The right home decor can make a house feel like it's truly yours. One of the simplest and most effective ways to transform your space into a reflection of your tastes and personality is by using throw pillows. The following guide offers some tips to help you select the right options to instantly revamp any room. 

A Guide to Including Throw Pillows in Your Home Decorating

1. Color

To begin, pick a "color narrative" to guide your cushion choices. Use three different colors that come from different parts of the space, such as the wall, rug, bedding, or curtains. Ideally, the colors already featured in your space will belong to the same color family (for example, neutrals like taupe, tan, and cream) or the same style family (industrial style can include brown, gray, and black). 

2. Pattern

You can also mix and match patterns as long as each one involves at least one of the colors from your three-color narrative. It's usually easier to start with your "lead" pattern, which is typically the largest and contains all three colors in your narrative. The secondary designs you choose can then only comprise one or two of the colors. Working backward and selecting a lead design from pillows you already own is much more challenging.

3. Fill

Think about the fill of each pillow and how it will affect the overall look. For example, a feather-and-down fill has greater "give" and a softer squish. Foam and other synthetic fillers are more rigid and, in general, less expensive. These pillows will keep their shape better, but they do not have the same luxury appearance.

If you're looking for beautiful, one-of-a-kind throw pillows to transform your space, visit Treehouse Gift & Home in Onalaska, WI. For almost 25 years, this local home decor and gift shop has offered residents throughout the area over 10,000 square feet of gifts and home decor, with everything from rugs and lanterns to candles and artwork. Call (608) 433-7896 to speak with a team member today.

Come learn a new technique for creating texture when canvas painting leaves by Local Artist, Scott Archer. If you've ever tried your hand at painting, you'll find it sometimes isn't as easy as artists make it look.  Scott loves to paint seasonal art that you can enjoy in your home on the wall, or even on a bookshelf.  You'll find everything from fall bird canvases, fall leaves, acorns, and more.

Learning a new technique or two can make experimenting with a new skill and appreciating the talent in our Coulee Region fun. Come see more of Scott's art from Painted Terra Cotta Pots to beautiful Fall Canvases, original art was never easier to gift. You'll find painted fall boards as well gingerbread birdhouses by Scott Archer only at Treehouse Gift & Home.

Cinnamon Buns Recipe: 

By Bucket of Bread

After having these treats, you won't think they're just for breakfast anymore. Grab lots of napkins because you're going to want to lick your fingers. This is going to be a rich and sweet experience for your taste buds.

Serving Size:

8

Time Needed:

40 Minutes

Preparations:

Items Needed:

• Mixer

• Baking dish

• Spatula

• Rolling pin

• Parchment paper or non-stick foil

For the Buns and Filling:

• Traditional White Bucket (risen)

• 1 stick of softened butter

• 4 tablespoons of cinnamon

• 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream (lukewarm)

• 1 cup of brown sugar

For the Frosting:

• 1 stick softened butter

• 1 8-ounce pack of softened cream cheese

• 2 cups of powdered sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Start Making Cinnamon Buns:

1. After your dough is risen and cooled in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour, reach in and grab a handful of dough weighing around 1 pound.

2. Using a rolling pin roll out the dough evenly.  Don't press too hard as this may force the dough to stick to the surface.  If it sticks, just gently lift it off the surface and flip it while continuing to roll it out.  If you're looking for fluffy, bread-like cinnamon rolls, you want it about 3/4-inch thick. If you want softer more gooey, chewy cinnamon rolls, get it to about 1/4-inch thick. 

3. Cut temperature appropriate parchment paper to match the shape of your baking dish and place it inside.

4. Get out the mixer and add the really soft butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar.  Mix this until everything appears moist and spreadable.

5. Spread the filling evenly onto your rolled out dough.

6. Roll the dough up into a tube shape.

7. Cut the tube into about 2 inch pieces wide and place them onto the parchment paper in the baking dish.

8. Gently and slowly pour lukewarm heavy whipping cream over each of the buns letting it fill all the nooks and crannies of the sweet spirals.  Dipping a brush into the liquid and basting these is also an effective means to get these to soak up all the cream.  

9. While the soon to be buns are bathing in cream, preheat the oven to 450 F.  

10. Clean up the mixing bowl and utensil for the frosting to be made later.

11. Once the oven is ready, place the baking dish into the oven and set a timer for 18-20 minutes (ovens vary so use your best judgement).

While Baking, Prepare the Frosting.  

1. Add the softened (almost melted) butter and cream cheese to the mixing bowl.  

2. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice.

3. Slowly add the powdered sugar.

4. Mix until everything is smooth and silky.

When the Buns are Done:

1. BE VERY CAREFUL.  The filling will have melted a little bit and if you get this on your skin, it will burn you really badly.  It is sticky and EXTREMELY hot.

2. Carefully, removing the baking dish from the oven.

3. Let cool.

4. Cover the buns in frosting.

 

Want to add nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, or anything else–and/or other extras to the filling. What about adding chopped nuts or dark chocolate chunks (or both)? Make this recipe yours by adding your own special touch and share!

