eHow | Home Nature as Decor

Let the Sunshine In

To bring about an earthy, airy feel to your home, start by letting the sunshine in, suggests Mally Skok, fabric designer and founder of Mally Skok Design based in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

“Windows in a room are the eye into nature,” said Skok, whose design projects have been featured in “Boston” and “Traditional Home” magazines. “There’s nothing more natural than early-morning light streaming through a kitchen window.

“The most unexpectedly beautiful colors come from nature — the color of sunshine behind leaves, the yellow of citrus fruit or a big bowl of daffodils,” Skok added. “The colors are as modern and vibrant as anything you could print up on a piece of paper.”

Many times, Skok points out, the best home decor accessories are free: a piece of bark, a single branch, a birch tree or a bough of a beautiful white dogwood in a big glass jar. Even a flattened strand of mauve-y-colored seaweed in a shadow box can serve as a tangible and nostalgic reminder of a romantic seaside holiday.

“These things cost zero dollars and look so incredibly cool,” said Skok, who recommends scouring the beach for large stones — roughly half the size of a football — to use as doorstops (stick circles of adhesive felt on the bottom so the rock stays put) and collecting heaps of broken “junkie” shells to place around the base of candles.

“Shells are nice if you pick them up yourself and they mean something as opposed to buying them on the Internet or at a department store,” said Skok, who also recommends picking up little artifacts like homemade artisan soaps while on the go. “When things are authentic and relevant, they change the whole atmosphere.”

Read more : http://www.ehow.com/feature_8665190_nature-decor.html