If you don’t feel comfortable with using various colours in your flower gardens, try the monochromatic colour scheme for your garden.

Choose your favourite colour and head to your local plant store. Find light, medium and dark tones of that colour, but make sure the plants you are choosing will grow in the zone you live in. It is also important to be aware of how much sunlight you have / don’t have in the area designated for your flower garden. If you’re not sure how well the plants you’ve chosen will grow, just ask one of the employees.

A friend of mine asked me about painting their brick fireplace. Since I had never done this before I thought I’d do a bit of research for her. While searching the net I found this great blog I’d like to share. It’s written by a talented DIY couple who are now pro-bloggers. Check out How To Paint A Brick Fireplace by www.younghouselove.com.


Not only is this a great idea for freshening up your home for your own decorating desires but will help freshen up your home if you want to sell it.

At the beginning of the week I wrote about my curb appeal makeover. Many of us don’t know where to start for a front entrance makeover budget so here is what I spent:

– Altering the space above the pillars: (Luckily I know the handyman who worked on this quite well. A case of beer was sufficient payment) $25
– Heavy duty cleaning: (I borrowed the power washer) Free
– Repair and paint front step: $150
– Adding flower pots, hanging baskets and flowers: $225
– Rake the lawn: Free

Total Investment: $400

It can be quite challenging to decide on which colours will work well together. To make things easier, there are scientific colour combinations that will work together to create contrast and/or harmony.

The analogous-complementary colour scheme is any three colours beside each other on the colour wheel plus the compliment of one of those three colours.

References: The Color Wheel Company. (2006). The Gardener’s Color Wheel – A Guide to Using Color in the Garden (First Edition). Philomath, Oregon.