Ep. 443: Holiday Throwback Special, Pt. 1 - Janie Molster

Summary

Podcast Summary: How to Decorate – Ep. 443: Holiday Throwback Special, Pt. 1 - Janie Molster

Date: December 9, 2025
Host: Caroline (Ballard Designs), with Taryn and Liz
Guest: Janie Molster, Interior Designer

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Overview

This special episode revisits a fan-favorite holiday conversation with Richmond-based interior designer Janie Molster. Chosen by Caroline for its timeless and fresh take on holiday decorating, the episode dives into how to select colors that complement your home, layer decor for visual interest, and infuse personal touches. Janie’s down-to-earth wisdom offers actionable tips for creating festive rooms that feel both classic and uniquely yours, as well as solutions to listener decorating dilemmas.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rethinking Holiday Color Palettes

• Go beyond red & green:
  Janie encourages listeners to use their home's existing palette as inspiration for holiday decorations.
  • “I don’t think red and green are necessity. I think what is key is greens.” (Janie Molster, 04:01)
  • Incorporating fresh greens or quality faux options can create a festive atmosphere that feels organic.
  • Ribbon becomes a crucial accent—choose colors that complement your décor rather than defaulting to traditional holiday hues.

Layering for Impact

• Design philosophy for the holidays:
  Janie applies her “edit and accentuate” approach to holiday decorating.
  • “Everything cannot be, you know, the star of the show. Give a few places for your eye and your mind to go, and then let that thing sort of stand alone.” (Janie Molster, 02:54)
  • Focus the “wow” on features like the tree, allowing it to stand out.
  • Use layering for both greens and ribbons to mimic a designer’s approach to textiles and finishes elsewhere.

Tree Decorating Techniques

• Mixing personal and aesthetic elements:
  Janie loves a "hodgepodge" tree filled with sentimental ornaments, brought together with cohesive ribbon and loads of lights.

  • “It's all jumbled in one big hodgepodge of a tree...dripping and sort of, that's my thing.” (Janie Molster, 03:27)
  • Ribbons unify the whole look even when ornaments are eclectic.
  • Practical advice: Run some ribbons horizontally, some vertically—from symmetrical to more organic arrangements (09:15).
  • Use extra-long ribbons, push them into the tree, and trim at the end (09:53).
  • Pro designer tip: Add lights until, when you squint from far away, there are no dark spots (13:54).

• Involving kids but keeping style:
  While Janie cherishes handmade ornaments, she jokes about curating even the color of her children’s art supplies to fit her palette (08:09). She’s sentimental but also “can’t part with them”—these pieces are what make her tree meaningful (12:24).

Expanding Decor to the Tabletop

• Carry the color story:
  Select natural elements like fruit and vegetables in your chosen palette for a cohesive tabletop (05:49).
  • “It’s really just picking a palette that makes your house look good and then just taking it to holiday type accessories.” (Janie Molster, 05:59)

Gift Wrapping Tips

• Practical & stylish:
  While magazine shoots have perfectly coordinated gift wrap, hers is more organic but usually aligns naturally with her taste.
  • “My favorite sort of go to thing is paper, craft paper, and then, you know, pretty special ribbon.” (Janie Molster, 10:34)
  • Bonus tip: Use butcher block paper for large or awkwardly-shaped gifts (11:11).

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Listener Decorating Dilemmas

1. Dormer Bedroom Dilemma (Jade’s Room) [16:09]

• Wallpaper over paint:
  Janie recommends wallpapering not just the angles, but the entire attic room (including ceiling!) for unity and visual expansion.

  • “I would not only wallpaper the angles and the eaves, but do the ceiling, do all of it.” (Janie Molster, 17:43)

• Headboard hacks:
  Suggests creating a custom-upholstered headboard shaped to fit between dormers; if doing only one thing, start with wallpaper for impact.

• Window treatments:
  Remote-controlled blinds for tricky-to-reach windows and integrating odd trim or doors with either the same wallpaper ground color or coordinating fabric.

2. Awkward Living Room Layout (Lauren’s Room) [22:56]

• Furniture placement:
  Avoid the “timeout chair” by positioning chairs/love seats to encourage group conversation.

  • “You always want to have at least two to three people that can interact in a more intimate way.” (Janie Molster, 24:07)

• Updating built-ins and fireplace:
  Modern tip: Fill in deep old TV niche for a cleaner, more current look.

  • “I would fill that in and mount her television...it’s just a cleaner, simpler look.” (Janie Molster, 25:18)

• Rug layering:
  Use a large neutral rug under a statement piece to visually tie a room together.

  • “Layer a real room size rug underneath ...really fill the room up...then her existing rug could be layered on top.” (Janie Molster, 27:23)

• Drapery:
  Hang curtains high and wide for softness; use enough fabric so they could close fully, even if you don’t always do so.

