Dorothy Draper was one of America's most famous and influential interior designers. She pioneered the industry in this country, created a brand name for herself long before Martha Stewart came on the scene, influenced home decorating with her "you can decorate" best-selling books, and produced an impressive body of decorating work, from chic hotels and private homes to important commercial commissions like the interiors for jet airplanes.

Here are some Draper tips that we can all benefit from in our home decorating (and pick up a copy of her Decorating Is Fun! book for some great ideas):

1. Draper always believed it was important to have a good time decorating your home. She warned people not to be "grim and serious," and she said, "I don't believe there is any rule in the game that can't be broken."
2. "So many people stick timidly to the often uninspired conventional ideas or follow some expert's methods slavishly. Either way they are more or less living in someone else's house." To avoid this, she advised decorating where you live to make it "honestly your own - an expression of your personality."
3. "You need courage to experiment, courage to seek out your own taste and express it, courage to disregard stereotyped ideas and try out your own." She particularly advises against blindly following trends, fashions, or someone else's advice. But with that comes responsibility to try to research what's available, collect color and pattern samples that appeal to you, and begin to look around and find what's appealing.
4. "The Drab Age is over. Color is coming into its own again. Until very recently people were literally scared out of their wits by color." Dorothy Draper wrote these words back in 1939, and they are still true! Don't forget that lively colors in your surroundings are important, and she advises, "Be sure your colors are honest, fresh, and clear." She doesn't mean bright shades of color but instead, colors that aren't "wishy-washy."
5. Get rid of "junky knickknacks" in all your rooms. In fact, Dorothy Draper always eliminated all purposeless elements from her room and reveled in the "restful simplicity" of rooms that are well decorated.
6. Replace old picture frames with new ones to give your walls a fresher look.
7. Don't overlook the small details in any room. "Your lampshades," says Draper, "can make or break a room." She says to consider the decorating details in your room as carefully as you consider layering your body in clothes and jewelry; accessorizing is just as important as the basic outfit.
8. "No room can be called perfect unless it has real comfort. It must be livable for you. It must meet graciously every requirement you make of it." Take Draper's advice and look hard and long at how you're using your living room and dining room. Are these two underutilized rooms in your house? Can they be made more comfortable and livable for you and your family by accommodating more conversation groupings, spaces to enjoy media, great places to read a book, work spaces for homework and games and computer use?
9.  When considering wall colors, get a large wallpaper sample which has the background color you want. "Hang it on the wall until you find out whether you really like it. Then have your painter match that shade."
10. Don't forget celings when laying out your color plans for a room. Don't just default and paint them white. "Your ceiling can be a contrast to your walls, or it can match some color in your wallpaper or rug. It can be painted shiny black, or it can be covered with the same wallpaper you are using on the walls. Just don't treat it like a stepchild."
11. "A room that is weighted down at one end by a great, heavy sofa that is not balanced by similar weight at the other end is an uneasy room." Draper cautions against buying pairs of things to create balance. ("It would be dull if you did.") Instead, she recommends clever uses of color such as a pair of chairs with upholstery darker than the sofa being used to create that visual balance in the room. "Solid colors will usually make things seem larger and bulkier than they are. And bold, allover patterns will reduce their size because they break up the lines just as army camouflaging does."

Imagine life without a sofa! Well, can you imagine what life was like when the first ones came into the home? The sofa completely changed the way families lived and turned everything we know about interior space upside down. The sofa single-handedly

• brought comfort and casualness into the home

• introduced the first piece of furniture designed to accommodate two people

• contributed to an awakening of conversation between people in a room

• invited courtship, wooing, and seduction between couples

This time in France saw an amazing revolution in the way people live, with architects, the first interior designers, stylish trendsetters, and two royal mistresses (the Marquise de Maintenon and the Marquise de Pompadour) leading the charge. This era also saw the introduction of bathrooms (tubs with hot water and the flush toilet), living rooms, convenience furniture, home heating, and private bedrooms!

Fascinating Snippets from The Age of Comfort

The private bedroom acquired its distinctive personality between 1710 and 1730. Gone were the balustrades and columns. As visible proof of the room's new mission, the bed was tucked away in a cozy niche or nook (literally a recessed portion of the room) -- hence the new room's name: a chambre en niche, or niche bedroom. The niche bed was placed sideways in the niche rather than facing out into the room and was thus protected from drafts, thereby eliminating the need for heavy curtains.

