Every Room has the Same 10 Elements

In Alexandra Stoddard's classic book, "Creating a Beautiful Home", she likes to encourage us to consider  the 10 essential elements in every room before we begin to decorate. As you read her list, you will understand why she chose the word "elements" to describe the aspects of each room that require our attention. She asks us to understand each room by its simplest components. Each room has its own special position in the home, its unique natural light during the day, its size and shape. Stoddard also wants us to learn the importance of making each room into a room we want to live in and enjoy, to make it our special haven, as we decide about each essential element.
As we look at the following 10 elements, Stoddard advises us to think of our present life, our needs, our actual space, and our aesthetic preferences.
Alexandra Stoddard's 10 Essential Elements

1. walls
2. ceilings
3. floors
4. windows
5. furniture
6. lighting
7. fabric
8. color
9. accessories
10. maintenance

Do you see how helpful it can be if you write this list so the list  fills a page, and copy one page for each room? Each element will have some space for your notes or pictures. You will begin to understand how your rooms are all connected, and so your decisions can begin to flow from room to room, as you consider each element.  Thank you, Alexandra Stoddard, for helping us get started on a huge project, by breaking it down into its elements! I think this will help us get going!

Think about Color

 

Riverstone Stacking Platters

The terms "base", "tone", and "accent" color may not be familiar to you. I think they are a more British way to talk about the different attributes of color, but when Ann Grafton, in her book, "Interior Transformations" used those terms, they made sense to me. I thought you might enjoy hearing what she had to say.

• Base - the color in your room or home that you use the most. This is usually the wall color, and is often chosen to provide a canvas on which to "paint" (add) the other colors.
• Tone - this is the lightness or darkness of the color. If two different colors exhibit the same tone (lightness or darkness) they can be happy together and work well, even if they are not a traditional color combination.  For example, a soft aqua, a dove gray and a powder pink can be very happy together...but change the pink to "Bubblegum" pink and you have added a contrast (accent) color. If you want your room to feel more harmonious, keep the tones of most colors the same.
• Accent - these are the colors, in contrasting shades that are used in small amounts to give your room a "jolt" of color. Use textiles, ceramics, lamps, objects and flowers to add the accents to your room. You can try out fashionable colors easily and change later without a big headache. This is why I love to use artificial fruits or veggies for accents. They are oh-so-easy to change!

First, choose your large expanses of color - walls, floors, windows. It is easy to live in a basic scheme of calm, blended tones, with only subtle differences in color. Pay attention, too, to the smaller items in your room. Often there is nothing linking the large and small together. You don't want to create chaos or confusion for the eye, but you want to lead the eye around the room, from one accent to another. This is why a large painting often provides the colors for the accents, while it still relates to the walls, windows or floor.
I like this picture of Riverstone Dinnerware from Willow House. It consists of 3 soft neutrals, with the gray a deeper tone. It is accented with the cut figs, flowers and veggies to create a serene but interesting still life. It feels to me like I could design a room using these colors. I can also imagine just changing the accents...possibly to slices of lemons, oranges and limes for a refreshing summer vibe!

Think Texture for Variety

 

Willow Sprig Centerpiece with Flowers

Unexpected Texture makes this centerpiece particularly appealing to me. What do you see when you first glance at it? Are your eyes drawn first to the deep rose color of the fresh flowers in front? Then, do you notice the fresh green leaves?  Did the small rose colored berries next draw your eye upward to the taller arrangement of the same flowers, in back? The flowers look like they are soft and velvety, the green leaves might even be crisp, coming out of the round, smokey glass vase below. The surprise element is the twiggy metal lantern shape around the vases, enclosing them, yet open - creating space which allows us to focus on the flowers. The hard metal, against the smooth tabletop and softly draped light rose fabric of the backdrop all contribute to my enjoyment of the centerpiece. I also love that there are numerous ways to use the metal lantern shape, which has been named, "Willow Sprig" It is 16.5" tall and 8.5" square, with two places inside for vases, candles, or even small pumpkins! You may like to see the way two centerpieces look on a long table, with pillar candles.

