Doors were removed from the rooms former closet, far right, so that a custom shelving unit could be installed inside the space. The new shelves sit upon the base of a china cabinet, which was painted to match. A dining room table was repurposed into use as a cutting table in front of the window. Woven baskets and wooden boxes fill the closet unit and the freestanding shelving, at left, to organize and hide clutter.

Drawers of the former china cabinet base, now the bottom of a built-in storage unit, hold thread, scissors and other sewing notions.

For six years, Vickie Mason used a small guest bedroom in her Ringgold, Ga., home as her sewing room. But with the only storage space being a closet with one hanging rod, the avid quilter and seamstress says growing piles of fabrics, patterns and other sewing notions began to turn her work area into "a stacked mess."

So she led interior decorator Margie Burgin into the room and commissioned a makeover.

"This looks like a mess," Mason told her friend. "I want organization. I want a cute place to sew."

When not working at NHC Healthcare in Fort Oglethorpe, where she is a physical therapist, Mason spends anywhere from four to 12 hours a week sewing or quilting. She began sewing in junior high school and has been quilting for 15 years.

"I made all my own clothes, made all my children's clothes until they reached the age they didn't want to wear clothes their mom made anymore. Then I started quilting, but I've started making clothes for girls again since my grandchildren were born," she says.

With the focus of the makeover to increase storage and organize the craft room, Burgin began the redesign by installing two built-in shelving units. By rearranging and repurposing furniture, she also opened up floor space so the 10- by 11-foot room feels more spacious and open.

Here's the pattern for this sewing room makeover. Their ideas could easily be replicated in any craft room.

First, Mason and Burgin kept the room's original khaki-colored walls and taupe carpeting. Not only was the wall color easy on the eyes for any length of time, the neutral shade didn't clash with the myriad colors of fabrics Mason used in her hobby. To further enhance the khaki color, the pair mounted one of Mason's large quilts in earth tones as a wall hanging.

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Sewing room makeover clears clutter problem, adds organization and efficiency

Hunters and collectors: (From left) Matt Fishburn, Hartley Cook and Olivia Kwan at Hartley Cook'??s Grafton Galleries Antiques in Rushcutters Bay, Sydney. Photo: Fiona Morris

White minimalism is making way for interiors of a more opulent, layered style, mixing the modern with the vintage, the precious with the bargain and adding pattern, texture and splashes of saturated colour.

It is by no means a return to the past. Rather, on-trend interior designers highlight just one standout piece of antique furniture, artwork or objet dart in order to make a statement within an otherwise contemporary space.

By paring back and working in select antiques, interiors become more nuanced, imaginative and autobiographical.

Jazz-era glamour: An art deco bronze of Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt with the face modelled on Greta Garbo. Photo: Michael Wearne.

Its an eclectic approach that taps into the zeitgeist for the handmade, the eco-friendly and the upcycled.

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A room that displays a sensuous art deco figurine injects a touch of jazz-era glamour; an 18th-century English or French dining table paired with contemporary chairs warms a space; while a streamlined Danish sideboard imparts a sense of cool cat, mid-century sexiness.

A diversity of fine art and antiques will be showcased during the annual Sydney Antiques Fair, being held at Randwick Racecourses Kensington Room from Wednesday, August 27 to Sunday, August 31. Alongside period furniture will be dealers of rare jewellery, sterling silverware, antique maps, vintage posters, photographs and paintings, candelabra, rugs and figurines. All dealers are members of the Australian Antique and Art Dealers Association (AAADA).

Melbourne dealer-decorator Jamie Allpress uses antique furniture to add personality to the interiors of architect-designed homes. That way we can see an 18th-century English oak dresser base teamed with uber-modern artwork or it can mean adding a pair of 18th-century Gothic-Windsor armchairs to a cutting-edge living room.

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White minimalism makes way for opulent interiors

Last updated on: August 21, 201415:58 IST

Take a look at the singer's two-bedroom flat in suburban Mumbai. Dentist-turned-singer/actor Meiyang Chang, who rose to fame with his stint in Indian Idol and went on to star in Badmaash Company along side Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor and Vir Das, moved into his spacious flat a little over a year ago.

Covering an area of 1,300 square feet, the flat is located on the 15th floor, in Malad, a western Mumbai suburb, and has been decorated by Chang and his mum.

"This is my dream house, but not the dream location," Chang says candidly.

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"I didn't want to overdo it because I like simple designs, something that will make me feel at home.

"If I had appointed an interior decorator to do the job, the flat would end up looking like a hotel. I have taken some inspiration from a friends place for my new pad," Chang reveals.

This African lady statue (next to the door, left), Chang tells us, was gifted by an organiser when he travelled to South Africa to perform with musician duo Salim and Sulaiman Merchant for FIFA world cup in 2010.

"I didn't want a typical glass table for my dining space so I got this one that came with chairs and a bench.

