Staying home: survival tips

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • April 4, 2020

It’s not business as usual.

Since my last column a month ago, our lives have been turned upside down. We’re all at home. Social distancing. Self-quarantining when necessary to protect ourselves and our families. We’re stressed out. On information overload. Worried about the future. Concerned about our friends and family. And we are exhausted.

Home sweet home has become our refuge and hopefully, it’s what will keep us safe and able to come out on the other side of this crisis called coronavirus.

One of my favorite places in Key West: the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is a step back in time to the world of a maritime pilot in mid-19th century Key West. The grand home that is now known as the Audubon House was built by Captain John Huling Geiger in the 1840s as a residence for his family, who lived there for more than a century. Peaceful and restful. Photo: Wrenda Goodwyn.

It’s not the time to talk about tips on redoing your home, affordable decorating or the latest trends. That will resume at another time and hopefully, soon.

But this is a fact: we’re all at home and we have to find ways to make the best of it and get through each day. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. And because I have a home office and spend a lot of time at home when I am not meeting with clients in their homes, I have a few suggestions that may help.

Make a list. Every morning. Instead of just falling into the day and spinning around, spiraling into exhaustion, make a list of some things that you want to accomplish that day. Like: Make your bed. Call or text a few people. Order some necessities online. Walk the dog. Read a book. Trust me: a list helps.

Do something for someone. A note to see how they’re doing. A gift card for a favorite restaurant. A promise to meet up in a couple of months for breakfast. Or it can be as simple as not buying too much of scarce products so others can get what they need. Order something for someone who needs a little help. Donate to a charity to help our medical workers.

Start a vision board. Go through that stack of magazines or do it on Pinterest. I like clipping pretty photos out of magazines. Pick a topic. It can be your dream house. A vacation. Beaches that you want to visit. Soothing images.

Keep a journal. Not to record every frightening part of this situation but to keep you on track. Five things to be thankful for each day. A list of what you want to do when this passes (and it will). It can be very simple but writing it down helps.

Mental escape. Go someplace. Take a tour of Buckingham Palace or the Frida Kahlo Museum. You will find some great choices here.

Organize your closet. Take everything out. Everything. Give the space a deep cleaning. Walls, floor, shelving. Then piece by piece, put back what you want to keep. Don’t stress out about this. Just do your best and you will feel a little more in control.

Clean something every day. It’s important to keep surfaces really clean. Give your kitchen a wipe down every day, several times a day. Countertops, sink, refrigerator, drawer pulls, switch plates. One day a week, clean bathrooms. Another day, vacuum and mop floors. Pick a day to do the bedrooms from top to bottom. I find that this works much better than cleaning everything on one day. And it’s less exhausting. Make your list.

Sort all those photos. This is a really good time to go through the piles of photos from before everything was done digitally. Sort them out into piles and send them to friends or family members who will appreciate receiving them. A thoughtful gesture for this time.

Read a book. If you don’t have a library card, you can get a temporary one that is available to help us all through this situation. You can do it online here. This great resource allows access to newspapers, magazines, videos, music, audio and downloadable books and more. Check it out. I find audio books to be really helpful before going to sleep.

Mental health. We are all glued to the news and social media for the latest updates. But too much information nonstop is not healthy. Find a source you trust and limit updates.

Take care of the basics. Sleep. Nutrition. Exercise. Fresh air. Sunshine. Try to practice these each day. Do the best you can. Stay safe.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 239-949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Selecting a backsplash

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • March 5, 2020

This bright kitchen showcases Cambria's Oakmoor design on a dramatic waterfall island paired with a white backsplash. www.cambriausa.com Photo: Michael Sage

Selecting a backsplash. It’s complicated.

I’ve wanted to write about this for a long time. There’s a lot to coordinate: the countertops, the floor, paint color, cabinets. The end result is usually disastrous. And the reason is immediately clear when I walk into a home.

