Tag Archives: Design Ideas

Love Is In The Air…

It’s cold, it’s February and it’s Valentine’s Day.  It’s time to seize the moment and spice things up…

In feng shui, the color red brings the feng shui fire element energy.  I don’t profess to be an expert in feng shui but I do try to include something red in most rooms I design, but let me share what I have read with regard to the color red.  The feng shui energy of color red is the energy of arousal. It is hot, passionate, rich and celebratory. Red is the Chinese color of luck and happiness, the marriage color in India, and the symbolic color of love and romance, courage and passion in the West.

Some of our favorite finds and things which offer that touch of red.

A cranberry glass bowl such as this one would be a rare find.  Check out your local antique stores and auctions.  Cranberry glass is very valuable as it contains gold and is quite intricate to make.  For more information check out Fenton Art Glass.  The way light plays on the glass is lovely.

Nothing says romance, passion and love like chocolate covered strawberries as offered by the Red Envelope. Purely decadent.  Almost to pretty to consume.  We left these treats out on display as we prepared one of our staging projects for a photo shoot – only to come back a day later to an empty plate.  What a surprise???

 

It doesn’t always have to be fancy or elaborate, red and white linen aprons and dish towels from Libeco Lagae are a must have for any household.  Every single project we touch has something from Libeco, whether it be a dish towel, napkin, tablecloth or even a full set bedding.  Their ready made duvets and pillow shams are wonderful.

 

 

Pottery Barn pillows are a staple in our BjtO Designs inventory.  This would make a terrific Valentine’s gift.

Etsy is becoming one of our favorite web sites for finding unusual handcrafted items.  We buy a ton of pillows every year as it is a great way to introduce color and sentiment into a room that might otherwise seem blah or far too neutral.

Now for the elaborate and “wow factor”.  If you haven’t discovered One Kings Lane, here is your chance.  Introducing Michael Taylor’s Bamboo chaise and console table at a very reduced price.  A bit more than a pillow from Etsy but these are treasures… I think you will agree.

To top it off every house needs a Wolf dual fuel stove with what else but

RED KNOBS

Last but certainly not least, a pair of stools with bright red bases and metal seats.  Available from one of my favorite shops, European Country Antiques on Huron Avenue in Cambridge.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all…

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Book Smart…

One of my favorite design blogs is Design * Sponge by Grace Bonney.  It’s fun, informative and ever so creative.  Grace Bonney is a Brooklyn based writer who created this blog in 2004 and has really cornered the market on design blogging.  We should all be so fortunate.  I just finished her 2011 book, Design * Sponge at Home, which is page after page of ideas, color and inspiration.  In keeping with my efforts to focus on color and paint this month I wanted to bring this wonderful book to your attention.  I hope to give many of you ideas for achieving your New Year’s resolutions of redoing your home. Following BjtO Design’s mantra of adding color, scale, balance, style and function to your home is a great way to organize your approach to any room.  Pick up a copy of Design * Sponge at Home at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, West Elm, Anthropologie and several other locations.  If you don’t follow the Design * Sponge blog, check it out…

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