Natural and Sustainable

The fabrics you pick for your upholstery pieces and the lighting fixtures you place overhead and at tabletop height can make a room sparkle or fall flat. Hi-sheen fabrics like chenille or silk, jewel-like materials and lots and lots of lighting to bring a space to life. Special touches such as classic nail a space to accentuate upholstery profiles and several lighting fixtures with mother-a-pearl and glass beads for sheer iridescence. With each room makeover, ask yourself, Where is the sparkle? Here’s how to get that question answered:

FABRIC: Drawing attention to a focal piece. Determine which upholstery silhouette to accentuate. Choose a design detail on one or two pieces that you want to draw attention to, such as a dramatic rolled arm or multibutton tufts, and selecting fabrics with some sheen. You want to let the details shine in a luxuriously shiny fabric. To give the room added interest, incorporate contrasting elements throughout, like textured rather than shiny fabrics on the accompanying upholstry or a rugged coffee table or wall cabinet. Contrast brings depth and balance to the décor. You don’t want every piece in the room to have some sort of shine to it. It’s too much. So pick and choose which upholstered piece to wrap in a luminescent fabric and let the lighting do the rest.

LIGHTING: The most important element, of any renovation is lighting. Without it, décor falls short of the sparkle factor, and the project budget is wasted. To determine the layout, look at the space from a theatrical stand point-like a stage with a good lighting plan. Position recessed lighting to hit the folds of a drapery panel or the pin-cushioned seat back of a sofa. For tabeltop lamps and wall sconces that add to the room’s glistening glamour, try fixtures that incorporate materials like the mother-of-pearl and maybe some beach glass.

FIXTURES: Play up the lighting. Use traditional fixtures and incorporate reflective materials for signature sparkle. Don’t be afraid to bring fixtures into your décor of contrasting materials. Equally brillant and bright are fixtures constructed of unlikely combinations of sleek and not-so-sleek materials like mother-of-pearl, which has a iridescent color quality to it, with dark wood or leather. It’s about playing up to the surrounding décor.

BULBS: Use ones that truely flatter. Halogen bulbs are the designer’s No. 1 choice in overhead, or recessed, lighting. Place them at the perimeter of the wall to light up things. “Can” lights do the same things but those on a “track” get the job done as well. Halogen bulbs are a good choice for the remainder of the lighting. They produce true colors and tend to be more flattering, giving off a natural white light. Stay away from iridescent or incandescent light bulbs, they produce a yellow tint and often make the décor look dull. They are also worse on your electric bill. For more natural decorating tips go to Norwalk Furniture or Aflighting.

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*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Cover pots on the stove to avoid losing excess heat and wasting energy.