Inspiring your Home and Lifestyle
In our December issue, Charlie Groppetti and Todd Smith shared tips for creating a fresh holiday garland. If you’re planning to make your own version, follow those instructions along with a little help from this instructional video. Share your creation on Instagram, and don’t forget to tag us (@athomearkansas)! We’d love to see how you personalize your holiday garland.
Read the original story from our December 2020 issue here.
By now, maybe you have succeeded at bringing in and setting up the tree, which reaches almost to the ceiling. Of the second floor. You’ve bought or made enough wreaths to hang in every window facing the street, and nailed the largest one to the front door, making bows and checking lights for every single one. And you’ve strung enough garland, that if stretched from end to end, would reach from the front curb to the back fence. Great. But you’re not finished yet! Go to the attic and retrieve those boxes full of keepsake holiday items, stuff ranging from your childhood to yard sale finds, and something given to you just last year. Now, find a place and a way to use them. Small holiday elements grouped together can make all the difference in the world in how really well decorated your house is for the holidays.
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Would you like to put your own stamp on holiday decorating? If this question was posed on a survey, responses would overwhelmingly be in the affirmative. Who wouldn’t want to use elements, colors, and a decorating scheme that matches their own taste and color preferences. But time after time, we haul boxes down out of the attic and set up the same red-and-green color pairing, along with the same items we dust off and place around the room.
I think you can decorate for the holidays and put your own personality and references in it, all without much work. Pick two colors you want to use. They can be hot colors, or cool. ‘Hot’ refers to reds and oranges, ‘cool’ to their opposites on the color wheel. A pairing of these colors works best because you want to limit your theme, so it’s readily seen. I love cool colors, and have accessories throughout my house that reflect my predilections. You will, too. And, instead of adding all the individual items that proclaim Christmas, limit them. I chose to use ornaments solely for the simple reason I have so many. Think about those boxes in the attic; I bet you have a lot, too. Use a mass of these items, not just a few, and pile them up.
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In October, acclaimed designer Chris Goddard took over our Instagram feed for 48 hours during his almost two weeks of travel through Morocco. Today, we’re excited to share a more in-depth look at some of his favorite stops along the way.
Morocco has become a personal destination of rejuvenation for me in terms of color, texture, design, fragrance and cuisine.
From the century-old medinas in Fes and Marrakech—touching every possible sense—to the peaceful serenity of the desert, which calms the soul, I find great inspiration which I try to incorporate into all of my designs. Eclectic interiors and rooms that tell a story are a few Goddard Design Group trademarks. Below are two aspects that speak strongly to me….
There’s a lot to be said about meeting people’s expectations when it comes to seasonal decorating. After all, you don’t use shamrocks for Valentine’s Day, or lush banks of blooming flowers for the Halloween show on your front lawn. But you aren’t limited to a certain number of elements or prescribed colors every time you create a seasonal show. Many elements can be injected into your holiday tablescape that are not just unusual in themselves, but also bring in a color you might not have thought to use before. And that color can be from the purple family.
The color range for fall decor is typically restricted to the fiery tones, and for good reason. Ripened squash and pumpkins are always in various oranges or yellows, leaves turn into flame, mature wheat and cornstalks are, well, the color of mature wheat and cornstalks. But think back to art class and that color wheel. The use of contrasting colors, which are found on the opposite side of the wheel, can bring a bit of zing into your design. And they don’t have to be wildly exotic. Using African violets and a thrilling cerise phalaenopsis—both of which can be found at my nursery, as well as lots of other sources—can add a much-needed note of newness to your design.
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The end of summer is a bittersweet time, but it’s also when certain crops are ready for market. And many of your summer annuals, so vibrant and luscious during the hot months, are now showing their age and wear (though some seem to thrive even now, at the end of the season—I’m looking at you, dragon-wing begonia). The last of the hay has been baled, apples and pears are beginning to tumble into the stores and farmers markets, and muscadines are ripe, a fact not lost on true Southerners. So here comes the fun stuff: pumpkins.
Above: A typical display we have at both Botanica and Plantopia. With such variety, how could you go home with just one? Mix the colors, combine shapes, stack them all cheek-to-cheek. There is no formal pattern for your fall display.…
Often when we buy a house, we inherit rooms or areas that we don’t get enough use out of, or that we simply don’t care about. Just because a room is part of the structure, with a defined use, doesn’t mean you have to use it as it was originally planned. The room you’re going to see in this post was never actually a room; it was a garage. Actually, a carport—something with even less dignity. I had one already, so I decided to make this a functional room, with a door directly into the outside. I wanted more areas for seating, good light, and elements that echo the Spanish colonial design of my house. What does that last part mean? I needed terrazzo floors, architectural arches, a fireplace with a hearth, and stucco walls. By extending the theme of my house with this new room, I was able to keep it from looking like it had been added on. I wanted seamless design throughout.
Looks like a nice room, right? No traces of cars or exhaust. In keeping with the Spanish design of my house, I brought in elements that underscored it. A worn farm table, wrought iron anything—including chairs and candelabras—a simple rug that zings with color, and plants associated with the desert southwest. Attention to detail can pay off. Nothing was pricey, but all fit within my design guidelines.
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I own a cool store. And I offer many bright and shiny objects for sale, in addition to plants and gardening supplies. But I also think that everything in your landscape does not have to be bought new. While it may seem startling that I’d say such a thing, it really isn’t. After all, I’m in the landscape business, and what is a garden anyway? It’s a mass of energy, color, and growth that is always changing, evolving and, above all, renewing itself. Take that idea in stride and look at what you already have. You can redefine an area of your garden by recycling and reimagining something that is maybe stacked away and forgotten, and through repurposing, create a sense of wonder and newness. For example, I needed to define the end of the terrace and patio, but I wanted to create something of interest, so here’s what I did.
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You will have lots of choices this time of year when it comes to places to source and buy plants. Even those of us who live in small towns can drive to a big box store, one of those places with acres of parking and thousands of plants. The problem with those behemoth home improvement stores is that you can rarely find a knowledgeable person to answer your plant questions, and the inventory–while deep–is rarely varied, much less stimulating. Geraniums, anyone? Buying plants for your yard and garden should be a thoughtful process in order to ensure vigorous growth, color, and great seasonal display. And, you should have questions about plant growth habits and requirements, which will need answers that consist of more than a shrug. I’m in the plant business, and this is my opportunity to show you why buying from a typically smaller landscape and garden center can give you great return on your time and investment.
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Europeans have long known something that Americans are only just now finding out: You can create a “room” for entertaining within your landscape. And it won’t take a carpenter to do it. If you have a courtyard, patio, or level area in your yard that is wide and long enough to turn into a rectilinear space for table, chairs, and plants, you can treat your guests to a real indoors-goes-outdoors experience. Define the space and mark the “walls” with large specimen plants (read: dwarf or semi-dwarf trees), then plunk a table down between them. Add seating, accessories, personal touches, and then you have it. A delightful area for dining and conversation.
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At Home in Arkansas offers you a look inside the state's most inspiring homes. The magazine features monthly advice from the experts to help you plan your next remodel or redesign, entertain at home, or find Arkansas's best kept secrets. It is your definitive guide to the state's finest homes and gardens, design professionals, fashion and entertaining essentials, and premier shops and showrooms.