9 Tips for a Better Work-at-Home Space

Lovely home office setup (click on the photo to read more about how how the great desk was made from IKEA components)

Franca Giuliani - Who wouldn’t want to work from home? Ahhhh! Working from home can definitely have its advantages. You save time. You save money on commuting. You can manage your personal obligations in between breaks.

However, some people can’t seem to grasp the balance when working from home. They seem to get distracted very easily, not accomplishing much, or perhaps taking too many naps. Some tend to overeat, aimlessly surf the Web, and watch TV as opposed to the time clock. Before you decide to work from home, you must be really honest with yourself and ask a few important questions. 

• Is a home office the best environment for my personality?
• Will I be able to separate my work life and home life while in one space?
• Do I think I will eat more? drink more? waste more time?

From a feng shui perspective, a working-from-home environment can be a real challenge. If you can’t find a balance between work and your private life, it may cause you more stress than anything else.

Here are the top 9 suggestions to help you create a harmonious work-from-home-environment. And, these tips are 9 in number for a good reason. The number 9 is the number with the highest energy. Hopefully, these suggestions will give you a great jump start!

1. Pick a room or a space as separate as possible from your home life. For example, it is not advised to have your “office desk” in the same space as your living room or TV room. If you have a spare room, use it. If the only extra space you have to create a home office is in the basement, that’s not ideal, but it is doable. Just makes sure you have a lot of uprising energy represented, such as up-lighting, the color green, ventilation, and hopefully some natural light.
2. Make sure you do not put your desk in a vulnerable position. It should be facing the door but not directly in front of it.
3. Your chair should have support by having a solid wall behind it. A window behind the chair is not advised. If there are no other solutions, use heavy drapery to symbolically create that support.
4. Your chair should be comfortable for you. It should give your body good support. Consider one with a high back, armrests, wheels, and the ability to turn from side to side (so good "motion seating"). You don’t want to ever feel that you are "stuck" or rigid.
5. Be mindful of what you see in front of you when sitting at your desk. Is it a window with a view of the outdoors? This may lead you to daydream and perhaps not focus on work. Is it a blank wall? This may cause you to feel blocked and perhaps curtail your ability to come up with new ideas. Instead, make sure that what is in front of you is inspirational and matches your goals and dreams.
6. Yes, you can have family photos in your home office, but just don’t overdo it. It may subconsciously confuse you and distract you from what needs to be accomplished.
7. Nowadays any office has computers and electronic devices. Make sure you have enough plants to help combat the negative electrical energy that is associated with these devises. Water lily and spider plants are highly recommended.
8. Keep track of your work hours, even if you don’t have to.  If you are in a position where you have to track your hours in order to bill a client, then this is quite easy for you. However, many entrepreneurs accumulate “work hours” working on their own stuff. It’s always important to "clock ourselves in and clock ourselves out." This way we can see how much time we are actually spending on work and on how much time we're really goofing off.
9. Remember to smile as often as possible while working ... even if you don’t want to. This may lead to the occasional unnecessary giggles or laughter. Since you are working from home, chances are that no one will see you, so you don’t have to explain this to anyone! It's always good to lighten your mood.

The funniest home office setup we've ever seen: this artist feels like he's always on the beach!

Your homework for this month: Work on getting your home work space separate from your personal home living space. It may not be easy, but at least start tackling it.

Until next month,

Franca

Franca Giuliani is today's featured Design2Share guest writer. She is an environmental advisor, integrated feng shui consultant, and energy clearer whose inquisitive nature has led her down the path of the metaphysical world and related topics. Now Franca uses her expansive knowledge and experience to help individuals get their bearings and think differently about themselves and their space, enabling them to better plan for the future. 

She collectively uses a number of modalities to help people become aware of their environment, acknowledge it, and then help them begin to reach a better balance. Becoming aware of one’s environment and understanding why things are happening is the foundation to a possible transformation of life. 

