What should I put in the little landing I have at the top of my stairs where they begin to curve?  I have already tried vases with greenery and flowers but my cat knocked them over and they went crashing down the stairs.  So any type of floral arrangement is out of the question.  Any other ideas?  Please see my pics to get an idea of the space I am referring to.

My stlye is contemporary.  I like neutral colors.  The stairs are walnut color and the walls are ashley grey (benjamin moore).  Trim is white.

Cat-proof design…now that is a new one!  Love the stairway the dark walnut stain is beautiful! Thanks Elena for sending the pics and below is what I came up with.   First some simple solutions to address the blank walls. 

1.  fabric panel ($116)  2.  iron artwork ($109.99)  3.  candle sconces ($69.95 each)  4.  wall stickers ($31)  5.  wooden squares (4 for $59)


There are several ways to adorn your walls above the niche.  You could use 1 fabric panel on each wall or 1 fabric panel on the left wall and 2 mirror sconces on a diagonal next to each other on the 2nd wall.  The iron tree art piece could be hung on the left wall with 1 sconce on right surrounded by wall sticker leaves.  Or you could split up the wooden square art putting 2 on each wall.  Whatever you do, don’t over-decorate.  Keep it simple and if you choose to use 1 of the larger items (#1 or #2) put them on the left wall.  Smaller items on the right wall at a diagonal following the stair level.  This will help it look balanced.  Now for the cat-proof design ideas…see below.

1.  woven vase (unbreakable!-$34.99)  2.  decorative rings ($29.99 & $39.99)  3.  black lantern ($24.99)  4.  white lanterns ($39-$79)  5.  silver lanterns ($49-$129)


I think a collection of different size lanterns (set of 3 preferably) would look fantastic in that niche.  If you are still worried about kitty knocking things down either use heavy duty double-stick tape on the bottom or self-adhesive velcro.  Another option is to use non-breakable large vases like #1.  They look great without anything in them too.  The last look would be to use a decorative but simple sculpture like the decorative rings in pic #2.  Using different sizes looks great. 

I hope this helps Elena and please send in your after pics!

If anyone else would like design help too, please send in your photos to ddmail [at] dailydecorator [dot]com.  Click on the Room Service page for more information. This service is currently FREE OF CHARGE!! So send in your questions!

Here is a question from Jennifer in Bowie, Maryland…

Hi. I’m not sure if this is something that you can help me with but, I’m looking for different ways to organize my kid’s toys, books and just general stuff around my house. I’m starting spring cleaning and I want to get rid of all my rubbermaid containers and store things in prettier containers. Any suggestions?

Here is what I came up with for Jennifer.  Let’s start with storing stuff like toys, books, magazines, newspapers, crafts, etc.  There is a variety of really cute storage boxes.  Check it out… 

1. organize.com $18.99  2. mothercare.com $9.99  3.  giggle.com $80
4.  target.com 129.99  5. organize.com 24.99  6. organize.com 11.99
7. seejanework.com $21

Another tip for organizing is to get everything up off the floor.  One diy idea is to hang a wooden shelf and affix a towel bar upside down on the lower side of shelf.  This provides a bar to hang sweater storage bags like item 1 below.  Giving you storage below the shelf as well as on top.  Store paper, coloring books or toys on each shelf.  Another unique idea is to hang cute totes from hooks.  Use the totes to store baseball hats, dog leashes, umbrellas whatever you can fit.  Check out my picks below.  

1.  organize.com 27.99  2.  anthropologie.com $18  3.  target.com $59.99
  4.  parrottcanvas.net $34  5.  target.com $12.99  6.  designpublic.com $36  7.  anthropologie.com $16  8.  urbanoutfitter.com  $20/pair

If the budget allows, splurge on some furniture/storage pieces.  Check out my picks below.

1.  stacksandstacks.com $199  2.  organize.com $139.99 
3.  ikea.com $99.99 
(white cabinet from myhomeideas.com, bathroom storage cubes from realsimple.com)

Our next question comes from Hilary in Ireland (author of her own great blog blacklashes) who asked a question in the comments section of “Someone’s Knocking On The Door”. 

Hi Tracy, thanks for pointing me to this article. Its so true, i think the exterior of your house is so important…its a sneak peek to what might be inside! Unfortunately i am not keen on my front door, it has stained glass panels in it coloured blue and red….i don’t mind the pattern but the colours are not what i want. Changing the door is not an option…but i wonder if its possible to change the colour of the stain with a glass paint/spray? or even remove it…i don’t think its actual stained glass it seems to be more of a coloured coating!! I will take a picture and post to my blog shortly so you can see what i mean!

