If you have a love affair with roses, here are 12 Tips on how to turn your cottage style living room into a bloomingly happy place!

1. Slipcover or reupholster your sofa in a rose patterned fabric. Add striped or plaid accent pillows in a complementary color.

2. Use rose patterned accent pillows on your solid color sofa and easy chairs.

3. Sew silk ribbon rosebuds found in craft stores on your solid color accent pillows to brighten up your sofa and easy chairs.

4. Place a large rose motif painting on or over your fireplace mantel.

5. A needlepoint throw rug in the shape of a rose makes a colorful and cozy accent.

6. Collect inexpensive rose patterned china plates at flea markets and garage sales and hang them on the wall.

7. Hang a rose motif platter on the wall or even an arrangement of several platters.

8. Hang a rose motif tray or several trays on the wall.

9. Drape a rose patterned throw over your sofa.

10. Hot glue silk ribbon rosebuds found in craft stores around the bottom of a lampshade.

11. Sew a 10 inch rose patterned strip of fabric on the bottom and/or top of your living room drapes to coordinate with the slipcover or upholstery fabric on your sofa.

12. And of course, keep a big bouquet of fresh roses on your coffee table!

With just a little ingenuity and some dollarwise decorating ideas, you can easily turn your cottage style living room into a bed of roses!

Copyright 2006 Kathryn Bechen Designs. All rights reserved worldwide.

Kathryn Bechen

Kathryn Bechen, founder of Kathryn Bechen Designs.com, is a certified interior decorating consultant, author, and former founder of her own professional organizing company, Organized With Ease. She has been interviewed by and featured in San Diego Home & Garden Lifestyles magazine, the Omaha World Herald, RealtyTimes.com, and numerous other publications. Her originally authored articles have appeared in newspapers and across the internet and she is also the author of the e-book, Moving With Ease: The 8 Week Plan for an Organized & Stress-Free Move Whether You Hire a Mover or Do It Yourself! She and her husband Steve have moved 11 times in 25 years of marriage and she has fully organized and decorated each residence. In addition, she has taught seminars and spoken to groups of up to 400. Kathryn offers a FREE full color monthly e-newsletter and a color photo blog of home decorating tips and resources available via her website listed below.