New Traditional Living Room in Scarsdale

Irwin Weiner ASID - I came across this photo of one of my projects from ten years ago, and was surprised at how fresh and timeless this living room still looks. Designing this interior for a vibrant young couple in Scarsdale, NY was a joy; they and their young children represent the wave of "New Traditional" homeowners. They appreciate antiques and fine furnishings, but they also strive for a warm color palette and comfort conducive to raising a family. Highlights of this living room: the faux-painted panel molding on the walls, an aubusson rug in a deco style design, a French period mirror with modern lines, a Biedermeier cabinet as a side table, the updated Louis XVI style coffee table from John Boone Inc., a pair of art deco mahogany club chairs from Paris, and a Billy Baldwin style sofa from Profiles NY. 

Amsterdam Design Report: The Frozen Fountain

Irwin Weiner ASID - It's a pleasure to let you know of an online home goods resource that matches its physical brick-and-mortar store awesomeness. Go to The Frozen Fountain and you'll find a collection of home goods that represents the vanguard of contemporary Dutch design and, thereby, all contemporary decor. This was one of our must-see stops in Amsterdam's Nine Streets section, and we've posted a few of the products that quickly caught our eye. Click on each photo for more product information.

Elegant pitcher from Mario Luca Giusti

Chariot tea trolley from Gam Fratesi

Chris Kabel's ingenious Sticky Lamp

Maarten Baas's whimsical Plain Clay side tables

Mark van den Gronden's Crates cabinet

Astounding - Paul Heijnen's Cathedral Cupboard

One of six animal bowls by Hella Jongerius

Amsterdam Design Report: Conservatorium Hotel, Part 2

Irwin Weiner ASID - When talking about interior design influences, it's important to give full props to "hotel style." Boutique design hotels innovate decor and heavily influence residential design, so staying at Amsterdam's beautiful Conservatorium Hotel was a luxurious treat and a bit of spying into designer Piero Lissoni's vision for home decoration. Yesterday's post covered the impressive public spaces. Remember the soaring lobby courtyard? The glass shelves that displayed contemporary design books and groupings of white Dutch ceramic pottery surrounded the tops of trees poking up into the lobby. I explored underground to see where the trees were planted. The answer: in the gym, with a great view of indoor nature from the treadmills!

While downstairs, I explored the world-class Akasha spa. As I indicated yesterday, many of the doors are clad with the same stone as the walls, and they were so heavy to open, but what a stylish detail! The pool area is famous in the design community. It's a blue water gem, bordered by a living wall of tropical plants. The air was hot and humid, perfect for relaxing after a massage. Jay and I indulged in a massage the afternoon we arrived in the hotel; pure bliss, and we relaxed in a darker waiting area just off poolside, looking at bubbling fountains, drinking water and tea, and picking at bowls of mango, strawberries, and prunes.

One spa treatment we were curious about (maybe during our next visit) was the Watsu pool. You float in the pool, guided by a therapist who helps you relax. It sounded like a rebirthing process, very primal and emotional. But we just loved the room, filled with a shallow pool facing a cascading waterfall wall and closed off by Japanese-style sliding doors.

Outside the spa area, I spied a lovely cascading chandelier in the area outside the public restrooms. The fixture hung over a round marble "fountain table," with little bubbling spurts of water around the edges and floating flowers.

And speaking of chandeliers, the elevator lobby inside the original music academy building housing the guest rooms boasted a lovely violin-LED chandelier, a wink and a nod to the building's former life. Note the arches - there were arches everywhere and beautiful tiling in the hallways.

Finally, let's talk about our room. It was an unusual two-story suite. The bottom floor had a wall of LED-lit closets next to the master bath. The glassed-in bathing area had a soaking tub next to the shower area, an unusual combo, and a mirror featuring a built-in TV.

There was also a seating area with a contemporary sofa and the same kind of super-low-rise coffee tables we found so charming in the lobby. A writing desk and a large TV completed the scene. Here's the view from the room's second floor balcony. Note the two-story blackout drapes and shades, both motorized, and our view of the lobby. 

Underneath the stairs going to the upper-level bedroom was a Dutch tableau, tongue in cheek, of wooden shoes and pottery, mirrored upstairs by a collection of Delft pottery plates hanging on the wall. In a starkly modern suite, these fun touches added warmth and a strong sense of place.