• Mixing patterns and colors:
  Use drapery and pillows to bring color and pattern, but keep drapery fabric simple for longevity.

  • “Pattern really is the thing we tire of first. So put that in pillows...stick to something straightforward...for curtains.” (Janie Molster, 31:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On customizing holiday decor:
  “Pick your color palette...that mixed with natural greens has a complete Christmas look. So I do it to enhance the design of a house, not to enhance, you know, the Hallmark color palette.”
  —Janie Molster, 04:21

• On the sentimental side of decorating:
  “Standing on that ladder at 1:00 clock in the morning, drinking eggnog and unpacking all those little children ornaments...it's my favorite thing in the world.”
  —Janie Molster, 12:24

• On tree lighting:
  “Get several feet back from your tree and squint and...if there are any places that you can see...then I started walking out my front door, out on the street and squinting, and at that point we knew I was really losing it.”
  —Janie Molster, 13:54

• On built-ins vs. art:
  “The best, best thing for bookshelves is books. So...disparate sort of knickknacks are not a good look...just go buy artwork.”
  —Janie Molster, 28:04

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Important Segment Timestamps

• [01:55] Why Janie doesn’t stick with red & green, color palette philosophy
• [02:31] Layering greenery and ribbon to suit your space
• [04:21] Creating a Christmas look that fits the home, not just tradition
• [08:00] Tips for unifying sentimental tree ornaments with ribbon and lighting
• [09:15] How to achieve a professional look with ribbon on your tree
• [13:54] Pro tree-lighting advice for maximum impact
• [16:09] Listener dilemma: Dormer bedroom – wallpaper, headboards, window treatment
• [24:07] Listener dilemma: Living room seating and layout
• [27:23] Rug layering and unifying a large space

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Find Janie Molster

• Website: janiemolsterdesigns.com
• Instagram: @janiemolsterdesigns

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Final Takeaways

• Holiday decorating should be personal and support your home’s year-round aesthetic.
• Let organic, layered, and meaningful elements shine, whether through ribbon, greenery, or sentiment.
• Approach each decorating challenge—holiday or year-round—with creativity and a willingness to edit for balance and beauty.

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Transcript

[Caroline]

Hi and welcome back to the how to Decorate podcast from Ballard Designs. I'm Caroline and normally I'm joined by my co host, Taryn and Liz, but today is just me because we are kicking off a very special three part holiday series. So for the next three weeks, each of us, myself, Taryn and Liz will be replaying one of our favorite holiday themed episodes from the entire podcast catalog. You'll get to hear why these particular episodes resonated with us, why we think they're worth a revisit, and Taryn and.

[Taryn]

Liz are also going to share their picks.

[Caroline]

So to start us off, I chose episode what was originally episode 117 with incredibly talented Richmond interior designer Janie Molster. She has such a pretty layered and happy portfolio and style, but I love the twist that she puts on her rooms for the holidays because they are so traditional and timeless, but they're also really surprising. And I think that is really, really what excites me about the holidays. I want them to feel familiar, but I also don't want them to be the same every year. I like to mix it up. And so seeing Janie's portfolio really inspired me and one of her insights totally blew my mind. And I incorporate this now into my own holiday decor. And it's really about your holiday color palette and how your color palette should enhance your room and not fight with it. There are tons of other tips in there too, so, you know, using natural greenery and ribbon and choosing colors for, for your room, that's going to last. But this was a real pivotal moment for my own holiday decorating philosophy. And I just loved everything Janie had to say about decorating your room for the holidays. So I promise you're going to walk away with some fresh ideas, whether you're listening for the first time or revisiting this gem. So let's dive into the conversation with Richmond interior designer Janie Moster.

[Taryn]

I do want to talk, since we are in the holiday season, I wanted to talk a little bit about Christmas decorating because there were two houses that I saw that you did that, that were all decked out for the holidays. And something I particularly loved about it is neither were red and green.

[Janie Molster]

Right.

[Taryn]

None like, you know, there was a lot of.

You know, pinks and blues and chartreuse, which I guess is green, but it's not a tradition.

[Liz]

Fresh green, yes.

[Taryn]

So talk about how you, I mean, and how do you decorate a pink house for the holidays?

