Romancing in Color Rug
by Johnny and Kathy Robinson

Polished wood floors present artists with intriguing opportunities to show off original carpet designs. This unusual piece is a good example. Its size gives it a commanding presence, and the rich colors are enhanced by repeated patterns and narrative content.

Train yourself to think of your floors as surfaces available for distinctive works of art. Floor-level artworks create boundaries within a room, while adding color and texture to the surroundings.

Spark Table Wood End Table by Vincent Leman

If you have young children, your home will often feel overrun with their playthings. Between Barbie and Barney and all the other kid gear, there may be moments when your home feels more like a sanitarium than a sanctuary.

Children change quickly as they grow up, and their surroundings need to reflect this fact. Keep this in mind when decorating and furnishing their rooms. Children’s rooms should be simple—and flexible enough to allow changes as the kids grow and mature. Involve them in the design of their rooms and share the decision-making process. Include them when choosing colors and engage them in the painting and furnishing experience.

Use your kids’ rooms to stimulate creativity and to introduce them to art. If you can, consider commissioning an artist to do a custom mural on the walls or ceiling of your child’s room. If your budget won’t stretch that far, consider artist-made, child-size furniture or bright, cheerful prints framed with unbreakable plexiglass. The artworks we see when we’re children are vividly fixed in our memories, so these are important choices.

Romancing in Color Rug
Johnny Robinson and Kathy Robinson

I’ve had the same Oriental rug in my front hallway for a thousand years, or so it seems. Now that spring has officially arrived in Wisconsin, I’m prompted to introduce some color into the room that greets the visitors to my home. The new rugs by Johnny and Kathy Robinson just seem to fit the bill!

I view my floors as another opportunity to include art and color in a room. The floor can be so much more than just another bland background on which furniture and objects reside. Lucky for us, today’s fiber artists are weaving their creative ideas into art for the bottom of the room, with artistic sensibilities that range from the colorful and exotic, to the abstract and geometric, to subtle elegance. These rugs are made with a variety of techniques, and are hooked, tufted, sheared, sculpted. And, then there are the painted floorcloths!

A floor is not a floor is not a floor. A floor is what you make it, another tool in the toolbox of creating the artful home.

When people ask me for decorating tips, the first thing I talk about is color. Color is such a powerful element in our lives, and I believe we must slake our thirst for it on a regular basis.

This can take many forms, from the delphinium blue scarf that perks up a brown suit to the geranium red pillows thrown on a white sofa. I really admire people who push color limits in their homes – people who will paint a wall slate blue to highlight a beautiful sculpture and print placed in front of it.

These are the brave souls who fight for what they believe in, and fire the interior designer if he or she disagrees. Be brave this spring, and light up your world with color!