You Are My Sunshine......

Although I've never been a "gray" fan before (maybe because we have so many gray days around here?), the new combination of yellow and gray has suddenly become my favorite color scheme! Like adding sunshine to the cloudy sky, yellow warms up the cool gray tone, and it becomes a crisp neutral. We saw lots of yellow and gray together on our recent trip to the Atlanta Gift Show, and just this week, we received a new furniture grouping in the shop in this great combination (see the last two pictures). Here are some photos of different rooms featuring yellow and gray:

Accenting with black makes this combination even more striking!


Accenting with white makes it soft and inviting.








It can be contemporary.......


.......or traditional.













Love the way they tucked in the two throws to "create" a color scheme with a neutral chair!


You could use the yellow just for accessorizing an otherwise neutral gray space.




It's even a great combination to use outdoors on a patio.....


Or for a cozy picnic.


And here is our new version of the gray and yellow......a dove gray velvet-like sofa accented with mustard yellow pillows and a gray tweed coffee table/ottoman.......


......facing two gray and white houndstooth chairs accented with a yellow throw and other yellow accessories.

We hope you'll stop in soon to see this exciting new grouping. Also new in the shop this week:

*LOTS of fabulous jewelry that I brought back from the Atlanta Show

*Cute "faux" myrtle topiaries in several heights

*Great large, airy potted ferns

*Aromatique's new Red Currant candle (smells wonderful!)

We will be getting new merchandise in every day from the Show, so visit often! Hope to see you soon.

Wandering Plates

At Interiors Etc. we have always loved plates. We usually place them symmetrically ---- either in a grouping by themselves or on either side of a picture or mirror--- and all matching or of the same type. The latest trend, however, is to mix several different types of unrelated plates, and let them "wander". How fun!

Here are some great pictures of this new look:

Plaid plates, floral, transferware, plain, and majolica all work together to make this interesting grouping.


Here the plates are all solid white, with interest being added by using several different sizes and shapes including square plates, round plates, oval platters, and tiny butter pats, with some overlapping.


A great idea for a narrow space, these groupings can be customized to any size or shape!


Another great mix of colorful plates that fits the space remaining beside a lamp and chest.



This grouping is unified by a common color scheme of pink, white and black.


All floral plates make this grouping a feminine and pretty contrast to the industrial looking desk and chair.


If you feel really brave, you can even take the grouping around a corner or two!


And if you're feeling artistic, add a trunk and branches for them to "grow" from!

We have recently re-arranged the shop, and have a few "wandering plates groupings" of our own. We hope you'll stop in to see them soon.

We will continue to have the Christmas sale until Wednesday. And starting Monday for ONE week only, all jewelry and watches will be 50% off. I plan to bring lots of great jewelry back from the Atlanta show, and we need to make room for all the new pieces.

The City of Mishawaka will be doing some street/sewer work in front of our shop for the next two weeks, and Lincolnway will be closed for our block only. You will not be able to enter our parking lot from Lincolnway, but you can park on Race Street, or enter the parking lot from Race Street and park in the back of the building. You can also park in the Library parking lot. We are sorry for any inconvenience, but grateful to the City for postponing the necessary work until after Christmas.

Bonne Annee

Happy New Year to everyone ......wouldn't you just love to be in Paris for New Year's Eve?? (Maybe that should be one of my resolutions for next year!) I love New Year's Day. It is a day to organize (I cleaned out my sock drawer), get caught up on little things you've procrastinated on through the holidays (wrote my thank you notes), set your goals for the coming year (I promise to post more blogs here), and review what you have accomplished in the past year (became somewhat more computer literate by starting this blog:). It always feels to me like a complete new beginning for wonderful things to come......and right now the plans for all of the upcoming store events are swirling in my head like the snow is swirling outside! I leave for Atlanta very soon to begin the buying process for Spring and Christmas 2012, and before long the store will be filled with lots of new and exciting merchandise. I hope all of you had a wonderful New Year's weekend, and are ready for new beginnings and wonderful things to come. Thank you for making 2011 a great year for us, and hope to see you in the shop soon!

P.S. Check the side of this blog for our updated calendar, and remember that our 50% off Christmas Sale will continue through Jan. 9.