The Beauty of Remembering

Today, our nation honors the lives lost and the great sacrifices of so many as we look back on the impact of the events of September 11th a staggering decade ago. It is likely that you remember exactly where you were and how you felt in the instant you learned of the tragedy that was unfolding in New York City that day. These types of memories make great impacts on us as pivotal moments in our personal history. Honoring any great losses in our lives as a way to respect and remember loved ones is a part of healing as we pay tribute.

There are so many special, small ways in which to acknowledge the influence on us of special people we have lost. Some plant tribute gardens or trees and mark them with placards. Even planting distinctive potted plants or a windowsill herb garden and adding a framed photo alongside of a relative or friend who has passed is a way to acknowledge them as you tend to and watch your plants thrive.

Adding a fixture to your garden, porch, or home that represents a special person is another way to pay tribute. A bench in a garden could be a memorable way to reminisce over a parent whom you spent time there with. A rocker or swing on your front porch could illicit memories of a grandparent you miss. Taking a piece of furniture, a chair, or a decoration with some family history and using it in your own home keeps part of their history alive with your own family. You could paint an old chest of drawers and add new hardware or reupholster a side or dining chair to make it fit your style while keeping its original frame displayed. An aged mirror from a relative’s dresser could be lacquered in a new finish and rest on your mantle for a fresh look with a story behind it.

Photo books made through an online company are another distinguished way to preserve the moments that were captured in stills over the years and can be displayed on your coffee table or bookshelf. A photo collage hung in matching frames in a hallway or on a dining room wall can be a blend of memories from many years ago with the activities of your family now.

Ultimately, displaying something that has meaning for you is a way to celebrate the life of someone who you held dear. Whether it is based on a funny memory or story or is a simple gesture of remembrance, filling your home with tokens of love and life adds meaning to yours.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star September 11th.

The Modern Birthday Party Theme

We have likely seen the glittery examples of the child’s birthday party of years past that just had to center around a super popular theme of a character or movie or television show, and all the accessories, from the paper plates to the party favors, had to feature this trademarked image. For today’s parent who may prefer not to scoop up an entire aisle’s contents at the party store for their next soiree, there are a boat load of creative themes to implement through a little imagination and eye for design.

First, consider what all your child is into, from colors to activities to hobbies to general interests. From this list, you can find a wealth of information to start to build the look of your custom birthday party. I say, the more consistently a theme is carried out, the more impact you get for your investment. And it all starts with the invitation. You can use an online company to print your invitations, or you can get hands-on with a computer program and have a local company print your finished picture file. Use your invitation to give guests a peek at what they can expect and entice them to your unique event.

A color being a theme is perfectly acceptable. Everything hot pink or a nautical combo like navy and aqua in your serving spread, decorations, and cake design is a theme in itself. Monochromatic or two-toned pieces together are very visually appealing and draw attention. Other themes that fall outside the character-featured norm that can really craft a catchy modern theme are things like trains, safari animals, robots, fish, gardens, boats, princesses, sea creatures, classic toys, surfers, barnyard animals, birds, butterflies, mermaids, bumblebees, frogs, elephants, and zebras. Use their colors, patterns, or silhouettes in your linens or paper goods, food labels and signs, and trendy cupcake fondant toppers and takeaway gift packaging.

Another essential element of any party is of course the food. Really jazzing up your display is like a gift in itself for your guest list. Whether you are serving pizza, sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, or finger foods, be sure to add plenty of side items in small quantities to incorporate more visual impact and tummy-satisfying treats. Think breadsticks standing in glass cylinder vases alongside an abundance of dipping sauces, French fries in scrapbooking paper cones, or short juice glasses with carrot and celery sticks standing in a dollop of dip. Presentation really can be everything in laying out an inviting buffet. And when it comes to kids, you cannot go wrong with candy. Glass apothecary jars with brightly-colored treats to match your color selections are ideal for grab-and-go goodies and decorative flair.

Whatever you do, ensure a birthday party is always a celebration that makes the one blowing out the candles truly feel like they already got their wish.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star September 4th.

