Totke Remedies

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Decor Trends to Watch for: Textures and Gray

The January, 2013 Atlanta Gift Show was filled with bustling shoppers looking for new products and trends to stock their retail establishments for the upcoming summer and fall seasons. This is the good news. There is perhaps some not-so-good news as well? Usually the winter show features the presence of new color palettes, design shifts and the uplifting energy of a new forecast. This year however, the show was more about what wasn't present.

Gone are the joy filled colors and bling in home accessories – replaced by gray. That’s right, gray often accompanied with a splash of yellow and some blue. Blue is back; although blue hasn't been in the marketplace for ten or more years this year it was featured in a number of the trend palettes in varying shades.

Area and accent rugs are king. Gone are the days of wall-to-wall carpeting and in are all types of unique flooring and accent rugs. Priceless Oriental and Persian rugs are temporarily being shelved in favor of trendy rugs made from natural fibers, tribal prints, animal prints and geometrics or enormous art deco patterns that can only be described as floor art. Some rugs even sport offset and oversize creatures like a butterfly. Even animal hide rugs like cow hide are back as an accent, to be layered over another area rug.

With rugs playing such a huge role in décor, wall art and accessories like pillows, lamps and throws are subdued with very simple lines, neutral tones and only texture to help them stand out. Furniture is simple, understated and lean with straight lines – and without any cushioning or curves for comfort. The rugs, instead of the accents, turn up the volume in a room.

Color and Interior Design Trends

One way to describe the colors and designs that were present is to look at the runway fashions that were shown last fall – you will either love them or hate them.

There are six basic trend categories in 2013: Survival Comfort, Hollywood Opulence, Into the Woods, Passionate Pastels, Seaside Serenity and Tribal Spirit.

Survival Comfort is filled with rustic materials like burlap and felt, rugged primitive designs reflecting a slowed economic growth, expressed in earthy colors, natural materials and fibers. Think wood and simple plaids, and accents that feel or look handmade. The colors are vegetable greens, beiges and browns, dull orange, soft blue, mustard yellow and gray.

Hollywood Opulence is nostalgic and reminiscent of the glamorous 1930s and 40s. A reinvention of art deco, it is sophisticated and elegant with lots of high gloss from silver, mirrors and chandeliers. This style features varying shades of purple to lavender, wine to pink, gold, silver, copper, champagne, yellow, blue-gray and gray.

Into the Woods is eco-friendly or “green” and includes things like bamboo, recycled glass, and features lots of greens and browns or anything that expresses concern for the environment. As you might expect, this look includes branches, twigs, birds and bird nests. This palette features lots of kitchen spice colors like paprika, eggplant and saffron, terracotta, apple cinnamon and shades of green and gray.

Passionate Pastels are no longer the Easter egg pastels. As one designer described it, they now have textural complexity giving them a grownup look. This look prevailed in pottery ware, kitchen items, candles and the like. These pastels are bolder with yellow green being very strong followed by sea green, light blues to azure, peach to pink and lavender to pearl white.

Seaside Serenity was like a mental walk on the beach. While it wasn't a huge segment at the gift show, it was consistent in the calming comforting colors of the beach. The predominant color was liquid blue and various combinations of the sea and sky with lots of sandy beige to brown beach tones along with ivory, gray and gray-green.

Tribal Spirit was the liveliest trend unless it was on the floor. In rugs it was usually very neutral beiges and browns or black tribal print on a neutral background. Animal prints included in this grouping are getting stronger again and are either rich and warm or faded colors. A global influence was present in this trend providing a worldwide cultural tapestry of color and design. In décor items this category tended to express joy and happiness through its rich hues, which included deep blues, reds to oranges, browns to melon and pumpkin, violet, cinnamon, gray and black.

Secondary but Important Trends to Watch
While the above were the major trends that will impact your buying and for the next twelve to twenty-four month there are some secondary trends that made things a bit more interesting.

