Monday, April 2, 2012

How about a good night's sleep?

We have recently received a great addition to our Sleep Center - iComfort Sleep Systems by Serta! It contains the Cool Action Gel Memory Foam - the world's first memory foam infused with the support and cooling touch of Serta's MicroSupport Gel. This new memory foam is designed to deliver pressure relief and more targeted support while sleeping cooler than ordinary memory foam! It is so comfortable, offers support where you need it most and allows you to sleep cooler - it is 12 times more breathable than ordinary memory foam. I know how wonderful you feel after sleeping on an iComfort Sleep System mattress - Bill and I have one! We tried it out for 6 months or so before offering it at Reflections and we love it! Serta offers a 25 year warranty and allows you to try it in your home for 120 days (just to be sure that you love it as much as we do).
Serta is a partner with The National Sleep Foundation, a group dedicated to improving sleep health. They offer the following ideas to help:
- Set and stick to a sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same times each day whenever possible.
- Expose yourself to bright light in the morning and avoid it at night. Bright morning light energizes us and prepares us for a productive day. Dim your lights when it is close to bedtime. Put night lights in your halls and bathrooms for nighttime visits.
- Establish a relaxing bedtime routine. Allow enough time to wind down and relax before going to bed.
- Create a cool, comfortable sleeping environment (with iComfort Cool Action Gel Memory Foam!) that is free of distractions.
- Treat your bed as your sanctuary from the stresses of the day.
- Avoid caffeinated beverages, chocolate and tobacco at night.
- Avoid late-afternoon or evening naps.

And last, but not least, my favorite tip:
- Keep a "worry" book next to your bed. If you wake up because of worries, write them down, along with an action plan, and then forget about them until the next morning.

Proverbs 3:24 -
" When you lie down, you will not be afraid; you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet."

Sweet Dreams!!

Mary

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

"You never know..."

I heard a comment the other day that caused me to chuckle:
"At Christmas, our house is like a Donnie and Marie Christmas special!"

I loved that! I always want that kind of holiday - everyone happy, smiling (the Osmonds had big grins!), standing around singing Christmas carols, enjoying the holiday. (and by the way I always had that kind of Christmas when I was young, thanks to my mother, who loves Christmas as much as anyone I know. She begins listening to Christmas carols in August each year! It was always a time for excitement and joy and I have such fond memories of our home and family around this time each year.

Do you remember your favorite Christmas present? The "bestest" gift - the one you had hoped for? Well, I do - (although, as I think about it, it may have been a birthday gift!) - it was a Barbie Dream House, complete with furniture - ! - and an elevator! My wonderful Uncle Alan presented me with this gift and I thought he was the greatest uncle in the world. I was enthralled with the design and layout of the house - I would spend hours "redecorating", moving the furniture from one room to the next and using scraps of material for rugs and drapes. That just shows that you never know how your choice of gift may "inspire" someone's future!

I hope that you have the chance to enjoy your holiday and remember your wonderful childhood memories, while making new ones for your family...

Everyone here at Reflections wishes you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year!

Mary

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

November 1st! We love November 1st! It is the first day that we begin playing Christmas music in the showroom! Well, most of us love it - some greet this day with,"Bah, humbug".

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of the holidays. My mother always decorated our home with care and pride and, even now, I can close my eyes and see our tree with it's beautiful ornaments - some homemade, some "store bought". I knew when she began dragging all of the boxes out that our home would be transformed into something special.

How about your home? Will your family recall your efforts to make their holidays "merry and bright"? Now, no one will ever accuse me of being - for lack of anything better - a domestic goddess! However, I do love a beautifully decorated tree and hope that my son remembers helping me decorate our trees when he is older and has his own home.

We are putting our last few trees and holiday decor displays up in the showroom, getting ready for our 14th Annual Holiday Open House. We hope you will join us, November 10th through 13th! We have many trees all dressed for the holidays, with lots of ornaments, wreaths, garlands, and gift ideas! Our store hours will be 9am to 6pm and 1pm to 5pm on that Sunday only. Remember, refreshments wil be served on Saturday, from 10am to 4pm. Just like last year, for every non-perishable food item that you bring for our local food bank, you will receive an entry for a $1000 gift certificate to be given away on Sunday evening!

