Valley Cotton & Today’s Home Textiles

With today’s Easter Sunday announcement of Harlingen’s Algodon Club Royal Court, I thought it fitting to highlight the role of cotton in today’s home textiles. When it comes to the vast uses of cotton fabrics, the list of modern possibilities seems endless. More and more emphasis is placed on using products that derive from the words “sustainable,” “organic,” “pure,” “eco,” and “natural.” Incorporating cotton-based products into your home that were grown through responsible farming practices can help check all of these facets off your eco-conscious list.

When considering purchases in the departments of bedding, clothing, and house wares, think about cotton playing into your selection. This multi-purpose finished product has so many versions, from simple and casual to exquisite and luxurious. You have the option to play down guest bedding to understated and clean or dress up the master bedroom in lavish and rich, all with the same material base. Cotton upholstery fabrics leave consumers with literally countless options for the finish work on couches, chairs, ottomans, and pillows, all the while being an easy to maintain fabric that works so well for active families.

Add cotton elements to your kitchen in your rugs, towels, pot holders, aprons, and placemats. The use of cotton towels, rugs, shower curtains, and toiletries in the bathroom offers you absorbency, variety, and durability, making it a product of choice. Let cotton clothing take the brunt of the rough-and-tumble kid years, as well as fill out the polished and professional ensembles that make up adult closets.

Whether you desire breathable, longwearing, light, durable, or dressy, cotton really is “the fabric of our lives®.”

Congratulations to those selected for the 2011 Algodon Club Royal Court. And may your family have a blessed Easter as we celebrate our Risen Savior.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star April 24th.

10 Things: Organization & Design for Your Office Space

Here is an even split of tips to start you off in the right direction to makeover your office space, whether home or commercial, while keeping some basic keys to organization and design – you guessed it – in mind.
Organization
1. Create a storage spot for everything. Go back to the basics of organization with the motto “a place for everything, and everything in its place” and apply that principle to your work station. Set up a specified spot for everything you need in the categories of paperwork, supplies, and equipment, and use appropriate storage tools at your disposal like bins, containers, magazine files, and decorative boxes.
2. Modernize your inbox and outbox. Don’t. Just. Stack. Have designated holders for mail and incoming paperwork to be sorted, filed, reviewed, handled, mailed, etc. Set aside frequent time to process so your workload does not pile up on you. Shred or toss anything extra or unneeded right away that does not fit into your established categories.
3. Process and store all your paperwork in a streamlined manner. Pick a method that works for how you work, and use it full throttle. Do you like files in drawers? Notebooks on bookcases? Bins and file boxes on shelves? Let your system encompass everything you process and store for speed and accuracy.
4. Master the art of paring down. Utilize your space to its max by not having too much on hand that just takes up space. You do not need 2 staplers and 3 jars of pens on your desk, now do you?
5. Maintain an “invisible doorman.” Just as a doorman lets in permitted people and keeps others out of a building, serve as your own gatekeeper and keep your work space just that – working. If it belongs in another area of your home or office building, do not let it hit your desktop and clutter your space.

Design
6. Balance personal and professional. Find what’s right for your work environment and allow your furnishings and décor to reflect what you do, who you are, and what you bring to the table for your clients.
7. Add in visual interest in doable doses. Incorporate a bold color, pattern, or print in something like an area rug or wall art instead of in wall colors or furnishings to keep things fresh put professional and approachable.
8. Light it right. Use lamps to light your desktop and a seating area, if applicable. Leaving all the lighting to commercial fluorescents only is a colder, sterile, draining environment day in and day out.
9. Cover your bases top to bottom. Think about the design details from up high to down low to establish an inviting, put-together work environment. That could incorporate displays on shelves to pleasing art on the walls to a good high-traffic area rug beneath your space.
10. Incorporate color where you can. Add in fresh flowers, a printed throw pillow on a side chair, a cluster of small pottery on a coffee table, or a repeated color in your framed art or fabrics to keep from working in a bland environment that does not foster or display your neat, stylish side.
Topic provided at the request of the North Harlingen Rotary Club.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star April 17th.

