A dining room doesn’t have to be just for eating. It can be a room to entertain, to host and much more. Once you get past the basic essentials (i.e. table and chairs), you have to go above and beyond to make it more than just another room in the house.

Since it is a room dedicated to eating, it’s important to think about ways to make it fun and inviting to guests.

To make it more appealing, you want to have more than one set of dinner wear. Ideally, you want something that you can mix and match to get the full use out of your sets. You always want to have an extra set of salad and dessert plates.

Since there’s not a lot of credentials that make up a dining room, it should make a statement. Be dramatic. You have your table, chairs and maybe some sort of shelving on the walls to store all the plates, bowls and cutlery. Something should be highlighted—a big, beautiful table surrounded by simple chairs or maybe a simpler table with chairs that have intricate detail and bold colors. The center piece is also something to think about.

Components that make a good dining room: Great wallpaper, color and lighting.

It’s time to get your space ready for this summer season! That’s right—put away the heavy bedding and countless blankets. There’s lots of ways to brighten up your place for the sunny season, but the question is, how do you make it look different? With lots of summer events and weekend soirées, it’s nice to change your home up a little.

Here are some ways to switch from winter/spring to summer:

1. Lay down an area rug over your regular carpeting or over your oriental to switch it up.
2. Try a fun, light-colored cow hide in your living room. Maybe under a coffee table.
3. Use slip covers to spruce up your furniture. Not only will it give you room a new look but it helps protect your furniture too! Something that is popular these days is to put a white slip cover over your furniture during the spring and summer seasons.
4. Change up the artwork: Replace the painting over the mantel and replace it with something that reminds you of the water. If you haven’t been to the beach in a while, why not have something that reminds you of it?
5. In with the dark, out with the bright: Change out the pillows for something bright and fun. Use different pallets such as ocean blue, sunny yellow, grass green, hot pink and orange.

Summer is fun, isn’t it?

Due to the holiday weekend, Decoration Day will be closed and we want to wish you and your family a happy & safe Memorial Day weekend!

But first, here is an interesting fact about the holiday:

May 30th was named “Declaration Day” a few short years after the Civil War. Why the end of May? Well, it could be that it was chosen because flowers were in full bloom everywhere.

With this, flowers were “decorated” on soldiers graves–eventually being known as “Decoration Day.” Sound familiar?

In 1976 when the previous owners opened the store they named it Decoration Day based on the history of decorating with flowers.

Sometimes decorating a couch can be difficult. People may not see a couple pillows on a couch as decorations, but they are.

Now, you don’t need to go out and buy ten pillows and fancy blankets to dress up your couch. You only need a few pillows to get your started. The best part about it is that you can substitute a pillow or two here and there to switch up the look and it makes a difference!

We put together a short video so you can see just how easy it is to swap pillows and blankets!

https://youtu.be/1eIQcTPZyuY

That’s right–we’re having (another great) sale!

Why not start this spring right by doing a little re-decorating to your space?

The following will be additions to the Decoration Day store!

What to know about these pillows:

-Hand woven

-Great price point

-Bright colors for Spring

-New line to our store

 

What to know about these soaps & candles:

-New line to our store

-Made of pure bees wax (candles) from upstate NY

 

What to know about these pots:

-New line to our store

-Great colors for the Spring or to add a pop of color to a room

-You’ve been asking for them!

 

Have you ever walked into a room and the furniture seems to look a little off? Well, you’re not just imagining things. The way you place your furniture can make a big difference.

Here are some mistakes that people make when buying or even placing furniture in a room:

• People put small lamps on  their night stands next to a bed that is big or raised.
• People tend to be afraid of overcrowding because the furniture is large-scale so it makes it difficult for accessories.
• People sometimes buy a unique piece of furniture but don’t have the room for it so they put it in an awkward place in the room that throws off the balance.

Designing a room is much like creating a painting; it should have all the principal requirements that make up a composition (focal point, depth, monochromatic vs. contrast, symmetry and balance, etc…).

Here are some things to keep in mind when placing furniture in a room:

• Don’t be afraid to get a larger-scale side/coffee table.
• The rule of thumb is that a coffee table should be between 15-18 inches from the chair or couch it is next to so that people can actually use it when they sit down.
• Pieces of art shouldn’t be the same sizes on the same wall. You should have different sizes on various walls so that it creates a flow throughout the room.

Whether it’s been over a decade or just a year, people seem to be timid by painting the interior of their house. Naturals are safe since they will match with almost anything—on the other hand too much intense colors in your house can cause a headache to you or whoever enters your home.

With all this information, how can one decide on what  to do when it comes to painting your house?

First tip: You shouldn’t be afraid of painting your house.

It doesn’t have to be an expensive and tedious process whether you are changing up a room or just starting out. The important thing is that your house flows. What this means is that there should be a nice transition throughout your house. In other words, it can be quite confusing to someone who is coming into your house for the first time and has no idea where to look because it’s too busy.

Second tip: Adding a piece of art can change up a room.

When you think of painting, you probably think of painting an entire wall…but what about just a painting? If you’re not one to change things often, why not try out a piece of art first and go from there. It’s also a good idea to rotate your artwork throughout the year. If you have a few neutral-themed paintings, add those to the wall in the winter time. Brighter and more vibrant paintings are good for the spring and summer. Try getting various painting sizes and putting them on different walls of your house—it will draw the eye to look around the room as opposed to stacking all your artwork on the same wall.

Third tip: Don’t paint all rooms in bold colors.

As mentioned before, painting each room a bold color can be too much for a house.

Fourth tip: Think about your hallways.

Hallways are great to paint in neutral colors. There are always exceptions to the ryle, but it’s easy for people to deal with.

For any further questions, feel free to reach out to Decoration Day. We offer color consultations if you need help with your house.

31 years ago, Susan walked into Decoration Day in Larchmont–which then was filled with silks, dry flower arrangements, antiques and decorative accessories. She would come in as a customer and eventually began to make flower arrangements for the owner. The owner used her arrangements for events and loved them so much that she hired Susan. She started working for the owners in 1984 and bought the store with her husband, Jim in 1986.

Though she still made customized flowers and sold antiques years after she and her husband bought the store she wanted to change it up. In 2000, she took note that Larchmont began changing, in which a younger crowd began to settle in. With that, Susan wanted to update the store. She began consulting and helping customers with their homes and allowed them to bring things home from the store on approval (so they didn’t feel obligated to buy the merchandise if it didn’t fit well in their home). This quickly turned into a full interior design service.

Susan and Jim could see how Decoration Day evolved over the years–from full and packed to having more of a flow–like a show room. In order to make this transition, she had a pop up store around the block to sell the old merchandise while she renovated the new store. In the summer of 2014, Susan showcased her new furniture and merchandise in the updated store.