I really liked the sense of style in the hotel. From the lobby to the rooms, the upholstered furniture was kept extremely simple and minimal. There were no "designer patterns" on any of the furnishings. Perhaps a pop of color, but mostly brown and gray and beige. And comfortable, above all else. You'll see up in the bedroom that the furnishings were also minimal and zen-like. A yellow metal valet, an orange wing-back chair, and a red night table were accents in an otherwise neutral room with stone and cream walls, simple monochromatic bed linens, and a long wooden bench on the other side of the beds, perfect for spreading out all our "stuff." And another TV (three in the suite in all, plus four phones - one in the main bath, one in the upstairs bath, one by the beds, and one on the desk). There are one-level hotel rooms at The Conservatorium and much posher suites than ours, but we really enjoyed our stay. It was always a wonderful and stylish place to come home to after long days spent exploring Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Design Report: Conservatorium Hotel

Irwin Weiner ASID - One of the most exceptional hotels Jay and I have ever stayed in was the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam. Today I'd like to cover the overall hotel and lobby, but tomorrow I'll talk about our room and some of the hotel's amenities.

Evident from the moment we walked into the lobby was the casual contemporary style of the furnishings and accessories. There was nothing fussy, no attempt to coordinate and match, or to call too much attention to any one piece of furniture. A few classic pieces, like a chesterfield sofa looked perfectly at home with boxier modern sofas.

Everything was comfortable and low-slung. (Not the friendliest height for the elderly or people with disabilities, but beautiful nonetheless.) White Dutch ceramics were on display in breathtaking floating glass shelves (the shelving must have cost a fortune). Mismatched rugs anchored casual conversation groupings. We noted guests relaxing in the lobby as well as small gatherings of people doing creative business presentations; we sat next to two women from a Milan fashion house showing their latest collection to a woman representing a Dutch fashion magazine. 

I noted the extremely low height of the coffee tables. In a huge open lobby space, the on-purpose small scale of the furniture groupings and lower sizing of objects shouldn't have worked, in theory, but they were brilliant and created needed intimacy in the space. The dark overhang of the contemporary entrance addition also helped to make the lobby seating area a bit cozier, too (even though the ceiling height was soaring). After arriving from the airport, we settled in for cups of steaming hot tea, freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice, and a plate of the ubiquitous savory Dutch meat snack, bitterballen. 

The hotel project was created by famed architect and furniture designer Piero Lissoni and the historic musical conservatory building was transformed into a boutique hotel that marries the best of classical style with contemporary furnishings and amenities. It was fun to see the new addition details working in play with the outside of the old music conservatory building. It was a brilliant design. 

Let's take one small detail: the doors. All new interior doors were clad - both sides - in stone to seamlessly mesh with the stone walls. Can you imagine the heavy-duty hinges required to keep them hanging upright and plumb! Let me tell you that opening and closing these doors was a feat of strength. Definitely not a universal design touch; in fact, we joked about the front desk being deluged with calls from older guests who needed help to open their bathroom doors. (More on those doors in tomorrow's post.) Enjoy this promotional video overview for the Conservatorium Hotel.

Amsterdam Design Report: Weltevree Collection

Irwin Weiner ASID - Did you have a wonderful holiday weekend? In the Northeastern United States we had a cold and rainy start to our time off, but the temperature warmed and on Memorial Day we had glorious sunny weather that was perfect for cookouts. We had two of them, the first of the year: lunch with hamburgers and dinner with marinated chicken and rosemary potatoes.

Being outdoors reminded us of our recent trip to Amsterdam, specifically to Hotel Droog, a hot contemporary design center. Leaving the Droog Design showrooms, we took cover under our umbrellas and admired the courtyard garden, then went across the garden into the Weltevree Collection showroom.

They boast an impressive assortment of objects that bring contemporary details and freshness to an alternative, more natural lifestyle. Think outdoor living in the country, and you've pretty well got the concept.

The Dutchtub is perhaps their most recognizable product. Think of a giant teacup with a wood fire attached to it, becoming a roomy hot tub. Only it's very lightweight and portable. Watch this video to see the Dutchtub in action.

This original thinking extends to the rest of their collection. Click on a photo for more product information, and visit World Wide Local to see Weltevree's social experience network, with product owners getting together and sharing their experiences (you'll also find the nearest distributor of their products).

