A change of seasons signals a change for home décor as well.  Let’s celebrate the arrival of fall with some colorful decorations both indoors and out.

A Colorful Front Porch:

Planting a series of potted fall color at the entry easily creates an inviting entry.  Good plant choices in Santa Clarita are mums, marigolds and dahlias.  I like picking one species and repeating it in each pot.  This creates a rhythm and leads the eye and your guests to the front door.

Welcoming Guests:

Nothing says “welcome” more than a decorated entry table. A console or accent table placed near the front door is a perfect spot to display seasonal color.  This fall, make an arrangement of gourds and pumpkins and apples around a pumpkin colored candle or vase.

Bring Nature Indoors:

A glass vase filled with red maple branches creates a dramatic fall arrangement, especially if that color appears in pillows or upholstery throughout the room.  Leading the eye through repetition of a color is an effective design element.

Bountiful Centerpiece:

When entertaining this month, consider creating a harvest centerpiece.  A woven cornucopia found at local craft stores could be spray-painted a harvest gold (spray outdoors only) and then filled with gourds, pumpkins, twigs, berries and leaves.  You’ll have so much fun making this, and your guests will be so impressed.

Fall Inspired Patio:

Remember to decorate your outdoor rooms this fall season with inexpensive accents.  Affordable throw pillows can give an outdoor sofa a fresh fall look.  Switch out your white outdoor candles for pumpkin colored candles, and fill a rustic tray with some acorns, Indian corn and miniature pumpkins.  Now plant some mums in your outdoor pottery for a showy display of autumn colors.

Is your home ready for holiday entertaining?   Consider hiring a professional!  Tami Smight Interiors offers interior and exterior design services for one room or the entire home.  Please call today (661) 430-0127.

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This is how our kitchen looked, as the builder had designed it.  Stock cabinetry, white ceramic tile countertops, white tile backsplash… nothing remarkable… pretty boring.

We are very happy with the finished project.  Still want to switch out some lighting, but all in all, this has given us an updated look to our home and I love my new appliances.

How did we get from A to B?
We added Caesarstone countertops a few years back… but that wasn’t enough to give the kitchen a state-of-the art look!
We created a trash pull out by sacrificing one small cabinet.

The photo below shows how we removed the microwave and cabinet above it.  In it’s place a stainless steel microwave and a cabinet door made to look like an oven hood.

We lost one more cabinet in the butler’s pantry so I could add a beverage center.  I love having the added refrigerator in the kitchen for wine and cheese.  The appliances I chose were Electrolux.  The price was reasonable and the stainless gave the kitchen an overall updated look, instantly.  They are performing great for me!

We added molding to the island to give more of a custom, furniture look to the island. As well as the top of the existing cabinetry.

You can do this look for a whole lot more with custom cabinetry… but if you want to save yourself some money… consider following my design!  Please tell me what you think, I love to hear from you!

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These shutters are amazing… don’t you love the worn finish of the wood, the greyish tones?

I love these olive jars… they would be just right for a client’s garden.

The owner offered to give me this for free, because it was chipped… I have just the place to use it!

I have a great use for this beauty too!

These may look in sad shape… but I am very excited to get them home to work into my garden design!

Back at home after antiquing… I find the perfect spot for the shutters to be placed in my garden.

Now they need some detail in front

Something to balance this lovely statue…

Mmmm… what else to add?  This is so much fun for me!  Shopping in the morning, designing my garden in the afternoon… a perfect Sunday!

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Since the age of three, Claire has loved to shop.  It is one of our favorite mother-daughter outings!  Claire led me on a tour through Anthropologie to share with me how she would re-design her room, given the opportunity.  Okay, don’t feel too bad for Claire, she just did her room a year ago… so next renovation in our house would be my bedroom!  Thought you would enjoy these images, maybe they will inspire you to re-think some spaces in your home.

Bohemian Comforters

I love the patterns on these comforters… Claire actually designed her room about a year ago… incorporating this Bohemian style.  Hopefully this look will work for her ’til she heads to college!

Peacock Embroidered Lampshade

How fun is this floor lamp… it would work equally well in a girl’s bedroom or a living room.

Something Old… something new

How about the use of old and new on these shelves… the old being the bee hive and baskets, the new with the colorful dishware… you can learn so much about accessorizing your home and how to arrange accessories by paying attention to the detail used in the displays of your favorite retail stores.  And you though Anthropologie was just for ladies’ clothing?

Group Your Collections

A common mistake my clients make is to spread a collection throughout the house.  Create visual impact by grouping your collection together, as in this vignette with glass and bottles and plants

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Alec and I recently decided it was time to go “green” in the back yard.  Our beautiful landscape has matured, making it impossible to grow a healthy lawn of grass.  So we decided to re-think the back yard concept.  Follow along as I show you my design.

A New Canvas

We started with tearing out all the grass in the back.

Inspired by the design of the patio, I added cement pavers in a stone color… to unify the two spaces and eliminate all that watering!

Time to call in the Landscaping Pro!  My friend and colleague, Julie Molinare of The Grass is Always Greener Landscape Design removed and added plant life to update the look of my planters.  She is the EXPERT when it comes to creating a landscaped garden!

Shopping for Pottery

Julie and I meet at the nursery to select the right pottery for the new garden… such fun working with Jul!

