| January
2009 November 2008 |
The Design Diva Dishes!
Design Trends and Lifestyle Tips |
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Greetings!
Can you believe 2008 is over and here we are with a fresh calendar and a new year ahead of us? Time flies by so fast! When I was a child I was in such a rush to grow up. My mom would scold me about trying to grow up too fast. She warned me that the older I got the quicker the years would pass. I never believed her then, but boy am I a believer now!
2008 was a rough year for so many people, and the doomsayers will warn you that 2009 isn't going to be much better. I am here to challenge each and every one of you to stop listening to the negative messages and believe that great things are awaiting you in the year ahead. Gertrude Stein said "Let me listen to me and not to them." Please, listen to your heart, follow your dream, and believe in yourself!
This issue we will focus on warming you up, on the inside as well as the outside. You will learn the best way to warm up the look of your home now that the holiday decorations have been packed away. The decorating trend spotlights an unlikely design inspiration, icicles. Our color of the month unveils the 2009 Color of the Year. The green section explores energy efficienct heating options. Finally, the recipe of the month is a hearty bean and barley soup sure to warm you on cold winter nights.
Barbara Green
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Winter Decorating |
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Now that the holiday decorations have come down, does your home have a feeling of bareness? Is your formerly festive home now now dull and boring? What can you do to warm up the great indoors for the months ahead? The quickest, easiest, and most affordable way to warm up your home is with paint.
This is the perfect time of year to paint. The weather outside is frightful, so painting can be delightful. (Perhaps I'm not over the Christmas carols yet?) Color has the ability to inspire and transform your life. When choosing your paint color, you can either pick a color based on the kind of emotional reactions you want from the room or you can begin with an inspiration piece. Vibrant tones (red, purple, orange) create passion. White tones (light pink, sky blue, mint green) give a feeling of freedom. Brown tones (olive, mustard, clay) make rooms feel earthy and sensual. Black tones (emerald, sapphire, cranberry) create drama.
If you want to use an inspiration piece, choose a favorite piece of art, fabric, or accessory. If you want to spotlight the piece and have it stand out, choose a paint color that is the complement (or opposite) of that color. If you want it to blend into the background, choose a paint color that matches your inspiration piece. You can bring other colors from your inspiration piece into the room with furniture and accessories, tying the whole room together with your cohesive color palette.
Don't let a lack of confidence keep you from painting. 40% of all paint sales are generated by color mistakes the first time, so you will not be alone if you end up with an OOPS! If you want to be sure to get it right the first time, consider hiring a certified color consultant. The money you spend on a consultation is well worth the time and money you might spend on doing the paint job twice! |
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Trend Report |
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Who would have thought that icicles would be a design trend? Design trends are often derived from current events, and the focus on global warming and its effect on glacial environments contribute to the icicles' new found glory. According to the leading European design market, Maison & Objet, all things "icicle" are in. They are interpreted in crystal chandeliers, vases and bowls, and also in textured fabrics.
The chandelier below by James Moder reminds me of my winters in Connecticut where I would awake to see the beautiful vision of trees encased in ice, with the icicles draping off of the branches. I don't miss the cold or the snow, but it sure was pretty. The crystal craftsmen of Faberge were inspired by the frozen seas of the Arctic to create the elegant vases on the right.
This Icicle Chandelier would be a fun and funky addition to any dining room.
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Color of the Month |
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This month, instead of a "Color of the Month", we unveil the "Color of the Year." Every year, Pantone (the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industries), announces what they deem to be the "Color of the Year." This year they have crowned Mimosa, a warm, engaging yellow, as the color of the year for 2009. In a time of economic uncertainty and political change, optimism is paramount and no other color expresses hope and reassurance more than yellow.
"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation." Perfect for the kitchen or family room, painting a wall in Mimosa will add warmth and cheerfulness to any room, especially during the winter months. Mimosa also creates the illusion of being connected to the outside, making small rooms feel open and inviting.
