Indulge Decor Blog: Home

How is it that we are so-o-o comfortable with having fake nails, fake lashes, fake hair extensions, and even fake boobies, for the sake of beauty? We are even O.K. ingesting fake butter, fake ice cream, and even fake bacon, for the sake of dieting and our hips?

Well, the other day, a really cute stylishly dressed young girl (and by young, I mean she was in her early thirties) held up one of our not-exactly-real flowers and asked -"Can I really use this in my house? It's fake, isn't it?"

When I started Indulge 10 years ago, I sold two things - European bath products and beautiful orchids. I thought the combination of the two was perfect because orchids are so visual, but most of them do not have much of a fragrance, and the European bath products smelled so wonderful, but were small and therefore not very visual. So, I had the visually beautiful orchids and the small fragrant soaps. A winning combo! Unique too.

At that time, you could not get an orchid very easily. Orchids were not for sale at Whole Foods or Home Depot. You had to know someone, who knew someone - that might be able to put you in touch with a guy. The book "The Orchid Thief" had not been written yet and orchids just had a certain mystique. Not that they have any less wonderment to me today, they are just more regognizable and more common to most people. I would go as far as to say - people think they are a lovely plant to decorate a room with.

A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have dared to lower myself by selling fake plants in my stores. I was all about the real thing. In fact, I honestly couldn't have predicted my reaction today to them. In fact, it's not just me, it's the hundreds of not-exactly-real plants that we have sold over the last year.

So, I thought it would be fun to play a little game - you tell me which orchid(s) throughout the blog are real and I'll give you 20% off any single item in the store. Good luck to you!

Charming Assortment of Orchids in Mossy Pots:

Phalaenopsis:

Perfect in almost every room! For years I was never without one in my home.

Lady Slipper:

These guys make me laugh out loud, and not just because they look like Jay Leno. Couldn't you just see yourself having a conversation with one of them over morning coffee?

Mini Phals:

What cuties, great in a cluster!

Mini Phals:

Decorating Tip: You can use them almost anywhere in your house.

Casually, On a Bar Tray:

In a Guest Bath:

On a Bedroom Dresser:

Beside a Bed:

For a Dash of Color:

10 very good reasons why it's actually O.K. to use not-exactly-real flowers in your house:

They look so real.

They don't have to be watered every week.

When you come back from a long trip they're not dead.

The flowers never wilt and fall off, leaving just a bare stem.

They can survive in that room in your house that nothing else can survive in.

No scale or ichy spider infestation.

They don't have to be replaced every month.

When you get tired of it, just put it in a closet.

There are so many different varieties - cattleyas, lady slippers, oncidiums, phals, and vandas.

And, last but not least, the smile on your face every time a friend compliments you on your

orchid growing prowess.

They really are that beautiful !

And, how cute are the mossy pots they come in!

Change the pot, completely change the look. One beautiful phalaenopsis orchid - 3 different pots, three different rooms in my house.

Phal. in my Crown Planter on my Entrance Table:

Phal. in my Antique Planter on my Bedroom Chest:

And Finally, Phal in an Old Basket on my Family Room Table:

Did I mention how great the not-exactly-real orchids do in that room in your house that doesn't get a lot of sun - that's the room in my house that you'll find my kitty asleep in.

The bathroom is beautiful and bright with the sconces and chandelier lit, but I was taught well by my father to turn the lights off when you leave a room - bathroom light remains off when I'm not home.

Cymbidium Orchid:

Can you tell the difference yet - real versus not-exactly-real?

All not-exactly-real orchids available at our Indulge Blvd. store if you were thinking you might want to pick one up for yourself or for a friend.

A customer came in a few days ago and said "I just have to tell you the funniest thing - I'm in North Carolina to pick my kids up from camp and my husband and I are staying at this little bed and breakfast and in the lobby was a copy of 'Cottage Living' magazine with your house on the cover! Can you believe it ? How many years ago was that? And, they still had it sitting out! Does your house even look like that anymore?"

So, that was then and this is now.

I'll be honest with you, it took me a little bit to find where I had placed the magazine in one of my uber-over caffeinated Sunday morning cleanup sessions (similar, to one that I'm having right now, ha.) I finally found the magazine and was kind of excited to flip through it to see how all my cute little touches over the years had greatly improved my decor.

I walked around the house with the magazine in one hand and my morning coffee in the other on my own personal 'home magazine tour.'

Within minutes,I had put myself in time out and gone back to bed. I downed another cup of coffee. And, I would have had another except my head was kind of starting to hurt (instead of a brain freeze, I was heading toward a caffeine molten meltdown.)

My house did not look - charme. My house looked horrible! Actually, it looked like a before shot, not a finished product. Suddenly, I remembered sweet Ali saying she is so glad that I'm back in town and that she is done with her 'dog sitting tour.' Now, she can go back to her own apartment and get her life back together. Jokingly, I said - "You know, I'm the one on the other side of that story." I had been away almost six weeks and my house was suffering from what I affectionately call CREEP. Similar to that person at a party that you don't want to talk to but won't go away, creep is that stuff in your house that you don't want to deal with and it won't go away. CREEP!!! My house was infested with creep!

