It is a very versatile piece of furniture that can be used in many spaces and styles from contemporary to traditional to transitional. Using one in your own home will guarantee you a little touch of elegance.

To Happy Decorating! More later…Kay

To Happy Decorating!  More later, Kay

Featured at market this year as one of several forecast trends, today’s Modern Moroccan Interior Design Style emphasizes clean design in both neutral and vibrant color.  Morocco is a country in North Africa which features a Mediterranean climate from which its decorating style has evolved.  Picture flowing fabrics; metals such as silver, gold and copper; carved fretwork; curved arches; tapestries and leather; a multitude of pillows and comfort seating as key design elements to help you implement this style in your own home.  Color is borrowed from the golden sands; vibrant blue Mediterranean Sea, brilliant jewel tone dyes such as saffron, green, red, purple and orange. Interesting geometric patterns in tiles and rugs complement the richly arrayed feast to our visual senses.  It is a fun and festive way to decorate.  Here is a small sampling of both new market furnishings and the tried and true pieces already available coupled with some room scenes to give you a visual montage to spark your own creative juices.

Modern Designer Saree, Marrakech Pendant, Sunset Jewels Pillow, Beaded Sunburst Pillow, Gilded Wood Open-work Screen by Candelabra, Turkish Glass & Saucer, Colin Cowie 24-piece Greek Key Dinnerware, Worsley White Tea Jars, Golden Yellow Pure Silk Saree, Coit Cream Bottles, Currey and Company Tangiers Pendant, Loire Bottles, Rayland Collection Accent Pillow, Yuner/Turks Handmade Kilim Pillow Case, Winsor Smith Medici Arm Chair, Moroccan Argan Oil 8.5 oz. Organic, , Leaf Sunburst Antique Bronze Round 46″ Wide Wall Mirror, Cardamon Canisters, Ornate Elephant Figurine, Ethnic Decorative Tray

You can turn a blah space from dull to designer with a rug that features an unusual motif; an eclectic pattern; or a bold splash of color.  Think of rugs as art for your floor and let your style statement flow with your signature style.

Here are two techniques to get your creative juices flowing: Either choose a rug with bright, saturated colors as a stage for neutral furniture, or use the rug’s color scheme as a jumping off point for spaces that wow with layers of vivid hues.  Both are viable techniques and mixed with a style that is uniquely you, will help to create a place that you love coming home to.

Here is a new and stunning selection of rugs by Canadian designer Judit Gueth.  View the whole collection at Judit Gueth.  Some of my favorite new rugs are showcased at Shivhon and they have also been recently featured in Architectural Digest.  The beautiful and interesting patterns are woven in Tibet and are hand knotted wool for a durable finished product.

Remember that Interior Designers receive advance notice of new products and we may be showing you things that are not yet available on a manufacturers website.

To Happy Decorating!  More later…Kay

Rug Selections from Shivhon, “Juno”, “Sundance” and “Allure”.

Pair these prints with gold and bronze tones for instant style. For a cooler look, go with silver tones.

Animal prints can infuse so much pizazz into a room that they seem trendy. Actually, they are timeless design choices. I am a big fan of using a touch of black in most rooms and like black, animal prints add a little edge and unpredictability as design elements.

And, remember to have fun while taking a walk on the wild side.

To Happy Decorating! More later… Kay

This vibrant color can be paired in so many ways, but for this post we would like to introduce our palette, “The Tiger Lily“. This color combination is warm and inviting.
It is reminiscent of summery fruits & bright, flame colored flowers. This color scheme will carry you all the way from Spring into Fall, when tree leaves change colors and resemble this Interior Decorating palette.

Try painting one wall in Tangerine Tango… pick up some items for around your home in this color scheme & surround yourself in a warm and comforting glow of color.

We have listed most of the products on this Palette Board at the bottom of this post to help you find some great products incorporating Tangerine Tango and the Tiger Lily Palette, into your Interior Design plans.

To Happy Decorating!  More later… Kay

Zulu Love Train Connection Finials
Cono Decorated Vinegar Bottle
Mesa Table Tiffany Lamp
Painting “The Gold of Fall” by Leonid Afremov
Silky Gold Cushion Cover
Paragon Espresso Sunburst Contemporary Wall Mirror
Amber Colored Glass Amphora Shape Liquid Dispenser Bottle with Stainless Spout & Black Metal Stand
Pattern Wonderful World Orange Dinnerware
Murano handblown vase, ‘Amber Volcano’

1.Sparkle is a holiday essential.  This is the one time of the year when you do not have to worry about going over the top.

