Home Improvement

Mixing and matching has become a trend in itself. And this trend’s more liberating than limiting.

Though your garden is filling in, you can also add beauty and fragrance to your home by decorating with lush plants and potted trees.

Catering to baby boomers and seniors who’ve lost savings during the recession, retirement-housing designers and developers are shifting to smaller homes that are more energy efficient and maximize space.

When arranging furniture, consider the view: If the home’s exterior is more attractive than the outdoor view, consider positioning seats so that you’ll face your home rather than looking away from it.

Too much or not enough water and never when you need it. That seems to be the long time plight of gardeners. Add to these extended droughts, flooding and watering bans. What is a gardener to do? Become a waterwise gardener.

If your home was built within the last decade, odds are it was designed with an open plan. The kitchen flows seamlessly into the family room, and few walls separate the living and dining areas.

Moth-wing light fixtures? Thunderhead wallpaper? If you’re an armchair naturalist, you’ll love one of this year’s big home decor trends. The designs, translated into wall decor and furnishings, range from startling to serene.

Aimee Beatty, in-house stylist at Pier 1, said lively outdoor pieces give people a way to make a statement: “Incorporating pops of color with furniture and accessories adds personality and flare.”

As Gary Friedman, CEO of Restoration Hardware, said, “We’re coming out of a very modern, minimalist moment in design into a period where people are responding to a mix of historic periods and classical references.”

From airy beach houses filled with light to rustic retreats tucked into the mountains, vacation homes can lead to inspired decorating.