How to add sparkle to your home with accessories

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press/USA Today Network • June 5, 2021

Accessories.

Without them, a room is just a box of furniture. They add the sizzle to our homes. Give the room its personality. Tell us about the person who lives there. Accessories are the frosting on the cake. The jewelry in a room. The sparkle. They make the home complete. They bring us joy.

Done well, they make us happy. Done badly, they can look like a hodgepodge of clutter. And there are some ways to make them work for you without a lot of expense and stress. There is a bit of an art to the process which you may find helpful.

Whether you’re a minimalist or a maximalist, have contemporary, coastal, eclectic or traditional décor, there are elements that accessorizing any home all have in common.

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I go into a lot of homes. Within a few minutes, I usually know a lot about the people who live there. And it’s because of the accessories. Those rare times that I have been into a home and just haven’t been able to get a feel for the people who live there, it’s because they have just moved in and are sorting out their things or they have not yet accessorized.

The use of accessories give this room a light and easy look with tone and textures: plants, baskets, artwork, rug and light fixture. Shown: Summit slipcovered sectional and Anguilla rattan coffee table from Serena and Lily. Photo: Serena and Lilly. www.serenaandlily.com

If you came into my home you will immediately know a lot about me. I love nature, the water, contemporary mixed with vintage, the beach, driftwood, plants, traveling, antique market finds, animals and that I have a lovingly restored, old boat that is the focal point of my lanai. These all bring me joy.

What would your home tell me about you?

What are accessories?

Plants and flowers. Window treatments. Lamps and other lighting. Artwork. Rugs. Baskets, pottery. Mirrors. Collections. Books. Candles. Shells. Pillows. Flea market finds. Antiques. Statement pieces. Objects from your travels. Backsplash. Bath towels. Fixtures. Anything that brings to mind a happy memory.

Where do you accessorize?

Coffee table. Dining table. Walls. Shelves. Bookcases. Fireplace mantle. Desk. On a tray. Outdoor spaces. Even the welcome mat at your front door is an accessory because it says something about you.

Do this first.

Take a walk through your home. Say goodbye to anything that you don’t love. If it’s old and without charm, ugly or something that you don’t like, get rid of it.

Accessories shouldn’t be complicated. The Captiva console in light dune from Serena and Lily makes you want to stay a while with accessories that include a pretty plant, bowl of citrus fruit, pretty barware and a shell. Photo: Serena and Lily. www.serenaandlily.com

Plan to update outdated fixtures such as knobs, handles, drawer pulls. Replace old switch plates.

If budget allows, plan to add crown molding. It makes any room pretty.

Accessorizing tips.

Think quality rather than quantity. Have too many things that you love? Rotate them. Seasonally is a good plan.

Chances are that your best accessories are pieces that you already own.

Use three items. Designers love odd numbers. You can use more than three: five, seven. But you only need three. Example: On a coffee table: a tray, a small plant, and a book or two or three. Add a few shells or glass beads.

Set a pretty table. Put a runner down the middle of your dining table. Add a plant or two, some glass vases. Pretty dishes. Candles. Twigs. Glass beads. Pick three. Or five.

Tablescapes are a great way to accessorize with items that you already have on hand. Shown: Pottery Barn’s Mendocino dinnerware collection, faux Hydrangea, Carolina paisley table runner and rattan placemats. Photo: www.Potterybarn.com

Group like objects together rather than scattering them around the house. They will have more visual impact.

Use large pieces of artwork, especially in Southwest Florida’s open spaces.

Consider colors in the room and add pops of it to your accessories.

Decorating with books? Perfect. Add a few accessories to the shelves.

My favorite accessory tip:

Accessories are the final step in refreshing a room. Be mindful about what you use. Invest the time to curate your own personal collection of accessories. It’s usually not the item that is most important but how you display it. Most important: have fun!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 239-850-5800 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Finding comfort at home with color

Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2021 Aegean Teal 2136-40. A blue-green with grey undertones, is soothing and tranquil with hints of the outdoors and nature. Walls: eggshell. Trim: Atrium White OC-145 in satin. Photo credit: Benjamin Moore

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • Oct. 24, 2020

Before we know it, the election will be over. The holidays will be here. And we’ll be heading into a new year with optimism and hope as we say goodbye to a tumultuous 2020. It’s a time to reflect and reset. And there’s no better place to start than in our homes.

