Holiday decorating: keep it simple and happy

Create a holiday tablescape with some of your favorite décor and leave it up for the entire season. A nice touch: try a pretty, petite wreath on the back of dining chairs for a festive gathering. All décor and furnishings from Ballard Designs. Photo: Ballard Designs.

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • November 30, 2019

Let me guess. Chances are that you’ve barely recovered from Thanksgiving and you’re thinking (stressing) about the fact that Christmas is 25 short days away. This really can be the most beautiful time of year.

Everything seems to have a softer glow. People we run into in our daily lives seem a little softer as well. It’s the time of year where we are wrapping things up and looking hopefully to a new year. We are fortunate to live in Southwest Florida this time of year where not only the weather is beautiful, but the area is filled with seasonal events that you don’t find anyplace else.

But the holidays can be complicated.

Travel plans. Friends and family commitments. Shopping. Transforming your home into a Hallmark movie set. So much to do and so little time. As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, I see the stress that my clients put themselves under to “get everything done.” My advice: don’t.

A good lesson

At this time last year, I had just moved into a new home and was still getting settled. The thought of pulling my Santa collection (along with snowmen) out of boxes to clutter up my still not-quite-finished home, gave me nightmares.

It was a real lesson and set the tone for my future holiday decorating. I learned that that less is more when it comes to the holidays. I put up a tree (two). Put a wreath on the door. Added fresh flowers and fresh scents. That was it. And it was fine. I will do a little more this year but not much.

Enjoy the holidays: that’s what it’s all about.

Give yourself a break this year and make it about you. Take the time to actually enjoy the season instead of running back and forth to the mall to buy plastic things to decorate your home. You can still have a great holiday and live through it happy and calm. A few suggestions:

• Keep it simple. If it’s not too late, don’t go crazy with the decorating. Remember: it all has to come down and gets stored in a few weeks.

A little something in each room. For the bedroom, fresh greenery, a wreath and a wrapped package. Easy and pretty. Décor and furnishing from Ballard Designs. Photo: Ballard Designs

• Do the things in your home that make you happy all year. Fresh flowers. A pretty scent.

• Don’t wait too long. Make a plan this weekend and get started so it doesn’t all pile up on you.

• Use what you have. Skip a year of buying anything and go with what you already have.

• Pick a look that goes with your home’s décor instead of trying to create something that doesn’t work and leaves you frustrated.

For example: my home is done in a beach/coastal décor. So, this year I decided on a white Christmas tree with pink and turquoise. It’s a little crazy but stay with me on this. The tree is on my lanai and sits in an old, antique row boat that my husband pieced back together and repurposed for our décor. You can read about the boat at https://tinyurl.com/wyzzltv.

And this is the boat today and my lanai tree this year, here it is. A little Key West vibe.

• Don’t put all of your decorations out. Pick a few and be done with it.

• Declutter at the end of the holiday season. Take what you can’t use and donate it to someone who can use it.

• Do a little something in each room. A small table tree. Wrapped presents. Fresh flowers

• Create a tablescape on your dining table and leave it there the entire holiday season. Candles, flowers, small trees, a bowl of glass balls that match your décor. Use whatever you love. Switch it out a few times during the season.

• For me, the lights make the holiday season. Use lots of them around your tree, outdoors, on your porch or lanai.
Enjoy this most beautiful time of year. I will be back in 2020!

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 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

Thinking about pink: 2020 Color of the Year

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • October 26, 2019

It’s a good day to think about pink.

If you’ve been craving something pink in your palette, but have been afraid to make a commitment, this could be it. Living room accent wall with Benjamin Moore First Light 2102-70 on walls; White Heron OC-57 ceiling. Photo: Benjamin Moore

Actually, think about that pretty dusty glow first thing in the morning when the sun is coming up. Before the hot, Florida sun has brightened everything up. That’s First Light 2102, Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year 2020.

