FOCAL POINT STYLING: June 2010

Not all patriotic decor needs to be themed. You can take the palette, and make it your own. As featured in Canadians House & Home July issue, you could either "simplify with solids - using monochromatic accessories to bring a neutral home to life" or you can "play with pattern and brighten up a white sofa with colorful pillows in a variety of patterns and scales in a variety of hues of a single color."

Canadian House & Home

Try an impactful jolt of colour (like RED) to make a statement or flow rooms together with just a glimpse or touch of the same hue - for example of BLUE - but used more intensely in another area.

Punctuate your dining room end chairs with an injection of color by simply using runners and a lumbar pillow, or use slip covers in a single color commitment on them all. Pottery Barn has a great selection of dining chair slip covers, or if you're on a budget, pick up simple pillow cases in packs of two at your local Marshalls or Ross store and just slip over chair backs....

Revive a space by painting the floor or ceiling. Renew old furniture or a thrift store find with a shot of color. Have you ever spotted a fabric shower curtain because you fell in love with its pattern? Pick it up and it can become the fabric to update your seat cushions with. One curtain can safely cover four dining chair seats or use it as a table-cover...

One of the ways I have been able to easily recreate new looks in our home is by having a neutral background. Then it's really simple to update the accessories - especially the textiles to give our space a renewed and refreshed look...

On-Trend stripes in a Breton, awning, cabana, or pin stripe can also be added to an interior with the simple addition of window panels, decorative pillows or pillow covers, duvet covers, throws, area rugs, or even table linens. Even scrap-book paper comes in stripes, so why not try framing them for a change from a photo to update your wall art...

The avoidance of taking an inspiration too literal (like what they have been doing on Design Star this season) can help elevate a space to another level -An inspiration can become inferred rather than be too themed...

In Traditional Home - It's all about the view

Are your true colors shining through?

Traditional Home - Salute to Summer

How do you "Salute Summer"

and the 4th of July in your decor?

Of all the patriotic holidays we celebrate in the USA, the one that tugs at my heart the most is the 4th of July. Maybe it's the thought of sparklers and pretty BIG sparkling displays- like diamonds in the night sky. But I think it had to do with being raised up north - in one of the original thirteen colonies - New Jersey.

View of the Twins from the Hudson River 1976

HMCS Iroquois, NYC, 1976

View of the parade on the Hudson River 1976 as

captured from the 28th floor of WTC...

Although we'd venture down to the Jersey Shore, the one year that stands out the MOST in my memory was the Bicentennial Celebration of 1976. I remember meeting my grandmother (mi abuela) for the first time, along with watching the parade of boats being broadcast from the Hudson River... I can also still remember us having the quintessential barbecue with hamburgers and hot dogs, neighborhood kids splashing around in my fathers 'decked' out above ground swimming pool, playing wiffle ball & badminton in the yard, as well as volleyball in the pool, eating at a traditional-styled picnic table, and the day followed by us kids churning ice, milk, vanilla and sugar into ice cream...

One of the other memories that comes to mind is my fathers fascination with fireworks. His favorite thing to do was to light a stringed batch of them (with his cigarette) and throw them into a huge metal milk can we had on the patio (from another one of his curb mining escapades) ...rrrrattttaaa--ttattah--thump thump thump... REALLY loud like guns going off. He also enjoyed shooting off bottle rockets, roman candles, and again - lighting with his cigarette - CHERRY BOMBS - which I believe it was this Bicentennial year - after lighting the cherry bomb, he threw the CIGERETTE and put the LIT CHERRY BOMB back in the bag with the others... AAhhhh... the good ole days...

Martha Stewart's fireworks table display

and easy sand candles are a little safer for today...

Although I don't recall us 'decorating' the house for the 4th of July, I do remember some red, white and blue details out in front of our little yellow house (like flower boxes, shutters and a wagon wheel - again - dad found). I guess maybe that's why I do like to bring in a little red, white and blue inside (and outside) our home for the fourth...

I'm not a 'crafty' person - but I LOVE this wreath!

Simple - Sweet - Impact

Flag Wreath found at The Picky Apple

I've been hunting around magazines, blogs, stores, the net, and Martha's for inspiration, I'll be sharing with you this week... along with pulling a new look together - inspired by the reds, whites, and blues - and by using mostly things I already have (I've been wanting to dig into the box of blues anyways) enJOY!!