Family and Home Network

How to Choose a Style You Will Love to Live In

When you go home at the end of the day, your apartment, condo or house should be your sanctuary; but be honest, is it a place that really feels comfortable and welcomes you? If not, it's time to do something about it.

Your home should not only be a place to rest your weary head at night, it should be a reflection of you. If your home has plain white walls, a lack of decorative accents and what could be called generic furniture, it's time to make a change.

So where do you start? By determining your style - and it probably falls into one of these three categories: traditional, contemporary or French country. If you're happy with what would be considered "the norm," you'll probably want to go with a traditional look featuring furniture with soft, smooth edges, paint and accessories that offer a mix of mid-range tones and fabrics that are neither too shiny nor too textured. A contemporary look, with its bold lines and colors is popular among people with a worldly view, who love the arts and entertain often. If you want your home to have that "lived in" look, French Country is the way to go.

Once you know what look you want, the real fun begins. Start thumbing through design magazines for ideas about color combinations, furniture and fabrics; then pick a room to work on and get started. A good place to begin is in the rooms where you spend the most time: the master bedroom and bath. These days, most interior decorators go out of their way to make sure the rooms complement each other and so should you.

Begin with the bed, which is the centerpiece of the room. Rather than just throwing down a bedspread and moving on, look for linens that will really dress it up. Mixing and matching colors, designs and textures will make a bold statement.

If your goal is to achieve a designer look without actually bringing a designer in, check out the affordable yet luxurious line of bed and bath linens offered by Olivier Desforges. To sample color swatches or look at design grouping ideas, visit www.olivierdesforges.com.

One of their most popular traditional designs is Madere, inspired by the traditional shawls from Eastern Europe. The bedspread features richly colored boughs of large roses on a warm, red background. The background color switches to linen on the complementary shams, fitted sheets and duvet cover, then goes back to red for the matching towel and robe set available for the bathroom. Colors that go great with this design include red, linen, yellow, green and black. Accessorize with any or all of them.

If your goal is to create a more contemporary or French country look, Olivier Desforges has a design that will work for you too. Log on to www.olivierdesforges.com for more decorating ideas.