Elevated Elegance: Decorating with Neutral Tones, the Lavender Fields Way

Neutral tones have an undeniable charm, offering a versatile and timeless foundation for your home decor. At Lavender Fields, we're here to show you how to embrace neutral tones without ever being boring, by infusing creativity and thoughtful design. 

Play with Textures

One of the easiest ways to add depth and interest to a neutral color scheme is through textures. Layer soft linen cushions with a chunky knit throw or introduce a plush rug to contrast with sleek furniture. The interplay of textures elevates your decor and lends an inviting, tactile quality to the space.

Shop the Pom Pom at Home Trestles Throw at Lavender Fields

Shop the Dash & Albert Zhara Stripe Rug online at Lavender Fields 

Embrace Metallic Accents

Don't shy away from introducing metallic elements into your neutral haven. Copper, gold, or silver accents bring a touch of glamour and visual intrigue. Incorporate metallic finishes through decor pieces like vases, mirrors, or table accessories.

Shop the Pigeon and Poodle Adelaide Collection online at Lavender Fields

Shop the Blue Pheasant Alba Collection Here

Bold Statements with Art

Infuse personality and vibrancy by adorning your walls with bold artworks. A striking painting or an intricate wall sculpture in neutral tones can become a captivating focal point. These pieces add a touch of drama while harmonizing seamlessly with your overall design.

Shop the Oui Oui Cherie print at Lavender Fields here

Pattern Play

Experiment with subtle patterns in your textiles and decor items. Incorporating gentle geometric patterns, delicate stripes, or understated botanical prints can add a sense of movement and complexity to the space, all within the neutral color palette.

Shop the Dash & Albert Farrah Rug online at Lavender Fields

Shop the Dash & Albert Fonda Rug online at Lavender Fields

Shop the Pine Cone Hill Lush Linen Sheet Set online at Lavender Fields here

Pops of Color Accents

Neutral doesn't mean devoid of color. Select a single accent color, such as a muted blush or a soft teal, to punctuate your decor. Scatter a few accessories like cushions, ceramics, or curtains in this hue to add some depth to your home.

Shop the Sferra Renna Throw online at Lavender Fields

Statement Furniture

 Invest in a statement furniture piece that exudes elegance and personality. A beautifully designed neutral-toned sofa with intricate details or a uniquely shaped coffee table can become the centerpiece of your decor.

Shop the Modern History Dambri Coffee Table online at Lavender Fields

At Lavender Fields, we offer a curated collection of decor pieces that perfectly blend the elegance of neutral tones with creative design elements. By playing with textures, introducing metallic accents, embracing bold art, experimenting with patterns, and strategically incorporating color, you'll create a home that's anything but boring. Our philosophy revolves around helping you craft a space that resonates with your style while exuding sophistication.

Eight Ways to Refresh Your Home for the New Year

 Once the new year begins, it's always nice to give your home a deep clean and a decor refresh (especially once you take all the holiday decorations down and it looks a little sad and empty). We like to do a few January home refreshes every year to keep our home and our clients homes bright and fresh in the new year. Some of them are easy and inexpensive to do every year, and some can be done every few years when things like rugs and towels start to get a little worn out. 

Here's our list of new year home refreshes for every home style and a range of budgets: 

Toss any old, mostly-burned candles and replace them with new ones. 

We made this mistake a few years ago - we had a few "regular" candles that were pretty much almost worn out, but we didn't want to waste them. We switched them out for our seasonal holiday candles, and in January when we pulled out the sad, almost completely burned out candle jars that we'd packed away in November... well, it was pretty depressing. Our new rule was to finish burning all the regular candles before the holiday season so we could start fresh in the new year. 

Here are some of our favorite fresh scents for January:

Roote Baltic Candle: wintery, but not Christmasy

Farm + Sea Cozy Harbor Candle: smells clean and coastal

Milk Bottle Candles: Come in 12 scents, we like "Welcome Home" or "Clothesline Linen" for the new year

Treat yourself to new towels if your old ones have seen better days. 

If your bath towels have been looking a little sad and ratty, treat yourself to new ones for the new year. Experts usually recommend replacing towels every 2-3 years, or when you start seeing the threads fraying or pulling apart. 

Pro tip: don't use fabric softener on your towels! It affects the absorbency. We all wash our towels a lot, and if you're adding fabric softener each time, it will continue to coat the fabric and make your towels less and less absorbent over time. Wash your towels separately from other linens and clothing and skip the fabric softener in the towel load to maintain their absorbency. 

