Hollywood Regency Decor: How To

How to Bring The Glamour To Your Home

If you’re looking for a new decor trend to match your outgoing personality, Hollywood Regency is it.  Even if you’re keeping your parties small, there’s nothing that says your style has to be. Hollywood Regency is all about glamour, sophistication and elegance in the home. 

Hollywood Regency style came about during the Golden Age of Hollywood and reflects the charm and sophistication of the 1930s. It mixes together the Art Deco glitz and glamor with  mid-century modern’s clean lines and throws in Victorian elements like velevets, tufting and bold color palettes. Roll all of that together and you’re starting to get the idea of Hollywood Regency. This isn’t a quiet design style. This is dramatic and bold, all about making a statement about who you are and what you like.  Hollywood Regency was inspired by the over the top interiors that designers created for the silver screen.

 The Hollywood royals loved the look of the polished glamour that they worked in and wanted to bring that into their homes. They employed iconic designers like Paul R. Williams, Dorothy Draper, and William Haines to create their homes, and they went big! They brought the same designs that looked great in black-and-white and brought in the attention to detail, color, texture, and finishes that make Hollywood Regency what it is. 

So how can you replicate it yourself? You might not be able to get Dorothy Draper or William Haines to decorate your home, but you can still get the looks that they created by paying attention to a few rules. 

1) There Is No Such Thing As Too Glamorous

This is the top rule for this style. Sumptuous fabrics, rich textures, layers of details, and luxurious accents. Think of it as opulent as a Queen’s jewel box and as comfy as you can make. Hollywood Regency doesn’t take itself seriously, so if you feel like you’re going over the top, you’ve nailed it. 

Courtesy Inspiration Design Books

2) Be Strategic With Your Placement

Although you’re looking to create the opulent look, you don’t want your colors to clash. There should definitely be a singular color palette for each room so that it can be relished in, rather than run from.  Keep patterns to one or two in a space so that they don’t fight with each other, and stick to just one type of metal.  They look great on their own, so you want them to shine when you do highlight them. 

3) Keep Your Furniture Small-Scale

Courtesy Everly Quinn

While it might sound strange, the furniture isn’t meant to be the feature point of the style. Hollywood Regency is all about open floor plans and parties, so having plenty of space to move is important. Instead, look to bright, glossy furniture with lacquered surfaces so that each piece pops. 

4) Pay Attention To Your Details

Courtesy of Ballard Designs

Like we said in the last point, the furniture doesn’t command the space, so your decor is what does. Luxurious fabrics, metal hardware, crysta lights and objects de art are the requirement of the day. Velvets, silks and furs, Turkish rugs and golden hardware and patterns.  It’s about making things sparkle and shine. You can even bring in mirrors as wall decorations, shaping them into a larger sculpture or art piece. 

5) Don’t Be Afraid To Grab Inspiration From Other Eras

Courtesy Simple Shapes

Hollywood Regency was inspired by a large number of different eras, so don’t be afraid to pull in other concepts. Rococo and Chinoiserie are both styles that mesh in nicely in different ways and blend well with the glamour of Hollywood Regency. 

6) Bring In The Black And White To Temper Things

Another key mark of Hollywood Regency is the use of black and white in different ways. Whether it’s checkerboard flooring, large photography or zebra prints even, there are many ways you can fit this into your home to create a quieter corner amid the opulence. 

7)  Don’t Shy Away From Lacquer

Courtesy of Ellen Quinn

With the love for all things shiny, lacquered finishes are just the thing to fit in with Hollywood Regency. Whether you apply this to furniture like tables, to room dividers or accessories like trays and vases, or to your walls or ceilings, get creative with it. There’s nothing that’s off limits for this one. 

You can probably tell we LOVE Hollywood Regency and the luxe feeling it brings. What about you? Do you think you’ll be doing up your home in Hollywood style this spring? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page! As always, we love to hear from you. 

If you wound up here looking for help with your dryer and not your decor, no worry, you’re still in the right place. Whether you’re in McKinney or The Colony, we’re here to help get your major appliances running again. We’ll work with you to find a time and date that works best for your schedule. At Appliance Rescue Service, our goal is to get your home running smoothly again. You can reach out to us via our contact page or by giving us a call at ( (214) 599-0055). 

Why You Should Handwash Your Clothes

And How To Do It Right

Table of Contents

Why To Hand Wash Your Clothes

How To Hand Wash Your Clothes

What do you do when your favorite sweater says "hand wash only" in big capital letters? Or that gorgeous vest your grandfather gave you can't go through the washing machine? Well, you have to figure out how to wash it by hand and how to be careful about it. Fortunately, it's not as complicated as media makes it seem. 

