Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Leather

Make a decorating statement with leather furnishings.

This bold design move shows you have skin in the game.

Consider a touch of leather in your next decorating project. It will be a moo-ving experience that’s sure to enhance your home environment! And most leather design elements are practical too!

Leather adds great texture, softness and color; however, beware that it can be a heavy look, especially in its most typical design colors – dark brown and black. That’s why it’s best to soften a big leather piece of furniture with other elements such as creamy paint colors, cushy throws and pillows, silky rugs and soft fabric furniture and window fashions.

Another way to lessen the heaviness of leather design elements is to select a lighter color of leather, such as beige, white, gray or sage green. Or you can add a tidbit of brightness with green, red or yellow leather!

Complementary materials and textures can also lighten up a heavy leather look. Think:

• Glass or Lucite tables

• Metal chairs and lamps

• Light filtering, soft-looking window fashions

• Bamboo flooring

• Natural grass wallcoverings

Leather is a versatile choice that adds beauty to most any decorating style from a traditional dining room to a classic living room to an ultra-contemporary great room. Think about leather for these design elements:

• Leather sofas and easy chairs, and even recliners!

• Leather dining chairs

• Leather headboard

• Leather-fronted sideboard in the dining room or dresser in the bedroom

• Leather-covered walls in a powder room or home office

Add leather to your next design project and you'll be ahead of the herd!

Fresh Ideas For Your Home - Nail Heads

Dressing up your furniture with metal trim will nail your design plan.

Decorative brads, nails and tacks will hit the mark.

Metal trim is a classic embellishment for furniture and more. Brads, nails and tacks were used as early as the 17th century and maybe even before, in almost every country in Europe, and in the United States too. Think of them like jewelry for furniture – adding a beautiful necklace around the edges.

Metal trims work just as beautifully today as when they were first invented. They add a sense of craftsmanship and can complement almost any style of décor, from the most traditional to ultra contemporary.

Decorative brads, nails and tacks are mostly used on upholstered furniture,
but can also be applied beautifully on headboards, upholstered walls and doors,
and even as an embellishment on table tops, table fronts and table legs.

You can make a subtle design statement by using metal trim as a stripe on the edge of upholstery or you can go wild, using the trim in patterns or a patchwork design. Leather especially lends itself to metal trim, but many other fabrics can be adorned too, including velvet, tapestries and other heavy fabrics.

Metal trim comes in many shapes and sizes, with or without facets, and with matte, glossy or distressed finishes. Shapes include square, round, diamond and pyramid. Brads, nails and tacks can have a variety of metal finishes, including silver, antique gold, nickel, brass and even black. Newest of all are trims made from stone and crystal.

Adding decorative metal trim to your décor is a timeless look that’s modern even today. Nails, brads and tacks will secure your design plan beautifully.