5 Tips to Welcome Spring in your Home

The weather is warming, the snow has disappeared and apart from the evidence that I have dogs, the lawn is starting to green up.  Spring has arrived!

Source: fanpop.com

Outside your home is showing all the signs of spring, but what about the inside of your home  After a long, cold winter, here are 5 easy ways to bring spring into your home:

1) Declutter

Over the course of the winter our nature is to nest and when we nest we tend to surround ourselves with items that give us happiness and comfort.  Spring is all about new beginnings, so here’s a little exercise to help you declutter. 

1. Start by removing all the tchotchkes in the room – everything! 
2. Now put a quarter of them back.  
3. Give yourself a week to live like this and I guarantee you will feel lighter and brighter. 
4. Either donate, store or give away the items you removed.  If you can’t bring yourself to do that, rotate them in and out of the room.  But remember - less is more, so if you put one thing in the room, you must take one thing out!

deniseinbloom.com via Michelle on Pinterest

2) Floors and Windows

Spring cleaning routines typically involve a good window cleaning.  Not just the glass, but the mullions, sills and trim.  While you are doing this take the opportunity to change up your window treatments.  Replace heavy draperies with sheers to give the room a breezy look. If you have horizontal blinds, consider removing all other treatments to give the window a cleaner look.

Traditional Kids by Houston Interior Designer Carla Aston | Interior Designer

Give the floor a good cleaning, including the baseboards.  If you have an area carpet, replace it with a sisal type rug.  The room will have a much lighter feel.   Area carpets are pivotal to defining your furniture arrangement so make sure the carpet is the right size for your room.  A carpet that is too small, unless it is there for it’s artistic value, will make the room look cluttered.  A good rule of thumb for the right size is to have a minimum of six inches and no more than two feet from the edge of the carpet to the wall. 

Contemporary Dining Room by Toronto Photographer Lisa Petrole Photography

Hint:  Area carpets look great on top of wall to wall carpeting too!

3) Rearrange

I’ve said it before and will continue to say it.  Move things around!  The art on your wall, the carpets, the furniture – if it fits with the colour scheme, move it between rooms.  If it doesn’t fit with the colour scheme, rearrange it in the same room.  You will be surprised at how fresh and new a room feels when you do this!

Traditional Living Room by Asheville Architect ACM Design

Hint: Your sofa or bed doesn’t have be up against a wall, pull it out a bit or angle it in a corner.  You can even angle the area carpet if you have the room. 

4) Colour

Adding colour can be done in various ways.  If you are ready for a change, a coat of paint does wonders to up the newness of a room.  If you don’t want to commit to new colours, then try a couple of new accessories or pillows in a bright spring colour. 

Source: colourlovers.com via Pamela on Pinterest

Hint:  You don’t have to buy new pillows – just pick up a few pillow covers and recover existing pillows.  Ikea, Homesense or Bouclair are great places to pick up spring accessories and pillow covers without breaking the bank.

5) Flowers/Plants

Bringing the outdoors in is as easy as adding plants or fresh flowers to your home.  Fresh flowers are a wonderful way to add a pop of colour to any room.  Houseplants are a more permanent way to bring the outdoors in, but keep them to a minimum (see #1), you don’t want your room to look like a greenhouse.   Plants are also a commitment – watering and pruning is required on a regular basis.  If you don’t have a green thumb, there are plenty of beautiful life-like silk arrangements available that would have the most avid gardener fooled.

Contemporary Spaces by Vancouver Architect Kerrisdale Design Inc	Mediterranean Living Room by Atlanta Architect Summerour Architects

 

I hope these tips help you to welcome spring into your home.  If you have other ideas, please share them with me!

 

Happy Decorating!

Please contact dh designs if you are ready

to create a home that reflects your style and your life.

Inspired at IDS 2013

Well it’s been a little over a month since the Interior Design Show in Toronto.  I have started this post several times and struggled with the words to describe what I saw, what inspired me and what was pure gorgeousness.  So instead of agonizing over what to say, I’ll show you the pictures instead – what a concept!

From Studio North, a section of the IDS floor devoted to unique artisans, crystal wine glasses repurposed as lighting from Tat Chao out of Montreal.

Urban Barn’s take on mustard:

And this lighting display from Living Lighting on King

Wide plank engineered hardwood from PurParket:

Gorgeous ikat inspired area carpets from Weavers Art in one of my favourite colour combinations:

Industrial cage lighting from the Earth Inc. booth

A wonderful blend of rustic and modern from Tomlin Group

There were many more inspiring exhibits some of which have been covered on the TBB Wine Dine and Design blog:

• Texture at the Interior Design Show 2013– from Lisa Goulet
• IDS2013 – Searching for Emerald – from Nicole Duguay
• The Return of Warm Metals – at IDS 2013 – from yours truly
• What Walls are Wearing … IDS13 – from Maureen Coates

I am looking forward to drawing on this inspiration in upcoming projects!

Happy decorating!

An Inspiring Interlude–#IDS2013

This week I’m heading to Toronto for the 2013 Interior Design Show, fondly known as #IDSToronto or #IDS2013 for those of us on Twitter.