Why You Should Hand Wash Your Clothes

So, let's take a look at a few situations of why you should hand wash your clothing. There's plenty of different reasons that affect all of us, even if it's once in a blue moon. 

-if they're handmade or knitted 

Even if something is very well assembled, they can be delicate. They also need to be washed carefully so that they maintain their shape, rather than getting beaten up by your machines. 

- If they're delicate

Some examples here might be lace, pieces with embroidery or pieces that are old. For example, if you have a blanket that's been passed down through your family through several generations.  

- If it's got sequins or beaded pieces 

Pieces with sequins and beads are so delicate. Not only do you need to flip them inside out in order to wash and hang them, but if you want to keep a piece for several years, you'll want to wash it by hand. This ensures that the threads fixing the sequins and beads to the clothing are kept safe and secure. 

-If it's marked "dry clean only" 

  While this isn't always the case, there are many times when you can handwash these items as well as taking them to the cleaners. The reason "dry clean only" is used is that either the fabric mill or the designers are saying "we're not taking responsibility if it gets damaged by you." 

-If you're travelling and need something fixed quickly 

- If you don't have a functioning washing machine, due to mechanical failure or blackout 

Let's face it, this is the most likely to happen to any of us. You might have a time when your washer breaks down in the middle of the week, and even your most trusted handyman is booked through to next week. Or if there's a blackout in the middle of summer and you need clothes for tomorrow. It happens. 

How To Hand Wash Your Clothes

By now you're probably demanding to know "alright then, if it's so important, how do I do this? Shouldn't it just be the same as washing my hands?" To which we say, ehhh, not quite. 

Start by making filling up your sink or a basin with cool to warm water, depending on the garment in question and whether or not it's color fast. You also don't want it to be ice cold or else your hands are going to start hurting rather quickly.  

Don't go adding your detergent or clothes just yet. You want to do a color test on some of the hidden spots of the garment in question. Some spots you might try are the seams of the garment, the armpits, or behind the knees. 

Now add your detergent of choice to the water and give it a quick stir to get the detergent to dissolve. Gently lower your garment into the mix, submerging it fully. Now using your hands, squeeze the suds through the fabric, like you're kneading the fabric gently. Lay it out on the bottom of the basin, and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Once that time is up, flip it over, knead the fabric again and flatten it out, allowing it to sit for the same amount of time.  

Once the time is up, remove the garment from the sink and drain the wash water.  Fill it again with cool water and lay your item in it and swish to rinse.  Squeeze out excess water, but not like you're wringing out a washcloth. This is supposed to be a gentle process. Roll the garment in a towel to move to the next step. Bring your garment to a table or a mesh rack and lay out a dry towel. Blocking the garment back into shape, lay it out until dry. Then flip it over and let the back dry, replacing the towel if needed. 

Is it time consuming? Yeah. Is it worth it to preserve delicate lingerie, sweaters and handmade clothes? Yep. Like we pointed out up above, if you end up without power at any point, being able to handwash your clothes is a useful skill to have. What do you think? Do you do this for any of your clothes? Tell us in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. 

If you're looking up this article because your washing machine has given up the ghost, we can help! Whether you live in McKinney or Plano, Dallas or Coppel, we can help bring it back to life. More importantly, we can get your home running smoothly again. Just give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out to us on our contact page and we'll get back with you shortly to schedule an appointment that works for you. At Appliance Rescue Service, we won't stop until you're satisfied. 

Additional Reading

5 Laundry Hacks To Make Laundry Easier

How Do They Do Laundry In Space

Are You Making These 5 Common Laundry Mistakes?

8 Ways To Whiten Your Clothes When You Don’t Have Bleach

How Cleaning Your Fridge Can Keep It Cool

For When Your Fridge Isn’t Doing Its Job

Have you ever wondered why your refrigerator fails to do its job? When you open up the fridge and you just find ice built up on the butter, but then the condiments on the door are almost room temperature? What about opening your freezer and finding that your ice cream is now soft-serve? We’ve all had it happen. The most common reason is that your fridge is facing one of three issues. It’s packed too tight, the vents inside are dirty or the condenser coils are blocked or dirty. 

Table of Contents

Sections of Your Refrigerator

Cleaning Your Refrigerator 

Links 

Sections of Your Refrigerator 

Let’s start off with a quick intro to the different parts of your refrigerator that actually make it, you know, work. This is the stuff most of us don’t look at, but it’s important if you want to figure out how and why things aren’t working right. 

