“Stunning artwork, fabulous wall or floor coverings and fashion-forward furniture are often the primary focus of home decorators,” notes Talley, who has styled magazine covers for some of the most prestigious design publications. “Using window treatments in much the same way that gorgeous frames accent cherished photos or paintings can make all the difference.”

Talley offers the following tips to bring out the best in windows throughout your home:

Scale and Proportion are Key

The most common mistake homeowners make when doing their windows is getting the proportions wrong - a valance or cornice that’s too small; draperies that don’t stack off the window and cover up too much of the view; or skimpy side panels made with too few widths of fabric. These little design flaws make all the difference in the finished appearance of a window and a room.

“Getting proportion right takes a good eye and a lot of experience,” notes Talley. “One size definitely does not fit all, so it can pay to have treatments created specifically for the windows in your home.”

“Custom furnishings are often comparably priced to ready-made, and can represent great value when you factor in the time and expertise of professionals,” adds Talley.

Functional or Decorative?

This has a lot to do with the design and proportion of a window treatment. Does it need to clear French doors? Protect from hot afternoon glare? Provide privacy? Or enable you to see a television or computer screen without an eyeshade? Understanding what the room requires will help create the appropriate design solution.

A room that requires privacy will need blackout shades or interlined fabric panels, wood blinds, woven wood or cellular shades to provide functionality. A second layer with soft fabrics and pleasing color accents adds an inviting decorative element. A more formal room might benefit from a third layer in the form of a valance, cornice or other top treatment.

“The different elements of a room, or a window, should be in harmony,” advises Talley. “Even a simple decorative band of trim in a pretty, complementary pattern on a solid fabric panel can add visual interest to a window and tie in the other design elements of a room.”

Finding the perfect window treatments for your home is all about the details. Using the right materials, determining the proper scale and proportion and addressing both functional and decorative concerns will help make your home more comfortable, more stylish and a distinctive expression of your design savvy.

Celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2008 as one of America’s leading interior design retailers, Calico Corners provides expert advice, decorating solutions and in-home design consultation in addition to quality designer fabrics for the home, trims, custom window treatments and upholstered furniture. They also offer measure and install services for window treatments. For more information or to find a location near you, visit www.CalicoCorners.com.

Whether you live in an apartment, sold your house for a condo in the city or simply have smaller rooms in your home, decorating areas with limited space can be a challenge. But by following some simple rules, you can easily utilize the space you have while still projecting your personal style.

“Small rooms are not lost space,” comments Shari Kagermeier, academic director of interior design, The Art Institutes International Minnesota. “Planning ahead ensures the room is functional and utilizes organizational elements that can cut the clutter to create a clean look that makes the space appear larger.”

Here are some ideas to consider when decorating a small room:

Plan Ahead

Think about what function you want the room to have. Will it be a guest bedroom, an office, a reading den or an exercise room? Once you determine how the room can function, you can start deciding on furniture and other decorative elements.

Cut Clutter

Nothing makes a small room look smaller than clutter. A wall full of pictures or tables full of magazines give the visual effect that the room can’t hold everything that it should, and therefore looks smaller in size. Remember that openness and neatness create a space that looks larger.

Furniture

The key to choosing furniture is to make sure it is size appropriate and multifunctional. Overstuffed chairs and couches are better for larger rooms while a loveseat or rocking chair might be better for small spaces. Measure the room before you choose furniture to make sure it will fit.

Also look for pieces that serve multiple purposes so you can stay organized and remove clutter. End tables and shelves often have built-in drawers for storage. Even couches are multifunctional. For example, Natuzzi offers sofas that have a comfortable pull-out bed without the typical center support bar. Additionally, the sleeper sofas are designed for easy opening and a clutter-free sleeping space. Not only do the upholstered components remain attached to the bed as it unfolds, but built into the sofa frame are storage areas for pillows, linens or other useful items.

Décor

Accent pieces are a good place to add color and patterns to your small room. From casual-country to Asian-infused, develop your room theme through the decorative details. Remember to minimize decorative pieces to eliminate a messy look. A vase, one piece of wall artwork and several accent pillows will add a lot of style without overdoing it.

Lighting

A small room needs to be adequately lit because light does a lot to visually open up space. If you are able, consider built-in lighting such as track or recessed elements. If not, use lamps that are smaller sizes and do not have large shades.

Thick and heavy curtains keep out the natural light, so light and airy curtains are key for smaller rooms. Another popular trick is to decorate with mirrors. This not only makes the space appear larger, it helps reflect the light throughout the room.

Color

Dark colors and intricate designs are not suitable for the walls of smaller rooms. When painting, choose a lighter color that opens up the wall space and also reflects the light in the room.

