Bringing the Inside Out

The time of year is here when we all start spending more time outside. Look at your deck or backyard as an additional room. An easy way to do this is by bringing some of those items that you have inside your home to your new "garden room". There are great colourful and floral cushions to be found at all of the great home décor stores?don't just use them inside as accents for your living rooms, bring them outside and add them to your benches and patio chairs. Use cloth table coverings and placemats as well, after all, they are made to be washed. This way they will get double duty. You can also bring out some of those mirrors and framed artwork that have been collected. This will give the feel of an additional room to your home. The mirrors will also reflect your garden, and add additional interest to your garden "room".

If you have live greenery (that can stand up to the elements), bring some of those out as well. For those of us that don't have a green thumb, great silk greenery is readily available in craft and home décor stores. This concept of having an additional summertime room compliments all types of dwellings?from large gardens to balconies. As in all decorating projects, lighting also plays an essential role. This is the easiest part of outdoor decorating with the great variety of lanterns, candles and mini tree lights. Place candles in decorative clear glass containers for safety. To add interest to these glass containers, add layers of coloured sand by creating interesting patterns in the sand. Place your lanterns at varying heights throughout the garden. This will have your eyes dancing around the garden allowing you to take in all the interesting focal points you have created. The key is to expand your living space with colour by using fabric and flowers, and of course varying degrees and sources of lighting. This also extends the use of your "garden room" into the evening hours, with minimal effort in changing the décor from day to evening.

Barb Singleton is a Certified Interior Decorator and Home Stager

For more decorating ideas and advice contact Barb Singleton at (705) 437-3419 or email at barb@heartandsouldesigns.ca Please visit my web-site as well at www.heartandsouldesigns.ca