In my home, spring = out with the old, in with the new. And lots of summer house guests = fun design projects that I need to complete before June! Once again, I'm finding it difficult to get started, but when I finish, it's always totally worth it.

This got me to thinking...I'm in a pretty good position to incorporate some funky new ideas into my home - after all, I get to work with design experts all the time. I come across fantastic ideas, unique accessories and insider tips constantly when it comes to home design. I usually store it away in the old brain and sometimes it comes out in a new design project at home and sometimes it just...fades away. Well, my momma taught me "waste not, want not," so in the interest of keeping mom happy, I vow to waste no good design ideas or cool accessories!

From now on, as I find them - I'm sharing them with you! Look for new design ideas in this blog a couple times a week...or more accurately, whenever I find something I like - starting NOW!

Read on for my limestone inspiration...

During the tour of a $3.9 million dollar home in Lincoln Park today (look for the tour in the show next week!), I saw something that had such a cool factor I just had to snap a shot and pass it along. The main floor of this home had two separate living/dining spaces, separated by a long modern kitchen which was wide open to both. The builder/architect, Greg Tomb, apparently has quite the eye for design because among the kitchen toys (built-in cappuccino machine and double hidden dishwashers to name a few) was a piece of art so built in to the architecture of the home that you couldn't imagine the space without it.

With Earth Day around the corner, I've set out to find fantastic design ideas that qualify as "green." And as we all know, using something that already exists as opposed to buying new is super eco-friendly. One of my new favorite places to find home treasures is the Rebuilding Exchange in Chicago. Maybe it's the hunt that gets me. I don't know, but this place is a warehouse full of home items that are screaming for some creativity - and some are so unique you probably wouldn't find them in the store if you tried. And of course, they've all been salvaged from Chicagoland tear-downs, so you may as well be hugging a tree.

My pick today - circular windows...

Like many of you I'm sure, I spent a good portion of this lovely Mother's Day weekend at the local nursery, choosing the plants that will be the hardest for me to kill this summer. By yesterday afternoon, my window boxes were looking lush and I was feeling pretty productive, but was sad to see that once I had finished there was still something missing. Despite the colorful accent pillows I had added to the bench, the handsome new thermomoter on the wall and the bright vases I had strategically placed around the perimiter, it still looked like...a deck.

Whether you're spending your weekends working on your backyard, a small balcony or you're lucky enough to have a rooftop deck in the city, chances are you're looking to make it feel like another room in your home that you happen to only use during the summer. That's what I was going for. Outdoor room - not deck. So, I was looking around for something that would add that indoor quality and really get my deck on track to be the envy of the neighborhood this season and I found this...

I was recently at LuxeHome in the Merchandise Mart and took a walk through their Dream Home display. It's a full home's worth of rooms, each designed by a different LuxeHome boutique. Obviously there was a lot of great design in that little dream home, but the one that stood out to me as truly beautiful was a natural wood dining table that was placed in the center of an ultra-modern kitchen. The natural rough edges of the wood definitely did not mimic the clean lines of the rest of the space, but it totally worked. It got me thinking that there's always room for a little bit of nature, no matter how contemporary your space is. You just have to do it right.

With the unofficial start of summer behind us, it's time to start gearing up for all of those summer street-fests throughout Chicago. My favorite thing about them? The local art! My first summer in Chicago, I found a gorgeous piece of art at the Retro on Roscoe festival which takes place every August in Roscoe Village. An artist had her booth set up with dozens of hand-painted city scenes, all done on windows discarded from old torn-down homes and buildings. I brought home the largest piece in her booth that day and it remains my absolute favorite thing in my home (except my husband of course).

But every time I venture out to a Chicago neighborhood festival I'm always struck by the creativity that exists in our city. Whether it's a city-scape, a photograph of the El or some other abstract Chicago-related work, local art definitely adds a little flair to your home - not to mention a fantastic conversation piece when you have guests. Plus, by buying your home's artistic accents in our city, you're doing your part to keep our local economy in decent shape. And buying local is always in style.

Find a street fest near you this summer by clicking here.

By the time it started to warm up this year, I was already in desperate need of a change of scenery. Sick of spending time indoors, I made a premature effort at getting my back deck in order. As of today, I've used it a total of just three times. Sad, I know. I suspect many of you have had the same experience - a surge of creative energy that came with that first 70-degree day, but not much on the follow-through. I blame Chicago's roller-coaster spring (I'm still half-expecting flurries any day). But no matter who's fault it is - summer is only so long and once it really heats up, I want to be able to enjoy my outdoor space!

