Showing posts with label seasonal decorating. Show all posts

Not so Fast - Thanksgiving is in-between.

Posted by Julea November 01, 2021

It may be the day after Halloween, but don't be decking the halls with red and green just yet - there is a holiday in-between, and it's called Thanksgiving! Here are some great home decorating and hosting ideas that can ease you into the jingle jangle season.

Container Gardens:

As our 1st frost approaches, it's time to replace the product in our outside container gardens. Opt for mainstays of cut Evergreen greenery or even a live small Evergreen species or tree or bush as your anchor Add fall materials such preserved leaves, pods or flowers and sprayed pine cones in autumn colors. As the season turns into winter, the autumn picks can simply replaced with frosty, winter finds.

Photo: Midwest Living

Wreathes

The timeless eucalyptus wreath can be dressed up or down with any season. The elegant, interesting, round leaves are the perfect foil for any decorating style. Add your favorite elements of the season, then swap them out when you are ready for the next - no need to reinvent the wheel with a whole new wreath. From doors, windows, table centerpieces to tiered plate stands, wreathes are a perfect elevation. This wreath is from Joann.

Photo: Joann

Photo: Michael's

Simple added elements such as these fall eucalyptus stems can transition your wreathes from one season to another. Eucalyptus multi-leave stems by Michaels

Table

Whether foyer, sofa or dining - your table will always look better dressed in fabric. This in-between time is ideal for texture and neutral color tones. Burlap, linen, jute, cheesecloth, sacking, or any natural fabric in a neutral tone will create the perfect styling veneer for your tables. Used as a runner, wrap or layer, these natural fibers will celebrate the season and give you that base to build on. Runner from Ashley Furniture

Photo Collage: Julea Joseph/Source

What to do About Pumpkin:

As cold weather, especially snow or a frost comes in - your exterior pumpkins need exit the exterior of your home or they'll be nothing but mush. Extend their use by adding them to your interior decorating, and if you are hosting Thanksgiving - those pumpkins can be a part of your holiday table too.

Photo collage: Julea Joseph/Source

With these in-between home decorating ideas, your in-between holiday, Thanksgiving will get it's highlight. Enjoy! - Julea

Julea

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From Slab to Fab - Upstyle Your Patio With These Style Tips!

Posted by Julea May 10, 2017

Don’t let your back door be the end of your living spaces. Now that a warmer season is upon us - your patio is the perfect place to extend your decorating creativity. This time of year, every retailer has a bevy of outdoor furnishings, textiles, accessories and lighting to create an ideal outdoor oasis.

With a little professional direction, a bit of creativity, shopping, and clues from your existing “inside” space, you can take your patio from slab to fab in a weekend!

Start with color. Take inspiration from your current interior, or give you exterior space a new color twist. Why not be inspired by a fun pillow you scouted at a favorite store? A designated set of colors will help you set a direction for your space and make gathering your goods a breeze.

All items selected from TARGET.COM

Decide what duty your space will serve. Do you desire a space to lounge away a Saturday afternoon reading, an extended dining area to compliment your famous BBQ recipe, or a secret garden to celebrate your green thumb? Select the 'bones' of your outdoor room just like you would inside - using furniture pieces in-tune your environment and family needs. You'll need detachable cushions that can be easily stored if you live in an area that gets weekly rain, and a small bistro set is not going to work as a dining table for a family of six. Be creative, yet keep functionality in mind.

Once your key furniture pieces have been established, you can add these accessories to build your room.

Anchor the space with a great outdoor rug. You can use more that one rug to cover a larger space or create interest by layering the rugs.

Photo: Source

Introduce a water feature. The fountain will add an element of calm with its sound, refresh the senses with its movement, and masks unwanted noise from nearby traffic or neighbors.

Copper Tabletop Fountain - LampsPlu

Hang a mirror to reflect the beauty of your garden, fountain or focal point. Or use the mirror to mimic a doorway to another space.

Photo; Source

Plants. From wall building large potted palms, a container garden with fragrant herbs, or a vase filled with a favorite floral - plants will bridge your patio to the great outdoors.