Back in the 80's when I was a self help book junkie, I read a passage in some book that basically said - when you walk into your home you should have the feeling of exhaling. A feeling of respite. Comfort. Relaxation. In other words, for those of you who don't speak 80's psycho-babble - your home should be a place that you look forward to coming home to.

My home had been that for me, but after months of traveling and nonstop working, my home had become anything but that. So my 'Then & Now' story is actually going to be called 'Ahhh, I'm home.'

If you look around your home and only see perfection, then you can log off and check back with us next week for a fabulous new posting. If you live in the real world, like I do. Then, lets de-creep our houses together and get that 'Ahhh' feeling back: And, oh, grab a trash bag!

Entrance - have pretty flowers planted by the front door. Trust me, it always cheers me up to see those flowers when I come home after a long day. (The kitty, too.)

Ahhh

Creep Free - have the first room you walk into be CREEP free. Do not throw stuff in this room! Leave this one room alone. If you see creep building up in this room, move it away. Have at least one room in your house that doesn't stress you out. Preferably the room you walk into at the end of a long day.

I switch this centerpiece out all the time. Actually, I have several that I rotate through.

Plants - have at least one plant per room. Fake or real, I'm old school about fake plants, but they make such good ones now you can't even tell the difference. Tip: If you are going to use fake, make sure you only have out plants that would actually be in season and blooming at that time. Throw away the spindly, dying plants, or set them outside in the plant infirmary. I spent $45 today at the nursery and filled every room in the house with plants. Tip: If your having a party,switch out the plants for some fresh cut flowers.

So pretty!

Fragrance - try a room spray, candle, or reed sticks to freshen your rooms. I have two huge dogs and a kitty, so I'm probably a little over-the-top sensitive that my house doesn't smell like a barn. I keep a reed stick diffuser by the front door and I turn the sticks every few days.

Ahhh.

Keys and Leashes - since I mentioned the dogs and you can only imagine that they like to go on W-A-L-K-S it is handy to have their collars, leashes, umbrellas, and keys all together. In the winter, we also hang scarves and gloves.

Toys - I have dogs, you may have children. I'm sure that my dogs are no better than your children at putting their toys away. Have a handy place to put the toys away in the rooms that they play with the toys.

Front Door...

Back Door...

Face in the bowl - puppy crack.

I can't breathe, but I can't let it go either...

Thank God my sister is here to bark...

Too many toys, too little time...

Something Personal - my dog Reny passed away recently and I'm still not used to her not being at the front door when I get home, so I made a little 'ode to Reny' memorial that actually makes me smile when I pass by it. See, the sheep - for sheep dog. And, don't send your decorator out to pick out 'your-something-personal.' You have a heart don't you? You must care about something?

Magazines - tear out the pages you want to keep and throw the rest away! Do not save magazines! Save pages! If you recycle - fantastic. If you don't either give them away to a friend or neighbor, or toss them!

Mail - stand over the trash can and open your mail. Keep monthly bills out and put important papers away, out of sight. In an organized manner.

Pictures, too. We know you're pretty, but you don't need a picture of every trip you've ever been on out, rotate your photos, or simply replace older ones with newer ones. Tip: Family photos, if there is a new in-law, this would be a good time to update some pics.

Kitchen - everything you own does not need to be out. Appliances are not accessories. Tip: Put the appliances you don't use away and only keep out the ones you use on a daily or weekly basis.

Desk - everyone has a "desk" now. Everyone has a computer, phone, cell phone, mail, bills. . . . . try to keep all those items in the same place and organized. Cups for pens, baskets for mail, change, invitations, etc. . .

Exit Strategy - have a specific place set up for keys, sunglasses, cell phones, lint brush (me), lipstick, and purse. If just that little bit of organization saves you five minutes every time you leave the house, just think what else you could accomplish with your day! Also, it's always nice to have a mirror by the door you leave your house. I have one by my front door and back door. Believe it or not, I've caught myself with black panties worn with white dress countless times. Tee hee on me.

(Note to self: five minutes a day equates to 1825 minutes a year or 30.4 hours or 1.26 days of searching for your keys.)

Monthly bills clipped together with duck bill, tee hee.

So, when it was all said and done, my 'creep poltergeisting' took about three hours.

And, I feel uber-organized again. I'm not even concerned that I'm leaving town again next week because I have that "Ahhh, I'm home," feeling again.

And, now we are ready for the Then & Now edition of our story. Sans - stylist, photographer, assistant, florist, and editor. And, maid, who seems to always be on "holiday." And, in defense of myself, if some of you were wondering about those 'red pillows'. You know the song - "Another one bites the dust, ah huh, another one bites the dust." Replaced immediately after seeing image of red pillows in print. Not unlike unsavory outfit that looked "cool, hip, and young" according to sales person, but in reality looked like "Mrs. Roper hits Vegas" to the rest of the world. Picture not included.