The towels we sell at Lavender Fields are high quality and should last longer than less expensive brands that you find at big box stores, if well cared-for over their lifespan. 

Pine Cone Hill's Signature White Collection is a best-seller. 

On a budget? Just replace your washcloths instead. 

Even our highest-quality washcloths start at just $10 each - you can replace those and get yourself a fresh stack of new washcloths for the new year for the price of one towel!

Pine Cone Hill's Adobe collection is ultra-absorbent. 

Check the hand soaps in your bathroom - do they need a refill or a replacement? 

What's the hand soap situation in your bathrooms? A fresh new soap can brighten the mood during the cold, dreary winter months.  If you're on a budget, we like to do a fancy soap in the powder room, even if you do a more utilitarian option in the other bathrooms in your home (even our fanciest soaps are under $15, so they won't break the bank). 

We have plenty of beautiful artisanal bar soap options - don't forget the soap dish! 

This generously sized foaming hand soap will last you well into the summer. 

Add a lavender bouquet or lavender bunch to your home for a natural, fresh scent. 

We have gorgeous dried lavender bouquets that will add an organically natural, fresh lavender scent to any space in your home. They're especially fragrant in small spaces like bathrooms, mud rooms, and entryways. You can get one for just $14. 

Place it in a basket on a shelf and let it fill your room with its fragrance. 

Treat yourself to crisp new sheets or bedding.

New bedding can be as budget-conscious as you'd like - we carry a range of bedding lines for many customers and price points, including Sferra, Pine Cone Hill, Designer's Guild, Matteo, Pom Pom at Home, Taylor Linens, Traditions Linens, and Peacock Alley.

You also can start small - perhaps you'd like to start with brand new pillowcases, or you just need a new mattress topper. 

Or, you can go all out and purchase an entire new bedding set. 

Some of our customers treat themselves to a new throw blanket every January, and put last year's in a guest bedroom or the living room. 

Throw pillows are another great way to jazz up your bedroom for the new year. 

Peacock Alley's monogrammed bedding is a perennial favorite - and it'll last you years and years.

A few pretty throw pillows are totally worth it. 

You can do a major splurge on a full set of Sferra's luxurious Italian bedding, or treat yourself to a gorgeous throw blanket. 

Nothing transforms a room like a new rug. 

If you want to do a little redecorating on a larger scale, think about a new rug - we have countless rugs available in endless styles. 

If you're on a budget, try a 2x3" rug in front of your kitchen sink or washing machine. Almost all of our Dash and Albert rugs come in this size. Many of our customers buy these inexpensive rugs to switch out for the seasons! 

Pro tip: don't skip the rug pad. It prevents slipping and will save your floors and your new rug. 

Try nontoxic cleaning supplies

We've searched far and wide to find nontoxic, pet-friendly, eco-friendly, vegan cleaning supplies that actually clean well and smell nice. Our collection of natural cleaning supplies will keep your home tidy and fresh smelling while avoiding harsh and dangerous chemicals that might trigger allergies or hurt your furry friends or little ones. 

Looking for more ideas to refresh your home? Shop our entire collection online here! 

Home Renovation: Guest Bathroom Progress

 I'm currently redoing the bathroom in my century old home, and I wanted to share a progress update with some photos. This is a total gut and remodel of the bathroom, which is long-awaited and exciting (but also a little bit scary and more than a little stressful, especially with the COVID-related product and construction delays). 

Bathroom renovations need the careful, professional eye of a designer - I would never recommend going it alone, especially one as big as this one. My project needs all new electric, plumbing, insulation, sheetrock, and a window. That's the unsexy stuff my contractor is doing, and I'm obviously selecting the finishes, hardware, tile, and the rest of the elements.

That part isn't always as fun and easy as it sounds, though. You might love a tile in the showroom, but that gorgeous pattern can become overwhelming in a smaller space, or you might need a designer's watchful eye to ensure your contractor installs it the way it was spec'd. 

A lot of clients get tripped up on the finishes, worrying about whether the faucet coordinates with the hardware, etc. This is the biggest value a designer can provide in a bathroom or kitchen project, where there's a lot of "hard" elements like plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, hardware, and tile and not many "soft" ones like furniture or fabric. The "hard" ones are very difficult for most non-designers to decide upon across all elements. 

For example, my bathtub comes in three colors - dune, biscuit, and white. Ask your husband what the difference between those three colors is - he'll probably have no idea. Your contractor will also ask you to spec things like the tub drain finish, something you probably didn't even know to think about. Most non-designers get really stressed out when facing these zillions of decisions, and it can be a costly mistake when you choose dune when you should've chosen biscuit, and now the tub looks off with your paint color.