[Janie Molster]

Oh, gosh, it's so easy. Pink looks so good with green. So no we, you know, decorating for the holidays for me is so simple. And I do go into homes at Christmas where I can tell, you know, they have, you know, incredible collections of Christmas accessories, and the Christmas pillows come out on the sofa and all that. And I love it. It's hard, hard for me. For me and for my clients, I tend to dial that back a bit. And I do have a few things that are over the top, and then the rest of it is sort of quiet. And I think, honestly, now that I'm actually saying that and listening to myself, that's probably how I try to treat design in general. You know, everything cannot be, you know, the star of the show. Give a few places for your eye and your mind to go, and then let that thing sort of stand alone. And in my house and in my client's house, often it's the tree. You know, we go kind of crazy on the tree. My personal home, I don't have a house that a tree that has children's handmade ornaments and then the designer tree, it's all jumbled in one big hodgepodge of a tree that I can't ever find a tree with enough limbs, so my limbs are dripping and sort of. That's my thing that I do. But so to your point about color, I don't think red and green are necessity. I think what is key is greens. So I'm so about the greens in a house. And if you live somewhere where you can walk into your backyard and clip magnolia or poet's laurel or holly or whatever, fabulous, go for that. If you don't, or, you know, we actually have clients that are allergic to that, and oh my gosh, they're just the best looking faux greens now.

[Liz]

Right?

[Janie Molster]

So you, you can get that look. And we tend to really focus on bringing the greenery not just adorn on your wreath on your door, but bringing the greens inside. So we often exterior wreaths and hang them, you know, on mirrors or, you know, on a big bay window. And we will layer the greens, you know, rather than, you know, if you buy the beautiful fur or boxwood wreath, we'll layer it with another type, you know, of green. Just. Just like we layer interiors with finishes, we'll layer greens. I'm a big believer in ribbon. And go to your craft or hobby store or whatever and just buy the beautiful bolts of beautiful wide wired ribbon in your color choice, but pick your color palette. So if, if you're gonna have a lot of greens and you, you sort of look at your house, what if Your house is salmon and, you know, yummy sort of light blue. What if that is your color palette? Then you'd go to the store and you'd pick salmon or you'd pick a beautiful light blue, and that would be your ribbon, you know, and you would take that. And that mixed with natural greens has a complete Christmas look. So I do it to enhance the design of a house, not to enhance, you know, the Hallmark color palette. Right, right, right. You know, so anyway, that's how we start. And then, you know, we take it on down to tabletop, you know, when we're setting our tables for the holidays. If. If you've used that, if you're. If pink is your ribbon color, accent color of choice, then the tabletop fruits, which I do tend to use natural things like fr. Vegetables and greens on the table, too. We'll probably use pomegranates or something. So we'll pick fruits in the same palette. So it's really just picking a palette that makes your house look good and then just taking it to holiday type accessories.

[Taryn]

That makes sense.

[Caroline]

I like that.

[Liz]

Totally makes sense.

[Taryn]

Easy. Do you change your color palette?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Year to year?

[Janie Molster]

No, not really. I do have, you know, big boxes of ribbon. And, you know, I went through a thing where instead of, you know, having a pink ribbon on my door, you know, I kind of went for white and green and sort of just, you know, eliminated that accent color. And that was great. I kept that. I'll do that again. And one year I did white and ivory, but my go to and then one, you know, I've done the range of pinks. I've done a pretty sort of petal, you know, pastel pink. And then I've done fuchsia. And so, yes, I guess I do.

[Liz]

But you don't switch it every year. You just use it until you're kind of tired of it.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah. And I save it, and sometimes I'll rotate back, and I do keep all those things, and I find. Oh, and then one year I did.

Because I was just looking at that box visually and remember, all that I had did gold and kind of an acid green. And. But the trick is, if you have that color festooning down your stair rail and the ribbon running through your tree, then that color also needs to connect to the wreath hanging on the door. You know, just keep it consistent. And it doesn't. Because Christmas can clutter a house. Yes, it can. And you're going to have a ton of people. You're going to have family rolling in. You need to be entertaining. So you know it. You need to work Christmas in. So it doesn't. Your house still shines.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Liz]

I have two questions.

[Caroline]

Yes.

[Liz]

One. Okay. Since you do have hodgepodge tree, which I have hodgepodge tree. You use the ribbon to unify that with the rest of your decor.

[Janie Molster]

Yes.

[Liz]

Smart.

[Janie Molster]

It helps. And so we, you know, go crazy with lights because that's a curse of every designer. You know, there aren't. They can't get enough lights on a tree, right?

[Liz]

No.

[Janie Molster]

And. And then my next layer. Oh, I even, you know. Well, I would probably wouldn't tell my client to do that, but I have a little, you know, construction paper, you know, garland that my daughter made for me as a child that I've saved. Now I will tell you, when I helped her and gave her the construction paper, I picked the palette of construction paper. So we even mix that with beautiful satin wired ribbon. You know, and I think when you're doing a tree, you know, if you have multiple garlands, you know, to rotate some in a circular pattern around the tree, and then the next layer needs to layer from the top vertically down, you know, and you can actually layer that. We love doing that.

[Caroline]

But.

[Janie Molster]

But yes.

