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Design Your Home

2012 PPG Color Trend: Quiet Tech
January 24, 2012 by SJackson
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The final 2012/2013 Color Trend from PPG Pittsburgh Paints is Quiet Tech. This color pallet is simplistic and chic yet bold and comfortable.

Quiet Tech

: It describes a Design movement that foregoes of conspicuous display of status for understated chic, it marries beauty with efficiency. It is a philosophy that puts technology and design at the service of simple intuition.

PPG

An understated chic is achieved with a fine balance of softened whites, calming neutrals, and accents of indigo blue. Softened whites have a more calming effect than stark whites and are neutral enough to pair easily with dark and mid tones indigo blues, and with calming neutrals like light gray and pale wood tones.

Intellectual Sophistication, Unique, Calming, Humanized technology

For other Color Trends from PPG Pittsburgh Paints and other excellent advice on Interior Design follow this link: Interior Design Advice

Category: Interior Design, Uncategorized
2012 Color Trend: Deco Candy
January 19, 2012 by SJackson
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The third Color Trend from PPG Pittsburgh Paints 2012/2013 is Deco Candy. This bright and colorful color pallet may be an acquired taste for some, but there is no doubt that is very enjoyable to look at.

Deco Candy

PPG: Vibrant colors and fun design are making of your home a joyful playground. This chromatic trend of bright color blocking is all about energy and optimism. Stripes and color-coded design are bringing a sense of organization to what could otherwise be simply a boisterous spectrum of joyous hues.

Deco candy is a bold harmony of citrus accented by a new playful blue. Yellow is the dominant player, it gives the color scheme that irresistible happy face effect. A dynamic combo to be used associated with more placid white and black.

Creativity, Humor, Surprise, Intensified Emotions

Deco Candy seems to be identical to some work that we have seen before. Remember our work with HGTV in Cranberry Township last summer? Interior designer, Alisha Gwen, showcased a few rooms with a very similar theme..

Follow Heartland Homes @HeartlandHomes and Alisha Gwen @alishagwen on Twitter!

Category: Interior Design
2012/2013 Color Trend ~ Beauty Queen
January 13, 2012 by SJackson
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The second of four Color Trends from PPG Pittsburgh Paints is called Beauty Queen and there is no doubt how this color pallete got its name. This feminine color scheme is sure to catch your attention, its deep purples, soft pinks, and cosmetic blues lure you in and captures your attention like true royalty.

Beauty Queen

PPG: The context of this theme is HIGHLY social where the decor is a scene for fun and for the pleasure of a bit of extravagance.

Glamorous and bold, it channels the spirit of a mix of 70s and 80s. This is the decor of a strong unapologetically confident woman or of a suave and charming man. To create the atmosphere of the Beauty Queen decor, we composed a very feminine palette. Bold pink and Purple have been paired with a softened white, a subtle cosmetic pink and an aqua blue. They easily could be used against black or grey.

Luxury, Confidence, Fantasy, Sophisticated Glamour

For other Color Trends from PPG Pittsburgh Paints and other excellent advice on Interior Design follow this link: Interior Design Advice

Category: Interior Design
2012 Color Trends are NOW HERE
January 12, 2012 by SJackson
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Simple and Local

One of my favorite topics to blog about every year is undoubtedly PPG Pittsburgh Paints newest color trends of the year. And this year I am very excited to do a series of blog posts in which we feature each of the four color trends from PPG! The first color trend that we are going to discuss is titled Local Revival.

Local Revival

PPG: We are starting to think closer, simpler, more familiar again and eventually, it might get easier and less expensive. We are switching off from the virtual reality to be better connected to the real world; fresh local food, the rhythm of the seasons, the material of the region. Our growing desire of unplugging from a complicated life generates a desire for proximity and for autonomy. The aesthetic focus on what is simple and local.

Modest, Familiar, Respectful, Fundamental, Sustainable.

A strong folkloric flavour influences the color palette and tells us stories of the community passed through generation like a good jam recipe. Made of a mix of red berries, a modest muted stone color neutral, a warm creamy white all-together anchored by a solid reliable brown.

For other Color Trends from PPG Pittsburgh Paints and other excellent advice on Interior Design follow this link: Interior Design Advice

Category: Interior Design
Christmas Decorating Tips
November 29, 2011 by SJackson
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Autumn is over, and the turkey has been stuffed, our stomachs have been crammed with delicious food, and the shopping malls have been packed tight as drowsy shoppers battled it out for the best bargains in the burgh, and now we have reached that time of the year to show off our holiday cheer.

From Christmas lights and Hanukkah Menorah to Pine Wreaths to Blow-Up Snowmen almost everyone decorates their home for the winter season. Whether you are celebrating your first winter in your Heartland Home, or if you have mastered the art of decoration like the Griswold’s we have compiled some easy tips to decorating your home this year!

For the DIY Christmas Decorating Type

Decorations Just Outside the Door

Put on the galoshes and schlep into Mother Nature and you will find everything you will need for the perfect DIY Wreath. Tie a few pine branches into a circle with some fishing string or an old hemp rope, layout a few old Post-Gazette’s out in the garage and finish your wreath by spray painting it with red, gold or silver spray paint, or leave it bare for an organic, natural look. Dangle a few ornaments or glue some mistletoe to personalize your wreath and to cover any questionable spots on your handiwork!