2. Choose a color scheme and style that best fits your home.  One of the design elements is repetition, so repeat your color scheme throughout your home.

3. When purchasing holiday decor, stick to your color scheme in ribbons and accessories.

4. Try to have a focal point in each room that repeats your design.  Say you have a candy cane theme for your Christmas tree, then candy canes could appear in garland and wreaths for the front doors.

5. Continue your color theme with outside decorations and lights that are in keeping with your look. 

6. Use bows everywhere for a festive look.

7.  Christmas potpourri smells wonderful and comes in many color schemes.  Put it absolutely everywhere for the wonderful smells of Christmas to envelope you each time you walk in a room.

8.  Most importantly, remember the reason for the season.  Take time to reflect on your blessings.  Sitting in your favorite easy chair in a room filled with the pleasant aromas of Christmas while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa to warm your heart and listening to ”Chesnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” playing in the background will make a believer out of just about everyone as to the beauty of the season. 

Enjoy your home for the holidays.  To happy decorating.  More later!

I still come across clients who are holding on to ‘old chairs’ from their
college or single days long after this phase of life is over. ‘What should I do?’
they ask and I tell them, ‘Get rid of it!’ ‘But I won’t have anything to
put there,’ they say, and my response is the same…’Get rid of it!’

Here’s a radical notion: What if you really liked, even outright adored
every material thing in your own life? What if the quality, shape, color,
function of and feel of things you owned gave you satisfaction, pride and
delight? What would that do for you?

Enter ‘The Divine Law of the Great Chair.’ When you let go of the things you
don’t love you create space for things that you do love to show up. Even if the
item is ‘useful,’ it is filling up an empty space . So what if the item was a gift; or
it was inherited, expensive, imported or exotic; or, you truly loved it once upon a
time – if you do not like something in your space, it is dragging you down.

I so agree! Per Carrie, here is your homework: Identify the ‘old chairs’ in your life that you are making do with and get rid of them. True, you may have to sit on the floor cushion for a while, but your mind will begin dwelling in the land of possibility instead of compromise and regret.

Scripture teaches us many principles, but the one I have observed in practice most often is the law of giving something away only to be doubly blessed with something else (ie, sowing and reaping.) He who created us knows the desire of our hearts. Try trusting Him with a few of the ‘old chairs’ in your life this week and see what He sends back your way.

To Happy Decorating! More later,

Kay

Buy yourself a minimum of five home decorating magazines such as House and Garden, Southern Living, Architectural Digest, Florida Design, and House Beautiful. You will find houses furnished in all periods and styles. Don’t concern yourself with being able to identify the style – this will allow you to get a sense of what types of rooms you are attracted to.

If you find a mood you can relate to in your search, clip the page from the magazine. You don’t have to like all the furniture and accessories in the picture (don’t concern yourself with this yet.) Use the pictures to get a sense of what you like. Later on, these can be translated into your own personal style. As you continue clipping pictures, place them in a folder. The folder will be filled with the colors, styles, and periods of furnishings that you can live with comfortably in your own surroundings.

You may find that that you are attracted to more than one mood or more than one style. Great! Interesting people are multi-faceted people. If so, find a way to blend them in a complimentary way such as eclectic style which embodies more than one style, but has a unifier to connect all the things you love.

To happy decorating!
Kay

With what do you fill your dwelling space? For me, as you can imagine, this is my favorite part of the work I do. If you were to stop by my studio on those days when I am in ‘design mode,’ it can look like a hurricane has hit the place. Here are some of the things you might see: fabric books everything; catalog tear sheets with furniture and accessory photos on every available surface; floor plans and furniture arrangements on top of it all; more ideas taped to bulletin boards and the like; you get the idea. I can be messy when I am in creative mode. It is really an unbelievably exciting flow of ideas that just works.

On each project I work on, I pray for the best ideas to flow from our Heavenly Creator, through my mind and into the spaces my clients ask me to design for them.  Then, I am able to make them come to life on His power; it is an incredibly rewarding process to be involved in; co-laboring with God on something that will be a blessing for the families I serve for years to come.

Designer Leah Richardson shares, “I can search the world over for beautiful things to fill my heart and home, but until I recognize and appreciate that what is truly beautiful is what lies within me – I will never find it.” How very true. The gift of God residing in our hearts is what fills our spiritual dwellings in a most beautiful way.

To Happy Decorating! More later,
Kay