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Warm Your Home with a Taste of the Tropics
by: ARA
(ARA) - Tropical decorative motifs, such as palm trees, monkeys, pomegranates, and the pineapple that symbolizes "welcome," endure for many reasons. Not only are they intrinsically graceful in their own right, but they are also evocative of a relaxed, comfortable, leisurely way of life. Their reflection of ease and warmth has made these motifs popular for generations, and they are enjoying another home fashion renaissance now.

They coincide beautifully with the trend toward such nature-friendly materials as bamboo, wicker and rattan. They also relate to increased interest in exotic places, such as Key West and Bali. Pineapples and pomegranates add an international flavor to the traditional basket of decorative fruits. Monkeys represent a gender-neutral motif, easy to decorate with and especially appropriate for shared spaces, such as the master bedroom, where men may raise objections to an abundant use of florals.

While tropical themes are ideal for decorating a vacation home in a southern climate, they can also carry their luxurious sense of comfort to the harsh winters of the north.

Patterns in the Ellison Bay collection from Maxwell’s Piper Designs division offer an example. The collection takes its name from a beautiful inlet on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan -- an idyllic summer resort that is snowbound for much of the winter. While pineapples, interspersed with tropical flowers are in perfect sync with the surroundings in summer, they bring the welcome glow of summer to winter's short, dark days.

For added winter warmth, we used this pattern in red in an entryway. It is installed above a white molding at chair-rail height, and topped with its even more densely floral coordinating border. A harlequin pattern in matching red runs from the chair rail to the floor.

Classic ring-tail monkeys meander along tropical branches in a design in Maxwell's Vintage Colonial collection, which also contains matching borders and a coordinating cheetah print. All three help unify a master bedroom and adjoining dressing area, while also making each space distinctive. To produce a "positive/negative, reverse" visual effect, we combined the monkey wallpaper with a white background and a border of the same design on a black background.

This stunning pair of patterns extends along one wall into the dressing area that is otherwise wallpapered completely in the cheetah pattern. Because Maxwell collections use color families to make coordination easy and mixing and matching foolproof, this cheetah's spots are perfectly color-matched to the monkey's fur.

Such coordination also makes it easy to add true decorator distinction. For example, we covered the two shades on the sconce at the entry to the dressing area with the cheetah wallpaper print. Details like this bear the mark of professional interior design and become a signature of your great taste of the tropics.

The most dramatic of all Maxwell's tropical references is an innovative vertical wall mural, created for the Vintage Tuscany collection from Maxwell's LV Emmert Studios' division. It replicates a floor-to-ceiling window, complete with trompe l'oeil window panes and drawn shades, with an open view to a nearly life-size palm tree in a faux Italian courtyard. We know of no other pattern that can so completely infuse any room with the lush look of the tropics.

To locate a retailer in your area that carries the Vintage Colonial collection from S.A. Maxwell Co., Ellison Bay from Maxwell's Piper Designs, and Vintage Tuscany from the company's LV Emmert Studios, call (847) 932-3700 or visit www.samaxwell.com.

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 Principles of Interior Design
 by: Kathy Iven

Whether you are working with existing furnishings and fabrics or “starting from scratch” with an empty room, you should always use the elements and principles of design as a guide in choosing everything. The elements are your tools or raw materials, much like paints are the basics to a painter. The elements of design include space, line, form, color, and texture. The principles of design relate to how you use these elements. The principles of design are balance, emphasis, rhythm, proportion and scale, and harmony and unity.

Principle #1: Balance

Visual equilibrium in a room is called balance. It gives a sense of repose and a feeling of completion. A well-balanced room gives careful consideration to the placement of objects according to their visual weight. The elements of line, form, color and texture all help determine an object’s visual weight, which is the amount of space it appears to occupy. Balance also refers to how and where you place the elements (line, form, color and texture) within a room. To maintain balance, try to distribute the elements throughout the room.

• Formal balance, often referred to as symmetrical balance, creates a mirror image effect.

• Informal balance uses different objects of the same visual weight to create equilibrium in a room. It is more subtle and spontaneous and gives a warmer, more casual feeling.

Principle #2: Emphasis

Emphasis is the focal point of the room. The focal point should be obvious as you enter the room; it is the area to which your eye is attracted. Whatever is featured, as the center of interest –a fireplace, artwork or a window treatment framing a beautiful view – must be sufficiently emphasized so that everything else leads the eye toward the featured area. You can add emphasis to a natural focal point or create one in a room through effective use of line, form, color and texture.

Principle #3: Rhythm

Rhythm supplies the discipline that controls the eye as is moves around a room. Rhythm helps the eye to move easily from one object to another and creates a harmony that tells the eye everything in the room belongs to a unified whole. Rhythm is created through repetition of line, form, color or texture. It can also be created through progression. Progressive rhythm is a gradual increasing or decreasing in size, direction or color.

Principle #4: Proportion and Scale

Size relationships in a room are defined by proportion and scale. Proportion refers to how the elements within an object relate to the object as a whole. Scale relates to the size of an object when compared with the size of the space in which it is located.

Principle #5: Harmony and Unity

A well-designed room is a unified whole that encompasses all the other elements and principles of design. Unity assures a sense of order. There is a consistency of sizes and shapes, a harmony of color and pattern. The ultimate goal of decorating is to create a room with unity and harmony and a sense of rhythm. Repeating the elements, balancing them throughout the room, and then adding a little variety so that the room has its own sense of personality accomplishes this. Too much unity can be boring; too much variety can cause a restless feeling. Juggling the elements and principles to get just the right mix is a key to good design.


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