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I see them every day. The homeowner tried to pull it all together and ended up with backsplash that is a mish mash of colors that they tried to match to the countertops. And it just doesn’t work. Busy, dated and just plain ugly.

The answer is simple: keep it simple.

The kitchen is the most expensive room in the home to renovate or to start from scratch in a new build. It’s important to focus on putting your money where you will get the best return on your investment. And even if you are on a budget, this means selecting finishes that will be timeless and will look fresh and new for years to come. I mean, seriously, who wants to replace a backsplash or countertops again in a couple of years?

A popular trend uses the same material on the kitchen's island, perimeter, and backsplash. Shown: Cambria’s new Clovelly design with copper and brown swirling veins. www.cambriausa.com Photo: Cambria.

So, back to keeping it simple.

Whether you have existing countertops that you are wrestling with as far as selecting a backsplash, OR if you are selecting all new finishes for your kitchen, these tips will keep you from a backsplash that will have you saying, “What was I thinking?”

What comes first? If selecting both new countertops and backsplash, always start with the countertops.

Continue up the wall. A big trend now with marble or quartz countertops: continue the same material up the wall as your backsplash. It creates a timeless, classic look that is always in style.

Go for a clean look. You can’t beat subway tiles. The price is right. There are lots of choices. You will never regret sticking with a solid color. I recommend this option for homeowners who have granite countertops that they wish to keep. You can give your kitchen a whole new look with a solid backsplash that coordinates with the granite rather than trying to come up with something that includes all o0f the colors in the granite.

Stick with a solid. We see lots of patterns in magazines and in showrooms. My recommendation is to fight the temptation and stick with a solid. A pattern will go out of style and date your kitchen.

Run the backsplash all the way up the wall to the ceiling or molding. There is nothing pretty about that little space between the tops of the cabinets and the ceiling. Continue a beautiful solid color all the way up and it becomes the focal part of the kitchen and draws the eye up. I did this in my own home with blue/green subway tiles and love the look.

Gather some samples. Place your solid color samples at the back of your counter behind the stove. Line them up together to determine which works best with your countertops. You will need to consider undertones, paint color, cabinet color, etc.

This bold, asymmetric island and backsplash in Cambria's design Golden Dragon showcases sparkling golden currents that flow through the midnight black surface. www.cambriausa.com Photo: Cambria

You can’t go wrong with white. Rather than trying to “match” a color, white is my go-to backsplash. And don’t think it has to be boring. Scalloped, herringbone, arabesque and subway are just a few and there are many with sparkle and bling.

Go big. This is important. Select the largest version of your favorite tile. Remember: this is going in the kitchen and you want to make cleaning as easy as possible. The tiny, patterned tiles can make cleaning the grout a lot more work than you need.

Remember this. You can still have great taste on a small budget. If you are having trouble visualizing what might work for your next backsplash, it may be time to call a professional. We can help you make a decision that works for your kitchen and will be timeless.

More tips. Too many to mention here. To see more photos and tips for selecting a backsplash, visit my blog at www.spectacularspaces.com/blog

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Laundry room refresh

My "new" house has been a bit of a downsize and every inch of storage has to count. And that includes the laundry room.

First of all, the walls were beige and that just will not do for someone who lives for color!

It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't "me." Even the laundry room can be pretty and make the tasks a little more pleasurable.

Before Estero laundry room makeover, the ordinary beige walls were the backdrop for a row of white metal wire shelves.

Like most of us, I had a budget for refreshing this year-old home. And let’s face it, the laundry room is not the priority when there is a lot to do. But it was time.

Most of my budget went to cabinets to replace the wire shelving. And now I have room for all of my storage and a little space on the counter for flowers and a shell. I also repainted and hung a few fun pieces.

After this Estero laundry room makeover, the walls have been painted with Benjamin Moore Galt Blue. The wire shelves have been replaced by bright white cabinets for additional hidden storage. Whimsical, brightly-colored painting features a quirky sea turtle, shells and bits of coral. The subtle counter tops have been accented with huge sea shells, cut tulips in a vase, and beach-themed sign.

