Flower Power

Orange Poppy Flower Power, Coral Poppy Flower Power and Yellow Poppy Flower Power are but three designs in a veritable garden of floral print chairs by the aptly named company, Floral Art. These modern decorative chairs combine color and print in an interesting way, making them as great to look at as they are to sit on. The high-gloss, wood-finish frame holds a clear Lucite backrest with a flower floating at its center – beautiful from front and back! Custom upholstery adds a level of luxury that only comes with high-end furniture.

Outdoor Entertaining Tips

The warm, pleasant weather of spring just begs to be enjoyed. Here are a few tips that will help you make the most of this season meant for entertaining.



Light Up the Night


Don’t settle for harsh overhead floodlights. Use glass hurricanes to hold tabletop candles so the wind doesn’t blow them out, and position torches around the edges of the party to create a perimeter and cast dramatic shadows

Color Talk


Go for color. Use bright color like melon, fuschia and lemon-yellow to pop against the green. The inclination to use green botanical prints in a garden setting is a natural one, but they will disappear when surrounded by shrubs and plantings.

Trash Talk


Don’t forget to place an attractive trash can nearby to prevent trash from piling up on the table. And make sure it starts out empty!

Sun Salutations


If your party is a daytime event, be sure to provide shade, even if it means renting a tent. There’s nothing worse than watching your guests turn lobster-red before dessert.

Bug It


If you’re not averse to chemicals, spray your terrace or patio with insecticide before the party. For a green approach, plant marigolds around the patio, which are a natural bug deterrent.

Work Surface


Bring an extra table or teacart outdoors. You always need more table surface than you can predict for extra glasses or hors d’oeuvres.

Scents and Sensibility


Plant fragrant blossoms around your terrace, which will release their heady scent at dusk. A few recommendations: Eleagnus, jasmine, mock orange and passion vine.

Light a Fire


Invest in a fire pit and you won’t be able to make your guests go indoors. The mesmerizing effect of the fire works as well outdoors as in and can save your party from a chilly night.

Hot Tunes


Play warm-weather music like salsa or reggae. These tunes were meant to be enjoyed outdoors.

I hope you enjoyed My Houzz Ideas

Swing Time

Swing Time


The large veranda on the front porch is the perfect spot for a large daybed swing. Hung with rope and fastened to actual boat cleats, the swing is filled with plenty of pillows and 1940s-inspired barkcloth-covered cushions.

Layering textures and colors gives this outside sitting area a living room feel. Plenty of seating and added accents -- such as a sea grass rug, floor lamps, and balloon vases -- make this a desirable place to relax.

Pieces of furniture are strategically scattered on the porches and breezeway for flexible lounging options. Located off the breezeway (between the screened porch and dining patio) is a beach house staple: the outdoor shower.

Located directly off the indoor living and dining areas, the large upper balcony can be used for dining and lounging. Because the railing is high, the bar-height table and chairs maximize viewing potential and allow glimpses of treetops and the Gulf.

Lighted Patio Umbrella

Illuminate the night with this bright idea – a lighted patio umbrella. These LED umbrellas by Punt Mobles are a must-have for the entertainer who likes to take it outside. Just in time for the warm weather, the Po'light umbrella makes a wonderful focal point on your patio or deck, by the pool or in the yard. Measuring 200 cm high and 180 cm in diameter, this lighted umbrella features a central mast with an internal LED system, topped by a circular, waterproof umbrella while at the base, a metal foot stylishly conceals the electrical connections.

Dining Styles

Enlist your dining room to serve double duty. Select a table and chairs that are casual enough for everyday activities - breakfast, shell sorting, or putting together puzzles - but can be easily dressed up for entertaining.

In this funky dining spot, various styles and time periods are unified by a neutral palette. The mixture of looks and interesting pieces creates a quirky but comfortable dining nook.

Dazzle dinner guests with a silver-and-sage tableau that embraces both old and new. Whimsical print napkins, colorful ribbon, and a low flower arrangement bring color and interest to the space while still letting guests chat.

 A high-gloss finish makes these dark brown walls especially dramatic. Light-colored fabrics and ceiling color balance the rich, chocolate walls.

