Decorating With Plants

When choosing a style of furnishing, color scheme, or fabrics for your new home, or when redecorating a room, plants often do not immediately spring to mind when considering what you need to complete your space. Plants can be, however, an inexpensive and beautiful addition to any room, and there are a great number of options that can complement and even inspire any décor. 

Choosing Plants 

Leaf Shape: There is a huge variety of leaf shapes to choose from when considering which plants are right for your room. Broad leaves look great on mantles or as part of larger arrangements, and long leaves can draw the eye up to interesting architectural features. 

Leaf Texture: From spiky to glossy or fuzzy, you can get really creative when selecting a plant that has a texture that matches your space. A prickly cactus would really accent a room that has a southwestern themed décor, or the fuzzy texture of a dusty miller looks great in an entirely white room or as part of a holiday arrangement. 

Color: With plants and flowers available in virtually every color imaginable, this is one area where using plants as inspiration for your wall color or accent colors can truly create a space inspired by nature. 

Matching Plants To Your Space 

What Kind Of Light Does The Room Get? While the size, texture, and color of your selected plant may determine whether it will fit into your décor, taking care that it will get suitable light and is placed in the correct spot will ensure that it will remain a vibrant and lasting part of your space. For those of us who do not have a green thumb (present company included!), silk plants have come a long way and often it's difficult to tell that they are not real.  I've been in quite a few showings where I've had to get close and personal to check whether it was real or artificial. 

Size Of The Space: Whether it is a large open-concept home or a cozy bachelor apartment, choosing plants that fit with the size of the room they will call home can make or break the success of any space. For large rooms consider using an arrangement of plants, or include large indoor trees. In smaller spaces a few well-placed plants with interesting colors or textures can really add interest to your space without overwhelming it.

Pets: Just remember when choosing plants that there are many species that are toxic to pets. Here is a handy guide from the ASPCA to help steer you in the right direction to keep your pets safe from ingesting poisonous plants. 

Plant Care: There are some innovative products available to assist in the care of your houseplants. Check out these 9  handy tools to make caring for you plants super easy! 

Whether you are choosing plants that match your décor or using them as inspiration to reinvent your space, plants can be a beautiful, cheerful, and inexpensive addition to any home. 

So what is your favorite way to use houseplants to embellish your home? 

As always, I welcome your thoughts! 

Be well,

Rhonda

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Unclutter Your Home In Ten Easy Steps!

Clutter, which is defined as things that lie about untidily (I love that definition!), is often linked to creativity. However, Let's face it. Sometimes clutter can easily take over our homes. So, just how much imagination will it take to tidy up your space? To be exact, you can make it happen in ten easy steps.

Step # 1: Set A Schedule 
You are much more likely to stick to a routine, whatever it may be, if you work on a schedule. In addition, this allows you to clean when you can minimize interruptions and maximize your time. Try scheduling one hour a week to tackle on area of your home. You will be amazed how much you can accomplish in that short time frame.

Step # 2: Set A Goal For Each Room 
If you can visualize what you want, you will be better able to achieve it. By setting goals for each room, you can note the things that need changing and work toward that goal one day at a time. It's also a good idea to only tackle on room at a time. If you are working on the clutter in your bedroom today, don't worry about the clutter in the kitchen. Leave that for another day.

Step # 3: Create A Timeline 
When do you hope to have your home completely free of clutter? One week, two weeks or even a month? Depending on your schedule and the amount of clutter that you have, it may take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks before you can kick back and relax again.

Step # 4: Start Small 
The clutter in your home didn’t appear overnight, and it won’t disappear overnight either. If you start small, you will be less likely to get frustrated and give up midway through your cleanup.

Step # 5: Categorize Your Clutter
When cleaning, it’s important to categorize your items into groups. By separating the items that you want to keep, toss and donate, you will be able to move through your clutter quickly and efficiently. 

Step # 6: Letting Go
This is a tough one, I know! A good rule of thumb for uncluttering your home is to get rid of anything that you haven’t used within the past year. If it’s still useful, consider donating it to a good cause. Otherwise, toss it. There, I said it!

Step # 7: Storing Your Seasonal Apparel 
When storing seasonal clothing, purchase a sturdy plastic storage bin with a lid and roll your clothes instead of folding them in an effort to maximize storage capability. When full, snap the lid on and slide the unit into your closet.

Step # 8: Closet Organization 
Did you know that your choice of clothes hangers can greatly impact the storage capacity of your closet? Wire hangers take up less space and can save your shirts from getting that annoying shoulder bump that often arises from the use of plastic hangers. There are many space-saving closet products out there to help if you have minimal closet space to work with.

Step # 9: Shoes Blues 
When it comes to storing shoes, many homeowners are fighting a losing battle with clutter. How many pairs of shoes do you own? How neatly are they stored? If your shoe storage has you down, try purchasing clear lidded shoe boxes. These handy creations can house each pair of shoes and can be stacked neatly in your closet. And best of all, you can see your shoe collection without having to sift through a sea of sandals.

Step # 10: Read The Labels 
If you have medicine, food or anything else with an expiration date in the home, check to make sure that the items are still good. If the expiration date has already come and gone, throw them away.

It may seem like a daunting task, I know.  Even getting through one area of your home will breathe new life into your space and will give you the motivation to tackle the next project. In the end, you will feel lighter, brighter, and more at peace. And I guarantee you will all of sudden look around and remember all the things you love about your home!  What are your favorite de-cluttering ideas?

As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Be well,
Rhonda

photo credit: www.aadesignbuild.com, A&A Design Build Remodeling, Kitchen Remodeling, Germantown, Potomac, Rockville, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Washington DC, Interior Design, Aging in Place via photopin (license)

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Splash on the Color!

You are getting ready to paint the interior of our home this winter. Hours have been spent hours pining over colors, trying to figure out the perfect palette.

Now, let's throw a little twist in the scenario and say, you are putting your home on the market. Should you stick with white? While white might be safe as to not offend anyone.  White absolutely has its place in the world of paint colors, and nowadays there are endless choices of "white". However, instead of playing it too safe, consider the beautiful world of neutrals.  Adding a touch of richness to the walls can make a big difference, and uplift a room's energy.

On a personal note, a couple of years ago, when we put our home on the market, I looked around at our walls. While the main living area was a beautiful khaki color, we had a brick red dining room, dark moss green bathroom and a burgundy office.  And that was just the first floor!  I loved the feeling each of the colors invoked, to me it made the house warm and inviting.  After giving it serious thought about whether to tone down some of the rooms, we decided to keep the colors we loved. Through all the feedback we received by potential buyers and agents, only one person mentioned the wall colors, and it was the actually the agent, not the buyer. When showing properties, I always remind clients that it's only paint and can be easily changed!

So let's get back to the fun part, and choose some colors for those walls! When choosing colors, the big question is "How do you want the room to feel?" Warm and cozy? Cool and airy? "Downtown Chic" or "Provençal Farmhouse" Do you want to feel like you are sitting the beach? In a meadow? There is an abundance of web sites, books and online tools to help you choose.  Check out Sherwin Williams color visualizer where you can upload photos of your rooms play with various color schemes. Also, check out HGTV's Color Guide full of painting tips, tricks and ideas.

What's your favorite color? Would love to hear your additional thoughts.

Best,
Rhonda

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