Design dilemma’s solved.

Need assistance changing your space? Furniture layout, wall color, or ???

Not quite sure how to make the "homemade" item or gift you envision?

Organization - is this where you need ideas?

You have questions... The Designer Gals have answers...

Our 3D virtual designs can show you detailed views of your space if you are out of the Lodi, Stockton,Sacrament Ca. or the Raleigh Hills, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Portland area's. If you are the DIY'er this is great for you as well.

Lets chat soon!

Repurpose, Reuse and Redesign Christmas.

This is the time of year many people rush about to buy things, “things” is the key word here. Often things are given to people without real thought but the idea of “I have to give something, so I’ll buy this”. Give with purpose not just because it is expected.

Here are a few ideas to consider:

Repurpose things owned such as an old frame or art no longer being used. Frame a favorite sports T-shirt or kids art work, first baby socks or whatever.

It is ok to reuse and pass forward “things” you no longer use or need. Make a simple gift basket of kids toys or whatever you decide and give it away. Let the kids wrap up a few things and give to those who don't have. Items should be in good condition, you get the idea… pass things along, there are families in everyones neighborhood in need. Give anonymously if you must and make someones Christmas a little brighter.

Surprise! I’ve redesigned my dining chairs…2 yds fabric, unscrew the bottoms, wrap the fabric like a package, staple, screw them back down, looks like new chairs. Are they a bit scratched up? Try any number of the revitalizing oils on the market... the natural orange oil is a favorite.

Take a moment and think about the “things” you are going to give or ask for this Christmas. It might be easier than you think!

Merry Christmas!

The "scents" of the holidays

Ok, so I'm not the best cook in the pot. That gene went to other members in the family. Ha ha... funny how Judy and I both missed those gene's. Anyway, I'm not a big fan of burning candles, I love the way they look, design wise and all, but I don't like to burn the scented ones that much. So here is a great idea.

Even I can boil water, add cinammon sticks and YUM-O, it smells fantastic! Why people have even thought I was baking a pie! So if you want your house to smell fabulous through the holidays, and all year long try just boiling up some cinammon sticks.

You'll love it! Keep using what you have, repurpose, reuse and let's redesign!

Holiday Decorating

This is my time of year! I love the sparkle, the colors, the lights and oh the cute snowmen and santa’s.

So many decorations… or not. If you have a lot older things or items passed down from family this is a great opportunity to repurpose some of them. Tall vases looked great filled with bulbs that might not look so good on the tree anymore. Use some of the garland or canberry strands on a small wreath. Hot glue the berries and other items to the wreath for a colorful new look, silk pointsettia’s too.

This is the time to go all out or keep it simple. Decorating should be fun no matter how much or little you do. Let the kids help and have fun. This is a great time to think out of the box and repurpose and reuse what you have.

Need help or ideas…The Designer Gals are here for you!

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

Eco friendly designs

The Designer Gals feel you do not have to sacrifice style in order to create an eco-friendly home. We can show homeowners how to go green with gorgeous design.

We have imaginative ideas to redesign and repurpose your current space. Our ideas and tips are mindful of every budget to give you stunning living spaces to reflect your green living style.

Give us a call, email, send us your pic’s… let’s repurpose, reuse and redesign!

Time to Sort

Spring cleaning, fall cleaning - seasonal cleaning - whatever you want to call it - do it!

Unless you live in a tropical state, it is time to bring out the winter clothing, boots, gloves, etc.etc. etc. This is the perfect time to sort through your summer clothes. Please do not just push them to the back of the closet or under the bed. SORT through them and only keep your favorites and the items that fit!

This practice can be used on every member of the household, especially kids who will have outgrown many of the clothes by next summer.

And don’t forget old magazines, toys, knitting or anything else that you’ve been meaning to get too. Now it the time to “get to it” and make room for winter.

Happy sorting! Till next time....