New Heights with Drapery Panels

Drapery panels can feel like an architectural feature in a room when hung to highlight the ceiling height and provide symmetrical frames to your light-infusing windows. If right-out-of-the-package panels have left you feeling less than thrilled with your retail fabric options, contemplate the alternatives to create customized panels that suit your home and your unique style.

You can choose from options beyond drapery panels by looking at the extensive selections of flat bedding sheets, fabric shower curtains, and fabric by the yard. For any of these options you may choose, you can buy extra to make throw pillows to match to add to your seating or bedding. Why limit yourself? Flat bedding sheets are wide enough and long enough for billowy, drama drapes, and they come in so many colors and styles. You can match or blend with your actual bedding to carry out the design. Fabric shower curtains similarly provide plenty of width and height and bold patterns and prints. Fabric by the yard is a great option for someone who is handy with a sewing machine to finish off a hemline. And fabric by the yard can easily create tall drapery panels that can be hung from a level just below the ceiling line to add height and sophistication to the look of your room. When hung correctly, they can all look professional in place.

That starts with the right hardware. My preference is a rod mounted above the window frame or at the ceiling line with two or three simple hardware mounts that the rod rests in. The size and style selections are wide-ranging from thin metallics to larger wood or iron rods with a slew of end cap finial styles. Pair this with sets of ring clips to accommodate the width and weight of your panel. Each ring slides onto the rod, and its attached clip holds a pinch of the fabric. This completely eliminates the need for those dated, hard-to-operate, thin, metal pieces you had to slide through tight pockets sewn into the drapery panels and then struggle to affix to their mounting hardware. Instead, update to a modern version for both ease and style.

Think outside the drapery aisle to find fabric panels that can act as art and décor in your living space. From vivid shades to strong graphic or geometric prints, you can add texture and personality, panel by panel.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 28th.

The Dish on Organizing Recipes

A recipe box stuffed with random, handwritten pieces of paper and online printouts alongside stacks of outdated, mix-matched cookbooks is not fully conducive to creative, productive time spent in the kitchen. Every family has their favorite recipes that are handed down from generation to generation and those popular dishes that are craved each holiday. To ensure your special collection stays intact and easy to retrieve, give your recipes a makeover of their own before the next holiday season starts to cook.

Add some order to your storage system. I recommend moving away from recipe cards and getting your go-to recipes in 3-ring white notebooks with clear view covers and spines for inserting labeled sheets. This helps eliminate the free-floating factor that can cause cards to be lost or quickly disorganized. Type out the card contents on full sheets of paper and include picture references when possible. You can use one larger 3 inch notebook and use dividers to separate and label your categories. Or for larger collections, use 1 inch or 1 ½ inch notebooks for individual categories. Consider using the labels “Appetizers,” “Soups & Salads,” “Vegetables & Side Dishes,” “Main Dishes,” “Meats,” “Breads,” “Desserts,” “Cookies & Candy,” or any detailed categories that would suite your set of recipes, like “No-Bake Desserts,” “Pies,” or “Beverages.”

Another important step in organizing a recipe collection is pairing down. Have you found recipes, tried them out, and then decided they didn’t make the cut for your family’s tastes? Throw those away. Organized and stored recipes should be made up of the ones you intend to use repeatedly. Use a plastic document case or an expanding file folder to pull together internet recipes or recipes torn out of magazines or off of product packaging. Only add them uniformly to your main collection if you have tried them and decided they are worth making again. A similar principle applies to cookbooks. They can stack up over the years and may just be taking up shelving space if you only really use a few recipes continually out of a book. Make photocopies of those applicable pages and add them to your notebooks. Then donate the cookbook or pass it on a relative or friend. They may find all new kitchen treasures inside.

Tackle your boxes or piles of recipes and turn them into a well-oiled kitchen machine right at your fingertips that can produce tasty dishes again and again. Do it with style if you use decorative scrapbooking paper, contact paper, or even leftover wallpaper in your finished product, and you have added a little flamboyance to your flambé.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 21st.

Decorating with Numbers & Letters

Reading, writing, and arithmetic have their place in modern home décor. To add a little literary zest to your living space, consider the ways in which numbers and letters can really count.

