Cennos, Inc.
  • Core Services
    • Product Content
    • Imaging
    • Editorial Content
  • Advanced Services
    • Paid Marketing and Analytics
    • Price Matching Market Research
    • Invoice Reconciliation
    • Dedicated Project Consultant
  • Who We Are
  • Contact
  • Particles
  • Core Services
    • Product Content
    • Imaging
    • Editorial Content
  • Advanced Services
    • Paid Marketing and Analytics
    • Price Matching Market Research
    • Invoice Reconciliation
    • Dedicated Project Consultant
  • Who We Are
  • Contact
  • Particles

Style Spotlight: House-Hunting for the Iconic Spring Tulip

3/23/2023

0 Comments

 
A vase is a vase is a vase, though any interior designer worth their salt will tell you there are marked differences, and vessels better suited than others to various botanicals. This week we’ll spotlight a universal favorite flower – the tulip – and zero in on some fab venues to showcase this classic bloom.
​
Let’s make a beeline to the Pacific Northwest, heading to Mount Vernon in the Skagit Valley, about 60 miles north of Seattle. Soggy, cold springs are a mainstay there, but for whatever reason, it’s a gold mine for the stellar tulip. With more than 300 raw acres of fields, this locale boasts the largest raw acreage of tulips in North America and hosts the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, which draws more than a million visitors very year.

Picture
Peruse the seemingly endless rows of tulips in a litany of colors, and buy bunches at the gift shops run by growers. And … then what? Well, pick a vase to show them off once you get home.
It’s not rocket science, but it seems like a décor guru’s dream to pair their fave flower with a receptacle that brings it to life. We’ve found a few that whet our whistle, and work for budgets from meager to extravagant. 

three we love:



​With cost posing no obstacle, this gallery-inspired delicacy creates a heavenly home for a big bouquet of tulips. Mostly because it’s shaped like a tulip bloom, but also because it’s absolutely exquisite, no holds barred. The Daum Large Crystal Tulip Vase delivers Euro-style crystal construction with a translucent quality and availability in several colors to personalize a custom palette. Doubtful you’d ever consider dropping more than six grand on a vase, but if you’re so inclined, this one’s a winner.
Picture
Picture



​​Returning to the real world, we’ve located an affordable hot property with an excess of contemporary verve. The Limelight Tulip Vase by KostaBoda. It won’t break the bank (or break itself, fingers crossed), and its cunning silhouette exemplifies a modern flavor ideal for minimalist settings. This particular vase reflects decadent smoked gray art glass, and it’s worth every penny of the $90 price tag. Place a big bouquet of colorful (or white?) tulips in this baby and watch the eye-catching powers take hold. Or select a different color to suit your choosy nature.
​




​Is your search for a vase extraordinaire making you feel backed into a wall? Stay there, and snag this nouveau design that skips the tables. The Tulip in Bloom Wall Vase skirts the edge of chic design, blending hand-fabricated copper with rustic wood. The copper tube comes pre-stocked with a fake flower, but there’s room in a two-tone wooden base for your special bloom. An artful, hand-made creation by c. lizzy’s, it interjects cool artistry into a space open to farmhouse-rustic style, all for a mere $175.
Picture
Be mindful of the sadly short seasonal life span of tulips. The premiere Skagit Valley variety stick around just a few weeks before growers harvest bulbs for future blooms. And maybe that’s a good thing. We appreciate them more when they make a timed appearance.
Picture
Photo Credit: Pam Headridge

​Images belong to their respective owners, each linked above.
0 Comments

Spring into the New Year with a New Design Strategy

3/16/2023

0 Comments

 

​What’s new after 2022?

Granted, some styles are here to stay. Whether we call them “retro” or “classic” is immaterial; they invoke sentimental feelings and become lovable staples in home interiors.

But every year, designers focus on what they believe might be trending, and these are worth consideration – if for nothing else, it’s a creative exercise in updating and customizing the space where you spend much of your time.
​
Color palettes are always a key concept in design, and for 2023, experts are pulling back on gray. It comes and goes over the decades, but apparently we’re seeing it move on in favor of something more basic and warm. Paint and furnishings will be palatable in warm-ish white, ivory, or camel. Which is sort of retro. But we’ll get to that. 
Picture
Ultimately your environment is personal; expressing your signature design statement may initiate with an “expert” idea, and drawing on that is inspiring.

Here’s what else these gurus of style have to say:

  • Try bold color on walls. Navy, green, plum, and aubergine reflect a rich, robust way to brand a living space. Easy to design around, these darker tones invite creativity in furnishings and accessories, and that can be a ton of fun.

  • Or primary colors! A careful composite of neutral tans, black, and ivory tones simplify any room, giving it that livability factor for extra comfort.