Two of the dining room chairs are slip-covered in a washable fabric -- great for four active boys.

 A traditional chair rail and wainscot are painted a crisp white and provide a tailored backdrop for the more casual burlap window shades, slipcovered chairs, and rustic farm table. Traditional, rustic, and vintage mix together seamlessly.

 Large timbers and rustic yet elegant furniture bring nature inside. Burnt reds and oranges evoke traditional mountain style.

A piazza is a must-have room in a Charleston home, and a deep-set space like this one allows indoor furnishings to appear outdoors. Seating arrangement is the focal point of this space as it allows everyone to gather comfortably. Potted plants and flowers help bridge the indoor areas with the outdoor ones.

High Tech Bathing

The Eclipse Television Mirror embeds an LCD TV behind a two-way bathroom mirror. When the TV is off, you can't see it at all. Turn it on using the included remote and voil! Watch "American Idol" while flossing.

The 15-inch TV Mirror starts at $1,326; add another $150 to $300 for the 20-inch unit.

Tired of turning the tap on and off? This "intelligent faucet" from iHouse uses facial recognition to recognize you automatically and adjust the water temperature and flow to your tastes.

The touchscreen lets you access e-mail, weather forecasts, and your daily schedule while bathing.

This sleek body scale records your weight, fat mass and body mass index (BMI), and uploads the info to the Internet via Wi-Fi. You can chart weight variations over time via Web browser or a free iPhone app.

It's a social scale too, capable of routing your body analysis data to online communities like Facebook or Twitter — if you dare. Price: $168.

Are you a sun-worshipper with no time for a tanning salon or the great outdoors? This $11,000 tanning shower allows you to bronze your skin as you wash. Switch on specific tanning lamps to target particularly pale areas where the sun never shines. Yes, your buttocks will be sublime.

The Japanese are the undisputed masters of toilet tech, and nowhere is their potty prowess more evident than in the Toto Neorest 550, a luxury john that plays sound effects, such as a babbling brook or waves crashing on a beach, to mask your body's natural cacophony. Its lid opens and closes automatically, and the device even has a programmable nightlight.

Price: $5,460 to $6,280. Now that's one luxurious loo.

Uber-hip designer Karim Rashid has designed this all-in-one TV-tub unit for the Saturn Bath Company of Korea.

Soak your troubles away in this modernistic, white oval tub while catching up on "Real Housewives" of, well, wherever. The LCD TV is waterproof, naturally. I'll bet Zoolander owns one.

Floating Umbrella

Space and Freedom- This cantilevered umbrella floats freely outside of your field of vision. Amalfi can be closed easily with our quality rope winch and crank. Secure is secure with the self locking gear- holds the shade tight at every position. This robust shade is made of 60×60 mm aluminum with a wall thickness of 4 mm. The Amalfi can be free standing or wall mount attached. Over 100 Dickson-Constant Fabric selections, 110 Powder Coated finishes and additional accessories are available. Customize your square or octagonal shade up to 13’2”.

I personally own the one pictured above and love it!!!!!!!!

Italian Bathrooms

Here are some bathroom designs from Eban featuring dark stained bathroom furnishings. This furniture unit comes from their Maddalena line combining the elements of a sink, mirror and storage into one modular unit.

Table Settings 101

For a formal luncheon, the table is set much as for dinner with a few exceptions. The presence of an iced teaspoon and iced beverage glass announce a daytime event. The lack of candlesticks, too, is appropriate for a daylight meal.


Stemware is limited to a water goblet and a wine goblet. Old etiquette books dictated that the flatware should align at the bottom of the handle. Looser customs now allow you to arrange them in a graceful angles.

Tablecloth:Sferra, Gracious Home
Napkin: Private collection
Flatware:Vera Wang, Waterford/Wedgwood
Fish fork, iced teaspoon: Private Collection
Stemware:Waterford
China:Lenox

The primary difference between a formal luncheon and formal dinner setting is the increased number of glasses for red wine and champagne. Notice the glasses are arranged over the knife in the order in which they are to be used: water, white wine, red wine, champagne. Also, the fish fork moves to the left of the plate. Candlesticks may be present on the table since the candles will be lit. The coffee cups and spoons will all be brought to the table after dinner, when coffee is served. Place cards reinforce the fact that this is a well-planned, organized event.



