The Rural Voice, 2003-07, Page 41Home Decorating
Make hour bard an extension of hour home
Patti
Robertson
operates
Classic
Interiors in
Wingham.
By Patti Robertson
I feel so blessed that I can get out
into my yard and gardens again. My
natural energy soars along with the
family's, our kitties, the birds and
plants, as the growing powers of the
earth and the elements spill into our
home and cleanse our homes of all
the staleness that has built up over the
course of a long Canadian winter.
What a perfect time to assess how
our property, gardens, and structures
are working together to empower a
positive energy flow thereby assisting
us and our interiors with a vigorous
charge that we can utilize over the
course of the summer and call upon
throughout the calendar year.
One of the best ways to view our
property is to visualize it as an
extension of our interiors ... ensuring
that we can see our various gardens,
pathways and structures readily from
inside our home. Planning our
gardens so they are placed away from
foundation, and not covering our
windows with heavy treatments that
cannot easily be opened to let the
outdoor vistas in. If window
replacement is on your agenda as part
of your home improvement project,
consider adding larger more
interesting shapes to allow the
outdoors the opportunity to peek in at
you. Ward and I have been replacing
various windows and are thrilled with
the large ones strategically placed to
capture a favourite outdoor vista
...and the interior has benefitted
immensely. When we chose to put a
new side entrance on our home we
designed it as a sunroom. All four
walls feature windows so when one
sits there and reads it's like being at
one with nature. Even on cold wintry
days you get the bluster and swirl of
the elements ... without the cold!
Our landscape is imparted with
visual and textured interest when we
incorporate a myriad of shapes and
forms introducing a variety of plant
materials, statuary, rocks, and
structures such as arbors, gazebos,
decks and patios that entice you to
come outside and relax awhile. I find
that our modest -sized home becomes
twice the size in spring through fall
as the homey placement of outdoor
furnishings encourages you to easily
slip from indoors to an outdoor
setting ... be it in the pure warmth
and glory of the
energy -giving
sunshine or a
restful respite
under an ivy -
draped arbor or
strategically
placed patio
umbrella.
The more we
incorporate our
homes' interior
with its exterior,
allowing easy
access and
transition with the
natural elements
at play, the more
pure natural
energy we
incorporate into our home and
thereby all who reside within. I find
catering to the five senses in my
exterior rooms enlivens the spaces
further. My sight is enriched through
the variety of interesting colours in
plants. Selected garden pathways
beckon and curve mysteriously,
piquing my curiousity to explore.
Statues and structures add visual
interest and the furnishings are
inviting causing me to stop and relax
to be at home.
Ears perk up to the splash of a
pool or a fountain and the sound of
visiting birds or the tinkle of the wind
in the chimes.
Taste is excited by freshly picked
herbs or enjoying a freshly picked
veggie or a rhubarb stick dipped in
honey. The smell of the earth after a
summer rainfall and the scent of a
rose add to the
sensations. I enjoy
the heat of the
sunshine as well as a
stroll through dew -
soaked grass or the
squish of garden soil
between my toes as I
weed my flowerbeds.
Amazingly, all of
these stimulators are
free and full of
energy, energy that
spills into our homes
through open doors
and windows as we
participate in the full
vitality these three
seasons afford each
of us. Energy we can
capture and utilize as we wend our
way through another Canadian
winter. So get outside, be energized
and enjoy the freedom.
Next month we'll look at
stimulating energy and creating rave
reviews through our outdoor decor.0
PATTI ROBERTSON'S
Unique Residential and
Commercial Interiors
135 Victoria St., WINGHAM
357-2872
• Custom-made Window
Fashions, Bedspreads
& Accessories
• Fine Domestic &
Imported Fabrics
• Select Wallcouerings
• Furnishings, Lighting
& Artwork to suit
any interior...
JULY 20033