Page 22 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 3, 2011 Do you have a favorite hobby? Are you crazy in love with your pets, passionate about seashells, golf, cigars, music, or even shoes? With today’s virtually limitless home furnishings product assortments, you can turn any room in your home into a wonderful thematic design. Begin with your favorite passions, collections, hobbies, or sporting events. Once you’ve made the decision on the “theme” of your new room, the next step is to lock in the color scheme that best suits the rest of your home’s décor. Then, take stock of the pieces you wish to keep in the room, and make a list of the items that you will need to purchase. Remember to consult your favorite professional interior decorator so the ultimate choices you make will work well inside your home, and with your redecorating Use your passion to create a beautiful room makeover budget. Descriptions of a few of today’s hot design themes follow: Does the sound of crashing waves and walking on sandy beaches collecting precious mementos remind you of happy, peaceful times? From wall covering patterns, to area rugs, to wicker and rattan furniture – your product selection for a beach-themed room is unparalleled. Consider redecorating a sunroom with a lively multicolored beach inspired print that could be used on upholstered pieces. Adding roman shades in wicker or rattan would definitely complete the look. Accessories might include baskets of shells, lamps with rope entwined bases, candles with embedded sea shells, books on shelling, and artwork featuring the surf and sand. Nautical – but nice! Along with our passion for shells and the seaside comes our passion with lighthouses, and anything nautical. Today’s furniture manufacturers have designed many beautiful hand painted nautical designs on a variety of pieces, including small chests, trunks, and dressers. Add one special furniture piece to convey your love of the sea. How much is that “doggie” or “kitty” in the window? Our love affair with our pets has never been at such a high. Luxury pet hotels have waiting lists and doggie day cares are springing up everywhere. Take one room and devote its design to your favorite pet. Accessories are everywhere. Perhaps a guest bathroom would be the perfect setting for a pet theme. Think of the possibilities: soap dishes, tissue holders, switch plates, towels, soaps, and area rugs would create just the look you’ve been dreaming of. What’s you’re favorite sport? For years, it was difficult for decorators to have an innovative and varied product selection for those homeowners who wished to incorporate their favorite sport or team into their home decorating plans. Now it’s fun and easy to incorporate a great sporting theme into decorating plans. With so many products available, focus first on all the window treatment possibilities. Perhaps you’re a passionate hockey fan. A professional interior decorator might help you design a window treatment that would be installed on crisscrossing hockey sticks. Pucks could be used for finials, and your team’s jersey could be mounted on a wall to complete the look. If baseball is where it’s at for you, consider a window treatment designed around a creative use of baseball bats. Colorful pennants from your favorite team could be incorporated as a clever top treatment. Pictures of your favorite players or your collection of baseball cards, could take center stage when artfully displayed as wall décor. Football, soccer, and basketball themes are everywhere -- particularly in wall covering borders. Add just one design element into your new room’s theme to give it that sporting look. Bring the outdoors in. This design theme is a perennial favorite. By adding special touches of Mother Nature’s beauty to your home décor project, the peaceful tranquility of your backyard could be yours all year. Using shades of greens, blues, and yellows with hints of raspberry, is definitely one way to “color” your interior with shades found in nature. Adding silk floral arrangements and silk trees and plants is another way to keep nature’s glory in your room all year long. This article was submitted by Decorating Den Interiors, Lauren Woods, C.I.D. ~ Lucia Palmeri, C.I.D. (201) 661-8606/llinteriorsllc@yahoo.com. Visit online at www. decdens.com/llinteriorsllc.