Amsterdam Design Report: Droog

Irwin Weiner ASID - DId you miss us? Jay and I were in Amsterdam last week, but you probably weren't aware of it; we made certain to have articles and videos lined up and ready to post on Design2Share while we were gone.

Ed Annink's hare mat is typical of Droog whimsy.

Amsterdam was a little spring getaway, but it was also an art and design pilgrimage, and this week we'll be featuring some of the discoveries we made during our too-brief visit.

Wendy Legro's Too Beautiful to Hide hot water bottle sits on a crisply-made bed, atop Droog's All in One carpet.

The first stop on this lovely Memorial Day (hope you and your family are having a wonderful holiday weekend!) is Droog, which many consider to be ground zero for the new wave of Dutch design.

It was thrilling to see Tejo Remy's Rag Chair and Chest of Drawers up close!

Enjoy today's featured video on Droog's origins, philosophy, and iconic pieces (click on video at the top of this post).

Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum collaborated with Droog to create a unique Rijks Studio collection of objects based on the museum's historic pieces, like these clear plates with minimal decoration that line up to form an intricate pattern.

And enjoy a few photographs and comments from our visit to the Droog store on a rainy Monday afternoon after taking in a thrilling matinee production of La Traviata at the Amsterdam Music Theater.

A disembodied teapot and beautiful vases perch atop brazen yellow casegoods.

In this tableau, my favorites are Marcel Wanders' Knotted Chair and the Minale-Maeda Inside-Out night stand.

Droog always displays new items that aren't in production, like this faux painted table and the console filled with colorful plastic crate drawers (one of my favorites).

The Droog Hotel courtyard boasts a lovely courtyard garden with suspended mesh votive candle holders and a giant metallic-and-firewood-filled mushroom.

Designer House Tour with Tobi Fairley

Irwin Weiner ASID - Today's featured design video shows off the home of one of our favorite interior designers, Arkansas based Tobi Fairley. Ms. Fairley is one of the best brands in design today, and that means that her sense of style is clearly defined. Her messaging is like a Hogwarts sorting hat - you'll know right away whether or not her brand of "new traditional" is for you or not. Her work is confident, colorful, layered, practical, comfortable, luxurious without being fussy, and family friendly. That's a potent mix that this designer pulls it off well. And one has to admire anyone who is eloquent about most everything - even club soda.

Every Southern household needs a supply of club soda. You can whip up a cocktail for your neighbors or take stains out of your dirty laundry! Now that’s versatile!

Still Time to Check Out Our May Design Favorites!

Irwin Weiner ASID - The month isn't over yet, and there's still plenty of time to check out our May design favorites: the Candice Olson Designer Picks collection for Benjamin Moore. Click here to see a video of Candice describing her favorite colors and how she uses them in her design projects.

Ready for Summer Entertaining: Claudia Pearson at West Elm

Jay Johnson - Everything is more summery when you lighten up tabletop pieces and accessories with whimsical touches of art, and that's what attracted me to Brooklyn illustrator Claudia Pearson's terrific product collaboration with West Elm.

Click on each product photo for more information, and get ready to grill or enjoy your outdoor rooms as much as possible.

Did you know that West Elm is a Williams-Sonoma company? And (rather clunky segue...) have you been following my blogs for Williams-Sonoma lately? Click here to find a host of decorating and design topics, and thanks for reading!

Video Lesson: Visualize Designer Furniture In Situ

Irwin Weiner ASID - Few design videos get me extremely excited, but this one did. And when you see it, you'll think I'm mad. It's a relatively plain video, showing off some of the furniture and case goods from French contemporary furniture makers Roche Bobois. It has no sound track, no cool music, no beautiful models. In fact, it's merely still photographic images. But this made the message of the video more important to me. Here's what I see, and hopefully you'll see it, too.

When you're in a showroom, furniture store, or online catalog, it's difficult to imagine how something will look in your own living space. Let me tell you that if the scale and proportions are good, chances are good that the pieces will look even better once they're installed in your home.

This video shows furniture on a white background, like the Voyage Immobile sofa and seating system pictured in the top photo. Nice, but . . . . Now look at the second image and you'll see what the modular seating looks like in a home. Quite a difference, and I saw a dramatic difference in the video as I saw how every piece of furniture looks even better when the whole room comes together. The sum is greater than the parts.

