home decor

Three  is a very popular number in many aspects of life from religion to fairy tales, and it is extremely  popular and important  in all aspects of  design .  When you understand how to use the rule of three you have a powerful agent for design change in your home.  Often improvements are free because you simply have to move around what you already have.    In design, using threes helps you build interest and drama, as well as  harmony, and it a very effective way to create visual movement in a room . Three works for function e.g., kitchen work triangle, furniture arrangement, sofa and two chairs.  It also is frequently used for colour and fabric schemes and groupings of accessories and vignettes.  Three can effectively establish a focal point. Here's how you can liven up your space and help improve function. Adi Edlin This is a wonderful graphic produced by Adi Edlin that shows the rule of 3 working twice in a v...

I can't believe I haven't written a  blog post since May.    I am posting regularly on my Facebook page which is quick and can  be accessed easily as I travel and relax  at my summer home. I don't think I am the only one who falls shy of projected output over the summer months.  I am also tardy in completing my own home improvement projects. I wrote about my main bath reno last year in this post .  I made all the design decisions and purchased materials.  Now they all lie in my painting studio and have been beckoning for a year.  I joked with my husband, who is the contractor, that the choices will be past their prime by the time the room is completed. I'm already having second thoughts about the sink I purchased.  The new  completion date is fall 2013.  He won't commit to a specific month though!  I am also re-decorating my guest room which has had nothing done to it in 15 years! It is a deadly beige right now and I'...

  There are so many ways you can make your space inviting .  My recommendation today is to  consider wood because it can add both warmth and architectural interest to any space.  Choose a little or a lot, there's something for every space. If you don't  like the warm tones of wood but love the grain and texture, think about white washing or gray washing it.   How about using  wood  in...... Accessories  source  A few twigs or pinecones as part of a table display or sliced wood attached to board or a recessed box shape can add instant interest to small areas. source These houses cut from weathered 2 x 4 are the essence of simple, but when massed together they provide big impact  when displayed on simple white vertical  shelving  attached to white painted board.    source  If you find beautiful wooden boxes like the ones above grab them.  They not only provide extra storage but they look great in any...

Do you like white flowers?  I'm a sucker for them.  Nothing is as fresh and inviting as white and let's face it, there's nothing white doesn't match.  Lucky for me there are so many varieties of white flowers that  I can keep finding something  year round.  A large bunch can be divided into two vases if you keep your vases on the smallish side.  Here's my latest  addition in the laundry room.  Don't be afraid to mix up your vignette for a bit of newness. Which of these  vignettes do you like the best? Margaret Ryall A modified L line of design... Margaret Ryall  the classic check mark / V or... Margaret Ryall the always predictable A arrangement? Sure do wish this art work was a little bigger!  It is one of my mixed media pieces ( 11 x 14 in.)  titled Attempting Balance (encaustic, paper, and metal on cradled panel) created at the 6th International Encaustic Conference in 2012 at Provincetown, NJ.   My laundry r...

  There are so many decisions to make when you begin decorating a new home or renovating. Something as basic as what colour to paint the trim often causes homeowners hours of deliberation.  How about you?  What decision have you made about painting your trim work? 1.  White/off white This is  the most common solution to painting trim .  It works with every style and is fresh and crisp.    Norwich Architect Smith & Vansant Architects PC Nightingale Design Even if you have white walls your trim can also be white. Consider changing the paint sheen to semi gloss or gloss if you want to accentuate the trim in a white room.         2. Wood - natural  or stained  There was a period of time when many homes had natural or stained wood trim, but this trend has slipped a little in the last ten years.  When you have wood your decision is often to leave it natural or stain it.  When your floors are al...

New growth always brings with it hope and energy for life.  Once the snow goes I always get a hankering to make changes inside my home.  Now don't get me wrong, these aren't major changes.  I'm more into ten minute additions.  Sometimes I'm willing to commit an hour or two to a special project. If you get the spring  hankerings perhaps there's inspiration in these ideas. Use a tray to organize a vignette Perhaps you have a blaw wooden tray you could spray paint and then organize a colourful spring vignette in it.  Think about what you might already have to add and then buy several filler items.    A small tray on a bathroom counter adds a fresh look.  Placing a grouping of cut  flowers always adds to any vignette. I particularly love groupings of white and muted colours and then a big splash of colour with cut flowers.  Yes,  my biases are showing.  Fresh flowers rule in my life.   Plant spring bulbs Tall glass v...