Don’t have pine branches in your backyard? No Worry! Most Hardware stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot carry all sorts of Pine Products. Check out your local farmer’s markets too! Our favorite is Trax Farm in Peters Township, but you can get your hands on some pine anywhere that sells Christmas trees.

Using What You Already Have

Whether it is last year’s card or the throw pillows that sit on your couch all year round, there a few things that you can do that requires very little effort at all

Using Cards and Wrapping Paper as Decorations

Recycle those cards from last year by punching a whole into the corner of each card and stringing them together with red and green ribbon. This will give you a brand new decoration that you can hang in a doorway or over the mantle that will literally cost you cents on the dollar. Family and friends will love seeing their card displayed in your home too!

Why Waste it When You Can FRAME IT!

Ever have that awkward square of wrapping paper that isn’t quite enough decorative paper to cover your next gift? Well instead of just pitching it, FRAME IT! Holiday paper in a Gold or Silver painted frame is a way to turn Scrap to ART in just minutes!

Not sure about the whole wrapping paper on display idea, no problem! Take your favorite card and frame it instead! It’s a great way to prove to the in-laws that you were grateful for the Hallmark Card!

Turning Your Pillow into a Present

Turn your throw pillows into a present by taking a broad holiday-colored ribbon and wrapping it around the middle of your pillow creating an intersection like display. Add bow to complete the present presentation!

The Easiest DIY Decorating Trick Ever!

By far the easiest holiday decorating do-it-yourself (DIY) idea takes just three supplies. A clear glass of water, food coloring, and a floating candle is all you need for this DIY decorating trick. Take out those clear drinking glasses that sit in the back of your cupboard that never get used, add a few drops off food coloring into each glass (red, green, yellow, or blue), alternating colors and the amount of water in each glass, and then display them on your coffee table, entertainment center, or sidetable. Add a floating candle to each brightly colored glass and you have the craftiest decorating piece in your home in just minutes! So easy you can even get the kiddos involved!

Most importantly you will want to have fun while decorating! Find ideas of your own and tell us about them on our Facebook and Twitter Pages. Not creative? No problem! We got a lot of our ideas from blogs and other websites. Check out HGTV.com, BHG.com and other local bloggers, my favorite is Kimba at asoftplace.net

Category: Interior Design
A Custom Designed Garden for your Custom Built Home
September 12, 2011 by SJackson
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A lot of deliberation goes into your custom luxury home. Location, design, color, and layout: you want everything to be perfect. You watch as the foundation is built, the walls go up, and the little details come together to make a mass of wood, metal, and concrete your home. You expect a lot out of your custom built home: it needs to be the perfect spot for lazy nights around the television, dinner parties, family reunions, holiday memories, and a simple and quiet place to retreat to after a long day. You want to be away from it all, yet close to work, and the activities and enjoyment that Pittsburgh and its beautiful suburbs have to offer. You want good neighbors and friends for your kids, but you want privacy. In short, you want your custom built home to be beautiful and functional.

The same can be true of your garden. Function and beauty do not need to be exclusive, yet you see it everywhere: beautiful front yard gardens, with splashes of color and deep foliage, and functional gardens delegated to the back yard, neighboring the trashcans and the shed. This doesn’t have to be the case. Pittsburgh weather is perfectly suited for a variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs. There are even varieties of kiwi that can withstand the cold Pittsburgh area winters. With so many beautiful and delicious options for your garden, why would you want to stick to just ornamental plants?

Vegetables: Functional and Beautiful

Many of today’s most “functional” plants were considered decorative in the past. Tomato plants, once thought to be entirely poisonous, adorned upscale gardens for the appeal of their curious red fruit. Cucumber plants, with their beautiful yellow flowers, climbed walls and porches. These plants, both beautiful and functional, don’t deserve to be delegated to the back yard. With a little work and imagination, your beautiful blooming garden could be full of fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Luckily, as do-it-yourself projects go, adding functional plants to your garden is relatively easy. Perhaps the easiest way to introduce produce to your garden is the trellis. Instead of training ivy or climbing roses, introduce cucumbers, squash, runner beans, sugar snap peas, or any other climbing vegetable. Cucumbers have striking yellow flowers and beautiful leaves, beans and peas are beautiful with delicate leaves and white flowers. These are beautiful, unique alternatives to adorn your trellis.

Adding Color with Fruits and Vegetables

If adding hardware to your garden isn’t an option, there are plenty of other simple DIY ways of incorporating functional plants in with your ornamental ones. From gorgeous greens to beautiful blooms, there are functional plants to fill almost every niche and palate.
Many people satisfy a desire for deep, striking foliage with hostas, ferns, or ornamental grasses. For the hybrid gardener, you can supplement with cabbage, leek, kale, squash, or green onions. If you’re looking to fill a shady patch with plants, many herbs happily adapt to shady environments.

