Color of the Year: yes or no?

Pantone, the leading color authority in the design world, has selected

the 2014 Color of the Year:
Radiant Orchid

 Now, I'm going to be totally honest here...

I am not driven by what Pantone chooses as their color of the year

or what hues and shades are 'IN' in fashion, home decor, and design.

While it's fun to watch what's 'trending' and rising to popularity,

and to sometimes find ways to reflect that in my own surroundings,

I am FAR more interested in expressing my own personal style and preferences.

And I am much more interested in inspiring you to do the same...

 I can't even begin to imagine this color in my home.

OK, wait, that's not entirely true....

I CAN see those beautiful orchids in a white vase on a white shelf,

surrounded by stacks of white books and shells,

or scattered in clear vases on a table for a party.

It would be a temporary punctuation point of color in my pale, neutral world.

In my life, that's all that a 'hot new trend' is...

a way to experiment with something new in a simple, small way that works for me.

I enjoy it for a little while, then replace it with something else.
I don't have to - or want to - change my whole wardrobe or decor to incorporate it.

Pantone creates a new palette of colors for each season,
and those choices help drive the creation of new products to be manufactured and sold.
I've spent a lifetime in the retail industry, and I know that this all has a purpose in the bigger picture.
But when it comes down to how it affects our lives, we ultimately choose what we buy - or don't!

That being said, in a rather amusing coincidence,

one of my daughters gave me a sparkly, spangly purse for Christmas.
Just GUESS what color it is!

 I think I've found a way to use it that works for me:

I turned it into a vase! 

(just like I did HERE last Spring)
Right now, it's holding my potted lavender plant, a potted ivy, and a few silk orchids...

while looking very fashionable!
[you could say this trend is 'in the bag'!]

 Of course, if you want to incorporate this new hue in your rooms,
it's SO easy to do on a budget...
get a quart of paint and revamp a chair, a lamp base, a few picture frames, or a thrifted find.
Add that 'exclamation point' to a room and see how you like it -
preferably BEFORE you buy new wallpaper ;)

See inspiration for using Radiant Orchid here:
Pantone's Color of the Year on Pinterest

How do you feel about fads? 

Do you heartily embrace new trends with gusto?
Do you hesitate and see if it really catches on?
Do you find a small way to include it in your home decor or fashion style?
Or do you eschew trends altogether, and forge your own unique path?

I'd love to hear your opinions on this topic...

Happy 2014!

However you celebrate it, and wherever you are when midnight comes tonight,
may 2014 bring you an abundance of love, joy, and success (however you define that! )...
Happy New Year, everyone!

for more decorating inspiration for every season of the year,

  visit HOMEWARDfound on these social networking sites:

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Joy to the World

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,

filled with the joy of the season

Thank you all so much for your support, encouragement, and communication

through your comments here and on the HOMEWARDfound facebook page over this past year.
I am so grateful for you, that you enjoy what I offer here...

I hope it brings joy to your lives and homes throughout every season of the year.

.

 

Vintage Style Gift Wrap

I'd like to share some of my ideas for last-minute Holiday gift wrap

using everyday items and vintage elements!

Some of these ideas have previously been published in
Creating Vintage Style and FOLK magazines,
as well as here on the homewardFOUNDdecor blog

linen stockings, simple burlap wraps, and sweater sleeves
make fast and stylish work of wrapping hostess gifts!

See more in Wrap It With Style

Paper printed to look like sweaters, REAL sweaters, and vintage embellishments

bring charm to gifts under the tree...

See more in Embellished Gift Wraps

Even the Dollar Tree has items that can elevate a gift wrap from ho-hum to ho-ho-ho!

See more in Last Minute Wrapping

May your Holiday be filled with family and friends, peace and love
and the time to enjoy them fully... 
[because we all know that the BEST gifts can't be wrapped]

I'll be flying to Seattle on Christmas Eve to be with my family for the week -
a Christmas gift that is beyond anything I could have dreamed of! (2013)
_____________________________________________

HOMEWARDfound posts will resume after the New Year
with Winter decorating inspiration and ideas

Dome for the Holidays....