“Gone to Beach” sign adds whimsy, it’s hard to do wrong with fresh-cut tulips, and the extra large conch shell continues the beachy vibe.

Benjamin Moore Galt Blue.

Finding design inspiration in a decorator show house

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • February 22, 2020

Decorator show houses always leave me with new inspiration. They show us tricks for creatively providing solutions to problems that we all face in our homes. And they are just plain fun!

That’s why I made the trip to Palm Beach this past week to preview what I knew would be a worthwhile experience at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. The proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach and the same organization in New York. It’s a win-win for everyone.

When you take a group of 19 top designers and give them each a room in a fabulous home, the result is bound to be spectacular. It can be a room, entry, hallway, closet or outdoor space. Or cottage in the backyard. So to speak. They are hardly cottages and this is no ordinary backyard.

Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

What you can expect

• A home that does not flow. Each room is done by a different designer so they bring their own creativity to the space. Enjoy each individual space.

• The latest colors, fabric, furnishings, window treatments, wall coverings, paint colors, patterns, textures, accessories and trends.

• Ideas and solutions for your own space. As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, I always look for tips to pass on to my clients and this home did not disappoint. Tips are below.

• These rooms each had their set of “challenges” and it’s interesting to see how designers overcame them. Much as we do when we work with clients on a daily basis. No home or room is perfect.

The show house

The 8,751-square-foot home inspired by South African and Dutch architecture is located at 260 Palmetto Lane in West Palm Beach. It features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a great room with vaulted ceilings and French doors that open up to an expansive loggia, and a spacious kitchen with an adjacent outdoor dining terrace. The home includes two guest houses, a pool house, and an expansive private garden with lush tropical flora.

Design challenges

The home is lacking in architectural features for most rooms and in some spaces, the walls do not go all the way to the high ceilings.

Tips you can use

Use paint in a voluminous room with no focal point. In Southwest Florida, we know something about this challenge! With our open concept and lack of walls, we understand the dilemma. But one of my favorite designers, Suzanne Kasler cleverly dealt with this in the huge living room with high, high ceilings and no architectural details to speak of. And she also had to overcome walls that did not reach the ceiling.

Great Room “Edited Style” ​was designed by ​Suzanne Kasler. Built on a quintessential Palm Beach color palette of pink and white and featuring rattan, linen, and natural materials, the Great Room boasts stunning views of the outdoor garden and swimming pool. High-gloss, built-in bookcases in ​Benjamin Moore’s​ Custis Salmon stretch across an entire wall, housing a number of books and white sculptural pieces, while a stunning wall covering sets the scene for the room. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Solution: Paint. She made you forget the shortcomings with built-in bookshelves in Benjamin Moore’s Curtis Salmon and trim and walls in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, both in high gloss. For the main walls, she designed a beautiful floral wall covering framed in white millwork. This all helps draw the eye away from the irregular ceilings. She also uses moldings to bring the volume down to eye level.

Paint the outdoor ceiling. This has been a trend for a while, although I find many homeowners are a little reticent to make the commitment. Another of my favorite designers, Sherrill Canet created a fabulous palette of black, white, and jewel tones on the shaded terrace. She uses Benjamin Moore‘s Fantasy Blue to create the effect of an open air space on a covered porch. It’s a great trick that can be used on any outdoor space. As for furnishings, embracing its role as the heart of the plantation-style home, the Loggia blends modern touches with antique pieces for a tailored look for comfortable outdoor living. Gorgeous.

Sherrill Canet created a fabulous palette of black, white, and jewel tones on the shaded terrace. She uses Benjamin Moore‘s Fantasy Blue to create the effect of an open air space on a covered porch. It’s a great trick that can be used on any outdoor space. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Fake it with a beautiful wall covering. At first glance, the master bedroom by designer Alessandra Branca, is like waking up in a tiled bedroom in a villa in Portugal. In reality, the hand-painted wallpaper that Branca designed for DeGournay, gives the look of traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles. The furniture is a mix of Dutch and French pieces with 18th-century painted chairs mixed with modern pieces. On the terrace, floor-to-ceiling custom window treatments by The Shade Store lead to sweeping views of the garden and pool. It’s a room you never want to leave.