It’s not a bad idea to coordinate color palettes so that the other elements of the room match the walls. Carpet and furniture in the same tones blend the visual flow and trick the eye, making the room appear larger. Companies such as Natuzzi offer a variety of colors and fabrics to choose from. With over 200 colors of leather, 100 different fabric types and 60 options of microfiber, you can customize a sofa to perfectly match your room.

“We know that today’s living demands flexibility and comfort as well as style. It’s very exciting to see consumers taking charge of design in their homes and creatively mixing styles,” said Pasquale Natuzzi, creative director for Natuzzi.

Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to finding success in decorating your smaller spaces. For more information on lifestyle solutions that work well for smaller rooms, visit www.natuzzi.com.

Whether you are hosting a large holiday party or a quiet gathering with close family and friends, here are some quick and easy decorating ideas that will surely add a festive feel to your home:

* Spray garland with white and silver glitter to give it a sugar-coated vintage look and hang it on your staircase rail or fireplace mantle.

* Repetition helps to highlight your holiday theme. Use poinsettias or hydrangea in your tree, garlands, large glass hurricanes or as accents to other centerpieces. You can also tuck them around photo frames, candles etc. Use your favorite item (holly, flowers, pinecones, ornaments) -- the key is to use these items throughout your home.

* Evoke the senses with the smell of home baking and a welcoming feel -- burn candles with scents like cinnamon, pumpkin pie.

* Decorate with beads. Wrap the lower portion of pillar candles with colorful strung beads for a glitzy look or create beautiful beaded ornaments (see instructions below) to coordinate with holiday colors.

* Use your favorite fabric to wrap around the base of your tree instead of using a traditional tree skirt.

* Make colorful, festive, placecards for your holiday dinner with sheets of festive scrapbook paper.

* Sew or wrap pillows in holiday fabrics to scatter on the sofa and chairs for quick holiday touches.

For more ideas and the latest trends in indoor and outdoor holiday decorating projects, visit your local Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store.

Somewhere between the recent explosion of blow-up lawn Santas and twinkling light displays choreographed to an orchestral rendition of “Joy to the World,” many traditional home decor elements have been siphoned out of the modern holiday season.

But even though today’s holiday schedule can be a bit overwhelming at times, there are plenty of simple seasonal decor options that will restore tradition to your holiday, and create lasting memories for you and all of your holiday guests.

Color Away the Cold

In many parts of the country, the joy of the holidays is dampened by the cold, wet, snowy and rainy weather that accompanies this time of year. People take refuge inside their homes to keep safe and stay warm. One of the simplest ways to create a holiday atmosphere that is warm and inviting is to change the colors inside your home.

“It is astonishing how affective it can be to repaint a living room or dining room from a cool blue to a rich red or orange,” says Cindy Cragg, home stylist for Colonial Williamsburg. “In the 18th and 19th centuries, rich paint colors were a sign of prestige. Today, many paint companies are offering historically accurate palettes that mirror those colors.

“Williamsburg actually has more than 400 paint colors available through Pratt & Lambert Paints that capture the richness of traditional colonial décor, perfect for the holiday season,” Cragg says.

Table Setting with Style

Inevitably, holiday get-togethers seem to orbit around the dining room table. Whether your table is primarily used as a setting for the annual cookie buffet, or a more traditional location for a sit-down dinner, it has the potential to be a beautiful centerpiece for your home.

Cragg suggests choosing a tablescape that includes seasonal items that can complement your place settings.

“A red apple theme always makes a table setting really pop,” she notes. “This can be easily accomplished by taking some fresh evergreen branches and positioning a few brightly colored red apples throughout the arrangement.”

“If you really want to wow your guests, try stacking alternate layers of apples and greenery in a conical tree formation,” she says, adding that this centerpiece can then be paired with red or green table linen and basic white dishes. For an added jolt of color, place gold-colored chargers under the dinner plates.

Go for Green

Evergreen plants are holiday staples. During this time of year they have a beautiful green color and many of them have very clean, refreshing aromas. And though the traditional Christmas tree is a great first step, there are many other ways to bring these evergreen accents into your home.

One of the most beautiful evergreen plants is the holly. Holly comes in many different variations and can be shaped to fit your needs. Simply placing a few branches of holly on a mantle or fireplace adds a whole new dimension to your décor.

Or, to really add some seasonal sizzle, get a few small potted hollies and place them in a foyer or vestibule. The contrasting red berries and green leaves on the female holly provide a beautiful, and seasonal, color contrast.

Festive Fragrance

Complement your visible décor with an inviting nostalgic aroma. Try putting a little fresh cedar and a pine scented candle into a coffee table arrangement in your family or living room. The scents will fill your house, creating a very inviting atmosphere for everyone who stops over.

Another way to create an engaging scent for your house is by baking cookies. This simple task not only puts you one step closer to filling your cookie tray, but it creates a great aroma in your home. Try to bake two dozen cookies just before guests arrive. Cover any batter that you can’t get to and put it in the fridge. The dough will be fine for 24 hours and you can finish baking the next day.