Benjamin Moore just announced its Color of the Year, Aegean Teal 2136-40 and the corresponding Color Trends 2021 palette. The colors have a welcoming, lived-in quality that is comforting, uplifting and inspiring. Colors that we can really use in our homes.

Cabinets: Benjamin Moore Color of the Year 2021 Aegean Teal 2136-40 in satin finish; walls: Aegean Teal 2136-40 in eggshell; trim: Gray Cashmere 21385 in satin. Photo credit: Benjamin Moore

“Amid uncertainty, people yearn for stability. The colors we surround ourselves with can have a powerful impact on our emotions and wellbeing,” says Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore director of color marketing & development.”

As Southwest Florida interior decorator, I’m designing more color palettes for my clients than ever before. Whether during an in-home consultation or virtually, everyone seems to be looking for a color refresh. As someone who lives, sleeps and breathes color, I’ve always believed that popular color trends somewhat reflect what is happening in the world and what we need.

Love this color and want to start out with an accent? Try the inside of a cabinet. Inside cabinet: Aegean Teal 2136-40 in semi-gloss; cabinet exterior: Chestertown Bluff HC-9 in semi-gloss. Photo credit: Benjamin Moore

And it’s no surprise since our homes have never had to work so hard serving as an office, workout space, restaurant, classroom, library and more.

Thoughts about Aegean Teal

My clients know that I advise against following a color trend just for the sake of the trend. But they can be fun and bring a little energy to a room that needs refreshing.

Full disclosure, I love this color. The blue-green with grey undertones, is perfect for our Florida location near the Gulf of Mexico. It’s soothing and tranquil. Inviting. Hints of the outdoors and nature. There’s a harmony and a calm to it.

I love this color so much I used it in the coffered ceilings of my own home and had a living room sofa upholstered to match, two years ago. It still gives me happiness.

I have this color in my own home. Two years ago, I had the coffered ceilings in my entry, dining and living room painted in this color. The walls are Benjamin Moore’s Silver Satin 856. I wanted just enough of this beautiful color to provide an accent. I like it so much that I had a sofa upholstered in the same color in my living room.

And here we are two years later and I still love it. Why? It gives me joy. It’s pure happiness every day. That’s what I want from a color: happiness. And it’s what I want for your home.

And if Aegean Teal does not work, check out the other 11 colors in the Color Trends 2021 palette. Described as having sunbaked qualities, they include Atrium White OC-145, Muslin OC-12, Foggy Morning 2106-70, Rosy Peach 2089-20, Beacon Hill Damask HC-2, Potters Clay 1221, Chestertown Buff HC-9, Amazon Soil 2115-30, Gray Cashmere 2138-60, Kingsport Gray HC-86, and Silhouette AF-655.

How to use Aegean Teal in your home

Just because you like a color does not mean that it has to (or necessarily should) go on the walls. There are many ways to incorporate color into your space. For Aegean Green, a few suggestions: front door, powder room, kitchen or bathroom cabinets, kitchen island, shelves or a bookcase in a high gloss, the back wall of a bookcase, wallcoverings, side table, ceilings, trim and baseboards, accessories, fabric, rug.

Use Aegean Teal 2136-40 in satin for a window seat or piece of furniture. Walls shown are Muslin OC-12 flat. Photo credit: Benjamin Moore

It’s a fact that making a color change in your home is the biggest change you can make for your decorating budget. Note these tips when creating a new color palette:

Color don’ts

• Rush to make a decision

• Pick color from a tiny swatch

• Paint without testing the color on the wall

• Pick a paint color before you have anything else in the room

• Think only about the room that you are painting. Color needs to flow in order to work.

• Paint every room a different color.

Color do’s

• Create a color palette and work from there. Consider your window treatments, upholstery, pillows, artwork and accessories.

• Buy the best quality paint you can afford. It makes a difference. And go with the lowest VOC or no VOC.

