Escape to Sunny Mexico - at Home!Written by Debbie Rodgers
Continued from page 1
•If you're serious about Mexican look, tile roof of your outdoor space with red clay tiles. •Use brightly colored tiles on a table or a tray. Carry terracotta theme with clay plant pots. Fabric •Roughly woven natural fibers, such a cotton tablecloths or woven rope chair seats, work best in this decorating scheme. •Use a brightly colored wool serape as a scatter mat, throw, or "wall" hanging. •This is perfect setting for a rope hammock for that afternoon siesta. •Use striped fabric in primary colors for cushion covers. Accessories •Accessorize your Mexican-styled space with wrought iron candlesticks or grille work. •Fish and bird motifs (such as roosters or parrots) are good, especially if made of clay or tile. •Carry bright colors into plantings in your space. Nasturtiums are ideal for hanging baskets or lattice you've installed. If you're growing zucchini or other squash, consider planting them near patio, so that blossoms add to your atmosphere. •If you want to get away from yellow in your flowers, use bougainvillaea, pastel poppies or broadleaf greenery such as yucca plants. •Heap a rope basket with apricots, guavas or pears. Alternatively, you can make oversized paper mâché replicas or paint wooden yard-sale fruits. Try a few of these ideas and before you know it, you'll be sipping margueritas and crunching tortillas in your very own Mexican courtyard.
Debbie Rodgers, the haven maven, owns and operates Paradise Porch, and is dedicated to helping people create outdoor living spaces that nurture and enrich them. Her latest how-to guide “Attracting Butterflies to Your Home and Garden” is now available on her web site. Visit her at www.paradiseporch.com and get a free report on “Eight easy ways to create privacy in your outdoor space”. Mail to debbie@paradiseporch.com
| | It's Spring! Let's Decorate!Written by Victoria Azusa Lockwood
Continued from page 1
Think of room or space you are decorating as a human body. (This analogy isn’t new, or particularly brilliant, but helps to illustrate point.) The human body has a basic framework or skeleton. That skeleton serves as base upon which all else is structured and built, until finally a desirable end product is achieved in human body form. When decorating a space, “skeleton” consists of walls of space along with basic pieces of furniture that have been chosen for room. Beginning with these items, using them as your base, you continue to build your décor layer by layer, until you reach your final, desired product. By cleverly adding accessories to basic framework of your design plans, you embellish your color scheme, and ad texture to your design so that it becomes three-dimensional. In doing so, you are able to achieve a complete and desirable transformation of space. The neat trick to this is that by simply changing your room color and accessories, you have created an entirely different space from one with which you started. A new lamp, decorative pillows, re-framed artwork, colored vases, new fabric. All of these can be used collectively to infuse your interior decorating, bringing different elements of your décor together. The end result is that you breathe new life into your interior design. So welcome Spring without trepidation. Embrace opportunity to create something new and different. You never know. Other wonderful changes may follow. What are you waiting for? Victoria Azusa Lockwood Victoria Lockwood is a freelance writer currently focusing her talents in areas of interior design, antiques and collectables. She has over thirty years combined experience in these areas of interest. You may email any questions to her at valockwood@hotmail.com This article is available for reprint. If you're interested in reprinting this article, please contact Ms. Lockwood for permission and information.
Victoria Lockwood is a freelance writer currently focusing her talents in the areas of interior design, antiques and collectables. She has over thirty years combined experience in these areas of interest.
|
