Bring Spring Home

By: Caryn L. Burstein

Spring presents the perfect opportunity to give your home a new look by incorporating fresh greenery. Not only does foliage provide beauty, it brings life and new growth to an otherwise stagnant environment. Plants and flowers create depth in a room, a sense of drama unequaled by any other type of décor.

Bringing the outdoors into your home offers more benefits than merely the creation of a natural look. Indoor plants have been shown to improve both air quality and, more importantly, homeowners’ moods. Plants brighten up the room with natural sunlight and generally make occupants feel better.

One option to consider is placing a tree in an empty corner of a room. However, you should be careful when it comes to the size. A small tree will look lost in a large room, while a large one could overwhelm its surroundings. As a guideline, choose a tree that is approximately one foot lower than the ceiling. For more drama, add a floor light to shine up into the tree. This will cast new shapes and forms above and on nearby walls, and will also provide a sense of movement in the room. You will be truly amazed by the change in the room from this one small addition.
On a smaller scale, try a single orchid in a decorative pot on a cocktail table for an elegant, sophisticated look. Or, if you want to create more romantic ambience, place a dozen tulips in a simple glass vase. Using a container with a small base and a large opening at the top will allow the tulips to drape naturally. Conversely, a more formal impression can be achieved with topiaries placed on a fireplace mantle or in the entrance of a room.

If you tend toward tradition, ivy is always a great way to add greenery to a room. Try tucking a container or two on top of a kitchen cabinet, winding a vine around an accessory on a shelf or even hanging it in a drapery treatment. For a more contemporary feel, use bear grass in a vase or low wide pot to fill a void in a room. Simple large leaf arrangements or creative use of bamboo can also add drama to a modern space.

In addition to their beauty, greenery can also be useful. For example, plants can help hide cords or electrical outlets. They can also camouflage defects on walls, countertops and furniture, or even take the place of purchasing an expensive accessory. For instance, if you’re faced with a bare kitchen counter or tabletop, why not create your own miniature water garden? Simply choose a glass vase of any size or shape and a plant of your choice. We recommend using pothos ivy, which is available year round and is extremely durable. Just add water and decorative rocks to your vase, and you will have your miniature water garden ready to go. Another bonus to having a water garden is that you can enjoy the benefits of potted plants, without having to worry about watering them on regular basis.

Tropical plants are yet another way to add a splash of color to your environment. With their vibrant foliage and wild blossoms, these exotic blooms can help accent the décor of any room. In addition, tropical flowers such as birds of paradise create drama with their brilliant red and orange hues. A minimal arrangement placed in the center of the room will attract all the attention you need to create a memorable mood.

When it comes to floral arrangements, choose flowers that represent the atmosphere you want to achieve. Be sure to select colors that complement your room and shows off its natural beauty. Your room will, in turn, create its own mood. Just remember that flowers and plants have cycles of life, so be sure to water regularly and do not allow them to remain on display if they have already wilted.
The vase or pot you select adds a tremendous amount to the overall feeling of your floral arrangement. Why be ordinary? Unique containers help draw attention to your plant and can serve as a focal point in the room itself. However, don’t go overboard. The container should not overpower the arrangement or the room but, rather, should provide balance as well as complement the décor.

Grouping different plants together in a corner of the room can also enhance your décor. Each plant should be in a separate container, and they should be of differing sizes and shapes. It usually works best if there is an odd combination of plants, with taller, heavier foliage forming the background and smaller, leaner ones making up the front.

With warmer weather right around the corner, there’s no better time to let the sunshine in by incorporating fresh foliage in your decor. Use these tips as a launching pad to help you spring into action!

Having a Vision

"Thinking outside of the Box" has become the new catch phrase for sparking creativity. But when thinking of changing a room or space, sometimes "thinking INSIDE the box" has its advantages too. It costs a lot less to reestablish interior space efficiency than to push the existing walls. Rooms can be renovated or relocated within your home's shell. For example, a small kitchen can be expanded into a seldom-used dining room or re-figured within its existing space to better meet your needs.

Sometimes just rearranging the furniture you already have can make a big difference in the look and feel of the room. Think spatially. All too often people are too linear when it comes to furniture arrangement. Everything does not have to line the walls. It often works better when furniture floats within the room and can actually create less dead space and certainly a lot more visual interest.

Most homeowners have a budget when it comes to decorating for the sake of "filling the room", some people are tempted to buy less expensive pieces. We need to think about furniture as an investment and not something that will be changed in a year or so. Multiply buying less expensive, treandy furniture that does not stand the test of time my five (this represents the five times on average you will replace cheaper pieces over a 25 year period) and you probably will have spent more than you would have on a one time purchase of quality pieces, not to mention the positive effects this philosophy will have on protecting our environment. If you choose neutral colors and finishes, you are less likely to get tired of your furnishings and they will stand the test of timeless design. Remember you can always change your room accessories to match your mood and everything goes with neutral.

So many of our clients come to us with ideas about how they want their home to look, and it is a great starting point on which to build. Magazines, color samples and fabric swatches can provide the inspiration to achieve the ultimate look they desire. But do-it-yourself mistakes can be costly when trying to implement your design vision. You used a real estate professional to find the right home for you. Protect that investment by using and interior design professional who can understand your vision, translate it into reality and increase the value of your home investment.