"Imitation is the sincerest of
flattery." ~ Charles Caleb Colton

Being that I am in the floor covering industry, nearly every time I enter a public place -- restaurant, restroom, office building, hotel lobby, -- my gaze quickly goes to the floor.  I'm always on alert for new, creative and innovative ideas in floor covering to share with my customers.  Let's face it, the flooring business doesn't tend to be all that exciting so, I need to seek out things that turn me on like new products, new use of color, new size and/or texture combinations, new patterns and interesting, artistic applications.

I always encourage my customers who are beginning their new flooring selection process to do the same thing.  The next time you're in a chic restaurant or a spa and you admire their uniquely designed restroom floor or wall tile, pull out the camera phone and snap away.  You'll wish you had when you try to recall how it looked so you can recreate it in your own home.

There are wonderful resources online that can also offer inspiration and creative applications for flooring and decorating.  If you haven't explored Pinterest, you may want to get on their site and request an invite.  You can't imagine just how many novel ideas in design and decorating are out there until you've been on this site.  Another great online resource for inspiration and valuable product information is Houzz.  They offer countless photos, blogs and suggestions from experienced, professional contractors on everything from paint to hardware options for your garden shed.

Of course, home decorator magazines continue to be a reliable source of information and visuals when you don't have access to a computer.  Some of my favorites are:  Country Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Traditional Home, Coastal Living, House Beautiful and New England Home, just to name a few.  Start a file of photos that sing to you and bring it into Action Carpet  & Floor Covering when you're in the market to replace that old area rug or the 1980's mauve tile in your master bathroom.  It will help you show us the look you're going for.  We can usually find the products you'll need to recreate that look in your own home.

Sometimes we just need a little help getting started.  With so many flooring options out there and our desire to decorate our living space to  reflect our individual style and personality, taking inspirational ideas from all these resources is almost a necessity in the planning process.  Don't view  it as copying, view it as customized imitation.  Chances are the people  who achieved the look that inspired you did the same exact thing.  Again I quote Charles Caleb Colton, "Imitation is the sincerest of  flattery." 

To some people, choosing the right color palette for their home is a daunting, dreaded task.  And for others, it seems to come effortlessly -- like a gift bestowed by the Color Gods!  We ALL have our gifts, and a good eye for color and color retention happens to be one of mine.  I'm just lucky that way -- I can't take an ounce of credit.  I haven't met a color I didn't like, nor have I met a color I couldn't pair up with other colors.  I guess you could call me a 'Color Pimp!'  But for those of you who stand infront of the paint chip display at your favorite paint store just starring for hours until the manager tells you he needs to lock up the store for the night, I've found a little online tool that might help you with your color palette quandries.

It's a wonderfully creative website created by Jessica Colaluca called Design Seeds.  (www.design-seeds.com)  Filled with sumptuous photographs, this website is completely devoted to color and color combinations.  It will help you realize that Mother Nature has provided us with the most inspiring color palettes and we should just follow her lead!  For example:

Choosing your color palette is half the battle when selecting floor covering too.  If you're having a hard time utilizing what you own as your room's inspiration pieces, you might want to spend some time on Design Seeds website scanning the many color combination possibilities.  Print out the ones that inspire you and keep them in a file that you can take with you to the paint store and the furniture store and ACTION CARPET & FLOOR COVERING!  And, as always, any one of our sales people are always happy to share their expertise and offer another set of eyes to help you bring all your color ideas together.

Doesn't it seem like the artists all come out of the woodwork in the Fall season?  It could be that Summer keeps most of us, artists included, busy with exterior house projects, yard work and vacations away from it all.  But come September the local papers and community bulletin boards start advertising Autumn Festivals and Harvest Fairs galore, and with them come amazing locally created arts & crafts.  You could hit a different festival every weekend and take home a unique piece of art or a craft to add to your decor and admire for years to come.

I've been a huge fan of art and have dabbled in various different mediums from as far back as I can remember.  To me art is everywhere and if you can capture it and express your view of it through a photograph, drawing, painting, etching, sculpture, piece of furniture, jewelry or any other medium, you share with the world an intimate, unique piece of yourself that no one else can completely duplicate.  It's like a fingerprint -- true, original art is one-of-a-kind.

Having said that, I can't think of anything better to decorate my home with than original art from local artists.  You may share the same wall color with your neighbor or have drapes in the same fabric.  You may even have the same sofa, lamp shade, throw pillows or bed cover.  These types of decoration -- functional or purely decorative -- are mostly mass-produced and although they are beautiful and reflect your personal style, nothing makes a statement about you and your taste like a piece of artwork.  It shows your support for artists, your passion for their work and your desire for unique pieces that compliment your home as well as spark conversation among your guests.  The pieces of art that you are drawn to and that you choose to include in your home's decor not only speaks volumes for the artist who created it, it speaks volumes for the person you are for having chosen and purchased it.  It can show your quirky side or your soft side.  It can reveal your interests  --  your passions.  What you display in your home in terms of art and decoration often forms a repetitive visual pattern of what colors, designs and styles sing to your soul.

I attended the Granby Artists Association's Open Studio Tour the weekend of October 8th and was in awe at the talent we have right in our own back yard!  Every town across the country and around the globe has artists creating awe-inspiring works and many pieces are for purchase.  Like Avis Cherichetti at Honey Hill Pottery who creates Raku pottery using a firing techniqe dating back to 16th century Japan.  Or Kate Snyder who forms her vision of nature into one-of-a-kind pieces of sterling silver jewelry.  Or Laura Eden whose paintings reflect her vision of art that appears in nature all around us.

In this post I'm speaking of Granby, CT artists only because I am familiar with them due to their close proximity to my home, but please know that there are WONDERFUL local artists in your community, too.  Call your town's Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the artists in your area.  Google search engine can be a great help in locating local artists and crafts people too.  Your purchases of art made locally keeps your dollars in your community and supports and encourages the arts as a whole. 

I hope you can get out to an arts and crafts fair this fall and support the local artists by purchasing a piece of artwork that sings to you! 


You can learn more about Avis and see her work on her website:  http://www.honeyhillpottery.us/
You can learn more about Kate and see her jewelry on her website:  http://www.joyofsilver.com
You can learn more about Laura and see her paintings on her website:  http://www.laurajeden.com

The colors of Autumn have such depth and vibrance that even though the air is crisp, there's still a sense of warmth.  Why not bring some of those warm hues inside your home and add a little Fall to your living spaces?

You can create a sense of Autumn warmth to your rooms very simply and without a big expense just by adding rich, Fall colored items to your current decor.  Bring in small branches with the colorful leaves still intact and arrange them in a clear glass vase, a pottery vessel or a water pitcher and place them on a dining table, coffee table or hearth.  Create a vignette by adding small pumpkins, gourds and candles in Fall themed holders then weave a length of fabric around and through them that is rich in shades of reds, oranges, golds, burgundies and greens.  Change out your table linens for ones with these same hearty, warm-colored tones.

Give your sofa and chairs a punch of Fall color by switching out the throw pillows for ones that are saturated in rich shades and patterns.  Add small throw rugs to your kitchen floor -- in front of your sink and/or stove -- that mimic the colors of this season.  If you have a little bit of money to spend, a hallway runner can give the space some Fall inspired decoration, too.

Infuse your home with the colors of Fall and then sit back with a cup of hot coffee and a piece of warm apple pie and enjoy what you've created!