Spring Forward: EDGE's Guide to New Trends in Home Décor

Take a look at a traditional Japanese fan and you will notice two very different sides. One will be red, brown, and gold, with an ornate scene of perhaps flowering trees and billowing clouds. The other will be hued with blues, silvers, or greens, and maybe just a few fish or bamboo stalks conveying an air of simplicity. The reason behind the two color schemes has less to do with art and more with season: the "warm" side was displayed in winter, the "cold" side in summer. Historically, Japanese houses had neither heating nor cooling, so in a type of psychic temperature control, color was used to help "think warm/cool thoughts" as the weather dictated. The Japanese, you see, have home accessories down to a science.

Add a Little Something
It would be great if we could switch out entire living room sets to coordinate with the passage of the year, but those of us with limited financial means are restricted to a few well-chosen decorations to do the job (although if you can seasonally replace your furniture, rock on). An occasional wise purchase placed in just the right spot can change the entire look of a room.

EDGE has discovered several designers specializing in "that one good piece" that brings the vim and vigor of spring into your home with minimal effort.

For home d�cor beginners, a good starting point is the little things that can go up or down as needed such as a well-placed clock. The whimsical creations of Duane Scherer are a lackadaisical salvo to a home still suffering from winter claustrophobia.

Or have fun with your lighting - lamps are small, easy to move around, and don't require the commitment of a breakfront bookcase. Dizzyingly diverse, one of the more interesting trends for the utilitarian lamp in 2015 is throwback, a type known as a lithophane, or a lamp whose shade is made from a thin, translucent sheet of engraved porcelain.

A lithophane resembles a cool-colored objet d'art by day, but flip the switch and the intricacy of the engraving appears; each scene could be a sepia-toned photograph, and with as much clarity and detail. Going back to at least 1827, and perhaps all the way back to the Ming and Song Dynasties in China, modern producers still rely on traditional methods to render each design.

Artist Marty Kubecki, the creative force behind The Porcelain Garden, describes the surprisingly involved process to create the panels, which begins with a simple wax engraving (underlit to mimic how the finished product will be) and continues through a series of molds and pouring of the liquid porcelain. The final process is kiln firing with temperatures upwards of 2,300 degrees. For a vernal theme, he highlights two pieces whose designs are meticulous renderings of leaves - a literal "bringing in the spring" - the Flowing Leaves and mission lamps.

"They both show a freshness and vibrancy in the leaf patterns that evokes early blooms and recently budded leaves," he notes.

It's All About That Vase (and Pillows)
But if you have enough lighting, yet still have that "void" in a room, a vase works wonders.

"Inspiration comes in many ways for me," glassblower David Royce tells EDGE of his techniques. "But one overarching principle that I strive for, is continual improvement of form through dedication and practice. After working with glass more than half of my life I can say that it is a lifelong pursuit."

For spring, Royce points to his Elemental Series of containers, whose primordial colors and textures, rounded bodies and fluted necks, reflect a sense of modern artistry. Throw underneath it a colorful, hand-woven Mayan table linen from MayaMam Weavers to avoid scuffing.

It is the perfect example of what a simple addition can do to a room, or at least an end table. The same goes for pillows and throws, which can completely change the look of a couch - or a room.

"Pillows are a great way to freshen up the mood of a space after a long winter, adding a splash of color, pattern, texture, whimsy or a slight shift of style in a bedroom, living room, and even on dining room chairs," says Katherine Henry.

A photographer by trade, Henry extended her creative reach by founding Arcadia Park Designs, through which she prints her images on the face of high-end pillows. With an eye for the sublime architecture of the world's great historical cities, she found inspiration for her classical de Architectura line, and, aware how season affects taste, adjusts the color scheme accordingly.

"Once things heat up for summer, I will cool the palette with a few crisp blues," she sums, tapping the same line of thinking the summer side of a Japanese fan does.

Add A Big Something
But say you are a little more ambitious, or perhaps you have a space that is simply missing that one showcase piece. If you are in the market for something with a planned year-round residency, then classic designs are called for. That doesn't mean you have to stick with dark or light solid colors, however.

Tapping almost frenetic arboreal motifs usually found around a bodhisattva, Tibet Home gives a traditional antique chest a resplendent presence, and its worldly, some might say otherworldly, look keeps it timeless no matter what month of the year it is.

For something a little less flamboyant consider the Matrix Armoire, whose curiously crystalline door patterns, antiqued mirror facing, and cerused oak add a sophisticated spin on a piece whose design is actually very simple.

Of course, it doesn't have to be quite so large. EDGE discovered the work of Pilgrim Waters, and for those whom "cozy" is the over-arching home decoration theme, their Mesa Tray demonstrates how the Japanese obsession for simplicity has its plusses. Sitting on its collapsible stand, its removable top, when right side up, is a tray table; upside-down, an end table. Fold the stand into the tray side, and you can hang it up as to be out of the way, and get a rustic wall treatment to boot.

Pretty simple, and simply pretty.