The master bedroom by designer Alessandra Branca, is like waking up in a tiled bedroom in a villa in Portugal. In reality, the hand-painted wallpaper that Branca designed for DeGournay, gives the look of traditional Portuguese ceramic tiles. The furniture is a mix of Dutch and French pieces with 18th-century painted chairs mixed with modern pieces. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

Colorful kitchen with an antique. There is no dining room in the home so the spacious kitchen could easily handle that function. Designer Sarah Blank created a timeless space that offers a relaxing and refreshing gathering place. Benjamin Moore's brilliant Swiss Blue adds dimension, while artwork depicting birds and coral pays homage to the home’s South Florida location. The island, an antique tailor’s table anchors the room and is the focal point.

Benjamin Moore’s Swiss Blue and an antique tailor’s table are the stars of this kitchen by Sarah Blank. Photo: Sargent Architectural Photography.

If you go

Dates: the show runs through March 1.

Admission: $35 per person. Proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach and New York.

Details: www.kipsbaydecoratorshowhouse.org/palmbeach

Home and location: Home of interior designer Lars Bolander, it’s known as Bambo Hill and is located at 260 Palmetto Lane, Palm Beach.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Creating a gallery wall for our treasures

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • February 1, 2020

Let’s face it: we love our stuff.

It’s why parting with things is so difficult. And no matter how often we have a healthy decluttering, there are just some items that are too important to part with. These are the things that tell a story about who we are and how we got here.

Mix art, accessories, books and personal treasures for a fun and playful statement wall. This arrangement combines items with art displayed on Pottery Barn’s Frame Rail with industrial chains that work with artwork or photos. Photo: Pottery Barn.

It’s also what makes a house a home.

But there’s a difference between a pile of things that we can’t say goodbye to and a carefully curated and styled grouping. It could be a collection of art, photography, objects from travels, collections, books. Anything that makes us happy when we look at it.

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I can tell you that gallery walls are a huge trend right now and it’s no wonder. They look great and give us pleasure when we look at them. It gives us a place to display what we love in a creative way that adds to the look of our home. Arranging art and other objects on walls or shelving also frees up space on surfaces that can add to the cluttered look that none of us want.

This easy-to-hang and stylish frame rail offers a chance to curate a gallery wall designed to fit the style of the room. Photo: Pottery Barn.

You can create a gallery wall in a large or small space with two or three objects or 20. It just takes a little imagination and a wall.

A few tips to get you started:

Pick a wall. Decide where your gallery space will be located. It can be over a table. A sofa. In a small nook. In a dining room. You can fill a hallway with family photos and artwork.

Pick a theme. Family photos. Nature. Fine art.

What to use. Give the display more dimension by carrying the theme of the pieces to a table or shelving.

Photo: Pottery Barn.

Decide on framing. If your wall will be a photo gallery, select matching frames if you want a cohesive look (my favorite) and the photos will be the focal point, not the frames. Or mix up the framing for an eclectic look.

Figure out the space. If pieces are of different sizes, begin by placing the largest piece first and filling in with smaller pieces. Do a layout of each item with brown wrapping paper to see how the sizing will work in the space.

Create drama. Take your display from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

From floor to ceiling, combine a bench artwork, family, photos and other items in a floor-to-ceiling gallery wall.. Photo: Pottery Barn.

Keep it clean and simple. If your style is clean and modern arrange two rows of photos the same size.

Eye level. If you are hanging pieces of different sizes, the largest piece should be at eye level. And if you are hanging a row of several pieces of different sizes, align the pieces at their center points.