Inspiring Gifts were available for all areas of the home because market buyers have indicated that consumers are looking for products and items that bring faith and inspiration into their daily lives. People are looking for décor pieces that provide strength, hope and encouragement as they struggle with the everyday difficulties of life. Inspirational and spiritual items are no longer relegated to the New Age or Christian marketplace but rather permeate the entire gift and décor arena. Items could be simple like plaques, pictures and stone coasters to books, note cards and statues of strength appealing to the male purchaser.

Fun and Funky is the only way to describe the juxtaposition of themes like cowboy décor next to robots or notes and musical instruments next to America’s favorite foods (hotdogs and popcorn) or silver and crystal beside burlap and metal ribbons. This certainly added a bit of spice and panache to an otherwise upside down show which primarily featured gray.

Whether you decide to change up your décor or keep what you have, the design experts estimate that these trends will not last long. Purchasers of the new rug craze are shopping at IKEA and Pier One, just to spice up their lives for twelve months or so.

Whatever you do, make sure your surroundings provide you security, serenity and comfort so you can deal with the chaos in the world and maintain calm.

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7 Fresh Tips For Deciding What To Keep And What To Toss

It can be hard to let go of things and get rid of clutter. Clutter becomes overwhelming when we hold on to things we don’t need or use. Here are 7simple tips to help you decide effortlessly what to let go and what to keep when organizing your home.

Getting rid of clutter seems to be a hot topic in magazines and about town. Every magazine seems to have a headline about clearing clutter. I was teaching a class at the local University to a group of seniors 50 and older on clearing clutter and I asked them what they wanted to get out of the class. Marian slumped in her seat and asked how to know what to let go of and what to keep. Fifteen other heads bobbed up and down around the class room in agreement.

Some of those in the class wanted to downsize to stay in their own homes and others were planning on moving to condos or planning ahead to possibly moving to a retirement center. Everyone I organize with as a professional organizer realizes at some time they have too much stuff they don’t need, want, or use yet it is hard to decide what to let go of and what to keep. Often we think if we let something go, even if we didn’t know where it was or didn’t remember we had it that it will diminish our memories. That is not so.

Here are seven tips I shared with my class to help them assess what they have and make it easier for them to part with their treasures or trash as the case may be.

1. Start in specific place and go through each item there until you are finished in that area rather than jumping from place to place.

2. Go slowly—just like the tortoise in the story it is the slowest who “wins”. Rome wasn’t built in a day and you don’t have to hurry and make decisions to get your entire home done in a few days or a week. Trying to do it all at once is over whelming and discouraging and emotionally fatiguing.

3. As you look at each item consider how long it has been since you have used it. Or do you plan on using it in within the year. Honestly consider if you will ever need or use it again. If it is something you haven’t used in a long time and don’t plan on using again, let it go. Donate it to charity. By donating you are twice blessed—you have cleared clutter and you are blessing someone else’s life.

4. Often we hold on to things “because we might need it someday”. As you are sorting think (honestly) when would you ever use this item again? If you can’t think of a time that you will need it let it go.

5. Ask why you would ever need it again. Do you have an abundance of things that you never use? This can include clothes, holiday decorations, and kitchen utensils to name a few. Our lives change and as it changes it is time to let go of too many things and get rid of the clutter when we don’t love it, have a use for it or use it anymore.

6. As you are assessing each item consider who would ever ask you for it. If it was a gift is that person really going to query you as to where their gift is in your home? We often hold on to gifts as a sign of respect for that person when really it is just holding on to clutter.

7. Then consider what would be the worst thing that could happen if you got rid of it. It may mean you have to buy something new and new is good, many things have improved since you first bought that item. Or it could mean you have lived without using it this long so there is no reason to hold on to it.

As you are organizing, assessing and getting rid of clutter don’t linger with an item long enough that you develop a relationship with it and then keep it even though it doesn’t light you up, you have no use for it and nothing earth shattering will happen if you let it go.