It will be a whirlwind of activity including opening galas, after parties and glitzy hob nobbing!

Honestly though, the real reason I’m there is to be inspired.  Friday is “Trade Day”, where members of the trade are granted exclusive access to the show and it’s exhibitors, speakers and product.

The last few shows I’ve been to have provided inspiration on several fronts.

• The abundance of wood in design

• Lighting that dazzles

• Bathroom fixtures that amaze

• Works of art underfoot

I am looking forward to more inspiration this year – that and well, perhaps a little bit of the partying too *wink*!

Happy Decorating

Tray chic!

You've undoubtedly been noticing how popular trays are becoming these days. Over the last few months I've picked up a couple myself that I use in various locations throughout my home. One of them houses my "bar" in the absence of room for the increasingly popular Bar Cart.

Source: dustjacketattic.blogspot.com.au via Donna on Pinterest

Traditional Kitchen design by Oklahoma City Photographer Kate

Another houses a reading station on my coffee table. I use it to store recently received magazines, those little sticky page markers to mark my favourite pages and various pens and hi-liters.

Traditional Bedroom design by Minneapolis Interior Designer Martha O'Hara Interiors

Source: www.paloma81.blogspot.ca

 

Trays are great ways to set up these types of "Centres of Expertise" - to coin a phrase usually associated with the IT side of my life.  Here are a couple of ideas for trays in your home:

• Set one up by the front door to put keys, mail (incoming and outgoing) sunglasses, your travel mug or anything else you drop or pick up as you are coming and going.

Source: style-n-naina.com via Donna on Pinterest

• Use a tray as a "charging station" for your cell phone(s) or other mobile devices.

Contemporary Home Electronics design by Other Metro RedEnvelope

• Put a tray in your guest room to house toiletries your guests may have forgotten, a book or two they may enjoy, a glass of water you refresh daily, an alarm clock and some fresh flowers to brighten their stay.

source: www.bhg.com

Eclectic Bedroom design by Other Metro Media And Blogs Michelle Hinckley

• A tray in your bedroom is a great place to organize and display your perfumes or jewellery.

Source: www.bhg.com

Source: houseandhome.com via Donna on Pinterest

There are a myriad of uses for these little organizers, so pick one or two up and experiment a little.  You never know what magic you will create!  It will definitely be tray chic!

Make sure you check out my Pinterest board on Trays for more ideas!

Happy decorating!

6 Ways to Use Emerald–2013 Colour of the Year

 

Emerald – the Pantone colour of the year for 2013 is a bright, bold shade of green, that you will see incorporated into many interiors over the next year or so.  Will it work?  That depends.

Source: Pantone – www.pantone.com

This colour is a strong one and unless you are in love with it, you are not likely to paint your walls with it.  However, if you are trend conscious, there are plenty of other ways you can us this colour in your home. 

Here are 6 ways you can incorporate Emerald into your home decor:

1) Throw pillows are one of the easiest ways to refresh your decor and incorporate a new colour.  Depending on your colour scheme you could add bold emerald pillows, or you could go with patterns that incorporate a touch of emerald.

Eclectic Family Room design by Atlanta Interior Designer Cristi Holcombe

Source:  Better Homes & Gardens

 

2) Add an area carpet.  An area carpet is the foundation of every room.  Use them on hardwood or over wall-to-wall carpeting to set the tone for your decor.  Using an area carpet with emerald allows you to pull that colour throughout the room without it looking out of place.

 

Source: laylagrayce.com via Grace on Pinterest

Source: updatedallas.com via Update on Pinterest

3) Put emerald on your table.  Adding emerald accents to your dining table is a lovely way to incorporate the colour.  Pair it with a crisp white and you will have a bold clean look that will have you dreaming of springtime!

 

Source: inspiredbythis.com via Amy on Pinterest

Source: Tobi Fairley’s take on an Emerald table via At Home Magazine via www.redoitdesign.com

 

4) Add accent furniture pieces in emerald.  Either in hard furniture or in upholstery, a pop of emerald will catch the eye and allow you to incorporate other elements, such as accessories or throw pillows in complementary colours.

 

Source: hgtv.com via Donna on Pinterest

Source: homedesign.marthastewart.com via Susan on Pinterest

5) Use greenery.  Whether flower arrangements or houseplants, real or imitation, greenery can bring the outdoors in.  And during the cold winter months it is a gentle reminder that spring is just around the corner.

 

 

Source: so-much-more-than-nl.blogspot.ca via Caroline on Pinterest

Eclectic Living Room design by Dc Metro Interior Designer Lauren Liess Interiors

6) Add emerald accessories or artwork.  Again that bright pop of emerald will catch the eye and add a wonderfully unique element to your home.

 

Eclectic Bedroom design by Orange County Interior Designer Domicile Interior Design

 

Eclectic Family Room design by Atlanta Interior Designer Cristi Holcombe

Source: Room designed by Amanda Nisbet via La Dolce Vita blog

However you do it, have fun with it.  Try a combination of the above, and where it make sense use groups of 3 or 5 (as in your accessories) so that the colour does not seem out of place.

If you do add emerald, I’d love to hear about it!

Happy decorating!