I like the concept of using numbers to add a modern decorative touch as well as organization to a space shared by multiple family members or house guests. Hang up pegs, hooks, or oversized clips in a bathroom in place of a towel ring or bath towel bar and place decorative numbers above each. These are the kind that are used to display addresses on the exterior of a home and can be found at a home improvement store or online for even more size and style options. This is a twist on the “his-and-hers” labels of decades past and works great for kids and overnight company as well. Each person has their own hand and/or bath towel under their own assigned number, which keeps things straight, neat, and may even cut down a little on the laundry.

The use of initials and monogram letters is also a more popular decorative accent idea. Display the family initial on a wall by way of a wall decal you custom order and apply or large wooden or acrylic lettering you find in a craft store and hang. For more of an art gallery feel, use the first initial of each family member’s name, perhaps pets included, in an arrangement, and make the last name initial the most prominent. Similarly, using symbols in the mix like the hash tag, ampersand, “at” symbol, or exclamation point can add a more creative and contemporary flair to a collective display.

Whether you choose to mix letters and numbers in a functional or purely aesthetic way, going back to the classroom basics can provide you with some standout labels and displays that add sophisticated structure and artistic finesse to your rooms. Decorating with numbers and letters really can be as simple as 1, 2, 3.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 14th.

10 Things: Must Do’s Before School Starts

1. Revamp the closets. Before the shopping bags enter the bedrooms full of new outfits for the new school year, clean out what no longer fits and what just doesn’t make the cut any longer because it’s torn, faded, or stained. You know, kids tend to have that effect on clothes. And you need the closet space.

2. Wipe the slate clean. With your calendar, that is. To keep the family schedule on track after a lackadaisical summer, employ the use of a large dry erase calendar and message board center to organize the paper paraphernalia of meetings, practices, parties, and events all in one stylish place.

3. Do the sporting goods shuffle. Store away the floaties, boogie boards, water guns, and pool noodles and dust off and organize the sports equipment that will be making an appearance on the field or court this fall. Decorative bins or baskets as a part of your back entryway storage keep these items at hand.

4. Swap your shades. Though August is not quite time yet for pumpkins and such, transition into the new season by toning down brights and adding in some school-spirited primary colors in table linens, guest bathroom hand towels, and couch throw pillows you rotate.

5. Revamp your outdoor living spaces. Some may use them consistently and some may use them sparingly in the heat, but regardless, keeping your patios and porches picked up, swept up, and well stocked will entice lingering activity outside as the after school hours wind down in the coming months.

6. Outline your “office space.” Since the lines of recreation and work in the home blur during the summer, help line out the difference by creating proper homework stations for your kids that supply them with everything they need to get crackin’ on the books without all the entertainment distractions.

7. Make your own menu. Free range snacking runs rampant June through July, so plan to rein it in and provide proportioned, nutritious after-school snacks and family dinners with a little more structure and planning. Making a menu plan ahead of time and grocery shopping accordingly can organize your eating and your food budget at the same time.

8. Make the beds. Now would be a good time to take advantage of end-of-season sales and spruce up the look of the kids’ beds with new, perhaps more grown-up bedding selections. Your available options can surely provide some contemporary choices that fit everyone’s style preferences.

9. Stock up. Your go-to items of the back-to-school days involve more than what makes the cut of the lengthy school supply list. Consider things for home like tissues, cold medication, extra white socks, bandages, batteries, wipes, water bottles, and lunchbox favorites that wait their turn in your pantry.

10. Soak up the last of summer. Take a day trip to the beach, savor the last crops of summery tastes like watermelon and peaches, and relish the longer daylight hours. And if you’re like me, one of the things you love most about the seasons is that they change. And then they let you anticipate their return.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 7th.

The Big Look of Smaller Scale Furniture Arrangements

Grand, large scale furniture is well suited for many homes, but smaller scale furniture has its place as well. When square footage is a challenge, don’t squeeze; just size right for the perfect petite setting.

