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Articles by Kate W. Ericsson
Easy Fall Decorating Ideas for a Cozy Home
At a Glance: Home Decorating for Fall Avoid major redecoration each season by making small tweaks to the colors, textures, and scents in your home. Swap lightweight summer blankets and pillows for cozy fabrics in colors like cream, mustard yellow, burgundy, terracotta, and olive green. Use a simmer pot recipe instead of artificial fragrances to fill your home with fall scents.
Central Virginia HOME Magazine
Photo: James River Media An aromatic superstar bringing warmth and flavor to your festivities “It’s impossible to be lonely when you’re zesting an orange. Scrape the soft rind once and the whole room fills with fruit.” — “Abundance,” Amy Schmidt Beloved author Laura Ingalls Wilder famously wrote of her delight in discovering an orange in her Christmas stocking; as homesteaders in the 1880s, oranges were a luxury, hard to find and deeply treasured.
MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY
The sweet subtlely of the pear moves it to center stage “Slice a pear, and you will find that its flesh is incandescent white. It glows with inner light. Those who carry a knife and a pear are never afraid of the dark.” — Yann Martel, Life of Pi Most of us are familiar with the partridge in a pear tree, but the first mention of the pear is found in Homer’s epic poem “The Odyssey,” confirming that the pear was cultivated in Greece as early as 3,000 years ago.
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
Summer library programs help boost reading and creativity Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist, funded many public libraries in the United States because he believed everyone should have access to books and literacy, not just the wealthy. He built 1,700 libraries across the nation before his death in 1919. In this digital age, we sometimes forget the vital role libraries play in our society, beyond just being a place to borrow books.
Central Virginia HOME Magazine
Smart design tips for a tidy & functional storage space Baskets, chests and armoires are some of the earliest versions of closets, dating back to Roman times. As industrialization happened across the world, people had greater access to more affordable goods and needed spaces in which to store them. In the 19th century, Americans established the closet as we know it — its own space built directly into the wall. These were small, usually the size of the door that opened into it.
A SPLASH OF SUNSHINE
Enjoying seasonal lemons & limes A staple in cuisine, lemons and limes are prized for their tart flavor and pleasing pops of color. These little citrus fruits pack a punch. Not only can they enhance food and beverages, but they have medicinal and practical purposes as well. Life with zestLimes are small, green and more tart than lemons, which are larger, oval-shaped and yellow. Nutritionally, they are almost identical. The most common types in grocery stores are Persian limes and Eureka lemons.
FESTIVE FLOWERS - Central Virginia HOME Magazine
All-American Pots & Plants for the 4th — and Beyond Summer celebrations allow us to unleash our red-white-and-blue creativity. This year, why not add patriotic planters to the mix? Between the 4th of July and Olympics viewing, you’ll have many opportunities for flag-related décor. The right selection of flowers won’t fade after the celebrations are over, and if properly cared for, will last through the summer.
SPLURGE, SAVE & SUSTAIN
How to Design Like a Grown-Up Just as every structure needs a solid foundation, your home’s interior design needs an anchor to create stability and durability. Certain high-quality items will set the stage and are worth investing in, even as your décor evolves over time. So where does a homeowner begin? Think about three S’s: splurge, save and sustainability. SplurgeLet’s start with those splurge-worthy anchors. SOFA — A sofa is a major focal point in a living space.
DIAL UP THE DRAMA
Photo Courtesy of Alicia Francine Heydon Glow Up Your Walls With a Mural Murals have been around as long as people. From the cave paintings at Lascaux Grottes in France dating back thousands of years to street art murals of today, people have been leaving their mark on palaces, temples, churches, museums, libraries, buildings and homes of rich patrons. The original purpose of murals was to depict society through stories, value systems, fantasies or transformation.
UNDER THE WINTER SKY
DESIGNING AN OUTDOOR SPACE FOR YEAR-ROUND USE Pandemic pups, bread baking and TikTok dances are just a few of the ways we entertained ourselves during Covid-19, but if there is one trend that is still going strong, it is the importance of having a functional outdoor living space. While heat lamps were about as hard to find during the pandemic as toilet paper, outdoor living spaces have evolved into multi-functional havens and continue to dominate in the building and home design industries.
TENDING TO YOUR FALL GARDEN
PERENNIAL CARE & MAINTENANCE Perennials, the plants that come back year after year in your garden, bring joy in the spring when they return to life after their dormancy period. By now, your perennials are slowing down and preparing for winter, and the final days of autumn are the ideal time to prepare for healthy perennial beds next spring. Here are some suggestions for a happy, healthy garden that you can dig into now.
SENSATIONAL SUMMER SIPS
Photos: James River Media Stir Up Some Fun Beverages from Popular Local Restaurants James Bond preferred his martini shaken, not stirred, Don Draper liked his bourbon in an Old Fashioned and Ernest Hemingway enjoyed rum mixed into a Mojito.
