Decorate Ideas

When you see the word “accessories”, do you immediately think of clutter and dust catchers? Let’s look at decor accessories a little differently. Think of accessories as conversation starters in your home. Think of them as interactive and objects to have fun with rather than just to look at. A niche category of accessories that is popular is called “interactive accessories.” These types of accessories are great when preparing for a family gathering or a neighborhood dinner party. Here are a few interactive accessories ideas to try in your own home:

1. Maps - Hang up framed vintage maps of your town or state. They are really fun to search for a street you are on or where you grew up. Maps are great conversation builders.
2. Chalkboards and Dry-erase boards - Use them to list the dinner menu, post questions for family or friends to answer, play a word puzzle game. Be sure to have chalk and markers handy.
3. Coffee table books - Place these - yep - on the coffee table. They are making a huge come back (did you even know they left?) Choose interesting books with awesome pictures. Look for topics that are relevant to a wide variety of family and friends. I like the tip of placing a bookmark on a favorite page. You will be amazed how many people will open the book to see what you flagged.
4. Puzzles - Yes, they are a little old fashion but is hip if done with class. Try an extra hard jigsaw puzzle about half-completed on a side table. Just watch your guests try to add a piece or two. It helps to break the ice and draw people together for a common goal.
5. Photographs - Scrapbooking is very popular in many parts of the country. A great casual alternative it to simply place your latest batch of photographs in a fantastic looking bowl or tray. People will feel free to sift through them and take a look. Be sure to include pictures of your guests; they will know you care.
6. Original artwork - art can be expensive but there is a very fun alternative way to spice it up. Purchase a large poster of a famous painting like daVinci’s Mona Lisa or VanGogh’s Starry Night. Cut it up into several large pieces - don’t cringe it is only a poster! - to fit into store bought picture frames. When you hang them as a grouping be sure to mix them all up. Just watch your friends gather around to try to figure it out.

Try these fun interactive decor accessories at your next party. It will make your home more attractive and make your entertaining more fun.

Julie Dana is a professional Interior Redesigner and Accredited Staging Professional. Her company, The Home Stylist, offers online decorating consultations, do-it-yourself decorating plans and real-estate staging.
Visit http://www.thehomestylist.com to learn more about the decorating services, take a fun style quiz, vote on a color poll, and sign up for free decorating e-newsletter.

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I like decorating my kitchen with a cozy, warm, inviting, homey feeling to it. Usually I’m fighting for all the space I can get in my kitchen too. If you’d like to try this style yourself, you need additional space, or if you simply want to create a different look and feel to your current kitchen decorating style: here are a few tips for you to try.

1. Hang your pots and pans on the wall. This works whether you have a matching set of pots and pans, or whether it’s an eclectic collection gathered over the years. Simply put hooks in the wall, then hang the pots by their handles with the bottom facing outwards. This is particularly useful for space saving and organization too. My favorite location to hang the pots and pans is on the wall right above the stove. If you have the room, this puts the pots on display nicely while keeping them right on hand for cooking.

2. Hang your potholders and hotpads on the wall. If your pans are too heavy to hang safely, or you simply don’t want them on display, or you’d like to add other embellishments to your hanging pots arrangement - potholders work quite well as kitchen wall decorations too!

3. Hang your trivets on the wall. Another great way to decorate while saving space and keeping useful kitchen essentials right on hand, is to hang your trivets on the wall. A collection of antique trivets makes an especially nice kitchen wall arrangement, but modern ones work really well too. Use solid colors or patterns to match the rest of your kitchen decor, or choose trivets that have pictures on them so your kitchen wall will have pictures on it when the trivets aren’t in use.

Other things I like to hang in the kitchen for both space saving purposes, decorative accents, and to have on easy hand at all times include: a manual can opener, measuring cups and spoons, serving utensils, and coffee mugs. These items usualy hang under my cabinets because they don’t work well on the walls.

So there you have it. Use what you already have hidden away in the kitchen to create a cozy, warm, inviting and decorative kitchen atmosphere!

For more home decorating tips, advice, articles and supplies, visit The Do It Yourself Home Decorating Network @DIYHomeDecorating.com.

© 2005, Kathy Burns-Millyard

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Gardeners, like all artists, use the power of colour to create and enhance the mood and impact of their landscape design. Through our understanding of the properties of colour we can elevate our compositions balance and unity.

