At RWD, Rebecca (our Principal Designer), Leah (our Senior Designer), and Lilly (our Junior Designer) each have a unique, personal design style, and no two are the same! We love our differences, because they make us stronger together, and better able to design homes in many different styles for our clients. To celebrate our unique perspectives, we’ve curated three different accessory bundles; one for each of our designer’s styles!
Take a look at the bundles below. You can purchase one (or more) of the bundles and receive all of the pieces delivered to your door to implement in your own home! Each bundle includes artwork, a small piece of accent furniture, pillows, a throw blanket, a lamp, and some decorative accessories. Bundles are $1895 each, and also include a suggested accent wall color!
Let us know which bundle is your favorite, and click here to purchase!
Now that we’re all spending more time at home, it’s more important than ever to make our homes a place of comfort and joy, and to show support to small business owners! To that end, we’ve pulled together some Spring decor items to refresh your home, 100% sourced from Etsy. Links to each item are below so you can check out the items for yourself!
The last few weeks have been hard on all of us. But we’re making an effort to spread positivity amidst the chaos, and we wanted to share our methods with you! Take a look below for our top 10 ways to stay positive during a pandemic (and beyond).
1. Get Active
Getting active improves your well-being in more ways than one. Going out for a walk or following a yoga class online makes you feel physically and mentally well because it releases endorphins, meaning it literally brings happiness! In these stressful times, getting your blood pumping can help reduce stress and anxiety. Plus it is (of course) also good for our bodies in a stay-at-home situation!
2. Get Creative
Letting your creative juices flow is always a mood booster! And getting creative doesn’t necessarily have to involve putting a paintbrush to a canvas. If that makes you happy, then great! But if not, you could try creating a new recipe, re-arranging a room, or trying a DIY from Pinterest. There are endless ways of being creative and any activity where you are creating something new or solving a problem creatively can be a positive experience!
3. Read a Favorite Book
Nothing beats reading your favorite book, right?! Laughing, crying, or being on the edge of your seat with your favorite characters is always a good time. It has a way of transporting us to another world, which can be helpful when there are a lot of negative things happening around us in real life. So try turning off the news earlier than usual, and pick up a good story to immerse yourself in!
4. Reach Out to a Loved One
Virtually of course! Having to distance ourselves from friends and family is hard, but talking about what we’re going through and working through our feelings with the ones we love is enormously helpful. Plus, family and friends are the people who can make us laugh harder than anyone else, share inside jokes with us, and remind us of great memories we’ve made together. Talking to them is bound to spur positivity, so pick up your phone or hop on a Google Hangouts call, ASAP!
5. Get Organized
Chaotic surroundings definitely don’t encourage positivity, especially when we’re spending so much time inside. Spend some of your free time picking a spot in your home and doing a deep clean! It will not only make your space look better, but it’s also such a good feeling when you work hard to accomplish something, and then see the difference your work has made.
6. Find the Good News
Too much access to the news and Facebook is never great, but in these times especially, it can really add to our anxieties. So, seek out the good news! Even if it doesn’t feel like it, there are a lot of good things happening in the world right now. Surrounding yourself with positive news will help you to feel more positive.
7. Make a Happy Playlist
Try making a playlist of songs that make you smile, and maybe even dance a little! By creating a happy-making playlist, you’re creating something that you can throw on during the day to instantly bring positivity. Not sure where to start? Consider the artists or genres of music make you sing along, or recall a good memory and start there. While listening to that music, pay attention to what other songs come to mind and add them to the playlist! Pretty soon, you’ll have the most rockin’ playlist of all time!
8. Make a Yummy, Nutritious Meal
Spending time making a favorite meal is not only fun, but really rewarding! Plus, you get to eat good food when you’re finished making it, so what’s not to love?! We would also encourage you to try picking a back-of-panty item you already have and coming up with a new favorite recipe. This all being said, ordering take-out from your favorite local restaurant is also a really positive thing to do right now!
9. Soak in Some Sun
Whether you’re sitting in your backyard with a glass of iced tea, or out on a remote nature trail, being outside and getting some fresh air is uplifting. You might even consider bringing some nature inside with you! Some pretty, good-smelling foliage on your dining table is sure to bring a little spot of brightness to your space. Now that it’s so easy to stay inside 24/7, getting outside is more of a challenge, and more beneficial than ever before. We promise your body will thank you! Just keep your social distance, of course.
