It’s sale time for outdoor furniture so I thought I’d walk you through HomeSense/HomeGoods to give you some tips and tricks to create a pretty patio for the rest of the summer!
Here’s Lucy and I on my birthday (June 7). I get so much joy out of my happy yellow and white striped patio! All my furniture is discontinued and sold out so I can’t link to any of it but this weeks video will give you some good ideas to add some colour to your patio this season!
Come summer shopping with me in this video!
What completes a beautiful exterior?
In Tuesday’s post, I showed my reader’s updated rancher. She is wondering if she should add the shutters back, and I turned it over to you all for your thoughts.
Some of you noted that the front door looks dark. And that’s true, however, it’s under a deeply shadowed overhang, so a new paint colour isn’t likely to give it enough light to balance the facade. And yes, her columns should definitely be more substantial. A single 8 inch square column would work best.
Here’s my take. Shutters won’t make or break this exterior. But technically, there isn’t the right symmetry and scale in the windows for shutters. What I was hoping you would guess, and many of you did! Is that it needs interest, curves texture and context from landscaping.
Landscaping is the decorating and styling part of an exterior and the prettiest house won’t look amazing without it!
Here’s a quick mock up based on the landscaping from my previous rancher home. Plus a couple of trees to frame the house. This isn’t perfect of course, MaryAnne White , my garden designer, would have custom ideas suited to exactly this house. But I think it gives the idea of the impact landscaping would make.
Sometimes you don’t know the right question to ask when it comes to making improvements to your curb appeal. Spinning on a question like shutters or no shutters can keep you from realizing that landscaping is where your energy needs to go next for example.
In my eDesign consultations, I often point out improvements that can be made that are outside of the scope of what the homeowner is considering. Often saving them LOTS of money.
Get my help with your exterior project here.
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That landscaping is perfect! What a great tip to use landscaping to balance out a house!
Great video, Maria! And I love the rancher with no shutters and the curvy landscaping. It’s just what this home needs to look its best!
Love Maria’s enthusiasm and seeing the rugs/pillows/plant-pots choices, but all the faux flowers and tchotchkes make me sad. Are we really people who need to clutter our lives and (especially) our landfills with little decorations that we keep for a year and discard? Maybe I’m jaded from living in a crowded city, when Maria lives in a spacious area surrounded by natural beauty and doesn’t realize our daily decorative choices have a cost to nature. Oh dear, I just realized, even those pretty rugs are likely made of petroleum products that will be leaking from the landfills for centuries. (going back in my hole now….thanks for the chance to get that off my chest)
Thank you so much for your comment. When it comes to waste, it’s important to remember that manufacturers also play a significant role—many products are produced incorrectly, never make it to market, or remain unsold and end up being discarded. This video is really about inspiring you to create a space you truly love. Whether that means investing in a 100% wool rug or simply adding fresh flowers to your living room, the goal is to make your home feel special to you. If more people focused on decorating and personalizing their spaces, learning about how to work with colour we might see fewer kitchens and bathrooms ending up in landfills simply because they look dated. Thoughtful and timeless design choices goes a long way toward reducing unnecessary waste.
Thank you for your gracious reply – I’ve followed your blog for years because I appreciate your promotion of a timeless aesthetic, so that we’re not all constantly replacing our interiors ‘before their time’ and sending good (but poorly used) materials to the landfills. And btw, I think Canadians are way ahead of us US-folks on this. It’s the tchotchkes that get to me – thank you for encouraging your followers to be more discerning