Photo: This Old House

Add the element of fire with a propane fire pit or table, chimenea, or candles . A fire element can be a romantic and warming addition to your patio space.

Chiminea - Wayfair

Add an array of exterior lighting, both solar and electric. From fun solar accents, chandeliers or floor lamps to strings of outdoor lights – lighting creates mood, and adds a festive feeling.

Photo: Fusion Electric

Add the comforts of home, such as throw pillows, throws, art, accents, and for entertaining - pretty dishes, linens and glasses.

Photo: Home Depot

With color as your muse, the use of functional furniture, and homey stylish details - you can take a plain concrete outdoor space to a whole new level, transforming your patio from slab to fabulous!

Want more tips and techniques to upstyle your spaces? Join me for one of my Summer Library Programs!

Julea

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FALLing for your Kitchen - Seasonal & Organizational Updates for the Heart of the Home

Posted by Julea August 27, 2010

Wall Color BM-2144-30 Rosemary Sprig

The kitchen is the most utilized and meaningful room in a household. It is the hub for family tasks and used for food preparation, household management, and of course entertaining. It is indeed the heart of any home. No matter how many rooms you have dedicated for entertainment, everyone always ends up in the kitchen! With the kids back in school, a cool nip in the air, fall kicks off our major holiday season - in fact, we can celebrate right through the New Year. Now is a great time to get your kitchen “party readied,” and organized for easy maneuvering during the holiday rush, and of course-seasonally updated.

• Need a Color Lift? - Try reinventing an old piece, a wall , or whole room... Be inspired by the season - Ben Moore’s Rosemary Sprig 2144-30, Toasted Pecan #1209, Burnt Sienna #1196, or Sherwin William’s Library Pewter SW0038, or Studio Blue-Green SW0047. It’s just paint, and is the easiest and cheapest change you can make.

• Counter Tops - Swap out a tired canister set with a new revision; there are loads to choose from (If you’re not a gourmet cook, store pens, notepads, and takeout menus inside.) They add needed color and design. Large platters on plate stands are good-looking in unused dark corners or grouped on walls. Extra-large clear glass canisters are conversation makers when layered with dried beans, nuts or black, yellow and white dried popcorn. A kitchen must is a sassy new set of dish towels, seasonal kitchen candles, and a hand soap/lotion set in scents of spiced apple, pumpkin or caramel.

• Tell a Story with your Floral - A whimsical floral whether store or home made adds a bit of seasonal flair to any table. Create a mini-container garden by abundantly grouping those adorable “mini” annuals and petite ivy. or a bountiful arrangement with faux fall veggies, dried pods, leaves and vines.

Rustic watering cans from Pottery Barn can be seasonal highlights

• Looking Up - Upper cabinet tops or upper shelves seem always to pose a decorating challenge. For a quick and easy change, large seasonally inspired platters, pots, framed art fill tired spots.
• Smart Cook Organization - An easy way to organize, is to create stations within your kitchen. Love to bake? Set aside two cabinets and counter space solely used for baking (near the oven of course,) fill with baking essentials such as pans, small appliances, spices and other baking staples. Task clustering such as this will help you to stay on task during the busy holiday rush.

• Get your Party Started - Love to entertain, but don’t have a Butler’s Pantry? Convert your little used desk area into an entertainment station.

-Replace wood panels of upper cabinet with glass, adding lighting, and glass shelves - store glasses and decorative bottles.

-Line desk drawer with felt, and hold bar essentials and serving pieces.

-Add a tension rod with shirred fabric for extra storage to the knee hole space, or find the perfectly sized rolling cart.

Space Game - Use a Lazy Susan cabinet for a “Party Pantry.” Store food products, Beverages, paper goods. and china that can be used to throw a soiree at moment’s notice. If you’re even luckier to have an unused closet. super size it and linens, vases, and decor all in one neat place.

