This is a fun and festive holiday where creativity can be on display for all to enjoy. Many of us can revert back to our childhoods and let the fun begin in decorating. Take ordinary household items and turn them into something special. Halloween does not need to be an expensive endeavor. Pumpkins, gourds, and cornstalks only need a little help to make them look festive. When decorating for this holiday, whether inside or out, spider webs are the key to success. I place them everywhere. Fall leaves and branches can be placed on tables and in vases. I even used a tree limb that fell during the…

“Going green” can be applied to all aspects of our daily life. The concept of recycling seemed overwhelming when first instituted, but is now part of our domestic life.  Design shows devote full episodes to going green when applied to paint, flooring and other household materials. It is time to take that one step further. With Halloween quickly approaching, going green can also be applied to your holiday décor.  Once the “trick or treaters” have rung the last doorbell, we begin preparing for Thanksgiving and are inundated with the countdown to Christmas by retailers, television commercials …

The newest dominate look at the design shows this year is the “reclaimed” wood look. Tones of distressed wood in gray and taupe are everywhere. These are not the grays of the 80s; they are warmer, more inviting hues, and seem to excite the eyes of the beholders. Adding this tone to a room can be your new “neutral,” instead of gold, beige, or tan.  It is a really great color to team up with creams and plums. Many accessories are also popping up in these colors. Carved finials, lamps and bowls filled with natural elements adorn these pieces of furniture. Reclaimed wood also teams up with …

After a long summer, it’s time to get into the swing of holiday decorating, and the best time to start is Halloween. The best part of Halloween is that decorating doesn’t have to be really expensive to create an elaborate effect. Merchandise is readily available. Just look around your house and yard for creative fall items to gather. I used ripped old sheets, outdoor bare branches, old fallen leaves, and even old clothes to create unique decorations.    Bats can be cut from black paper and adorn fireplaces, windows and walls. Just remember not to use tape on painted walls; 3m sticky squares …

Mirrors are popping up in the oddest places! Not only are they grouped together in one certain area but they are also a fashion accessory in the home now. Mirrors grouped together over a console, in a hall, or on a dresser have been used instead of artwork to adorn areas for hundreds of years. Now, they are placed artistically in many other places. Mirrored furniture has shown up in almost every furniture catalog and in all styles from transitional, modern, to even traditional. Why are they so popular? They fit in many areas and add a little spark to the style of the room. Mirrored frames, …

Well with September here and kids off to school, fantastic fall approaches. The exteriors of our houses should actually be looking pretty good right now - bountiful color of late summer blooms and the fall foliage starts to creep up on us. But, what about the neglected inside? Most of us spent every free moment in the summer sun outside with our family, so to some degree inside was neglected. Now the holidays creep up on us faster than you can spell them, so it is time to give an update to out interior domain. I find fall is the most pleasing time to bring outside in with whimsical, bountiful…

Now is a great time to utilize our natural resources to create a great indoor landscape with what is available to us. Fall is approaching and with the turbulence within the economy, we can turn to our creativity to kick into play.    How could we add a little pizzazz into our homes without adding high expenses? Fall decorating is a great season to do this. Look around at all the natural landscape and see the beautiful array of resources; grasses, pumpkins, gourds, branches with colorful leaves, cabbages, etc.  These can be brought into our homes to decorate our tables and sideboards.  Let’s …

Most of us have been brought up thinking that the only type of décor for that empty wall space is a traditional painting. However, many walls in our homes just don’t lend themselves to traditional paintings or tapestries. In some instances, a painting on a high upper wall just does not sit well, often due to the architectural layout of Mahwah homes. I am a big fan of alternate wall decor, meaning not the traditional stuff. Many times, woodworking techniques, such as decorative boxes placed onto the wall with trim, work well. These boxes can open up new approaches to decorating a wall, such as…

During the past few years, wallpaper has been taken a back-step to painting. Now there is a rejuvenation of wallpaper. Decorative painting still goes on strong in the way of Italian plasters and murals, but the rebirth of wallpaper is a strong frontrunner. I have noticed that there is a new, more creative approach to wallpaper; glass beads, metallics, damasks, natural weaves, and lots of different medias are popping up in this industry. Wallpaper does not need to be overpowering. In some circumstances, perhaps just an accent wall would be a nice way to introduce wallpaper into a situation. …

Fresh floral arrangements can be a great way to bring drama to a table or sideboard when having a get-together. Building a tablescape with florals can really create a beautiful look. Nature is always welcome in a home- whether it is a fresh arrangement or a potted plant. Seasonal flowers bring desired color to a table and confirm the time of year and its celebration. Always make sure that the flowers chosen are fresh and the flowers are not fully opened. Remember that the heat in the home and the sunlight on the arrangement shorten the life of the flower, so keep your arrangement in a cool …

