Tips For Adding Local Flair To Your Home From A Sacramento Designer
Decorating is a very personal endeavour. How do you make your nest reflect not only you and your family's tastes and dreams, but perhaps bring in a bit of local flavor as well? Turning to a design professional is a good start. See what Kerrie Kelly has to say about adding pizzazz to your Sacramento home.
Kerrie Kelly Design Lab
3252 J St.
Sacramento, CA 95816
(916) 919-3023
www.kerriekelly.com
Kerrie Kelly, ASID (American Society of Interior Design), MBA, CAPS (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) and a member of International Interior Design Association, founded her design lab in 1995. She and her team are dedicated to bringing great design to the homeowner. Kerrie has written two books and received many awards since opening her design lab. Here are some suggestions from Kerrie about how to bring some local flair to your home.
Add an organic element to your home that reflects your neighborhood. Pillows for your chairs, beds or couches can bring your hobbies or interests into the space. Are you a cyclist? Kerrie suggests the Design Lab's "cruise" pillows. These reflect the great bike trails and other activities in the area. Other pillows can be directly related to your neighborhood. Look around for ones that complement your passions.
The walls in your home are a natural place to put up a bit of local ambience. Just by simply painting them a color that works well with art pieces to hang is a good start. For a very personal touch, look for local artwork. Sacramento and the surrounding communities are absolutely alive with artwork of all kinds. An added bonus is that you will probably meet the artist who made the piece you are choosing to put in your home. Find paintings or sculptures that reflect local areas. Second Saturday art walks, in many communities, are the perfect place to start your search.
Consider the mood of the room you are decorating. An easy and efficient way to do this is with candles and candle holders. What season is it and what scent would remind you that it is autumn or winter? Find candle holders that fit well with the overall theme of your room. Incorporate glass and crystal perhaps for a very formal setting, or locally produced candles with leaves showing in the wax for a less formal area. Bikes, ducks, boats, mountains and much more are all very well represented in the candle holder arena.
Lighting is always on the list for designers. Look for lighting that reflects your intended design. A wall sconce with a laser-cut scene of local areas by a local artist brings that outside part of the community inside. Perhaps you and yours enjoy the skiing and hiking opportunities in the nearby Sierra. Pine trees, pine cones, cowboys and dogs can easily be the support system for the lighting in your home. Look around your community for artisans who work with light fixtures or decorate one with found objects from your stash of odds and ends.
Make the outside of your home show your passions too. What kind of stone is native to your area? What trees and plants naturally grow where you live? Native plants leading to your door, with a few good stones mixed in, provides a very easy connection to the environment of your town or neighborhood. A seasonal flag or two will brighten up your nest as well. Connect the themes inside to the entry from the outside. Plan to make the backyard an extension of your expression of passion for color, place or hobby that flows from inside.
Seasonal changes will keep things fresh and exciting. Become a sleuth at local flea markets, art walks or antique shops. Look for those things from your area that really reach out to you and need a spot in your house. Turn your home into an oasis that everyone can appreciate.
Charles Ferris is a freelance writer who has lived in the Sierra, halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe, for the last 37 years. He retired from teaching after 36 years in 2010. He and his wife hike, kayak, cross country ski, snow shoe, ride mountain bikes and road bikes, year round. His work can be found at Examiner.com.