Dynamic Color Combos for the Season

Vibrant mixes of two stand-alone shades can create a powerful combination that stands out in home design and makes your color choices “pop.” Let’s examine four popular color combos and impactful ways to use them.
Navy & Teal
The contrast of a dark and bold blue together really catches the eye and can be used in various, striking ways. Navy fabric panels framing living room windows from floor to ceiling are nicely paired with large, square, printed throw pillows in teal arranged on each end of the sofa. Teal shaded dinner and salad plates shine atop printed navy placemats on the dining table. I also like to see teal jewelry and handbags carried when wearing navy slacks or a striped navy cardigan.
Yellow & Aqua
Two bright shades collide and sparkle when yellow and aqua are used together. Perfect for spring, this color combo highlights and brightens rooms and wardrobes alike. Mix yellow and aqua in draped blankets and throw pillows on the couch or in trays, accessories, and glassware on a coffee or console table. Hang a blend of wall art that incorporates these two hues for a modern collection. Yellow and aqua also look distinguished in a tablescape centerpiece or fun melamine dishes used through the summer months.
Lime & Chocolate
Though used extensively, I would not say this duo is on its way out any time soon. This mix is popular for the color scheme in both girls’ and boys’ nurseries and bedrooms, right up to college dorm accessories. These shades are more widely accepted in larger home furnishings, such a brown leather sofa or lime shaded cushions on patio furniture. They can be blended in seating areas amongst the pillows, rugs, and draperies, as well as throughout the home in wall paint colors, art work, bathroom towels and shower curtains, and all forms of bedding.
Hot Pink & Gray
Oh so chic, pink and gray are climbing the popularity chart. You will find the two again in nurseries to designer living rooms to bedroom comforters and shams. The contrast of bright and bold with muted and upscale makes it a go-to for paper products like invitations and note cards, as well as in advertising and logos. Mix the two in kitchen accessories and home décor, and you have a notable look fit for today. So go on – blend bold and bright colors to create your own impressive settings right in your very home.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star April 10th.

Outfitting the Perfect Patio

As the temperatures rise, lingering outside in cool spaces is at a premium. There are ways to turn your plain patio slab into just that – a prime location for spring lounging. Pour a tall glass of lemonade and ponder your yard’s options.

The main fixtures of a desirable patio setting are furniture pieces. You can invest in new seating staples or take your patio furniture out of its storage space, give it a good washing, and set it out. The right outdoor living feel is all about the arrangement and the accessories. Look at the examples currently set up in local stores that display whole patio furniture sets. You can incorporate the simple, like a round table with four chairs. Or you can splurge on a more lounge seating feel with small couches, side chairs, console tables, and an overshadowing umbrella. Arrange your pieces similar to a living room layout, creating a close conversation area outdoors. To take it a step further, add a small side bar or portable kitchen island for a drink and snack station. Just bring the ice when you are ready to soak up the warm evenings.

Accessorize your space, making it welcoming right through the summer. If you do have lounge seating, mark off the area with a large outdoor area rug, which come in a variety of appealing materials perfect for a patio space. Having a small outdoor coffee table and an end table or two beside your chairs allows for setting down icy drinks and laying out little serving trays of finger foods and seasonal snacks for weekend guests or a family Saturday afternoon in the backyard. If you have a patio table and chairs, update their look and their feel by adding outdoor throw pillows in brighter, perhaps “wilder” printed fabrics than you would ordinarily use in your home. An acrylic serving tray left in the center with coasters, a covered stack of cocktail napkins, a couple of bottles of Italian soda, and any other small serving supplies would be handy to have at the ready.

Soften the perimeter of your updated space by adding some potted plants or a potted herb garden to tend to and really use in your everyday cooking. Add a stack of lounge cushions in case the kids would rather lie out in the grass while they play. Ultimately, bring some touches of the indoors out so you essentially expand the square footage of your home’s living space as you open up new lounging and entertaining possibilities as well.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star April 3rd.