No matter how large or small your kitchen, whether you’re a gourmet cook or take-out type, every kitchen needs a seasonal boost and should be readied for family, friends for upcoming holiday celebrations!

A floral gives a kitchen a seasonal boost (NDI Floral.)

Julea

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“Falling” in Love with Your Home 2009 Style

Posted by Julea September 29, 2009

Mother Nature is beginning to put on her grandest show for the year, and we’re heading to the attic or basement for all those boxes marked “Fall Decorations.” As many of you would agree, fall is a great season to change out or update your seasonal and home décor, but just like our wardrobe, sometimes we need to weed out or refresh our stash. Here a few ideas and tips to help you update your home for the season and infused the latest trends into your home décor.

1.) Give your rooms a new arrangement. Fall is the perfect time to review your spaces and ready your rooms for the upcoming succession of holidays. Like a blank canvas, a new arrangement gives you an introduction for a medley of fresh ideas from accessory placement to infusing new color ideas. By starting at the base, you can layer on interesting new ideas, rotate your collections and perhaps come up with something totally new! (Insider Arrangement tip: Your hearth, piano or picture window is appropriate launching points for your new redesign.)

2.) Shop Your Home & Reinvent It. Unveil those fall décor boxes and sort through your decorating goods by shopping your own home. Metallic’s are at the fore front of 2009-10 trends. Could your ceramic pumpkin and Indian corn collection get a hip makeover with a quick coat of trendy antique copper paint; perhaps those pitted cabinet knobs, a lamp bases, or a painting frame could be given the same coat, creating a new metallic tread to your décor? From lamp shades to art print’s mats – small changes made to your old stuff gives them the same result as a bit of Botox! (Insider's tip: By updating more than one accessory item with a common color element, you'll create a new rhythm & flow to the room.)

3.) Put it into Rotation. The same stuff out all the time, in the same place becomes a bit dull on the eyes - Consider a rotation of your accessories. Packing away a few of your room accessory staples when seasonally decorating, not only rejuvenates your room, but when you bring it back into the mix, put it in a different spot! My motto is – “A pumpkin in, means a Lladro out! “

4.) Layer it On. As the temperature goes down, the layers come out. Nothing speaks more to the season than cozy & warm textiles. Hot trends are nature inspired textural prints, animal motifs and ethnic patchworks - So incorporate layered fabrics and other textiles like rugs into your seasonal decorating. Have an old quilt that can be reinvented into a beautiful pillow, framed as art, or upholstered into a footstool? (Patchwork stools by Horchow.)Don’t be afraid to layer more than one rug on the floor or consider that rugs can be wall art too. (Insider Tip: No one ever said you can’ use fabrics as accessories – Down tables, tossed on sofa backs or tucked into or on top of bookcases or armoires.)

5.) Setting the Room’s Mood. Nothing is cuter than Mr. Scarecrow you picked u

p at the craft show, but is he appropriate sitting in your formal living room? Remember to set the mood of the room with how you accessorize it. Mr. Scarecrow would be better far better suited to hang out in the kitchen, and sitting on your cocktail table a repurposed silver serving tray adorned with pine cones, leaves and candles more befitting for the flavor of the room. Ombre is a trend, so why not invest in a few large ombre colored candle holders for a new candle look. (Ombre Candle Holders from World Market.)

6.) Coordinate with Color. Incorporating a new color palette into a space is one of the easiest ways to revitalize a room. Some new color combinations may evoke your creativity when seasonally accessioning your rooms, looking for a new pillows, window panels, throws or creating vignettes:

Coffee Bean Brown paired with Artichoke Green
Deep Plum paired with Paprika
Apple Green paired with Tomato Red
Smokey Blue paired with Champagne Beige (Pottery Barn Panels.)

Julea

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Not so Fast - Thanksgiving is in-between.

Container Gardens:

Wreathes

Table

What to do About Pumpkin:

From Slab to Fab - Upstyle Your Patio With These Style Tips!

FALLing for your Kitchen - Seasonal & Organizational Updates for the Heart of the Home

“Falling” in Love with Your Home 2009 Style