We don't know how many modern bathrooms and tubs resulted from water's easier availability, although in 1782 still another expert did claim that "the public's new predilection for very frequent baths" meant that "every new home now includes a bathroom." At the very highest end of the new bathroom spectrum belong the spaces created for that great bath fanatic the Marquise de Pompadour. . . . The marquise [see photo below] had her first bath built [at Versailles] in 1747-1748. It had green and white marble tiles and a single tub, with the tanks and heater on the floor above. On September 11, 1748, a master metalworker named Martin delivered a "faucet shaped like a swan's neck" for the tub. From then on, everywhere she went, Pompadour immediately ripped out the old bath. Thus, when she took over the Hotel d'Evreaux, she moved the bathing suite from its original location near the fabulous garden to a more modern spot, off her bedroom.

Between 1675 and 1740, people went from living with only a few stiff chairs with no padding to being literally surrounded by a truly dizzying array of well-stuffed and padded, curvy, and "orthopedically" proportioned seats: from armchairs and sofas to daybeds and chaises longues. And this new seat furniture -- the first true designer furniture, the first furniture ever designed with comfort in mind -- was abundant, present in all interior rooms (even bathrooms), so that private life could be carried out in perfect ease. In addition, the original modern seat furniture positively forced people into a new take on life. Stuffy, formal ways were swept away as soon as straight-backed seating was replaced by designs in which it was impossible to sit bolt upright, designs that for the first time ever made more casual posture the norm. Well-padded seats encouraged people to lean back, even to lounge. They forced the French, formerly the most magnificent people in Europe, to learn to relax. The new seat furniture, in short, was responsible for a revolution in style, lifestyle, and consumerism on a scale rarely equaled.

By 1738, one thing was absolutely clear: the building boom that had reconfigured the cityscape of Paris was over. If French architecture was to remain prominent, a new direction had to be found. Interior decoration was thus brought to the rescue to teach people that even if they had a new home, they could not simply rest on their laurels: its interior style had to be kept up-to-date.

By the mid-eighteenth century, interior decoration had become what we think of as a field. For the first time, objects were valued not as dazzling showstoppers, but for their ability to work in a context and thereby to make a room into both a personal statement and a place that enhanced and facilitated daily life. For the first time, there were individuals whose business it was to help others choose their decoration, to have objects made to fit their clients' interiors, and to arrange them in their homes. For the first time, the world of style opened up to design in a new sense of the word, one that included the arts of design, those based on the union between form and function. The new field also gave official recognition to the fact that French craftsmen and designers were establishing the first industry of the decorative arts.

What's Alessandra's New Book All About?

When your grandfather is a Vatican Museum art historian and you've grown up in Rome surrounded by the greatest classical art and architecture, you're fated for a wonderful life in design. Alessandra Branca's book celebrates the classic while infusing it with everyday purpose. Her interiors are comfortable, elegant, and witty -- and her book gives a lot of inspiration for homeowners and folks in the design profession. Here are a few tips and observations that we loved.

• Most people find red exciting. I think it's calming. To make a large bedroom feel more intimate, I covered the walls in a red cashmere-and-wool felt. It's as if you wrapped a great big blanket around the room.
• I always start with the shell first, and I try to solve any problems that stem from the architecture. I consider the way the space will be used and plan what furniture it will need. Then we think of the styling of the furniture and finally only then do I begin thinking about color and pattern and how I will layer it in. It's a very painterly process, and I've learned a lot about color from studying art. Raphael has taught me intensity. Titian has trained me in nuance. Tiepolo, with his celestial blues, has coached me in clarity, and Caravaggio has instructed me in the mysteries of dark and light.

• Clients don't believe me at first when I tell them this, but sometimes a small room can end up being the best room in the house.
• I love tartan. I like the clean, crisp geometry of the plaid and the unusual combination of colors. It's a powerful symbol and a beautiful pattern, and it adds strength and warmth to any room.
• A traditional chandelier, encased in sheer white scrim, becomes modern and mysterious.
• It's fun to pull out the fine china and crystal for a party, or even an intimate dinner for two, but to keep the table from looking too formal, instead of candles in classic white, try orange. It's a surprise to see them in a silver candelabra. And I like the exuberance of a big bunch of a single type of flowers in one color instead of a more formal mixed arrangement, something anyone can do.