  • As long as you’re leaning dark, consider stained wood cabinetry and woodwork. It’s rustic and nature-influenced, and embellishes a living space or bedroom with personality.

  • Dress up these darker walls with classic plaids or other iconic patterns, including vintage paisley (for traditional motifs) or radius circles (if you won’t budge from contemporary). Their distinctive aesthetic goes toe-to-toe with dynamic woodwork, toning down the expectation of furniture pieces.

  • Shoot for multi-generational appeal. Choose from the iconic collection of retro and vintage fare and pair it with newcomers in interior design. Couches with clean lines were once verboten as partners with vintage rugs, but with attention to detail in the rest of a space, they can mix splendidly.

  • Bold patterns in limewash and plaster might be making a comeback if design experts are right. They can be permeating if you aren’t conservative with surrounding materials and accents, so go slow.

  • Everyone’s into earthy essence. Nature seeps into classic spaces now, with botanical wallpaper, furnishings made of exotic woods, and even a generous use of artificial greenery and flora. Key to incorporating this ethereal aesthetic is to not overpower with dominant accessories.

  • Make it shine. High-gloss finishes are growing on designers, creating an interesting effect to furniture and even woodworked wall elements. Lacquer adds an automatic lift that grabs attention.

There’s no shortage of source material to snoop out your own preferred version of what’s new this year. Consult with a pro interior designer, talented friends, or yours truly to come up with a way to refresh your environment. Often it requires a paltry investment – but feel free to go all out if it’s a mood-lifter.
Photo by Spacejoy on Unsplash
0 Comments

2022 Home Design & Decor Trends

5/5/2022

0 Comments

 


​Ready to update your home design? While trends come and go, if you’re looking for the latest decor look, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the up-and-coming 2022 home design and decor trends to offer some inspiration to help you create a space to impress or make you feel at home.
Picture

Upscale Outdoor Furniture

As we continue to spend more time outdoors, upscale outdoor furniture has become a must-have for many homeowners. Able to travel once again, outdoor spaces have taken on a more resort-like aesthetic, complete with cabanas and global-inspired patterns and materials. Rattan, mesh accents, and woven seating lends a vintage look and feel. Cutouts and perforated surfaces create a surprising texture and silhouette too. Creating a multipurpose living space, outdoor areas also incorporate gas fire pits, creating a more luxurious and welcoming area.
​
Natural Elements
Plants and greenery will always have their place in a home. But in 2022, the greenery will be elevated by other natural elements and materials such as travertine, marbles, terracotta, and stoneware. Earthenware mugs and palace settings have made a huge comeback, as have limestone textures across backsplashes and architectural details like columns.
 
Even the plants themselves are being swapped out. The popular fiddle leaf fig is being replaced by calathea and deep pink and wine-colored house plants like begonias and variegated species like monstera and curvy-edged greenery like the alocasia.

Sustainable and Eco-friendly Decor
Sustainable elements and eco-friendly decor are still one of the biggest trends in 2022 and we don’t see this going away any time soon. Bamboo, cork, recycled glass, aluminum and other eco-friendly materials are just a few of the sustainable materials you will find popping up online and in stores.
 
Rugs made of renewable resources such as wool, sisal and jute, offer a natural decor element to a room, while also helping to create a healthier indoor air quality. Smart home technology falls into this trend as well, with its energy-saving capabilities.

Browns and Earthy Hues
Balancing out Pantone’s 2022 Very Peri color of the year, a purply-blue hue, is shades of browns and earthy hues. These warm tones offer a lovely complementing color to this soft shade. Not to mention, browns such as neutral tans and deep rich chocolates offer a bit more character than your once popular grays.

Of course, you can lean into the earth-toned spectrum with red and green undertones. Think rusts, terra cottas, caramels and even a lighter pastel peach-brown hue.
 
Tan and chocolate colors have also made a comeback due to the next 2022 home decor trend on our list – the retro-inspired 70s throwback. While we’re not suggesting pairing it with an avocado green or mustard yellow, there are many lovely brown shades that offer a rich, inviting look and feel.

Retro-inspired Decor and Motifs
Aside from the brown color palettes that push vintage vibes are other retro decor, motifs and patterns. Sporadic touches of secondhand decor items and vintage-inspired decor offer a nice throwback to the 70s era and can brighten the space with a pop of color.
 
Plus, retro-inspired decor and repurposed vintage items do double duty, offering a sustainable approach to homes and spaces.

Bold Sculptural Furniture
Tuxedo-style sofas and square, boxy edges of the furniture are on their way out. Instead, this look is being replaced by softer curves, sweeping lines and other contoured elements. A contoured sofa invites you in, embracing you with welcoming armrests. Curved tempered glass tops on coffee tables and arched bookshelf cabinets also lend softer curves.
 
