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5 ways to add design personality

September 18, 2012

The best part about home design is adding your own style to your decor.  I would like to share 5 simple tips that can add instant design personality to your home.

INCORPORATE FAMILY MEMORIES.  A great way to anchor your home decor is through pieces that have special family meaning.  How wonderful to see an old family item passed down through the generations, or something that has special meaning in your family, every time you walk into a room.  If you don’t have something like this already, it is easy to collect some items from other family members that you can incorporate into your decor.  I have done this a lot over the years in my home.  I even have one room in my home aptly named ‘the nostalgia room’ that is decorated entirely with old family items and photos.  An old black and white family photo framed in a spectacular or trendy way, or a piece that reminds you of a particular family member, can create instant personality.  An old sign from a family business, your grandfather’s favorite fishing pole hanging on a wall, your grandmother’s favorite lamp – anything that has some family significance can make a creative design piece with personality!

A great way to anchor your home decor is through pieces that have special family meaning.

ADD TEXTURES.  Varying the textures of the materials you use in your decor adds great visual interest.  Incorporating different textures into a room full of neutrals gives instant visual interest and is a design element all on its own.  A monochromatic color scheme is instantly transformed with the use of varying textures.  Think about mixing textures you love when you purchase items for your home.  Any color scheme is enhanced with a clever mix of textures.

Varying the textures of the materials you use in your decor adds visual interest.

CREATE ORGANIZATION.  The way you choose to organize not only makes you feel great by creating order, but also can serve as a design element.  If you look at organization in this way, it is a simple step to add style to your home.

One way I do this in my home is in the way I organize my books.  The way I incorporate them into my decor is the way I cover them.  This is the simplest, but most beautiful way to turn books into a design element.  Use your favorite wrapping paper, nautical or street maps, old sheet music, or even brown paper.  Think about your interests and the color schemes of the rooms where you shelf your books.

Closets can be organized in a visually pleasing way using baskets or attractive containers.  Keep your rings in a pretty dish that matches your decor when they aren’t being worn.  In the kitchen, utilize attractive jars to house those daily calcium tablets!

The way you choose to organize not only makes you feel great by creating order, but can also serve as a design element.

USE SOME PLAYFUL PIECES.  As in life, it is not a good idea to take your decorating too seriously – add some fun accessories to give your home decor personality and to make you smile.  This is an easy thing to accomplish with little expense and can be utilized anywhere in your home.  I like to find playful kitchen items that can make even the most mundane task seem fun.  There are plenty of ways to add whimsy to your decor, particularly in accessories.

As in life, it is not a good idea to take your decorating too seriously.

REMEMBER OUTDOORS.  Don’t miss the opportunity to utilize great decor outdoors.  Simple items can make a big difference and this is especially true outdoors.

One example at my home was my clothespin holder.  The holders traditionally sold for clothespins were visually annoying.  I bought a basket for much less than a traditional clothespin holder and stained it using leftover stain from my house…now I love the way it looks!

White plastic doorbells are another eyesore, but SO easy to change up.  House numbers are also an easy item to replace and can be a big visual element – a great way to showcase your personality by the style of numbers you choose.  Planting your seasonal flowers in colors to complement your front door is an easy way to make your plants a great design element.  Adding design features to your garden is also an instant way to add personality and can make your weeding session more fun!

Be sure, also, to use pieces you really love for outdoor dining or entertaining.  I love the acrylic water glasses I found for my outdoor entertaining.  Clearance racks are filled with outdoor dining accessories at this time of year and some smart purchases now are sure to put a smile on your face come Spring!

Don’t miss the opportunity to utilize great decor outdoors.

Hope you enjoyed these five simple tips to easily add your own design personality to your home.

Need some ideas for something in your home that you’d like to turn into a design element?  Send me an email, I would love to help!

