Ikat Design Motif

Pick up any shelter magazine and you are likely to see Ikat fabrics and products woven into a variety of interiors.  I love how these fabrics instantly update and add energy to a room.

Ikat is a style of weaving that uses a tie-dye process before the threads are woven to create a pattern or design. "Ikat" means "tied" or "bound" in the Malay language. Through common usage the word has come to describe both the process and the cloth itself. Ikats have been woven in cultures all over the world and Ikat is still common in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

Ikat can be found in a variety of products from many popular retailers. 

                                                                     Via West Elm

                                                    Via Fabricadabra

                                                                       Via West Elm

                                                                    Via Anthropologie

Bring in Spring

With Easter fast approaching, why not bring a bit of spring indoors.  Branches from flowering trees and shrubs can be forced into bloom easily and inexpensively. Flowering branches can bring the outdoors inside and add color during a long winter or a late spring.

Select branches with a large number of flower buds and those that are at least 18 inches long.  Once the branches have been cut, bring them indoors and place the stem ends in water immediately.  This soaking allows the branches and buds to begin to break dormancy. Following this, place the branches in a bucket of water. Water may need to be changed often to prevent it from becoming foul.

To help the buds open and keep them from drying out, mist branches occasionally during the forcing period. The closer to spring that branches are forced, the shorter the time required until bloom.

Design Your Own Rooms in 3D

Modern Dining room by yasemin04

This is an incredible new online design tool that allows users to design their own rooms in 3D.  You can shop for furniture pieces and then drop them into a room that you have created with your specific dimensions.  Check it our for yourself at MyDeco

TradHome Premier Issue

Exciting news this week from the editors of Traditional Home Magazine and Lonny Magazine, the launch of a new baby...TradHome.  It is 347 pages of gorgeous interiors and incredible features uniquely available in an online format.  This issue includes a video interview with iconic designers Jonathan Adler and Charlotte Moss, as well as hundreds of click through links available without leaving the magazine.  I am loving this one!  TradHome

Choosing the Right Wall Color

Choosing the right wall color is incredibly important when designing a room.  We hear all of the time that paint is the least expensive way to transform a space, but what if you choose the wrong color?  

The result could be a costly re-do.  These clients meant well, but often we don't know what a color will look like on the wall from just one little chip.  That is why I wanted to share my go to paint colors.  These are the colors that I consider tried and true, and those that you can't go wrong with in 2011.

I like to use Benjamin Moore Paints.  They are very high quality and many of my favorite colors are offered as affordable color samples.  It is important to try any color on your walls first before committing.

Barely Beige 1066

Hepplewhite Ivory HC-36

Shaker Beige HC-45

Putnam Ivory HC-39

Bleeker Beige HC-80

Greenbrier Beige HC-80

Edgecomb Gray HC-173

Light Pewter 1464

Revere Pewter HC-172

Sag Harbor Gray HC-95

Soft Fern 2144-40

Sea Foam 2123-60

Classic Brown 2109-10