01 August 2008

Accessory tips

Home Stylist Offers Interior Design Tips For Spring

By Abbey Hood Beverly Hills Courier

Rays of sunshine bounced off the shelves, elegantly hitting a mixture of metals that produced a ray of shine throughout Tara Riceberg’s store Tweak.
“I find myself towards shine,” said the home stylist. “I’m into reflective surfaces. Coming out of winter and going into spring, we need more light.”
Home fashions this season will utilize reflective surfaces, like the rose gold on dinner wear and tabletops neatly placed on the shelves in her store on Brighton Way.
“Home fashion always follows fashion,” she says.
If you pay attention to what’s on purses, the prints on dresses, or the latest and greatest accessories most likely it will mirror what’s coming out on couches, pillows, linens and table wear.
For spring, what people see draping from the racks and drawers of Saks, will be filling the shelves of home interior stores like Riceberg’s: sherbet colors, a pop of yellow, metallics, woods, eco-friendly designs and skins like lizard and snake.
But be wary, Riceberg advises to avoid religiously following the latest and greatest trends in home fashions.
“My whole philosophy is not to follow these trends,” said the owner of Tweak, who has clientele in New York, Washington D.C. and even celebrity clientele in Los Angeles.
Her approach is to bring in spring’s trends through accessories. Keep a neutral background on your wall, one that is timeless, she says. People are not so quick to change their favorite couch or chair, as they are their favorite purses.
Get an accent without making a major commitment.
Instead of changing wall colors or couches, bring in yellow tulips to achieve the bright colors popular this spring.
It is like dressing up a T-shirt and jeans, said Riceberg. People can achieve many different looks with how they play with accessories; it can completely transform boring everyday wear to something elegant.
“Accessories are so important,” she says. “And, accessories should be rotated.”
For different seasons, change scented candles, she advises. Change your tabletops, napkin rings, picture frames, so you don’t get tired of what’s in your home. Mix it up.
On tabletops this spring, Riceberg advises to “layer” patterns and textures. Layer a textured placemat underneath a patterned plate.
“Accessories are not serious,” says Riceberg.
If you are having a fiesta dinner party this spring, bring in bright colors; play with it, she advises. Some of these accessories might be found on trips abroad.
If you travel before summer, bring home a fun souvenir for your home, she says. If you are going to Thailand find a mask, save it, and bring it out for a Thai dinner party.
“Your house has to be a reflection of the life you are living,” she says.
That includes making sure everything in your home has function, not purchasing for the sake of purchasing.
“Don’t buy to fill space,” says Riceberg. “Only buy things that have function.”
The advice also translates into making sure home fashion is “childproof not style proof,” she says.
If you have children, don’t purchase accessories so high in design that it is not safe in the home.
There are alternative options, just as elegant and childproof.
Ricberg has a bowl in her store, that looks just like expensive glass, but is not.
“It is important to be true to who you are,” says Riceberg. “If you love having red wine and your lab, white fabric might not be for you.”
The key is to understand what is trendy this spring, but respect and understand how you live your life.
And, don’t forget you can never be excessive or over the top with home fashion, she says.
You just need order, she adds.
On shelves, you never want skyscrapers, she says. Vases don’t need to chaotic, you need an apex, or a tallest point. From that point vases, frames, accessories should transcend down.
Avoid scented candles on the dinner table, and keep floral arrangements low.
Keeping order in mind, Riceberg says, have fun with home fashion. Experiment and play.
“If it feels good it can’t be wrong,” she says. “Most importantly, don’t spend a lot of money on trendy items, because you don’t have to.”