The core of a smaller furniture arrangement is seating. An easy start to scaling back is choosing a loveseat over a full size sofa. When you pair it will smaller pieces, a loveseat can be just as substantial as its couch counterpart. Instead of a bulky recliner that seats one, choose two slim framed occasional chairs to accompany your loveseat. A couch and a recliner in an L shape seats four, and a loveseat and two side chairs in a square or rectangle seats four. You can recreate the same seating count and lay it out in a tighter formation to save on floor space and make your living area cozy and inviting.

Another key to a smaller arrangement is scaling back on the size of the side and center pieces. A loveseat does not need to be flanked by two standard end tables or have a massive coffee table in the center; they would all make your seating look diminutive. Instead, dial back the bulk of your tables and use small nesting tables, a tray side table, or a drum side table. The size and shapes of these pieces are well proportioned alongside small sofas and occasional side chairs. Additionally, take lighting more vertical and up-and-off the end tables. A lamp drum shade on a floor standing lamp can saddle up closer to your seating and not take up any surface area on a side table. Your living area arrangement is still well lit, and the height of two symmetrically-arranged lamps adds volume to the space.

Mix in bold patterned throw pillows that do not overwhelm the height of your loveseat cushions, decorative pieces like short glass vases, small sculptural pieces or coral, a stack of 3 or 4 books, an area rug to anchor the space, and framed artwork and pictures hung in a proportionate pattern. You will have created a smaller scale furniture arrangement fit for a big style look in your home. And you did not break the bank . . . or your back.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star July 31st.

Shelving Design, One Layer at a Time

One of the best pieces of advice I have ever heard about how to arrange pieces on shelves is to treat each shelf like its own tabletop. I think that takes the pressure off of trying to arrange an entire bookcase at once decoratively and to cohesive perfection. Instead, take one step (up) at a time.

Blending is the optimum word when trying to decorate shelving in built-ins, bookcases, and entertainment centers. Pull things together in a way that looks appealing, natural, and melded together. This starts with your decorative items. Literally, what do you bring to the table? The classics are books, pottery, vases, small sculptures, candlesticks, framed art, photos, clocks, dishes, small knick knacks, and natural elements like stones, dried naturals, grass, and coral. Pick things that reflect you and the type of display you want to create, whether that says contemporary, classic, intellectual, rustic, dressy, or thematic, like shells and sand for a beach display or sepia photos and collector’s items for the genealogy enthusiast. By choosing items - whether in things you purchase or collections you gather from different rooms in your home - that go together, you are on your way to a cohesive shelf display.

Some other tips to consider when arranging your items are symmetry, pattern, color, orientation, layering, and space. Symmetrical arrangements that have two or more items mirroring each other always look neat and well put together with purpose. Mixing complimentary patterns and textures draws the eye in and makes your display its most interesting. The use of a monochromatic color palette or picking two or three shades that pop together also draws the eye in and highlights your individual decorations. Staggering the orientation and layering of your things to ensure you have items spaced well within the back, middle, and front of each shelf, as well as the left, middle, and right sides, will provide the most balance and keep your collections from looking heavy in one spot and sparse in another. Another key point that can be overlooked in the goal of a full display is allowing for open space. Cramming too much in detracts from the individuality of what you want to feature. Adequate “white space” between stacks of books, arrangements of frames, and gatherings of glassware keeps the focus flowing.

Treat each shelf like its own canvas and work to create an artful display, one layer at a time. In the end, step back and see how each level works together to showcase an entire design that represents you, your home, and your interests with sophisticated, well-planned – and well placed - creative touches.

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

Black and White . . . and Make Them Green with Envy

Ah, black and white. This classic color combo has been a sustaining design element through generations. It dresses up and dresses down with ease and has an air of sophistication on all levels. Incorporating black and white into your home design can be a refreshing take that both modernizes and dials up your style quotient.

A mixture of furnishings in black and white is elegant and timeless. While a white sofa is not appropriate for all homes, it is a beautiful addition with both black and white printed pillows. Black occasional chairs in a patterned upholstery fabric with white throws draped down their centers with a brightly colored throw pillow in each seat are stand-outs in a living room furniture arrangement. Additionally, large pieces of furniture, like entertainment centers, hutches, and armoires, in either black or white establish a landmark piece in a room around which other elements revolve.

