Designer offers answers to common decorating questions

What is the difference between a California and an Eastern king? A California, aka Cal or a Western king is 72 inches wide by 84 inches long and an Eastern king, aka standard king, is 76-78 inches wide by 80 inches long.

How high do I hang a chandelier over a dining table? The normal height to hang a chandelier over a table is 36-42 inches.

How long are dust ruffles or bed skirts? The standard length of a dust ruffle that you buy in the store is going to be 14 inches long, although some manufacturers are now making ones 16 inches long to accommodate high-profile bed frames and box springs.

If you need a longer one, you can have it custom made or add to the length of a store-bought one. If the one you bought is too long, you can have it shortened or pull it up and pin it to your box spring with safety pins. That’s a little trick I do in models.

How many decorative pillows do I need on my bed? For a king-sized bed I use two king shams or three Euro shams, two queen shams and three decorative pillows.

For a queen-sized bed, I use two queen shams, two standard shams and three decorative pillows. Personally, I like at least three to four layers of decorative pillows. Of course you can add or subtract to your liking.

How do I know where to start and stop my paint? It’s easy to paint a single room, but when looking at the open areas it can get tricky. So, I always try to stop paint in an inside corner. It is really hard to get a straight line on the rounded outside edges of your walls because, when textured, even with painters tape it can seep through.

How do I update my bathroom without spending a fortune? If your cabinets, counter and floor are in good shape, a new faucet, light fixture and cabinet hardware will make a big difference for less than $200.

What size bar stools should I buy? If your counter is 38 inches or lower buy a bar stool. If it is higher than 38 inches buy a counter stool.

How many different fabrics can I have in a room? It really all depends upon how many you are comfortable with, but I like at least three different patterns. To make it simple, repeat the colors in each fabric, but don’t have the same amount of color in each fabric. Use a mix of pattern sizes: large, medium and small, such as a large floral, check plaid or stripe and then a small geometric or another floral.

Where do I start when hanging a family photo gallery? Start with separating the pictures between color and black and white and hang as two different galleries. Determine how large you want the gallery and think of it like a picture frame. Start with your four corners and keep the sides in line with each other. Now think of it as a jigsaw puzzle and place the rest of the pieces inside. Do not go outside the frame you’ll create. Just like a framed piece of art, the entire image should be inside the frame.

How much paint do I need? Most paint cans tell you how much area they cover. Normally, one gallon can cover between 200-400 square feet, depending on the color you’re covering, the color you’re using and the type on paint on the wall.

If you’re covering a dark color with a lighter color, one gallon will cover less. If you’re putting dark over light, it might go a little further. If you have flat paint on the walls, they will absorb more paint than if you were covering a satin or semigloss finish.

If in doubt, buy more as you’ll want some for touch-ups.

Do I have to have matching finishes on all of my hardware, faucets and light fixtures in my house? No, everything does not have to match and can be very expensive if you’re updating them and want a new finish. To keep it easy and simple, use the same finish on all of the doors. Use the same finish on your faucets and light fixtures in the kitchen and each bath, but they don’t have to be the same in every bath. I have black in my master bathroom and brushed satin in the others.

How high do I hang window treatments? I like to hang them as high as possible as that makes the window appear larger. The main thing is that you need to cover is the top window frame of your window.

I find that if the bottom of the treatment is hung 6 inches into the window, it’s sufficient. If you have shades that you pull up off your window, you need to take their stacking height into consideration. They should be covered when pulled up so you might have to hang your treatment further down into the window.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by e-mail to: gail@gmjinteriors.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.