With the recent holidays of Easter and Passover, we have been striving to dress up our dining room tables. Now comes graduations, reunions, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Valentine's Day....the cycle of celebrations never end. How to avoid having too many boxes and drawers filled with holiday-specific linens that are never ironed when we need them to be? Restaurant white is an option, but we can also discover the power of red!

It doesn't have to be lipstick red - it can be crimson or red-orange. But a shade of red works with almost every holiday. Valentine's hearts, fall harvest, candy canes, patriotic fever...the common thread is a red one. 

Even for Easter, mix the red with its analogous colors of purple, orange, and yellow, and the table will look like someone had a lot of fun dyeing Easter eggs. By investing in a great, deep crimson table cloth, then buying several set of cloth napkins in many different colors (white for formal, mint green for a modern Christmas, deep blue for Bastille Day), we can have a great holiday table without bothering with linen storage. 

Add some flowers and some holiday-themed candies scattered for effect, and we're ready for the bet part of holidays: the food!

Pottery Barn has some sharp new table linens in the latest shades of red. In particular, take a note of the Jackie Floral http://www.potterybarn.com/products/jackie-floral-table-runner/?pkey=e|jackie%2Bfloral|4|best|0|1|24||4&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_- ,  and Leila Block-Print tablecloths http://www.potterybarn.com/products/leila-block-print-tablecloths/?pkey=e|leila|6|best|0|1|24||1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_- .

The reason I love DIY lighting so much is because let's face it, lighting can be rather expensive. Not only could it eat up a huge part of your budget for the light itself, but you have to pay someone to install it unless you have someone in your life who's handy with the electrical wires. Many people put lighting off until the end of a project, leaving little budget for it. But what many people don't realize is that lighting is EXTREMELY important and it can make or break your design. So, if you're looking for a fantastic, low budget pendant light solution, here it is!

We found the best instructions for creating these fun pendants over at craftynest.com http://www.craftynest.com/2009/03/hemp-pendant-lamps/. Follow their simple instructions and you will be able to create these for your home. The best thing about them is that you can create them in any size and you can even create a cluster of them for a fun chandelier. We also love to spray paint them in a metallic or a bright color to add a punch to your room. Just make sure you buy a non-flammable spray paint and have fun with it!

Rock, Paper, Scissors…And More Scissors!

Great interior design organizes the mess of daily living into something calm and beautiful. But sometimes beautiful means having several versions of the same item. Yes, too many pillows can look silly, and yes, too many chairs in a small dining room make your home look like a furniture showroom. But some items repeated in every room of the house can actually make your life simpler…starting with scissors.

How many times have you started to wrap a present, only to run out for your scissors in another room? Scissors cut pizza, they open packages, they snip the tags off of your new area rug. You don’t carry your TV from one room to another; why should you carry your scissors!

To make your life more organized, we recommend one pair of scissors in every room – kitchen, desk, living room (where you are most likely to open presents!), bathroom, bedroom - and a second pair on top of your desk and kitchen counter for quick cuts. The good news is that there are many beautifully designed scissors that can be a fabulous design element in your room. We love Karim Rashid’s sculptural scissors, available for $26 through the MOMA store: http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Sculptural%20Scissors_10451_10001_102645.

More affordable for only $5 through MOMA are the MUJI clear handled scissors: http://www.momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_Clear%20Handle%20Scissors_10451_10001_47445

And if you want to save a lot of money, there is a pack of twelve Snippy Scissors with a lot of design pizzazz for only $11.81 from the art supply store Blick: http://www.dickblick.com/products/snippy-scissors/

With twelve pairs of scissors in the house, you’ll never get frustrated getting the shrink wrap off the DVD again!