And, Treat your Guests like Family

Welcome Basket from Willow House

     It's weird, every time I look at my last post, that silly little phrase goes through my mind, so it becomes..."Treat your Family like Guests, and your Guests like Family!"
     I don't know where I picked that up - but it made me think - "what do I mean by that?" Well, we always want our guests to "make themselves at home". We want them to be comfortable with us. So, we make sure our home looks like we prepared for their visit, and that we did a few special things to show them they are an important part of our lives.  
     It's a little balancing act for me. I want it to be special, but I don't want them to feel like I just worked so hard that I dread having guests!  Whew!  I always want to be like that little duckie, who is unruffled and calm on top of the water, but those little feet are just paddling fast as they can underneath!
     But if we want to make them feel like family, that means we also have to allow the rough and tumble of daily family life to continue, to some extent. OK, here's how I see it:  Guests are just with us for short periods of time. Possibly just for dinner, or a girlfriend get-together, or a weekend.
     While they are here, we do interrupt some of our daily routine, but not all of it. We allow them into our lives - while at the same time we do something special with them. We prepare ahead of time, so that we really can spend special time with them.We add special touches  - possibly fresh flowers to welcome them at our front door, or a small vase of flowers in the guest bedroom. After our preparations (possibly a lasagna ready in the refrigerator) then, we relax and enjoy their company! I welcome your thoughts on this topic - how do you make your guests feel like family?

Treat your Family like Guests

     Have you ever considered using particularly pretty things for everyday family meals and gatherings? We may be tempted to just throw something together quickly for our family - and certainly we are always in a hurry to get somewhere...but shouldn't we make each gathering as fun and attractive as possible? What we present to our family in those casual, and rushed times...will be considered normal to them. That's why we love the idea of choosing a special display for everyday meals. Wouldn't the family be amazed and surprised if they found the above French Tiered Wire Stand displaying muffins, cereal, and donuts for their Saturday morning breakfast?
     Don't you think they might make fun of it, but also remember it as a special part of their childhood?  And, maybe even remember to make Saturday mornings special for their own families (someday!).
     And, there's the subject of vegetables. We know we all need to eat more veggies! What if every time you served carrot sticks and radishes, it looked like a party? Maybe you and the kiddos would eat more of the good stuff!  Our new Watercolor Entertaining Set is so pretty, and it looks like summer on the beach! It is two bowls, made of gorgeous hammered blue glass. One is larger (11" in diameter x 2" tall) and the smaller one is perfect for dip (even low-fat dip). It is 5" in diameter and 2.5" tall. I do believe we would all eat more veggies if they were served this way! Just give it a try! Willow House makes it so easy!

Think Refreshing Spring Thoughts!

Don't you just want to start planning for Spring right about now?  In our area of the country, we really haven't had our bad winter weather yet, even though it is January 8...but it will arrive sometime between now and the real Spring.  But that doesn't mean I can't start dreaming about how I want to freshen up my home to get ready for that wonderful season of Spring. First, I want to clear off any of my decorative items that look at all like Winter, and start looking around for things I can add some fresh new color to. As in the top picture, which is the cover of our new Spring 2012 Willow House catalog, our beautiful and neutral Riverstone Dinnerware Collection looks fabulous when placed with fresh white tulips, melon and light blue, accented by a zippy black & white fabric on chair seats and pillows. The fresh new shapes and colors of Riverstone will take you happily through every season, I promise! And, perfect for the door is our new Willow Welcome Basket, finished  in a pearly gray. It has a flat back and is the perfect depth to go between most doors and storm doors! The bonus is that wonderful chalkboard plaque, on which you can write with  chalk pen, and wash off when ready!  Write a "welcome" or the birthday honoree's name, or your family name.  Or, wouldn't it be fun to write "bunco" to welcome your bunco buddies! Get ready for Spring with Glorious Willow House. Check out Our Willow House Website for more fun ideas!

Color pulls us toward each Season!

Let's move out the pumpkins and bittersweet, and bring on the red and green! Oh, the red can go toward bright pink, and the green can be that wonderful fresh green we have all loved the past few years!  But, be sure to include some colors and touches that make it very clear we are moving on from fall to Christmas!  Possibly it is some polish, or sparkle or glitter...maybe we bring out the silver or gold.  Trees, Santas, candy canes and bells...all so much fun and they help us enjoy, yes "savor" each season!  It is very important that we create an atmosphere that helps us - and our family - to note the special passage of time by celebrating our beliefs and the special place our people have in our hearts. I'm ready to move on - Thanksgiving was great, it is always good to stop and remind ourselves of all the things, and people, we are thankful for. And now, let's celebrate!  Over the top, wild and wonderful, warm and fuzzy...this great season goes from now till the wee hours of New Year's Day overtake us, and tell us to go to bed.  Let's "roll out the holly"...for we "need a little Christmas, right this very minute - need a little Christmas, now!"
(I must re-learn those wonderful words - they are my holiday theme song!)