• I think of my kitchen as a working laboratory, and I wanted to keep it simple. This is the one place where I don't like a lot of color. I just wanted white marble and old wood.
• I like to play one pattern off another. My kind of decorating is all about layering, and I have no qualms about mixing high and low. In the same room, you will see luxurious damask next to humble ticking. That feels very fresh and modern to me. It's like wearing an elegant silk shirt and jeans. I paint with pattern. I will use it on the walls, on the furniture, and on the floor. Pattern is a way to give depth to a space.
• Pattern is forgiving. If a client has a favorite chair where I know they are going to sit all the time, I will cover it in a pattern. Pattern wells well. It will show less wear than a solid, neutral fabric. It is practical and elegant at the same time.
  

It's easy and convenient to shop furniture and accessories from a catalog or catalog outlet stores like Crate & Barrel, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Design Within Reach, Pier 1, Anthropologie, Williams Sonoma Home, and even the big box stores like Target, K-mart, or Wal-Mart. Here's my advice on how to wisely get the best home decorating look by "shopping around."

Remember that catalog stores are highly staged. You're going to see vignettes that are psychologically appealing to buyers. But don't be fooled -- most vignettes will look sterile if you transport them whole cloth into your home. You don't want your interiors to look like everything you own was purchased from one of these stores.

I had a recent visit to Pottery Barn, and based on this trip, here are a few tips:

1. When I go into a catalog store, I look for the Top 3 items they sell. Don't waste your time getting bogged down in trying to absorb their entire look and design sense. Know that many of their items are poorly designed or are of such mass-produced sterility, they aren't interesting enough to belong in anybody's home -- especially yours.
2. In Pottery Barn, I was blown away by their Ankara Patchwork Dhurrie Rug. It was a heavenly rug made up of squares of new rug made to look like antique carpet pieces stitched together. Beautiful color, very well made and executed, and lightyears beyond anything else in the store. That's the kind of merchandise you should hone in on, ignoring what clearly isn't very interesting or unique.
3. Find great pieces in a catalog store and visualize how they will look in your existing or in-progress home settings. Go for an eclectic mix of decorating elements and it's absolutely fine to add the best of the catalog stores' merchandise to higher-end custom furnishings, flea market treasures, and your personal collections. Look for the most interesting things you can possibly find, and avoid things that are "all the rage," like yet another fake deer head or yet another leather club chair that looks like every other club chair in the world.
4. You'll find an interesting mix of new home products and one-of-a-kind antiques at Anthropologie, and you can take that philosophy with you into your home decor. Mix your new pieces with the old, the mass produced with the unique, the serious with the whimsical. In the end, everything should look comfortable, stimulating, and filled with personality. Avoid making it look like a collection of catalog furnishings.
5. Some homeowners will only buy iconic furniture, originally fashioned by a famous designer. Design Within Reach specializes in newly manufactured iconic furnishings, but even here, don't just have one iconic piece after another. Your interiors will look silly, like you're living in a Furniture Hall of Fame exhibit. Mix it up and go with folk art and outsider art handmade pieces, mass produced no-name items that are interesting, a few iconic pieces if you must, and lots of old furnishings and accessories that form a warm connective tissue between all your decorating elements. Staying iconic 100% will rob your interior of accessibility and warmth, and that goes with duplicating the entire line look from any catalog store for that matter. Here's some inspiration: The lovely living room design in this photo shows off the eclectic beauty that designer Bunny Williams brings to her projects.

Pillows now have an amazing,edgy rock-star glamor! I was impressed with the wide array of pillows and graphic pillowcases at the recent New York International Gift Fair in NYC.

We spotted some new pillow trends at the Gift Fair: handmade, punk and glam luxurious, authentically ethnic, and graphically bold and surprising,  

Ethnic. We've always known Company C to be a style leader, and their push this fall and spring is solidly into bright and bold colors. One of these fashion directions is their Ikat damask pillows (see photo at right). These patterns are true to the originals, with blurred edges, yet the designs are distinctively colorful and large scale. Lovely.

One exemplary firm embodying the best of the ethnic pillow trend is HandCrafting Justice, a not-for-profit, Fair Trade economic justice project partnering with women in the developing world. They market women's handcrafts and raise awareness about the root causes of povery, geneder inequality, and social issues.

We loved HCJ's strong, colorful ethnically-inspired pillows (see the Peacock Pillow Cover in the photo below, a beautiful hand-appliqued embroidery work from Sri Lanka). Good pillows and a feel-good cause.

Handmade. There are some amazing examples of the handmade decorative arts, and one outstanding example was Ronel Jordaan's line of "felt stones." Her South African job creation program has been highly successful, and pillows like this Pebble Pillow (see photo below) are made from hand-dyed, carded, and felted merino wool made to look like real rocks from nature!

