Sources:

www.houselogic.com

www.housebeautiful.com

www.designingyourperfecthouse.com

www.vecteezy.com

www.sustainablebusinesstoolkit.com

tinyliving.net

Gift giving is always one of the hardest things to do around this time of the year. Weather it be for a close loved one or a distant friend, you always want to find the perfect gift. Here are some ideas to help you find something for the traveler in your life! 

1.Scratchable World Map ($29)

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/scratch-map?utm_medium=affiliates

2. Travel Candle (FREE)

Here is a how to page: http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/DIY-Mint-Tin-Travel-Candle-32299327

3. A poster of their favorite trip from http://www.loosepetals.com/

http://www.loosepetals.com/

4.Some Sassy Luggage Tags ($13)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/75590596/luggage-tag-i-belong-to-im-lost-without?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=luggage+tag&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

5. Colorful Passport Holder ($27)

www.etsy.com/listing/116252214/passport-cover-personalised-christmas?ref=sr_gallery_19&ga_search_query=passport+cover&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=3&ga_search_type=all&ga_facet=passport+cover

6.Ollo Clip 4-in-1 Lens ($80)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q7FTBES/ref=as_at/?tag=travandleis07-20&linkCode=as2&

7.Tiny Mail Kit ($28.95)

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/tiny-mail-kit

8.CB2 Cork Globe ($129)

http://www.cb2.com/cork-globe/s303637

9.Champagne Carry-On Cocktail Kit ($24)

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/champagne-carry-on-cocktail-kit

10.Linus Everyday Sac ($72)

http://www.poketo.com/collections/accessories-alpha-desc/products/everyday-sac

11. Travel Stubs Diary ($12)

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/travel-stub-diary?utm_medium=affiliates

12.Kammok Camping Hammock ($100)

http://kammok.com/products/roo

When trying to achieve a special mood in your interior spaces, the Pantone colors of the season are a great resource to enhance your space. Pantone colors offer a rainbow of colors you can mix and match.  Make your own picture perfect setting with the latest colors of the season.  As the seasons change, you can adjust your interiors by adding some touches such as artwork as plants.  This friendly chart made by FTD, offers simple splashes of bouquet colors that brighten rustic interiors effortlessly.  Many of our city prints have these deep rich colors that compliment and match the colors of the season.

As the crisp warm leaves fall from the trees and the kids begin to grow with excitement you start to feel the crisp autumn air set in. Bring the fresh, fun, autumn atmosphere in to your home with the following tips!

1.     Dress up your front porch with corn stalks or straw to wrap around anything. Using thick colored ribbon in deep oranges to tie everything together. Carry these same materials into lanyards or garlands around your front door and entry.

2.     Use your fireplace to showcase seasonal décor: Your fireplace mantel has been waiting for this season! Whether you look in your yard, or you travel to an arts and crafts store, dried leaves and pinecones make great décor. Small pumpkins, gourds or dried leaf vines, and colorful candles will brighten your mantle and spirits.

3.    Include Autumnal Colors Combine autumn red or orange splashes with a neutral or contrasting base such as taupe, olive, or blue. Muted greens are fresh alternatives to bold warm colors. Throw Pillows, table accessories, and accent rugs are high-impact, low-investment places to start.

4.    Find woodsy elements at your local farmers' market or your own backyard. Look for moss, grasses, and small branches. Fill interesting pots with any combination of them, or turn a bundle of twigs into a natural photo holder.

5.     Depending on if you want to go formal or casual for your table, choose colors that reflect your home decor AND the season.  Using red and yellow apples for an informal organic and edible centerpiece is pleasing to the eye. For more formal centerpiece design try adding a tablecloth that has hints of fall colors and themes. Small but unexpected details go a long way at the dinner table.

6.    Fall decor can be visual but it also involves your other senses like smell.  Pumpkin pies, cinnamon apple cider and fire wood scents are all warm and cozy smells. Try using candles, incensing, or boiling a pot of spices.

Shadow Box - Piece together a shadow box with mementos you scored on your trip. Cut letters of the city out of postcards or photos and added in little touches like sand from the area. Add other small little trinkets that add to the design and feel of your trip

Bottles of Sand - Collect sand from your travels and create a display of them contained in bottles and jars of different shapes and sizes to add a shabby chic touch. Label them with the names of the places you took them from, and you'll have a display that's guaranteed to transport you to a different city. Or grab one big jar for your local store and put the sand in drawing a line at the top of each layer with where the sand is from.

Frame Up Paper Mementos - Take all the paper mementos you collected on your trip — be it photos, tickets, brochures, wrappers, maps, menus, currency, and more — and place them in a frame to create these collages. Play with the idea of using one large frame or using multiple smaller frames to create a large feature gallery wall.

Cubby Organizer - You can always organize your souvenirs in a cute cubby organizer. Try picking up some vintage printers trays to store your knickknack souvenirs in.

Memory Box - Use wooden boxes and stencil in the names of the cities, then paint them in different colors that would display well in your bookcase. This is great if you want to you’re your souvenirs on hand and (somewhat) on display but not having to put a lot of work into the actual display. Not only are these boxes pretty, but they'll also keep your souvenirs organized, which means you'll be able to relive a particular trip's memories with ease when you take out a box to explore its contents.

