Feather Your Nest - Our Monthly Newsletter

For this month's decorating tip I thought I would offer 12 ways to spice up a boring room; A room develops interest, sparkle and personality with the incorporation of details and accessories so don't stop decorating until your room is welcoming and fully accessorized. For some of us addicts, this may be an ongoing process, a never ending quest full of exciting shopping forays and anguished late night telephone calls with fellow addicts.

1. Add interesting furnishings - Beige walls and beige sofas are fine, but they offer relatively little to really capture your attention. Punch up your room with interesting-to-look-at furnishings such as a dark wood armoire, a red enamel coffee table, a textured rattan chair, a terrific tufted ottoman, or a rustic pine hutch. Avoid matching suites of furniture, ever. It is so obvious and so sad when people go to the furniture store and buy a room; sofa, loveseat, ottoman, coffee and end tables, lamps even the wall art!

5. Themes - Room themes can give you decorating "focus" and provide a reason to include whimsy. The sky is the limit for theme ideas -- from English hunt club to rustic country porch, from rooms of all white to contemporary artist lofts, and from industrial steel to quaint Victorian. If your room lacks focus or flair, then find a theme that pleases you from a book or magazine and use accessories to accomplish the look.

12.Plants and Flowers - Fresh plants and flowers add a living, breathing presence in a room. Keep yours healthy, dusted, and in top shape. Move scraggly, less than thriving plants to a designated room to recover, or compost them. Use real looking, artificial greenery in rooms or corners with no natural light, on high surfaces where watering can be difficult, or when time to care for real plants is limited.

This month's chosen plant is the Bromeliad, sometimes known also as the urn plant. There appear to be about a billion different types of Bromeliad, although only a few are available at the greenhouse. I think the Bromeliad makes a statement in the home due to the austere beauty of it's leaves, along with the exquisite jolt of color while it is flowering. Unfortunately Bromeliads require a lot of sun, they must be set right in front of a west or south facing window. Watering is simple, just do it when the soil dries, the plant loves water to sit in the little cups formed where the leaves attach to the main stem. The plant has a skimpy root mass so will probably never need repotting, and the little side shoots can be cut off and planted in another pot, perhaps to give away as a hostess gift? Bromeliads are top heavy so should always be planted into a clay pot or something heavy. I have known people who couldn't grow mold on cheese that kept thriving Bromeliads, so thus inspiring me to try keeping one and so, I think, should you.

Garage and Yard sale season will soon be upon us, full force. There is a lot of do-it-yourself potential in other people's junk (another girl's treasure). Some of my most complimented, one of a kind pieces were either salvaged from a dumpster or bought for a couple of bucks at a yard sale. So I thought this month I would offer some suggestions for what to look for on your next yard sale foray. Before we get into that though I would like to suggest the proper etiquette for haggling price, whether you are at a yard sale or in an antique shop. "Is this price firm?" Is the only thing you should ever say. Do not point out flaws, dents or scratches, do not sneer when you are asking, just smile and pose the question. 9 times out of 10 the seller of the item in question will lower the price to what they deem acceptable. Now it is up to you, you either accept and pay the lower price, offer a lower number or walk. Always with a smile and a gracious "Thank You". I don't mean to lecture, I've just been a witness to many an awkward transaction by well meaning, inexperienced bargain hunters and want to spare you all.

Small tables: Look for good bones, remember that anything can be painted with little or no sanding these days. There are lacquer based primers on the market, all you really need to do is wash the table well with TSP. The table can be made of real wood or not, if it's covered with Mac tack (that sticky plastic stuff) you'll have a lot of work ahead of you so make sure you pay next to nothing. You can never have too many occasional tables so don't frustrate me and stand around at the yard sale asking yourself "what would I do with that?" Remember, if it has good bones, is cheap, and fits in your car, buy it!

Vases & candy dishes - A girl can never have too many of these. In addition to holding flowers or candy, they can be used in the bathroom to hold soaps, Q-tips, cotton balls and hand towels, or the buffet table for napkins and pickles. Add water and a floating candle to a vase for an impromptu lamp. Or do the same with a crystal candy dish with more candles and some flowers, and you'll have an exquisite centerpiece that would impress even the starchiest mother-in-law!

