April- National Decorating Month

Apr 18 2013

by Sudy Vance Leavy

The beauty of azaleas, dogwood and wisteria signify spring. Luscious colors leap out from the landscape. A purple iris planted next to a yellow one compliment the other. Nature’s pairing of colors suggests an endless variety of color palettes. No wonder we associate spring with house cleaning and decorating. April is a proper choice for National Decorating Month. Atlanta Interior designer Susan Currie’s post offers trends, ideas and tips to refresh the home during April.

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She notes the use of Spearmint for Spring.

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And taking cues form the color blocks of Henri Matisse. So get your creative juices flowing!

Need more inspiration? What better way to be inspired than to turn to the grande dame of decorating Edith Wharton.

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Known as a novelist of more than forty books, her first book set the stage for the art of interior design. The Decoration of Houses, written with her architect friend, Ogden Codman, was an immediate success. Touted in the book was the ridding of heavily curtained Victorian rooms with large, stuffed furniture. The duo felt that decorating should be based on simple, classical design principals. They stressed symmetry, proportion and balance in architecture.

Picking up the banner and following the dictums was one of America preeminent designers Elsie de Wolfe, America’s first designer who vanquished Victorian gloom.

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Others known for their pastiche have followed as legendary. The top ten famous interior designers range from Dorothy Draper to Juan Montoya. See full article here.

But the delight of decorating is studying the work of any that you might want to emulate. If you are feeling cerebral, challenge yourself with Wharton’s 115 year old tome, The Decoration of Houses.

For quicker referencing, the Spring array of magazines all focus in some aspect on the joy of refurbishing. Create a fresh look with a different color palette or adapt a favorite fabric such as gingham to cover cushions for garden furniture.

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