Before you get totally turned off, try thinking of “bling” not as gaudy jewelry hanging from a reality star’s neck, but as an accent that can really brighten your home’s décor. Many of us have probably seen decorating bling from around the world - metallic gilding and leafing in furniture and woodwork is popular throughout Europe, Asia, and India.    Is there a place for bling in your home? Many antiques have gold leaf that has been aged to a beautiful patina, copper turns into a wonderful vertigoes tone, and silver and bronze ages to perfection. We can find bling in all sorts of home décor. …

Now, with the influx of “transitional” style décor, it is a perfect time to add some creativity to your wall surfaces. “Transitional décor” is a fun way to update your existing domain with a clean, yet warm style that focuses on sleek, cozy styles. Fabrics consist of linens, burlaps, and natural weaves on furniture with old world frames and trimmed with decorative cords and nailheads. Limed and bleached woods are a nice change from the heavy woods of traditional furniture.  Light and airy with splashes of color can be a refreshing look to your décor. Metallics are in with wall treatment and …

After doing all this decorating, it’s party time. Some of the best events are held within the privacy of your own home, especially when you have a mix of adults and children.  When you’re hosting a party for that special occasion, you need to decide how much time you want to spend with your guests, as well as enjoying the party yourself.  Start with your theme and the color scheme. Build from there; elaborate table centerpieces from fresh florals look the best, but you can create an awesome effect with  a bunch of balloons properly positioned in the right container. Add a little confetti …

When you need a special pop of color, or drama to your dining room, think of adding fabric to your table. Table runners add texture and color to that long area that needs softening. I love to get a large square, either a table scarf or a throw that can be scrunched under a bowl or draped off of the center of a table. This will enhance the look of the centerpiece that sits on the table. You can get creative and look for that antique scarf that has beautiful fringe or embroidery and use that as an accent. The best thing is that it can be changed to go with the season. You can dress up the room …

Whenever you decide to paint or decorate with color many people gaze at the paint chart and are faced with thousands of choices. Where do you start? First, ask yourself what colors you like, or would like to see in your home. Then you need to look around at the existing furnishings and relate the color to the items that cannot be changed. Many people try too hard to place multiple colors in a home that do not flow together nicely. In some instances, rooms can be connected with a hallway or wall that runs into each other. This is where it gets a little tricky. Remember, some rooms with a large…

Pillows are a great way to dress up a living space that needs a pop of drama.  Most always, when you buy a sofa, the pillows aren’t there to make a statement.  The same is true when you look for a bed ensemble for your bedroom.  Take a look at some photos of local Mahwah homes that illustrate what the addition of a pillow or two can do; they are worth the investment. And, keep the following tips in mind when looking for pillows: Taking a bench that is wood, either stained or painted, and adding that pop of just the right fabric turns it into a work of art.  Also, comfort comes into play when …

If you take a tour of Mahwah homes, you’ll notice a trend: unique alternatives to the framed photo or painting. When a painting is required to fill a space, why not consider a mural? There are many surfaces that can be decorated with a beautiful landscape. Just think of a wonderful vacation that the family went on or a family pet that would be remembered forever on a door of a cabinet or family room wall. Painting can adorn many areas, such as over a fireplace, an odd shaped angled wall, a curved area, and even over a window. Some spaces do not lend themselves to a framed picture; they just …

Now what? That little child who is now turning into a teen is asking for a room makeover.  Okay, do we allow them to participate in this decorating adventure? You had complete control over the “baby room” and then control over the “tween room” but how do we let our 10 or 11 year old decorate his or her domain to last through the teen years right through college? First, ask your child about their preference to color selection, and then from there it has to be a compromise. We always want our children to be creative and express themselves, so this is a chance to see where they can go. Listen to…

For the last several weeks, we have been writing design columns intended to provide helpful hints for your home, based on design experiences in other households throughout Mahwah. We have covered a large array of topics such as redoing fireplaces, architectural elements, reupholstering furniture, window treatments, floral arrangements and outdoor plantings to name a few.  We would like to add a new dimension to these articles and hopefully zero in on some of your concerns in your own home.  Perhaps you cannot decide on the appropriate color in a room, or you are having difficulty with …

Last week’s Designing Mahwah article focused on planting outdoor urns for spring and provided a tip on coordinating the flowers with the colors of your wreath on your door.  Let’s take that one step further this week and start paying attention to our entire property.   After all, good design starts from the curb.  Many Mahwah homeowners have landscapers take care of spring clean-up, raking the last of the fall leaves, mulching and fertilizing the lawn.  But do they pay attention to your flowering shrubs or trees?  Azaleas, rhododendrons and other flowering shrubs need some help from you to …