The flower of the month for June is the Lily Of The Valley. Like last month's Sweet Pea, the Lily Of The Valley is not generally available at the flower shop as a cut flower. In the garden though, the Lily Of The Valley makes an awesome perennial ground cover that thrives in the shade and emits a pleasing fragrance. There is nothing fresher or prettier than a carpet of green with polka dots of little nodding white flowers here and there. They take a long time to fill in though, I recommend doubling the amount of plants that the garden centers recommend for a certain sized area. If you've already got them in your garden, cut them in the morning before you leave for work, and place them in a small bud vase in the bathroom to enjoy when you get home. Your whole bathroom should smell like Lily Of The Valley. The little flowers remind me of blue bells only of course, they're white!

do check out the attached Day In The Country. If you are looking for something to do on a sunny weekend afternoon, I highly recommend heading north. Our little area is still free from the trendy trappings you'll find when you venture south or west of the city; no inflated prices, no crowds, no crusty overworked sales clerks or restaurant help. Plenty to explore and scenery for days. Just don't go snooping around abandoned farm buildings, these days that old barn wood and miscellaneous junk has a value and the farmers around these parts are hip to it. You could get shot off the property!

Don't forget about your outdoor living spaces when decorating this summer. Whether you've got a multi tiered deck, a cement patio or even a little balcony to call home for the summer, all will benefit from a little accessorizing. The same interior decorating rules can be used as a guideline for exterior decorating. Just be prepared for weathering. I myself put items outside for a summer for the soul purpose of weathering them.

Now, if a girl is going to entertain there are some essentials she should always have on hand: 1) An assortment of floating and taper candles, tea lights and some scented votives. 2) Lots of candle holders: They make for a satisfying shopping fix when one has already blown her budget; they are relatively inexpensive and come in a multitude of styles. You don't have to have them all out at once, rotate them when you are bored and store the unused holders in a designated cupboard. You can never have too many on hand for all types of candles. 3) Baskets: These can be picked up anywhere and used for just about anything. Fruit, buns, cutlery, temporary flowering plants, napkins, the list goes on and on, proving that a plethora of baskets is indispensable. For storage, hang them all together from the ceiling in the basement with a piece of string. Just wash the dust off a day or two ahead in the shower. 4) A collection of pretty bowls, all sizes, all shapes. They don't have to match, just looking cool will work. 5) Allowance in your entertaining budget for fresh flowers and some of those little potted plants you can pick up at the hardware store for $1.49.

If your bathtub has a glass enclosure, fill it half way and place a few flowers and a dozen or so floating candles in it. Guests spend time alone in your bathroom, give it wow factor! Try placing a basket of plants or vase of fresh flowers by the toilet (yes I said by the toilet) or on the counter, Fold a towel over the sink to keep your guests from actually using and messing up your guest towels. Or, if you have the room on your bathroom counter, how about a basket of rolled up hand towels?

Now, gather up all your candle holders and place them, in abundance, on every surface in the room you are going to entertain in. Safety should be the only thing stifling your creativity at this moment. When in doubt, hold your hand above the flame to make sure whatever is close will not get too hot. I myself am idiotically brave with candles. I do leave them unattended in the bathroom because they smell nice and are pretty. I use common sense though, and in all the years I have been doing so I have never had an incident. However, I do not recommend this to anyone else. If your scented candles are quite strong, only burn a few and fill your other holders with tea lights. In the morning after light the effect may be one of clutter, but on the magical evening you entertain, the effect of all those lit candles will be that of celebration, pretty and soft. Don't forget to dim the lights somewhat, move the candles around as you see fit, and most of all, have a great time! For more entertaining and home decor inspiration check out the First Impressions page on our web site.