Each colour holds its own lexicon of meanings, both personally and globally. Whether you fall into the category of a pictorial landscape gardener or and avid horticulturist, the colours you select in your garden will determine its emotional value and character.
Some techniques that will aid your colour palette selection include placing the blossoms of your selected plants together to see how their colours interact. It is also beneficial to place differing background materials (vines, shrubs, trees, plants) against your blossoms to see which ones best aid your colour design, and whether you want your leaves to complement or contrast your blossoms. Colour themes that you can create in your garden include:

Monotone Gardening

This glamorous gardening concept, first used by Vita Sackville-West at Sissinghurst, refers to the use of a solitary colour (in Vita’s case white) with your various greens as your background. Colours that work best are white, pink, yellow and blue. (Actually blue-grey, as true blue is almost impossible to find for an entire growing season.) Monotone gardening is particularly effective in a parterre garden or balcony situation. If you decided to monotone garden remember to balance your blossoming times throughout the year and to use a background leaf that has grayish hues in it as it will create a softer background for your colour choice. Also, avoid using various tones of red. If you choose to attempt a monotone red garden, beware mixing blue-reds with yellow-reds. A white monotone garden will look particularly beautiful at dusk and in the evening.

Analogous Colour gardening

Analogous gardening was used to spectacular effect by England’s Gertrude Jekyll. This gardening colour regime refers to the use of any 3 consecutive colours on the colour wheel. (In Gertrude’s example, Red - Crimson - Violet) An analogous garden is generally a theatrical, yet visually delicate experience. This colour scheme works best in a “secret garden” or in a sweeping border backed by a copse of trees. However, keep in mind that analogous gardens are rarely restful, as they demand attention to their modulations of colour. Plantings that work well for this colour theme include opium poppies, mallows and lobelias in shades of pink, crimson and scarlet.

Complementary Colour Gardens

This refers to the usage of colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel (such as Red and Green). Gardens created with this colour scheme evoke a strong sense of power by intensifying each of the colours chosen. Colours opposite each other, such as yellow and violet, compete with each other for visual dominance by pulling our eye back and forth between them. This gardening style is exciting and intense. Some combinations that are effective include yellow Primroses set against a grouping of violet Grape Hyacinths. The paintings by Gaugain show this to a spectacular effect. Monet’s gardens at Giverny used complementary colour schemes in its borders to create visually powerful designs.

Mixed (Clashing) Colour Gardens

Walking through a garden with a mix of all the colours of the rainbow enlists joy and delight. It’s nearly irresistible when you are at a nursery or ordering online, to resist each successive colour and plant you encounter, for each one holds its own history and meaning. A mixed scheme will look vibrant and fun. It is generally the garden we remember from our childhood, and depending on the time and light of the day, each colour will “hold court” for a short period of time. When working with this colour scheme remember to use plenty of white to separate, refresh and strengthen your colours. The majority of Monet’s Gardens at Giverny and those in his paintings were mixed colours

What colours mean

Blue - Symbolizes authority, dependability and truth. Blue in your garden will cool surrounding colours, while it gives your composition a sense of serenity. However, keep in mind that sky blues will lift your spirits, while grey-blues will add a hint of melancholy.

Red - Conveys passion, power and Drama. Red is the colour of love, and conversely hate. Use red in your garden in all its guises (crimson, scarlet, magenta, cerise, etc.) to bring excitement and vivacity.

Yellow - Symbolizes happiness, spontaneity and fun. Yellow in a garden creates visual motion, drawing the eye from blossom to blossom. It also captures the sun in your design and enhances the sense of effortless, airy design.

Violet - Conveys spirituality, aristocracy and mystery. Violet adds a sense of majesty to the landscape and mixed with yellow, creates an arresting image of beauty and youth.

Green - The background of all gardens. Green is the colour of vitality, growth and regeneration. The colour green has the power, depending upon its intensity and clarity, of dimming, brightening, refreshing or overpowering your garden design. Its predominance in your landscape makes it the colour you most need to analyze in your design.

Orange - Symbolizes equality, peace and luxury. The usage of orange in the garden creates an inviting and outgoing design. Orange is also the colour of autumn, and depending on its hue, will give a warm hue throughout its location

Colour Hints
Vivid, bright colours in a distant flowerbed will make it appear closer to the viewer.
Blue tones will make a bed recede into the distance.
Warm colours near a patio will give it a more outgoing and “fun” feeling.
Separate clashing or mixed colours with white blossoms.
Use scarlet blossoms to make the green of your leaves more intense.

Great Design in essence is about the creation of an exquisite stage for the beauty and quality of life we all desire. From ultra urban to ornate opulence, Robin and his team have passionately and successfully designed it all. Robin’s interiors have graced the pages of magazines Worldwide. Robin has designed interiors for feature films, major retailers such as Home Depot (Style Ideas Magazine) and the Designer Showhouse. From smaller scale interior projects to full scale restorations and developments, Robin’s passionate and creative eye overseas all aspects. While fluent in all design trends and philosophies, Robin is most passionate about historic preservation and the creation of elegant, functional and memorable spaces that convey the best attributes of each owner while respecting and celebrating the architecture that encompasses them. Visit http://www.robindegroot.ca

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