Easy, Affordable Ways to Embrace Nature in Your Home
Thanks to the chaos we’ve experienced since 2020, many design experts are looking to create spaces that are calm, welcoming, and grounded. Enter one of the biggest design trends of the 2020s: neutral, natural elements. Here are some easy ways to bring nature inside and boost your home’s look without overspending.
local nursery, and they will help you find the perfect leafy friend(s) to fill your space.
Then, opt for pieces that won’t decay. When choosing new decor for your home or when updating your knickknacks for the seasons, look for wooden or natural items that don’t have a life cycle. Fake plants, wooden statues and picture frames, and piles of stones or vases with rocks can bring the richness of the great outdoors into your home with little effort and can be reused each season. Now, look to your backyard! If you have a big pine tree that produces pine cones each year, don’t let those go to waste! Baskets or vases filled with pine cones can be great fall and winter decor pieces, while lots of clever crafters have made wreaths, scent diffusers, and other fun items with pine cones found in their yard. Just be mindful of what you take from nature. Don’t take anything of value to the ecosystem, and don’t grab items from state or national parks.
Finally, utilize windows. Part of embracing natural design elements is letting nature do the talking! Focus your design in each room around windows. For instance, fix plant displays near windows or hang bird feeders in trees you can see through your windows. If you really want to get cozy with the outdoors, consider installing a skylight! To find more inspiration, take a walk and discover how Mother Nature has designed her space. Bring those ideas into your home and enjoy the comfort of the great outdoors within your own great indoors.
The obvious option is to add more houseplants. And plants don’t have to be difficult! Consider your home space, first. How much light do you get? Is it a dry or humid home? How likely is it that you will remember to water a plant? Bring these concerns to your
FOLLOW BILL AND MELINDA GATES’ DIVORCE PLAN
3 Lessons From This Huge Split
a divorce, and it’s only natural to want to vent about your ex. But be careful about the platform in which you choose to do so. Degrading your ex in front of your children can be harmful to their relationship with their other parent — or with you. Furthermore, social media can turn your personal life into a spectacle and add unnecessary drama. Neither of the Gateses spoke ill of the other in the media after their divorce, and their families are healthier for it. It wasn’t too-little-too-late for a marriage agreement. Just a few years before their divorce, the Gateses filed a marriage separation agreement that effectively acted as a postnuptial agreement. Surprisingly, the pair didn’t have a prenuptial agreement, despite Bill’s success prior to the marriage. However, this marriage separation agreement allowed the couple to divide their assets fairly while still being married, much like a postnuptial agreement can do. It’s also never too late to divorce. Perhaps the most shocking part of this split is the longevity the couple had in their marriage prior to the divorce. Spending nearly three decades with someone is a big commitment, but the Gates’ divorce proves that longevity does not equate to happiness. Divorcing over 50 years old is a scary prospect, but as more couples “gray divorce,” they’re discovering they have a lot of life left to live. We haven’t heard the last of Bill and Melinda Gates. A healthy divorce, regardless of whom it’s between, can serve as a model for couples beginning this process. If you need further guidance, our team can help. Please call the Law Office of Kevin Jensen at 480-632-7373.
When Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce in early 2021, many were shocked to hear the couple of 27 years was going their separate ways. Their marriage was seen as steady, because Microsoft’s influence and the impact of their charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, continued to grow. (Bill has admitted to infidelity prior to the divorce, however.) But while the split may come as a surprise, the end of the Gates’ marriage may actually be a healthy example to follow. Here’s why. They never bad-mouthed each other. There are many complicated emotions that can accompany
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