Everyone here at Reflections hopes that peace is your gift at Christmas time and your blessing all year through!

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other." - Burton Hillis

Happy holidays to you and yours,

Mary

Monday, October 3, 2011

Where would we be without the beauty of color?

"Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Fall is my favorite season - God's beautiful creation gives us a colorful show to enjoy. It always seems that I want to bring some of that color indoors! Pumpkins, leaves, berries, and branches decorate many homes this time of year.
At Reflections, we have taken the idea of new color one step further and we have been painting our vignette rooms some fresh new colors! With paint names like "Cork", "Raspberry Truffle", and "Dragon's Breath" - (talk about brave - yikes!) - several of our rooms have new life and beautiful color. Which got me to thinking...what are some tips for selecting color?

1. Pick an item that you love, (rug, window treatments, upholstery, art), and pull a color out. Narrow your choices to 2 or 3 and purchase a quart of each to paint sample boards. While no one wants to buy paint that they won't use, this can keep you from buying gallons of the wrong color. Hold the dry sample boards up to the furniture, fabric and surfaces already in the room. The larger swatch makes it so much easier to decide if a color is right or not.
2. Leave your paint sample boards in the room for a couple of days. Look at them during different times of the day and evening to see how different lighting plays on the colors. You are the one who will see this room in the morning AND evening and you need to be pleased with the color selection.
3. A perfect match to your choice color isn't always the best wall color choice. Allow one of your samples to be an imperfect match - it might just be the spark that gives your room that "Wow!" factor.
4. Think about the atmosphere that you want in that room. A room with a relaxed atmosphere often has "cool" colors: light greens or blues. You can warm up a room by using reds, yellows and browns. Grays, beiges and taupes blend well with with other earth-tones colors for a more contemporary feel.
5. One of my favorite ideas: try a contrasting color for an accent wall! Brings interest and color to your room.
6. Consider the size of your room. Light colors increase the feeling of space, while darker colors bring the walls in for more coziness.

If it is just too large a decision to make on your own, our wonderful associates at Reflections will be glad to help you choose the right color for your home!! They chose the colors for our latest "update" - I am telling you, I was a little unsure about "Dragon's Breath" - and it is more beautiful than I imagined. They can offer you the same assistance!

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice." - John Calvin

Happy Decorating!
Mary

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

I know...I know...

How long has it been since I have posted on this "blog thingy"?? 2009! Are you kidding me?
I know... I know..."time flies when you are having fun"!
Well, I am making an - ummm - August resolution that I will do a better job about keeping everyone up-to-date about the happenings at Reflections.
We have had a unique problem that has arisen at Reflections over the past few weeks... I thought I would share it with you - husbands and wives who cannot agree on their home decor! Now many of you know the head honcho at Reflections...my husband, Bill. He is a wonderful husaband and father who is happy as long as he has a comfortable chair, TV, refrigerator and bed - in that order. He likes whatever I bring into our home and really offers no opinion about the design, or fabric, or color, or style of any of our furnishings - even though he sees the latest and greatest in home decor whenever we venture to market to buy for the store. Not everyone has it this easy...
For example, we have recently had a couple angry and upset over which style sofa to buy - she wanted tailored and classic and he wanted comfortable and "bubba" (our term for man cave furniture) - we carry both at Reflections! They argued throughout the store and on their way out and in the car as they were leaving - I imagine that car ride was not pleasant...
When it comes to decorating, men and women can have very different tastes. I feel that if you share a home with someone, you need to blend your styles. Here are a few tips:

- Talk before you buy. Discuss what both of you like and try to come up with a plan. Find out what each of you value and what you consider important in a room. If you need assistance, your wonderful Reflections Home Furnishings sales associate will be glad to help!!
- Look for similarities in your styles and focus on those.
- Don't try to force your style on your partner. Also, don't allow your partner's style to be forced on you! Never try to tell your partner what items should or shouldn't matter to them.
- Respect your partner's ideas and give them the same respect that you would want in return.
- Choose colors that will appeal to both of you - the new grey undertones in furniture can often work as subtle neutrals and provide a great backdrop to other colors.
- Find a balance between masculine and feminine items. Avoid anything overly curvy and girly as well as anything too boxy or masculine. For example, a leather club chair with a nail head detail is masculine if the shape is boxy, but if you opt for a curvier shape, it becomes more female friendly.
- If you love a more girly sofa, your Reflections associate can help you find a few masculine finishing details to go along with it, like an accent chair in leather or houndstooth or with accesories like many of the new "antique-look" trays, books or wooden tables. It will make your room much more interesting!
- Last but not least, remember your partner when making major purchases - shopping together and making decorating your home a joint effort should be fun!