Planting Day

Julie and I get to work planting the beautiful plants Julie selected for the water-wise garden.

My boxwood topiaries to flank the fountain.  This gives the fountain a greater sense of importance and leads the eye to this focal point in my garden.

This is where they will be placed, flanking the fountain…

The boxwoods are in place!

Friends Stop By…

Our friends Harriette Knight and Sheri Varela stop by to take a sneak peak at our joint efforts!

My Favorite Spot

This became my favorite part of the design…   After removing the grass, Julie expanded the planter area, and created two paths around the tree, very good for fung shui! I selected a lovely flagstone with isotoma planted between the stones.  Once it grows in, it will be a soft green carpet around the stones.

This is the design sequence…

I selected this wonderful container to place in the planter.  Julie selected a cascading plant for it and a taller grass.

The grass was removed, planter enlarged, earth leveled, added the flagstone, primrose

In theory, I knew it would be great, but in this case, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!What do you think of my favorite garden spot?

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I tried two new recipes for my brunch.  I always make a frittata, this year I tried a strata and a new French Toast Casserole.  They turned out soooo delicious!

Check out some of my dishes!  Here I am with my simple fruit salad.  I don’t care for fruit salad with lots of sugar. This is just fruit, lemon juice and fresh mint.  I served creme fraiche on the side.

Our friends David and Mel, and Dave all arrived around 11:30.  We had a delightful day together.  The weather was perfect!

There was broccoli salad with bacon, grapes, red onion, celery – so simple, and fantastic!

Make Ahead Brunch

I found the recipe for the French Toast Casserole from Bon Appetit, Y’All: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking by Virginia Willis.

Look how delicious it is when you cut into it, I know it looks dry, but it is so moist and flavorful, you really don’t even need to add syrup, but we all did anyway!

Danny and Claire found a quiet moment in the newly designed garden.

Then , after brunch, we played “bags” in our newly designed back yard.  I actually designed the hardscape around the dimensions required to play this game.

It is so much fun!

I love nothing more than spending time with my family and friends… this was a perfect day!

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Checking in at the Hotel on a rainy day

Alec and I recently enjoyed a rainy weekend in Santa Barbara with the kids.  I regularly take shopping trips out of LA to get design inspiration.  Even during a family outing, I can snap photos to share with you!  What are your favorite stores to browse?

Shopping State Street Santa Barbara

My favorite store on State Street is Rooms & Gardens (924 State Street, Santa Barbara 93101, phone 805 965-2424).  Why do I love this store?  First of all, it has a timeless look.  They stage their merchandise in an inspiring way, especially the accessories.  I receive so much design inspiration whenever I visit.  I love a touch of black in every room, this setting has the oversized black cocktail table and black bowl on top of it.  The piece is not too heavy thanks so the woven top and glass insert, and open leg design.

As I walk through design stores, I really want to take in all the beauty around me.  I truly am inspired.  I remember feeling this way as a young girl, shopping with my mom.  I loved symmetry and balance (I did not know why then).   This vignette has assymetrical balance, achieved by visually balancing the furnishings, but not exactly symmetrical placement of accessories.  Note the varied textures, colors and finishes.  Try to achieve this in your makeover projects.

Italian Pottery Outlet

This store was just calling me inside.  I love mixing the look of Italian Pottery into interior accessories.  They work great on covered patios as well.  I love the texture of this tall urn. mmmm – this would be great in my garden with lovely bacopa streaming down!

The Canary Hotel

After a full day of shopping and eating – we returned to our lovely room at The Canary Hotel.  There was more design inspiration in this beautiful hotel, located just off State Street.

The room was painted a soft celery green, which is a lovely contrast to the dark wood furnishings.  So simple and timeless in design.  We really loved this bed, super comfortable, thick and soft.

The bathroom, although small, efficiently used the space.  What more could you need?

We headed back to shop a bit, and then to my favorite Santa Barbara restaurant, The Palace ,for a birthday celebration.  I had a fantastic time with Al and the kids!

At breakfast on Sunday morning, I had to get a shot of this large scale red mirror!  Don’t you love it?  Next time you go away-bring your camera, shoot what you like and even what you don’t… you’ll learn a lot about your sense of style and design personality!

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My friends treated me to a day of lunch and shopping in Ventura as a birthday celebration.  We had a fantastic time together.  I found a few new shops, and made some fun purchases.  Whether shopping alone, or with friends, I bring my camera.  I snap shots of vignettes and design that inspires me.  Take a look at what inspired me!

Display Table at B on Main

Check out this display table at a fantastic store, B on Main.  This vignette display represents some of the design inspiration I gather when shopping in decor stores.  Look closely at the way this table is arranged.  The mercury glass is grouped together to make a visual impact.  Other shiny objects are placed in, to repeat the reflective theme. In your home, group your collectibles together, on an entry table or console table to give them more emphasis.

I discovered a new home decor store, Cheryl Collins Signature Style (420 E Main Street). Cheryl has a stunning collection of reasonably priced accessories, expertly displayed.  I just had to buy this stone urn. It may end up in my house if I don’t place it in a client’s home this spring.

This stone lidded urn will beautifully accessorize your home inside or in the garden.

These glass bottles would accessorize an indoor or outdoor table very nicely…

One more stop to look at pottery… this was on sale and I didn’t get it… now I regret it.  I know I could use this for a client, or me!  I guess I have to go back!

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