[Liz]

Okay.

[Janie Molster]

I have the answer to that. I do.

[Taryn]

No, I was just thinking I need to go in and, like, truly study and, like, screenshot your trees, because I have tried to put ribbon on my tree, and I find it to be so hard to make it look like what we were talking about, where I make it look effortlessly flowing.

[Janie Molster]

It's.

[Liz]

It's not easy.

[Taryn]

It's not as easy as it looks. Do you have any, like.

[Caroline]

Yeah, I like that tip you just gave.

[Taryn]

But maybe if you.

[Janie Molster]

Sure. Yeah. Well, if you do, do the vertical, you know, ribbon, start at the top and, you know, be very rigid. Get it, you know, completely symmetrical. Make sure if you're starting at the top of the pyramid, you know, you're spacing it all correctly and it goes straight down and then mess it up and then like push it in in different places and kind of just like I talked about messing up the symmetry, mess it up a little bit so it looks a little more organic. And do all this before you layer your ornaments, because your ornaments are obviously last. And when you put your ornaments on, that's going to mess up a little stuff anyway. You'll mess up your garland that way.

[Liz]

And cover up bits of it, too, which is nice.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah, yeah.

[Liz]

Does it drape at the bottom or.

[Janie Molster]

I always do it extra long because I know I'm gonna Push it in and then I'll cut at the very end. Yeah.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Caroline]

Do you like, do you buy your.

[Taryn]

Ribbon at the craft store?

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Janie Molster]

Oh, yeah, definitely. And then there's some sources online, you know, if you're looking for sort of a funky color. But yeah, I, I do. I. And sometimes, you know, I love to go in January when all the ribbon is practically free. Yeah. And. And I'll buy just tons of ribbon. And if I find I haven't used it in my decor, you know, I'll use it the next year for wrapping presents or something.

[Liz]

But that was my second question. Does your gift wrap coordinate with your decor?

[Janie Molster]

Okay. True confessions.

[Liz]

No.

[Janie Molster]

In photo shoot styling. Of course.

[Liz]

Right?

[Taryn]

Yeah.

[Janie Molster]

So if you look at my trees online, of course they do. And there's some years where I'm more organized than others and, you know, and I do a better job. But, but, but the reality is. But you know, if you pick what you like, typically you're going to find out, you know, that you are drawn to the same type of wrapping. So sometimes it's. It appears as if it's coordinated, but that's just consistency in the wrapping that I like. You know, my favorite sort of go to thing is paper, craft paper, and then, you know, pretty special ribbon. So, you know, that's always. If I, you know, run out, you know, dash to the store for 10 rolls of craft paper.

[Taryn]

But here's a good tip. What if you use the butcher block paper from like Home Depot, I think especially if you have kids. Kids toys are always huge and unusually shaped. And butcher block paper, even from Home Depot is like several inches longer.

[Liz]

A wider.

[Taryn]

Wider than regular gift wrap. So if you have a giant box, it's great.

[Liz]

It does help strategy.

[Taryn]

And it's like 8 million yards long.

[Liz]

I do like the butcher block paper. It does look great under the tree with fun ribbon.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Well, it's.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I'm looking at this tree that you did with the acid green, and you're right. Like you've. Some ribbons are sort of spun on the way down into like a little. Almost like a candy cane swirl.

[Liz]

Right.

[Taryn]

And then some are straight down.

[Caroline]

So.

[Taryn]

Okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna try the strategy this year.

[Liz]

I am too.

[Janie Molster]

I want to see the tree. Your tree.

[Liz]

And the ribbon does tie in with the room, which really is. It makes it look designer y. Even if it was shoved full of my kids kindergarten ornaments.

[Janie Molster]

Right. Yes.

[Liz]

Which it will be.

[Taryn]

And we even have. We even have our own ornaments as kids.

[Liz]

Oh, I do too.

[Taryn]

Yeah. So you know, of course my mom is like, and these are yours now.

[Liz]

Take it.

[Taryn]

I don't want this on my tree.

[Janie Molster]

Okay. So I am such a. You know, they are my favorite thing. I always complain, you know, I've spent hours on this tree or days, and nobody's helped me. And my family, you know, fires back and they say, you won't let us help you because they'll go to the box of my children. I'm like, don't touch that. It's my favorite thing in the world. But I. I haven't given them away because it really is my, you know, favorite thing at Christmas. Standing on that ladder at 1:00 clock in the morning, drinking eggnog and unpacking all those little children ornaments. So kudos to your mom for parting with them. I'm a hoarder. I can't do it.

[Taryn]

How old is your oldest?

[Janie Molster]

33.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

So, yeah. I mean, he has a beautiful Christmas.

[Janie Molster]

Tree and he would love to have them. His wife would love to have them, I'm sure. But no.