Fall Colors

How wonderful are the colors of Fall!!!! This can be the time to change out some of our interior designs from summer to fall. Moving away from some of the lighter- pastel colors we may have used for summer. Changing out the pillows on our sofa or side chairs can be a start. Maybe we have some heavier drapes to put up in our living room. Let your imagination run with this. I love to add some small items such as a vase or throw blankets, warms up a room for the coming cold. How about some silk branches of leaves or just bring in some from the back yard!!! I also will change the table runner and center piece in my dinning room. Doesn't take much to bring a new and current look to go with the season to any room in the house.
PS Don't forget the bathroom, a few hand towels in deeper colors give the feeling of warmth. Let us know what your doing to change for the season!!!!

Our Little Book of Design

Coming Soon...... Gayle and I have almost completed our joint effort to put together a book on room design. It is our goal to help YOU create a new room with a bit of help from us!!! With ideas and sample pictures we hope this will help you make choices that reflect your mood, design needs and color for each room of your home. We are having fun adding the final touchs. Our 'Little Book of Design" will be avaibable not only through our website but also will be sold on ebay. Updates to follow!!!!

Freedom !!!!

Happy Holiday to everyone. The fourth of July is a wonderful and very important day.
Celebrating our Independence Day is one of joy and pride and of course freedom for all. Have fun and be safe.

On another note, I have had a great day today of being set 'free' with my home office. Yeah!!! I am now wireless at last with my computer. This meant that I had to redesign my spare room to accommodate my set-up and also redesign my living room that is was taken out of.

I must tell you, that my sister Gayle was visiting and with both of our unique design ideas we had so must fun. Creativity flowed like a river. We finally found the perfect arrangement for both rooms and away we went!!!!

Sorry no photos, our batteries for the camera were toast but next time we will plan ahead for photos!!! Chat later Judy

Redesign is a good thing

Hi, Gayle Barrett of The Designer Gals coming your way. It is a Fab day here in Lodi, Ca. A perfect 75 degrees thanks to a cold front hanging around from Alaska! We love Alaska cold fronts in the summer!! HA
Let's see - Judy is it raining in Portland, Or.? You know how much I love rain!! I'm looking at the walnut orchard out our back yard and realize what a perfect shade of green those tree's are. Green can be a tricky color to paint with but it sure looks good in a kitchen; especially if you have white cabinets.
Ok, that's it for me now. Gayle Barrett of The Designer Gals signing off.
PS A perfect gift for everyone is the gift of Interior Redesign. Students need help getting organized. Couples merging their stuff into one home. Yes, redesign covers many things. Judy in Portland and me in Ca. are here for you!

Help me clear out the clutter

You may call it treasures, collectibles, or stuff my family passed on to me, but in reality it is clutter. A word many people who have too much stuff do not identify with, clutter is what other people have.

Our latest client has spoke the word - clutter, but quickly added she no longer collects things any more... ahhhh, collectibles. So we will help her take back her home from all the clutter. It is hard to come to terms with this and as we spoke she felt more at ease, knowing we were not going to judge her but assist her in finding all the space she had lost in her home to things.

It may sound simple but there will be emotional times in letting things go, but the best part is seeing the wide eyed, big smiles on our clients face when all is done.
And smile they do when they see their new space, a space they have not enjoyed for some time.

We are here to help you find you find your space too.

New color for 2010

What is the “it” color for 2010? Turquoise. According to Pantone LLC the global authority on color trends for design.
Turquoise is the tranquil color of the ocean or the color of beautiful stones in jewelry.
Use this as an accent color and sprinkle around your space or go bold and paint an accent wall.
Not sure about the “it” color? Check out all the shades of Turquoise, I’m sure you will find one just for you. Have fun adding the trend color Turquoise to your space.
Need ideas? We are here for you.