Compressor

Your compressor is where everything starts. You can find it at the back or bottom of your refrigerator. The compressor pressurizes the liquid refrigerant before it pumps it through the system, turning it into a vapor.  It's now a hot gas! 

Condenser Coil

Your condenser coils will be located on either the back or bottom of your refrigerator, usually hidden behind a grille if it's on the bottom. The refrigerant condenses into a liquid inside the pipes and releases heat that gets pushed into the outside air. So now it's still high pressure, but in a liquid state. 

Expansion Device

The expansion device is located in between the two sets of coils. It acts as a barrier between the condenser coil and the evaporator coil. On one side, the refrigerant is in a liquid state at high pressure. On the other, is a low pressure area. The expansion device sucks the refrigerant from one side to the other, immediately boiling it and returning it to a vapor state, then flowing into the evaporator coils. 

Evaporator Coils

The evaporator coils  are where the actual cooling happens. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the surrounding air and releases cool air. Small vents on the inside of the freezer and refrigerator allow air to move from the freezer and into the fridge. 

Cleaning Your Refrigerator

Now that you know what the different sections are, you might see that only a small section is available to access, that's the condenser coils, either underneath or behind the fridge. You might think that your refrigerator only needs to be cleaned once in a blue moon. In fact, you should consider cleaning it on a regular basis, especially if you have pets that traverse the kitchen. 

Inside

Start the process by emptying everything out from your fridge and freezer. If you want to, you can allow your fridge to defrost while you're at this.  Make sure to place everything into a cooler or on the counters while you move on. 

Now remove all of your shelves and drawers that can be taken out. (This is one of the reasons we recommend purchasing refrigerators that have moveable shelves and drawers. It makes everything easier to clean and sort.) Important note: Before you clean the different pieces, you need to allow the shelves to come up to room temperature. If you don't, the sudden shock can cause the glass or plastic to shatter. No one wants that mess.

Go ahead and scrub everything down using a mix of warm water and dish soap, carefully drying it with a clean cloth.  Take a moment to find the vents that are inside your fridge and freezer and take a close look at them. These are where the cooling air is forced through from the evaporator coils. Make sure that the vents aren't obstructed by any dust, grime or other detritus. You can also go ahead and give them a quick scrub while you have everything cleared out from your refrigerator. 

Let's take a look back at the contents of your fridge. Are things covered in spilled condiments or last week's noodles? Give everything a quick wipe down, making sure to dry it thoroughly.  Once you're done with that,  consider how to best use the space within your fridge. Nothing says you need to do it the way the manufacturer or magazines show. The two rules we tend to go by are a) can we easily find what we need, and b) are the vents remaining unblocked. If the answers to both of these are yes, you're good. 

Outside

Once the inside of your refrigerator is sorted, let's turn to the outside. Start by grabbing some cleaner that's relevant to what your refrigerator is cased in, be it stainless steel or cabinetry. Use a damp cloth and wipe it down. Make sure to use a non-abrasive sponge if there's anything that is sticky or gross. Rinse off the outside with clean, cool water, and quickly dry with a soft cloth. (This is especially important if your refrigerator is stainless steel so that you don't have any water spots or discoloration.) As a final step, if you have stainless steel, grab some polish and go with the grain to bring it back to a shine. 

Condenser Coils

Before you decide to start messing with your condenser coils, make sure to check over your Use & Care Manual. Some makers prefer for only a certified technician to clean the coils. If that's not the case let's get things taken care of. Start by unplugging or disconnecting your refrigerator.  Once that's done you can safely locate your condenser coils either on the back or base of your refrigerator. If they are on the bottom, they'll be behind a decorative grille.  Now use a vacuum cleaner with an extendable attachment and a soft brush. Once you've got everything gathered up, replace the grille and carefully bring your refrigerator forward. Sweep and vacuum behind and under the fridge, making sure to clean your brush as needed. 

And that's it! You've cleaned your refrigerator from top to bottom and reorganized it. Hopefully, this should help it 'breathe' more easily and keep everything nice and cold. If that hasn't solved it, you can reach out to us via Facebook, our website, or by calling us at ((214) 599-0055). We're here to help keep your home in shape, and that's especially important during the peak of summer!  If this did help your refrigerator and freezer work, please let us know that too! 

Links to Other Articles 

Want to learn more about buying your ideal refrigerator? This is the article you want. 

What about organizing your fridge to keep things fresher, longer? Check out this article!