I’m not familiar with the colored coating that looks like stained glass, however, I recently just replaced my sidelights surrounding my front door.  It was original glass that I was sorry to see go but, they were cracked so I replaced them completely.  I found a glass company that had antique-looking seeded glass that is absolutely beautiful!  Check it out.  The glass is wavy and bubbly giving some privacy.

Although we hired someone to do the job, it looked pretty simple.  We had a lot of glass to replace but the product was not that expensive!  If at all possible that is what I would check into.  There are craft products available that can simulate stained glass but I would not think it would be viable for your front door where you need to clean it. 

I read on your blog about how you also want to change the color of your front door and you would like to avoid all the common colors of red, black or dark green.  Here are some color suggestions for you that might help.  My favorite is the 1st blue grey (called Whipple Blue by Benjamin Moore Paint) that would tie in nicely with your red brick.  I didn’t list the names of all the paint chips since I don’t think you have the same paint brands in Ireland.

And here are some more doors for inspiration in the same paint family.

Good luck Hilary!

 
sources: image 1, paint chips, doors

Hi I love your site!  I was hoping you could help me design a room for my 5 year old son.  We just moved to Long Beach, NY and I would like to give his room a beach theme.  His room is just a plain vanilla box right now.  We do have a black twin bed and a matching black dresser and white tab curtains with a red stripe but that is it.  The room has tan carpeting and we would like to keep the walls white for now.  We only have a few hundred dollars to make the room look nice–any suggestions?

Kid’s rooms are fun–you can really get creative.  Theme rooms work when they are done in a subtle way.  Of course you can get away with a lot more when you are dealing with kids.  Here is what I came up with…





Check out my budget-friendly suggestions for spicing up a room with a nautical theme all for $216.10!!!  Let’s break it down.

1.  5 X 7 rug-Walmart.com  $39.88.  Putting an area rug on top of wall to wall carpeting is allowed.  Especially when the wall to wall carpeting is nothing special and you want to add color. 

2.  world map-allposters.com $7.99–You can’t beat that price for “art”.

3.  lamp Target.com  $19.99-Keeping it simple helps keep the price down.

4.  lobster buoys-nauticalsupplyshop.com  $21.95-This kind of stuff can be found at any seaside gift store.

5.  pirate flag-TownSquareToys.com  $2.99-This can be used as is or buy two and make a pillow with stitch witchery and pillow insert from a craft store.

6.  X flag seagifts.com  $12-Another item that can be found at seaside gift shops.



7.  red/blue quilt-Target.com  $39.99-Keeping it simple and can work in any design if your son grows tired of the beach theme down the road.



8.  decorative porthole mirror-nauticalsupplyshop.com $17.95

9.  star sheets Target.com $14.99-Gotta love Target!

10.  buckets-landofnod.com $12.95 each

11.  6″ sea stars qualityshells.com  $1.81 each (X3)-Real shells and sea stars are great accessories for a beach themed room.  Collect some when walking on the beach or go to a shell specialty shop for inexpensive design.

12.  toy storage-Target.com  $19.99-Can’t talk about a 5 year old’s room without talking about toy storage!


If you would like to receive a FREE on-line room makeover click below!

image from aymlis-flickr.com

We have our 1st “help me” question from Joan in NYC who writes, I just bought a white, waffle pattern shower curtain. After washing it, it shrunk approximately 6 inches!!!
Rather than taking it back and getting one that will shrink, is there anything I can do?
-joan

O.K. Joan before you go running back to the store, there are a couple of things that you can do.  The standard length of a shower curtain is 72″-measuring from the rod to 1/2 way down the side of the tub. Your 1st quick-fix option is to purchase good quality, heavy duty, fabric ribbon and extend the length of the curtain by inserting ribbons into each grommet and tie a bow at the top of the rod.

Option 2 is to add a new band of fabric add the bottom of the curtain with velcro. Cover the seam with a contrasting fabric ribbon and adhere with fabric glue or stitch witchery.

Option 3 would work if you only wanted to add 1 or 2 inches but could work in conjunction with option 2 and that is to add an embellishment to the bottom of the curtain like pom pom fringe. See illustration below.

Here are some pics for inspiration…

image from Restoration Hardware

image from Pond Lily Interiors

image from marthastewart.com

Good luck Joan and please send pics of your final product!  Dear Daily Decorator is waiting for your “help me” questions.  Please go to  Got a ?  at the top of the page to get answers from the Daily Decorator.

Sincerely,

The Daily Decorator