May 03, 2013

When paint color is just not enough: wall coverings make bold design statement

May 03, 2013/ Wrenda

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press• April 27, 2013

If you are like most homeowners, when you hear the term "wallpaper," you immediately think about scraping sheets of flowery pastels of the wall and then repairing the wall. Or you remember your grandmother's kitchen. In other words, a thing of the past.

They began centuries ago as a way to protect walls and only the aristocracy could afford them. Wall papers meant that you had made it. Then for the past few years the allure faded.

Today the term is "wall coverings" and many are not paper at all. They have come a long way, have been totally reinventedand done correctly, wall coverings can be a powerful design element in a home. Murals that take you away, metals, crystals, grass cloths, hand painted papers, silver threads and anything you can imagine. There are even companies that allow you to design your own paper.

We now see them in design magazines and in model homes. Wall coverings are no longer backdrops. They are focal points and should be treated as such. Pair the right combination of color and wall covering design and turn a blah room into a spectacular space.

With Pixers City Never Sleeps collection of mural (pixersize.com/wallmurals/city-never-sleeps) we see atribute to the great metropolises that for ages have inspired not only artists, but also most importantly, ordinary people. Pixers says: "The cities that are a continuous dazzle of lights and cacophony of noises, but still attract like a magnet."

You can have a view of Paris from your living room or have your office in a cafe. A jazz band in your TV room or wake up in Paris. And best of all, you canspecify the size of the mural to fit your space.

You may want to give wall coverings another look if bold paint colors just aren't enough. If you want to do something that reflects your decorating style and personality in a big way.

Wall covering tips:

• Make an entrance. Select a bold color for the front foyer and add a paper that accentuates the color.

• Powder room. Designers love wall coverings in powder rooms. We/you can do something totally outrageous in this room. Bling it up and make a statement.

• Laundry room. Use your imagination and try a whimsical pattern.

• For the kiddies. Forget pastels. Select a wall covering that will grow with the child. Neutral backgrounds with playful patterns.

• Complement your furnishings. A modern print works well in a space with a natural and casual style. With neutralssofas and wood accent pieces, try a graphic pattern in a combination of colors.

• Maximum impact. Select a wall with no windows and doors for wallpaper and paint the rest of the room background color of the paper.

• Nursery. Cover one wall with a modern animal print and paint the remaining walls in a gender neutral shade.

• Love the look but concerned about budget? Select the room's focal point to highlight with an eye-catching print. Then paint the walls in the background color of the paper. The best of both decorating elements!

• Afraid of wall covering commitment? Pick a design that speaks to you and cover an accent wall. Minimal investment until you decide how much you love it!

According to Shauna Dennison, creative director of Cole & Son, (available to the trade through the Kravet showroom in Estero) popular designs continue to include traditional and classic patterns. However she is seeing a move towards "larger scale, bolder wallpapers."

"This rise in murals and panel designs has in part been driven by huge advances in digital printing technology.

"We are seeing the rise of creativity in wall coverings... wallpaper has become a feature to build interior schemes around, rather than a background element. Large scale, whimsical designs are the conversational piece within a design scheme. The new Fornasetti II collection leads this trend with a series of striking theatrical designs that have been produced on wide widths giving the pattern repeats far greater space, creating a mural like quality."

At Ralph Lauren Home, the Textures Collection is filled with embroidery, damask and woven designs, natural seagrass, cork and scroll. These blend well against the blue-green shades that are the backdrop for southwest Florida homes. For details, visit the showroom in Miromar Design Center.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator. Visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

April 24, 2013

Lessons learned from the flying trapeze

April 24, 2013/ Wrenda

A couple of weeks ago, on a beautiful, sunny afternoon, I flew on a trapeze.

I won’t say that it was completely done with “the greatest of ease,” but it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.

Along with three colleagues, I was invited by Trapeze Federation to try out their newest location on International Drive in Orlando. It’s difficult to describe. It's a total body workout (they teach you what to do on the ground before you head up the ladder).

You may remember Carrie Bradshaw in a Sex in the City episode, “The Catch.”She tries out the trapeze and gets to the last part and misses the catch. It is a hilarious episode.

I’ve always believed that every now and then I need a challenge of learning something new that's totally out of my comfort zone. This did it for me.

Photo at Trapeze Federation in Orlando Practicing on the ground. I am going to reach how far to catch the bar?There are four parts and the great staff make sure that you have some degree of confidence before going to each new step.

The first step is just climbing up the ladder (30 feet). As trainer Efe Ilkay says, “It looks a lot higher when you are up on the platform.”

Platform?

If climbing the ladder (step two) doesn't make you cry, you (harnessed) step out Photo at Trapeze Federation in Orlando Ready or not! on the platform and reach out (way out), grab the bar and swing! Yes. swing. Just like when you were a kid.