Black and white makes an ideal mix in both bedroom and bathroom schemes as well. High end hotel bedding styles can be recreated in your own room with white as the standard base. A white comforter or duvet with a black outline around the bed’s top with both black and white shams and throw pillows creates an idyllic master bedroom design. A shower curtain of similar design with white spa-like towels and thick bathmats offers the same sophistication in bathroom décor as well.

A zebra print in upholstery fabrics and rugs is a standard black and white mix that stands out nicely with various décor schemes. Black and white in artwork and photography can offer up an at-home display worthy of a gallery. Stairways with painted black steps and white risers can turn a blank staircase into an attractive focal point.

Whatever your preference, integrating this traditional black and white color combination can be a great place to start to build some new style elements into your space. And you may just make a few visitors a little green with envy in the process.

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

10 Things: Add Some Splash to Your Summer

1. Toss in a cool blue ocean shade for the season. Layer bright hues of aqua, sky, and navy on the family room sofa and the beds with multiple throw pillows or lightweight blankets. Serve off of a mix of blue platters to add another summer color to your hot weather dishes.

2. Make your own water feature for the table centerpiece. Fill glass vases of varying heights ¾ full of water and stager them down the center of the table. You can add a base of rocks or float candles, petals, or palm fronds. To brighten things up, drop in different amounts of blue food coloring in each.

3. Make homemade popsicles with fruit juice and chopped or pureed fruit. Stick to the molds you can buy or give it a whirl with paper cups and arts and crafts sticks. Either way, you should have a sweet, cold treat in the end for the quintessential summer dessert.

4. Host a water party in the backyard, pool or no pool. A series of water slides, kiddie pools, water balloons, squirt guns, and sprinklers can turn an ordinary grass yard into your own water park on a sultry afternoon.

5. Use seasonal fruit in some decorative arrangements. A pile of limes or lemons in a square glass vase is an instant décor piece for a coffee or end table. A stack of oranges in a tall cylinder vase can brighten a kitchen counter.

6. Swap out your everyday hand towels in the guest bathroom for a rainbow spectrum of towels rolled and displayed in a basket on the countertop. Mix in an inexpensive, bright, geometric-patterned shower curtain and a bath mat, and you have a tropical touch that can last into September.

7. Trade in traditional hand soaps and shower gels throughout the house for summery scents in bright pump bottles or vivid soap dishes for a simple touch of color and great aromatic additions.

8. Consider a string of paper lanterns in pink, yellow, aqua, and lime to light a patio or backyard for evening barbeques and cookouts. Tiki torches made with pest repellent help keep your outdoor living spaces pleasant and cast an inviting glow while you linger outdoors.

9. Take the heaviness out of standard drapery panels and add ironed, flat white sheets on ring clips to your drapery rods for the summer. The fresh, airy feel they offer, coupled with the billowy effect they provide as they gather at the bottom, is ideal for living areas and bedrooms alike to lighten up your windows this season.

10. Let a CD of summer hits be the backdrop that sets the mood for a laidback gathering over a buffet of cold pasta salads, summer fruits and veggies, and an indulgent combo of “s’mores” and sorbets to polish it off.

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

Independent Design

As our nation celebrates independence, I have considered some ways in which we make our own independent mark on the design in our lives. How do we stand apart in the look of our homes? What keeps us personal and not cookie cutter? I think the key is to find how to put more of ourselves into the spaces we live in.

What reflects you? That is where to start. Take what reflects you and turn those things into design elements in your home. Maybe you feel that is as straightforward as filling your home with photos of your family and important moments. A mantle, hutch, or buffet lined with an arrangement of attractively framed pictures reveals snapshots of memories and a portrait of your family history that tells a little bit of your story. Beyond pictures of the family, an independent take on the same concept is to turn your photography into your own custom artwork. Take pictures of scenery from your travel or even a series of images on a topic that appeals to you or would blend nicely with your décor, turn them into black and white, sepia, or enhanced color images, and blow multiple photos up to any size you prefer between a 5”x7” and a poster. Frame them alike and hang as a gallery display in a living room, dining room, or hallway.

