Reader Question Archives - Satori Design for Living

Front Door Paint Colors and Adding Curb Appeal {Reader Question}

Mar

2013

It’s Friday! Let’s get to another reader question from Satori’s Facebook page, shall we? Although our weather has dipped down again today (please, please let this be the end!), it’s time to start talking about freshening our exteriors with outdoor paint and adding more curb appeal. I received photos of two different houses with two very different looks asking many of the same design questions. Today I’m starting with Nicole’s two-story suburban home.

Desperately Need Curb Appeal!

Hello Shauna! I have a major design block. One of the things we want to work on this year is our (lack of) curb appeal. Specifically at the front door. We may buy a new one, we may just paint this one out, but…I cannot for the life of me pick out a color that works. It’s south facing, direct sun all day long. The door already gets incredibly hot so we don’t think black or super dark would be great. Plus fading issues?

I printed out a few pics of the house and cut out the front door. We stuck hundreds of paint chips behind it trying to see what would work. I really don’t want to match the trim color as that seems to be what everyone else in our neighborhood has done. Boring! So far the leading choice is in the purple family, but my hubby isn’t thrilled with it.

We would also like to add window boxes or jazz up the front garden. Any and all suggestions would be incredibly welcome!!

Huge fan, Nicole (Scrap Me Baby)

After emailing Nicole for a bit more information, I found out her style is fairly classic, but she isn’t afraid of color. Landscaping is very selective, with only one purple-toned tree in the front yard. Here are the photos she sent me (she reassures me the siding is cream, not light grey as it appears on my screen).

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Filed Under: Gardening & Outdoor Tagged With: Curb Appeal, Paint Colors, Plants & Flowers, Reader Question

Small Laundry Room Ideas {Reader Question}

Jan

2013

3 Comments

It’s time for another reader question from Satori’s Facebook page, and this time it’s all about laundry room organization. I admit Heather’s subject line “Please Help My Laundry Room!” immediately caught my attention. It’s one of my favorite rooms to organize and make pretty, and needless to say, I jumped at this chance.

Please Help My Laundry Room!

Hello Shauna, I hope this question is getting to you on time. I have a fairly small laundry room in our basement that is quite dark and not very welcoming. I sort clothes in piles on the floor when I’m doing the laundry, but they get all mixed up and I often have to redo it. I don’t have room for several laundry baskets on the floor and I’m not sure what else to do. The other problem I have is lack of storage for laundry supplies and I don’t have anywhere to fold clothes. We recently purchased a front load washer and dryer, but that’s as far as we got. Any suggestions to make our laundry room function and look better would be awesome!

Thank you, Heather

To give you an idea of Heather’s laundry room, it has a single bulb in the center of the ceiling as the only source of light (except for one small basement window), there are no storage cabinets or shelving, and the current paint color is a medium-toned tan. The flooring is beige linoleum that is in good condition, but looks dated (she doesn’t want to replace it at this time). These are the gorgeous LG washer and dryer they recently splurged on.

LG Washer and Dryer

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Filed Under: Decorating, Organizing Tagged With: Laundry Room, Reader Question, Storage Solutions

Bang for Your Buck Kitchen Updates {Reader Question}

Jan

2013

4 Comments

Last week I opened up the Satori Facebook wall to reader questions and was pleasantly surprised at how many were posted or sent in. Unfortunately I won’t be able to answer all of the questions today, but I will try my best to address each topic in upcoming blog posts.

To kick things off, I’m starting with the first question sent in by Amber.

Need Kitchen Help!

Shauna, I’m crossing my fingers you choose my question to answer as I’m really stuck on what to do. We recently bought our first house in Calgary and our kitchen desperately needs a makeover. It’s currently stuck in an 80′s time warp with its dark wood cabinets and fluorescent lighting. Eventually we want to do a complete overhaul, but need to save up for a year or two before that happens. We’d appreciate any recommendations to make our kitchen look a little better spending no more than $500. I just cannot fathom living with how it is right now for much longer.

Thank you, Amber

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Filed Under: Decorating Tagged With: Hardware, Kitchen, Lighting, Paint Colors, Reader Question

Designer Challenge: Which Outdoor Seating? {Reader Edition}

Jul

2012

6 Comments

If you remember about a month ago, with the suggestion of one of my readers, I opened up the Designer Challenge to Satori Readers. Fortunately, Olioboard wanted to join in and offered to award our top three picks a 6-month upgrade to their Pro version. How fun!

Readers were given three outdoor seating options, including the Catalina Lounge Chair, Geometric Pouf and Nantucket Chair. They were asked to create a mood board using one of them.

To help select the top three mood board entries, I enlisted the help of two past Designer Challenge participants, Nancy from Marcus Design and Jackie from Teal and Lime. I just love these outdoor spaces sent in by Sheila, Shantelle and Tiffany!

Mood Board 1: Tiffany’s Moroccan Lounge

Sources: Mirror, Console, Planter, Wine Carafe, Lantern, Light Fixture, Pillows, Tray, Chairs

Calling All Readers: Be Part of the Designer Challenge!

Jun

2012

4 Comments

A while back, I received an email from Carmen, a reader who looks forward to the Designer Challenge every month. I started this series back in November and it has been one of the most popular reads on the blog. Basically, I select three furniture or decor items within the same category, say mirrors, and the guest designers create a room or vignette around the item of their choice.

Up to this point, design bloggers have been the participants of the Designer Challenge, but Carmen proposed opening it up to readers. I thought it was a fantastic idea!

With the season of summer on my mind, I’ve selected three options for outdoor seating:

The first chair, called the Catalina, comes from Crate and Barrel. It’s hard to believe this is an outdoor chair given its plush look and comfort factor.

Front Entrance Freshening

Mar

2012

5 Comments

Two weeks ago I wrote about all the problems I have with my front entrance and many of you could relate. In fact, after sharing my front entrance woes, I received an email asking if I would share some tips for organizing and beautifying a front entrance. Since I’m currently working on the plans and sourcing for my own transformation, I thought I’d share the process I’m going through and break it down into 6 steps.

{via Kellee on Pinterest}