Looking for a way to freshen up your home bar? Wine bottles are pretty, decanters of liquors are stately, but they can begin to look antiquated year after year...

Seltzer Bottles add a new and interesting change!

photo credit

You may remember seltzer bottles from slapstick comedy... such as on "I Love Lucy".

Seltzer bottles or soda syphons were popular in the 1920s and 1930s and used for cocktails in home bars. The soda water was delivered in these bottles by subscription, much like milk from the milk man.

These bottles are usually easy to find at flea markets and yard sales, ranging from $40 and up. The sea blues and pewter colors are calming and masculine - a simple upgrade for your home bar. Cheers!

Tulsa NPR Interview

Recently I was interviewed about the remodeling and renovations of Mid town Tulsa Mansions. Check out this short interview that aired on Tulsa's NPR!

What the Clients are saying:

Cheers!

"How do you turn a 4 room ugly beige blah apartment into a show piece - - call Jeffrey Evans.

I was needing to downsize from a 2200 square foot house to a 1000 a square foot apartment and Jeffrey Evans was referred to me.

He listened to my wants and needs- and designed an apartment that truly reflected my personality and style.

I gave him the keys and a budget on a Sunday afternoon and said "handle it". My place was ready the following Saturday evening and the "reveal" was way better than anything you see on HGTV. It literally left me speechless!!

Words can't describe how fabulous the place looked so check out the pictures. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

a veryyyyyyyy satisfied client,

C. Cole "

Christmas Decoration Storage

Time to put those decorations away!

No one wants tired decorations next year. Keep them fresh and perky with these tips:

1. To Keep the lights or not. No, is my professional advice. Twinkle lights are only good for about 1000 hours- 1000 hours undisturbed. So, I suggest that you ditch the lights rather than storing them for next year.

If you decide to keep them, wrap them around a cardboard tube to keep them from tangling.

If you decide to keep lights on the artificial tree, remember that boxing up the tree may break bulbs. My experience is that two years is a pretty good lifetime for the lights on a tree. Plan on relighting the tree at least every two years.

2. Bows: When you can, untie them and roll them up in a spool. If they are fancy loopy bows, clip them on to a hanger with a clothes pin, and hang them in an un-crowded closet. Easiest? Lay them loosely in a box or storage tub- with nothing else in it. No crushing, or creasing- usually.

3. Ornaments: Glass ornaments are fragile. This from Mr. Obvious. Pack them back in their original boxes if you can. If not, wrap individually, and lay in horizontal layers between newspapers. Kinda like an ornament sandwich with newspaper bread.

4. Wrapping Paper; Assign a drawer or trunk to keep all your wrapping paper together. Bows, tags, tape and scissors all in one place make it easier all year for wrapping. If you put it away in storage, it will most likely be; a. forgotten, b. damaged, c. replaced because you forgot that you already bought it last year.

5. Garland, Wreaths and Greenery. This is the artificial type, of course. I vote for big storage tubs that FIT the items. Big is better. Those giant tubs really are great for long garland and such with out smashing the ‘evergreen’ needles for next year.

6. Holiday music; I love my Christmas CDs. But, I don’t want them hogging up space all year. Pull all the CDs together and put them away in the same drawer with the wrapping paper. Don’t store them with the decorations in the attic. Heat kills.

7. Artificial berries, fruit and such- made from plastics and vinyl, don’t respond well to attic or garage heat. They tend to blister and discolor. Avoid loosing your fruit by using the top shelves in cabinets that are underused. I keep a holiday arrangement in the vanity, under the hall bath sink.

8. Label, label, label. It sure helps next year when you are pulling boxes out of storage. I keep it simple- ‘Christmas/Hanukkah/Ramadan, Kwanzaa/Poker Party 2010’ and either a brief description (i.e.; ’Garland’), or ‘box 1 of 6’.

Happy Packing!

Hospitality

In my mind, interior design is not just about making things pretty. Good design sets the stage for living better, entertaining friends and family graciously, and creating a place of welcome and solace. Having people you love in your home allows you to share your hospitality.

Hospitality is very important to me. Any good Southerner will consider hospitality essential to the well lived life. Modern Southern hospitality is all about sharing, welcoming, and enjoying those you love. It is not about silver tea sets and the right fork.

When you have guests, it’s often the very small things that make people feel cared for. Here are some very simple and gracious ways to make other’s feel ‘taken care of’:

• offer a coaster or a napkin with a drink
• providing a seat that isn’t covered in old newspapers or mail
• a clean towel at the bathroom sink
• having the toilet paper on the dispenser, and not just out

How often do we do the same things for ourselves? Do we really care enough about ourselves to even keep the toilet paper dispenser filled?

Hospitality can be a two way street. Treat others well and treat yourself well too.

The photo is from a magazine shoot, styled and produced by Jeffrey Evans. The framed photo, used as a place card, is of his brother, Grant Evans. The feature focused on options to setting a personalized table.

Personal Design is Personal

Everyone has a history.
Everyone has things that define their own history.
You don’t need special, trendy, or expensive things to have a truly well designed space.

What makes it authentically personal is that it reflects you, your life, your family, and your view of yourself.

How you put it together isn’t the whole trick, it’s being honest with what you have. Honesty about how your belongings create an atmosphere of shelter or shame.

I know that this sounds surprisingly significant, but making your home about you requires some ‘emotional inventory’ of your furnishings and mementos.

To start this exercise, ask yourself ‘Do my belongings bring peace, calmness, and good memories’?
Are you keeping pictures of your ex on the fridge, or in a frame? How do these things bring peace to your life? An elderly friend of mine continues to display pictures of her children’s ex-spouses. This is just because her children are in the photographs! If she were to really give the idea much thought, she’d realize that it brings uncomfortable feelings to her family, and probably unsettled feelings for herself.

What about expensive items? Sometimes, we keep things because they were costly, or a pricey gift. Do your belongings own you? Do these things help you recall good memories? Do they tell others (and yourself) how you see your life? When a couple marries, the gifts just keep coming. Sometimes they can be pricey, from fancy stores, but still lack any attachment to the receivers.

I had friends who married and combined homes. One thing that they couldn’t find a place for was an expensive six foot tall silk tree. One of them had spent so much on this fake tree, they couldn’t see past the money spent. They ask me my opinion about placing it in their new home. Honestly, the tree wasn’t that attractive, and the new had worn off long ago. Knowing that it wasn’t really favored by both the husband and wife, my first question to them was “Do you own the tree, or does the tree own you?”. (Ah, Yoda! Your question, it is good.) The real issue was not where the tree would look best, but did it really belong in their home. That idea had not occurred to them. By setting the tree out in the garage, for a future yard sale, they freed themselves up from the responsibility of keeping something that was costly, but not loved.

By thoughtfully creating your own living space- thinking about how each item connects you and your family to the life you want- you can create a home that is personal and authentic.

What does this look like in real life? Consider some common home accessories- Photographs and art.
By displaying photographs of people you love, you recall happy memories and good feelings. Art work can encourage, challenge, and calm. It can also be depressing, childish, or poorly rendered. What message would you want to be communicated in your home? Books can also send us subtle messages. Books that feature places and things that give you fond memories or goals of places to explore are positive. Books that just use space and might represent difficult times aren’t very good at giving you a positive message. Do old college text books, or travel books best represent who you are now?

Creating your own personal space, that offers you love, calmness, will afford you a place of refuge.

The photograph shown is from a calendar that was styled by Jeffrey Evans. It illustrates how a collection of personal momenetos can give a space a calm and cozy feeling- when they are meaningful.