A Pallette Of Pillows

Pillows have the ability to turn mediocre into magnificent. Like icing on a cake or jewels in a crown, they add punch, pizazz and panache to any room they dress. Light weight, portable and budget friendly they are the perfect accessory. They come in a kalidescope of shapes, sizes, colours, fabrics, textures and styles. They can be used to enhance a stylish sofa or hide one that's nondescript.
Given the choice, do 'down'. Unlike foam or fibre filled pillows, they are pliable and can tuck cozily into any sofa or chair arm. How often have you tried to do battle on a sofa with a stubborn albeit stylish, foam filled pillow? Fashion should not get in the way of function even when it comes to pillows. There was a time when down filled pillows were out of reach for the budget conscious, but thanks to Homesense (Homegoods) they can be purchased in the $20.00 range there.

Like pants worn too short, the wrong pillow can become an eyesore rather than an embellishment. As when choosing vases and art work, too big is better than too small. An over sized down filled pillow can be molded to fit a space. Pillows that are too small lose themselves. Pillows that are too stiff stand awkwardly. A single pillow perched on a sofa, looks sad, lonely and out of place.

Some designers go by the rule of 'odd over even'. They prefer to place accessories in 3's or 5's rather than in 2's or 4's. I go by what looks right to me. A perfect palette of 4 pillows can be more eye catching than 5 pillows that are the wrong size, colour, texture or pattern. For me it is the combination of pillows and not necessarily the number that creates a pleasing pallette. So when in doubt...give a shout. Send a picture with your present arrangement of pillows or your barren sofa, chair or bed.

Four can be boring but......

...it doesn't have to be!! Texture and colour can add pizzazz.

( I want to apologize for my weak picture taking skills. My photos do not do justice to what my eyes behold.There is a fourth pillow hiding behind the black and white pillow. If I go to replace it with another photo I think I then am unable to to use this picture elsewhere in my blog entries. I've come a long way Re: blog layout skills but I am not there yet. As to my photo taking capabilities, I'm working on them. Oh to have a wide angle camera! One of these days.)

Two pillows tucked into each corner of a sofa, one large one small, make a stronger statement than do solitary pillows so placed. Notice how the fibre filled blue and camel pillows stand straight and unbending.! Stubborn in their stiffness they can't cozy up to their down filled mate.

Same sofa different looks. What's your preference?

Overdone

A bolster or rectangular shaped pillow flanked on either side by a duo of pillows can make an even stronger fashion statement. A new trend is to lay an elongated bolster or pillow on a sofa that stretches from one end to the other.

Just right!

Remember ....when placing your pillows create a pallette of varying colours, shapes, sizes and textures-a collage of sorts but don't over do it. You're sure to garner Rave Re:views!

In addition to the affordable, wide array of pillows sold at Winners ( T.J Max)/Homesense, Pier One Imports has an assortment of bold beautifully coloured pillows but they are higher priced. At Wicker Emporium the selection of pillow fabrics include Moroccan/ Indian, graphic and damask designs. Covers without pillows can be purchased for under $20.00.

I just learned about a site called CSN STORES .COM, on one of my Favourite Finds blog links, called Room Remix. Room Remix has a draw in which you can win $80.00 worth of products from CSN STORES.COM which is an online department store. Their assortment of pillows is extensive and they ship to Canada.

Better After - Thank You

I want to thank Lindsey who has a blog site called Better After. This is a very popular site with well over 500 followers. Lindsey shares before and after pictures of both room redos and refinished furnishings/accessories. I was smitten by a boring, nondescript, dated wooden breadbox that was transformed into an eye catching, very 'today', black and white damask 'want to have' piece of functional kitchen art. Lindsey includes makeovers that she comes across as she roams the net but also welcomes contributions from her readers.

Lindsey featured my client Paula's living room on her Better After site last week. You can check it out for yourself at Better After. She called the entry Re Viewed Room.

Thanks again Lindsey for featuring my work and thanks to your many followers who paid a visit to my blog site on your recommendation. Your contributors have enabled me to dig deeper into my 'out of the box' thinking. I now see potential in furnishings once deemed dated . A bonus for my clients as I strive to reinvent their possessions and garner them Rave Re:views... on a budget.

Thinking Outside The Vase

Needed a garbage pail for the main bathroom in our condo. Unlike past decades, there is no shortage of high style garbage pails in this day and age but these well attired receptacles of waste can cost a pretty penny. So off I went to Homesense hoping to find an inexpensive stainless steel garbage can. No such luck... however while scouting the shelves a shimmer of silver caught my eye.

"Too tall to be a garbage can. Must be a vase, " I thought. The wheels started turning. "Think outside the box.... no, vase... no, box. NOOO..... vase!"

And that's what I did . I thought outside the vase and brought it home. Here it is, vase turned garbage pail. Stylish with its off centre opening, the wide lip hides any unsightly waste collecting within. An unexpected bonus! It fits the decor of our bathroom to a T and has earned many a Rave Re:view.

