Showing posts with label things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label things. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

 It is not necessary to spend huge amounts of money to accessorize your home.  Much of what you need is probably in another room or in the natural environment. Garage sales, thrift stores etc. can  also provide  economical options.  The trick is to select  things that have multiple uses.  In this way you can rotate objects to make them new.   I love bottles and natural elements together.  It’s no wonder I loved Anna Truelsen’s My Lovely Things blog when I found it this week. She is a pro at using ordinary things for big impact. 

 Take one white table and add various bottles and natural elements.  When you add a growing bulb to the mix the vignette will change as the bulb grows.

 The look is changed completely when a black frame is used as a backdrop and a potted plant and a narrow necked bottle is added with a chair in the foreground.

 Different bottles with feathery ferns change the look again.  I was thinking how I would love to add a small black and white print inside the frame to fill up the space at the top. What do you think?

Replacing the black frame with a mirror adds to the repetition of objects and the mirror will also reflect other things in the decor.  Massing object together has big impact.

With Christmas just around the corner what could you do to add a little festive flavour? 


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 This  vignette and the one below are so simple,  inviting and in keeping with the other elements in
the home.   
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 Repetition of glass and natural elements with a few sparkles.  Very inviting. 
And now for something more dramatic!

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Who knew that one sculptural green leaf could be so dramatic? 

This vignette is built on varying shades and finishes of black with a strongly sculptural branch with blossoms to break up the starkness of the space. You could achieve a similar look with any colour interior by keeping the colour of the objects in the same family.  Certainly black has an impact that other colours might not have.

Look around.  What do you have in your home that you could group together?

The post Celebrate ordinary things appeared first on Decor Pur.

Friday, December 23, 2016

I should make huge apologies for stalling my blogging over the last couple of months, but I have a letter from … the artist.  I spent most of June, July and August at my summer house without access to the internet except through my phone. Blogging uses data.

 If you follow me on Designing Home you know my life is very cyclical.  I have to find time for two careers- interior decorating and art.  I often flip my attention for blocks of time, and traditionally summer is  art time. I allow my decor business to match my summer speed. It doesn’t hurt to be unavailable!

sunflowers, Bonavista Social Club, Upper Amherst Cove, Margaret Ryall

 I’m finding it difficult to accept summer has dwindled into fall.   That doesn’t mean I don’t make art the rest of the year; I just have to share my time with business. But those summers are important for the rest of the year when you take time to reflect.  I found out that:

Nature fuels creativity

 iceberg, Duntara, Newfoundland, Margaret Ryall

A long summer, spent on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean with whales breaching and ice bergs slowly drifting, begs you to slow down.

 relaxing Duntara Newfoundland  feet first , Margaret Ryall

  Contemplation leads to renewal as you allow your mind to follow the rhythms of nature.  When you  relax  this wonderful feeling of “anything is possible” descends. You make new connections, have creative thoughts, and appreciate  your lot in life.  Even the small things, usually ignored, are suddenly worthy of comment.

There’s new life in old things

 Lawton house, King's Cove, Newfoundland, Margaret Ryall

 I love to see old houses on their last legs getting attention, and those that don’t eventually fall down.  It is in this debris,  that I found inspiration for new work.

 Composition in Time Margaret Ryall 2014 wood assemblage

 What began quietly at the end of last summer has blossomed into a whole new series of  work this year and an exhibition in 2016.

Yes, I’ve taken over that holy of holies- the shed – as my studio.  Move over Don, I’ve arrived. Good thing I learned  how to use all the necessary tools years ago. I can make that band saw sing.

Nature provides the best colour schemes 

 

 Duntara, Bonavista Bay, Margaret Ryall

My  colour sensibilities are heightened every summer because I am so immersed in nature.  I see coastal colours in my colour schemes in both art and decorating. It’s as if I am storing up the feelings of summer in the the palette of my surroundings. 

Know when to stop

orange yellow rockers porch Duntara Bonavista Bay Margaret Ryall

Usually for a month each summer we trip around Europe with friends.  This summer we decided to stay put as they went off to China!  Yes, we traded China for a summer “around the bay” in a little harbour with a population of 30+.  I’m so glad I listened to my body.

 There are many kinds of artists

Mahoneys' garden, King's Cove, Newfoundland, Margaret Ryall

Past lives intersect in small communities where you know everyone and everyone knows you.  Our friends, The Mahoneys, who live in the next community,  have a lovely garden.  I featured it in my last post as proof that many people do not realize how talented they truly are.

What were your summer revelations?

The post 5 things I learned this summer appeared first on Decor Pur.