"I liked the concept of bench. Also, I liked the idea of collapsible table because it doesn't occupy too much space. Plus, it doubles up as a study table too when folded half."

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PIX: Singer Meiyang Chang's GORGEOUS Mumbai home

Third in a summer series highlighting dream homes on the water.

When Wendy and Alex Haig set out five years ago to find the perfect weekend retreat, they were torn between two different bucolic areas: the rolling horse country of Middleburg, Va., and the wide expanse of the Chesapeake Bay.

"The bay very clearly won out," Wendy Haig says.

Alex Haig, a lawyer and son of former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, and his wife, a managing partner for a marketing strategy company, wanted a place where they could relax with family and friends and escape from the pressures of Washington.

Briefly they considered a beach house, but they didn't want the hassle of a long commute to the shore. The bay offered them waterfront views just 45 minutes from Washington.

But finding the right house wasn't easy. The Haigs spied a Cape Cod-style waterfront home in an old online real estate listing that seemed to be what they were looking for, but the house wasn't on the market and they didn't even know its address.

One day when a real estate agent was showing them a property in the Bay Ridge community south of Annapolis, they passed by the house they had seen online. After making some inquiries, the Haigs learned that the house was about to return to the market. They snatched it up before it went on sale.

Alex Haig says the location was what mattered. "What we really thought we were buying was the view," he says.

The half-acre property featured almost unobstructed views of the bay, and the Haigs could watch the sun rise and set from the large window in the family room.

Wendy Haig says the home reminded her of those she saw as a child vacationing on Cape Cod, but its original traditional design and dark jewel tones didn't reflect her own style, which she describes as "polished with an edge."

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Weekend retreat draws family and friends to the bay

By Sebastian Shakespeare

Published: 18:04 EST, 17 August 2014 | Updated: 04:48 EST, 18 August 2014

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All over? It would appear banking heiress Kate Rothschild's relationship with rapper Jay Electronica has cooled

After banking heiress Kate Rothschild left her husband, Ben Goldsmith, for Jay Electronica, she said the rapper had saved my life in many ways. Now it would appear his rescue mission is over.

Electronica, 37, who was born and raised in an area of New Orleans known for poverty and violent crime, has returned to America, while Kate is living in a cottage next door to the Georgian mansion of her former mother-in-law, Lady Annabel Goldsmith.

We havent seen him for months, one of Kates social circle tells me.

The alumna of Bryanston School was seen recently riding in Londons Richmond Park with her sister, Alice, who is married to Tory MP Zac Goldsmith, near her cottage.

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Is it all over for Kate Rothschild and rapper lover Jay Electronica?

Whether you have lived in your home for three months or 30 years, sometimes you need a little help to change things. We asked a group of well-known Egyptian interior designers to disclose the secrets they use to improve domestic interiors.

Each designer offered ideas that can make all the difference in a living space, including essential design issues such as lighting, small spaces, storage and colours.

These tricks can solve your design problems, transforming your living space to best reflect your style and personality.

Interior designer Cherif Morsi knows the secrets of using colour. Stay away from trends and just do what you like, whatever makes you feel better, she said. A home, in my opinion, should be about you and not your friends or relatives.

Colours are a crucial element in designing a space. They give the first impression, and a white space is very differently experienced from the same space in blue or black.

Choose the colours that reflect your character and personality. The key to choosing the right colours is not to rely on trends or what is in fashion never work with the latest trends as these can go out as fast as they emerge.

Trends change quickly and are not necessarily best suited to your home. Rely on what works for you, and creates the mood you want.

Think of colours as the dressing or clothing of the home, while furnishings can be considered the tools that enable the home to function. This may help you in your search for your most appropriate mix of colours to show off your rooms. A space can feel much bigger in white. A dark colour shows the limits of a room.

Be daring and dont hesitate to use contrasting colours like black and white, for example. This can play a vital role in defining a spaces volume and creating virtual boundaries between different areas. It also gives the overall interior a dramatic mood.

Some colours give specific feelings. For example, red is the colour of proximity and creates a warmer atmosphere than green.

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Designer secrets revealed

11 Marian Street, Hawthorn

TV HOSTS HAWTHORN ABODE

When media personality and former overseas aid worker Jacqueline Pascarl auctions her Hawthorn period home later this month, its the kitchen shell miss most.

A former TV newsreader, lifestyle show host, and Sunday Life magazine columnist, Pascarl is also a recipient of the Humanitarian Overseas Service Medal. Pascarl came to attention in 1992 when her ex-husband, Malaysian Prince Raja Bahrin, snatched their daughter Shahirah and son Iddin and tookthem out of Australia. It was one of the biggest news stories of the decade. The extensively renovated and extended double brick property at 11 Marian Street has four bedrooms, a dream kitchen, which Pascarl has used in cooking shows, open-plan living and dining connecting to an outdoor entertaining area and a rear studio which is plumbed for a bathroom.

