Simple Styling: Part 2

A little while ago I shared with you some of the very simple things I use in my own kitchen for styling.  Although I must admit my kitchen these days is looking pretty boring as we are in the midst of another minor renovation and re-design.  No pain, and no dust = no Gain.

More on that another time, but  today I thought I would share a bit more on my passion for all things styled.  It’s no secret, even though I appreciate a home having that lived in feel, I often dream,  obsess,  and put my stamp on new ways I can style a particular space.  I can think of dozens upon dozens of ways styling can bring life to your home, but I not sure that you have that much time.

I recently had Tea with a friend. This friend and her husband have been doing major renovations for years now. They’ve updated an older house and still in the process of working toward their goal of renoing the whole house top to bottom.  As you know when you start renovating a home it really never stops.  Sorry to break this to you, but I just thought you should know.  🙂 They have done a beyond fantastic job pulling together the hard finishes of some of their spaces and her concern now is that while they love their home she feels it’s missing something.  Wanna know what it is?

Styling.

Who said fresh flowers are just for Valentines Day, Birthdays, or Anniversaries?  I picked these flowers, ( that were all weeds in my parents back yard)  this past summer when I staged their home.  You would be amazed what beautiful stems that are just outside your door OR  in the area that you live in.  Often when I am a passenger in a car, I  keep note of what I see in ditches all year-long, just in case an event comes up that I need some thing cheap to go with an arrangement of high-end stems.

These were weeds too that were used in a laundry room for staging.  You don’t need to be selling and staging your home to make doing laundry a more tolerable, enjoyable, task.  These flowers represented “freshness” to me, and I think that’s why I was drawn to them.  Or may be it’s a bunch of cheaper flowers at your local florist, so be good to yourself and buy yourself some!

In the Design world, Green apples have become the decor item that has had its time in the sun and now it is time to go in and get some shade.  Despite their bright and vibrant colour, basically  they have  been over used in Styling.  All this from the words of Mark Challen {VP of Communications} – he delivered a humourous take on this topic at IDS this past fall.

I’ll leave you with this photo of apples, because I still like them and I agree that they may be need to be replaced with other things fresh and green. Go ahead and use the fresh produce in your home to liven up your kitchen.  For one, it’s one great way to keep colour in your space, but at the same time there’s no need to go out and buy freshness from a decor store, it’s already sitting in your fridge produce drawer.  Not to mention, if you can visially see your produce, you are more likely to eat it instead of it going moldy in the cooler!

I love this open drawer to store sparkling water, wine or just about any beverage.  I think either the drawer has a light inside of it, or the photographer placed a flash in it.  Clever.

  I think if there is something in your kitchen that you just love, then give your self permission to keep it out.

All great styled things come in Odd numbers.  3’s, 5’s, and 7’s look great when paired in groups.  Experiment with your items until you get the look you’re after.  This can be tone on tone, or a variety of colours.

Styling to inspire you.