It’s a pretty outlook for spring 2009 on the home decor front. The color palette includes fresh blues, saucy pinks and upbeat yellows, as well as a veritable laundry line of clean whites.
Patterns are playful or romantic. It’s the season of renewal, and a great time to fluff up the feathers in the nest.
Louise Smith, color and design manager for Dulux, points out, “This is the year to go wild and express yourself. Since fewer people will be moving, the onus is on personalization and reinvention.”
So if you’ve never been brave enough to dip your toes in the color pool, now’s the time to get wet. Never been a flower child? You may reconsider when you see the new floral motifs. The mood-enhancing benefits of a restyled living space cannot be underestimated.
Yellow is happy hue, and the hot color for spring. Look for it in dishes, furniture, soft furnishings, even trash bins.
Conran USA continues to support international craftwork with the ceramics of south African designers Philippa and Werner du Toit. Their pitchers and cake stands are embossed with tribal fabric textures, then washed in soft yellow. They’re quirky, rustic and charming.
We’ll see white as another dominant color, either crisp and pure or vanilla-tinged. Gather a group of snowy vases, fill them with white blooms and place on a textured runner. Pull off all the dark drapes and hang white cotton or silk; the light will pour in, awakening everything.
Garnet Hill has the Angie lamp, a curvy little number in soft tones accented with barrel shades in on-trend motifs like black and white ironwork, white-on-white bubbles, or orange and green zinnias.
Florals are blooming on casual dinnerware, wall art and soft furnishings. Some are feminine, painterly prints while others are bold, contemporary graphics.
Over at Homegoods, there are sweet little footed bowls in robin’s egg blue, as well as a creamy lacquered chest hand painted with chrysanthemums.
As befits the season, garden themes dominate. Wrought iron and trellis motifs are a new twist, and a departure from the ubiquitous damasks of the past couple of seasons. Lattice patterns are versatile; they can evoke either English Garden traditional or Palm Beach Moderne.
For something really different, look to ModernDose’s new pouf festooned with dozens of laser-cut wool blooms. While it may look like Grandma’s Sunday-best hat, you have permission to sit on it.
Spring’s the perfect time to change out a few accessories and introduce some new hues; without spending a great deal, a room can look refreshed and invigorated in no time. Target has inexpensive yet appealing floral throw pillows and wall art, as well as a pretty filigreed votive holder in grass green, white or deep pink. Perfect for the patio, when the nights begin to warm.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
