Time to Get Your Home Ready for Spring

(ARA) - Every change in season reflects a change in mood. The cold, harsh winter will soon give way to the more cheerful season of renewal -- spring. Grass will turn from brown to green, song-birds will resume singing, and the decor in homes across the country will change.

“People are already starting to phase out the browns and dark greens that were hot this winter and decorate their homes with the colors of Spring -- pale green, pink, yellow and cream,” says Linda Lee, an interior designer who works for an architectural firm in Topeka, Kan.

She says some people will spend thousands on new furniture, flooring and accessories. Others will transform their homes spending only a few dollars. “An easy way to work spring colors into your home is to accessorize,” says Lee. She recommends getting new curtains and a bedspread in your bedroom, placemats and napkin rings in the dining room, and curtains and throw pillows in the living room. “You don't have to go out and buy them either. These are all things you can make yourself with your home sewing machine.”

Lee says she updates her own home every time the season changes with the help of her BERNINA artista – 200E sewing and embroidery system. Microsoft Windows powered, it allows users to create their own designs, and easily edit them on screen. “I've been at it for a long time, but you don't have to be an expert at sewing to use this machine,” says Lee. “It's very user-friendly.

When Lee wants to make new drapery panels, she simply selects the stitch she wants to use on the BERNINA's touch screen -- it can be simple or fancy -- then sets the machine in motion. “Drapes are easy to make. They are simply one length of fabric that is hemmed on all sides; and pillows are even easier. I make new ones every season to incorporate the colors and fabrics that are in.”

Lee says she gets her ideas mostly from interior design and home decorating catalogs, but there are also several project ideas available on the BERNINA web site. “The one I like best is the Faux Chenille Pillow,” says Lee. Bath and beach towels are perfect candidates for making this pillow. Here are the directions:

* Faux Chenille Pillow