If I'm shopping an online catalog, I must see the item in situ, meaning in position with its surroundings. That's how I can judge its scale, how it relates to other elements of furniture, how it looks accessorized, and so on. It makes all the difference.

Great Idea: Live Tiny, Go Cob

Irwin Weiner ASID - Here's a great trivia question for you: What's the most widely used global building material for homes? If you guessed wood ... you would be wrong. How about brick? Wrong again.

Remember the Three Little Pigs? The straw house is close to the correct answer. It's earth or mud, and over half of the world's homes are made from the land nearby. I loved this video showing young men and women from the Pickards Mountain Eco-Institute putting together a cob house (also called cobb or clom). Cob consists of a mixture of clay, straw, sand, water, and earth and isn't too dissimilar from adobe. Click on the photos of some of our featured cob houses to learn more about each one.

In today's featured video, horse manure is also used, surprisingly because horses have done a superb job of chewing up the straw into fine bits and there's an enzyme in their waste that helps make the clay very pliable, easy to form curves and shapes - note the dandy cob shelves and other features inside the home. 

5 of Our Favorite Dream Closets

Irwin Weiner ASID - The weekend is coming, and I immediately think about doing laundry. Every Saturday morning (almost),, we separate lights and darks, take the shirts to the cleaners, and do our laundry loads. And that gets me thinking about closets and how we can always do better. Look at the walk-in closet in the top photo, for example. London designer Johnathan Reed created this masterpiece in a converted mews. I'm sure the wall with windows on the left used to be the side of an old horse stall, but it suits the new space beautifully and creates a great view of a tidy and well-organized closet. What a beauty!

We found this helpful article on 7 Essentials to Luxury Closets that I had to share with you.

Porro of Italy designed this beautiful walk-in closet corner, with an entire wall of reach-in storage behind-the white cabinetry.

Here are five closets that I thought were praise-worthy examples of storage and organization done up beautifully, like the shoes-only closet/storage/system/lounge designed by architect James Paragano and interior designer Martin P. Mitchell designed  for the NJ home of baseball pitcher C. C. Sabathia (photo above). Click here to see other celebrity closets featured in Architectural Digest. And (because we know you're curious!), click here to see celebrity walk-in closets from Elle Decor.

Walk-in spaces can be too masculine, but fashion designer Nanette Lepore's closet space is beautiful, luxurious, and tasteful.

Neutral coloring allows clothing and accessories to pop, and we love the tufted built-in seating.

Apartment Therapy Tips for Techorating Your Home

Irwin Weiner ASID - Heavens knows our homes are becoming more and more cluttered, and much of that is due to technology.

The cordless Duracell Powermat can sit by your front door to remind you to clutter-free charge your mobile device.

We have sound systems with lots of boxes and lots of cords, we charge our smartphones with cords hanging out of the wall, and our home offices can become an eyesore if not managed well.

Blue Lounge has a great cable management solution, as you can see in this before-and-after photo - on the right is CableBox.

Today's featured video is an interview with Apartment Therapy founder Maxwell Ryan, and he boyishly reminds us that techorating is making cool, clean, efficient, and beautiful technology purchases that make our living spaces more functional and beautiful. He suggested several products which caught my attention - click on each photo for more techorating product information.

Russia Just Warming Up to Contemporary Interior Design

Irwin Weiner ASID - It was a scant 15 years ago that interior design first became known and practiced in Russia. "Design" wasn't really in the everyday lexicon, and architects fell short of providing any guidance for how to decorate for the comfort and enjoyment of residents.

Russian shelter magazines are springing up.

The latest design revolution began, of course, with the well to do, experimenting with style and ornamentation, different periods of furniture, and daring to add more to a room than a set of chairs and a plain table.

Russia's rich design past focused heavily on brocades and velvet and gilded ornamentation, but Western styles are now in vogue (Italy's euro style predominates). I've read that there is yet to be a distinctly contemporary Russian design style, but that will come as more entrepreneurial spirits stop copying what they see abroad and settle down to find inspiration at home.

Here are some interesting links we'd like you to explore to learn more about Russia's emerging design scene.