Step three, you repeat the swing and this time, hang by your knees. Step four, you repeat and this time let go and complete the catch with a strong trainer who makes it all look easy. And did I mention the net? The best part, falling into the net. Seriously.

April 06, 2013

Shedding light on illuminating a home

April 06, 2013/ Wrenda

Need some help sorting out your lighting needs and how it all fits into your decor? Check out these tips in my Home Inspirations column in the Fort Myers News-Press.

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press• April 6, 2013

"How to" books have been written about the proper way to light a home.

And yet, if you are like most homeowners, you have rooms filled with lamps, sconces, ceiling lights and chandeliers. Still, it doesn't seem to be quite right.

Photo of Addie Pendant from Ballard Designs

Addie pendants from Ballard Designs

The generously sized shade of this mouth-blown glass pedant light was inspired by a vintage jar. Hang it above an island, breakfast bar or work area for casual style.

Lighting is much more than functional. It has become a major design element in our homes. It can add the pop that you need to accent a room or it can fade into the background. Done well, lighting can totally change a room. Either way, some basic tips will help to select the type of lighting that is needed and to make it part of your decorating plan.

What every room needs:

March 03, 2013

These houses are for the birds!

March 03, 2013/ Wrenda

Photo of artist's creative birdhouse Long before I was an interior decorator I loved houses.

It was always so interesting to me to see how they were decorated, how the furniture was arranged and how the owner lived. I have collected small houses for years and have them displayed on a antique post office where I can study them with all of their little details.

And I have been collecting birdhouses for the past few years. I find them to be very sweet and the perfect accessory for almost any style home or outdoor space. I find them at flea markets and I even journeyed to North Carolina where I found a birdhouse builder with acres and acres of these miniature homes. I returned home with a car full.

But as a believer in using what you have whenever possible, and in repurposing when it makes sense, I especially love birdhouses that use local materials that mean something. And as a southwest Florida interior decorator, I am surrounded by beautiful driftwood, shells, treasures that wash up on the beaches and more.

March 02, 2013

Downsize and live well with less

March 02, 2013/ Wrenda

If you are thinking about downsizing or just want to live a simplier life, check out these tips in today's Home Inspirations column.

Wrenda Goodwyn • Home Inspirations • Fort Myers News-Press • March 2, 2013

Downsizing.

Whether it is to your dream vacation home, a condo, an apartment or maybe staying in your current home but living with less, many homeowners are freeing themselves of huge homes and possessions to live a life with less. Many find it liberating. Goodbye McMansions. There will be time to travel. Relax and not have to think about maintenance issues. Less for some, means more. But it can be overwhelming and emotional.

Unless you plan ahead.

Seagrass five-piece sectional is from Pottery Barn's small spaces line.

Transform smaller spaces with a thoughtful plan

So you have decided to sell your home and have found a smaller space and want to turn it into a jewel box with everything you have always desired but could not afford in a large home.

Don't show up at your new and smaller home with all of your furniture and other possessions from your large home assuming that you can squeeze them into the smaller space. It will not work and you will be very unhappy!

It takes a lot of thoughtful consideration way before moving day.

February 24, 2013

Always in Style: Stickley furniture offers history lessons

February 24, 2013/ Wrenda

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press• Feb. 23. 2013

For many, it is an acquired taste.

But homeowners who love Stickley furniture are addicted to its style, design and quality. Collectors search in earnest for antiques — early Stickley pieces are recognized as gems of the American Arts & Crafts movement — and can add new pieces because the furniture is still made today, in the company’s factory in Manlius, N.Y.

Photo of Stickley Furniture Mission Dining Collection Mission Dining Collection.“The quality of construction is amazing. Each piece is built when it is ordered ... the name of the customer is on the piece and remains on it as it progresses down the assembly line,” said Larry Norris, founder and president of Norris Home Furnishings, Southwest Florida’s exclusive Stickley dealer.

“And Stickley is delivered on its own truck. When you purchase a piece of Stickley, you are buying a collectible of tomorrow.”

Stickley furniture is known for its hand-finished, solid wood furniture in styles including Mission, Traditional and Metropolitan. Founded in Fayettesville, N.Y., in 1900 by Gustav Stickley — considered to be one of the country’s most legendary furniture makers — Stickley is seen in museums from the Metropolitan to the Museum of Fine Arts.

Today, Stickley has more than 1,600 employees and produces furniture collections ranging from the company’s early Mission Oak and Cherry to Classics, Modern, John Widdicomb, St. Croix and more.

Photo of Stickley Furnitiure Willow Bed Willow Bed: From the modern collection, the willow bed is part of the Edinburgh line. This beautiful bed was inspired by the Willow Tea Room in Sauchehall Street in Glasgow.

The company burst into international prominence in the early 20th century with its Craftsman/Mission Oak designs. These were based on the notion that furniture should be “honest” — a reaction against the fake joinery, unnecessary gaudiness and shoddy workmanship of many of the pieces created in the early days of industrial furniture making.

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