Introducing New Colors into you Home Decor

Have you been wanting to add color to your home, but are anxious about doing it?  It's actually much easier than you think.  To achieve the same results professional designers do, you simply need to stick to the 60-30-10 rule.

The rule works like a man's suit-- 60 percent comes from one dominant color (in other words - the slacks and jacket), A secondary color pulls in the next 30 percent (the shirt), and the accessories (the tie) are the final 10 percent. 

Elements of Design - The Basics.

The elements of design are the "what" - the building block of any composition.  There are seven elements of design: line, shape, direction, size, texture, color, and value.  

The principles of design are the "how" - how we use these elements -- do we create contrast, balance, or repetition?  To create harmony in a design, we need unifying elements, but to create visual interest, we need some contrast.  We've gathered some examples of how you can implement this into your own design and decor projects: 

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Here in San Francisco it's been raining and dreary all week.  The sun should be coming out this weekend, but till then, since we have our umbrellas out, it might be a good time to think about a place to store them.  

If the rain is still giving you the blues, consider the Z Gallerie riding umbrella stand.  Made of terracotta, it's really (really) heavy, but it's guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.   

Spring Cleaning - Part III: Favorite Products

We've gathered some of our favorite cleaning supplies.  All available on Amazon, and if you're a PRIME user, you're guaranteed 2-day free shipping.  So go ahead, order your products and happy spring cleaning!

Spring Cleaning - Part II: Cleaning Tips

So now that we know about the origin of spring cleaning, how do we go about it in the most efficient way?  We've gathered some of our favorite tips from various sources on the web: 

Martha Stewart offers a 3-page downloadable step-by-step checklist.  She focuses on windows quite a bit, but we appreciated the reminder to reseal grout lines.