Let’s face it: pink has been a popular, trending color for several years. In fashion (I give you Lilly Pulitzer), accessories and paint. We see lots of pink in Southwest Florida. Especially at the beaches. Every time I go to the beach I pass a beautiful pink home on the beach with the blue gulf behind it. I’m certain that I was meant to live in that home.

Photo: Benjamin Moore

These color of the year announcements from paint companies are fun and playful. Not to be taken too seriously. It doesn’t mean that you are meant to redo your home every time a new color is highlighted. It’s just something to consider that you may not have when refreshing your home.

As a Southwest Florida interior designer, my job is to help my clients select what they like. Not what is trending. I present choices that are best for their home within the guidelines of what they like. We make it all flow together when creating a color palette. Get the color right and you will have a happy home. Miss the mark and something will always seem off.

My take on First Light 2102

It’s a happy color. Not sugary sweet.

A fun neutral between cool and warm. It’s should not be taken too seriously. This is not an in-your-face color.

To me, it presents an alternative to white or beige that is modern and refreshing.

It plays well with other colors. Some examples:

Colors that work well with First light. Photo: Benjamin Moore

If you have been craving something pink in your palette, but have been afraid to make a commitment, this could be it.

How to use it

I love this color for ceilings and trim. Pair it with Decorator’s White or Simply White on the walls in a bedroom or dining room and you have a gorgeous room.

When selecting color, I always go with colors that are found in nature. This one certainly is, so don’t be afraid of it. A bathroom, living room or office that need a change would be perfect.

Bedding, pillows, accessories, window treatments in a white room.

Photo: Benjamin Moore

Give it a test run as an accent color. Or a throw for your bed or sofa.

A new decade

“We selected First Light 2102-70 as our Color of the Year 2020 to represent a new dawn of idealism, design and living,” said Andrea Magno, Benjamin Moore Director of Color Marketing and Development. "First Light 2102-70 reflects a new definition of the home – a shift in mindset from the material to satisfying the core needs in life: community, comfort, security, self-expression, authenticity and ultimately, optimism.”

I think we could all use a strong dose of comfort and optimism. If First Light can give us that, I am all for it!

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 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

Blue Hues: why we love them in our homes

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • October 5, 2019

It’s classic, timeless and never goes out of style. And it’s America’s favorite color. No surprise.

The New Colony Collection from Thibaut Design is full of exotic patterns that add globe-trotting flair. From African mud cloths to scenic tiger reserves, this bold collection reimages prints and textiles discovered during colonial trade routes. Shown: Tiger Reserve wallpaper in slate blue. It presents a fresh look with a painted table and blue lamp base. Photo: Thibaut Design

Blue is also calming, invoking feelings of tranquility and peace. It’s thought to reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate.  

It’s a color from nature found in water and the sky. It reminds us of the tropics, the beach and the deep blue sea. It makes us feel good.

Blue is the most commonly used color in corporate branding. Think about the logos of American Express, Ford, Oral-B, Dell, Facebook, Lowe’s, Visa and many others.

Pretty in blues. This dining room pairs Thibaut Design’s Chappana wallpaper and printed fabric for roman shades. Darien dining chairs in Grassmarket check woven fabric in navy. Blue and white accessories. Photo: Thibaut Design

In our homes, we can’t possibly go wrong with blue. As a Southwest Florida interior decorator, I have always felt that no matter what your color palette, every room needs something blue. Even if it’s just a little pop.

Something blue for the home

Many of my clients have gone very bold with blue in the past year. Try it on:

·       Furniture: Paint a tired piece of furniture in the beautiful cornflower blue that we see so often in French décor. It gives it new life and serves as a great accent piece.

·       Sofa: Say goodbye to your brown sofa and have it reupholstered in a beautiful blue or blue/green fabric.

·       Kitchen cabinets: Seeing lots of these lately. Navy is hugely popular and you likely know by now that Sherwin-Williams named its color of the year SW Naval (6244). Using a color on cabinets is a beautiful commitment so ask yourself if you will love it in five years!

·       Wall coverings: my favorite is in a dining room or powder room. Something bold and outrageous!

·       Window treatments: drapes and shades.