We also liked the handpainted pillows from Studio 773 in Chicago. Two school chums, Peggy Buege and Megan Dalbey, came together after graduation to create an impressive series of collections. Their Outdoor Line line is great, with fade-resistant handpainting specially to resist the elements, and we also liked the embroidery work on their simple and elegant Bugs pillows (see photo below).

Graphically Bold. We got a kick out of the fanciful graphics Snooze City Designs plastered over pillowcases. Their Guitar Amp pillowcases (see top photo) are examples of the strong, bold graphic patterns we're going to be seeing more of in the coming year with pillows.

Aaron Stewart's Pillow Pillow Pillow pillows (that's like stuttering!) are bold and playful graphics of real pets that have been submitted by PPP's petowner fans. Pictured below is the Titi Cat Pillow, and there are a range of dogs, cats, and other pets to choose from. Let your inner Ace Ventura go wild!

Thomaspaul is perhaps the top master of bold graphic pillows. We found their styles to push the envelope when it comes to design excellence, as in the incredible Greyhound pillow pictured below. NYC necktie designer Thomas Paul Fernez is, in our opinion, the uncrowned king of pillows.

Punk and Glam Luxurious. We like the new line of pillows from oomph! They came out in striking neutrals, luxurious silks and other fabrics, down and feather fillers, hand-sewn quality, and unexpected color combinations which trend towards Pop and Punk style notes (see photo below).

Aviva Stanoff has an outstanding luxury line, and it is nothing but the highest quality. Look how impressive her Kohl Lemon Leaf and Baby's Breath Pillows are on Fig and Hot Fig backgrounds!

Sylvie Guieysse is a punker at heart, and her heavenly pillow creations merge the boundaries of luxury and edginess. Exhibit A is her Aurora-Purple pillow from her Fairy Tale collection (first photo below); note the rich patterning in her Japanese cotton creation as well as the fairy tale animals and lovely decoration -- but look closer and you'll see the skulls! Exhibit B is her Pink & White pillow from the Couture collection, a mash-up of felted wool masses over luxurious cotton velvet. So chic.

I liked the condensed home goods at Pier 94, instead of spilling over to a number of piers as in the past, but I wished the Pier was open for the full length of the show (it closed early on the penultimate day of the exhibits). It was lovely to see the strong international focus of the Fair, too, with 300 suppliers from 38 countries, many clustered for convenient browsing.

Here are some of the items and vendors who caught my eye at the August 15-20 Fair:

Middletons Old World Library Collection offers great service for homes with empty bookshelves. They offer beautiful antique books and can also specially cover books in colors that match any color scheme or decor to turn ordinary books into design accessories, a fun and unique service.

I liked the new Chinoiserie Pillow Shams from Dwell Studio, strong and bold with its super-sized design.

How opulent! Rani Arabella has cashmere pillows and throws that are gorgeous and luxe.

Home, James! East Hampton has a sumptuous assortment of casual dinnerware, tabletop accessories, and even classic striped beach towels. I couldn't resist their Chinatown patern, with clever updates of the traditional chinoserie patterns. Pictured above: the Chinatown Ice Bucket/Wine Cooler and Large Octagonal Platter.

Architects & Heroes is an Austin, TX lighting supplier that's been perfecting "steampunk" new Victorian looks in lighting for the past 10 years. This cool Craftsman two-light pulley system is typical of lighting that's fun as well as versatile (hang them over the dining room table, a desk or work surface, or an island). I also love their Abbey and Cloister lines of pendant lights, which exude crisp elegance with thick frosted glass shades wrapped in aged brass cages, ideal for an ethnic or mid-century modern interior.

The new home textiles collection from Bulgar is simple, sumptuous, all-natural, and employs women in a depressed part of Bulgaria in exemplary social-conscious ways. I marveled at the natural, non-dyed creams, taupes, beiges, and browns! And don't forget that Bulgar is a wonderful tabletop source, with a line of ceramics that preserves the traditional pottery techniques and designs of Bulgaria (so chic for any decor).

I admire the way Desu Design lives up to its mission of blurring the line between art and design by creating home furnishings and accessories that are both functional and lovely to look at. The LR-1 Sofa Bench combines a table surface, storage, and a bench wide enough to accommodate an overnight sleeper . . . in style!

If pillows were an Olympic sport, Dransfield and Ross would keep winning gold medals. This beautiful Helsinki leaf pillow if but one of many outstanding designs we saw at their Pier Show booth. The continuing success of their line is well deserved, and my idea of a completely decadent room would be a space completely piled high with their pillows.