Keep it Fun

No matter what you do, holiday decorating is an easy and fun way to rejuvenate your home and create a beautiful environment for friends and family alike. All the sights, sounds and smells of your house will make a lasting memory for all of your holiday guests.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

If your kitchen needs an extreme makeover, updating it might seem like an impossible task. The existing cabinets largely determine the overall feel of your kitchen, and replacing them can be enormously expensive. Luckily, there are easier, less expensive options for giving one of the most important rooms in your house the new look it deserves.

If you have an outdated kitchen, one of the simplest and most rewarding fixes is to add new door and drawer fronts and reface your cabinets with veneer. By also adding new knobs and pulls and painting the kitchen walls, you can literally transform your entire kitchen without a lot of hassle and expense.

If you buy new doors and drawer fronts and want a painted finish all that is required is to paint the doors and drawer fronts to match the cabinet boxes. If you want a natural wood finish, you’ll probably want to apply new veneer to the cabinet boxes so they match the new doors and drawer fronts.

The four basic steps:

1. Remove and discard existing door and drawer fronts. They will be replaced with new door and drawer fronts made to your specifications.

2. Resurface cabinet sides with hardwood or veneered plywood in the same species as the new doors that will be installed.

3. After prepping the face frames, apply a flexible peel-and-stick wood veneer and wrap it around the front and edges of the face-frame rails and stiles.

4. Install new doors, hinges, knobs and pulls.

The decorating team at Canadian Tire has put together themes with helpful colour combinations and coordinating products to help make it easy and affordable to create a beautiful, festive space. All you need to do is pick a theme and then use coordinated décor accessories to create a picture perfect holiday.
Themes:

Elegant

Create a comfortable and joyous space, using the elegance of ivory, gold, copper and bronze accents. Choose coordinated holiday items such as wreaths, tree angels and reindeers that have an old world theme with a modern touch of elegance.

Cosmopolitan

Combine glossy black, shiny metallics, plush velvet and soft feathers to create a sleek and avant-garde holiday theme. Consider a feather tree this year and compliment it with gold and velvet brocade balls. Create your own dining room table centrepiece by lining gold candles down the centre of the table to create a sleek and stylish look for guests.

Traditional

Classic holiday colours like red, gold and green create natural warm, yuletide memories and is ideal for families with children. Start with a bark wreath on the front door and continue the warmth into the home by hanging festive holly berry garland and decorating the tree with traditional ornaments like reindeers, snowflake and ice skates.

Romantic

Make a lasting impression with holiday guests by incorporating tones such as white, café au lait and rose as well as accents such as sequins and feathers. Set a soft and soothing mood by lining metallic candles and silver tea-lights along a shelf or fireplace.

Majestic

Transform your home into a holiday palace fit for a king or queen by combining regal burgundy and gold. Incorporate these colours into soft textures, such as velvet when looking for items such as tree skirts or stockings and accent using medieval jewels.
Winter Cool — Bring the outside in by adding icy and metallic touches by placing metallic angels, snowflakes and wreaths into the home. Complete the shimmering winter look by adding subtle accent touches with royal blue and silver accessories.

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Whether its summer or winter, outdoor décor continues to be a hot trend this year. Here are tips to make your outdoor space as festive as your indoor space this holiday season.

Take indoor décor outdoors:

• Use extra large stylish hanging ornaments, such as pre-lit holiday ornament balls to hang on outdoor trees or at the front of the house. Look for Christmas ornaments in metallic colours that are sure to capture the gleam, especially during the first snowfall.

Decorate your front door:

• Take a twist on the traditional front door Christmas wreath this season and choose wreaths that are made of metallic balls, bark and feathers.

• String some holly berry garlands around the exterior of your front door for that special festive look.

Have your own music and light show:

• Invite the neighbours over and synchronize outdoor Christmas lights and décor to the musical sounds of the holidays. By choosing the dancing lights and sound string that is new this year, homeowners can set their lights to the tune of 20 different Christmas carols. Complete the show by plugging lights or lighted decorations into six different outlets; each outlet powers 1,200 lights.

Create an outdoor winter wonderland:

• New this year, sparkly and shimmering mirror reindeers can be placed throughout the front or back garden to provide an elegant, festive and illuminated look.

• Choose outdoor light colours such as warm white, silver or blue and string on outdoor trees to light up the lawn.

Light it up:

• Change the colours of your outdoor lights as often as you wish. Canadian Tire offers All-Season Remote Control LED Light Sets, including orange for Halloween and warm white for summer. Holiday colours can be changed by the touch of a remote control: alternating between red and green, blue and warm white or choose steady-on colours in green, red, blue and warm white.

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