Irish Decor

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On March 17, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day - a wonderful, whimsical holiday brought overseas by the great country of Ireland (a land of magical mists,lucky leprechauns and plenty of green)!

Whether your own claim to Irish ancestry is real or a bit o' playful blarney, you'll have no difficulty bringing a touch of Ireland into your home.

Spring is the time of year that we are all green with envy for all that is Ireland - the lush green hillsides, misty mornings, clover and shamrocks.

Green is associated with St. Patrick's Day because it's the undisputed colour of spring.

The colour green is the neutral of nature. It signifies new beginnings, new life and new growth. In your mind's eye, visualize the different shades of green you may encounter while on a walk through a wooded path or country meadow. An infinite number of shades are seen, all alive with possibilities.

Green is the easiest colour for the human eye to see. It's restful and calming - an excellent colour choice for home decor. Green is also the colour most associated with money, that illusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

A touch of green will bring your rooms to life. Add a green plant, a green-coloured vase, moss-covered or green picture frames and throw cushions. If the room needs a larger dose of green, give it a fresh coat of paint. Like the leprechaun, green is a playful colour, so think creatively and don't hesitate to mix and match various shades of green to a room.

The shamrock is a traditional St. Patrick's Day symbol because Saint Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to represent how the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit could exist as separate elements in the same entity.

Have your very own Blarney Stone: on the front porch place a large rock and attach some green moss to the rock with a hot glue gun. Next to the rock, sit a ceramic leprechaun and plant a shamrock in your outdoor garden planters.

Throughout your home, add magical touches of Irish decor. Inside the front door place a "pot of gold" and fill it with gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins and flank the pot with a pair of green candles on a foyer table.

Pin a shamrock brooch onto the front centre of each candle to give that finishing touch of Irish decor.

Another idea for Irish-inspired candles is to simply paste lucky four-leaf stickers on a white candle - an easy project for adding an Irish glow to a table centrepiece or fireplace mantel. On the coat-rack next to the door hang a leprechaun's hat (available from party supply stores).

On the fireplace mantel, place a leprechaun beside a potted shamrock and a pair of candles.

Make throw cushions for the sofa from old hand-knit sweaters or traditional Irish linens. Embroider or hand-paint a Celtic knot or shamrock in the bottom corners of each cushion. Throw cushions will feel as good to cuddle up with as wearing your favourite sweater on a misty spring morning.

At the end of the sofa lay a hand-knit mohair throw and on the coffee-table place a hardcover book about Ireland. Replace existing candles with the green-coloured variety and add a couple of table-top picture frames filled with Irish-themed photographs.

Decorate the family-room with the warmth and cheerfulness of a traditional Irish pub: handsome wooden walls and signs, antique sporting equipment, your old boxing gloves, leather-bound books, open racks and shelving filled with your favourite spirits and glassware. Think dark woods, rich reds and greens, worn surfaces and great times with the gang.