The Wonder of Mother Nature

One of today’s hottest design trends is a return to nature.  From fabrics to wall coverings to accessories, our living spaces can easily reflect an embrace of Mother Nature.

Why the growing interest in bringing a little bit of the outdoors inside?  First, we long for peace and quiet at home.  As our lives outside our homes become more harried and stressful, we are turning to our homes as retreats, and decorating them with furnishings and accessories we find soothing and comfortable.

Secondly, our increased awareness of the environment and the quest to preserve its beauty has led to a desire to bring bits of it home.

Here’s a look at several areas of interior design that can get you back to nature!

Fabrics:  Bouquets of colorful botanicals with flower, leaf and vine prints are perennial favorites.   Imagine relaxing in a lush garden where flowers flourish all around you – soft violets, delicate lilies of the valley, bold hydrangeas and stately red tulips.  Fun, faux animal prints remain popular – even zebra stripes and leopard spots will lend an air of the exotic to any room.

Colors:  From gorgeous garden shades to the rich fruit tones of deep raspberries, soft banana yellows, plums and strawberries.  Even nature’s neutrals are also playing their important role – wheat brown, amber waves of grain, the creamy-whites of magnolia blossoms and terra cotta corals all highlighted by an amazing azure blue sky.  All these colors are uplifted by nature’s green – the color that will dominate our interior decorating in this decade – from deep, leafy green to teal, to greens with a yellow tint.

Furnishings:  Today’s worn weathered wood styles, featuring more of a matte finish with lighter wood tones, are even appearing on contemporary furnishings.  Sofas and chairs are being covered in natural cotton – and sport trims of raffia and hemp.  Wicker and rattan furniture mixed with warm wood tones lend themselves to more of a casual style of decorating.

Wall Coverings:  Like fabrics, florals and botanicals are blooming in their popularity.  Don’t worry about too much pattern; these blooming designs look great when mixed with stripes, checks or even plaids.

Window Treatments:  Floral print drapery fabrics designed in a traditional swag and jabot treatment will definitely give any room a perennial touch.  And by coordinating your “blooming” window treatments with furniture, bedding – even your linens, you’ll find yourself surrounded by Mother Nature’s beauty.

Our love of Earth and the resurgence to preserve it, influences us to bring nature’s colors into our homes and our everyday lives.  And what better way to start soothing the soul than in your own home.  Relax!  Enjoy!  You deserve it!

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