What's more exciting than decorating a beautiful room? Being recognized for your hard work! A couple of weeks ago, BuildDirect wrote a blog recognizing the 15 best decorators in Orlando, FL and I was lucky enough to make the cut! Here is the article they wrote. I would appreciate it if you would vote for me in the poll at the bottom of the article!

  I was hired recently by a couple who were interested in redecorating their living and dining rooms.  The clients showed me images of a home of a south Florida friend who owns a local shop specializing in vintage and re-purposed products imported from Asia and the Far East.  They specifically requested that we purchase at least one statement piece to incorporate into their new space.   Because nothing currently in the room was staying, I decided to use this statement piece to kick-off my design plan so the wife and I went shopping.  We selected a long, somewhat rustic, cabinet to anchor the main wall in the living room.  We also found a mirror made out of an old window frame that we felt would bring just the right touch to the dining room.

Before & After

 When we started, the room felt small with nothing to draw attention to the high ceilings and architectural columns in the room.  The clients had already decided to replace the tile floor with a wood floor which added warmth to the space.  With our inspiration pieces selected,  I put a design plan together.  The color palette was inspired by the blue and green tones in the newly purchased pieces and I added orange to incorporate the warm tones the clients favored.  We emphasized the height of the room by removing a ceiling fan and the outdated dining room chandelier and replacing them with two different but complimentary gold-toned chandeliers.  We also hung tall drapes to draw attention to the windows, add height, and a big hit of beautiful color.  Most of the walls are painted a nice neutral gray/beige to let the vibrant colors really stand-out. We added one accent wall in a lovely shade of pale green.  My clients were hesitant at first about the color but they trusted my vision and I love the way the cream colored sideboard and blue painted mirror look against this color. Emerald green lamps and accent pillows bring the green into the living room and emphasize the green in our cabinet.

Before & After

One of the most stunning touches in the room came when we added the coral upholstered dining chairs. Our clients love the bright pop of color and added fun that these chairs bring to the space. 

Design Concept & Final Result

From design concept to final product, these clients encouraged me to give them a timeless look that also reflected their desire to have unique and one-of-a-kind elements.  I couldn't be happier with the results.  When we started, the wife said when it was her turn to host her book club, she didn't want to invite people to her home and she wanted to change that.  I hope now she will look forward to her turn to host and show off her beautiful rooms. 

Over 25 Million Monthly Unique Users Rated Top-Rated Home Building, 

Remodeling and Design Professionals in the United States and Around the World

Gail Barley has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The founder and principal designer of Gail Barley Interiors was chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in Customer Satisfaction. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among their peers in the Houzz community.  

“Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize Gail Barley among our “Best Of” professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Follow Gail Barley Interiors on Houzz.

About Houzz

Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, buy products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin and Sydney. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

New clients assume that the size of their decorating budget is in direct correlation to how happy I and they are with the finished product.  This is truly not the case.  For example,  I recently completed a one room project for a young woman living in her first house.  She had a spare bedroom that she was using as an office but she wasn't happy with how it functioned or how it looked.  She was interested in moving the desk into the closet so that the rest of the space could be used as a lounge/study.  You can read about and see the transformation of the closet in the blog I posted on April 25th (Converting a Closet to an Office).

Before

Before

A few paychecks later, she was ready to furnish the rest of the room.  My client had a few pieces she definitely wanted to keep: an art-deco wing chair covered in black leather with white piping, some of her artwork, and her pink dress form.  I was happy to accommodate these requests.  I also suggested keeping the hot pink Ikea bookcase. By turning it on its side, we were able to use it as our media console and still have storage for books. A budget friendly solution.

I often consider furniture made for children when furnishing small spaces. In this case, we used a love seat in a light gray fabric with tufting detail from PB Teen. Using a "teen" company allowed us to find a piece that was smaller in scale (just what we needed for this petite lounge).


To go beside the love seat, we found a three tier glass and brass table from West Elm.  The three glass tiers gave us the function we needed without making the space feel crowded, while also relating to our Ghost style chair in the desk area.  A white ceramic lamp from Z Gallerie atop the glass table provides light and some feminine curves. The only other piece of furniture we purchased was West Elm's Martini table in white.  This petite table provides a place to set a glass or the remote but keeps the space feeling open and can easily be moved to anywhere it is needed.

The final touches are what really put this room over the top.  The hot pink and cream toile drapery in a Robert Allen fabric gives a nod to our Parisian mural on the desk wall.  Pillows in the same fabric really pop on our gray couch and bring a little pink to that side of the room.  A few more gold accents were added for sparkle and the client's artwork was hung back on the walls.

I love the way the space turned out and so does my client.  I've had clients with bigger budgets but this room is one of my favorites.  We were able to give her an office and a lounge in 120 square feet, marrying function and style. It seems perfectly suited for a young professional woman.  The pink little girl's room all grown up!