An interior designer will ensure that your tile, grout color, flooring, plumbing, hardware, vanity color, paint color/wallpaper, lighting, mirror, shower door, etc. choices make sense in a cohesive way throughout the room. 

I'll give you a sneak peek at the in-progess photos so you can see the space before it fully comes together, and share a mood board of my final plan. 

Get in touch at Lavender Fields to design your space

Top 10 Tips from an Interior Designer

1. Do Not Be Afraid to Hire An Interior Designer 

Hiring an Interior Designer not only brings peace of mind to the design process but it will save you time and money in the long run. While it is easy to think that you can “do it yourself,” an Interior Designer is going to help you stay within your budget, provide access & resources to design items otherwise not accessible, and take the stress and guesswork of creating a beautiful home. Additionally, an Interior Designer is going to give you TIME back. Between family, work, and life, letting a professional take the lead with your design project will allow you more creative freedom to assist in the process, yet still stay focused with your day-to-day tasks. 

At Lavender Fields, your happiness is our number one priority, and we look forward to assisting you in creating the home of your dreams. We offer complimentary design assistance in store, by phone, and email too. 

Contact us today to get started on all of your design needs! 

2. Purchase Quality Furniture 

While purchasing good quality furniture may seem like an unneeded expense at the time, their return on investment far outweighs that of their initial price tag. Here are just a few of the reasons WHY investing in quality furniture is going to be more cost effective to you in the future!

• Quality products are going to last - most likely a lifetime! In addition, they provide better comfort and, ultimately, less of a financial burden down the road. 
• The versatility of what is offered with higher end furniture is far greater than those with a relatively lower price point. 
• It’s aesthetically pleasing! High quality furniture looks just like that; high quality! 

At Lavender Fields, we understand the importance of QUALITY, and we want you to feel confident & proud of what you display. This is why we hand select all of the items we carry, and never compromise on items that we would not recommend. Hiring an Interior Designer will help you search for the perfect statement piece/pieces to make your home stand out, all while staying within your budget & no sacrificing quality!

Modern History Collection

3. Start Each Room With a Favorite Piece

 When you are looking for design inspiration, turning to a favorite piece for each room is the perfect start. Whether you have a piece of art you adore, a piece of furniture you want to highlight, or a fabric that you have been wanting to use, these provide the best starting point.

Somerset Bay Furniture

4. Create Your Own Story 

In a world of DIY, home improvement channels, and even social media, it’s hard NOT to get excited about decorating, and inspired to create the perfect living space. More often than not, though, I work with clients who see a look they like, fall in love with the picture, and decide they want to recreate or “copy” it altogether. Easy right?

What we tend to not look at are the specifics, and if it “fits” our lifestyle. 

Here are a couple of examples:

The space [family room] I want to recreate is gorgeous but will it be conducive to my young family of 5? It is too formal, and not enough comfort? Does it fit the needs of our family right now? 

I love this rug shown on social media but, beyond the expense, does it work in the area where I would want it to be showcased? It’s in a “high traffic” area and gets a lot of wear and tear. While I want quality, maybe I need to find something similar but with more versatility. 

Getting inspired by what is out there is a great economical resource but tailor it to your “story.” It’s about bringing style, comfort, and versatility to a space that fits your current needs, whether you are a young couple, a family of 5, or empty nesters. Hiring an Interior Designer is a wonderful addition to help bring your story to life, and create a vision for ways to change this down the road as your style and living situation evolves. If you are looking for some inspiration, take a peek at the curated selection of lifestyles we offer!

Dash and Albert

5. Lighting Matters

Think of lighting like your wardrobe - fun statement pieces mixed with essentials for everyday. Believe it or not, though, lighting is a design element that tends to be overlooked in the process. One of the best ways to properly “outfit” your space is to think about all of the ways it will be utilized. From there, you can start creating the perfect mood(s) such as warmth, drama, inviting, etc. For example, lamps serve an essential, everyday purpose; whether table or floor, they bring life to your space, and compliment natural and overhead lighting. On the other hand, chandeliers can act like jewelry, or fun statement pieces, for your home.

Jamie Young Lighting

6. Sleep Is Important

The art to creating an inviting bedroom is that it is not only beautiful but the space is conducive to getting a good night’s sleep. In addition to selecting peaceful, serene and warm colors, along with proper lighting to provide a calm and welcoming space, I advise clients to make sure their bedroom is designed to be just that - their bedroom. Things I like to consider include keeping electronics outside of the space, avoiding clutter which can induce the feeling of stress, room temperature, and, most importantly, selecting your bedding wisely.