Ledges. If nailing into the wall makes you a little nervous, style frames on a ledge (or two).

Photo: Pottery Barn

Make it easy. A frame rail from Pottery Barn lets you customize a statement wall with industrial chains that hold art or photos. See photo.

Make it fun. You are creating a collage of objects that means something to you. Use your imagination and see what happens!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

A new year: Finding peace and comfort at home

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • January 4, 2020

A new year begins. With new dreams, hopes and possibilities. A time to take inventory and come up with new inspiration to enhance our homes for 2020.

If you’re like me, the decorations are almost all put away and things are looking a little sad without the lights that kept things bright and cheerful over the past month.

Never have our homes been more important to us. They’re our sanctuary. Our refuge from all of the stress and turmoil that is swirling around nonstop. From everything that is thrown at us on a daily basis. Some days it’s just a relief to get home and turn off all of the noise. To disconnect.

And whether “home” is a temporary rental, a studio apartment, spacious condo or estate home, we all want the same thing when we walk in the door: peace and comfort. It’s the only resolution worth having (in my opinion) because if you have peace and comfort, you have everything.

Each January, I like to take some time to think about how I can renew and refresh. A little reboot for myself and my home. I like for ways to enhance what I already have. A bit of a reimaging for the New Year. A tweak here and there. Some fine-tuning.

This is the time of year, as a Southwest Florida interior decorator, that I receive phone calls from clients who tell me their home needs something but they don’t know what. Just something to give it a little life. It can mean anything from new paint to new sofa pillows to a new kitchen backsplash. Here are a few of my suggestions. Maybe a few will work for you or at least give you a little inspiration.

• Take a photo of the room. A design trick! There is nothing like a photo to help you zero in on what you need. Artwork? New lighting? A new rug? Furniture rearrangement? I promise this tells the truth and will help you to say goodbye to what isn’t working.

Thibaut’s Palm Frond wallpaper from its Tropics collection adds a perfect Southwest Florida coastal look to a home. Photo: Thibaut

• It’s all about you. A client recently told meat she wanted to redo her home for herself this time. Huh? She said that she had always tried to make it look like a home in decorating magazines and it had never worked. Of course not. Those rooms were styled for the camera. Here is a fact: the design of your space will only make you happy of a personal approach is taken. One that is unique to you.

• Add some sparkle. An outrageously beautiful chandelier over your bed. If it means removing a fan, give it a try. You can always switch it back or you may love it some much that you don’t give it a thought.

• Pick one accent color and flow it through your home: paint, pillows, flowers, wall covering, a tray on a table. A little sprinkle here and there. This is an easy one.

• Set your table. It looks pretty and chances are that you won’t need to purchase anything except maybe some new napkins.

• Hang a pot rack in the kitchen. This gives the space a new look with a gourmet kitchen feel (even if you never cook).

• Rethink the walls. Maybe this is the year that you go for a huge change and invest in a beautiful wallcovering. Botanicals are outrageously popular and you can’t go wrong. Powder rooms are perfect for this treatment.

• Supersize lighting. Kitchen pendants and chandeliers are all trending huge and it is a great look. Go big if you are replacing lighting.

• Bathroom mini makeover. The New Year is a perfect time to refresh with new towels, rugs, scents.

• Paint the ceiling. If you are looking for a small investment that will give you a huge change. Designers have been doing this for years and you can too.

• Speaking of designers. This may be the year that you decide to call one of us to help you come up with a plan. We can keep you from making mistakes, come up with creative solutions that you have never considered and we have great sources.

• Refresh window coverings. If they are looking a little tired but a total replacement is not in the budget, think about trimming them with tape for a designer look. You can find directions online or have them done professionally.

• Kitchen reboot. If it’s looking a little tired and outdated, purchase a showstopper faucet. A knockoff of the ones that you see in magazines that homeowners design a kitchen around! It’s a small investment for a kitchen reboot. You can find them (affordable) online and at big box home stores.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog