Holiday Decorating from Nature — Ideas Abound!

Burlap, cranberries & walnuts adorn Christmas tree

How lovely to create trees, as well as home decorations, from natural materials. Why not organize a Santa’s workshop with your children or friends as your elves? Magazines abound with delightful ideas—many easy. And whatever your home’s decor, naturals will enhance its beauty at this special time of year. Read about some great ideas, inspired by our ancestors who relied on the woods around them for boughs and berries at this time of year, in my latest blog for Hooker Furniture.

Wishing you the happiest of holidays,
NL

Everything's Coming Up Pumpkins!

Pumpkin carving party ideas from Martha Stewart

“Tonight the Great Pumpkin will rise out of the pumpkin patch.  He flies through the air and brings toys to all the children of the world.”

~ Linus, It’s the Great Pumpkin,Charlie Brown

There is pumpkin mania in the land as Halloween and the festive fall holidays are upon us. And indeed, pumpkins are coming up everywhere. Looking for ways to decorate with pumpkins as the theme? You can find some inspiration in my latest blog for Hooker Furniture.

Labor Day Staycation Idea: Escape with a Good Book

Summer Read by Michael Steirnagle

Summer picnics, lazy walks and beach parties are great fun. But as the days grow shorter and we approach the last “official weekend” of summer, these fleeting days of leisure are not only a great time to dip into the pool, but a great time to dip into a really good book. Here are some suggestions to afford you a true “getaway” for the long Labor Day weekend, whether or not you are able to escape for one last weekend at the coast or resort. There is a lot to be said, after all,  for enjoying that novel or story of your choice in the comfort of your own home.

Creative use of open space=light & airy

Picture a lovely summer garden with roses entwined on a lattice, such as this one featured on annieathome.com. This creative use of open space is a design concept that never grows old. You will find it in such classics as Windsor chairs and in the contemporary designs shown in my latest blog for Hooker Furniture Corporation. While they are for all seasons, there is something especially appealing for the summer home. The look is tranquil and “cool” in every sense of the word.

Enjoy.
NL

Bravo to House Beautiful magazine for asking some of our best interior designers for their decorating secrets! There are 101 ideas for you to peruse, and most are just reminders of things we can do to make our homes and furniture look and function better. The very best of the ideas are guides that are cost-free.

Here are a few pointers that simply make good decorating sense!

Flowering Your Nest This Spring

Lilies at the Karen Blixen House in Denmark.

Can you believe it? We are only weeks away from the coming of spring! After a long winter, we can hardly wait to flower our nests. Before you pick flowers from your own garden, here is some inspiration for creating bouquets from the flower stand in your supermarket or enjoying the beauty of a faux arrangement of everlasting silk flowers. And if you want to dig a bit in the dirt, consider the now very popular hobby of gardening under glass.

Tour the trend-setting Rhapsody furniture collection

Most of us add a new piece or two to our homes each year, change the drapes, or add a coat of paint to the back bedroom. All good moves to freshen homes and spirits. I even get a big dividend from a new accessory such as a centerpiece or a table lamp.

That slow pace of changing furniture at home shifted for me recently, however, because I moved into a new space. Today, I am in the market for a totally new look.

Hooker Furniture’s Rhapsody collection is a good place to begin if you are in this frame of mind. Take a tour of the collection with me! 

Home IS Where The Heart Is

A wreath on the door, red roses on the table, kids making cards in the family room, a screen saver on the computer–all ways to bring hearts into your home for Valentine’s Day. Here are some ideas for heart-shaped treats, décor and centerpieces to really say love is in the air. 

And even after February 14, hearts in the home are never out of season or style.  The heart motif is one of the most universally loved.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and all the loves in your life.

Touches of Grandeur for Downton Abbey Fans

England’s earls and ladies inhabit a world we can only imagine as it is revealed to us on our television screens. But what we can relate to is how important home and tradition are to the inhabitants of Downton Abbey, the captivating PBS series. Perhaps it has inspired us to practice the art of gracious living, to appreciate the legacy of good enduring design and to add a touch of elegance to our own homes. Here are some ways to enjoy grace on a royal scale.