11 Marian Street, Hawthorn

I designed the kitchen and I adore it, she says. Im a chronic baker stressed or happy, you will find me baking.

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The property goes under the hammer August 30 at noon. Nikki McCarthy, of RT Edgar, is quoting $1.1 million-plus.

ART DECO DESIGNER

886A Glenhuntly Road, Caufield South

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Private Property: houses

Target Corp. (TGT), looking to fix its Canadian operations after a money-losing expansion into the country, is revamping the product lineup, improving supplies and teaming up with celebrity designer Sarah Richardson.

The move follows a review of the Canadian business this year, the Minneapolis-based company said today in a statement. In addition to releasing Richardson-designed products next year, Target Canada is expanding its maternity and cosmetic products and will roll out an exclusive brand of household cleaners called Better Life.

Canadians, who for years shopped at Target just over the border in the U.S., were unimpressed by its expansion into the country. They found prices at the local stores were higher, while the retailer failed to keep enough merchandise in stock. Target said today it will begin matching rivals prices and better the supply chain in a bid to change that impression.

Youve got to have more local and regional taste in Canada than just thinking you can go out there and open U.S. stores with a bunch of U.S. brands, Brian Yarbrough, an equity analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis who rates the stock a buy, said in a phone interview. Its got to resonate.

The shares fell 0.3 percent to $58.26 at the close in New York, extending a 7.9 percent decline this year.

The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc. executive Brian Cornell as its new chief executive officer in July. Close

The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc.... Read More

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The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc. executive Brian Cornell as its new chief executive officer in July.

The Canadian division, which lost $941 million before interest and taxes last year, has been a headache for a company already reeling from a hacker attack during the holiday season of 2013. Mark Schindele, who was senior vice president in charge of merchandising operations, replaced Tony Fisher as head of the Canadian business in May.

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Target Revamps Canada Lineup in Bid to Rescue Troubled Expansion

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Keep up with your favorite teams and athletes with daily updates.

By Stan The Grand Imperial Poobah Hochman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) (Editors Note)Stan Hochman, a Daily News sports columnist for 55 years, has been appearing on 94WIPs morning show for over a year now, settling disputes (and starting new ones) as the Grand Imperial Poobah. He brings that persona to CBSPhilly.com/poobah on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we welcome input on which issues you want the Poobah to take a good, hard look at. Send requests and ideas for The Poobah to WIPpoobah@gmail.com.

Without further ado, heres The Poobah.

Phil E. Phan: My sources tell me that Poobah did, indeed, trade places with Ryan Howard last week. How did it work out?

Poobah: Your sources are impeccable, which means they lack pecs, abs, quads and most other muscles. We were hoping to keep it quiet, but apparently the secret is out. I struck out with runners in scoring position and heard boos. I drove in the winning run in two games against the Mets and heard cheers. This is a fickle crowd. Been fickle for three years. The Phillies have been lousy for three years. Case closed.

Met with the interior decorator who wanted to know how many flat-screen high-def 56-inch television sets we wanted for the bedrooms in that modest home were building in Florida. I told him six was a nice round number and he did a nifty pirouette, so I guess that means he was happy.

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Grand Imperial Poobah: Trades Places With Ryan Howard

When Emmy Award nominations were announced last month, two Maryland-made series were front and center in the news.

HBOs Veep and the Netflix drama House of Cards made the short list for best comedy and drama, respectively, with a pack of other nominations for writers, directors and stars. Almost all the coverage mine included was about Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.

But there were other nominations announced at the same time in the creative arts category nominations that didnt get nearly as much attention.

Yet they tell a more important story, at least in a local sense. They show what a talented, experienced and largely unheralded production community Maryland has, with some of the most accomplished people in film and TV calling this area home.

We talked to four Maryland residents working on House of Cards and Veep who are nominated for the creative arts Emmys that will be handed out this Saturday in Los Angeles. The Emmy Awards telecast will be broadcast live Aug. 25 on NBC.

Tiffany Zappulla, set decorator, House of Cards

This is not TV, Tiffany Zappulla, the set decorator on House of Cards, says of the political thriller set in Washington. We do make a movie every 20 days. And any single chapter if you put it on the big screen would hold its own against any cinematic production.

Zappulla, a Baltimore native and graduate of Garrison Forest School, has worked on prestigious productions before. She was also set decorator for the second season of Veep, which won an Art Directors Guild award for an episode set in Finland that was largely filmed at the Engineers Club in Baltimore.

But this is her first Emmy nomination, and she says its exciting.

It really is, and part of that is the fact that this is truly, certainly from my standpoint, a Maryland-made nomination, she says. Im a native Marylander. My crew is primarily all native to Maryland. My vendors, my local craftsmen are all Maryland. Im really proud to say that, and I think people dont always recognize the level and scope of the talent here in the state.

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Z on TV: Meet four from Md. making 'House of Cards,' 'Veep' come to life