Interior Redesign can help reduce stress

It is often the little things that make a huge difference in our homes.
Recently we helped a client find her identity again. The house was in chaos, kid’s toys and stuff everywhere. It was time to take back her home.
Many homes have this same problem. Here is our 3 step plan:
1. Edit the kid’s toys. Honestly do they need every toy that is shown on TV? Kids out grow or don’t play with many of the toys. 3 Toy rule – that is the number allowed in the space at one time and at the end of the day the toys are put away in the toy chest or the designated area in your home.
2. Family photos on every flat surface, love them but even photos can be too much of a good thing. Take your favorites and create a gallery wall in your hallway. This way you can add new photo’s and still keep the favorites for ever. This is a great way to display the watercolor or artwork the kids bring home. They can hang their favorites and keep the display area current with new works.
3. Put something in the room just for you. This could be a favorite chair; a picture you enjoy looking at or as simple as placing a beautiful pillow on the sofa.
You can live an organized less stressful life. It is the little things that make a difference.

Home staging = faster sale

Spring is undeniably the busiest time for real estate. If you are selling your home or know someone who is, staging the home is as important as the list price.
The Designer Gals will assist you in getting your home in showcase condition, get ahead of your competition don’t chase it.
One statistic to remember is 80% of potential buyers look online before contacting a real estate agent. The photos of your home are its “first impression”, this is the time to get the buyer’s attention so they will pick up the phone and ask for a viewing.
The Designer Gals will help you get the WOW factor needed in this market. We are just an email or phone call away; stage it so you can sell it, fast!

Easter Tree

Great idea with the twigs Gayle!! For those who love to decorate for the Holiday, here's an idea. Buy some of the colored plastic eggs that pull apart and some pastel colored 1/4 ribbon. Place the twigs in a dirt filled plant holder. Make a bow randomly on branch's with the ribbon. Take the colored plastic egg-pull apart and place a small part of the ribbon with a knot on the end between the half's, close and hang from the tree. Do this with as many eggs at different heights and whooooo. Beautiful Easter Tree. Fun for the kids and you too!!!

Designer Twigs

What a fab day it is! I was walking my dogs this morning, planning my day and suddenly it dawned on me as I was looking at the pile of tree branches that had recently been stacked, why would I buy branches when here they are for FREE!!

I was going to buy a few bunches of them today for a clients living room and you know it can add up quickly when you need 5 plus bunches to make a nice full design.

So I took the dogs home and got more than enough twigs for free. I painted some of the branches white and left some of them natural.

Take a look around next time you are outside, you will start to see twigs everywhere.
Be sure to keep plenty of spray paint on hand. You never know when you will need it.

It is a fab day indeed! Till next time, Gayle

Spring at Last

Just a note to say YEAH!!! spring is here and time to bring out all the patio furniture and enjoy the sun. Its a warm and beautiful day in Portland. Have a wonderful day.

Grandma Design

Hi everyone,

We know there are many of you in this same design dilemma? You have "grandma design", you know what we mean. Items have been handed down, you feel you have to keep the stuff or hurt someone's feelings right?
There are ways around this. Check out what we did in this living room.

The Before picture was not our client's style, the art or most of the furniture. They did love the cane chairs; there were two of them. So what they decided to do was keep one of the hand painted pictures and the two cane chairs. The other items were lovingly donated.

The After picture shows the two cane chairs, the glass end table replaces the round wooden table and a new lamp replaced the large green one, last art the client loved was hung. By editing all the other items the room looks fresh and belongs in the 21 century.

Now all family members will love this space.

We can help you through your design dilemmas too. Zip us an email or give us a call. Let's chat soon!

Kitchen Update

I went shopping to update my kitchen look. Found nothing at the 2 places I had decided to shop at. So-- onto Target -great store- to check out the bargains. Score!!! New pot holders, towels and covers for my stove burners. All for under
$25. Shopped in my own cupboards and found some blue wine glasses along with a beautiful plate to place on a stand. I decided to move all my counter items into different spots and there we go a new look. Also placed a silk plant in the space above the cupboards. It's the little things in life, Hey!!!!! Judy

Trash to Treasure

I have decided to do something about my boring kitchen. No, I can't get a new stove or counter top so the next best step is to change the little things. I will be going to the consignment shop and also the Goodwill store to see what I can find. My new colors will be yellow with blue. Maybe some new pot holders, hand towels, and a colorful dish on a plate stand. I also have a space above the cupboards. A few choice items there and Bam!!! I will limit my spending to $25.00 So the HUNT is underway!!! Keep you posted as to what I find. Reuse and Redesign. Judy

Old headboards - don't throw them away

Hey there,

This is Gayle from sunny CA. and yes Judy it is sunny!!