If painting an entire room that intense a color frightens you, or if you are renting and can't make a permanent color commitment, consider adding the color to the room by introducing it in pillows and other accessories. The sunroom below features Mimosa on pillows, vases, bowls, and flowers drawing your attention throughout the room.
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Green Design |
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Heating your home during the cold months of winter is a necessity, but so is finding sustainable sources of energy to do it with. Here are several green options for heating your home:
SOLAR HEAT - You can use the sun's 100% clean and 100% free energy to reduce your home heating costs by as much as 25 to 50%, depending on how much sun you typically get. Having solar heat collectors installed will set you back, of course, but it pays for itself in three to six years, and life expectancy for a solar air heating system is from 15 to 25 years. Basically, once it's paid for you end up getting free heat for a couple decades - not a bad deal at all.
RADIANT HEAT - This uses hot water to heat your home, usually through tubes in your floorboards instead of hot air being forced through ducts. Water is a much better heating medium than air. It transfers far more BTUs of heat into your home, which essentially means that it makes more efficient use of the energy used to heat it up. Plus, because it radiates up from the floorboards rather than being blown in as currents of air, it is less likely to leak through window and door frames. Your thermostat can therefore be turned down lower with a radiant heating system than with a forced-air duct system, conserving energy and saving you money even while heating your home more evenly and comfortably
HEAT PUMPS - These make use of thermal masses in the ground, water, and even the air to heat your home. They draw the Earth's geothermal energy or collect solar energy that has warmed the air and actually transfer them as heat into your home rather than producing the heat with a conventional boiler or furnace. Heat pumps produce more thermal energy than they require to operate and can easily be powered by solar or wind energy, thus requiring no fuel and emitting no pollutants.
PROGRAMMABLE THERMOSTATS - This is a simple but effective way to reduce your energy consumption. When you're not in your home, you don't need to be using energy to heat it. Programmable thermostats let you set "At Home" and "Away From Home" temperature schedules for weekdays and weekends. Some even let you set schedules for every individual day of the week. It may seem too easy, but this very basic device, which you can install yourself in less than an hour, can save you as much as a third of the money you spend heating your home. The model below by Hunter is Energy Star rated, mercury free, and only $39.
 It's not very likely that a single one of the above systems will be the only solution you need to heat your home entirely with clean and sustainable energy, but if you're willing to get creative it can surely be done. Some of the ideas require major renovations, hence a lot of planning and a lot of labor. But some, like installing a programmable thermostat, require such little effort there's no reason not to do them. |
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Quote of the Month |
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Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute: What you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage and then the mind grows heated. Begin and then the work will be completed.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe |
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Recipe of the Month |
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Nothing is better for warming our insides than a delicious bowl of soup. This is a an easy to make Italian-style soup that is high in iron, fiber, and calcium and low in fat and calories. Great for filling your tummies without expanding your waistline!
HEARTY BEAN AND BARLEY SOUP
makes 8 (1 cup) servings
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
7 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 1 tsp rosemary
1 (19oz) can dark red kidney beans 1 (14 1/4 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup uncooked, quick-cooking barley
10 cups torn spinach leaves (about 4 oz)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
1. Heat oil in large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Saute onion, carrot, and celery 5 minutes.
2. Add broth and next 6 ingredients to the sauteed vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer 15 minutes.
4. Stir in spinach and black pepper; cook 5 minutes or until barley is tender.
5. Serve, sprinkling each serving with cheese.
Per Serving: Calories: 208 (15% from fat), Fat: 3.4g, Protein 11.4 g, Carbs 34 g, Fiber 8 g, Iron 2.3 mg, Calcium 156 mg, Sodium 615 mcg.
Recipe and nutritional info from Cooking Light Magazine.
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| Save 25% |
This month only: Save 25% off of your paint color consultation.
Give Promo Code: DDDJ0925 at time of scheduling.
Forward this newsletter to friends and family so that they may use the promotion, too.
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| Offer Expires: January 31, 2009 | | |
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Thank you for reading "The Design Diva Dishes." See you next month!
Sensibly Chic Interior Design
Phone: (704) 987-0277
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