Mix blues for a pretty entry with this color palette from Benjamin Moore. Wall: Palladian Blue HC-144. Trim and wainscoting: Whipple Blue HC-152. Ceiling: Mascarpone AF-20. Photo: Benjamin Moore

·       Bathroom walls: the color of water with white gives your bath a spa feeling.

·       Ceilings: The ceiling is your fifth wall. If your walls are a silver gray or white, there are gorgeous blues for ceilings without boxing in the entire room in a color. Think about a blue ceiling with gold fixtures.

·       Trim and baseboards: Rather than walls, paint the trim and baseboards for a dramatic accent.

 ·       Rugs: A splash of blue in a rug on wood or tile brings the room to life.

·       Accessories and artwork: Want just a pop of blue? Lamps, pottery, dishes, books, candles, ginger jars, vases, pillows, a splash of blue in paintings.

·       Front door!

Color palette

It’s difficult to find a color that does not look great with blue.  I always like to throw in a third color. Here are a few mistake-proof combinations:

·       White-blue-gray

·       White-blue-yellow

·       Blue-black-coral

·       Dark blue-white-hot pink

·       Light blue-green-red

·       Blue-all neutrals

·       Blue-brown-taupe

·       White-blue-coral

·       Red-white-blue

Whether you live in a home near the beach or just want the feeling of a calm and pretty space, think blue. You can’t go wrong. 

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 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

Love your home again

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • September 2019

Fall arrives tomorrow.

Time to pick out a fall wreath for the door or flag for the yard. Even though we really don’t have a fall season it’s nice to mark the change. Then it’s on to Halloween. And Thanksgiving, although it usually gets lost in all the Christmas shopping.

While there is still time, let me wish you a happy 2020!

It’s the time of year when things start to move at warp speed and we wonder where the months went. And if you’re like most of my Southwest Florida home interior clients, you want to get a few things done before we slide into the holidays and then into season again. Yikes.

And because we’re still into what I call our “endless summer” with a couple more months of steamy, hot weather, you may be thinking that your home could use a little something right about now. Something new to make you love it again.

Don’t wait for “someday”

Make a plan now. Be intentional. Strive for curated look. Get motivated. Pick a couple of ideas (see list below) and decide how you want to implement them. Start now and you will have something done before you hang your holiday wreath on the door! Whether you spend a little or a lot, don’t wait. Time is flying by!

And if you need inspiration, call a decorator or designer. We have lots of ideas in any budget and promise that you will love your home again when we are done.

Do these:

• Give your entry a new look with a dramatic color.

• Add a little glam to each room: a tufted sofa or a chaise lounge. Please, no brown! Pick a color that you love. Or a new mirror or a few glass accessories for some sparkle.

In the market for a new sofa? Glam it up with a chesterfield upholstered sofa. This one from Pottery Barn, has comfort and style and is crafted in the U.S. using eco-friendly materials. Photo: Pottery Barn

• Paint your front door. Add a new welcome mat that says something fun.

• Wallpaper a powder room. Something outrageously beautiful.

• Add some sparkle: a chandelier in the living room or bedroom (you really don’t need a ceiling fan in every room in the house). Or hang one in the master closet. It will make you happy every time you walk in.

• Display a collection. Haul out those ginger jars and fill them with fresh flowers.

• Soften the harsh, recessed lighting in the kitchen with a lamp on the counter or island. You won’t believe the change.

Powder rooms are the ideal spot for pattern and color. And no worries about water contact from showers and baths. Thibaut’s Palm Frond wallpaper from its Tropics collection adds a perfect coastal vibe to a home. Photo: Thibaut

• Invest in hotel-style bedding. Don’t be afraid of white linens (always go for a high thread count). White sheets are so popular now and for good reason. Easy to care for and you can change your color scheme whenever you like.

• Hang something colorful in your laundry room.

• Change your drapes or drapery panels over the sliders. Make sure you hang them high: just below the ceiling or molding. And forget solid colors. Try a print or design.

