The Pantone 2012 Color of the Year is…. Tangerine Tango!

Feast your eyes on these seductive hues:

Shown: Pantone, CB2, Etsy, Serena & Lily

Let me tell you a little story about Larry, a lawyer that lives in Laconia. Unfortunately Larry is pretty lonely these days. He longs for a lasting relationship with a lovely lady. A likeable guy, Larry is good looking, drives a Lexus, and makes a fantastic lasagna. So why no luck in the love department? Well if you look around his house, Larry lives like a lazy loner. His limited furnishings can be summed up by a lava lamp and a La-Z-Boy. Any lady would be leery of a love interest that lived in such conditions.

Luckily, Larry’s friend Linus knew of a local gal that could point him in the right direction. “I think her name is Leduc from Lavender & Lotus,” he said. “Let her fix up the living room at least.”

This week I’m looking for an introduction to your brother or friend who struggles as a bachelor. Making changes to his home environment could be the shift to help him romantically. Help is just a call or click away!

Source: Sarah Spicuzza

Welcome to 2012: the Year of the Dragon. An important symbol in Chinese culture, the dragon symbolizes power, wisdom, and strength. Dragon years are considered particularly auspicious for new businesses, marriage and children as well as individual fortunes and the world economy.

So how will you embody the dragon in 2012? This year I commit to courageously stepping out of my comfort zone, being focused, and honoring my purpose to walk in love and joy every day and help others do the same.

I LOVE Suzani’s. Native to several central Asian countries, these textiles are colorfully embroidered works of art. Generally made of cotton or silk, their patterns feature rosettes, floral motifs, birds, or ancient magical symbols. Simply gorgeous!

Sources: The Decorista, Pottery Barn, Joy Plotnik, Etsy, l’aviva, Once Upon a Tea Time, decorpad

A common design challenge homeowners seem to run into is knowing how to arrange or display framed artwork or photos. While there is no perfect recipe for every home, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Frame style, size, and matting: Using the same configuration on every piece will create a more formal look. For a more casual display, play around with 2 or 3 combinations of frame style, size, color, and matting.
• Subject matter: How do the images relate to one another? Photos and artwork can definitely be combined, but grouping certain colors or frames will help to harmonize the collection.
• Mix it up: Throw in something unexpected. This may be something more three dimensional like a wooden box, scuplture, or letter to represent the family name.
• Hanging: (I love this trick!) Cut a piece of paper to the same dimensions of each item to be hung. From there, tape the paper to the wall in the configuration you desire. This technique allows you to rearrange the items until it’s just right. Once every item is placed, you can measure/mark the “nail spot” on each piece of paper, and hammer right through. Ta da!

Remember, there is no perfect solution - do what works best for your home. Here are few images to help inspire you.

Sources: desire to inspire, Cynthia Benson, design is mine, design is mine, elle decor, Sally Daffodil

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Pinterest Source: Hunter Blackburn

There are some qualities to a house that really make you just fall in love with it. Windowseats do that to me for sure. Check out these fantastic snuggle-up-with-a-book-or-maybe-just-daydream places.

Pinterest Sources: Nicole Cammaert, Anne Leonard, Laura Wojtys, Rhonda Stephens, Emily Ketchum, Erika Schick, Patrick Moran

Since surrending to the awesomeness that is Pinterest, I have been a bit distracted lately. Looking at so many fantastic pins has my mind swimming with ideas for blogging! I have to confess - I’ve been less than attentive while driving lately… I know, it’s terrible. The good news is that I am aware of the situation, and am working to refocus my mind on the task at hand. Like handling heavy machinery… yikes.

If you’re still wondering what this Pinterest thing is all about, click here to check out my page.

Pinterest Source: Carrie Matheson

Chevron. Honestly, it is everywhere! Chevron must seriously be on trend right now because I am bumping into it left and right. Just see for yourself.