your room's little black dress

Is it Sept. already? I ask because the last time I chatted with you it was mid-August, which seems like just yesterday. Since then (I know you're dying to know what I've been doing with my time!) I spent a wonderful long weekend at the beach with my best girl friends, sent my oldest daughter to kindergarten and completed a major landscaping project in our front yard.

I hope you didn't miss me too much.

I spent Labor Day weekend here in MD, covered in dirt while arranging flowers, shrubs and mulch. That's what happens when you decide to take on planting 106 living things in your front yard. When our "big dig" was complete, even though it has nothing to do with interior design (although it adds great curb appeal), the interior designer in me thought about how it all relates back to design and your rooms.

Bear with me here, there's a point!

(my yard's little black dress)

We covered our garden beds with beautiful black mulch (yes, I just said "beautiful" and "mulch" in the same sentence). As we were planting, various neighbors and family came by to check out the transformation. What most people commented on was the mulch, not the plants. Though not uncommon, this mulch is very sharp looking and as you know, adding mulch to a garden instantly perks it up. It looks new again.

The mulch is the garden's little black dress. That's right, surround it with pink flowers, blue bushes or white shrubs and the mulch shines and coordinates with the colors. The plants are the mulch's accessories!

Moving inside to your rooms (finally!) think about your large furnishings (sofa, bed, dining table, etc.) as your room's little black dress — keep them neutral and they will always "work" with your room's accessories (no matter how often you change the colors). Picture a brushed twill tan-colored sofa surrounded by various patterned pillows in reds, a throw in a rich plum shade and artwork hung above it with shades of red, plum and orange.

That same sofa then looks equally lovely with white and green accessories surrounding it. Toss in some blue and your little black dress just got a brand new look.

What color is your room's little black dress? And, how are you accessorizing it? Click below and leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you.