Summertime designs are crisp, clean and offer it’s guests an invitation to sit and linger… they have an ease and casual feeling that simple says welcome… for me it’s as pleasing as it gets.  White rooms look, feel and are a true representation of all things summer.  Add a few white accents into any room and feel the difference.

This room looks so warm and beckons you to sit down and relax.  The beautiful white mirror above the fireplace provides a pop without any reference to color.  Love the tree branch in the corner - a natural and rustic element that looks fantastic… the fur pillows add texture and a layered element to this beautiful tone on tone room.

Great accessories can make or break a table top.  This combination has interest, bling and pieces that mix and match easily.  Note the artistic statement this mirror provides as well as the reflective value of what is across the room - great chandelier - huh?

This sunroom is drenched in light.  The beautiful white washed floors are a great base for all the pleasing white furnishings.  The breezy curtain panels frame the wall of windows, while the washable slipcovers are a easy choice for families with pets and small children.  Love the striped pillows… another great summertime design look that is perfect in this setting.  The greenery always brightens any room with a small dose of color and nature.  This room makes me want to settle in for an afternoon of giggles with girlfriends.

Carpe Diem - diana

By: Diana Fox

Bliss has all the essential ingredients for this picnic season.   Create a romantic spring date night for two or soiree for twenty; the possibilities are endless.

Shopping List:

Collapsible Grocery Bag

New sundress (or two)

Brightly Colored Food Coolers

Fun yet Necessary Kitchen Gadgets

Picnic Baskets (packed with everything you need)

Great Book or Notebook if Going Solo

Delicious Candle for Romance

To Go Containers

 Step One:

Stop by Bliss in Market Square in Downtown Knoxville as soon as possible.   You will find everything you need and a few items you didn’t know you were living without.

Step Two:

Check weather for the perfect temperature and invite your special guests.   I’m available if you have room for one extra invitee.

Step Three:

Pack the food and you are ready to go!  Optional toss-in’s include a guitar, four-legged friends and a cold adult beverage.

By: Danielle Benson

Bliss Home will feature Bill Timm for May’s First Friday. A reception will be held this Friday, May 4th, at Bliss Home, 29 Market Square, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Bill Timm is a metal sculptor residing in Knoxville, TN, but traces his roots to the steel capital of the world: Pittsburgh, PA. For ten years, Bill has created abstract and realistic sculptures from found objects. Bill is a self taught abstract and metal fabricator who has received several regional and national awards for his sculptures.

Bill’s art is viewable beginning May 4^th and will remain through the end of the month.

By: Kelly Volpe

Bliss Home interior designer and instant bliss contributor, Diana Fox, on Fox 43! Diana is talking about contemporary design and spring cleaning!

YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW…

We finally did it.  After five years of marriage and two new babies, we cashed in all those travel points for a pre-holiday jaunt to Miami! The Magic City delivered all that hubs had promised—culture, romance, intrigue, and a respite from my daily grind.  Espresso, the veritable aqua vitae of South Beach, enchanted my nose and palate at once. Hoping to reproduce some of that black magic in our christian home, I requested a new coffeemaker for Christmas and received a four-cup Mr. Coffee—the kind that produces diner-quality coffee in under three minutes, and, with it, a strong message (in absence of strong coffee)…. My family said to me, implicitly, “You are practical, traditional; and we value that in you.” (They also thoughtfully stuffed my stocking with a year’s supply of coffee filters!) Unable to argue or protest, I pulled out my coffee grinder and tried to forge Folger’s best into an Italian espresso.

Nnnnmmfh. Swallowing that bitter stuff, I vowed never again to be misunderstood. Enter: The Wish List. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, I am willing and able to share a short sample of Mom’s visions with you.  Bonus:  This will also save you a trip to the W’s—Walmart, Walgreens—and help you forego yet another offering of bath soaps, slippers, or the candle jar that Mom already has a storage shelf devoted to—thanks, hubs. Husbands, sons, daughters:  Your mother should know how much you adore (or at least appreciate) her.  Read on to get your message right—nothing too practical here.

Mom, You’re SENTIMENTAL, and We Value That….

                                                                                                                                                              Perhaps she’s a new-ish mom or simply proud of her progeny—for her, try these gorgeous sterling custom necklaces.  One is an actual precious print of her children’s fingers!, and the others offer one, two, or three nestlings along with Mama Bird on a modern, stylish metal perch.                                                    

Mom, Your Love and Support Are INSPIRATIONAL…

Mother, You’re Practically PERFECT, a 21st-Century June Cleaver….

For the mother that never resorts to pajamas and a ponytail. Nuf’ said.

Mom, You’re An Accomplished EMPTY NESTER….

Time to throw out the jelly-stained furniture and 80‘s jewelry. If she’s finally ready to re-visit her style or feather her nest anew, take her to Bliss Home for some oh-so-stylish additions. Show Mom that you, also, have “arrived.”

 Mama, You’re a NEWBIE (or have a ‘tween or teen), And This, Too, Shall Pass….

Help her get organized or inspired with humor and some inventive thinking. 

This completes my WISH LIST for Mother’s Day 2012. Honey, if you’re reading this, I conveniently found all of these items at www.shopinbliss.com, but the three BLISS locations have literally thousands of additional choices, and I would love any of them. By the way, I DO appreciate the coffeemaker, but in the interest of full disclosure, I bought myself the stovetop espresso brewer; and it transports me daily to the little cafe’ on Lincoln Mall.  If you need that Mr. Coffee, it’s on the top shelf, above the jar candles. 

By: Tina Hannah Ensley

Forget Feng Shui.  Say goodbye to Modernism.  
There’s a new buzz word shaking up the world of design, and it’s big.

So, what is it, you ask ?

It’s Wabi Sabi.

Wabi, What ??

No, it’s not a new Asian buffet on Kingston Pike. 
It’s an ancient Japanese aesthetic, rooted in simplicity; and, it’s coming to a home near you.

Crisscrossing the globe, this philosophy has actually resurfaced thanks to famous Belgium designer Axel Vervoordt. 



A minimalist at heart, Axel specializes in using large scale upholstery and organic materials such as linen, metal, and wood.

Intrigued ?   You should be.

What’s that ?  You want to bring a little Wabi-Sabi into your own world ?

That’s easy, with many of the fabulous pieces you’ll find at Knoxville’s Bliss Home.


* A luxurious 100-inch, down-filled sofa, upholstered in a dove grey linen fabric with barn driftwood legs.

* An extra deep, cotton slip-covered chair, perfect for R&R … and wine.



*  Natural wood products such as a live-edge dining table from South America, a sleek steel and teak cocktail table, an ultra-utilitarian saw-horse console, and an ancient Shanghai door repurposed.


                                    

* Don’t forget the 300 pound petrified wood stump.


Axel would be proud, don’t you think ?

Time is short, and the topic of Wabi Sabi is actually quite deep. The good news is, there are plenty of resources available at Bliss Home to help you create your own oh-so-zen space.

Stop in.
Say hello.
Find cool stuff.
Live in Bliss.

Brett Ware, CID

Watch Diana talk about using spring colors, yellow and green, to transform your home!

Spring is a season of color… a season of beauty, a season of renewal…   it’s a season to celebrate and appreciate two of it’s favorite colors - yellow and green… a classic color combination that never feels old - colors that are still fresh and vibrant, even as summer approaches.  Check out these photos for inspiration.

This bedrooms gray palette feels so inviting, yet with a few minimal accents it provides a bright pop of color - the yellow throw layered at the end of the bed and the green artwork make this room lively and fun - and don’t miss the spring green leaves on the trees out the window - so refreshing.