Simplifying Your Garden Color Scheme

Simplifying Your Garden Color Scheme

         One of the things I like to talk about is creating a harmonious, simple palette for your garden, with the weather as incredible as it’s been, especially today, I can’t bring myself to sit inside! Thinking about your garden like an outdoor room can be an excellent way to go about thinking with color. Playing with pattern can create a really fun look too.   

Simplifying doesn’t mean scrimping on the color though, so here are some beautiful gardens show just some fun you can have with color!

Via B&L Mama

Via BHG

Via BHG

Via House & Garden

Via My Castle In Spain

WE WANT TO SEE YOUR FAVORITE GARDENS!  Post them on our thread or shoot us an email and we will add you to our Garden Delights Pinterest board! 

I hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather—it’s so invigorating.  Here’s to a fantastic weekend of sunshine, family, and friends!

Have a great day,

Refresh Your Home: Bringing the Outdoors Inside

Refresh Your Home: Bringing the Outdoors Inside

As we prepare our outdoor living spaces let's not forget about our interiors. Once the weather gets really hot we will be so happy we took the time to bring the 'Outdoors Inside'.  What better way to refresh your home than to bring natural elements into your home to foster a healthier home more connected with nature year round.

Just like furniture, adding plants to your home should serve a purpose and define the space, like softening harder or more angular lines.  Feng shui advocates positioning a plant in the entryway of your home to bring the energy of nature into your home.  Furthermore, we love vignettes incorporating a mirror with plants in front, so you are able to appreciate the beauty from multiple angles.  And for those of us who don’t have tons of time, consider low maintenance plants like succulents or cacti.

Via Apartment Therapy

Via Interior Junkie

Via Chatfield Court

Joy Tribout Interior Design

Via Carla Aston Design

Do you have favorite plants to for you home?  We would love to hear how you bring natural energy into your home!

Have a great day,

How to create a harmonious palette for your garden

   One of the things I like to talk about is making a harmonious, simpler palette for your garden.   And with the weather as incredible as it’s been, especially today, I can’t bring myself to sit inside!   Thinking about your garden like an outdoor room can be an excellent way to go about thinking with color.  Playing with pattern can create a really fun look too.   

Simplifying doesn’t mean scrimping on the color and here are some beautiful gardens that show just some fun you can have with color!

Simple shades of pink against green foliage.

          

Via Rosa Dest Interiors

A combination of flowers in the same value  meandering along a pathway.

      

Via B&L

Pops of color on the upholstery and cushions to complement the pops of color in the garden.

Via BHG

Reflection in a small garden to expand on the color and the view.

Via House & Garden

WE WANT TO SEE YOUR FAVORITE GARDENS!  Post them on our thread or shoot us an email and we will add you to our Garden Delights Pinterest board! 

I hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather—it’s so invigorating.  Here’s to a fantastic weekend of sunshine, family, and friends!

Have a colorful day,

Three things to consider when planning your garden

     A quick glance outside points to one thing: spring is here!  I’m sure the film of green pollen coating your car overnight was a clue too!  Cherry trees, forsythia, and daffodils are just a few plants I have seen bursting to life that make Charlotte so beautiful this time of year. 

     Spending so much time outdoors with the nicer weather inspired this month’s theme: garden and landscaping design!  Having a beautiful, relaxing outdoor space can be low-maintenance and delight you and your family everyday and really stun your guests.  Your front and back yards are truly an extension of your home, so give them the attention they deserve!  Here are a few tips we put together to begin envisioning your own garden design.

Here are three things to think about when planning your garden

Don’t Make Lighting An Afterthought

     Aside from properly illuminating your home’s pathways, decks, porches, and especially deterring intruders, lighting your garden with soft lighting can add to its visual beauty that brings an exciting flair after dark.  Your garden and yard are an extension of your home, so use lighting to accentuate architectural features like fencing, trees, fountains, or statuary for a sophisticated and thoughtful addition.  Imagine how much longer you would stay outside—and the alfresco entertaining!

                        
                                                                          Via BHG

Keep It Low Maintenance

Tired of mowing the lawn?  Can’t commit to gardening on top of your busy lifestyle?  Creating a garden cuts down on the space you actually have to mow and using native plants that require less attention can give you that polished look without the hassle.