• Color challenged? Magazines, Pinterest and vision boards all help.

• When all else fails, call a professional. Our job is to keep you from making mistakes.

We still have a couple of months before we say goodbye to 2020. This is a good time to begin planning your strategy for reenergizing your home.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She helps homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and solves decorating problems. Her articles appear the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Open floor plans: How to make them work

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • March 3, 2018

On a recent Saturday morning, I had a call from someone who began the conversation with these words: "I need help. Now."

The desperate, soon-to-be-design client had just taken delivery of her furniture from her home in Michigan. It was piled up in her brand new “open concept home” and she did not know what to do.  Her comment was “I’ve never had a house without walls and I don’t know what to do.” 

As a Fort Myers interior decorator, I can tell you that my biggest request, after coming up with a color palette, is help with arranging furniture in an open space where rooms flow one into the other.

European wide plank hardwood in this open floor plan gives the space a natural organic element and a timeless look. Photo courtesy of Tricia Pallak, the Wood Floor Company, Naples and Bonita Springs.

The concept is a great one. It can be beautiful if arranged and accessorized well. It can also be a challenge.

The benefits: the open concept will make any space feel larger and it’s great for entertaining.

The challenges: Lack of privacy, less room for art and electrical outlets, the large open space does not hide clutter so you are always cleaning up.

Walk into a model home where the entry, family room, dining room, kitchen all flow into one large space and it looks beautiful. Trying to make it work in your own home with your existing furnishings can stress the savviest homeowner.

But not to worry.  Check a few of these tips and you will have a plan to make the open concept work in your home. And that’s important because it’s here to stay. In other parts of the country builders seems to be reverting back to more walls and rooms. But in Southwest Florida, that likely will not change any time soon. Open and spacious is just our style.

Establish a comfortable conversation area in an open floor plan with a this square arm, slipcovered corner sectional, a rug and large accent light to anchor the space. Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn.

Warm up the floors. If possible, consider hardwood flooring.  At least in the public/living areas of the home. You can establish room boundaries with area rugs. It gives the open spaces a timeless look and a backdrop for furnishings and artwork. 

Coffered ceilings and crown molding. They fill up some of the open space, establish living areas and add a design element. If you are unable to do this, install a large fan in the family/living room.

Keep the color palette neutral for the walls. Bring color into the space with accents on the ceilings and accessories.

Floor to ceiling drapes or fabric panels. Open spaces cry out for fabric. In addition to your sofa, chairs, rugs.

Add a few architectural details. Molding and paneling such as shiplap or wainscoting provide some separation for an entry or dining area or breakfast nook.

Lighten up. Avoid heavy, over-sized furniture in open spaces. They take over the room and defeat the goal of a light, flowing space.

Arrange furniture away from the walls. This enables you to create comfortable conversation areas in the space with a classic look.

Consistency pays off. Maintain a consistent look in furnishings, color palette and accessories. The last thing you want is a hodgepodge of styles in a space that you can see from each room.

When it comes to artwork, think BIG.  Wall space is at a premium in an open floor plan. Incorporate large pieces to give it an art gallery look. Perfect for an open concept plan.

Glam it up and arrange a dining space with plants, rug and a beautiful Adeline crystal chandelier.  Photo courtesy of Pottery Barn.

Glam it up. Establish specific areas of the space with a rug, lighting, or plants. This is especially effective in a dining area of a larger space.

Consider your other rooms.  With an open floor plan, the master bedroom is usually off the main space. Take this room into consideration when establishing a color palette and other décor elements if it can be seen from the main space.

Limit patterns. You want to keep your space calm and flowing. One room into the other. Neutral with accents and bold colors work best.

Fill the space with what you love. That is the most important tip!

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. She has helped homeowners throughout Southwest Florida with timeless, affordable ways to create beautiful spaces and to solve decorating problems. Her article appears the first Saturday of each month. For more information visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips, articles and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog

Tips for designing a home that brings the beach inside

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press •May 7, 2016

If you're like me and your favorite chair is a beach chair, your favorite shoes are flip flops and your preferred color palette is the one in your beach umbrella, you likely love the beach and want to have a little of it in your home.

