Outdoor Spaces

The line between indoors and outdoors continues to blur as many of us want to take our indoor comforts and solitude outdoors… This process is becoming more realistic as many manufacturers of home products, develop more and more appliances, furniture, lighting and accessories that can be used indoors or out.

People are driven to find peaceful sanctuaries as a prescription for our stressful lives. Outdoor patios and porches are becoming more sophisticated and refined and are becoming a living extension of the indoor spaces.

Outdoor furniture has evolved a long way from the folding, vinyl strap versions we grew up with, to beautiful pieces made of teak, steel, rattan, and wicker. Many pieces look just like indoor furniture but are constructed and designed to take the outdoor elements. Fabrics such as Sunbrella are making a name for themselves in the outdoor furniture industry.

Lighting is also a very important aspect to creating an inviting outdoor space. Whether it comes from landscape lighting, overhead lighting, ceiling fans or decorative side lighting be sure you are incorporating various types of lighting in your outdoor space just as you would in your indoor spaces. Developing a creative lighting plan can help you create a space with increased ambiance and functionality.

Remember to create a space that is “perfect” for you and your needs and then sit back and enjoy it!

Interested in Adding Leather Furnishings?

Did you know that over half the furniture sold worldwide today is covered in leather? Leather furnishings are considered by many to be romantic, extravagant, sophisticated, long lasting, and very comfortable. All these wonderful reasons make leather-upholstered items a perfect choice for many of today’s consumers.

Leather for home furnishings products comes from around the world. A majority of hides are produced in Europe - particularly Italy - and South America. Leather is not limited to sofa and chair coverings, but can also be incorporated into design accessories such as leather framed mirrors, picture frames, lamps, lampshades, area rugs and even window treatments!

Before leather covering can be utilized as upholstery for home furnishings and accessories, hides are subjected to a judging and dyeing process. Once leather hides arrive at a tannery for processing, they are hand-sorted based on quality. The hides with the fewest imperfections are cut into layers. The top layer, called “top” or “full” grain, is the highest quality layer, and is also the layer of the hide that lies closest to the animal.

The second and third layers are called “splits” and can also be used for covering furniture. This is often the grade of leather used in promotional furniture. Once the hides are sorted and cut into layers, the leather is colored by using one of three dyeing methods. The highest quality layers of leather are colored using a translucent, pure aniline dye. This dye process renders beautiful color variations in the leather. Since this process is used on unfinished, top-quality leather, the finished product usually has a softer feel. Another coloring process, also used on top-grain hides, is a surface finish application, called semi-aniline. This method produces a uniform color look. A third coloring procedure, called pigmented, coats the leather surface uniformly with an opaque color. This durable process covers most imperfections in the leather, and is very commonly used.

Since the purchase of leather furniture for your home can be a long lasting investment, it’s important that you make a wise decision about what type of leather furniture will work best for you, and ultimately give you the look and feel that you desire. And what better way to make that investment than to work with a professional and knowledgeable decorator?

Bathroom Basics

Is your bathroom boring or minuscule? Don't despair-colors and patterns can give a lift and fool the eye into seeing a larger space. Remember, it's not the amount of space, but what you do with it that counts.

The first step in decorating your bathroom is selecting the theme or mood you want to portray. Once you've decided, then the creativity begins.

If you want to "open up" your bathroom, select a color scheme that is light – pale colors tend to recede and will visually expand the room. To achieve a sense of the dramatic, you may want to select rich, vibrant colors instead. Deeper colors appear to advance and the room will appear cozier.

Window treatments for bathrooms generally are required to supply function and beauty – privacy is a must! Pleated shades, vertical, cellular shades, silhouettes would all fit the privacy ticket. All are resistant to moisture and can supply complete privacy. There are many fabric treatments to enhance your bath's décor. Everything from a short, shirred curtain to pouf valances, balloons, tab curtains - and even throw swags. Coordinating fabric may be used for sink skirts and shower curtains to complete the look.

So, what are you waiting for? If your bathroom is ho hum, wake it up with color and fabric – and who knows – maybe it will help you wake up in the morning too!!

