Ask A Los Angeles Expert: Shopping For Home Decor On A Budget
Having great style can't be bought, but this trait can be cultivated by help from those who happen to possess that gift. This is especially true when planning to freshen up your abode by adding panache and polish by way of secrets shared by the experts who are able to solve issues any tight budget might need resolving. Addressing this issue for those who live and thrive in the Southland, one like-minded mother/daughter team is particularly keen to help lend their trained eyes as they do in their Glendale-based business called Madison Modern Home. With that introduction, meet Rachel Moore and Robin Decapua.
Rachel Moore and Robin Decapua
InteMadison Modern Home
Glendale, CA 92105
(818) 472-0051
www.madisonmodernhome.com
Both Rachel Moore and her mother, Robin Decapua, came to their current creative posts also boasting the added attraction of backgrounds in graphic design. Rachel studied interior design at Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Los Angeles and Robin spent nearly three decades solving graphics and creative direction issues before joining her daughter to form Madison Modern Home. Ever mindful of design trends, this dynamic duo brings new life to any tired space. As they put it on their own site, "We eat design for breakfast." Below are five of this progressive pairs' unique concepts for changing your indoor environment a bit or more without breaking the bank in the process.
Size matters
Both Robin and Rachel agree that large-scale photography adds a confident vibe to any room. For high impact on the cheap, these two head to their local copy shop, pull out old black and white art school photo prints and go big. The pair recommends Staples or FedEx Office for places that will blow up your chosen shots in a proportionate manner. Then these experts say to frame these masterpieces in IKEA RIBBA series frames (they come with their own white mats) for "gallery-style chic" wall art on a budget.
Branch Out
For simple, rustic elegance, Robin and Rachel tell you to go take a hike! Why? Because these experts explain that fallen manzanita branches, found everywhere in the Angeles National Forest, can do some great things to your interiors. So, while out in the wild, look for serpentine and other unique shapes of this earthy ilk to display on a shelf, cocktail or dining table, or on a dresser top from which to hang jewelry. Their final (green) advice on the subject? Be sure to choose just those manzanita branches that have shed naturally.
Focus, Please
These interior designers ask you to ask this question of your bedroom: is this space lacking a focal point? The pair suggests scouring architectural salvage stores for interesting pieces to hang behind your bed. "An old door or a vintage window from a tear-down becomes a headboard with real vintage credibility. For safety, sand off chipped areas and paint over if lead paint was used on the original," says this mother-and-daughter interior design team.
Related: Ask A Los Angeles Expert: How To Start Your Dream Garden
Book Club
Robin and Rachel think the bookshelves at your local Goodwill or Salvation Army thrift stores are good places to go for cheap decorating finds. "Don't judge a book by its cover until you've removed it," states Rachel, who adds, "Gorgeous coffee table books often hide under scuffed-up dust jackets. Look for bright hues to use in modern homes and muted tones for a more traditional space. Stack a few like-colored books on an end table or bookcase [and then] top with a decorative box or vase."
Empty Wall Blues?
These serious interior designers who are full of advice on how to save money while decorating say to "load up on baskets you source from inexpensive décor stores like Ross, TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Marshalls and get busy with a basket wall." The couple likes to think of these spiffy spaces as evolved plate walls with more texture and suggest picking the round African and Native American basket styles, varying both size and color for your collection. "Have fun with it, cover a little or a lot of wall, and experiment with overlapping baskets of differing sizes. Plan out your wall display on the floor first, then hold each one up and nail right through its center," suggest Robin and Rachel.