Whether you live steps from the beautiful Gulf shores of Southwest Florida or just wish you did, you can design your home interior to reflect the colors, feelings and hues that will make you feel the tranquility and beauty that only the beach can provide.

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WHIMSICAL CLOWN FISH ARE FROM COLE & SON'S ACQUARIO FORNASITTI II. THE WALL COVERING CREATES A DRAMATIC BACKDROP FOR AN ENTRY TABLE STYLED WITH FAVORITE BEACH-INSPIRED PIECES. PHOTO: COLE & SONS.

Beach house decor style is about a lifestyle. An attitude. It's about living with nature and capturing the essence of a long walk on a beach. Striking that balance between casual and a touch of formality. Collecting driftwood and shells. And finding a way to bring a piece of it home.

As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, many of my clients want to incorporate at least some aspect of our environment into their space.  Whether you live in an apartment, condo, single family home or an Airstream travel trailer, it's easily doable. And fun. Check out my favorite tips, pick one and get to work!

Bright and white

Take advantage of the great tropical lighting that we enjoy in this area. You can't beat a white backdrop for your walls. One of my other favorite go-to-colors for a beach cottage  look is Benjamin Moore's Silver Satin. And use Benjamin Moore's Decorator White for trim. Just enough hue and sparkle and has that "old Florida beach cottage" feeling.

Classic coastal color palette

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Vintage Ship door sits atop pilings and holds glass layered with sea glass. Photo: Wrenda Goodwyn.

Accessories, fabric, accents are beautiful when done in sea glass accents. Seafoam green/blues. And remember: a bit of turquoise in every room. Even if it's just a bowl of shells mixed with sea glass.

Beach-inspired kitchen

While my favorite kitchen is one done in all white, you can add contrast to white walls with pale grey/blue cabinets. Or bead board (so easy to do this and a great look) in a sea glass tone around the island or bar. Stainless appliances.

 Style a coffee table or entry table

If you don't do anything else, this is the one. It sets the tone of your home. This is where you display your favorite nautical elements: seashells, driftwood, glass jars with seaglass, art, books. I love working books into the mix. Some of my favorites: Island Life by India Hicks and Key West: A Tropical Lifestyle by Leslie Linsley.

Accent walls

For a little beach drama, select a wall in the entry or in a powder room. Cover it in one of the beautiful grass cloth wall coverings or something similar to the whimsical clown fish Cole & Son's Acquario Fornasitti ii. Place this behind your styled entry table or a gorgeous mirror and you don't need anything else to bring the beach home!

Windows

White shutters or light linen drapes are best.  When using drapes, I like to trim them with fabric tape in a sea glass hue. And remember, always hang drapes from just below the ceiling for as much height as possible.

Furniture

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Style a bookcase or shelving with a tropical theme. Incorporate white furnishings, white walls and a jute rug. Photo: Pottery Barn. 

It's all about casual comfort. Cushioned or slip covered sofas and chairs will get you the look but you don't need to redo your furnishings. Just add a couple of bamboo chairs and maybe a stool with tropical or white cushions.(Bamboo can be painted: think flea markets). Add a couple of colorful garden stools. These can work as side tables for extra seating. Add colorful pillows.

It's 5 o'clock someplace!

Style a cart with a tiki bar theme. Include artwork on the walls behind the cart and add some of your favorite pieces along with beachy glasses and a plant or two. I like to include a colorful cloth awning over the cart to set it apart.  

Artwork

It's all about color and this is where the room comes to life. I have my clients look through magazines and on Pinterest to seek out paintings and photographs that speak to them and we work it into the mix. One of my favorites: take some your own favorite photographs and stretch them on canvas. This style is perfect for a casual look and is a great memory of someplace you have been.

Flooring

Sand would be perfect for a beach lover but it's best to incorporate natural fiber rugs such as sisal, jute or seagrass. They look great and some of the modern styles have a contemporary look, allowing for trim in coastal colors. Think: coral.

