2012-02 Seattle Metro

2012-02 Mercer Island

2012-02 Eastside

2012-02 King County

2012-02 Summary

Data prepared and analyzed by Julie Nugent for Windermere Real Estate/Mercer Island. For questions or comments, email Julie at julie@windermere.com.

Enhance the path to your home.  Welcome spring with a floral doormat and a wind chime hung outside your door to stimulate energy.  Remove dead plants from garden beds and pots and replace them with colorful plants and flowers.  Pay attention to your decks and backyard spaces for inspiring outdoor views.

Bring the “wood” element of nature indoors. Add vase of fresh flowers or a plant to key living spaces (if you don’t have a green thumb, silk plants represent the vitality nature in full bloom).  Throw away dried flowers that lack life force and become dust collectors!

Change your bedding and bedroom décor.  To reflect the shift from winter to spring, use lightweight floral or striped prints for curtains, pillows, or bedding.  Add inspiring artwork and clear the clutter to enhance this important room.   A change in scenery refreshes body, mind and spirit!

Paint your walls or an accent wall. Paint is a low-cost and high-impact way to energize your living spaces.  Be bold and try a bright color to transform your walls from drab to dramatic.  Use low or zero VOC paint to ensure a healthy environment for you and your loved ones.   Happy painting!

If you’re interested in a spring “tune-up” for your home and would like assistance to get started, I highly recommend my favorite Feng Shui and Color Consultant, Cynthia Chomos.   She can be reached at (206) 919-0107 or visit:  www.CynthiaChomos.com

Check out the palette below for inspiration during your spring shopping. Instantly update a room with colorful throw pillows, or freshen up your beige and navy basics with a trendy new scarf, tie or jewelry accent. Happy shopping!

View Pantone’s full report for designer quotes, sketches and more!

1.Go exploring.
Explore ideas, places, and opinions. The inside of the echo chamber is where are all the boring people hang out.

2. Share what you discover.
And be generous when you do. Not everybody went exploring with you. Let them live vicariously through your adventures.

3. Do something. Anything.
Dance. Talk. Build. Network. Play. Help. Create. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re doing it. Sitting around and complaining is not an acceptable form of ‘something,’ in case you were wondering.

4. Embrace your innate weirdness.
No one is normal. Everyone has quirks and insights unique to themselves. Don’t hide these things—they are what make you interesting.

5. Have a cause.
If you don’t give a damn about anything, no one will give a damn about you.

6. Minimize the swagger.
Egos get in the way of ideas. If your arrogance is more obvious than your expertise, you are someone other people avoid.

7. Give it a shot.
Try it out. Play around with a new idea. Do something strange. If you never leave your comfort zone, you won’t grow.

8. Hop off the bandwagon.
If everyone else is doing it, you’re already late to the party. Do your own thing, and others will hop onto the spiffy wagon you built yourself. Besides, it’s more fun to drive than it is to get pulled around.

9. Grow a pair.
Bravery is needed to have contrary opinions and to take unexpected paths. If you’re not courageous, you’re going to be hanging around the water cooler, talking about the guy who actually is.

10. Ignore the scolds.
Boring is safe, and you will be told to behave yourself. The scolds could have, would have, should have. But they didn’t. And they resent you for your adventures

Source: Jessica Hagy, Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2011/11/30/how-to-be-interesting/