Euro Style Trend
Europe is coming to North America this summer! Fuss-free furnishings, natural fabrics, and organic hues create "un look très chic!" The idea is to generate a soothing spaciousness."
Simply put, limit your furnishings to a particular few. For example, decorate with an antique or at least one vintage piece for historical elegance; balance it out with a few modern elements to give your room a new-world edge!
To get started on this European tranquil trend, clear away the clutter. Avoid over ornamentation. Swap busy rugs for bare floors, especially bleached wood or weathered wood; or even pleasingly tactile jute rugs.
Colorwise you need to go with gently weathered neutrals, such as stone, sand, eggshell; even chocolate would be satisfying. These tones will give your place a feeling of time-worn grandeur. Mix warm and cool neutrals. Brush on a serene setting.
Compliment your walls with furniture fabrics and draperies made of natural and recycled raw materials with no oil-based products or contaminants. Enjoy subtle texture and experiment with tone on tone patterns using wool, linen, raw silk, or velvet.
To recap then, paint walls a matte neutral and anchor rooms with a single statement piece. Skip knick-knacks and dainty bouquets. If you must add color to the room make it in an organic hue that you would find in nature. A splash of mustard? A swatch of deep plum? If you must go lux, use metallic and velvet to transform from rustic to refined. And if you must have bling, use glass, mirrors, or tarnished, yes tarnished, silver.
Remember, the cornerstone of this look is simplicity. Stay calm, cool, and selective!
Precious Grey
Fusing wood, stone, and stainless steel with every chroma of grey imaginable you'll transform your interior into a veritable treasure. As they say, "It's what's inside that counts!"
In the living room you'll find it a pleasure to live with metallic grey draperies on white walls. Create a "carpet" of inlaid stone in the centre of your wood floor which compliments your stone fireplace. Use tinted mirror strategically placed to reflect the stone chimney and create a sense of grandeur. Turn your living room into a great room!
The master bedroom can feel royal by using grey bed linens, soft silky grey draperies, and a giant mirror for your headboard: fit for a king!
Grey marble in the bathroom, merged with metallic grey paint and chrome bath pieces, results in a brilliant ambiance. Omnipresent mirrors reflect the lighting and double its luminosity.
What treasures wait in the kitchen? Find grey-tone mosaic tiles for your bar and metallic grey backsplash! Try black venetian blinds to ground the grey.
Make your entranceway an exotic port of entry to your home: on a backdrop of grey tastefully display travel deco that brings back memories of your own adventures abroad.
Explore with old and new. The old feeling emanated by wood and rocks combined with the clean, sleek feel of stainless steel and chrome give a 21st century vibe to your home. Grey adds value!
Peace and Privacy
You don't have to build a 15 foot brick wall around your perimeter to secure privacy! You can create a haven of peace and privacy with the help of traditional fences and hedges. Furthermore, you can encourage serene seclusion with a dramatic living fence! Yes, make a "green" solution to outside sounds such as traffic, sirens, construction, service trucks, and natural neighbourhood noise! Trees and shrubs can help insulate your home and garden from noise pollution and even wind, rain, and heat. Moreover, you won't feel like you're living in a fish bowl.
Consider planting a creative hedge using shrubs and trees of varying height and let the hedge twist and turn about your yard or patio. Think of it as a natural noise and weather screen. Goodbye prying eyes. Try Lilac, a deciduous shrub which blossoms aromatically every May and reaches 8 - 15 feet. Burning Bush provides a dense, compact thicket that needs no pruning and compliments lilacs well. Finish with Purple Coneflower at 3 - 6 feet high with May blossoms and attractive green foliage. With such an arrangement of small, medium, and tall trees and shrubs, you'll enjoy a living boundary which attracts birds and butterflies, buffers abrasive noises, and discourages paparazzi!
For an apartment balcony or patio you can hang bamboo blinds and enjoy weatherproof room dividers, strategically placed. Plant vines in pots and let them fill in the gaps between the railings.
They'll give you flowers or provide grapes and berries. Potted cedars on rollers can be moved around to provide intimate shade at different times of the day.
Inside your home you can upgrade to quieter model fans and appliances. Perhaps you need to add insulation or double-paned windows. Or, simply, go for heavier upholstery and drapery fabrics to absorb sound. To reduce impact noise, add padding or cushioning on top of the floor or between the floor layers. Or, simply, place felt cushions under chair legs and moveable furniture.
Humans have learned to accept a certain amount of noise as an inevitable consequence of urban living. Acceptable levels of noise depend upon the time of day and our energy, which affects our noise tolerance level. Landscaping can define comfort zones for privacy and lend the ambiance of a calm oasis.
Fences make good neighbours!
