Creative Interior Specialists

I LOVE shredders and the bigger the better. It has to be the type that shreds both ways so the pieces come out small and not long. I don’t know what I would do without it! I use mine EVERY day when I go through the mail. I shred all of our addresses. I tear off the addresses from the front cover of magazines and catalogs, and tear out the order forms if our address is on it. I shred envelopes, key cards from hotels, expired credit cards. I even tear off the shipping labels from packages and put them through the shredder. 

Here’s a tip… If you need to mail something and don’t have bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts, fill a grocery bag with the shredded paper (mix it up a few times with your hand first) and then tie a knot with the handles. It’s great!

Howard’s Restor-A-Finish is an AMAZING product. I highly recommend this product for anyone looking to clean up their woodwork without the cost of refinishing. It comes in every wood tone. I used the Golden Oak on all my oak woodwork, mantle, doors, window sills, you name it. It does a fantastic job of covering up scratches and discolorations. We inherited a white film on our wood floor in the front hall when we bought our house. Nothing would take it off.  One day while I was going over all of the doors and trim, I thought, why not try it on the wood floor. I rubbed it on a small area and was shocked when the film disappeared.

The previous owners must have spilled paint and tried to clean it up with the wrong solvent. The white film was very bad in some areas, so I did have to use a very fine steel wool with it. I went over the whole floor on my hands and knees and it was shining when I finished.

I’ve used the Cherry on all my kitchen cabinets and furniture and it does a GREAT job. Pass the word!!!

The color only looks darker in the second photo because of the time of day each of the photos were taken. It doesn’t change the color, it only enhances it.

You can find Restor-A-Finish at the Fort Collins Flea Market on College Avenue. They also carry different sizes in each of the wood tones.

The inside of the front door was painted white after I realized that the whole interior of the house had this nice fresh coat of paint in all the rooms, and the front door was still dirty and dingy despite how many times I tried to clean it. I never liked the white color and always found that part of the hall to be boring. One day I just happened to be in the living room staring down at the front door, when a thought went through my mind, paint the door Chestnut Red. So, I did!!! Tell me what you think of the difference it made.

The Chestnut Red door now ties in the red in the hall rugs and creates a more unified look from the hall to the living room to the kitchen. The door also matches the two flower pots.

I’m on the lookout for a large piece of pottery with the same red color in it to go beside the bookcase in the second photo.

Prior to moving to Fort Collins from Newport, RI, I was seriously contemplating having the dining room chairs reupholstered. The dining room furniture is Ethan Allen and had off white seats with back cushions on the captains chairs. One day after moving here I found myself at JoAnn’s fabrics. I thought I would check it out and see what they had for upholstery fabrics. That day turned out to be my lucky day. They not only had fabric I loved, but it was 50% off. In fear of them discontinuing the color, I bought it ALL. I had plenty of fabric to reupholster the chairs, fabric for table runners, and have enough left over for a window treatment. Below you will see the before and after photos of the chairs.

There are those who love to paint, and there are those who hate it. I belonged to the latter group. In our last house I had decided to paint our bedroom. I’m one of those who will stand with brush in hand and just look at the wall. I don’t know how long I had been standing with the roller and looking up at the ceiling when all of a sudden I heard, “Mom, gimme that!” Our youngest daughter had come home and found me, I’m sure, looking rather pathetic. She grabbed the roller from me and had the ceiling painted in no time, then began to help me paint the walls. After that, I painted the bathroom. Last fall we had the interior painted because the mere thought of painting myself would have been like a punishment. I have to admit that after painting the mantle and kitchen, I found that my problem all along has been my fear of making mistakes. Mistakes in painting only means painting over where you messed up.

Last fall I decided I wanted a red dining room. It took I don’t know how many coats of paint with a lot of touch up after the painters were gone. I had help moving the furniture into the dining room from the garage. The consensus was that the room was rather small to have the hutch and server across from each other with the table and chairs inbetween. I was never happy with the dining room until I found I couldn’t keep the red color with the red in the kitchen. Since I’m now a HUGE fan of painting, I decided to repaint (much to my husband’s dismay) the dining room in the Travertine to go with the rest of the main floor, and move the hutch and server to where I originally wanted them to go. I think you’ll have to agree with me, that the new color and furniture arrangement makes the room look brighter and more spacious. You’ll see how the room looked in the red, and how it looks today.

You can see how the cherry furniture doesn’t really show up that well against the red. The room seems dark and closed in. There is too much wall space on the server side causing the room to be unbalanced. It doesn’t have an elegance to it as it should for a formal dining room.

The Travertine color makes the room brighter and shows off the cherry furniture. The light fixture now blends in better with the walls and table runners. The flowers add some color and by hanging the mirror vertically, the room now takes on more of an elegant look. It has now been transformed into a formal dining room.

This is a continuation of adding the Chestnut Red color to highlight the kitchen. I loved what the red color did for the mantle, so I decided to try it in the kitchen.  First, I painted the wall in front of the bar stools which faces the mantle. Then I began with one small area above the cabinets where I have baskets displayed. I really liked the way the cherry cabinets and baskets stood out, so I continued with the other wall of cabinets and baskets which also included a window. From there I moved to the adjacent wall which has sliding doors and a grey window treatment made up of three and a half inch panels that overlap each other when closed. The two walls create an L-shape where the table is. Take a look at the following photos, and tell me what you think.

Notice how the gray of the corian counter top and the gold oak trim “pop”. The bar stools stand out  more, and the fabric on the seats have both the Travertine and Chestnut Red in the design.

                          Which photo do you like better?       

  See how everything just “pops” against the red, and the cherry cabinets seem less boring.

This corner now seems warmer and creates more of an eating area. The gray window treatment shows up more and the painting “pops”. The whitewash furniture adds a nice contrast to the cherry cabinets. The black wrought iron fixtures also stand out more.

 In the beginning of April, my Realtor, Lori Lindholm, who at the time was with Keller Williams, hired me to stage a vacant home for her.  She moved to RE/MAX Alliance shortly after I staged the house. It was a short sell, so I had to do the minimum, which consisted of accessories and small tables. The only furniture I had to work with was a couch, a small table, and a tiny TV. I had to go out and buy everything, so I immediately hit all the stores shopping for what I would need to stage the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and bathroom.  I had a lot of fun coordinating everything, and had the house staged in four hours. I called Lori to let her know my staging was complete, and she was VERY pleased when she came over and saw the final result. I’m happy to say that she had a contract within NINE days and for the FULL asking price!!! 

This is what Lori has to say:

I am a Realtor with RE/MAX Alliance in Fort Collins.  I listed a home in Fort Collins that was vacant and outdated and needed to sell quickly.  I had heard of Barb w/ Creative Interior Specialists and decided to give her a try!  Barb was super to work with!  Her analysis was detailed, clear and concise.  I appreciated that Barb gave several options to stage this home and it was her desire to meet the needs of the seller and myself before her own.  Barb went right to work and created a totally different scene in this home and within 9 days we had a full price offer on the home.  I would highly recommend Barb to all of my Real Estate Clients and I will most definately use her again with my next vacant home!  Lori Lindholm, Realtor- RE/MAX Alliance

Here are some of the photos of Romeldale Court in Fort Collins. I hope you like what you see.                                                                 

                             Foyer Before & After

                      Living Room Couch Before & After

                          Living Room Before & After

                       Master Bedroom Before & After

                         Bathroom Sink Before & After

                             Bathroom Before & After

                           Dining Area Before & After

                                 Kitchen Before & After

                             Back Door Before & After

                                       Fridge