President, Home Builders

Association of Midwest Ga.

While doing your spring housecleaning this year, you might

notice that your decor needs a face lift. Interior home

decorations don't become dated as quickly as fashion fads, but decorating

styles do change. Give your home a makeover so it can face the

new millennium in style. Those decorating their homes now have

options with several currently popular decor styles to suit

individual tastes.

Today, home interiors emphasize comfort and reflect

personal style. The new interior decorations have evolved from

styles popular in the past. Three basic interior decorating styles are

now popular.

1. The style of the orient has filtered into many

American homes. The Asian look is subtle and blends uniquely with

western style. Bamboo night stands and mirror frames enhance

Asian theme interiors. Tapestries and framed wall decorations

with Chinese calligraphy add an air of Asian magic to a room.

Lacquered furnishings suggest a strongly eastern influence. Try placing

a treasure chest with a lacquered lid at the foot of your bed.

And you don't have to use the traditional black and red color

scheme to accentuate Asian style. Try a more refined color scheme

with your oriental pieces such as shades of gray and green.

2. The French country style, which rarely goes out of

fashion, is the antithesis of minimalism. To achieve the look, you

need heavy, dark wood, ornately carved furniture that curves in

eloquent lines. Accessorize with fringed and tasseled pillows in rich,

dark colored fabrics such as velvet and chintz. Contrast rough and

refined textures, so try hanging silk fabric curtains on iron curtain rods.

The look also embraces painted floors.

3. Modernism, first popular in the 1950s, creates the sleek,

almost classical look so appealing to city dwellers. Clean lines

characterize the style. Modernistic sofas are elegantly square,

not boxy. Chairs have "S" curve backs. Buy this furniture

upholstered in richly simple fabrics such as brushed velvet and

textured cotton of earth tones or retro acid hues. Accentuate the

streamlined furniture with mirrors, coffee tables, end tables and other

accessories in strong geometric chrome and glass shapes.

Whichever style you choose, accentuate it with popular

fabrics and materials. Today's interior designers use stainless steel,

cork and chrome. Rather than the ruffles and frills, simplicity is

the key. Courser textures and open weaves such as rattan and

wicker are popular. Also try woven sisal rugs and twig furniture.

Leather suede and damask lead other fabrics in the current popularity

contest.

Fashionable furnishings

You can now mix antiques or older furniture with modern

pieces that blend together. This is relatively easy because much of

the furniture manufactured today recalls an earlier time period.

Try finding pieces made of the same material.

Some modern day classics have emerged, which include:

white, slip-covered sofas; club chairs, first popular in the 1950s;

armless chairs; anything wicker; twig furniture; casual, low-slung

coffee tables; and oversized ottomans.

Other popular modern day furniture includes: classic

art-deco easy chairs; plump and curvy bombe chests; wheeled

cocktail tables; bamboo nesting tables; coffee tables made with

wooden tops and cast-iron legs; tall, rectangular dressers with many

different sized drawers; oversized leather chairs seamed

together with iron studs; lightly stained or washed wooden chairs; and

chaise lounge chairs or fainting couches.

Conture color schemes

Gray is a popular in the home decorating market. It is the

new "it" color, and all shades are

popular, from charcoal to silver. Gray complements many colors

and wood tone finishes. It is both antique and modern, which fits

all current decorative styles.

Blue never fades in terms of style and taste. For a variation

on the old standby, try denim colored wall paint, which can

transform any room into a designer showcase. Try combining

blue with purple to replace the now passe combination of purple

and chartreuse.

Orange and lime citrus colors combine to make one of

this season's hottest decorating color schemes. This combination

especially accentuates the 1950s modernism. And all shades of

white and ivory are modern day classics.

If you've recently decorated your home with a color that

is now considered dated, try accenting that color with one of

today's popular shades. Enough accessories in the new color can

overpower the more passe look and make your room fashionable

once again.

Trendy treads

Light-washed and painted wood floors have become popular.

Try painting a black and white parquet check design over

your kitchen's wood floor.

If you prefer to cover your floors, try replacing the

formerly popular painted floor clothes with Tibetan rugs. And don't

forget that sisal and other heavily textured rugs are also stylish.

A` la mode accessories

Accessory trends include using jewel-toned tiles in kitchens

and baths. Try replacing the wood framing around your kitchen

window with various jewel-toned tiles. Also, use ticking for

curtains, pillows or sofa slip covers. Ticking is the often

blue-and-white striped fabric used on older mattresses.

Lampshades made of white, paper-thin material or even

thick paper help spread luminescent light throughout the room.

The paper shades transform into sculpture when illuminated with a

light bulb. These indoor luminaries are very chic. Scented candles

and Amaryllis flowers are both inexpensive and stylish home

accessories.

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