Designer Traci Connell Shows How to Dress up Your Home For The Season at The Stone Collection

Changing clothes with the seasons in Texas only makes sense.

Throw on a t-shirt with those jeans in the summer, a dark sweater with them in the fall, a coat in winter, and a pastel sweater in the spring. Taking it one step further can mean adjusting makeup shades a tad darker or maybe switching from sandals to a bootie. Easy, right?

And in a home, the same concepts apply. Adjusting to the seasons can be almost as simple as switching a few things around. Traci Connell, the lead designer of her own firm, Traci Connell Interiors, recently explained just how easy — and fun — the process can be for homes. Traci and her smart, creative team deconstructed transitioning from season to season in an interior setting.

Traci Connell Says Stone Isn’t Just For Countertops

Their informative presentation at The Stone Collection used granite, marble, and other surfaces as the jumping-off point for décor switches.  The stone, which today can be engineered artistically from mesmerizing semi-precious stone, often serves as the statement piece for a room. These sophisticated stone surfaces instantly become a room’s focus.

Sean Cramer, general manager of the Dallas showroom, said he’s seen stone used in many ways. In addition to more common ideas such as floors, showers, and fireplaces, Cramer mentioned headboards, fountains, bars, and vanities as dramatic uses for the material.

Connell has also seen varied uses for it in her two decades of interior design.

“Use your pattern to enhance your décor,” Traci said. “It’s the ease of glamor that we like.”

The Stone Collection, an importer and distributor of natural and engineered hard surfaces with eight showrooms in five states, hosted the presentation while guests were surrounded by surfaces that sparkled like jewelry for the home. The hard-surface colors almost mimicked the rainbow. Outdoorsy green? Yes. Moody browns? Sure. Sunny yellow? Of course. Brilliant blue? Absolutely.

“That’s the wonderful thing about nature,” said Kathy Tomkins, architect and design manager for The Stone Collection. “There’s every color.”

Connell’s design team took various patterns and showcased how each could be the starting point for seasonal décor, not just at Christmas, but throughout four seasons. Layer, layer, and layer some more Connell’s stable of interior designers suggested.

Updating Decor With The Seasons

Transitioning from one season to season can be as switching out accessories by highlighting variations in the stone. Many hard surfaces have a dominant color, yet a secondary color can become the unexpected star of the show through a simple exchange of objects on or in staple pieces. Ideas the designers offered included:

• Changing sprigs, either cut from a yard or faux found online, to reflect the season. Think fall colorful fall leaves being switched out for evergreen boughs.
• Switching out artwork displayed in the same frame.
• Leaving the candlesticks in place on a mantel, table, or vanity, but swapping a colored candle to reflect holiday décor colors.
• Linens can add holiday charm to a kitchen, bedroom, or powder room. Transitioning hand towels in a bathroom or a throw on a bed can vary throughout the year.

 Small changes throughout the seasons can reflect a homeowner’s personality within their interiors and welcome holidays from Christmas to Easter to Halloween.

“Take a little risk,” Traci said. “You’ll be glad you did.”