Adding functional plants to your garden can add plenty of color. Consider eggplants, purple cabbage, squash, peppers or strawberries. Both the flower and the fruit of the eggplant are beautiful and lend color to a garden. Purple cabbage is a great focal point, and has been used to decades as a decorative plant. Squash produce beautiful yellow flowers, and eventually beautiful fruit, and pepper plants come in myriad varieties, producing giant peppers to delicate ones of all colors, from green to red to purple. Strawberries, aside from producing delicious fruit, are beautiful and colorful. Combine any of these plants with a scattering of wild flowers to add extra color and complexity to your garden.

Gardening Tips for a Safe, Enjoyable Experience

While designing your garden, there are several points to keep in mind to ensure a beautiful, functional, and safe gardening experience.

Be careful mixing toxic plants with edible ones. Even though you might never mistake rhododendron for an edible plant, friends, family, or even the local neighborhood kids who secretly enjoy your small strawberry patch, might not be so savvy. Especially worrisome would be any toxic plant that has berries: best to avoid these plants, or relegate them to a strictly ornamental garden to prevent accidents.

Plants need differing amounts of light, so when planning your hybrid garden, keep in mind the pattern of the sun over your house, the final height your plants will be, and how their location receives or blocks light.

Harvesting plants will change the appearance of your garden. For this reason, it is not recommended that “whole-harvest” plants, such as cabbage, be planted in clusters or rows. After harvest, such areas would be empty, throwing off the dynamic of the garden. Whole harvest plants work best in a grouping with other no-harvest or partial-harvest plants, to ensure visual interest even after you’ve enjoyed the fruits of your labor.

Finally, if there are plants you want but can’t quite incorporate into your garden, there are other options. Long for a fig tree, but find that Pittsburgh is just too cold in the winter? A tasteful planter allows the young tree warm summers outside, but cold winter sheltered in the house, while the pot prevents the tree from becoming too large. Pots are also great for displaying plants you couldn’t fit into your garden, or plants you might want to keep closer to your kitchen.

The biggest asset in creating a hybrid garden is an open mind. Consider plants individually. Where a large pepper plant might look ridiculous, a small chili pepper plant might look divine. Where kale might be overpowering, a patch of basil might bring everything together. Research what plants are able to survive our region (Pittsburgh is in zone 6 of the hardiness scale), and try out new, exciting plants. Enjoy your garden! And remember, just like your custom luxury home, just because it’s beautiful doesn’t mean it can’t be functional.

Category: Design Your Home, Home Maintenance
Creating an Outdoor Living Space
July 12, 2011 by SJackson
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After the long and brutal winter that we faced this year, it is certain that most of us will be spending as much time outside as possible. Basking in the sun, reading a good book, or drinking the morning coffee on the deck is normally how we use our outdoor living space, but this blog is full of tips to turn your outdoor space from “ehh” to “Aww”!!! Don’t worry if you are limited on space, these tips can be customized for any yard.

1) It’s Called “Living Space” for a Reason

A common mistake in creating an outdoor living space is forgetting that your area can be used as actual living space. Think of your space as an outdoor living room. Arrange furniture to face other pieces of furniture for a central focal point to promote a place to sit, have conversation and entertain. You might have a killer view from your backyard, but having all of your furniture face the same direction limits conversation and excludes others from joining in on the fun. Sofas, chairs, and tables are a great start; if you are limited on space downscale the size and quantity of your furniture.

2) Use Outdoor Products

Luckily the grill is already a weatherproof product, but don’t plan on just throwing any sofa or chair out into the weather. The open air of an outdoor living space might limit you on the types of material that you use when selecting furniture and conversation pieces.

Leave that old, cloth couch in the basement!! (more…)

Category: Design Your Home, Home Maintenance
Master Bedroom Trends
June 16, 2011 by SJackson
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Heartland Homes’ Interior Designer, Toni McGonigle, discusses recent trends in the room where we spend 1/3 of our lives…the Bedroom.

Toni has noticed larger living spaces; BIG bedrooms with walk-in closets that mimic a Hollywood Dressing room more than a place to hang ties and stack shoe boxes.

The bedroom is actually becoming a place to relax… and read? Sitting rooms are becoming more popular amongst new construction homes. Toni calls these places the perfect place to retire after entertaining guests, or to escape from folks using the great room.

Category: Design Your Home, Interior Design, Uncategorized
Pittsburgh Paint’s Color Trend – New Bohemia
June 15, 2011 by SJackson
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PPG Pittsburgh Paints Color Trend ~ New Bohemia ~ is a whimsical sense of design, and a rebirth of craft.

New Bohemia is a pastoral trend that blends bucolic elements with second-hand objects for an authentic look that updates the vintage aesthetic for a contemporary age. The composition of floral inspiration, mix of modern and craft with a feminine touch transforms the place in an original but authentic home.

Category: Design Your Home, Interior Design
The Best Thing About Paint…
June 2, 2011 by SJackson
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Heartland Homes’ Interior Designer, Toni McGonigle discusses the power of PAINT! Toni shares her expert advice and reviews how using paint and changing a few accessories can make you feel like you have a brand new home! And the best thing about paint…you can always paint over it!

Category: Design Your Home, Interior Design, Uncategorized