10. Be Good to Yourself
This is such an important one, and it’s something that is easily forgotten! Speak positively to yourself and practice seeing the good in bad situations. It will improve your mental health and will make you a happier person. Take care of your body and soul too. Take a bubble bath, condition your hair, do your nails, put on a luxurious face mask, and do whatever makes you feel good and your body happy. Journal, pray, meditate… whatever brings you joy and peace, do it!
Being positive spreads positivity.
You may have noticed that many of these suggestions go hand in hand. For example, cooking is a form of creativity, and it’s also one of our main suggestions for staying positive! You can listen to your positive playlist while working out, or you can even work out outside. Doing positive things spreads positivity. The more you practice, the easier it will become. Make it your goal to try all of these suggestions and let us know what works for you!
At RWD, we believe that every room should have greenery in it to bring life into the space. It automatically brightens up a dark corner and boosts your mood to see a plant thriving. If it has to be fake, that’s ok, but of course real houseplants are always better!
Saying this, we totally understand that taking care of a plant can sometimes be a lot of work, and a little daunting to someone without a natural green thumb. To help, we’ve put together this list of our favorite house plants with tips for making them happy. Most of these are plants we have at home or in the office, so you can trust our judgement!
Before we get into it, a general tip is to take some time after you get a new plant to study it. What we mean by this is that it’s a good idea to move the plant to different spots, closer and farther from a window to find a place that makes it truly happy. Pay attention to its leaves to know how it’s feeling; if they get droopy or start to brown, it is time to change location. The same goes with watering; try slightly different amounts and different watering schedules to see what makes the plant perky. Pro tip: less water is better than more when you’re just getting started; over-watering is one of the surest ways to kill a plant! Also, as your plant grows (yay!), make sure you re-pot it into a bigger pot occasionally so the roots have space to grow too.
Now, on to the list!
Philodendron
Philodendrons are a great plant for beginners because they’re so easy to care for! They are known for their heart-shaped trailing leaves that can get quite long. They prefer low to medium indirect light and to be watered weekly or every two weeks. Before you water, make sure the soil is completely dry!
Monstera
Monstera, or the swiss cheese plant, has a lot of character with its beautiful broad leaves and natural holes. A type of philodendron, it really thrives in bright to medium indirect light and doesn’t do as well in intense direct light. Watering every 1-2 weeks works well for this “Monster,” just make sure to let the soil dry before watering again.
Snake Plant
The Snake Plant is another plant that’s great for beginners, and it’s actually even easier to care for than the Philodendron! It’s a very attractive, modern-looking plant with thin, shiny leaves that add height to a space. It’s also an air purifying plant, which is an added bonus. It doesn’t need much water or light. It prefers medium to bright indirect light but can withstand low indirect light. Make sure the soil is dried out completely before watering it again. We water ours in the office just a little bit once a week and it’s very happy!
Succulents
“Succulent” refers to a wide range of drought-tolerant plants. Because they come from the desert, their minimal needs make them good for beginners. They need bright direct light and not much else. Don’t over-water, even if it’s tempting! Just water them every 2-3 weeks when leaves start to wrinkle. They prefer normal to dry humidity (think desert climate!).
Fiddle Leaf Fig
The “it” plant right now, and for a good reason. They’re SO pretty with giant shiny green leaves. They can also get pretty huge when cared for correctly! However, the fiddle fig is one of the harder houseplants to care for. They need a lot of bright light, but aim for filtered or indirect light to avoid burning the leaves. These plants are also used to warm and humid climates. If the leaves are dropping, they’re likely too dry – set up a humidifier or mist them with a spray bottle. Keep the soil moist, but don’t let the plant sit in a puddle or you’ll have root rot on your hands!
What to Avoid
One word: orchids. Orchids are beautiful, but they’re nearly impossible to keep happy. We know people with a real talent for keeping plants alive who have struggled with orchids! So unless you’re a profession orchid keeper, try to avoid them because it can only end in heartbreak.
Another word: ferns. Ferns are pretty hard to keep alive because they love humidity and they tend to get bugs really easily. We’ve had really bad times with ferns – it’s probably best to just avoid them.
We hope this is a helpful start to your plant journey! If, for some reason, a plant passes away, don’t beat yourself up over it or feel like a plant parent failure. Just try again using the lessons you learned, and everything will be peachy keen!
XOXO,
All images and help on the care guide from thesill.com <3
The field of Interior Design has always been a natural fit for Rebecca. Even before pursuing a degree in the field, she designed rooms for her friends and family. Rebecca further developed this passion through education, and then sharpened her skills through experience with internships. After graduating from CSU Sacramento with a Bachelor of Arts in Interior Design, she began her career as an interior designer in a Sacramento firm and never looked back.