[Liz]

Well, I do my version of what you're doing, which is I sit with a glass of wine while my children do it. So I see each one as they pull it out, we talk about it and look at it.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah.

[Liz]

But they do the work.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay. Well, you are a freer person than me. I'm proud.

[Liz]

Well, your tree's prettier.

[Taryn]

Well, you can always be like, you're tall. You can get up there.

[Liz]

That's right. Well, they kind of fight over certain ones, which is kind of funny.

[Janie Molster]

That's sweet. Yeah. Now I look in magazines and on television at families that, you know, are sort of all in on it. And it's really sort of my thing. Now. My husband, he does do the heavy lifting on the front end with lights and. Yeah. So God love him.

[Liz]

I wish my husband did. The lights. The lights are the worst because I'm obsessed about them.

[Janie Molster]

Right.

[Liz]

Just like you. They have to be amazing. That's what makes your tree glow.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah. And a trick on that. I always tell people, they say, when is enough. And I'm like, you know, get several feet back from your tree and squint and, you know, just see if the blur, dark spots, if there are any places that you can see. And I learned then I started walking out my front door, out on the street and squinting, and at that point we knew I was really losing it.

[Liz]

She's crazy.

[Janie Molster]

I know, but.

[Liz]

And then turn the lights off and look at it to see where you're missing ornaments.

[Janie Molster]

Oh, okay. I will try that.

[Taryn]

Okay.

[Liz]

Yeah, my college roommate taught me that.

[Taryn]

Laura. Yeah. You know, we bought our. I think I talked about this in an old episode, but we rebought our lights this year, and they're. They're like, more blue, and I really hate it. Gosh.

[Liz]

Yeah. But I do they have lumens listed on Christmas tree lights? I wonder if they do.

[Taryn]

Probably. And I made the mistake of sending Will to the store to get the lights, so we'll make that again. But I probably won't buy Christmas lights for another 10 years, so you can't.

[Liz]

Live with blue lights. Think of the investment. It's like 50 bucks, maybe.

[Taryn]

Lights are expensive. They're like $7 a shirt, like 15 years ago.

[Liz]

They're more than 7 a string.

[Taryn]

Yeah, they're kind of expensive, I think.

[Liz]

Okay, another.

[Janie Molster]

Go to the store in January and get your beautiful, warm colored lights for next year. They're free.

[Taryn]

I did last year. Some listener listened to my me griping about my lights and told me to get a dimmer. And I did do that, and it helped a lot.

[Janie Molster]

Wow.

[Taryn]

You can just. It's just a little, like, $10 dimmer on Amazon, and you just plug the lights into the dimmer before they plug into the extension cord and you can change it.

[Caroline]

I love that.

[Liz]

I need to get the remote control for my lights for the Christmas tree, you know?

[Janie Molster]

Do you all sell that at Ballard?

[Liz]

No. Amazon.

[Janie Molster]

Shouldn't we. Right, right.

[Taryn]

We should make all of our Christmas trees come with a remote.

[Janie Molster]

Brilliant.

[Liz]

Caroline, we'll have to leave this and go tell merchandise.

[Taryn]

All right. I think we should answer some questions.

[Liz]

Oh, a decorating dilemma. Will you help us?

[Janie Molster]

Yes.

[Taryn]

This is a good one.

[Liz]

Oh, this is from Jade, who is adorable. First of all, Jade, I totally cyber stalked you and got on Zillow and looked at your new house.

[Taryn]

It was so cute.

[Liz]

She's, like, 25 and just bought this adorable house, and she's getting ready to decorate it, and she needed some help, so she says, hello. Ballard has been my guilty pleasure since I was a girl, stealing and folding down the corners of my mother's cabinet. I long for the day when I could decorate my own home. Well, that day has arrived. This first house of mine has presented a few design challenges, but none so challenging as the bedroom upstairs. Why dormer windows? And not the cute kind with the window seat where one might read a book all day? No, the wall obstructing, awkward kind that have that make having a headboard nearly impossible since I've come to terms with tossing my cast iron headboard. I need help with what to do next. Do I go bold and wallpaper all those awkward angles, embracing the choppy space, or go neutral to smooth out and distract away from the lines and window treatments? Where do you even begin? I've scoured the Internet for inspiration photos, to no avail. Any insight from my favorite Ballard gals would be of great assistance. I should note the pictures below only show one side of the master, but the opposite wall poses the exact same issue. The bed pictured is a king. And so I think these are photos from the online listing. These. This isn't even her furniture. So she does have this little attic bedroom with dormers, and between all the dormers are windows. What should she do? Okay, well, surprise training.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah, get to work. So.

