While getting organized and making room for new beginnings and opportunities I like to create simple yet warm spaces that say winter still lingers, but spring is on the horizon. To do this I work on de-cluttering, bringing in fresh whites and soft yet bright lighting. One of my favorite touches…a simple bouquet of a dozen white roses cut short in a clear round vase. On a clean surface this makes a great statement.
The practice of change and renewal with your decor is another perfect example of how design and daily living go hand in hand. What you want for yourself in the new year can start with your home. Breathing life and revitalization into your space will energize you and give you that since of accomplishment that will spur you on to other achievements. But don't just take my word for it. Let's take a look at a few tips from the ARA top ten decorating trends for 2011 article .
"The mad, mad world of furniture
Taking a nod from the award-winning AMC series "Mad Men," Linda Fougerousse of Interior Transformation, Inc. also sees furniture styles returning to the '50s and '60s with round tapered legs on angles, geometric accents and seating with curved backs. Jase Frederick of Jase Frederick Sustainable Interiors adds that classic wood pieces made from sentimental stock like fallen trees or scrap wood from ancestral or historic structures will become heirlooms to pass from one generation to the next. "
In a recent video posted on her website, Michelle Lamb - co-founder and chairman of Minneapolis-based Marketing Directions, Inc. and editorial director of The Trend Curve - spoke about a resurgence in neutrals in 2011. These more complex "chameleon" neutrals will have more color, and will shift and change based on the light and whatever's around them. Lamb claims that these neutrals will be "the likes of which we haven't seen in 20 years or more."
Whether they're genuine period pieces being repurposed or home furnishings reproduced from popular items from the '50s, '60s or '70s, vintage will be hot next year, according to Kenneth Ludwig of Kenneth Ludwig Home Furnishings, Ltd. Examples include chair frames redone in new upholstery, traditional lighting fixtures in newer brass or pewter finishes, or products imported from Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic such as chairs done in old grain sacks, or old carts from factories used for end tables or coffee tables."
