6 Ways to Bring Spring into Your Home

Tra la la la.  We made it through another winter!  While I'm not quite in the mood for a summery, hot weather decor, I definitely want all signs of winter banished from my delicate eyes.  Here's what I'm doing right now:

1.  Clean and edit.  I know, it's a bummer.  There's no getting around the fact that a good spring cleaning does wonders for your home.  Put stuff away, polish everything up. There, we got through that together and now can move on.

Here I am, in my lace apron (as if).

2. Walk through every room and remove the nubby red throw, the jewel toned accent pillows, the big bowl of pine cones, the puffy comforter, etc.  Send them off to the cleaner or store them away in a closet.  Replace them with a lighter throw (in weight and color) and accent pillows in some fresh, lively shades.  Fill the bowl with river rocks or sea shells and put a thinner coverlet on the bed.

F. Schumacher fabrics
A fresh color scheme to consider.

 F. Schumacher fabrics and a Room and Board pillow

Here's a quieter palette, but still light and lively.

3.  Replace some of the artwork on the walls and shelves.  This really makes a nice change for me.  Rotating your artwork, or family photos, means that you're really going to notice them, not just walk by them day after day.  The beautiful still life painting that's been sitting on our mantel gets changed out for 3 big, matted frames featuring photos I took at the nearby lake.  Super cheap and easy.

(from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, not mine)

Replace this...

With something like this.

4. Add some fresh sparkle--have you got an old mirror stowed away somewhere?  Find a new place for it.  How about someplace offbeat, like over a doorway, as if it were a transom?  How about at the end of a hallway? Just remember to look at what it's reflecting.  A mirror reflecting a window is fab, but it can reflect artwork hanging on the opposite wall or a pretty tablescape on a console or anything else that you like to look at.  Don't let it reflect the kitchen!  If you don't want to use a mirror, think about any metallic object.  Sparkly candlesticks or a shiny picture frame can do the trick.

Sparkle Plenty  (at Pottery Barn)

5.  Flowers!  I'm seeing lots of very inexpensive pots of flowers, even at the grocery store.  I think some of them are meant to plop right into your outdoor planters, but we still have a chance of frost.  I'm putting a pot of posies into a container on the kitchen island for a week or two, before sending them outside.  The same could be done with those yummy herbs they've got at the big home improvment stores.  A little group of them in a basket right now, next to the bathroom sink.  So nice.

My little flowers from the Teeter (grocery store).

6.  Fresh dish towels.  I said it before, I love beautiful dish towels.  Spring is a great occasion to buy a couple. 

French Connections in Pittsboro.  

1 or 2 will do! 

Ciao,

Anne

Transitional interior design, Part 3, Coffee Tables and Accent Tables!

If you've read Part 1 and Part 2, you know what to look for in furniture to get that "transitional" look (reminder--a little traditional, a little modern, a little eclectic) and what direction to take in fabric choices.  Let's move on to the tables, both coffee and accent.  Don't know why this is so daunting to so many.  Maybe it's partly because there seem to be so many choices out there, yet few of them feel right (or they're cheap and cheesey and you know in your heart that they're going to look that way in your home, AND you're right!).  Sorry for all the parentheses, I'll try to stop.

If you want a coffee table that can take a lot of abuse, please buy one with a stone top or maybe a woven rattan or at least put something protective on top, like glass or plexiglass or whatever.  I have nothing against a nice wood surface from Pottery Barn, but that thing is going to scratch up in no time!  Here are some other choices:

Ethan Allen

This one has a travertine top and if you look closely, you'll see that there are 2 nesting tables tucked underneath.  Brilliant.  I do love nesting tables.

Expressions Furniture, Artistica

Oh, this one (above) is SO good.  The top comes in a few choices, but the marble makes me drool (sorry about the drooling).

Expressions

I call this one the Lobster Trap.  Just my own interpretation of the look.  Love the glass, love the wood, love the clean lines and the size.  Guess I love it.

Ethan Allen

The copper top gives a glow to this piece.

Ethan Allen

Expressions

This one is a favorite.  It gives you natural elements and combines texture with a smooth top.  Oh baby.

So by now you get the picture; clean lines, simple design, natural materials = transitional design in the best possible sense. It's useful, beautiful and low maintenance. Buying better quality will pay off in this area. The same goes for end and accent tables. Here's a few:

all end tables found at Expressions

Did you notice that the accent tables were not all clean lines or modern leaning?  Good for you!  Please don't forget to mix in some other shapes. We don't want flat, one-note rooms!  That table right above this paragraph would look fabulous in a more modern room because it brings such warmth to the table (get it? warmth to the table?).  Have some fun with your accent tables.  Don't go overboard, but you've got to have some circles, curves and swirls in a room full of straight lines.  It makes it human, inviting, comfortable. 

While I want you to always look for and choose really good quality in these important pieces for your room, please remember that I also LOVE it when you find a crusty old piece at the Goodwill or any thrift store, yard sale and flea market, take it home and rework it to use in your home.  Many times those old pieces are in those stores because they were good quality in the first place and now just need some updating.

Oh my gosh, the next post is lighting.  Lighting is the MOST important element to finishing a room, so don't skip that one!

And I haven't found a "Find of the Week" yet.  But the day isn't over and I'll try to find one for you today.

Ciao,

Anne