• Explore a luxury penthouse in Moscow (see top photo above) and explore other interior design projects from the Russian firm Geometrix Design.
• We loved this two-part video documentary on Modern Russian Interiors; it will give you an excellent survey of Russian homes, lifestyles, and champions of Russia's emerging design industry.
• Look at pictures of homes in the luxurious Rublyovka neighborhood in Moscow, a truly elite enclave. 
• The Best Interiors is one of several top Russian interior design magazines.

Quick Fixes for the Versatile Dining Room

In most homes, the dining room is either a place where families come together to share meals or it's set aside for dinner parties and entertaining. Given that it's not used as frequently as other rooms in the house, it runs the risk of becoming neglected and perhaps not serving its role as fully as it should. An unused room? You can't afford it! To avoid this problem, your dining room needs to be continually updated. Your decorating should be fresh and relevant. Some of the easiest ways of achieving this are to change its color scheme, refresh the furniture, and add new accessories. Let's look at some of the quick and economical fixes that almost anyone can carry out without a big budget.

• Buy the Right Rug. Choose a rug that will provide an elegant and/or dramatic finishing touch, while also adding warmth and texture. Rugs break up the monotonous tone of the floor. Remember, it's important to consider the color and pattern with the overall décor of the room, and most designers will begin with a rug selection before coordinating other furniture purchases and selecting colors, fabrics, window treatments, and wallpaper. 

• Buy a New Dining Table. The type table you buy will depend on the size of the room, the number of people to be accommodated, and your family's personal preferences. Dining tables are available in a wide range of styles, finishes, colors, and shapes - from the more common rectangulars to rounds, ovals, or squares. There are also extending dining tables, perfect for optimizing the space, as they're only fully extended when entertaining a large number of guests. Many families like to purchase a table that will also serve multiple functions: homework and study, computers and gaming, and even home office - spread out your receipts and do your tax returns, handle all your bill paying and correspondence, and so on. If you're not always "dining" in this room, find other useful purposes for the room and find the table that best fits your needs. 

• Paint the Walls. It's relatively easy to change the ambiance of any space by painting the walls. For example, a light shade of grey or perhaps light pink will instantly freshen up and brighten the room.

You can add color by choosing imaginative seating, as with Peter Traag's Mummy chair.

• What About Chair Cushions? First, let's talk about the dining room chairs themselves. Do you want a dining room set with matching chairs? Try selecting mismatched seating, a quite popular option, or purchasing a set of chairs that coordinate well with the table, but don't look too "matchy-matchy." Seating can also be chosen to add pops of color to your room (see photo above). But for plainer seating, add cushions to bring them to life in a simple and inexpensive manner. Take care to coordinate the colors and patterns with the overall scheme of the room in order to achieve a coordinated effect. If your dining room chairs are more comfortable to sit in, they'll also serve those multi-use functions mentioned earlier. 

• You Must Accessorize. Accessories are a great way of expressing your personality, style, and taste. Consider purchasing handmade pieces, for example, vases and centerpieces, antique items such as chinaware and mirrors, or artwork to hang on the walls.

An assortment of Tapio Wirkkala's Bolle Bottles would be striking as a contemporary centerpiece.

• Lighting Is Important. Depending on the overall style of the space, a contemporary or traditional chandelier can become the focal point of the entire room. Select a fixture that provides adequate lighting; look into newer LED options. Make sure that you add a dimmer switch to your wall switches so you can easily set the mood. An amazing pendant or chandelier can be an incredible focal point for the room. Select one that makes people comment!

• Consider Wallpaper. Explore using wallpaper, perhaps on a feature wall. It's an easy and inexpensive way of dramatically changing a dining room's appearance, There are literally thousands of patterns, colors, and textures to choose from. For example, select a floral design to accentuate existing chair cushions or table linens. If your space has a wall of built-in shelves, you can also paper the backs of the shelving unit for a dramatic and stylish effect.

