Ever have a compelling urge to touch an item or run your hand across it?
If you’re like most women, you absolutely love the feel of a beautiful fabric, also known as the hand, and sometimes may feel an overwhelming desire to touch the fabric to ensure it feels as great as it looks.
Design by Christopher Lowell
When designing an empty living space, I love to begin with a beautiful inspiration piece such as a fabulous fabric in a primary (complex) pattern perhaps for a pillow along with a coordinating solid (or almost solid) patterned fabric for the sofa. Then its time for the real fun to begin, the exhilarating hunt for the perfect fabrics to compliment and complete the look of the interior in solid, secondary and/or primary patterns that will create a perfect harmony and balance. But remember, when selecting fabrics and patterns, that pillows are more affordable to replace than a sofa or chair, so consider keeping your more complex patterns on areas that you can easily switch out without too much expense.
Some of my favorite fabrics right now include patterns that are layered with stitched designs or other embellishments in rich textures and beautiful colors in patterns with a nod to nature including leaves, flower parts or other organic elements like insects or animals.
And speaking of organic elements, wouldn’t these dried plants below preserved as art by local artist Brigid Greene be the perfect inspiration for a new line of fabrics?
Preserved plant forms by artist Brigid Greene
Preserved plant form by artist Brigid Greene
If you want a look into what the future holds for residential interiors, I still believe that beautiful hotels or restaurants that have been recently designed are a wonderful place of inspiration for homeowners looking for new ideas.
For more great information on what’s hot in fabrics and furnishings, don’t miss Living Large this coming Sunday at 10am Central on News Radio 980 KMBZ as I interview celebrity designer, author and host of Fine Living Network’s Work That Room show, Christopher Lowell, along with HGTV host Karen McAloon and other local experts from Innerworks.
And for the latest in bedrooms and bedding trends, make sure you tune into Living Large this coming Saturday at 1o:30am on Classical 1660 KXTR as I talk with local experts on what’s hot.
In my book, The Hassle-Free Host, we focus on using clear containers in a variety of ways. They can become such a valuable and inexpensive staple to your entertaining inventory. Well, here’s another idea just to prove how indispensable clear containers really are: Add white twinkle lights to containers for a romantic glow.
These versatile columns of light can then be used as lifts and levels to support a variety of serving dishes of your choice. We advise placing something warm on them, as they can heat up. With the addition of clear floral globes, they can be used as centerpiece holders to add height and interest to any surface they adorn. On their own, the lit cylinders can be inverted with the twinkle lights inside and simply clustered together, at various heights, to create glowing tableaus anywhere in the room where an outlet is handy.
Next, let’s take the same twinkle lights a step further, as a background focal point. We’ve replaced the standard curtain rod with a 1 ¾-inch acrylic tube. These are available in 6- and 8-foot lengths from most building outlets or plastic supply stores and are easily cut with a standard handsaw. A string of white lights is then threaded through the tube from one end. Once the drapes are back onto the tube, the additional cord simply hides behind the fabric on its way down to the outlet.
To create a hip, modern window wreath, we simply took a 30-inch wire wreath frame and wrapped it with several strands of the same twinkle lights. Then, we wrapped 2 to 3 yards of inexpensive marabou feather boas, which available in most notion sections of your local fabric store. Although it may look complicated, the entire window treatment can be done in less than an hour. And that’s the whole point--although it’ll be our little secret!
For me, I got rid of the stationary, big mother ship of a desktop computer in favor of a really good laptop. This allows me to work from anywhere in the house. If I’m in my home office too long I get fidgety, so I move to the kitchen while preparing myself a tasty lunch. When the weather’s great, I like to be in my outdoor spaces. To make this happen, I put wireless airports everywhere possible so that I can remain online 24/7.