Maybe you have a really outdoorsy nature, and rustic, earthy pieces draw your attention. Bring greenery indoors, along with wood or stone components that show off more masculine textures. Maybe your passport has taken you to various countries, and elements from those excursions are things you want to surround yourself with at home. Whether it is African rugs or Chinese sculptures, cultural designs lay a good foundation to build upon to reveal personality through design. Perhaps a refined, sophisticated feel is what you favor. Rich fabrics and grand furnishings could be your style. Perhaps there is a staple hobby of yours like movies, cooking, or art that could be reflected in your furniture, color choices, and the scene you set in your day to day space. Take what you like and turn it into practical application.

Incorporate you. Home design ingredients do not have to come straight off of a retail shelf. That is what independent design is all about – taking something that reflects you and making it work in your space. Whether you buy it, inherit it, come across it, make it, add to it, or have saved it for years, what you set out and hang up at home tells a story about you to every person that crosses your threshold. What do you think your design says about you this Independence Day? And what do you want to do to further impact that storyline?

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

Design Influence: France

French inspired design is a mix of city sophisticate and rustic countryside. More elegant furnishings are paired with rural décor. French style is ornate and detailed, while the overall feel is uncluttered. Rich colors of reds, blues, greens, and golds can be incorporated, as can a pastel color scheme in certain settings. You may find decorative items that center around roosters or hunting paraphernalia that make up French country themes, along with whitewashed painting of wooden furniture. Cooper kitchenware is also found in French inspired homes. You are more likely to find curvatures in French tables and chairs over straight lines.

Contemporary French décor angles toward elegant and chic. French style is considered romantic and glamorous. Decorative gold-rimmed mirrors, glass and mirrored accessories, and extravagant collectibles are peppered across walls and tabletops. Both large-scale, masculine and more feminine, light furniture pieces remain popular. Chandeliers and decorative ceilings have roots in French style, as do piping, trimming, fringe, tassels, and polished nail heads accenting furniture.

To host a French themed dinner party, think classy and chic. You can set up a drink station with wine, champagne, or sparkling cider and a collection of glasses and flutes. Keep the menu applicable by preparing both cheese and chocolate fondue and offering bread squares, strawberries, pretzels, and other cubed fruits for dipping. Lay out dessert trays with tarts, truffles, and pastries. Serve a spread of thinly sliced meats and cheeses alongside mini croissants or brie cheese, smoked salmon, and an array of crackers. Stringing lights around a patio deck and hedges can create your own “under the Eiffel tower” atmosphere. Add in the Nancy Meyer’s movie, “Something’s Gotta’ Give” to turn it into a movie night.

French influences can decidedly travel beyond fries here in the states. Add your own glitz and glam in your own personalized way. Whether dressed up or dressed down, a little French style can go a long way. It can even cross an ocean.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star June 26th.

Design Influence: Greece

Greece’s Mediterranean style is classic in nature and is characterized by seaside stucco exteriors and red tile roofs. Warm neutral colors like peaches and yellows make up the exteriors and accent white walls or other shades of cool blues, greens, and grays. Greek style homes have large windows, inner courtyards, columns, and large covered verandas.

Artwork is a distinctive part of Greek design, usually portrayed in large murals and nature paintings. The focus on symmetry and order in its classic interior design calls for mirroring seating arrangements around a central focal point. Cotton and linen fabrics that are both durable and understated cover furnishings. Stone and marble create visually interesting, cool flooring surfaces. Sculptures, statues, textured rugs, rustic pottery, candlesticks, and more formal pieces are common decorative elements. The Greek climate is open to proper, manicured hedges as well as tropical landscaping and palms.

Take a note from the Greek culture when hosting, and serve meze, or appetizers, that fits well with light summer fare, such as olives, hummus, pita bread, grapes, and recipes that call for feta cheese. Lamb, shrimp, skewered meats, and eggplant can comprise main dishes, and traditional desserts like baklava could be a new treat for your company. Or put together an array of cold pasta salads that include olives, feta, and olive oil for a summer gathering. Set up a buffet outdoors highlighted by candlelight or lanterns.