Source:
http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/How-Display-Travel-Souvenirs-30410433#photo-30411110

http://hellolittlehome.com/decorating-with-travel-souvenirs/

With winter just around the corner here are some good examples of tropical interior designs and key elements within each design to keep you thinking of summer.

Textural weaves

Tropical woods with an exotic flavor

Sheer, floaty window treatments

Plenty of plants 

Luxurious like a tropical resort vacation home

Accents from the beach

Blur the line between indoors and outdoors

Source:

homeportfolio.com

myinteriordesign.com

If there’s one style that never goes out of style, it’s the nautical, beach-inspired look. This style will function well in any area of your home, the bathroom, your kitchen, or even your kids room. The characteristic features of nautical interior design are the presence of textile, inexpensive wooden furniture and an abundance of white color. Nautical interior design is the perfect way to make us feel like the ocean is always near. With elements such as ships, anchors, sea creatures, and the nautical colors of navy and white, you can relax in the comfort of your own home. Below are a few elements you will find in any of these spaces. 

1. White Walls – Use white walls to give your space a blank slate and to create a open and fresh feeling in the rooms.

2. Light floors - There are many ways you can go about doing this, if you are willing to splurge on some new flooring simply pick a whitewashed wood panel, or go for a fun soft cream carpet.  If new flooring simply isn't an option start with painting your old floors with the proper kind of floor paint. In this kind of space, the more damaged and scraped up your floors are, the better.  

3. Wood paneling - Whether it be in a bathroom or bedrooms on walls or on ceilings, wood paneling creates visual interest in a white on white color schemed room. The shadows in the joints of the paneling create texture and warmth. Play with the idea of using this to cover your ceiling surface as well.  This could help make a room feel longer or wider depending on which direction the panels go and I actually think it might make the room feel taller too.

4. Beams – faux wood beams are fairly easy to make or find and they also are a quick and simple way to hide any loose wires or ventilation on your ceiling. It also helps with the feeling of getting away, like you have escaped to a cottage after all.

5. Striped Textiles –  An introduction of striped patterns in furniture, area rugs, linens, drapes etc. create a more relaxing feel with the repetitive and calming aspects of the pattern. 

6. Blue! (and grey too) – A MUST! Dark blue with a light grey are great colors to introduce to your space without screaming your nautical theme and they also complement the white surrounding the space, counterbalancing all of the bright white.

Sources: 
http://www.2015interiordesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/nautical-interior-grid.jpg

http://samuelandpandora.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Nautical1.jpg

http://samuelandpandora.com/nautical-inspired-white-interiors/

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/05/21/article-1186074-04D836AA000005DC-26_634x462.jpg

http://www.stylemotivation.com/19-fantastic-nautical-interior-design-ideas-home/

 “Posters reflect our culture and are like visual graphic icons of the times in which they were created.”  ~ Robin Shepherd, travel poster collector.

Throughout history travel poster have been used for a myriad of reasons. They not only advertised travel destinations, but were used by hotels, airlines, railroads and tourism companies to graphically represent themselves to the public. Many of them were considered works of art.

At first these travel posters were a jumble of images and text and crowded with information, but by the early 1900's, artist had simplified the travel poster by using fewer details added power to the message. By the 1920s, other artists transformed the travel poster from illustration to symbol. Which is what modern-day posters and pictographs are based off of. But, posters continue to evolve with new methods and ideas and will always be a major part of our world.

Travel posters are one of the most popular areas of poster collecting today. More than any other poster category, they awaken our dreams of adventure, beauty and wanderlust. Grab your favorite poster from our page and discover a new love for your favorite town! 

Sources: 

http://greenolivearts.com/history-travel-posters/

http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/30014b5804c12555_4-0649/midcentury-prints-and-posters.jpg

When choosing the mat you use inside your framed artwork there is more to consider then what you may think, it is also more important than you might think. There are two reasons for matting art: It keeps the glass separated from your artwork so it won’t stick to the glass, and it enhances your artwork.  And a mat gives needed space so your eye can hone in on the art and it does not get cut off in the frame, especially when you use chunky frames. Here are some more tips:

1. Choose your mat color based on what will best compliment the artwork — not the space you are hanging it.

2. Seek balance between the art and the framing that surrounds it.  Avoid using the dominant colors in the art as the dominant colors in the framing.  Instead, identify secondary colors in the art that share the prevailing value and temperature of the art as a whole.

4. Darker colors in the framing help enhance the perspective of your work.  If an image has a strong element that is receding such as the river sweeping off into the distance, darker colors help to enhance it. The opposite is also true. Lighter colors help to make a piece “pop”.

Sources 

http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/653859/list/the-right-mat-for-your-artwork

http://phoenixartsupplies.com/custom-picture-framing/images/multi-colored-picture-frame.jpg

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41YxDXSRo%2BL._AC_UL320_SR262,320_.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/dd/eb/7f/ddeb7f631d379bd940ea2408f8cb3643.jpg