The only way I can tackle large projects is to break them down. So, this week I'm getting back to basics. And the first thing you need in order to enjoy your outdoor space is some place to sit. The perfect spot to sip your lemonade as you watch the sun go down this summer is in an adirondack chair. Snag a pair and share the sunset with a friend. Here are some options, depending on your budget and style preference...

Translation: the bird cage.
My most recent favorite home accessory! (Yes, I realize it changes almost weekly, but this is a good one.) I keep seeing antique-looking bird cages pop up everywhere from boutique windows to hotel lobbies, which wouldn't be so strange if they were pet stores or bird-friendly hotels, but that's never been the case. In these instances, they were simply used as a design element - and they worked.

Now, I'm not talking about the big, boxy bird cages that most people use to house their cracker-hungry Pollies.

Just...no.

But the delicate curves and designs of a vintage or throw-back bird cage is a fantastic accessory for nearly any room. You can find them in all different sizes and depending on the room you put them in they can be functional too.

No folles paux here.

For example - empty spot on your nightstand? Find a cute bird cage and use it to house a few mis-matched candles (following the advice of my mother who I've come to believe was a designer in her past life, I always do groupings of odd numbers).

Need a unique shelf-filler in your library or office? Grab a few of your favorite well-worn books to sit inside. Bird cages can also make attractive table centerpieces or can provide delicious soft light for your backyard dinner parties when you put tea lights inside and hang them from the trees.

Light done right.

During a time when we're all tightening our belts, inspiration is something we could use a little more of. Some people are inspired by nature, some are inspired by art and many of us are just envious of those model rooms in the Pottery Barn catalogue that hits the mailbox every week. Doesn't matter where your inspiration comes from, you can use it to create great design pieces in your home - without spending the big bucks to buy it from the store.

This morning on Today, Sarah Gray Miller of Country Living Magazine gave some tips on easy ways to create your own versions of those pricey designer items. With a little time and some creativity, who knows? Maybe your pieces will end up being the inspiration for your friends!

Hello, my name is Rochelle, and I'm a candy-holic.

A small, silver candy dish is one of my design staples. Sometimes, I move it around just to change things up, but mostly it just sits on the edge of the bar, reliable and ready to dispense sweet treats at the first hint of a blood sugar drop. Its contents change with the season (red & green candies in December, pastels in the spring) and it welcomes even the most unexpected guest with a treat. But recently, it got a new fill-up. One that is not only tasty, but oh-so-chic as well. My new candy-dish filler is chocolate rocks, and boy do they look better than m&ms!

These little candy-coated morsels look like...well, rocks. More like pebbles, really. I first came across them while browsing Material Possessions in Winnetka. They were sitting in a stylish bowl on the counter and one of the owners offered up a spoonful. Her gesture was met with what I'm sure was a fairly unattractive look of bewilderment on my part because I was sure those aymetrical pebbles were some sort of new-fangled potpourri or just plain decoration, but definitely not edible material. Score one for the shop lady, because not only were they quite the handsome accessory, but they were in fact, every bit as delicious as my tried-and-true m&ms.

If your candy dish could use a makeover, or if you don't yet have one (gasp!) try these inexpensive options and fill 'em up with treats that look more home decor than candy store. You can find a small silver bowl, like the one I have at home, at Target for $14.99.

But any small-ish decorative bowl works!

Find chocolate rocks at Material Possessions (2 Chicago locations), Bittersweet Pastry Shop in Lakeview or online.

August is the beginning of the end for most people, but for coeds heading to college it's time to get in gear for another (or a first) year in the dorm. Just because the school of your choice has pre-selected bland desks, beds and wardrobes for you ahead of time doesn't mean you can't add a splash of your own personality to the mix. And now there's a tool that help you do it before you move in. DesignYourDorm.com allows users to select their dorm rooms (using a drop box, you choose your university and residence hall - though many school's specific dimensions still haven't been added to the database) and choose from a wide variety of products that they can actually place in the 3-D model of their room to see how things will fit (and look).

I put together a double room complete with matching nightstands, paper lantern lamps, a flatscreen tv, framed art and a black shag rug to tie it all together. Each time you add an item to the room it automatically gets listed in your shopping cart, so that once your room is complete you can purchase all and have the order shipped directly to your dorm. (No more U-Hauls, mom and dad!) You can even choose to add/purchase portable gaming centers, Nintendo Wii and kitchen and bath products. The selection is pretty complete.

The site also has a feature that allows roommates to share their saved rooms and select their own gear to fill it. Because it truly would be a shame to have clashing color schemes, wouldn't it?