                                                                    Garden Ideas

Have The Trellis Of Your Dreams

You too can have a beautiful trellis draped with greenery like the enviable gardens you see in magazines!  Grape Ivy or oakleaf ivy clings to trellises, stakes, and other garden features for a lovely draped look.  The vine tendrils really grab onto structures, achieving that lush, natural look on your favorite garden fixture.

            
                                                          Via My Castle in Spain

  Can’t get enough of these beautiful gardens!  Check out our Garden Delights Pinterest board for more inspiration.  Also a few fun events are going on at Wing Haven Garden & Bird Sanctuary in the next month if you want some real inspiration!  They will be hosting the  2016 Gardeners' Garden Tour May 7-8.  Truly events not to be missed.  If you're interested check out their website for times, registration, and events.

Have a colorful day!

Remarried or starting over? Rosa's secret sauce to decorating dilemma's

Dear Rosa,

How to?

 Add my partners pieces from a previous life without stepping on toes? 

Rosa's Secret Sauce to solving a blended families decorating dilemma's

1.  Find the right spot for it:

First, find out how important that piece is to your partner. It may just be a TEMPORARY  spot filler. If that is the case approach it from the standpoint of looking for a piece that you BOTH love and replace it with that.

2. Have some fun!

 If it's something odd or quirky, have some fun with it and display it.  We all need something fun in our homes that speak to our personalities. 

3. Get Creative!

                                         Repaint 

                                Update with a new look

                                         Reframe

                             Display it in a different 

                                      Repurpose

Place it in a different room and use it in a different way

How to blend lifestyles when your blending families the second time around

Since my last post, I had a couple more questions regarding blending lifestyles when starting over the second time around. Please feel free to reach out as this is a HOT topic.

1. My wife has a real hard time making a decision and is a bit more price conscious than I. I just want to get it done! How can I get her to make a decision and stop shopping around.

My suggestion would be to hire an interior designer and slow down. A designer would give your wife the appropriate information on selections of furniture sizes, fabrics and finishes to avoid making costly mistakes and help her make an informed decision as opposed to one based on instinct and cost. Oftentimes people buy things because they are on sale and at the moment look so pretty and actually it's the WRONG piece. They are either the wrong size or there is no place for it.

2.What do we do with all of the art work and photographs we have between the two of us and how and where do we hang everything that is important to both our pasts?

Start by sorting!  Look at all of the pictures you have and separate them into piles:

1. Keepers

2. Maybe's

3. Get rid off.

Keepers - Pieces either have  monetary or sentimental value. The Keepers  are those that  are really important to BOTH  of you.

Maybe's - you liked them once, maybe had them hanging in your old house and they looked pretty or filled a space - now you can't find a spot for them or they don't work in your new house. They may not work in the room you had them designated for - they could work in another room.

Get rid off -  they're either ugly or in bad shape or have bad memories - let someone else enjoy them.

My suggestion is to each sort through your own pieces and then sort through each of your stacks together. Try to be sensitive about the ones you love and hate.

If this blog was helpful, please let me know.

Make A Wish - Trailblaze Challenge

This time of year I seem to jump out of bed with a spring in my step and ready to embark on new challenges. With that being said, I would like to invite you to support my husband Rich and I who will be hiking 28.3 miles in one day for the Make-a-WishTrailblazer challenge on May 20th, 2016. 

Everyone is telling us how long that is going to take us and how crazy we are. We have been asked repeatedly - Do we actually know what we have gotten ourselves into? We are determined to succeed. This is not only a personal physical challenge but one that will raise money to impact the lives of children. I hope you will consider cheering us on and sponsoring us by going directly to our team page and helping us to make a wish come true for a child in NC.



It's going to be so much fun! We have been doing some urban hiking to train for this day and will follow up with some trail hiking.  If you are in the Charlotte area and see us walking around HONK and send us your support. 
Please consider sponsoring us on this Trailblazer challenge by going directly to my team page and making your contribution

Let's make a difference in the lives of children battling life-threatening illnesses in our community.

Thank you for your support