From the Floors Up

Family Time – Spend the Day Planting a Flower Garden

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Planting a garden is a great way to spend time with family and enjoy the outdoors. Here is how to start a simple flower garden and have a fun time!

 

First, look in your back yard. Is there a patch of good soil to use? If not, do some research the night before and find ways to create a patch in your yard. This should be easy and won’t take that much time. And when you go to the nursery, make sure to get fertilizer for your soil to keep the plants growing and healthy. Next decide on a color scheme for your garden. If the flowers are color coordinated the garden will be twice as pretty. Deciding the night before provides you with a plan to help you choose the right flowers when you go shopping. A good color scheme should include around 3 colors. You should also choose flowers that look different than each other to add definition and sophistication. A garden of 3 different shades of petunias is a lot less interesting than a garden of yellow sunflowers, orange marigolds, and red roses.

 

Next, try to locate a nursery that is within walking distance of your home. This experience will be most ideal if you can include a family walk. Have the kids take a wagon to bring the flowers home in. If you do not own a wagon, most nurseries have them and you can either rent them or borrow them to take the flowers home. Otherwise just drive there and leave the windows in the car rolled down to enjoy the fresh air. While at the nursery consult with the experts as to which flowers on your list are actually best suited to your particular garden environment. Also ask about the ideal way to plant them and care for them. Take along a little notebook to take notes so you’re sure to remember all of the important facts.

 

Once you’ve brought your flowers home spend quality time with the family and plant them! In general there should be distance between each flower to make sure it has room to grow or bloom. Also remember to pay attention to whether the flower needs shade or sun. Once everything is planted, create a watering schedule to keep your plants healthy and hydrated. Last, don’t fogey to place a few chairs near the garden so you can sit outside and enjoy it.

The 60-30-10 Rule

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When you set out to decorate your home it usually begins with a million and one ideas about what colors to use, all of which can overwhelm you and leave you feeling like you have too many to choose from. This can make deciding on your final color scheme seem like an impossible task but there are great tools you can use to narrow down your thoughts and inspiration and channel it into the design you envision.

 

There is a golden rule when it comes to decorating a room and it holds true for any room, no matter what. This is the 60-30-10 rule and this is a great way to begin organizing your ideas and color schemes. What the rule means is this—about 60% of the space you are decorating should be the dominant color. This means that the dominant color in your room will be the walls, and a general rule of thumb is to keep this dominant color a neutral color. This way if you decide to change color palette elsewhere in the room, the walls will always match.

 

The next 30% of your room should be your secondary color. This will account for much of your upholstery on your furniture. You can get a little more creative here, but it is a good idea to not stray too far from the neutral color family for the same reasons you want your walls to be neutral as well. It makes it easier to reinvent your color schemes down the road if you don’t have to repaint your walls or replace your furniture.

 

Finally, the last 10% will be your accent color. This ten percent is where you get to play with your color scheme. Add a pop of color with a bright area rug or a statement piece of art on your wall. Choose a color family and stick with that in your accents throughout the room. The colors do not have to match, but they should go. For instance, you might have artwork hanging that contains varying shades of the red family. You might then use a coral throw pillow on your couch to add another touch of color to your room.

 

This golden rule of interior design is a great rule of thumb for those who are starting from scratch decorating a room. It is a useful and easy to remember concept that helps regulate color schemes and results in a balanced result.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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