If budget allows, I love her idea of wallpaper. I mean, this is a very attic eevee kind of feeling space. And we always, if a client is open to wallpaper, recommend that. As a matter of fact, I would not only wallpaper the angles and the eaves, but do the ceiling, do all of it. Because if she doesn't do the entire room, what's going to happen is she's going to end up with the way the eaves, you know, angle end. She's going to end up with this weird little small space that if that is separate, it will shrink visually the room. So she needs to pick a wallpaper and a good installer that can take that pattern and wrap front to back is how she'd start.

[Liz]

Is there a pattern that's better than another, you know, an Oliver floral or a geometric or a stripe in a room like this?

[Janie Molster]

Well, a stripe could be. Or a vertical pattern could be really fun because, you know, depending on what it is, she could run it, you know, up the eaves vertically and then take the pattern sideways on the top to create sort of a cabana tent effect. So, you know, there's all kinds of fun ways to play with wallpaper, but I do think this room would be transformed with wallpaper. And then she's got these funky little, you know, trimmed doors to fit the attic eaves. And I think they are so fun and sort of filled with personality. And I can't see if they have paneling or not, but they almost look like flat panel doors. In which case, you know, depending on her color palette, it would be so fun to accent them. I mean, she could wrap them in a fabric and put fun stud pattern on them to make them sort of be a great architectural piece. The other thing, what they need to do is they need to be treated in something that connects to the wallpaper pattern so that you don't end up with, in this case, too big white spots on that side of the room. Even if she does nothing other than taking the ground color of the wallpaper and treating the trim and doors the same.

[Caroline]

Got it.

[Janie Molster]

So that is just more of a blend. And then, you know, I do think she's a little bit stuck. She's going to end up with a low headboard. She's probably going to need to do an upholstered one there. And then I think the best thing for the windows behind her bed are a remote control blind, because getting in there to raise and lower them I think will really eventually be problematic for her. And on the odd window, she can do whatever she wants. She can do floor to ceiling curtains. She can treat that separately because it really isn't another place. And it doesn't have to match. It doesn't have to match. And it's different as well. These are double hung versus a single hung. But it's a cute room. I mean, it has so much potential. And I think, you know, the wallpaper would just be a game changer, right?

[Liz]

Yes.

[Taryn]

If it's light and bright. Okay, I have a crazy idea. What is it for a headboard?

[Liz]

Okay.

[Taryn]

So for people who can't see, the king bed is centered sort of in this dormer. And so two really angled piece, like kind of pieces of the dormer are cutting into the bed. So part of the bed has, you know, maybe six feet above it, but part of the bed only Maybe has like 6 inches above it where it. Before it hits the angle part.

[Janie Molster]

Right.

[Taryn]

So my weird thought was, what if she has a custom headboard made to where it starts, like right below the top of the dormer, comes up, like in a swoop above, so sort of.

[Liz]

So it makes a little arch.

[Taryn]

Yeah. So she kind of gets the feel of like a arched headboard. But it's tall where the window is, maybe covers a little bit.

[Liz]

That's a fun idea.

[Taryn]

And then swoops down.

[Liz]

I was very skeptical when you started that idea. I was like, this is going to be ugly. And now I can envision it.

[Caroline]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

I mean, definitely the wallpaper is gonna look.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

Freaking killer. So I definitely like that idea. And if she can only do one or the other, then I would say do the wallpaper. But.

[Liz]

But you can do it in phases.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah.

[Taryn]

And you may even actually find a king headboard. I know, but she Doesn't.

[Liz]

She might not have a king. This is from the. Yeah, she might have a queen. She's. She's a young single girl.

[Taryn]

Same rule would apply regardless of your bed size. And you may be able to find a bed headboard that kind of fits, depending on, you know, you really get out your measuring tape. But having a headboard made is really not that expensive.

[Janie Molster]

No, it's not.

[Taryn]

So, yeah, I mean.

[Liz]

And if you're handy, Jade, you might.

[Taryn]

Be able to do it yourself.

[Liz]

Yes. I mean, if you've got a jigsaw and some padding and some fabric.

[Taryn]

Yes.

[Liz]

To be handy, though. So, Jade, this is so exciting, though. She's like 26 and has her first house.

[Taryn]

I don't think there's anything more charming than a bedroom with dormer windows where it's all treated well.

[Liz]

Where did I make up her age? I don't think she's.

I've made up a whole personality for j. I was judging my own children and why aren't they having their homes?

[Taryn]

All right, one. One more. Yes.

[Caroline]

If.

[Taryn]

Yeah. Are y' all game for one more? Are you game for one more?

[Janie Molster]

Okay.