Curvaceous lines like these also offer a more eye-catching sculptural look and feel to a space and portray the shapes more commonly found in nature.

Maximalist Style
It appears we might be seeing the last days of the minimalist trend. While some prefer a neat and tidy home, the maximalist style is having its moment in the sun. In lieu of zen-like interiors with clean aesthetics, there are ornate furniture and decor paired with richly layered patterns, colors and textures. Think plush fabrics like velvets, mohair and fringed sofas and chairs.
 
Canopy beds are a perfect example of maximalist style, making a bedroom a tad more ‘extra’ with its classically carved headboard, posts and finials. Explore more ways to pull off the maximalist style.

Multifunctional Spaces
Due to the pandemic creating a need for privacy and seclusion, open floor plans are thought to be mostly extinct. However, that doesn’t mean that homeowners have not made the most of each individual space. When we used to use one large communal space to gather, in 2022, we have transformed each segmented area into a multifunctional space. Instead of a designated single-use room, we are finding clever ways to integrate several activities into one space. For example, a guest room and home gym. Another example might be a dining room with a wall-to-wall shelving unit that presents a home library collection. 
Photo by Eyestetix Studio on Unsplash
0 Comments

Pantone Rings in 2020 with a Classic Choice: Classic Blue

1/23/2020

0 Comments

 
The color king chooses classic blue as its color of the year

If there are fifty shades of gray, count on triple that for an old favorite: blue. Pantone gets this and, in typical fashion, is not afraid to lean on it for its 2020 “color of the year” designation.

The marquee source for go-to color advice, Pantone Color Institute™ supplies designers, graphic and print artists, and hobbyists with definitive hue-related tips and hints. Its licensed shades offer industry standard consistency as they create vivid, sublime, or subtle colors. For 2020, Pantone has selected classic blue as its annual designee.

And classic it is, as this version of blue is a compelling blend of rich and neutral, dark and medium; its utility in home interior design, clothing, and art is unlimited. Blue is making a comeback in the second decade of the 21st Century, and Pantone is celebrating in style. This is a win-win for designers of denim clothing, and an intriguing potential boost for designers of modern furnishings.

Among shades on the master list of Pantone blues that sing the blues are navy to royal, French to robin’s egg, and sky to Copen. Classic blue seems to be a happy medium with contemporary significance. Find it in bed linens, tapestries, furniture finishes, artwork, and even kitchen appliances. Blessed with versatility, it’s still a really gorgeous shade you’ll want to focus on and work with.
 
Seeing is believing
​

Consider this eye-catching paint job, courtesy of none other than classic blue:
Picture
​Classic blue velvet offers a rich, romantic feel to this velvet upholstered chair:
Picture
​And casual is as casual does, with this high-top sports shoe reaping the benefits of Pantone’s honored color:
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

It's That Time Again - Las Vegas Market is Coming

7/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Win in Sin City – the Las Vegas Summer Market

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas – unless you’re lucky enough to snag a spectacular new inventory product or product line.

In case the Las Vegas Summer Market has not crossed your radar screen, you’ll want to get up to speed. This annual event kicks off its 2019 shindig from July 28 through Aug. 1 with a better-than-ever list of exhibitors selling home goods you may want to consider for your inventory.
Ecommerce merchants and others gather for the extravaganza featuring up to 50,000 visitors perusing exhibits from more than 500 exhibitors. The Market is the largest of its kind on the West Coast. It’s a social, commercial, and educational experience you won’t want to miss.

If you sell home furnishings and décor, you’re well aware that the competition is mind-bending. There is no shortage of product offerings, and choosing from among them can be daunting. Why not treat yourself to a weekend in one of the country’s most prolific cities for everything fun?
​
The Summer Market features more than 4,300 brands and lines of stellar home goods in a wide array of price ranges. More than 500 unique temporary exhibitors will entice with unique offerings. Visualizing, touching, and trying out goods that represent your brand as a seller will build confidence in your inventory and make you more knowledgeable on how to meet customer needs.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Living Coral: A Sea Change

1/17/2019

0 Comments

 
What can go wrong when you celebrate a design-forward palette? Not much, according to Pantone LLC, an entity devoted to the wonderful world of color. Pantone shades appear as go-to matching guides for artists, interior designers, and just about everyone engaged in a pursuit of imagery.

For 2019, the nod goes to “Living Coral” as Pantone’s Color of the Year designation. And there are good reasons why.

