some of my past design shows for sale. As a special bonus, a friend of mine who reps a designer clothing line, will be having a sample sale. If you are sick of your winter wardrobe like I am – or if you want to freshen up your interiors – stop by and take home something new!

Are you a magazine junkie? I will be giving away years worth of design magazines (free for the taking) and perfect for ripping out room ideas that you like, pinning them on mood boards, or filing them away for inspiration. I hate to part with them, they are almost like scrapbooks to me, but I need to clear some space in my office for new projects.

Laura Thomson’s window display at the Lynnfield Library for Art in Bloom

Art in Bloom

And then on Monday night, March 12th, you’ll find me relaxing at the Lynnfield Library for the opening night of Art in Bloom. This is one of our favorite events of the year. Check out this post by my friend, Laura Thomson, who has just finished decorating the library window in preparation for next week’s show. I can’t wait to see what she does with fresh flowers!

What else?

Along with trying to keep my families schedules on track while I am completely immersed in creative projects, there are also a few design related events coming up that I am really looking forward to attending. I am sure they will provide me with lots of design content to share, and will hopefully energize me enough to keep up this pace : )

Decorating tips with Valentine’s Day in mind ...

Color consultations are a big part of my design business.

Here is a taste of some pretty sweet spaces ...

On Lynnfield Patch:  D E C O R A T I N G  W I T H 

C H O C O L A T E , W I N E , A N D  R O S E S

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A few client “Afters”

Step one: color consultation and linen choices for the bath

Step two: find artwork to hang over the spa tub

I forget sometimes to show what I am working on with my decorating clients, so today I am featuring a few homes that I have helped transform with fresh paint colors, new art, decorative styling or design coaching. The spa tub above needed a piece of artwork that could fill the space and still make sense with the colors in the adjacent master bedroom. The bedding, which the homeowner chose, is a multicolored small print floral (scroll down below to see entrance to bath). I found this large canvas with tall flowers bordering a sandy beach. I like how it references water (i.e. being in the tub or in the ocean) plus the flowers in the painting are shown in the same rich colors that are found on the bed.

I suggested monogramming “his and her” towels
to add a personal touch to the new bath.

A cool blue was chosen for the master bedroom walls to coordinate with the bedding and to add a contrast to the warm wood tones of the furniture and the sandy palette of the bath. On top of the dresser, I created a focal point that would also anchor the flat screen wall mounted television. I added a pair of candlesticks for a touch of romance and to help bridge the visual gap between the television and the bureau.

For this vignette, I chose objects that were a variety of heights, finishes and textures. A painted vintage box acts as a pretty catch-all for small jewelry boxes along with the odds and ends that typically end up being emptied from pockets at night.

HOUSE NUMBER TWO:

A modern light blue-gray wall color was chosen to compliment the more traditional slate covered floors.




An extremely long hallway was given architectural interest by adding crown molding and wainscotting detail. Now the walls are ready for a gallery of family photos. By keeping the palette monochromatic, the focal point is on the master bedroom at the hall’s end, instead of drawing attention to the expanse of walls.

The master bedroom in this home is a
rich contrast of chocolates and creams.

HOUSE NUMBER THREE: BEFORE

Existing cabinets in this home were refinished and given new hardware to match the new stainless steel appliances. By keeping their existing cabinets, the homeowners were able to splurge on a new granite countertop and tumbled marble backsplash ...

AND AFTER

We chose a cranberry, gray and cream colored granite that would pull out the colors in the stained glass door on one of the upper cabinets. The yellow pineapple plays the same visual trick. When you work with what you have, instead of fighting it, the final design looks much more planned.


Learn my decorating tricks ...
Could your home use a little “design coaxing?” Do you have decorating questions that you would like answered? I am going to be presenting a series of evening decorating workshops at TaggArt Studio in Wakefield starting in January. If you would like to sign up, email me at yblacker@verizon.net and I will send you info.

Special holiday shopping event ...
There will be a holiday shopping open house at TaggArt Studio on this Friday night, December 2nd from 6pm to 8pm and on Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Along with fine artwork from studio owner Mary Taggart, jewelry, hostess gifts, and custom children’s clothing and accessories, my friend Beth Hylan will be there with her always creative holiday trimmings so don’t miss out! For more details, click here. I will be sending over some fliers with the information about my upcoming classes, and you will be able to get on the class list by signing up during this weekend sale. Decorating consultations also make great gifts and I will have some discounted gift certificates available for those hard-to-buy-for someones on your list!

Make design decisions with confidence

People ask design professionals a lot of questions. What paint color would you recommend? How can I make this space work better? What type of tile/furniture/window treatments should I look for? The majority of my clients are looking for design direction. They are happy to do the running around themselves, but just want to be confident that they are making the right choices.




The above space used to be filled with toys and bright colors. The children in the home were growing up (pre-teens) so the space needed to do the same. My suggestions included painting over an existing under-the-sea mural with a more mature bluish-gray paint color, then accenting with crisp black and white pieces. Designating certain areas for down-time activities like x-box, foosball, and chess, transformed this “playroom” to “game room.” Time invested? About two hours of design consultation. Then the homeowners were able to take care of the details on their own time.






With just blueprints for reference, these clients wanted to be prepared with new furniture choices when their home renovation was complete. I provided sketches on possible room configurations that incorporated their existing pieces with some new ones. Using these sketches along with images of “what to look for” my clients were able to go out and choose their carpet, two matching sofas and also purchased a favorite piece that I recommended, the Triple Bel Air Bench by Daryll Carter seen below. I love how this traditional piece fits right in with the modern architecture and provides additional seating without blocking the view of the lake beyond.







For this client, just a little freshening up was in order. She brought home some fabric books in colors that matched her existing couch which just needed a new slip cover on the seat cushion. I helped her choose a few that looked good with her chosen colors and then handed the project over to my workroom to complete.



With the leftover fabric, we had a couple of pillows made to update additional seating areas in the room.


If you need a “design coach” to steer you in the right direction, give me a call. I really enjoy teaching others how to make their design decisions with confidence!