Why?

Why are new houses so poorly designed? I'm not talking about aesthetically, but architecturally. One of my biggest peeves is the fireplace next to the built in t.v. cove. These are two focal points of a room placed right next to each other battling for attention. But the #1 issue of these "cookie cutter" houses is that they lack character (those who know me can attest that I have plenty!)

I have to say that as a stylist, my biggest hurdle when styling a "new" house is trying to bring it to life. Of course I style it for the occupants and luckily my clients are not cookie cutter drones, but it is still quite a challenge. If someone offered to give me a house free of charge and I had to choose between a brand spanking new home or a fixer upper that was about to be leveled? It would cost me less money to fix the fixer upper than it would to gut the "new" house!

My apologies to those that have a "new" house, but I needed to rant today. Okay, so here's a small tip to add some character, paint the trim. While I find white trim charming, it doesn't always work in houses with a warm palette, but it can work if there are white furnishings or accessories in the room. But enough about white trim, let's talk about color!

The color of trim will again depend on the style of the room, and yes, white works well if you are highlighting the architecture in a Colonial or Traditional type space, but color works especially well if you are going for a more modern style. Painting the trim a slightly lighter tint than the wall will also add height to a room. Unfortunately I did not have time to pull some examples, but I will add them tomorrow, so come back!