Over the years I have given various talks regarding specific problems our customer friends are bothered with...how to arrange shelving has been right at the top. The important credo here is to keep the overall appearance clean and uncluttered though still conveniently useable. Unless you are storing sound components, large books will fill your shelves best. Leather bound books soften a wall of shelving nicely even if you added nothing else.... paper backs just won't cut it. The books might have black, tan and red bindings (as an example) pull out white, bright blues and greens. Place larger books vertically but try some stacked horizontally for support. You will have a wonderful field of texture on your shelves.

Now add a favorite accessory whether it is an English antique, a brass unicycle or Confite jar (a vessel used by French chefs to store goose fat). Add your favorite family photo - try one 8 x 10 rather than six 5 x 7 annual family reunions all in different frames. This way you keep it clean and simple.

Lower the top shelf, if you can, and add a pair of over-sized, round chargers on either side of the cabinet. Large round plates or winnowing baskets (used by natives to scatter grain to the wind) would work as well and sure, some large books there too. One caveat - try not to use plants - they tend to look messy and collect dust.

Leather or wicker storage boxes on the bottom shelves are practical for recipes, photos or whatever else you need to keep accessible yet hidden. So, there you have it...clean, simple and large scaled.... that is the key to successful shelving arrangements. Have fun!

This article compliments of Jerry Twetten

It was a long and cold winter for most of us.  Spring is well on the way, what better time than now to get organized.  I know that when I am organized I just feel better.  Whether it is cleaning out a desk, a closet or an entire room, any progress made towards organization should simplify life just a bit.  It will take less time to find something you may be looking for and make a space easer to clean.

If you are stuck on a particular area in your home, why not contact our designers.  We love a challenge.  If you like to do it yourself, you are sure to find some great assessories at either of our locations.  Right now we have some fabulous rattan filing baskets and we always have unique baskets and boxes that are great for storing things.  Plus the texture you get from them is always a bonus for any space.  Adding layers of texture is what gives character and warmth to a room.  Magazine racks are a fun accent and they provide quick and easy clean up of newspapers and catalogs.  Set one beside your favorite chair or sofa for a cozy look.

Practical pieces of furniture like a chest can be used as an end table and creates great storage.  I moved one into my living room and have movies and CD's in one drawer, placemats and napkins in another, and household tools in the next.  Cabinets and armoires work well too.  It is amazing how much stuff you can put into them.  When you are short on closet space a cabinet or armoire can be a creative use of space and give your room height.

Finally do not be afraid to edit your things.  You may have some items that you have forgotten you had.  If you have not used something in a year or two it is a pretty safe assumption that it is time to part with it.  Even one clutter free area can inspire you to keep getting organized.

This article compliments of Teresa Truog

 

There is nothing compared to feeling settled in your own home.  How does one become settled?  One can accomplish this by creating an atmosphere that reflects your interests, dreams, and desires...not what is popular or trendy, but what represents you as an individual.
 
In my home, I have a collection of ceremonial masks that I have purchased while travelling in Mexico over the years. They are not
what I would necessarily select for my traditional cottage style house here in the midwest,
but I enjoy them in my home because of their vivid color, the memory of visiting the mask artist studio (which is a grass hut in the mountains),
and the anticipation of selecting the next one to hang on my wall. 

The masks are enhanced with the furnishings, paint color, drapery, wallpapers provided to me through Twetten's Interior Design.  It is a timeless design combination which gives me great pleasure.
 
Style has been defined as the quality of imagination and individuality, as it reflects in one's taste.  We need to embrace our own style in order to feel settled in our home. 
 
This article compliments of Sarah Larson

There's a little more to the "Twetten Blue" thing than it happening to be one of our favorite and signature colors.

No wonder blue comes to mind even when we think green.  Only the warm colors of the horizon separate the green grass from a blue sky.  We certainly would not want to over do a good thing. Can you imagine blue carpeting, walls and curtains? When the sun shone into the room it would glow with the color and you would really feel "blue". Imagine instead relaxed khaki beiges and natural curtains with sage green accents and the ceiling, like the sky, painted in a soft but cool aqua blue. No wonder we love natural earthy colors when blues and greens cannot help but be comfortable with them.

We recently completed a dusty blue and natural scheme.  It was a broad hallway that needed help. At the far end of this hallway was a radius that held doorways into two rooms. We alternated very broad stripes of blue and tan on the walls and they seemed to be at home with a bleached, linen oak floor. Even though the color pallet was on the cool side, it still felt cozy as you walked down the hall. The radius still needed a touch of something so we placed a tall crystal vase a top a pedestal table and filled it with just a few natural twigs. The light from the overhead iron chandelier played on the twigs and the broad stripes came to life. Such is the joy taking an ordinary hallway and creating an exciting passage way.

This article compliments of Jerry Twetten

Twettens Interior Design has always been about casual elegance. Comfortable yet tasteful home furnishings that stand the test of time though style and quality.

Years ago Jerry Twetten introduced me to the design concept of "color mismatching". This subtle, but very useful, technique uses colors of the same intensity and color value with slightly different shades. For example using two shades of red, one that is terra cotta combined with one that leans rosier. Not only does this allow better transition from one room to the other but can also make the same room more interesting.

Decorating and Design is our pleasure and we just happen to make our pleasure into our business, which in turn makes life more fun.

This article compliments of Ann Hanson