Totally fresh and fun, not to mention completely daft, the Bouquet furniture and accessory collection from P & F features bejeweled metal flowers forming everything from dining and center hall tables to mirrors and console tables. Check out their other collections for more floral artistry in metal -- and take advantage of the hot trend in florals this year.

For art resources, it's hard to beat the cutting-edge material coming from Natural Curiosities. This is not your mother's source for starving artists' oil paintings to hang over the sofa as shown above: Alison Rundle Clark's marvelous watercolor Fruits 2.

Irwin Weiner ASID

For more info: Go to the Future Perfect website for more information and the latest design merchandise.

The photos below will give you an idea of some of the items that really caught our eye.

From Qubus, these porcelain Abstract Vases (2006) look wonderfully crumpled. 

Wool and hand-stuffed calico bags make up this Frank Pouf (2009), by Donna Wilson for SCP. 

The Future Perfect founder, David Alhadeff

Today's Lazy Susan, the Three Sixty Table (2005) by Studio Mauerer Hendrichs. Love the skate wheels!

Colorful plastic balls a-go-go with Hugh Hayden's whimsical Strict Chair (2008). 

Eat in style off these porcelain Pummaroriella Pizza Plates (2006); Massimo Giacon for Alessi.

Lacquered wood and glass, with interchangeable legs, the Showtime Multileg Cabinet (2006) by Jaime Hayon for BD Barcelona.

Love this deconstructed stainless steel and glass Blow Up Table (2004) from Fernando and Humberto Campana for Alessi.

Tongue-in-cheek ancient artifact, Jason Miller's 2009 Woolly Chair; seat is bison hide and industrial felt.

Classic 2000 modular, adjustable shelving, Ronan and Erwan Bourroullec's Self Shelf.

2006 Showtime Double Poltrona Sofa by Jaime Hayon for BD Barcelona combines a Jetson's plastic frame with a traditional leather seat. So clever.

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Auction items from the Neverland Ranch give us a glimpse into Michael Jackson's decorating taste:

Billy Baldwin, the famous interior designer, once said something that I think applies well to Michael Jackson: "I don't think anyone has a right to possess anything he doesn't love -- art or anything else." Michael Jackson's prodigious spending appetite certainly seems to have been driven by a passion and love for everything he bought. His eclectic collections of art, fine furniture, museum pieces like the Elephant Man skeleton, folk art, and children's games and toys reflects a complicated personality. We see both elegance and sophistication blending with child-like innocence and wonderment, an unusual combination but one that seemed fueled by a desire to create an environment that the singer/entertainer could feel comfortable in and treat as a personal sanctuary. I remember a TV interviewer being led by Mr. Jackson to a Las Vegas furnishings store, picking out practically everything in the store, from oil paintings of Apollo to marble and gold urns (the latter costing over $250,000 apiece, and he bought many).

Jackson's desire to decorate is as much a passionate appetite as was his performing. A recent case in point was his reportedly deposited one million pounds to rent a 28-bedroom home in London (see photo below) to live during his eight-month stay and string of concerts at the O2 Arena. He chose the posh Foxbury Manor in southeast London, and it boasted nearly 30 bedrooms, an underground theater, a swimming pool, and a private lake and wood. Not content to take things "as is," he reportedly asked for brightly colored wallpaper to be added to the existing decor and he was in the process of picking out personal artwork, statues, and ornaments that he wanted to surround himself with. In addition to his personal choices for furnishings, the London Guardian reported that he planned to hire an interior decorator to arrange the entire house "according to his taste."

All that expense and effort for eight months of his life, modifying a temporary home he would never own. This dramatically underscores Michael Jackson's need to surround himself with luxury and a sense of his own personal sanctuary. While he was busy entertaining audiences, he had a public life that was on stage for all to see. But after the final song, he retreated to his own inner sanctum, not unlike anyone else who loves their home enough to put passion into their personal decorating. Jackson's homes truly reflected his personal interests, tastes, and sense of style and comfort. While these don't reflect my taste and style sense, I respect that this entertainer had a strong sense of self and passionately connected with what he liked and was comfortable with. That's a big part of what design is all about.

And as Billy Baldwin himself would have observed, "The wilder the idea, the newer, the farther out, the more it demands that you know why you want it. If you fall in love with something, that's all that matters." RIP, King of Pop, Prince of Interior Design. 

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But I was recently asked to research scented candles and I came up with some beautiful ones that intrigued even me. Most of the candle makers are from Paris, but a few are domestic and attempt to capture fragrances depicting French life.