Design Tip: Consider vases and plant containers when searching for a garbage can. Remember taller is better than shorter. Think outside the vase. You'll garner Rave Re:views!

Design Tip : Besides their great prices, another reason I am a Homesense/Winners(Homegoods/T.J.Max) gal is the fact that they tend not to stock multiples of items. I have purchased many an interesting find (vase turned garbage pail included) that I know is not adorning every house in the neighbourhood and may in fact be the only one in Halifax. So head to Homesense or let me head there for you.

Vase Theme Continued

Here is a sampling of vases that I found at Homesense (Homegoods in the States) last week in Halifax. There were vases of varying sizes, shapes, colours and textures. Some smooth, some sleek, some rough, some straight lined, some curvaceous, some with embellishments carved or painted, some heavy, some light, some opaque, some transparent. Some spoke of yesteryear, some of today. Some spoke of faraway lands. A schmorgusborg ( Spelling?) of vases, a feast for all tastes with one thing in common-their price point. Most cost between $15.00 and $20.00 including some over sized , solid, high end looking vases. Wish I needed a vase or two or three or...... Remember to think big when it comes to vases and to think outside the 'vase'.

You'll garner Rave Re:views. I'd love to help you place a vase. Next blog entry -another example of thinking outside the vase.

When Is A Vase Not A Vase ?

When it is reinvented to house a fish......

I have always been mezmorised by the rich vibrant colours of tropical fish but have never had the inclination to own an aquarium. So I bought an electric blue Beta fish, named her Indigo and housed her in a clear glass, willow branch filled vase. The vase serves two purposes. It is home to Indigo and with its curly branches it softens the straight lines of both the black lacquered buffet and the oversized flat screen TV. The maze of immersed branches, magnified by the water and accented with feathery pops of indigo blue, are nature's art. Thinking outside the box or shall I say vase, need not be expensive and can earn you Rave Re:views.

Vases Vases Everywhere

Vases are a great accessory for a number of reasons. They come in all manner of shapes, sizes and colours. High end, current looking vases can be purchased for very reasonable prices. They can be used in any room in one's home. They can sit on tables, dressers, counter tops, desks, shelving units, bathtub ledges or can stand proudly on the floor. Vases filled with towering branches slide perfectly into room corners. They cosy up and soften spaces. Like an eye catching necklace, they make great fashion statements!

I have vases in every room of my condo and use them liberally in the homes of my clients. While some stand empty, most house branches - sculptural -with their arms reaching upwards every which way- inexpensive pieces of artwork for those of us with high end tastes and mid to low range budgets. Most of the vases you see in the photos were under 30.00

Sometimes a space cries out for two vases, one tall one short. Homesense (Homegoods) often carries sets of vases. Made of the same material, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. At Homesense the price is always right. I have also purchased vases at Walmart, Zellers and Loblaw's Superstore - vases that are very 'today' and cannot be differentiated from those sold in high end stores.

Remember that when it comes to vases, big is always better. And as for branches, I like mine tall.

Want some vase advice? Email me a picture. I won't be evasive . I promise! You can count on Rave Re:views when you enlist our design/home staging services.

1+1=1 (Picture Perfect)

When you hang artwork over a sofa, over a bed or on a large wall -be bold. Think BIG. BIG pictures make BIG statements in living spaces. Not that long ago, large pieces of artwork would have been out of reach to those of us with high end tastes and mid to low range budgets. Today, stores like Homesense (Homegoods), Winners(TJ Max), Homeoutfitters , Target, Walmart and Zellers have an assortment of wall art that is both attractive and affordable.

Sofas and beds are often better suited to rectangular rather than square shaped artwork. Large rectangular shaped pieces of art are not easy to come by. Don't despair! Simply remember the following formula: 1+1=1.

Purchase 2 same - sized, unframed, square shaped pictures and slide them together. Hence, one square picture plus one square picture equals one rectangular picture. Perfect for hanging over a bed or a sofa.

Often artwork comes in pairs. Pictures using the same colours, forms and lines are created in differing arrangements. In my client Paula's spare bedroom I slid together two such works of art. It was picture perfect.

In Homesense, an over sized painting with a fiery red poppy stopped me in my tracks. It was just what I was looking for to hang above the extra long sofa in Paula's main living space. Repeating my mantra '1+1=1' I searched frantically for a complimentary picture, to no avail.

Not one to give up, I purchased it and headed to the nearest Winners. As I approached the stacks of artwork, a picture, almost identical to the one I had just bought called out to me. I purchased it and headed straight to Paula's. Once again 1+1=1. Picture perfect!

Design Tip#1: Think BIG!

Design Tip #2: Sometimes, 2 squares are better than one.

Design Tip#3: Try two like pictures if a complimentary piece of artwork is not available.