This month's chosen plant is the Snake Plant, or, Mother-in-law's Tongue. The botanical name is Sansevieria, just in case. I chose this plant because it is almost impossible to kill. It can handle any kind of light, from shade to bright sun. How much sun it gets will just determine how quickly it grows for you. It has no leaves to drop if you forget to water, and once you have selected a container to plant it in, it may never have to be replanted again. Snake Plants look great in urns or baskets and can be moved on a whim without complaint. A Snake plant will adapt and take on any decorating style, a plant chameleon if you will. The only point of care to remember is that if you break the tip off a blade, the blade will grow no taller, so if you want a tall plant, take care.

Flavored Vinegars are so easy to concoct, impressive to give as gifts and highly decorative when grouped in fancy bottles on a kitchen counter or window sill (in addition to making a great tasting, low cal salad dressing). With a few simple ingredients you can take those fancy colored bottles you have been collecting (or go get some at the dollar store) and turn them into something fabulous. Not to mention the pure show off value in giving a pretty bottle of home made flavored vinegar as a hostess gift. The following recipe calls for raspberries and lemon, but you can substitute other fruits and experiment. Japanese rice vinegar goes great with lemon grass and sugar, or try hot peppers or herbs and substitute the sugar with a ¼ tsp. of salt. To start, you'll need to collect the following supplies: Any shape of decorative bottle with a cork, A double boiler (or any small pot to sit inside a larger pot of water), a colander, a funnel, ribbon (1/2" wide by 12" long per bottle) and beeswax (from a craft store). The ingredients per bottle are as follows: 1 cup of raspberries, rind of one lemon, 1/8 cup of sugar, 2 cups of distilled white vinegar. To assemble your bottle of flavored vinegar: Cut the lemon rind into thin slivers, wash the raspberries and drain in colander. Using the funnel, put the vinegar and sugar into your bottle and shake until sugar fully dissolved. Add lemon rind and raspberries until the bottle is full and put the cork on the bottle. Melt the bees wax on the double boiler, take the piece of ribbon and wrap from one side of the bottle, over the cork, to the other side, holding the ribbon over the cork, dip the top of the bottle in the wax several times until you have a thick layer of wax. Place in a sunny spot and cure for about 2 weeks. To open and use, just pull the ribbon and the wax should pop off. The aesthetics and culinary rewards of this project merit everyone trying it at least once, even if you do not consider yourself a "crafty" person.

The flower of the month for April is the Sweet Pea. Unfortunately the Sweet Pea is not available at the flower shop as a cut flower, however, the deliciously floral scent offered by the Sweet Pea flower gives warrants adding them to a garden. It isn't too soon to get your seeds now, they need to be soaked overnight and planted outside while the temperatures are still cool - as soon as the ground thaws. They do most of their growing in the cooler temps. Sweet Peas are a vine, so you'll need to plant them where they'll have something to climb up. Anything will do as you'll have to tie them in place as they grow or they will flop over.

what is the difference between clutter and decor? More and more often I am confronted with this question and asked to provide some form of guideline. I think that such an issue is more a matter of personal taste; some of us prefer a clean minimalist look while others desire to be surrounded by objects that appeal to them visually or hold sentimental value. If you are concerned that you have lost objectivity and have cluttered up your home with "stuff" It may be time to take stock and rearrange the room in question, completely. If you are considering doing so, check out the Creating An Exquisite Room and the Collecting pages on The Barefoot Robin's Web Site. Most importantly, never ask or take stock in the opinion of a friend whose style is minimalist or not similar to your own!

This month's decorating tip, mirrors. There are a couple of rules that should be followed but rarely are when hanging mirrors. First, pay attention to what the mirror will be reflecting, from all parts of the room. Never place a mirror atop a fireplace mantel (see previous rule). And never, ever hang a mirror so that it cuts off the heads of most people if they are standing in front of it. Not only would that be bad Feng Shui, but who wants to look at a reflection of their chest? Well enough of the don't dos, now for some mirror suggestions. If you have a large wall facing a beautiful room, why not arrange upon it a grouping of mirrors? All different shapes and sizes look great. A collection of hand mirrors would be just as pleasing. Hanging a mirror low in behind a side table with a pleasing vignette* upon it will add dimension to the arrangement, I have placed an orchid on a table with a mirror hung right behind and the result provides me with much pleasure. Mirrors don't necessarily have to be hung on the wall, why not try placing an especially pretty one on a plate stand on an end table? Of course the size of the mirror would dictate the practicality of doing so. Reflected in the mirror should be a plant, or another pretty object. Take care not to place to many items in front of the mirror or the result could be too busy.