The site still has a little ways to go (for starters, it really needs to enhance its database of schools and residence halls for more accurate dimensions), but as a concept, it's pretty genius; an all-in-one design/compare/shop/ship tool so that all you have to worry about upon arrival to campus is how you're going to fit all of your clothes in that tiny closet. Good luck with that.

The word wallpaper used to bring up images of the orange and brown styles leftover from the 70's in those homes that seemed to freeze in time. Paint has ruled the roost for the decades since then, but apparently that old adage "everything old is new again" has some truth to it. Because everywhere I look these days, I'm seeing papered walls.

From nurseries to master bedrooms to offices, wallpaper is back. Not the yellowed stuff of decades past, but new, modern, fresh colors and designs that more typically are used to accent one wall rather than a whole room. Take a look at this slideshow to see some examples of paper done right. It could be just the accent you're looking for.

Skinny jeans, neon accents, Ray Ban Wayfarers...and now, you can add bean bag chairs to the list of trends that reached the height of popularity decades ago and are back in the spotlight now. Fashion cycles, and so do home design trends. But those bean bag chairs of the 70's and 80's have grown up a bit and now they can be as sophisticated as you are, or...not.

Bean bags are a great addition to a kids room for fun, extra seating in a space that's usually relatively small. They also happen to be perfect for dorm rooms (as you may have seen on last weekend's HomesPlus dorm design segment with Michelle Williams!) But did you know they work in even the most stylish and chic homes too? Here are a few reincarnations of the original bean bag chair:

For the kiddies:
Try PB Kids for fun, personalized styles!

Dorm-room chic:
Perfect for lounging, watching a movie or studying...on a student's budget! Overstock.com has plenty of options.

Sophisticated and worldly:
Try Tazi Designs for a true Morroccan pouf in tons of crazy color options or West Elm for soft sheep skin.

Or, if you're feeling crafty, follow these instructions to create your own pouf!

I'm a very lucky girl. I have some of the sleekest, chicest designers in the city in my Outlook contacts, I work in the same building as the pros that cover home design for the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine and Chicago Home + Garden and I get to spend some time during my workday searching the internet and design mags for the latest home trends...and it's actually part of my job. But of all of the tips, tricks and ideas that I've been privvy to because of HomesPlus, I'm about to share one (two, actually) of the seriously hidden treasures of this city's design scene. Ready?

Their names are Courtney and Lauren, but they'd just as soon be known as Kelly + Olive, since that's the name they gave their interior design company ("2 greens. Same color, different hue. A surprising combination."). The design duo has made it their mission to bring style to homes around Chicago, one room at a time. Their goal is to help you fall back in love with your stuff - yes, YOUR stuff. Meaning this re-design team won't be heading out with your credit card to replace everything you own. The ladies insist that creating a new look in any room should only require the items you already own and perhaps a fresh set of eyes to reinvent the space. They'll pull furniture, art and accessories from every corner of your home to turn a sad, unloved room into one you actually want to spend time in. (Bonus: it usually only takes a day!) Perfect for design-lovers in a recession. (Sidenote: they do virtual decorating as well!)

Keep watching HomesPlus, because in a couple of weeks we'll be meeting up with Kelly+Olive to get a crash course on breathing new life into a room that's on style-support!

I always thought that all home goods were created equal. Silly me. Evidently, there are certain magical pieces that will work in every home you ever have - from your cramped college dorm room to that massive estate you'll one day own in, you know, the future. Check out a few of these "transitional pieces" that work in different ways, in different rooms and will never be out of place in your home!

Ready or not, fall is upon us. And in case you haven't noticed, it's starting to feel like it. But even if you're not mentally prepared for the cooler weather, you can fake it by incorporating some seasonal decorations into your home's decor. This weekend will kick off a month of carved pumpkins and cotton cobwebs, but if kitchy Halloweek decorations aren't your thing, there's a more sophisticated way to invite the fall into your home.

Here are a few fun (and easy!) ideas from this month's Southern Living Magazine, as seen on the Today Show.

One of the surest ways to upgrade your bedroom's look from "college-leftover" to "mature adult" is to finally add a headboard to your bed. But, this is Chicago afterall, and even the most mature adult isn't guaranteed to have enough space for a great headboard (or enough money for that matter - we're in a recession, people!). So imagine my excitement when I checked in on one of my favorite design-on-the-cheap blogs and found these headboard decals! (Thanks, Kelly+Olive!)

Bilk Headboard Decals come in a variety of styles and colors and at $40 - $70 a pop, you can afford to switch out your style as your tastes change. Perfect for a post-college 20-something or a commitment-phobe of any age.