• Mix Up the Furniture. Make the room more interesting by using mismatched furniture. One option is to select the dining table and then look for different chairs that suit its height, color, and overall style. The trick is to ensure they do not match perfectly. But you can also be even more creative with the seating around your dining room table. Take out traditional dining room chairs on one end and add a bench or comfy sofa. At the ends of the table, add chairs with arms to create a dressier and more sophisticated look (and the other dining chairs are without arms). Your chair selection can be eclectic, yet well coordinated so that chair legs and splats tie in with one another. This styling will give the room a comfortable, lived-in mood, which will make any guest right feel at home.

Decorating Tips: Touches of Spring for Home Décor

Designers Guild always has amazing spring fabrics and wallcoverings.

Each year, spring brings with it a new turn of energy and life. As the dark and cold of winter recedes, the natural cycle of growth and rebirth infuses the natural world, and this spirit percolates through towns and cities. Just as trees sprout new leaves and flowers start to bloom again, it's refreshing to add similar new life to internal decorations in your home. A touch of color or a change of furniture or soft furnishings can help to re-energize the home as the life of spring awakens. Here are five ways to give your home a touch of spring.

• Add a touch of wallpaper. It isn't necessary to re-paper a whole room to get the benefit of a roll of fresh spring wallpaper. Match or coordinate new wallpaper with existing patterns on walls, and pick up color or pattern with new flooring or window coverings. Add fresh spring colors to bookshelf backs or other nooks. This provides a subtle dimension of spring.

• Hide electric cables. With the growing number of wires and cables from electric gadgets around the home, the amount of wiring can become difficult to manage in terms of home décor. One solution is simply to bundle the cables and wires into a decorative box or basket, which can be bought to match the flooring. Make it as unobtrusive as possible.

• Freshen up fabrics. Spring colors make a big difference in brightening the interior décor of a room, and fabrics are dynamic color carriers. Cushions, rugs, blankets, curtains, and even pet bedding will add fresh greens, blues, or yellows to your color scheme - or try some of this year's hot new light pastels, such as a faintly green aloe or a pale yellow. Just one or two drapes or pillows in spring colors can introduce a fresh feel into a room.

• Swap accessories. As you freshen-up fabrics, bring out spring colors in furnishing accessories to create springtime magic. A bright set of lamp shades or flower pots will do the trick, perhaps to coordinate with new flooring or window coverings. Remember to keep your room's mood in mind and go appropriately bold and splashy or pale and sophisticated.

• Learn more about discount laminate flooring. Freshen flooring for spring, too. You'll find it isn't expensive and it may be your fastest way to lighten up a room. Lighter flooring will better reflect light and brighten any interior.

Even if you just attempt one or two of these tips, you'll see a substantial change to the feel of a room. Put winter behind you, and introduce the freshness of spring. As each year goes by, keep adding two or three new elements to your personal spring collection, so that swapping pieces like area rugs and throw pillows from darker to lighter tones will become easier over time. Embrace the fresh, and try something spring-like in your home this weekend.

Art2Share: Interactive Video Installation

Irwin Weiner ASID - Let's do something different today. Click here to see the video on a very cool interactive art exhibition called Little Boxes.

Art and Design Merge in an Old Italian Tie Factory

Irwin Weiner ASID - Having been to Milan, I could kick myself for not knowing about the incredible Spazio Rosanna Orlandi.

Chubby Chair by Dirk Van Der Kooij

Ceramic cups and jugs by Piet Hein Eek

In a Milanese neighborhood, at the site of an old tie factory, Rossana, a knitwear fashion designer, created a space devoted to exhibiting and selling the works of talented and established designers.

Litro di Luce light sculpture by Marcello Chiarenza

Sculpt Cupboard by Maarten Baas

It's become a hub of activity, and in today's featured video, she talks about her wonderful creation. Click on each product for more information.

Stunning Mi-Sha Handmade Wallpaper

Irwin Weiner ASID - What a luxury to have handmade wallpaper, with real artist-painted images! I found the images from Milan-based Misha handmadewallpaper to be so sophisticated, that I had to share them with you.

While there are many traditional Asian-inspired designs, I heavily gravitated towards their Asia, Natural Textures, and Molteni&C collections.

Click here to see a gallery of their papers - and also explore their furniture, fabrics, and screens (perfect for bringing in a small bit of their amazing silk papers into your home).

Watch the following video for more information about their latest collection showing in Milan at i Salone 2013.