The Wonder of Mother Nature

One of today’s hottest design trends is a return to nature. From fabrics to wall coverings to accessories, our living spaces can easily reflect an embrace of Mother Nature.

Why the growing interest in bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside? First, we long for peace and quiet at home. As our lives outside our homes become more harried and stressful, we are turning to our homes as retreats, and decorating them with furnishings and accessories we find soothing and comfortable.

Secondly, our increased awareness of the environment and the quest to preserve its beauty has led to a desire to bring bits of it home.

Here’s a look at several areas of interior design that can get you back to nature!

Fabrics: Bouquets of colorful botanicals with flower, leaf and vine prints are perennial favorites. Imagine relaxing in a lush garden where flowers flourish all around you – soft violets, delicate lilies of the valley, bold hydrangeas and stately red tulips. Fun, faux animal prints remain popular – even zebra stripes and leopard spots will lend an air of the exotic to any room.

Colors: From gorgeous garden shades to the rich fruit tones of deep raspberries, soft banana yellows, plums and strawberries. Even nature’s neutrals are also playing their important role – wheat brown, amber waves of grain, the creamy-whites of magnolia blossoms and terra cotta corals all highlighted by an amazing azure blue sky. All these colors are uplifted by nature’s green – the color that will dominate our interior decorating in this decade – from deep, leafy green to teal, to greens with a yellow tint.

Furnishings: Today’s worn weathered wood styles, featuring more of a matte finish with lighter wood tones, are even appearing on contemporary furnishings. Sofas and chairs are being covered in natural cotton – and sport trims of raffia and hemp. Wicker and rattan furniture mixed with warm wood tones lend themselves to more of a casual style of decorating.

Wall Coverings: Like fabrics, florals and botanicals are blooming in their popularity. Don’t worry about too much pattern; these blooming designs look great when mixed with stripes, checks or even plaids.

Window Treatments: Floral print drapery fabrics designed in a traditional swag and jabot treatment will definitely give any room a perennial touch. And by coordinating your “blooming” window treatments with furniture, bedding – even your linens, you’ll find yourself surrounded by Mother Nature’s beauty.

Our love of Earth and the resurgence to preserve it, influences us to bring nature’s colors into our homes and our everyday lives. And what better way to start soothing the soul than in your own home. Relax! Enjoy! You deserve it!

Creative Combinations!

If you’ve ever had the task of combining furnishings from two different households, you know the difficulties this dilemma can present. Whether it’s a blended family, a new marriage, or even new housemates, people often bring with them a whole house of furnishings. Mixing all these often diverse elements from two different styles of decor can be challenging. So here are a few tips to help you get started!

First, take a careful inventory of all pieces. Include not only the large items, such as furniture, but also items such as area rugs, lamps, pictures and even accessories that you may want to incorporate into your new decorating plan.

Once your list is complete, go through it carefully and check off the items you definitely want to keep. Your final list may include antiques, high quality furnishings, and items of sentimental value. It could even include that comfortable old chair that you’ve enjoyed many hours sitting in with a good book in hand.

So, what do you do if the items you wish to keep don’t blend or match with your new homes’ existing décor? Take heart! The eclectic look has been officially “in” for years now. Gone are the days when every single piece of furniture has to match. The Dallas Ewing clan of the 70’s and 80’s may have had a perfectly matched “suite” in every room, but not the high tech families of today’s generation.

However, there truly is a difference between not matching and not coordinating. In fact synonyms for eclectic include: discriminating, particular and selective. So, if a piece does not belong – get rid of it! The classifieds, EBay, or even a furniture consignment shop sale might even help bring you some extra cash for more decorating.

And, if that comfortable, worn out chair can’t be parted with, how why not consider reupholstering or refinishing it! Finishing touches can do wonders to unite a mixture of furnishings. Look for common elements in your pieces – perhaps a color or texture that catches the eye. Sometimes even something as simply as a decorative pillow in a patterned fabric that picks up colors from a couple of blended pieces will help to unify the room.