Showing posts with label Pottery Barn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pottery Barn. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Toss In Some Pillows… Toss Out The Winter Blahs


Well, it’s mid-January.  The holidays are over.  The parties are a thing of the past.  The decorations are stored away.  Your spirit has gone away with them.

There is always such a sense of excitement as Christmas approaches.  Then, after weeks of celebrating and decorating, the season comes to a screeching halt.  Much toil, and much less joy, go into packing all of the ornaments and lights away for another year.  

At first, the simplicity of the holiday-decoration-free house feels refreshing and a bit “Zen.”  But then, after a few days of gray New Year’s winter skies, your interiors feel just plain drab, dull, and maybe even a little sad.

There’s a quick, easy, and inexpensive (usually!) fix that will lift your mood immediately: toss a couple colorful pillows on your sofa, bed, or favorite reading chair!

I dare you to go into the nearest Pier 1 store, head over to the “Pillow Wall,” and not get a smile on your face! 


There is nothing that will brighten your mood faster than section after section of vivid silks, lively patterns and inviting textures.  


And as you wander around the showroom, you will be inspired by little vignettes that prove the power of the pillow!


Once you arrive home with your plump poofs, your rooms will react the same way that you did in the store… with joy and enthusiasm!

There are endless sources for fabulous pillows in the home furnishings world these days...  Here are just a few that I found that prove you don’t have to live with the Winter Doldrums!

 image Company C

image Company C

image Company C

image West Elm

image West Elm




image Pottery Barn



Here's to brighter days inside and out!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Falling For Autumn Style


Frontgate image

Summer is officially behind us… we have enjoyed our long, hot days, weekends at the beach, barbecues and baseball games (okay, they aren't over just yet!). Now it is time to embrace the cooler temperatures, crisp air, pull on a cozy hand-knit sweater, take a brisk walk through the woods, and come home to curl up fireside to enjoy a cup of hot apple cider or chili with friends and family.

Everyone naturally gravitates to a particular season's style, whether they realize it or not. You probably have the "autumn design gene" if you revel in the nature-inspired colors, leafy patterns and layered textures found outside you windows during the Fall. And in your home you might notice that it features some of these elements...

Whether it is casual or formal, your home is no doubt a welcoming and comfortable gathering place…

House Beautiful image

You are drawn to the earthy, natural, & warm hues of Autumn’s harvest palette…

House Beautiful image

You love to bask in the mellow glow of light filtered through stained glass…

Meyda Tiffany image

You are drawn to fabrics in leafy and floral patterns, and to rich, inviting textures…

Country Living image

Your walls are decorated with landscape paintings, botanical prints, or other creative and colorful interpretations of natural elements, such as in a crazy quilt…

Art.com image

Your furniture is most likely not a matching set but rather a collection of pieces with beautiful and varying wood grains, painted finishes or rustic designs…

Adirondack Rustic Furnishings image

Although you love an outdoor view as your room's focal point, when a space calls for window treatments, you choose wood blinds or bamboo shades finished with draperies in leafy or floral fabrics…

Smith + Noble image

Of course, wood is the perfect flooring option for you, but with the addition of warm, nubby area rugs to sink your toes into…

House Beautiful image

Not one to be a minimalist, you love to collect and display objects and books that have special meaning to you...

Ballard Designs image

You love to layer your dinnerware, which is probably in creamy, warm, golden and clay tones…

Pottery Barn image

Your kitchen is truly of “green” design, and is the heart of your home…

House Beautiful image

If you look around your rooms and notice any similarities to what you have seen here… you just might be a natural “Autumn!”

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Winter Warmers… Take The Chill Off

What does “Winter Warmer” mean to you?

If you are a beer enthusiast…

"Winter Warmer"

Harpoon Brewery, Boston, Massachusetts

If you are a fashionista...

Winter scarves; google images

If you are a design aficionado…

Horchow glamourous Dansfield & Ross

silk & rayon velvety gray throw with pom pom trim

One of my favorite accessories for the home is something that can make a big design statement while also proving to be quite useful... the throw. I am a devotee of throws as decorative accessories all year round, but winter is an especially good time to toss a stylish and cozy blanket across your sofa or bed. It is wonderful to snuggle up under a plush, warm throw while watching the snow fall outside of your window (I know, many of you in colder climates are tired of the white stuff by now, so maybe “wonderful” is pushing it a little!), or while you read a book, watch a movie, or just enjoy a tasty hot beverage.