The right candles, room sprays, and diffusers can enhance the atmosphere of any room. When selecting a fragrance, aim to select a scent that pleases your nose and suits a certain purpose in the room. This helps guests and family members enjoy the smell and connect it with certain ideas and feelings. Below are several strategies to help you determine the best scents.

How Can You Find the Right Scents for Your Home?

1. Consider the Room

The first consideration should be which room you plan to place the candles, room sprays, or diffusers in. For example, strong scents, such as citrus and peppermint, may be too overpowering for guest bathrooms and walk-in closets because they are enclosed. However, these fragrances are well-suited to open and lively areas, like hallways and living rooms. Smaller rooms can be elevated with fresh, subtle scents, like spring rain, cashmere, and floral aromas.

Also, consider the type of room. Kitchens have a variety of smells because of the food you cook, so floral or perfume-like fragrances tend to clash. Food-related scents, such as spices, herbs, fruits, vanilla, and honey, blend well with existing aromas.

2. Think About the Mood

Next, think about the type of atmosphere you want to create, as fragrances are excellent for setting moods. Lavender, eucalyptus, and lilac create a relaxing ambiance for a bath, while rose and jasmine are perfect for a romantic dinner. For more energizing scents, go with cinnamon, citrus, and ginger. If your goal is to mask odors, lemon and cedarwood are strong scents that can transform the smell of a room.

3. Select the Category

After picking the room and reason for your candle or spray, select the scents. There are four main fragrance types to choose from: floral, woody, fresh, and exotic. Most people have their own preferences and gravitate toward one or two of these categories.

Floral scents tend to be soft, clean, and calming, and they include gardenia, rose, and peony. Fragrances in the woody category, such as balsam and pine, are warm, earthy, and cozy. Fresh scents like bergamot and citronella are bright and energizing. The exotic scents, including vanilla and nutmeg, bring to mind luxury, comfort, and indulgence.

We've gathered together a 5 tips to inspire your creativity for decorating your outdoor spaces with ease.  When it comes to your garden, for some of you it's your happy place, a place for peaceful getaways and a place for your mind to unwind.  With all the extra time you've spent at home, you deserve to spruce up your space this summer.

1. Add a bit of sound and beauty with wind chimes

Let the sound of hand tuned Corinthian bells get you in the mood to unwind in your garden.  Adding beauty and sound could change your whole outlook on the day by putting you at peace early in the morning. 

2. Harness a little wind energy by adding a garden spinner. 

Just watching the wind turn your spinner is can be truly mesmerizing. These colorful metal spinners can show you which direction the wind is coming from, add some form and color, and show you approximately how windy it is all by just looking watching it spin. With many different sizes and designs, they add a bit of personal style to any outdoor space. From bright blues and pinks with butterflies, to red, white, and blue simplicity, you can really choose a look that fits your personal style.

3. Garden Mailboxes

A fellow garden lover once suggested a unique idea to me. She holds all of her gardening tools protected near her garden, in a beautifully hand-painted mailbox.  With Treehouse Gift & Home Local Artist, Scott Archer, you too could order a hand painted floral mailbox/garden toolbox. (Plus it gives you another

reason to plant around the garden mailbox!)

4. Add lights

No garden decorating project is complete without a bit of old fashion mood lighting! Adding lighting right really will transform your garden sanctuary from just pretty to truly beautiful. Try adding garden string lights over a pergola or trellis, or glass solar lanterns and torches.  Adding light can create a cozy ambiance to any outdoor space. Edison style garden light bulbs are my personal favorite. We even have some solar powered string fairy lights in store. Better yet, even the thriftiest decorators will find a variety of price points available for adding outdoor lighting. 

Staking solar lights along your outdoor walkways and shining them up at nicely groomed bushes and trees can really transform your outdoor space. Try a realistic looking solar flame behind colored art glass for a classy artsy and fancy feel.  For more lighting inspiration, combing through Pinterest could inspire you to jazz up your outdoor lighting.

5. Add a bird bath or fountain

With a touch of water, you'll start to attract all sorts of garden friends and listening to the birds chirp and sing could add a whole new element of enjoyment to your yard.  If you enjoy the relaxing sound of flowing water, adding a beautiful dripping fountain or floral fountain can really enhance your enjoyment of your garden and outdoor spaces.  In Wisconsin, our summers and fall are the time to make the most of the nice weather days, and anything that allows you to enjoy that space more is worth it!  Adding a colorful glass bird bath or a beautiful dripping fountain could just be the change your garden needed to become your outdoor sanctuary. 

For more ideas, come visit the professionals at Treehouse Gift & Home! You'll find benches, stakes, solar lanterns, wind spinners, bird baths, birdhouses, bird feeders, wind chimes, and more.  Give us a call at 608-433-7896 today or drop by 9546 E 16 Frontage Rd, Onalaska, WI.