Design your bookshelf

This is one of my favorites. First, pick a sea-inspired color and paint the back of the bookcase or the wall. Creatively, arrange and showcase your artwork, books, driftwood, shells and other elements to give it that "just washed up on the beach look."

Accents

Display your shells in jars and bowls. I like a bowl of shells in every room. There is one by my computer as I write this article. They make me happy and take me someplace else when I have to work can't get to the beach!

Incorporate Capiz mirrors and lighting fixtures.

Purchase bamboo flatware and sea-inspired dishes to use every day.

Add a couple of palm trees to your decor...large or small. They say "tropical" and are good for the air quality in your home.

Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator, A.S.I.D. associate and certified gold member of the Interior Redecorators Network. Home Inspirations appears the first Saturday of each month. Visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog 

Mini makeover tips for a big change

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • February 6, 2016

Is your home feeling, well, a little boring?

It happens the first couple of months of every new year. The sparkle has all gone and here we are, back to the same old house.  And a few cloudy, rainy days that we have had lately are enough to make us spoiled Southwest Florida residents screaming for something to brighten things up a bit.

Your home needs, well, a new vibe. Some color. Some wow.

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Claire Scarf print bedding from Pottery Barn makes a colorful splash in this bedroom along with Lara chandelier made of handblown glass on an iron frame. The Zimmer trunk is a nice accent piece with a mahogany frame accented with hand-hammered aluminum edging and leather handles. Photo: Pottery Barn.

Some of my favorite makeover tricks that I use for my clients might be exactly what you need to take it from the same old house to a happy, refreshed home. Here are a few changes that result in a big impact:

New color palette

Many of my clients are painting their interiors in whites and neutrals. So, reimagine a new color palette in your home. A splash here and there to give it a little wow factor. New sofa pillows in a springy color. And this is a great time to replace your master bedroom linens. Vibrant new comforter or duvet, sheets, rugs. It changes everything. Maybe even how you sleep!

Rearrange a room

Is a living room or a den bothering you? Take everything out of the room. Seriously. Give it a deep cleaning. Put everything back with a few changes. Declutter. Maybe you arrange the furniture so that the flow and conversation area works better. Add a green tree or plant in a forgotten corner and string some white, twinkly lights (you know you are missing these from the holidays).

Add some contrast

Pick a new color palette! Bold and beautiful patterns have been used to create bedding, pillows and more from Pottery Barn for this first collection of it's kind. Photo: Pottery Barn.

If wow is what you are looking for, this is my favorite, inexpensive trick. Paint the baseboards and trim a contrasting color. It will make your walls pop and it gives the room a completely new look.

Shed some light on your rooms

Evaluate lighting.  It's amazing but 80% of the homes I visit do not have enough light. Two lamps in each room. That's not enough!  Most rooms need six sources of light. This one is really easy. And while you are at it, increase the bulb strength.

Need some drama?

When was the last time you purchased new lamp shades? I thought so. And try something different. Like black. Seriously, they are beautiful. And dramatic.

Rotate your artwork

Instead of putting it all out at once and creating visual overload, rotate it seasonally. Think about different ways to rearrange it. For example, on a fireplace mantle, leanpieces against the wall instead of hanging.

Style a bookcase

Paint or wallpaper the back wall of the bookcase. Rearrange books in combination with pottery, favorite collectibles to add visual interest.

Just try one small makeover for your home and see what a difference it makes!   

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Welcome Home

And speaking of makeovers, it was time for me to practice what I tell my clients and do my own. As a Fort Myers interior designer, my mantra is to let  go of what no longer works to make space for something better and more beautiful.  It takes courage to embark on a makeover. We all want an amazing, blissful and beautiful space. It means that you have to be fearless. Whether designing a room in your home or a new website. And that's what I did. You be the judge. Visit spectacularspaces.com and tell me what you think of my site makeover.

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Wrenda Goodwyn is a Southwest Florida interior decorator. Home Inspirations appears the first Saturday of each month. Visit her website at spectacularspaces.com. Call her at 949-1808 or e-mail wrenda@spectacularspaces.com. For more decorating tips and photos, visit spectacularspaces.com/blog