The Art of Fragrance | Scenting Your Home for Maximum Enjoyment
Because of the position of the olfactory system in the brain, scent has the power to trigger emotions, memory and creativity. Perhaps you’ve experienced the jolt of memory caused by a stranger’s perfume or a nostalgically familiar laundry detergent. Realtors have been known to pop cookies into the oven to infuse the house with a delicious smell (and perhaps raise potential buyers’ endorphin levels) to set the stage for a positive showing.
Get Off My Lawn! | Outsmarting Deer
Bambi is cute in the Disney movie, but in your yard? Not so much. Nature has always kept animal populations in check, but the sprawl of the suburban environment has interrupted natural ecosystems. In 1930, the U.S. white-tailed deer population was about 300,000; today’s estimates range as high as about 30 million. Deer have become a nuisance to many homeowners because they feed on many plants and trees commonly found in the yard.
Caring for Winter Textiles | Laundry Tips for Items that Keep Us Toasty
My high school years were spent in Ohio where my family lived in an old, drafty house. If I ever complained about being cold, I was told to “put another layer on.” This might consist of another wool sweater or knitted throw or blanket. My grandmother knit all of her grandchildren beautiful sweaters in Scandinavian patterns, and my mother knit and crocheted blankets.
Striking Gold | Designing with Today’s Metallic Hardware
Photos and Project: Tera Janelle Design Metallic hardware is striking gold in the design world. But forget about the shiny gold and glossy brass finishes that were popular in the 80s. They have taken a back seat to today’s softer tones. Gold, copper, brass and bronze hardware with various finishes have taken center stage. Whether it be oil-rubbed, matte, brushed or antiqued, gold metallic hardware can add a touch of elegance to any space.
Daybeds | Flexible, Fashionable Furnishings
Making a splash in the design world today, a daybed offers great flexibility when outfitting a space, and is prized for the functionality it offers. As a sofa/bed combo, a daybed is a smart solution to small-space living, but can lend an interesting element to a room or porch in any home. Daybeds are recognizably different from typical beds in that the headboard—if there is one—extends along one long side rather than at the head.
Pretty Passementerie | Embellish Your Interiors with Trim
It was surely the fringe on the surrey that helped Curley win Laurey in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical Oklahoma!. Fortunately, you don’t have to live on a midwestern plain with whipping wind to make fringe work its magic in your home. Such trim is the icing on the cake when it comes to interior design, and fringe is just one example that can change the look of your furnishings. MODERN RENDITIONS OF PASSEMENTERIE ARE FRINGES, TASSELS, TAPE, GIMP, POMPONS AND CORD.
Health & Wellness | In Home Planning and Design
The spaces we occupy can affect our health and well-being in positive and negative ways. According to EPA estimates we spend about 90 percent of our time indoors—about half of that time in our homes—so it’s wise to consider the conditions that surround us. Health and wellness in home planning and design is a trend driven largely by aging baby boomers and health-obsessed millennials who want living spaces that nurture their minds and bodies and enhance longevity.
Camellia Reigns | Queen of the Winter Flowers
With their striking evergreen foliage and showy blooms, camellias reign supreme, just as they did in ancient China when emperors and temple priests revered them. If you’ve ever enjoyed a cup of tea, you have sampled the leaf of the camellia. All tea—black, oolong, green, or white—comes from the Camellia sinensis plant in the same way that all wine comes from the grape. Tea was first sourced in China from the camellia. Popular legend says tea was discovered by Emperor Shennong in ancient China.
Wabi-Sabi | A Perfectly Imperfect Home
Marie Kondo sparked a decluttering trend that Western culture has embraced since the publication of The Art of Tidying Up in 2014. But what many people don’t know is that her method (KonMari) grew out of a broader world philosophy with roots dating to 15th century Japan. With early links to Chinese Buddhism, wabi-sabi blossomed out of the Japanese tea ceremonies performed by Zen monks.
Active Seniors, Active Footwear | Put Your Best Foot Forward
There are many rites of passage in a person’s life that are met with great excitement and anticipation, such as obtaining a driver’s license or using a voting card for the first time. Receiving an application for the AARP when one is 50? Not so much. But with age comes benefits. In our culture we generally define seniors as those falling in the 60-65-year range, the age set for many insurance benefits and tax breaks, not to mention discounts for entertainment and travel.
Dynamic Tile Solutions | Unique, Durable And Stylish
February is generally associated with Valentine’s Day, but last year the Registrar at National Day Calendar declared February 23rd as National Tile Day. Perhaps tile as a gift may not be at the top of your list of romantic gestures, but designers and architects who work with tile know that it can be modest and sublime, as well as practical and seductive. History The use of tile in architecture and design originated in ancient Mesopotamia.
An Employment Law Tightrope: Criminal Background Checks
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