We've seen more and more husbands who watch HGTV and have a few "ideas" of their own and we love to help them and their wives find the furnishings and decor to make their home warm and inviting to their family and friends at Reflections!

I love this quote:
"May our home know joy, may every room hold laughter, and every window open to great possibilities."

Happy Decorating! (I know... I know... you'll hear from me again soon!)

Mary

Monday, November 9, 2009

It's that Time of Year Again!

Well, here we are again...time for the holidays! My favorite time of the year, by the way. I cannot believe it, but we are celebrating our 12th Annual Holiday Open House this week! This weekend, November 12th - 15th, join us as we welcome the holidays! Our store hours are from 9am- 6pm, Thursday - Saturday and (only for this weekend) Sunday, 1pm-5pm. We will have great markdowns all throughout the store on furnishings for every room, as well as accessories, art, lamps, rugs. and much more! Every ornament, wreath, garland and holiday decoration will be 20% off and when you purchase your holiday ribbon by the bolt from us, we'll have wonderful Marcia tie your bows for FREE! I know some of you have waited a looong time, so - our warehouse clearance area will re-open - the bargains back there are unbelievable! The store looks pretty festive - if I do say so myself - so I'm sure you'll find lots of great decor and ideas to "deck (YOUR) halls". We will be having drawings for great door prizes and refreshments on Saturday from 9am - 4 pm. It really is the "most wonderful time of the year" at Reflections!

In looking back over our last post - way back in May, we were excited about our new furniture line by Paula Deen - it really lives up to her philosophy (and mine) about making your home warm and inviting for your family and friends. Everyone loves it and it has been going home with lots of folks! Be sure to look for Zeke and Zora enjoying their holiday cookies and cider propped up on Paula's bed...

As this year is coming to a close, I want to take this opportunity to let you know how truly blessed I feel to have such a wonderful group of employees. They are truly like our family - they come to work with a smile on their faces and a positive attitude that is rare today. They give of themselves to help Reflections succeed and for that Bill and I are truly grateful.

We also want to extend our appreciation to our many loyal customers over the years. Some of you come in and it is hugs all around, because you have shopped with us for so many years. We have been truly blessed by your continued support and your recommendation of our store to so many of your friends. We thank God for you every day, and we give Him the honor and glory for blessing us as He does.

In happy moments, praise God.
In difficult moments, seek God.
In quiet moments, worship God.
In painful moments, trust God.
In every moment, thank God.

Happy Holidays to you and yours from the Elledges and the staff of Reflections!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Wow! What a week it's been! We've just returned from the High Point, NC Furniture Market and seen some of the most beautiful and unique furniture and accessories that I've ever seen! It seems that the latest trends run to large, dramatic accents for every room - more large statement pieces and less clutter - a trend I love. I've ordered many large, bright colored pieces in accents and art for our showroom that should be arriving soon!

Another trend that I've seen is the use of bright accent chairs to liven up your room - and boy, did I ever jump on that one! I should have a rainbow of wonderful chairs in bold colors and patterns arriving just any day to help you spruce up a drab room. What room doesn't need a fun chair?

I am so excited about a new line that I purchased while in NC - from the wonderful and amazing Paula Deen! You know and love her from her cooking and entertaining shows and books, and now she's designed a full line of furniture, upholstery and rugs for every room in your home! We should have these in our showroom by early fall and I can't wait for you to see how warm and inviting these pieces are - just like Paula herself. While we were there, Jennifer and I had the opportunity to meet Ms. Paula and talk with her about her new line for the home - she is as genuine and sweet as she appears on her show!

Lots of new, fun things for your home are on their way - come and see us! As my new "friend" Paula Deen says, "Treat your family like company and your company like family"!!

Have fun decorating! Mary
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