[Liz]

This one's from Lauren. She just recently discovered the podcast and it is everything she put in all caps. Thank you, Lauren. We love you. My family and I moved into our new house. It's a 70s build, about six weeks ago, and she's itching to make it hers. The room I'm currently struggling with is the family room. It opens on one side to the entry and on the other side to the dining room. The furniture in there now is stuff I had on hand already from our previous house, but none of it feels right. We have a small list of to do's, like retelling the fireplace, adding built ins around it, and possibly closing off the space above it. Would love your thoughts on furniture placement and. Or new pieces, drapery, etc. Itching to get started but feeling stuck.

[Taryn]

Help.

[Liz]

So it is a room. Like, just say it's a rectangle. There's a sort of a double opening on one of the walls, the long wall which looks like it goes to the entry. I can't tell. Oh, dining room. I think that's the dining room. And then there must be another door we can't see. Oh, yeah. There's a small door to the entry and then a long bank of windows on the long wall that opposes the one that has the entry to the dining room.

So furniture placement she's struggling with looks like.

[Janie Molster]

Right. Well, one thing I can't see if there's room. But if there is room on the other end of the sofa, I think if she put another chair there. You know, we always talk about there's a little bit of too much space between the two sofas. And we always try to create rooms where there isn't, as we call it, the timeout chair. Like the person that's sitting so far away from everyone else that they can't really be in the conversation. So even if it's just a small, low profile sort of fireside chair or a bench, but creating a space there for. You always want to have at least two to three people that can interact in a more intimate way. So having a little seat there. One thing I would suggest, her television is in a deep recessed niche above a fireplace. And I think with very little effort, she could remedy that. I mean, I think it was probably there from the old days where we had big, fat, bulky televisions and we needed, you know, a nice big, you know, cavity to mount them. And now we have, you know, these beautiful one inch deep, flat screens.

[Liz]

So.

[Janie Molster]

And it looks like that's probably what she has. I would fill that in and mount her television. You know, hardwire it on the wall. It's just a cleaner, simpler look. And we won't. All those big shadows of that shadow box in the back. So that's a little bit of a construction project, but not much to it. And then that would sort of clean that wall up, so to speak. And then with her sofa that's sort of flying solo there by itself.

[Liz]

Under the windows.

[Janie Molster]

Yes, under the windows. If we add a seat next to it. And then it needs. She's got a very generous cocktail table in front of one sofa, but if we just add.

[Liz]

And nothing in front of the other one.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah, she just added one. You know, almost like it could be a garden stool or some little table, just someplace for that person to put their drink or their magazine or their newspaper. That always tends to draw people in if there's a surface.

[Liz]

So you're kind of making two seating arrangements.

[Janie Molster]

Yes. Okay. Yes.

[Liz]

So one with a sofa that's oriented to the television and the other one on the other wall, which is a love seat under the windows. That's okay.

[Caroline]

I love it.

[Taryn]

So in a perfect world with those two, like, should she try to find something, should you get two chairs that coordinate for either side of the fireplace and maybe move this current chair to another room? Or are you saying could she just.

[Liz]

Move this one over by the blue loveseat and then add another One with the other one.

[Taryn]

Should it be a pair or should they be different?

[Janie Molster]

I think if a pair is in the scope, a pair would be great. And I love that idea. And the other thing that just, you know, I've certainly lived in houses and definitely worked on houses where there's all of these multiple entryways into them and they do create some space planning struggles just because you have to leave a passageway. That one thing I really don't like is weaving in and out of furniture in a space plan. So she's doing a good job of that here. But I do notice that the way the furniture has laid out.

The furniture is asymmetrical in the space. So back to the layering rugs. She's got sort of a bini o Raine style, you know, Moroccan looking rug in the room, but it really is not filling the room. If she layered a real room size rug underneath that, it would unify all those big gaps of flooring and make her asymmetry just sort of feel a little less noticeable. So. And when I say room size, I'm really meaning pull off maybe 8 inches off the wall and really fill the room up with a seagrass or a sisal or some you. A quiet rug.

[Liz]

And inexpensive too.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah. And then her existing rug could be layered on top.

[Liz]

Do you think she should do the built ins on either side of the fireplace? She mentioned that they were going to do that.

[Janie Molster]

I think, you know, if she has things to put in the built ins. So built ins are always a great idea. And if you have collections or you have a beautiful library that needs a home, that's great. But just creating bookshelves and then you come up with the issue of, okay, now what do I put in Right.

[Liz]

Now I have to decorate that.

[Janie Molster]

And so, you know, and the best, best thing for books shelves is books. So, you know, a series of picture frames and disparate sort of knickknacks are not a good look. It's a cluttered look. So bookshelves require very careful styling. And if you don't have a home, if you don't need a home for things, if you're just doing it to fill the room out, just go buy artwork.

[Taryn]

Right. You know, or like a pair of gray, like consoles.