When describing a room, magazines will often use the word “Timeless” to capture the elegant and everlasting quality of a space. How do we design a room to be “timeless”? What is the difference between good design and great design?  In the coming months I will start a series of blog entries on 20th century rooms and what makes them appealing to us today.  I will also suggest changes that could be made to bring the rooms into the 21st century. I hope that this will serve as a guide to anyone seeking to understand how design works, the trends involved, and where things change and where they stay the same. 

Living Room by the late Mark Hampton
Photo by Durston Saylor for Architectural Digest
Published in 1996

Classic pieces are understood to last, but what makes a piece a classic? Trends are best used in small amounts, but where can I use them and still keep my room looking updated and current? This series of rooms will be a fun way to explore these and other questions that a decorator can help answer. I also hope that this will give you general knowledge of some famous designers and what made them great.

Decorating a room doesn't have to be a never ending project, but it also isn't something that we can set aside for years at a time. In these blogs I hope to show you quick ways to keep a space fresh and new feeling, without having to start over every couple of years.

In my last blog about my daughter's rental property, the main living room was unfinished, but on its way to becoming a place that she could call home. In the ensuing months she and I have worked to create a homey feel on a very tight budget. The first thing we installed were her bamboo shades. An inexpensive choice for a room with a large window but also an attractive one. With a little help, my daughter found blinds that she liked on sale, saving her about $200. The shades add texture and color while providing much needed privacy from the street.

The next item on the to-do list was a rug.  Rugs can be expensive with custom rugs costing thousands of dollars. An expensive rug was impractical for a young woman starting out and impossible on a budget from a just-out-of-college job. However, the space really needed the warmth and softness that a rug provides. Instead of a ready made rug we purchased a carpet remnant and had it cut and bound to perfectly fit the space.

Our next step was to add curtains to give this small space some height. I love curtains because they are a great way to add color and pattern and can really make a room feel finished.  We worked to find the perfect fabric.  With a little research and time we managed to find her dream fabric discounted by $15 a yard, saving her around $100 in the end. Having a pair of side panels made is not terribly expensive but they make such a difference! We were careful to make her curtains in a size that would work in any space with 8' ceilings. When she moves onto her next home, she will have curtains that she can use again. I purchased the curtain hardware on clearance from one of my suppliers, saving about 50%.

With some time, effort, and a little bit of luck, the space came together to create a modern room for a young woman. The final result is a comfortable, custom-looking space that my daughter is proud to call her first home and we didn't bust the budget!

Decorating, like any other creative endeavor, goes through changes as styles and tastes change.  Today I wanted to write about trends that I am currently seeing in decorating.  Most of my clients want their homes to be current but not too trendy.  For big ticket items, I prefer classic and timeless choices.  I save the trends for smaller and easily updated items.  The trick is to know the difference between a trend that will soon fade and a new classic with longevity.  Here are my thoughts on some of the newest decorating styles.

1.  Ikats. You may not know what it is called but you have most likely seen this textile pattern in design magazines and at retailers. Ikat, pronounced e-cat, is an ancient pattern that has become very popular in today's interiors. The graphic nature of this pattern makes it work with many different styles and it is available in a wide range of color combinations. My recommendation is to use ikat patterns to update your decor but use them on items that are easily changed: throw pillows, small chairs, window treatments, etc. Although I expect ikats to be around for a few more years, I see them as a trend.

2.  Quartz Composite Counters. For years the go to material for countertops has been granite and other natural stones. Quartz composite is changing that. A man-made material, available in a wide range of colors and patterns, it is more durable than granite, doesn't require sealing and is relatively 'green'. I was quick to jump on the quartz bandwagon, first using it 10 years ago, and I still love it.  This is a trend with real staying power.

3.  Gold metals.  Silver has been the metal of choice for hardware, light fixtures and accent pieces for many years. But now I am seeing a shift from silver to gold. For those of you who are shuddering and having laquered brass flashbacks, don't worry. The new gold finish is much softer, often with a more satin or burnished finish than what we saw in the 90's. The good news for everyone is that it is perfectly acceptable to mix metal finishes so if everything in your house is silver, you don't need to start over to embrace this trend. You can introduce gold in a lamp, a vase or a picture frame.

4.  Gray. If you don't know already, gray is the new beige.  After twenty years of beige being the 'go-to' neutral, gray is coming on strong. Just like beige, gray comes in many shades and can work with a wide range of colors in a wide range of environments.  The only caveat I would offer is that it is hard to introduce gray into an all beige environment.  Gray will be here for a while so consider it as an alternative to beige or white.

5.  Outdoor Living.  Over the last few years, furnishings for outdoor spaces have become more and more like their indoor counterparts.  Outdoor fabrics are now almost indiscernible from indoor.  Fully upholstered outdoor pieces offer comfort and quick drying features.  Water and electricity usually don't mix but there are lamps designed for outdoor use.  Overall the line between indoor and outdoor spaces has blurred giving our homes more usable square footage.  I expect this trend to continue.

If you want to freshen up your home, try adopting one or more of these trends.  Just invest your money wisely and if you need help, you know who to call.