This month's chosen plant is the Boston Fern. Fern's are so luscious, pretty and delicate looking, even if a fern is the only living plant in your home, you will be perceived as having a green thumb. A fern makes an excellent living show piece and is best displayed upon a pedestal or plant stand. Hanging from the ceiling is ok, but please, no macramé hangers! The following are the tricks and tips to keep your fern healthy and alive.

No.2: Transplant your fern into a pot with no tray and large drain holes at the bottom. It may already be in such a pot when you get it home, saving you from having to do so. However, if you leave the plant in it's original pot, it will require more frequent watering. If you replant it into a larger pot it will get bigger and require less water. You decide! Next, place the pot into a more attractive receptacle with no drainage. You want about 2-3" space between the two. When watering your fern you'll be pouring the water into the outside receptacle, allowing the plant to draw the water up from the bottom. About 2 -3 inches of water at a time should be sufficient. A fern should be watered once a week but should be checked more frequently by sticking your finger into the soil - at least until you get to know the plant and how often it likes to be watered

Easter is coming and one small part of the holiday is decorating eggs. Nothing is more attractive than a big beautiful bowl of prettily painted eggs in various pastel shades. You can add to the bowl color coordinated silk flowers, or just display your eggs in the bowl, en masse. I prefer to leave the detail painting to the kids and display mine plain and simple. I also love the look of an elegant bowl filled with gold or silver eggs. So simple and so elegant. Just get silver or gold spray paint from the hardware or craft store, and spray paint the hollowed out eggs. If you've never hollowed out eggs, it's easy; simply poke holes at the top and bottom of the egg and blow. The contents will come squirting out the other end so have a bowl handy. Rinse off the egg, dry with a towel and you are ready to spray paint. The beauty of hollowing out the eggs is that they don't spoil and your eggs can be displayed for as long as you like.

The flower of the month for March is the Daffodil. Our friend Janet from Veldea's Growers Direct says they are best displayed on their own in a vase as they emit a sappy substance from the stems which can shorten the life span of other cut flowers. I think flowers carry more impact when displayed en masse anyway. A vase of fresh flowers is so classy and would be just the thing to beat the winter blahs and welcome spring. For best results cut the flowers under running water and display in a vase half the height or the same height as the arrangement. Daffodils are generally sold in bundles of ten and you can expect to pay anywhere from $5.99 to $7.99 a bundle. Get your Daffodils or any other flowers from Veldea's and receive a 10% percent discount! Just be sure to tell them you subscribe to The Barefoot Robin Newsletter. Veldea's Grower's Direct is located at 4606 17th Ave. SE Calgary.

Just back from a shopping/buying trip in Vancouver I've got to tell you, wow! Do I love the upcoming trends in Home Decor! While I was there I browsed all the trendy shops like Liberty and Farmhouse and loved what they had to offer their clients. What's hot in Home Decor? Anything that looks like it's been around for a hundred years and anything European; French or Italian. The Asian influence is finally loosening it's grip on Canadians, making way for more variety within the decorating style itself. Bamboo is still really in, living or dried. Orchids are still very popular and it appears that Topiary is making a come back. That pleases me as I love the look. I found some new suppliers and visited some existing and negotiated up a storm and got us some really unbelievable deals. Upcoming Presentations should be very exciting indeed!

This month's decorating tip involves color. We've been living the winter reality for some time now and spring is so close we can taste it. I don't know about you but I'm getting a little color crazed. I want it and I need it. But I'm not going to go all out and paint my walls or change my color scheme when I know it's a temporary affliction. Here are some simple suggestions to beat the winter blahs and incorporate color into your decor:

Potted Flowering Plants - temporary for the most part, leave them in their existing pots and place them into reusable baskets or terra-cotta pots. If you want something a little less temporary, go artificial. If you do go artificial, go realistic. The Barefoot Robin just so happens to have a wide selection of realistic looking, artificial potted flowering orchids and other flowering plants at great prices. Coincidence? I think not! Whatever you do, don't spend a billion dollars on a silk flower arrangement, they generally look fake and contrived and we hate that!