Bella Notte Linens

7. Guest Rooms Matter!

While guest rooms may not be a part of the home that you utilize on the regular, and “live in” for that matter, they should not be spaces that you skimp on though! Just as you want your home to be beautiful and comfortable for everyday living, the same should go for making your guests feel that way too!

Pine Cone Hill

8. Slipcovers Are Life Saving

There is something to be said about a slipcover, specifically for the fact that it is machine washable. This is a huge WIN, and a great addition when I am creating a child and pet friendly home for a client! Beyond being able to clean them as needed, they are versatile and can easily be changed out when you are ready for a new look. Plus, it is more economical since you only need to replace the slipcover and not the entire sofa. We are pleased to offer Lee Furniture, Cisco, Rowe and Norwalk. Contact us for details as our fabric options are endless!

9. Art Matters

All too often, I will walk into a room and see the space with no art at all, art that does not tell the client's story, or art that is not cohesive to the space. Art can be an overlooked investment because of the expense and not fully understanding the value & statement it adds to the home. While it can feel like an overwhelming process, take time to select art, and get to know what you like, don’t like, and fits your decor, personality, and story. Invest in art that will increase in value or that can be passed on to your family. If you are looking for some inspiration, take a peek at the art & wall decor that we offer at Lavender Fields.

Natural Curiosities

10. Don’t Make Impulse Purchases

Finally, all too often I see customers make an impulse purchase from a big box store because they felt they “had to have it.” Those purchases often wind up on marketplaces as they realize the quality is cheap, it does not fit right in the room, it’s not versatile, etc. The art to creating your perfect space is in the hunt, and comparing a variety of different pieces before making the investment. What you think you may have wanted may not be what you end up loving! Even living in the space for a bit gives you a sense of what feels “right,” and what makes the most sense given your current lifestyle.

If you are ready to take the next step contact us for a free consultation.

Lavender Fields Interior Design Services

Design Assistance

If you are interested in purchasing bedding, rugs, lighting or furniture from our store, Lavender Fields offers complimentary design assistance. Complimentary design assistance includes making fabric selections, ordering fabric, finish and rug samples and ordering the final product. We are happy to work with you by phone, email or in our store. Call us toll free at 866-898-5461 or email us.

Interior Design Services

If you are looking for more than just design assistance the designers at Lavender Fields are available for full design services. Our design services include selecting paint colors, faux paint finishes, fabrics and wallpaper, redecorating, window treatments, creating a nursery, arranging your furniture and accessories, creating a design plan, shopping for furniture and home accents. Full Design services are billed at an hourly rate. Call us toll free at 866-898-5461 or email us. We travel within the NY Metropolitan area. 

Historic Interior Design Services

Do you have an older home that you know has great possibilities and you just don't know where to go with it? You can give almost any home instant charm. Whether you live in a 18^th century Colonial, a High Victorian, a cute 1950s Cape Cod or a classic new home and want an historic look, we can help you achieve it. You can decorate your home the way it should look for its era or just add a bit of warmth and charm.  You don't have to spend a fortune to add a touch of class and imagination to your home. Attention to detail and choosing the best pieces you can afford without overdoing it or over-decorating is the key. This unfortunately is something that a lot of people cant visualize. Some styles we specialize in: Early Colonial, Victorian Era, Art Deco/Jazz Era, 1950s, Adirondack, Southern Coastal. 

Antique and Art Acquisition and Personal Shopping

The Lavender Fields Designers are available to shop for your design needs. If we do not sell it we can find it for you. We specialize in art and antique acquisition. We can locate that hard to find item, put together a list of basics accents for your house, stock your beach house, prepare you for the holiday season, shop for your holiday gifts or prepare for the new baby. We charge an hourly fee for personal shopping.

Online Design 

Lavender Fields offers online design services by phone, email or Skype  We offer a basic design consultation which is free of charge. A basic design consultation includes a phone consult or email consult. During the consult we will discuss your project needs and get an overall idea of what you are looking to do. Our next step is to Create the Design Plan. The Design Plan is by room and our fee is $100.00. The fee is used towards your purchase of $500.00 or more of Lavender Fields merchandise. The Design Plan will be created for the room of your choice and will include full design services from paint selection, furniture, bedding and accent selection. A Lavender Fields purchase is not necessary.