Category: interior decorating

Best Times of Year to Purchase Home Goods

Just starting out and need EVERYTHING for your first apartment (or just love a bargain and want something new)? This blog with tell you the best times of year to buy things for the home. I’d begin by making a list of the top items you need and then a second one of the those… Continue reading Best Times of Year to Purchase Home Goods

Achieving an Elegant Interior Design

Want elegant decor? Check out this book from Timothy Corrigan, The New Elegance: Stylish comfortable rooms for today to guide you. Corrigan, an award-winning interior designer who works for the rich and famous from Hollywood to the Middle East, shares trade secrets for homeowners of any income level. He explains that all homes should be both comfortable and… Continue reading Achieving an Elegant Interior Design

Color Trends for 2021

What’s in popular in paint colors this year? According to Real Simple magazine, the Pantone Color Institute, the eminent forecaster, “is predicting cheerier days – and sunnier color trends.”  Invoking both relaxing comfort and a flash of energy, they chose “the warm marigold yellow, serene cerulean blue, and an optimistic yellow.”  Each paint company travels… Continue reading Color Trends for 2021

“More is More” with Maximalist Décor

Sometimes, “more is more” and just right! Maximalism is a curated, controlled, balanced “clutter” in which the homeowner embraces the “more is more” aesthetic to create a cozy home emblematic of your personality. A complete pendulum swing from the quiet and serene colors, stark walls, and clean simple lines of minimalism, this style exudes excess… Continue reading “More is More” with Maximalist Décor

The Joy (Score) of Remodeling

Each year the National Association of Realtors conducts a survey asking homeowners to quantify the joy score of a recent remodeling project.  In other words, how happy they feel with the outcome. Whether the reason for doing the project was improved aesthetics, adding personality, better functionality or energy efficiency, or just plain “time for a… Continue reading The Joy (Score) of Remodeling

Spin the Color Wheel for Interior Design

Need help putting colors together? My best tip is to spend five dollars at the paint store or craft store and buy yourself a color wheel. It is an easy-to-use tool for putting colors together. Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel and we all know that “opposites attract.” Therefore, you can… Continue reading Spin the Color Wheel for Interior Design

Barbara is a quilt artist, too!

An award-winning quilter and talented artist, photographer, and floral designer, Barbara Graceffa is an interior decorator living in Quincy, MA. From an early age, Barbara dabbled in several arts and crafts, but it was not until college did she discover a passion for quilting. She made her first scrap quilt in 1980 as a Christmas… Continue reading Barbara is a quilt artist, too!

Meet Barbara, aka Secretary of the Interior

Barbara Graceffa has more than 40 years experience creating attractive and functional spaces.  In 2008, she opened her own interior decorating business, Secretary of the Interior – serving Greater Boston and eastern Massachusetts. From historic townhouses to suburban bachelor pads, from small-town storefronts to big-city office suites, Barbara creates attractive spaces for residential and commercial… Continue reading Meet Barbara, aka Secretary of the Interior

Choosing the Right Interior Decorator

Interior decoration is much more than the selection of colors, furniture and accessories.  A good interior decorator must assess both the homeowners’ design style and lifestyle.  Our homes represent our personalities and should meet our family’s needs.  To that end, a good interior decorator must ask the right questions, listen attentively, and observe quietly.  In… Continue reading Choosing the Right Interior Decorator