Try these websites to get your fill of these perfumed candles and use them when you want to add fragrance to a special interior. Set the mood for a romantic evening in bed, a spa-liscious bubble bath, or just try to mask or neutralize cigarette smoke. Be sure to avoid candles with lead wicks, and remember that SOY is JOY (natural soy candles are wonderful).

1. colette is an ooh-lah-lah Parisian website with a great assortment of designer candles, and some of them are interior design statements in and of themselves, like the Pharrell candle from Atelier WM (see photo at top).
2. Orla makes soy candles and packages them with music CDs; combine music and mood light with soy-wax candles. Check out their "enchanting" Paris candle and An Evening in Paris CD combo.
3. Spa Look features the get fresh Memories of Paris candle with the fragrance of white flowers, jasmine, orange flower, and red rose.
4. The Scented Salamander is filled with great perfume-inspired gift items, including the Memo Paris line of candles and perfumes.
5. Beauty Encounter has a vast selection of scented candles, including some French beauties by candle makes like Roger & Gallet, Christiane Celle, D'Orsay, Guinot Bougie, and Terri Michele.
6. Cire Trudon is a true master of the candlemaking craft. Operating in Paris since 1643, they provided candles to the court of Louis XIV and the churches of Paris and still provide candles to churches like the Église Saint-Roch in Paris. Check out their White Pilla Candle Trianon from Liberty and the extremely WILD collection of their candles on the Aedes De Venustas website. Why wild? Try candles in the shape of Napoleon (photo at right) and Marie Antoinette and dare-to-try themed perfumed candles like Revolution and Dada. The later is described as follows:

"With a touch of tea and vetiver, dressed up with crumpled mint leaves and eucalyptus, this clever scent confuses the mind. Sharp and expansive, it opens up to the magnetic field of the Dada movement, to the artistic dizziness and surrealist experiences."

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Browse by category or by brand. Burke Decor carries accent decor, bath accessories, bedding, candles, furniture, decorative garden decor, children's furnishings, lighting, mirrors, photographs, pillows, art prints, rugs, serving linens, trays, tabletop accessories, and wallpaper from a range of star designers and brands. You'll love the unique and extraordinary items they source for their appreciative customers.

Here are 10 items that really caught my eye during a recent run through their online store:

Bring spring into a kids room with these Chalkals "Hootie" set of two owls and two branches (below). Modern Dose produced these great wall decals that are easy to affix to any wall surface and remove without taking off paint. Best of all, these decals are great to write on with chalk and are easily erased and cleaned.

Beautifully handcrafted by Argentinian designer Facundo Poj, this Aztec Stool (above) is a sculptural piece that celebrates the natural wood it has been sculpted from. Use it as art in any room of your house, as a bench or stool, and even as a wine rack . . . .

This pair of Alexandrie Verdigris Green Iron Lanterns from Two's Company will set a romantic mood on the patio or dining room. The rustic galvanized metal and glass lanterns will cast delicate patterns of light and shadow.

This great iBride laminate wood-core tray from the south of France features Ambroise Courtier, a lovely bird royal. This whimsical touch of spring is accompanied by other iBride trays featuring a fantasy menagerie of animal personages. Hang them on the wall, use them as serving trays, or use them for valuables as a dresser or hall table tray.

From Historie Naturelle comes the Chateau Set of Botanical Jars, called the Cylinder, Temple Jar, and Squat Compote. Add your own garden-in-a-jar to these handblown glass lovelies.

In several colors, these Mum Silk Rex Small Deco Pendant lights by Lights Up! offers industrial chic lighting for any part of your home. Imagine them adding some class to a ho-hum laundry room!

Brighten up your bath with persimmon, magenta, avocado, or white Ruffled Shower Curtains by India Rose. It's all about these luxurious ruffles of fabric and how they add color and texture to your tub setting.

These Decorative Bark Bowls, which come in a set of three assorted sizes, are made from beautiful mango wood and acrylic. They'll make a great serving trio on any coffee table when you have your guests over for a spring fling and nibbles.

These Palm Springs Serving Trays, which come in white, orange, and pistachio green, are perfect for breakfast in bed or serving any pass-around food. I'd use them for bar set up, too, holding some wine glasses and bubbly.

Finally, how about this 22-inch-square printed Spark Ganesh pillow to add some pop-art punch to your sofa or bed? It's from Koko Company and is stunningly printed on lime cotton canvas.

Photo credits: Burke Decor