Take advantage of our coastal Valley setting and add in some Greek ingredients to mix things up. You may not be headed to the Mediterranean, but you can bring a new sea vibe straight to your home. No airfare needed.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star June 19th.

Design Influence: England

The English country style of home interiors is characterized by a dark color palette, with wood floors, patterned wallpapered walls, and dark mahogany or cherry wood furniture. Floral patterns of wallpaper, rugs, and upholstery fabrics are common. More antiqued-looking brass hardware prevails over American nickels and chromes. Furniture is comfortable and informal, usually having a large-scale, more filled out look. English homes are accessorized with details: books, picture frames, china pieces, and collectibles. Fabrics are mixed in upholstery, throws, accent pillows, and drapery.

English properties are often known for their gardens. Those with a green thumb and a willingness to capitalize on what plants thrive where they live can turn a plain grass space into a seasonal oasis of color and blooms. Patio spaces decked out in stone and brick work and trellises pick up on English influences.

A staple of English cuisine is breakfast, which creates a prime opportunity for hostesses to share quite the spread with their own “B&B” guests. A traditional breakfast of bacon, sausage, eggs, hash browns, toast, and tea makes up a great morning menu. Add in grilled tomatoes and fried mushrooms for some English authenticity.

Tea is also a staple of English tradition. Afternoon tea, or “low tea,” as it’s called, is a light meal between 3 and 5 pm with brewed tea with milk and sugar, along with mini sandwiches of cucumber, egg, ham, or salmon, plus scones and other small cakes or pastries. Your own version of an occasional afternoon tea could be a memorable tradition to start with young children, complete with cloth napkins and a real tea set and special tiered serving platters.

Other British traditions to partake of could be themed dinners of a casual night of “fish and chips” take-away, which is battered fish and slab-cut French fries, or a traditional Sunday meal of pot roast, potatoes, vegetables, and gravy. Any ideas you can take from the English influence and incorporate into your home or dinner table spread provide the opportunity to raise more than a stereotypical pinky; you could raise a glass or even a few cheers.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star June 12th.

Design Influence: Italy

For the month of June, let’s explore ways in which you can add design influences to your home and your hostess repertoire from other countries, namely Italy, England, Greece, and France. Consider it a summer vacation of sorts.

Italian design is earthy and brings the outdoors in. Natural colors like browns, tans, yellows, and terra cotta shades are prevalent. A lot of stone work, thick plasters, and wood make up exteriors, patio areas, and interior walls. Intricate tile and mosaics add decorative touches, along with pottery and ceramics. Natural wood furniture and metal pieces are found. Potted flowers and greenery make proper arrangements around a front entry or back patio slab.

Wine glasses, candelabras, silver and metal trays, and jars and bottles are small decorative pieces that can be incorporated. Think wine bottles, olive oil, and jars of olives and peppers. Copper kitchenware adds an instant Italian touch. Add an herb garden with basil, thyme, and oregano in small terra cotta pots to the kitchen windowsill and use fresh herbs instead of dried ones when cooking. Place an arrangement of glass water bottles on a silver tray on a buffet or hutch. Use a pizza stone in the oven instead of placing pizza directly on the rack for a more authentic crust.

When hosting guests, set out a bread basket and dipping oil plate with garlic with your appetizers. Make homemade gelato or granita for a sweet finish to your meal. Serve espresso or cappuccino with biscotti cookies. On a breezy evening, let the family dine al fresco on the porch. Skip breakfast and instead choose a Saturday brunch with frittata and juice. Chill a bottle of Italian soda for a sultry afternoon thirst quencher. Try different foods like pesto and bruschetta to see if they can be added to the list of family pleasers. Try your hand at homemade alfredo sauce, which is so rich and delicious.

It does not take a passport to explore another culture. If there is something that appeals to you about another location, whether from a trip, an idea, or simply something you see in a movie, see what can be done to add a little touch of that to your living space or your activities. Who knows? You may feel a little trace of vacation after all.

DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star June 5th.