Thanks for visiting, Jackie

3 comments

oozing with inspiration

May 14, 2012

terrain’s opening

Terrain's Connecticut opening

Since I have been anticipating the opening of Terrain in Connecticut for quite some time, I was thrilled to find out the official opening was scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend.  I decided that would be a perfect treat on Mother’s Day morning –  to visit the new store.  Owned by Urban Outfitters, Terrain is a home and garden store, that up until this weekend, only existed in Glen Mills, PA.  The store has that same hip vibe as Anthropologie (also owned by Urban Outfitters), but with a gardening aesthetic.  An old car dealership in Westport, CT was transformed into a 16,000 square foot retail space, a restaurant with an outdoor patio, a coffee bar, and an outdoor nursery…Terrain.

Relief prints by Connecticut artist Bryan Nash Gill

It was hard to resist not calling in sick to work on Friday to attend the opening day of the store.  I had been driving by occasionally during the construction process and was very excited to finally see the store completed.  I could not wait to look around inside.  Finally, I was able to check it out and I soon found out that I would not be disappointed.

Free sessions in container planting – this one was with herbs.

The store is oozing with inspiration.  I especially love the beautiful hand blown glass terrariums by Vermont artisan Simon Pearce.  They can be planted by one of the Terrain staff, tailor-made to the purchasers tastes… when I was there on Sunday, many were being created to bring home to a mom on her special day.  I vowed to put a Terrain terrarium on my birthday wish list so I could someday put one on my desk at work.  There would be no reason not to smile every morning with a work of art like that in your workspace.

The frame of a 1920’s green house is used in the decor.

The knowledge of the barista at the coffee bar was extremely impressive and I am sure the 7:30 am opening time will make it a popular spot for locals to make a quick stop before heading off to work.  I didn’t take the time to sample the menu, but the café boasts a Food & Wine “Best New Chef” of 2011 on staff and provided both a visually interesting indoor seating area as well as seating on an outdoor patio.

Terrain’s website is:   www.shopterrain.com

 

5 comments

orange appeal

April 19, 2012

do they still make tang?

When I was out and about last weekend I decided to try and find something to rock the orange.  Yes, I decided to give in to the orange invasion.  If you have been in the stores at all this season you have witnessed the orange take over.  It is everywhere.  In Manhattan recently, I saw fashionistas all over the city carrying huge orange bags…a big departure from the usual all-black attire.

What exactly is the appeal of the color orange?  What are the things that come to my mind when I think of the color orange?  Construction sites…  Prison uniforms…  Mario Batali (okay, I do like him).  Tang.  Tang was the ‘space’ drink I enjoyed as a kid …do they still make that stuff? ….and as I got a little older,  Tango.  Tango was an interesting (albeit disgusting) mix of some kind of artificial orange beverage mixed with vodka.  Back in ‘the day’ it was considered a much higher end beverage than my usual sloe gin fizzes.

I do give in to so many of the trends as time goes on….no matter how adamant I am about avoiding them.. I always give in.  I figure I will get some token orange item and get it over with…satisfy the orange. I can’t go with too much of it because I know it looks awful against my skin.  This was confirmed years ago when color ‘seasons’ were popular.  I was told I was a winter. Apparently winters DO NOT look good in orange.  Winter or not, I definitely agree that orange is not my color.

I decided to walk up and down the aisles of Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Store to get some inspiration and a light bulb went off as I got near the yarn section.  I will make a lightweight scarf!!  Granted, I know very little about knitting other than the basic knit.  I try to mix things up by using two yarns simultaneously or varying the size of the knitting needles.  In this way, I can make a scarf look different without really knowing that much about knitting or learning any other stitches. If you pick interesting colors and yarns and/or mix up the sizes of the knitting needles, you can make people think you are an experienced knitter and they will never know you need to use a reference on the internet to remember how to cast on!  Here are the yarns and needles sizes I chose:

I used one 15″ knitting needle and one 17″ knitting needle and held the two yarns together and knit them as if they were one.

 

I merely did straight knitting, but put the two yarns together and knit them as one.

 

 

 

By the way, if price were no object, my orange item would definitely be a pair of Tory Burch flats…now THAT’S an orange crush!

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