• Delete what is no longer working in your home. I do this seasonally as things do tend to accumulate no matter how hard we try.

• Want color but afraid to commit to an entire room? Fine. Paint the ceiling that color that you have always wanted to try. Yes, the ceiling!

• Create a gallery-style wall with your favorite art.

• Need a new kitchen backsplash? Check out the new textured, handmade subway tiles. Spectacular!

• Add something velvet. Like a few new pillows.

Skip these:

• Oversized anything. Seriously. Not pretty.

• Purchasing a white sofa if you have children, grandchildren, pets, a husband, friends or anyone who will be sitting on it. Trust me on this one.

Wait until you find artwork that means something to you...rather than purchasing just to fill a space. Waves wall art by Pottery Barn.

• Generic, mass-produced artwork. Leave the wall blank until you find some meaningful art or photographs.

• Slip covers for dining chairs. They never fit and always look tired.

• Trendy kitchen updates. White cabinets will always be in style.

• Renovating one part of an open floor plan. Because you can see everything, a renovation of a piece of the open space will make everything else look dated.

• Complicated outdoor spaces. This is where you will be spending some time as soon as the temperatures drop. Keep it simple and comfortable.

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 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

Color Matters

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • August 3, 2019

Color. It makes us feel happy. It changes everything including how we feel about our space. Get it right and you will love your home. Mess it up and you will always wonder why it’s not feeling quite right. Photo: Thibaut Design

There I was at the gym the other morning. Slogging away on the treadmill.

I love working out and couldn’t figure out why it was such a struggle. Too much effort. Painful.

Then it hit me. This was a new fitness center and I had only been there a few times. The colors were fairly horrid. Brown walls in a shade I have never seen, brown flooring (to hide dirt…need I say more), grey equipment (of course) and it looked out over a grey parking lot with no vegetation or color of any kind. And it was an overcast day. On a sunny day this might be tolerable. Maybe.

Contrast this with my yoga studio which is done in creams, soft blues and greens. A glass wall looks out over a beautiful garden with lots of greenery and a fountain. I can’t wait to get there in the early morning and I am never anxious to leave.

Color matters

From the time we get that first box of crayons, we are fascinated by color. It has the power to change everything.

You can’t go wrong with blue and white as the foundation for a color palette. Shown here: Thibaut Design’s Travelers palm printed fabric. Other colors available. Photo: Thibaut Design

As an interior decorator working in Southwest Florida, my most requested service is selecting color and creating personalized color palettes for the home. It’s the most difficult part of decorating for most people and there are good reasons.

It’s a fact

We are fortunate to live in a tropical paradise where beautiful color palettes surround us.

The right color scheme can make a room look larger, prettier, lighter, darker, cleaner or happier. Color can give your home a beach vibe, modern coastal look, add a little boho chic, a cottage feeling or farmhouse style.

Palm Botanical wallpaper in Emerald Green from Thibaut Design’s Tropics Collection. Morgan Dining Chairs in Rain Water printed fabric in Green. Photo: Thibaut Design

Limited budget? Pick color

Seriously. If you are on a limited budget and are able to only do one thing, select a new color palette. It will change everything and you’ll love your home again.

It makes us feel happy. It changes how we feel about our space (like that gym). Get it right and you will love your home. Mess it up and you will always wonder why it’s not feeling quite right.

It’s far from easy. It’s complicated. It’s why home interior professionals study it for years and most are like me and don’t leave the house without a fan deck in their hand. We are passionate about color. And we know all of the tricks.

Color don’ts

· Rush to make a decision.

· Go with the latest trends.

· 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

· Pick colors that are found in nature. You can’t go wrong.

· Create a color palette and work from there. Consider your window treatments, upholstery, pillows, artwork and accessories. Color is not just the paint that you put on the walls. Think about the big picture.

· With paint, buy the best quality paint you can afford. It makes a difference. And go with the lowest VOC or no VOC.

· Color challenged? Lots of homeowners are…magazines, Pinterest and vision boards all help.

· And when all else fails, call a professional. Our job is to keep you from making mistakes.