[Janie Molster]

Yeah, consoles. And a pair of mirrors or mirrors.

[Liz]

Yeah, I think that would be fabulous.

[Taryn]

You're totally right about the space above that TV though. And I was thinking I really want to hurt whoever built this. Well, yeah, but you're right. That's why it was there. But in My mind, I'm like, what?

[Caroline]

Who?

[Taryn]

Why?

[Janie Molster]

I know.

[Taryn]

Why is there this empty space?

[Janie Molster]

That's the easy thing to fix.

[Liz]

Yeah. Yes. And then drapery. Do we. I feel like she should put some drapery in there. Right?

[Janie Molster]

I mean, draperies are such. Always a softener. And, you know, I'm even. So she definitely is going to have a piece of furniture backing up to the curtains. But, you know, if we're hanging the curtains way outside of that big bank of windows so that they fall and they're not really blocking light. Right. And they're adding, you know, architectural softness and whatever. Her color palette is definitely with her ceiling height. They should be hung just under the base of the crown. They should break the floor. And the. They. She should use enough fabric so that they can actually shut.

[Liz]

Right.

[Janie Molster]

You know that that's always.

[Liz]

Even if you don't shut them.

[Janie Molster]

Even if you don't. If you don't use enough fabric to. So that they can shut, curtains just look skimpy. So even if she has to buy multiple panels of whatever.

[Liz]

Right. I have one last question.

[Janie Molster]

Yes.

[Liz]

So if she's going to add two chairs or at least one chair and some drapery, should she be using that as an opportunity to unify kind of the palette or the color in the room? Should. Should she. You know, if there's a pattern on that panel, should she have some pillows made maybe to go on these sofas or put it on the chair or what? You know, what could. What else could bring this all together for her? Yeah.

[Janie Molster]

And I do. I think she needs to explore, you know, what she's missing in there. You know, and I do think creating your Pinterest boards or your houzz boards and going through them and studying them to see, you may think they're all over the map and there's no connectedness there. But inevitably, I think even if she gets a friend or her husband or somebody to look at them, there's gonna be something that is consistent, and that might be where she. The next step she goes to adding color or pattern. But I mean, what I wouldn't put is a very busy, crazy pattern on window treatments, because that's the thing we often change the least, and pattern really is the thing we tire of first. So put that in pillows on her sof and stick to something straightforward or very clean geometric or something for her curtains is, I think, gonna wear well.

[Liz]

Right. Wonderful. I love new houses and new moves and stuff. So much fun things to do.

[Janie Molster]

Well, thank you.

[Liz]

Yes, thank you, Janie, for helping Us.

[Janie Molster]

You all so much I loved being here. It's so much fun. I wish I could do this all day. I love the little problem solving things and these are seem easy to do.

[Liz]

So we can email you too.

[Janie Molster]

We keep sending there to be good. They're fun.

[Taryn]

Yeah they are fun. Will you tell everyone where they can find you?

[Caroline]

Follow you see your work, all that good stuff.

[Janie Molster]

Sure. Yeah. So we are based in Richmond, Virginia. My Janie Molster Designs and our website is janiemolsterdesigns.com it's an easy Google search and we.

Very active on Instagram not so much on other forums and that's also Janie Molster Designs so we'd love to hear from you. We there's a email on the website if you have questions or you want feedback on some of these things. We can certainly reach out to us and we'd love to hear from you but we'd love being here. We love Ballard and it's a treat.

[Liz]

Thank you Janie. You do have a fabulous Instagram.

[Janie Molster]

It's really great. Thank you so much.

[Caroline]

I love that one. Think outside red and green. You can have some fun with it. Thank you to Janie for sharing her wisdom with us. You can find her work at JaneMolster Designs or on Instagram @janiemolsterdesigns. Don't forget to come back next week because Taryn will be sharing her favorite holiday episode. I think I know what she picked and it's a good one so don't skip that. Of course. Remember to leave us a review in your podcast app. Send your decorating questions to podcastallardesigns.net it doesn't have to be a super in depth depth decorating question. You can just send us what you want to talk about. A book you read that you loved and think we should read anything. We love to hear from you. And of course check out the show [e-mail] podcast subscribe to our YouTube channel because we do share the video versions of all of our podcast episodes plus house chores and other great content. So don't forget to do that. Follow us on YouTube and happy decorating and Happy Holiday. See you next week.

[Taryn]

And that's our show. You can find all of the show notes on our blog howtodecorate.com podcast to.

[Janie Molster]

Send in a decorating dilemma. Email your questions to podcastallarddesigns.net so we can help you with your space.

[Taryn]

And of course be sure to follow us on social media at ballardesigns don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode. And please leave us a review.

[Caroline]

We'd love to hear your feedback.

[Taryn]

Until next time, happy decorating.