Announcing the Schumacher App!

Schumacher introduces an essential digital resource for discerning interior design professionals and registered To The Trade users. Schumacher for iPhone gives our customers and their clients instant access to the latest offerings, product information, stock, and order status updates. Additionally, this new app allows designers to place memo and product orders; create project lists and tag favorite products; search for nearby showrooms using GPS; view pinch and zoom high resolution photographs; review product details; and learn about new trends, events, and offerings.

Available exclusively on iTunes.

With the temperatures and leaves beginning to fall and with
Thanksgiving right around the corner, consider warming up your home with
autumn-toned pillows or table runners. Create a warm feeling by using fabrics rich
in color with orange, red, gold or olive hues. Here are some favorites
available directly from www.InteriorMall.com.

The use of burnt orange and green adds a great color pop to any room or space.

Waldemere Geranium by Robert Allen

Eggplant and Olive make a non-traditional pairing that works well for fall and winter.

Candy Stripe Eggplant by Kasmir

Velvet flocking adds an interesting textural element and the dark velvet really pops against the lighter silk background.

Isadora Velvet Olive by Robert Allen

Houndstooth checks and woven fabrics are also a great way to make a home seem cozy.

Square Pegs Beige by Robert Allen

Nothing says Fall like a good old fashioned wool and cashmere Tartan Plaid.

McDonnell Tartan Cranberry by Ralph Lauren.

Don't forget to check out all of Interior Mall's fabrics for more cozy inspiration. And for holiday ideas don't forget Interior Mall's large selection of gift items.

Tropical Inspirations

I recently went to the Bahama's for a much needed vacation and found myself in a completely other world. The use of color there is absolutely extraordinary! At one point during my trip, my family and I started calling out random colors and timing ourselves on how long it took us to find a building of that color. I don't think I could have found a white, beige or other neutral colored building if I had tried. Everything there is coated in beautiful colors of pink, purple, orange and yellow hues.

This of course, made me think... why is everything so blah here? Maybe an Alaskan winter wouldn't be so bland if all the building were painted bright orange. Perhaps, a Texas heat would be more bearable if the buildings there were painted a cool blue. Why are we so afraid of color?

Patterns: Suzani

As we receive more and more fabric books and samples from various manufacturers we have noticed they all have 1 major pattern in common in at least 1 book and that's suzani inspired patterns. Many of us have seen suzani more and more in interior decorating and even fashion but most don't know what exactly it is or where it came from. Suzani comes from the Persian word for "needle" and the word refers to embroidered hangings or fabric coverings. (Like the image)
However, for most suzani lovers and collectors, the word has a more specific meaning. Suzani is synonymous with the finest old embroideries of Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. In recent years, we have witnessed a remarkable revival of this old traditional art form.

The birthplace of suzanis is in what is now Uzbekistan, the area along the Silk Roads that interconnected the cultures of Europe, Turkey and China with the Muslim world. With the establishment of the Silk Road, the Suzani art flourished. In the 19th century, Uzbek women produced excellent embroidered hangings, table covers, bed covers, wrapping cloths, and prayer mats for their households and their daughters' dowries.  In the 20th century, Communist rulers in Uzbekistan forbade hand crafts, including Suzani. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Uzbek artisans have begun the long process of reviving their centuries old craft traditions and techniques.

Because hand-made, traditional Suzani can be quite expensive many fabric manufacturers have begun to make it easier to get the suzani look but without the costs by printing and mass producing suzani inspired fabrics like the fabrics below.   

Feel free to stop by check out all the other suzani inspired fabrics that Interior Mall has to offer.

Get Organized for the School Year

Back to school time has come for many of us and is quickly approaching for the rest. Even if school has already started there's still time to get your house organized and ready for the new school year. Life Made Better has a few quick and easy tips for getting an "A" on your organization this year.

Paperwork
Put your walls to work by organizing papers in wall-mount filing racks outfitted with folders.

Office Organization
Optimize efficiency by installing a corkboard, a dry-erase board, and a magnetic calendar above the work surface.

Office Supplies
Insert a divided tray or drawer organizer into a desk drawer to sort fasteners and other office supplies. You'll need to choose an organizer that has a bottom (as opposed to the type of bottomless drawer divider used for socks) to keep small items from slipping underneath.

Clips and Fasteners
Tiny little tools benefit from tiny little vessels to keep them organized. Transform colorful plastic ice-cube trays into divided storage containers for paper clips, push pins, and more.

Art Supplies
Use short mailing tubes or potato-chip cans to keep paintbrushes, pencils, and other art supplies organized. Cover the mailing tubes with decorative paper to fit your decor. Stack them and attach them to one another with crafts glue or double-sided tape to keep them stable.

Batteries
Eliminate the need to run through the house looking for batteries ever again. Use a plastic tackle box with multiple sizes of openings to hold your batteries, grouped by size.