As I was unpacking bins of Christmas decor a few weeks ago,

I discovered a small box holding some vintage-look bottlebrush trees

that I honestly didn't think I had anymore. I was VERY pleasantly surprised!

I love their creamy ivory color and subtle glitter-i-ness!
[these are relatively new trees, from the Department 56 collection]

 They needed more 'oomph', so I rounded up some containers to use as diminutive 'tree stands':
the one last remaining tin container that my 'Junk Snowmen' were made in,

and five silver vessels from my Mom's collection of family pieces.

I sat them on a silver tray (again, Mom's!) and added several of my own vintage ornaments.

To complete the display, I popped a wire dome made from a wire tomato cage on top of it all.
Some HUGE vintage chandelier crystals dangle from the dome and add sparkle...

You can find my tutorial for making the wire dome from a tomato cage HERE

This vignette in my office also includes several other domes...
One is an antique flower frog, made of curled wire that holds my white candy canes!

Another dome is simply a bare metal wire lampshade frame.
I love the sculptural lines and shape of these - I've had some very fanciful ones in the past,

and they add a finishing touch to any vignette.

Here, one of my NeSts made from daylily foliage holds vintage glass ornaments,

a german glass glittered crown cutout, and a crystal snowflake.
The box serving as a 'stand' used to hold Christmas light bulbs!

It's all just simple items, combined to tell a story ...

One more dome that I am using right now is the curliqued wire 'cagelet'
that I recently mentioned in this post.

It sits over a stack of my dishes and a white ironstone bowl that holds another NeSt

and one of my favorite flocked ornaments - new, not vintage.

[I found four sets of three of these at Ross a few years ago, and HAD to have them]

I love how the golden afternoon sunlight pours into the room and spills over these pieces.

 One Last Detail:
When I added the glass tree topper spire to the vignette,
I sat it in yet another silver vessel - a goblet.
The raised height lefts the spire up to make it more noticeable behind the domes...

You can also display tree spires on candlesticks:
Just insert a taper candle into the candlestick, 
then slide the tree spire over the candle for support.

A Christmas Mystery!

Two weeks ago, I went out to get the mail - and discovered a surprise on the front step:

 

It was a large ziplock bag, filled with what at first glance appeared to be Fourth of July Sparklers.

with a thrift store price tag on the bag.

On closer inspection, I realized that they were not sparklers after all - 

but vintage Christmas decor parts!
They are old metal branches, 

covered in a heavy coat of thick black and silver German glass glitter!

I'm pretty sure that I have seen these in antique stores, assembled into trees

by inserting each branch into an upright metal 'trunk' with holes in it.
But of course I can't find an image of that online to show you :/

In ANY case, as soon as I realized what they were, 

I set to work adding them to my Christmas decor here at HOMEWARDfound Headquarters!

I simply stuck them into the diminutive white tabletop tree that I have - 

their bold, dark forms stand out against the white perfectly,

and the extra length of each branch allowed me to hang more ornaments on my little tree:

These ornaments are truly vintage, collected over the years.
I adore their tarnished silver/gold hues...

Mixed with modern crystal snowflakes, circa 1970 thread-wrapped balls, 1950's glittered balls,

a half-dozen wire stars from the late 1800's, and some of my hoard of pure white candycanes,

the old ornaments add depth and interest to a tree created in a limited and pale neutral palette.

Every single ornament stands out - just the way I like it!

The tree topper is a combination of elements, 

 centered around a tall glass figural spire from the 1960's that I've had for years.
It has a very long 'stem', and I don't like how it looks on a tree.
So I always 'hide' the stem with other things, grouped together.

Here, I used one of my original wire 'Junk Princess' crowns,
some old seam binding ribbon, and a few large crystal snowflakes...

it sparkles and shines and glimmers in the light.

About those vintage tree branches:
I've checked with my parents, and with several neighbors.
No one admits to leaving the bag on the front steps.
I have NO IDEA where it came from...
it's a Christmas Mystery!