A SPRING IN YOUR STEP: ADD A FLOURISH TO YOUR INTERIORS

May 03, 2014

Image © Designers Guild

I adore patterns. I have a hard time turning down a bird or a butterfly. That gives me plenty in common with many designers who indulge their love for flora and fauna in the springtime.

Last year, at this time, I wrote that you might turn spring cleaning on its head by keeping your so-called junk. This year, I challenge you to add some dazzle and delight into your home. Too many of us rely on neutrals to avoid creating a decorating disaster. I think it’s time to be bright and beautiful like the world around us. After all, we are finally coming out from under one of the longest winters on record and that is worth celebrating.

One of the most dramatic ways to add pattern into your home is through wallpaper. At Designers Guild there are multiple options, including the one above, but my favorite is a Christian Lacroix butterfly print that is so vivid it feels like the winged creatures could lift right off the wall and flutter away. I love to bring an element of surprise into a guest powder room and, in fact, we are using this paper in a project that is under construction. As soon as it’s finished I will share photos with you.

Image © Designers Guild

Birds. What better way to announce that spring is here than the sound of birdsong? I am a huge fan of the chinoiserie bedding from Dwell Studio and have already loved one set to death. I am trying to decide whether to replace the duvet set I wore out or simply collect some of their throw pillows and stick to white sheets.

Images © Dwell Studio

I definitely associate spring with brighter, longer days and I am madly in love with the capiz shell chandeliers from kouboo.com. They evoke the beach and they manage to be both casual and effortlessly glamorous. Think movie star in flip flops.

Images © Kouboo.com, LLC

One of my favorite artists is Paul Villinski. He fashions installations and sculptures from recycled tin cans and other found materials. He is known for creating hundreds of small metal butterflies that are grouped together to create pure magic. When you purchase one of his works of art, he will fly out personally to install the butterflies in your home. I dream of one day being able to have a Villinski artwork fluttering across my own walls ii imagine the delight that would bring.