· Consider the ceiling. I often tint the paint for the ceiling so that it’s not such a stark white. Just a little splash links the ceiling to the walls. And if you have coffered ceilings, take advantage of this element with color.

Be fearless when it comes to color. It changes everything. Including how you feel. And who doesn’t want a happy home?

Photo: Thibaut Design

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 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

Sprinkle your home with a little decorating whimsy

Wrenda Goodwyn • special to the Fort Myers News-Press • July 6, 2019

Wendy Conklin’s Frida chairs pay homage to Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Group them together for a dining room that your guests will never stop talking about! Photo: Chair Whimsy

Whatever happened to the fun in interior decorating?

Sometimes I think our home interiors are becoming too serious.

Why: I go into a lot of homes that tell me absolutely nothing about the people who live there. The home can look great, everything in the right place, good flow, nice color (although a little dull). But what is missing is something to tell me who lives there and what they like.

Garden party! Change up your dining room chairs with this colorful fabric set against a neutral palette bu Wendy Conklin. Photo: Chair Whimsy

Where is the fun?

It’s one of the reasons Southwest Florida homeowners call me. They are just plain bored. Their homes need a little something. They don’t always need to change the entire house. They want me to give their home a little injection of personality (definitely can do that). A little wow (they say, although wow is not a decorating style) or an accent piece to shake things up. Or a new color palette to change everything.

In other words, they need a little sprinkling of decorating whimsy. Something to make their house their home.

Brighten up a dull space with this black on black chair has lots of WOW. Photo: Chair Whimsy

The French writing desk and why are chairs so ugly?

I started thinking about this recently when a longtime client asked to help her create a space for writing. She’s a published author and had just downsized. She had purchased a French writing desk and wanted to incorporate it into an area for her writing. The writing desk is well, spectacular. A focal point of the room. And it needed a chair equally as spectacular.

I set out on a mission. To find a chair that screams WOW. And does the desk and the space justice. And so, it began.

First of all, let me say this: a pretty chair is hard to find. No, let me rephrase: most chairs start out ugly. I know this because I shop for chairs for many clients and I always tell them to find a chair that fits the space, fits them and is a style that works with the room. If we are lucky enough to find all three, we can make it pretty with beautiful fabric selections.

Pretty in floral pinks with a whitewash finish. Photo: Chair Whimsy

“Ugly chairs” on Pinterest

I was looking for another client’s pink chair recently and somehow ended up going down a rabbit trail and found myself on Pinterest. Do you know there is actually a board called “Ugly chairs?” Seriously. I have seen most of these chairs. Except for the one that looks like a potato. Check it out if you want a laugh. I did find a pretty pink chair at West Elm.

But I digress. Slightly.

Chairs as an accent

I’ve always used chairs as an accent piece. In my own home, I have one in every room. An old, wooden, shabby chic chair sits in my living room with a pillow that points toward the beach. In my bedroom, a treasured flea market find, an old, weathered beach chair that holds a pillow that I love from a trip to Paris. An old, heirloom wicker chair was given a new life with some beautiful, coastal fabric. And the list goes on.

But here is the thing.

You can’t really sit in these chairs. For long. If your accent needs to be for real life, you need something substantial.

And then I found it.

Chair “whimsy”

My search led me to designer and upholsterer, Wendy Conklin. Her business, Chair Whimsy, offers one-of-a-kind, out-of-this-world chairs that make wonderful accent pieces. From boho chic to vintage farmhouse to classic romance, these chairs reflect the personalities of their owner. They are new and fabulous. And you can create your own. Check them all out at chairwhimsy.com

Her boho chic line includes a collection of “Frida” chairs, paying homage to the colorful Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. A set for the dining room makes a perfect conversation piece when entertaining or one can stand alone at a desk or in a corner.

Be fearless

Find your inspiration and don’t be afraid to put an accent piece in every room. It can be a chair or something else that will make you love your home again. As I am writing this, I am thinking about how I can convince my husband that we need a Frida chair. Wish me luck.

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 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