An Influx of Positive Energy in your Houses with Vaastu Shastra

Your Guide to Social Media – Disconnect to Connect

According to several research studies done in 2011 and 2012, 39 percent of Americans spend more time on Facebook than in face-to-face relationships and 10.5 billion minutes per day are spent globally on Facebook alone.

The warp speed shift in social relationships and how we interact is due to social technologies, according to a July 2012 study, “The Social Economy: Unlocking values and productivity through social technologies,” by the McKinsey Global Institute.

The study states that there are greater than 1.5 billion networking users globally and 80 percent of them regularly interact through social networks causing sweeping cultural, social and economic change. People participate online in daily gossip, forming, maintaining and breaking social bonds and even getting married. It maintains that social technologies have literally changed how millions of people live.

The Social Media Catch-22

Social media is here to stay with no end in sight for the possibilities. Most would argue this is a good thing. But, is social media fostering generations of disconnected teens and adults that are constantly in contact but are never really connected? People post messages, email, text and play endless electronic tag with no nurturing results, no-face to-face satisfaction and no tangible interaction. The result – great imbalance in personal relationships.

Are you more connected to your mobile apps, iPod and iTunes than you are with your family and friends? What about your children – are they techno addicts? Do you have face-to-face time with them? What about senior parents who wait by a phone hoping you will call just to hear your voice?

Do you have tangible dependable trustworthy relationships that nurture, encourage and give you face-to-face feedback? Ones that can reach out and hug you when you are down, laugh with you when you are happy, congratulate you with a pat on the back when you are successful, and console you when you are sad.

Technology addiction, isolationism and indifference continue to race toward a non-descript finish line with no rules, no direction and no thought toward the future. Rapidly exploding technology provides instant information and messages, beams pictures from Mars in real time anywhere on planet Earth, allow you to do a virtual tour of real estate you may wish to purchase three thousand miles away and download the latest music release from your favorite artist - but at what price?

Are Relationships at Risk?

Social media is dramatically changing personal and business communications, face-to-face connections and relationships. Today, there are at least two generations of loners, adults and teens, who are so technologically oriented they no longer know how to interact in person with family members, teachers, peers and bosses.

Relationships between children and parents suffer and disengage in this impersonal, pre-recorded faceless world. No longer are there any real connections with each other – no face-to-face talk time, no hugs, and no directly engaged interaction. Client/business relationships suffer from lack of eye contact, phone conversation where you can hear the receptiveness of the other person, and no visual body language to observe. Are adults, children and employees so electronically in contact and isolated that they have no meaningful connections? This form of contact takes a huge toll on society and leads to:

•emotional isolationism
•disengaged clients and consumers
•inability to communicate face to face
•loss of connection and respect between parent and child
•loss of civility when communicating

Balancing Relationships with Social Media

Social media is very addictive. Create a plan to prohibit the social media takeover of your life and that of your children. The objectives are to create balance and to re-connect on a personal level – in person.

Set aside at least two hours per day where you are not wired or connected electronically – that means no iPads, computers, cell phones or other electronic gadgets. Reserve that time to connect with family, children, friends, clients or co-workers.

Eliminate impersonal communications by surprising a loved one or client with an actual phone call instead of a text, email or tweet. Return a phone message promptly instead of just listening to someone’s message. You and the caller become more engaged and connect emotionally when directly interacting. Due to massive high tech electronic interaction, people are emotionally impoverished and highly value the personal engagement.

Reach out and touch someone (or several someones) emotionally on a daily basis. Even though people are in constant contact, they are never emotionally connected when using social technology. You cannot get a nurturing hug, empathetic look or reassuring touch from a Facebook friend or a Twitter follower. Unfortunately you can be emotionally hurt by a bully posting or tweeting something hurtful.

While there is great untapped potential for social media in the business community, there is great risk for relationships and face-to-face connections with family and friends. Create a plan that will protect you from the downside of social technologies yet fully take advantage of the upside.