Throws and Throw Pillows: There are inexpensive ones everywhere, if you sew, make your own. Go for jolts of color and don't be all anal about coordinating colors, have some fun! Lots of colorful pillows and a few throws will also make your room cozy. When they've served their purpose and you tire of them you can re-use them anywhere in your home, or even slip cover them. I think that whenever you see a throw pillow that speaks to you and it's offered at a good price, you should pick it up. Start a collection really, I don't think you'll regret it.

In keeping with this month's decorating tip, we've chosen the African Violet as February's plant of the month. They are inexpensive, and available everywhere from your grocery store to hardware store. They come in all colors and, if you discover you are awesome at growing them, you can invest in the more expensive fancier ones and even join the African Violet Society! The Blooms on an African Violet tend to last a long time, and the plant itself has very few growing requirements.

No.1: Water from the bottom and do not get any on the leaves. This is actually better for us because we leave the plant in it's ugly green growers pot and place it in any decorative container or plastic lined basket we want. When we water, take the violet out of it's receptacle, pour into the receptacle an inch or two of water and put the plant back to suck up the water. I have placed my violets in plastic bags and stuck them into all kinds of containers. It gets a little tricky at watering time but I manage. Oh yes this is important. Never water any plant unless you stick your finger into the soil to ensure it's really dry and needs it.

No. 3: African Violets are medium light plants. That means you can place them quite far (5 or 6 feet) from a really hot sunny window or they must be right in a no-sun (north facing window). If the window gets some morning sun, you can place the plant closer (2 or 3 feet) to the window. You'll know if your violet is not getting enough light, it'll stop flowering. Too much sun will burn the leaves.

This month's project is to make your own finials, you know, the knobby things that we attach to curtain rods or even on the top of lamps to hold the shades on. All you need is a glue gun, lot's of glue sticks, and an appropriately sized Styrofoam ball. The Styrofoam ball will enable you to jam the finial you've created onto the curtain rod or simply right over top of your existing lamp finial. The ball can easily be carved into a different shape if you so desire. Now remember to leave an appropriately sized empty space on the ball to facilitate jamming it onto something. Now, what should you glue on the ball? How about silk flowers? Or sea shells? Or just moss? Or moss and silk ivy? Or buttons? Or sequins? Or feathers? Or bits of broken dishes or pottery? If you are doing the country/cowboy thing, try burlap and rusty old barbed wire. You can co-ordinate the look by wrapping barbed wire around rope for drapery tiebacks. This is one of those projects where the only limitation is your imagination.

When I was much younger and on an extremely limited decorating budget, I made do with what I had, and although I wanted more I was happy with what I had. Lately, I have been seeing a lot of great homes with a lot of great decorative pieces and furnishings. But, sadly, because there are new furniture plans, or renovation plans, or some kind of plans, the resident decorator has become uninspired and as a result, isn't making the best out of what she's (or he - yeah right) got at the moment. If you hate the color of your sofa, find a color that you love that won't clash with the sofa, and use it, a lot. If you hate your carpet color and are waiting for hardwood, paint your walls a similar color as the offensive carpet and it all becomes a beautiful backdrop for the rest of your treasures. If your waiting for bookshelves, unpack your books and stack them everywhere, tables, the floor, I mean everywhere, you may be so pleased with the results that you cancel the bookshelf idea altogether. If you don't have a coffee table, use a crate, a trunk, two matching side tables or even ottomans. Rearrange the room until you're pleased with the results. I have often rearranged a room, been dissatisfied with the results, lived with it for a week or two, and then, SHAZAM! It comes to me and I move just one or two pieces and I have created sheer decorating art. Rearranging keeps your treasures fresh, and will keep you inspired and prevent you getting bored with your home.