Instant Decorating Tips for Every Room in Your House from Hunter Douglas

Tag: china cupboard

As the days stretch into the long, light, hazy days of summer, thoughts turn to vacations. This year, with the escalating costs of gas and a weak dollar "homecations" are becoming popular. Vacationing at home can be a great incentive to update and upgrade your surroundings. Decorating does not have to involve a lot of time or expense when you follow these inventive tips from Sally Morse, Director of Creative Services for Hunter Douglas, North America's largest and most successful manufacturer of custom window fashions, to give an instant uplift to every room in your house:
    

Living Rooms
Refresh your living room for summer with slipcovers in light, washable fabrics. Morse suggests bringing standard slipcovers to a monogram shop where you can add your initials, a family crest or motto to give them a custom look. Lighten up that dark fireplace with the addition of some pale wood strung with lights and replace pictures with groupings of mirrors to add reflected light to a room.
    
Take down heavy draperies and bring the outdoors in with Hunter Douglas Silhouette® window shadings. Featuring soft fabric vanes suspended between two sheer facings, this window fashion allows you to have your view and even with the vanes open, filter out up to 88 percent of harmful UV rays. A new Bouclé fabric for this product features an organic-inspired, natural look in the three-inch and a four-inch vane size that is ideal for a lighter look for summer.

Bedrooms
To refresh your bedroom for a "homecation" Morse suggests new bedding to make the room seem like it belongs in a luxurious boutique hotel. Add some pillows in a variety of sizes anchored by a bolster. Top the bed with a lightweight blanket or pretty sheet and roll a comforter at the foot to have on hand for chilly evenings. Morse also recommends adding some "green" to your rooms with new bamboo fabrics that offer great softness and moisture absorption, making them an especially good choice for summer.