First, it never hurts when old and new engender the same emotion. Coral is a fave; a mainstay from Mid-Century days among cutting edge designers. Its rich melon base with a spicy red ingredient woke up living rooms, apparel, and even some automobiles with warmth and pizzazz.
Living Coral emulates its ancestor, but adds in a pinkish tone that brightens. It offers golden undertones to embellish warm palettes. And it enlivens both infrastructure and accent décor with a personality all its own.
​
Coral’s origin is, of course, rooted in cold water ocean reef environments. Its heyday in wearability celebrated fashionable necklaces, bracelets, and rings. The substance comes in a variety of shades, but for consumer purposes, the melon-based hue is most popular.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Style Spotlight: Bathroom Edition

9/6/2018

0 Comments

 

Winding Down at Bath Time Takes More Than Just Bubbles

​Doesn’t it seem like there was way more to do in the bath as a kid?
 
If you’re anything like me, sitting at a desk all day hurts my neck and back. I spend entire days dreaming of stepping into the bathtub and slipping away into calm, fragrant bliss but when I finally pour in epsom salts, I’m bored. Immediately. My record shortest bath? Three minutes. Which, apparently, is only 4 seconds longer than the record for world’s shortest bath. Anyway, I’m just glad that my current apartment doesn’t charge me for water.
 
I still want to like baths, though. I’ve tried to battle this bathtub ennui by watching movies on my tablet (from the top of the closed toilet seat), using bath bombs, reading a book -- but the pages always get all wet and I can never drink water without dripping condensation all over the floor. The guiltiness of not working on anything always creeps up on me, as well -- my partner calls it a symptom of being a workaholic. But I’m determined to make baths work for me.
 
My jaw dropped the first time I saw the Me Time Bamboo Bath Tray Caddy at Urban Outfitters. Its sustainable bamboo construction fits in with the motif of my minimalist-inspired, plant heavy apartment and remains modern with metal arms. The bamboo also resists mildew, so that’s perfect -- especially since my apartment doesn’t have the best built-in ventilation (do they ever?). The metal arms are especially helpful, since they adjust to fit across any size bathtub, so I can take it with me when I move or go on longer trips.
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Style Spotlight: Winter Warmth

2/8/2018

0 Comments

 
Let’s face it, this last part of winter, when it seems like it’s been months since we felt the warmth of the sun, it’s not fun. But it doesn’t have to be so bad. We’re going to talk about warming up your decor for winter, getting through whatever the winter equivalent of the dog days of summer are.

Can we start with the obvious? It warms up your decor and you. Add a gorgeous, plush throw blanket to the back of a sofa or armchair. We’re partial to this one from Pottery Barn, because let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to curl up in all that softness. A soft gray shade adds a contemporary touch to an already-appealing design.

We like this one from Ethan Allan, too. An oversized cable knit reminds us of snowed in days spent at grandma’s house, while maintaining a modern, updated look for the living room. Not only does this throw add warmth, it delivers a substantial dose of texture, creating dimensionality in any space.
​
Last throw we’re coveting this winter is from Wayfair, a cozy fleece Sherpa blanket that begs for an afternoon binging Netflix. It’s a classic for a reason, and softness and warmth simply radiate from this enticing throw. Great for the end of the bed and curling up in the afternoon, it’s stylish enough for the living room, too. 
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Exploring Decor Trends for Fall 2017

11/2/2017

0 Comments

 
What’s popular right now? What are customers looking to add to their home, and what are the trends likely to drive sales?

Cashing in on the latest trends is a huge part of a successful ecommerce platform, but it must be balanced against the risk of being overly focused only on what’s trendy in the moment.
​
We’ve curated a list of a few current design trends that offer stylish place right in the sweet spot—trendy enough to inspire sales, not so trendy as to be out of date in less than ninety days. 
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    Categories

    All
    Accessibility
    Ads
    Amazon
    Analytics
    Augmented Reality
    B2B
    Best Practices
    Branding
    By Alexa
    By Jan
    By Jessie
    By Joe
    By John
    Chatbots
    Color Of The Year
    Content Marketing
    COVID19
    Data Protection
    Decor
    Delivery
    Digital Marketing
    Eco-friendly
    Ecomm
    Ecommerce
    Editorial Services
    Email Marketing
    Facebook
    Finance
    Google
    Green Commerce
    Holidays
    Instagram
    IRCE
    Las Vegas Market
    Misc
    NRF
    Outsourcing
    Pantone
    Payments
    PayPal
    Pinterest
    Productivity
    Product Services
    Q&A
    Retail
    Seo
    Shipping
    Shopify
    Shopping Cart
    Social Media
    Social Media Marketing
    Style Spotlight
    Supply Chain
    Sustainability
    Tips And Tricks
    Tools
    Trends
    Twitter
    Usps
    Voice Search

Core Services
Advanced Services
About Cennos
Blog: Particles
​
Contact
© COPYRIGHT 2020. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.