Here are some especially lovely throws that I have come across in my explorations…

Horchow understated quilted coverlets & cable knit throws by Ann Gish

Horchow Sofia super soft cabled cashmere throws woven with heathered yarns

Gracious Home simple but chic Capri cashmere throws with ribbed border

Gracious Home Matouk Arcadia elegant throws with Greek key design

(also love the paint color in the vignette!)

Gracious Home Matouk Torino throws in classic two-tone chevron weave

West Elm bold & textural chunky tassel throw

Pottery Barn casual hand-knit chunky cable throws

Bliss Living Home Temi plush throw in Whisper Blue is covered & edged with pom poms

(how fun is this?)

Throws have such a warming effect that these last few even give me the feeling that Spring is just around the corner! What about you you?

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Winter Carnival... Design On Ice



Winter Carnival, St. Paul, Minnesota; google images

One of the elements important to seasonal design is being true to where you are at the time… both figuratively & literally. Inhabitants in areas that experience serious winters know what to expect after the frost first appears, and actually adopt nature’s chilly characteristics into their lives. They have learned to embrace the iciness!

Many cities in the northern United States and Canada celebrate the season with festive carnivals. Having grown up in Michigan, I have personal experience with two such events, albeit fairly humble ones. My parents and I had a cottage located near Houghton Lake, which is the largest inland lake in Michigan. Each year the town holds a festival on the frozen lake called “Tip Up Town,” in reference to the device that indicates above the ice that you indeed have a catch below ice. We were never into fishing, but we did enjoy being able to drive, walk and even dine (if dining includes a steaming bowl of chili and piping hot chocolate!) on a huge expanse of ice!

Tip Up Town, Houghton Lake, Michigan; google images

When I first went away to college, I really went AWAY to college… 550 miles from my home in the suburbs of Detroit… to Michigan Tech in Houghton, on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Suffice it to say that Houghton gets a lot of snow, and MTU’s mascot is a Husky for a reason! The major event of the year at Tech is Winter Carnival, which includes such revelry as the crowning of a Carnival Queen. But the big deal is the creation of bigger-than-life ice sculptures… as you can imagine, working with hoses gushing with water when it is zero degrees outside is not for the un-hearty souls! Each year the Carnival has a theme which inspires the student groups to design unique and hopefully winning sculptures in the competition.

Michigan Technological University Winter Carnival, Houghton, Michigan

Delta Sigma Phi won 2nd Place this year with "Harry the Wizard Fights in a Blizzard"

So, what does all this have to do with interior design? Well, design often imitates environment, and the crystalline ambiance of an icy Winter Carnival translates beautifully into a stunning interior space.

Winter Carnival, St. Paul, Minnesota; google images


Here are some ideas for bringing frosty features into your home...


Lit Mercury Glass Globes; Pottery Barn

Crystal Puck Light; Lamps Plus

Rippled Glass Bud Vases; Pottery Barn

Zelda Vase; Crate & Barrel

Twilight Candlesticks in Middle Blue; Objects of Envy

Crystal Paperweight; Lamps Plus

I am certainly not implying that you would change out your chandelier each season! However, if you live in the north country, or simply love a wintry aesthetic, a chandelier can truly exemplify iciness...

Acqua Chandelier; purelightsaonline.com; (This also has a wonderfully watery, under-the-sea look!)

-

The look of a million icicles dangle from this breathtaking Seguso Chandelier; merrillantiques.com


Although I like the idea of bringing subtle nuances of the chilly north into my interiors, I am not sure what I think about staying in one on vacation...

Ice Hotel, Norway; google images

Ice Hotel, Sweden; google images

Royal Deluxe Suite at the Ice Hotel, Sweden; icehotel.com


Although the rooms are stunning, I don't know if I could ever get truly comfortable at an "Ice Hotel." What about you?