home decor

There's nothing like the end of a year to make you hop around in your thinking.  While I'm busy considering the colour trends for 2015, I'm  also looking back to see connections and possible threads that can make these new colours have a little more staying power. I'm interested in creating fresh looks through creative use of what is in a home, energized  with a few new purchases.  To pull this off you need a long term view of what is happening in the world of colour.   Last year dark blues were prominent in  many of the images you saw in magazines and online, first appearing in Pantone's fall 2013 predictions.  That is still a strong look and one that  will  hang around for awhile. If you look at Pantone's spring  2015 predictions you will see several tints/shades of blue. source My favourite is 4 Classic Blue because it is crisp and deep without being too cold.  Check out  this combination of dark blue with natural colours. There is also a fresh take on the &q

There's nothing like the real thing for Christmas decorating.  You get to go for a little adventure in the woods with your trusty snippers, and come away with a red nose and a trunk full of inspiration. Sometimes you just have to go to your backyard, but there's a limit to happy cutting in a small space. That's where I got the materials for my front porch planters, if you don't count the leftovers from my summer planter and feathers I've recycled several times.     Hubby made me a trough box for my trunk/ottoman.  I knew what I wanted to put in it, but I couldn't hack away anything else in my yard. My sister came to the rescue.  Remember last year when I posted about her nature inspire Christmas ?  She  had already made her yearly trip for bough and twig cutting to complete her planters and agreed to take me to her spot. Bonanza. Here's her efforts ... Don't you love that hit of yellow with the red? Now on to my family affair project.. My son sprayed the

Many shades of olive green  You may have lived through the avocado phase many years ago, but don't nix olive green automatically because of that.  I am talking about a new updated olive green look.  One that can be both traditional or contemporary.  One that takes on many faces depending on its pairing.  Just think about it this way. It.... is more of a neutral, so the combinations you can come up with are almost limitless; can easily push a hint of it into any decor you already have; sits there and lets you manipulate it; references nature, how can it be a bad thing? (mossy rocks, under side of a leaf); mixes with all the warm metals that are now in vogue;  is warm and organic and will make a space look that way; can be mixed with fresh or muddy colours; works well with Pantone's 2014 colour of the year - marsala; won't be a one hit wonder because of its special qualities listed above; just because. How much of it you want to add to your decor is up to you.  Personally I w

It's that time of year again. People are beginning to think about 2015 and what it will bring. When you're a home decor blogger that always means checking out the hot new trends. So here goes- my first trend snippet for 2015. Sometimes even patterns we love can lose favour if they are overused.  Chevron comes to mind.  What was once a fantastic pattern that played well with other patterns because of simple, graphic lines has been overused to the point of -dare I say it- nausea. Ikat                                     Suzani  I fear that Ikat (chevron is a staple of this traditional Indonesian design) and  Persian Suzani (with it's bold circular motifs ) are not far behind in the over used category. source  There is chatter that Shibori (Japanese tie dyeing) is the next new pattern to take over in textiles. I can see the appeal of Shibori.  It is geometric (very hot right now), simple on a white background, has multiple patterns possibilities  depending on how it is produce