I stopped by my favorite furniture consignment shop, I was looking for headboards and hopefully the matching foot board. Along the back wall was the perfect set and this one had "pineapple" posts! Why headboards? They make the perfect bench! It is much easier than you think, a couple cuts with the saw, screwing boards to brace the seat, some angle brackets. A few more steps and before you know it you have a fabulous bench.

Perfect for anywhere in your house. The picture is one that I had in a model condo here in Lodi. That reminds me, the client liked it so much the bench found a new location, the entry of his house in Los Angeles! Oh well, plenty of benches and the fun is in the hunt after all.

Another example of how items can be repurposed and useful for many years to come.

Want more info? We are here for you! Bye for now,

Repurpose Reuse Redsign your interior space

Hi everyone,

My sister calls to inform me the sun is shinning in CA. And her point? She does kid me every now and again about all the rain here in Portland, OR but somehow we manage not to float away. It is supposed to rain later today, I know she will be thinking of me. HA

Anywho. I'll be staying in this evening. I feel the need to change my own space around. Time to change a few pictures out and accessories. Sometimes looking at the same thing month after month makes everything look boring and tired. Here is what I'm going to do and you can try this in any of your rooms as well.

The dining area is open to the kitchen and living room so the changes I make there will affect the other rooms as well. So here goes.

I'm going to take down the wine related pictures, the wine sign, and other wine related items in the space.
Actually I'm going to use pictures from a chef calander that my sister gave me. These are not the typical pictures you see everywhere. I have picture frames that I will take the old pictures out and put these ones in.
The large black matte will make these colorful pictures really pop. I'll take down the current drapes and put the light yellow tab top curtains up. It doesn't matter that it is technically winter, I want a change and light yellow curtains are going up.

This is how I picture it now, but things could change and that is part of the fun of doing a redesign, even my own!

Think of what you have in your home, what pictures can you reuse? Bring out old family pictures and swap them out. Great conversation starters, especially for younger members of the famly to see pictures of relatives or even their parents.

Think outside the box and reuse or repurpose what you have. It is about making your home, yours!
Bye for now,

Pictures with our clients saddle

Hello,
Here is a picture showing how we separated the huge sectional. The corner piece we put at the end of the left sofa, it worked perfectly there. Yes, you can separate a sectional. We kept the saddle near the fireplace, another focal point. The room was no longer closed off and crowed. Our client loved the room!

You want a horse saddle WHERE????

Welcome to our blog. We will be sharing some of the the jobs we have done as interior redesigners. Gayle and I would love to share some of the challenges we have had and also get your feed back on how you feel about this service. We will add photos often of our work and would love to have you bring your questions, ideas, suggestions , what ever across to share . We are hoping for an open discuss and maybe hear of your experiences with rearangement of your furniture. Good or Bad!!!! Here we go----------

What a pretty easy job this will be Gayle and I thought, only have the living room and part of the dinning area to work on. Should be done in about 3 hours maybe 4.

Things started off as they should with talking with our client and listening to the request she had about what she wanted to see in the redesign. Could we open up the room more for the traffic from dining area to living room? Not to big of a challenge , we can do that. The next request was could we bring more of the horse photos into the room that were scattered through out the house. Oh and also a lovely Horse Saddle that she wanted displayed near the fireplace. ( Had to take a deep breath and remember that this is not our home but hers) Did I mention that we also had a sofa that was a sectional and that was about the only piece used for sitting?

Guess we may be using the full 4 hours Gayle!!! This room was big and we needed to really open it up but not let the furniture be lost in it. Needed to be cozy, rustic, and have a flare of whimsy.

Well friends, you be the judge of the final production. We had fun with this job and the client was so surprised with the end results. She Loved it. Open , functional, cozy and yes had all the things she wanted to show off in her 'new' room.

Notice the horse saddle at the corner of the fireplace!!!

Yes, we listened because it was her personality and style that we left in those rooms.