Ruthie Staalsen - What my design philosophy is and why!

I wanted to share with you a snippet from my book that was published a few months ago. This portion of my chapter truly describes what I am all about.

Ruthie Book

"My main objective is to create environments that are gathering places for families and friends to do life together.

However, I am about more than that.  I believe that the home is a special hub for the best moments in life.

  It is the place where you watch your kids dance around the kitchen.

It is where you and your hubby carry your kids to their bed because they fell asleep on the couch.

 

It's where your daughter brings a boy home for the first time, and where  your family laughs around the dinner table so hard that you choke on your food.

Home is where real life happens and sometimes real life is a little bit messy.

That is why I want the homes I decorate to be a place for peace and solitude.  Our society is so busy and hurried that spending time AT HOME is almost a lost art.

My goal is to connect these wonderful moments of life to the home through interior design.

  I have a different perspective on design in that it isn't totally about a specific look.  It's more about finding the soul of the people living in the home, and helping the client find the surroundings that makes them feel good. Decorating is about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul.

Our homes should reflect what we are about, our beliefs, our experiences and family traditions.  After all, homes are not just about nice things, they are about a place where you want to spend time.

I want to be known as the designer that connects these dots."

I'm working on a project at the moment where I get to do exactly what I've described above. I get up each morning, ready to make lives and homes more beautiful!

Two Lion Master Bedroom Makeover

We recently finished a two day install for a client.  We decorated their dining room, kitchen, family room, entry, library and master bedroom.

We broke it up into 2 days and worked so very hard!  Over a 3 month period, I had things repurposed, reupholstered, repainted, reworked, etc.   We used the homeowners furniture mixed with old and new items.  I incorporated thrift store finds, high end custom furniture, lower end and high end accessories, custom artwork, kids artwork, antiques and many meaningful treasures the client already had.  This home now feels very "collected, not decorated" and that is my trademark. All these things mixed together makes for a FABOULOUS end result!

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I had the second day of the professionally shot by an EXTREMLY TALENTED videographer who is putting together a video of the entire day so stay tuned.  The reveal with the clients is AWESOME!

I call this the Two Lion Home because there are two great big lion statues that greet you at the door!

Lions

In the meantime, I thought you might like to see some before and after shots of the master bedroom.

I absolutely LOVED this cove in the master bedroom when I first saw it.   When I walked into the room, I immediately thought that this could be a great feature wall.  My wheels where turning all night after that consultation.  It seems I do most of my creative thinking when I should be sleeping, Urggggg

I finally came up with this idea below and it turned out beautiful!  I could not have done it without my fabulous workroom!

BEFORE

DecRenew Interiors Before

AFTER

New light fixture, draperies, headboard, bedding, side tables, lamps, accessories, artwork and sitting area.

Photography by T. Lamar Photography

 

DecRenew Interiors Master II

DecRenew Interiors Master After

This room is filled with light that a camera cannot capture.  It is so beautiful.

I found the side tables and didn't like the knobs that they came with.  We installed new knobs from Anthropologie.com and it instantly transformed them.

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You can see the pattern of the fabric on the headboard, isn't it spectacular?

side table

The bed skirt and the draperies were custom made.

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DecRenew Interiors 11

I found this bust and it was an ugly white and needed a makeover. Logan, one of the teenagers that is helping us, spray painted it for me and it looks perfect on the bedside table.

The client had these chairs below.  We had them reupholstered in a soft velvet.  We found some artwork done by their kids and hung them above the chairs.

BEFORE

WING BACK CHAIRS

AFTER

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So personal and PERFECT for a master bedroom.  The colors were perfect too!

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MASTER CHAIRS

I found two of these chairs at a resale store.   Really comfy, great shape and fun curves but outdated.  We reupholstered without the fringe and added swivels to them for good TV watching. Perfect now.

AFTER

DecRenew Interiors Master Final

Hope you enjoyed the tour.  I'd love to hear what you think!

I'll be posting more about this home later on.

You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest (DecRenew Interiors).  I am also on Periscope where you can watch me live as we decorate behind the scenes and give you tips and inspiration for decorating your home.  Click on the icons on the right if you would like to follow us!

Have a beautiful weekend in your HOME!