Tablecloth: Sferra, Gracious Home
Napkin: Private collection
Flatware:Vera Wang, Waterford/Wedgwood
Fish fork: Private Collection
Stemware:Waterford/Wedgwood
China:Lenox

When company comes, it's nice to set the table for a proper breakfast. You won't need a salad fork, but if you're serving a hot cereal like oatmeal, you may want a place spoon. You can also put the teaspoon on the table in this instance, since coffee will be served from the beginning of the meal. A juice glass is the only necessary stemware, although you may want to serve ice water, in which case you could add a water goblet.


Flatware:Pottery Barn
Place mat:Pottery Barn
China:Wedgwood
Glass: ESD
Vase: Private collection
Napkin: Private Collection

For a casual lunch, feel free to use heavier dinnerware, like these simple ceramic plates. Provide glasses for whatever beverage you plan to serve. The coffee cup may be set on the table rather than passed after the meal. There are no candlesticks on a lunch table, since you don't use them when you're not lighting the candles, which you wouldn’t be in the daytime.


Table: Myrtle
Place mat:Pottery Barn
Plate and mug:Pottery Barn
Flatware:Pottery Barn
Glasses:Pottery Barn
Napkin: Gracious Home, Find Similar at Table Matters
Salt & pepper:Table Matters
Flower container:Pottery Barn

A casual dinner calls for less formal china and stemware, and stainless steel flatware is fitting for the relaxed setting. Here, the formality of a mahogany dining table is softened with a bamboo place mat. The salad fork is omitted, but dessert flatware does lie in its usual place above the plate. To remember which way these face, imagine them “driving up” from their customary places to the left and the right of the plate, and “parking” in the direction they’re facing.



Placemat: Gracious Home, Find Similar at Amazon
Flatware:Pottery Barn
China: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Candlesticks: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Vase: Lesesne, Find Similar at Gracious Home
Salt & Pepper:Pottery Barn
Glasses:Pottery Barn

When you're serving soup as a main course, perhaps for an intimate dinner by the fire, you can simplify the setting. But simple needn't mean boring, as this non-traditional setting demonstrates. Square china provides a twist on the traditional soup plate, and a wine glass with a square off bowl echoes the geometry of the china. A soup spoon, often called a place spoon in etiquette books, and a salad fork are all that is needed for a meal of soup, salad, and bread, the perfect winter meal.



China:Pottery Barn
Place mat:Gracious Home
Fabric:Lee Jofa
Flatware:Gracious Home
Glass:Pottery Barn
Basket containers:Charlotte Moss
via My Home Ideas

Home Life

Featured Designer
Rose Ann Humphrey

Home Life by Rose Ann Humphrey combines a full service Interior Design Studio with fine home furnishing resources as well as an exclusive line of Custom Built Cabinetry for all areas of the home. Home Life helps their clients Love How They Live. Home Life's goal is to assist in the process of creating homes that truly reflect who their clients are and allows them to Discover Their Own Visual Voices. Home Life has been building lasting relationships with Interior Design clients for over 20 years.

Originally based in Manchester, Vermont working on many Design projects in the Southern part of Vermont and Stratton Mountain, Home Life is known for quality interior design and excellence in design concept and execution.


Home Life showcases vendors from around the world. Their new and exclusive Custom Built Cabinetry for all areas of the home is sought after by home owners around the country.

Beyond her experience designing home interiors, Rose Ann Humphrey has completed noted projects in New England. The Point at Saranac Lake recognized by Relais and Chateaux as the Best Country Inn in the world was completed by Rose Ann. Projects in Sugarbush, Vermont, Stowe, Vermont and Stratton Mountain, Vermont are the resorts Home Life has worked extensively in.


Rose Ann Humphrey, Home Life's primary designer, has devoted more that 25 years to interior design, catering to clientele in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, New Mexico, Montreal and around the globe from her base in Vermont. Using her New York roots design sensibility, Rose Ann creates homes that offer rejuvenation and retreat.
 
I dicovered Rose Humphrey after she was featured in an article on Ava Living where I am also a member.