Shop Local and Support Small Businesses This Holiday Season

The holiday shopping season is in full swing and while it might be easier to hit the mall or fill your Amazon cart with gifts for everyone on your list, there is much to be said for shopping local and giving small businesses a part of the action. According to the U.S. Small Business Association Office of Advocacy, small businesses represent 97 percent of companies here in Connecticut, employing nearly half of our workforce. Almost 20 percent of our economy is represented by businesses that have less than 20 employees.

Small businesses make our communities exciting and vibrant places to live, but they need our help to compete with the big guys and thrive. So this holiday season, let’s all do our best to support the small business owners who make our state and local cities special. To get you inspired, here are some of my favorite holiday gifts for the homemade right here in our own backyard.

Customized Push Pin Travel Map

Hailing from Trumbull, Connecticut, Amanda Naqvi and her team at 76th and Newbury create customizable paper goods and prints to help people bring their memories to life. I love the travel maps which can be personalized with names and regions to keep track of all your adventures. Starting from $50 at 76thandnewbury.com

Connecticut Pillow Cover

Laurel Ryan’s pillow covers are a simple and fun way to update your home with a personal design. I like the Connecticut outline, but Laurel can create almost anything from family crests to initialed monograms on both pillows and towels. Best of all, she keeps it local from her studio in Ridgefield. Starting from $40 at etsy.com/shop/LaurelRyanDesigns

Stained Glass Ornaments

John Chapman’s Uncasville stained glass studio is the perfect place to be inspired for that tough to buy for person on your list. With over 100 different designs, John’s ornaments and sun catchers make a beautiful addition to any home and a holiday gift that grandma or your little one’s favorite teacher is sure to enjoy. Starting from $12 at etsy.com/shop/ChapmanStainedGlass

Soy Candles

Manchester-based Lumiere Candle Company hand pours wood wick soy candles and wax melts that last ages and smell awesome. Their small batch runs come in seasonal scents like Crackling Campfire, Eggnog, and Woodland Foliage and make a great stocking stuffer for anyone who loves the smells of the season. Choose any three from $17 at etsy.com/shop/LumiereCandleCompany

Nordic Gnomes

DaVinci Doll Designs makes the perfect pals for little ones in your life. The Hartford-based studio creates classic Scandinavian style gnomes that make unique decorations or a great substitute for the classic Elf on a Shelf. Each one is painstakingly crafted and stitched by hand. Starting from $43.99 at etsy.com/shop/DaVinciDollDesigns

Wood American Flag Wall Art

D&L Designs from Berlin make some of the coolest signs and art using reclaimed wood found right here in Connecticut and beyond. The husband and wife team create everything by hand and designs can be custom made to fit any room in your house. Starting from $49 for signs and $125 for flags at etsy.com/shop/DandLwoodworking

Do you have a favorite small business in our area that makes fantastic holiday gifts? Tell me about them on Facebook at facebook.com/odonnellbros

Bob O'Donnell is the owner of O'Donnell Bros, Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions for Bob to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro”. All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O'Donnell Bros, Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Home Design Trend Alert - Sherwin Williams Names The 2018 Color of the Year

If you want to have the hippest house on the block this year, you’re in for a real treat. Say hello to “Oceanside”, the 2018 Color of the Year from paint authority Sherwin-Williams.

If you’re thinking, “Color of the year - is that a thing?”, the answer is absolutely yes. Every year, the home design industry takes cues from companies such as Sherwin-Williams, Pantone, and other big names in the color industry to set the home design trends for the year. In 2017, Sherwin-Williams tapped Poised Taupe as their big name in paint, which was described by the company’s director of color marketing as “... like gray and brown had a baby.” Sure enough, every living room on Pinterest became transformed into rich tones of smoky gray and requests for dark neutral vinyl siding shot through the roof. From bathroom tiles to exterior cladding, Poised Taupe was the color that we all became very familiar with in the home improvement industry.

So what about Oceanside? It looks like the color powers-that-be have decided to go bold this coming year with a vibrant, jewel-toned blue-green that compliments colors of years past with a boldness that we haven’t seen in some time. According to Sherwin-Williams, ‘“Green-blues in deep values, such as Oceanside, respond to changes in light, which is a quality that creates intense dimension. It is a tremendously versatile color, and harmonizes with other diverse color groups.”

Intense is the key word here, but Oceanside can be incorporated into any home for a bright, trendy pop of color without having to commit to a complete “house blue-tiful” makeover. Sherwin-Williams says that this year’s pick is “an opulent and mysterious green-blue color that evokes optimism” and heck, we can all use a bit of that in our lives. So let’s look at a few ways to bring the color of the year into our homes without making it look like a scene from “The Little Mermaid”.

Doors: A bright, vibrant front door is a great way to give your home a bit of personality without having to take on a massive change in style. If the exterior of your home is a neutral tone such as white, gray, or beige, injecting a jeweled blue color can give your house a bit of personality while still maintaining a classic, tranquil look.

Furniture: If you’re thinking about going with a navy couch, consider brightening up your palette instead. Dark blue is a safe and simple color choice, but going with a bolder Oceanside hue can actually be more calming and can give a room a “wow” factor without going overboard. Even an accent chair can make a statement in the company of an otherwise neutral color palette.

Pillows: Throw pillows and blankets are one of the easiest ways to update your home with the new color of the season. Oceanside pairs perfectly with sunny yellow tones and can create a fantastic beachy feel to your home, which is a great way to keep those winter blues at bay.

If you’re a lover of mid-century modern or Mediterranean-inspired style, Oceanside might just make 2018 your year to shine in the design department. What are your favorite ways to experiment with color at home? I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line on Facebook at www.facebook.com/odonnellbros.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.

Autumn Colors Without the Leaf Clean Up

If I had to rank household tasks from easy to downright dreadful, raking leaves would be near the top of my pain in the "you know what" project list. But as much as I cower at the thought of autumn clean up, I must say that the beautiful display of colors from the trees makes this seasonal task just a little bit more pleasant. If only those changing leaves would stay on the trees just a little while longer!

This got me thinking, what if we could enjoy the beautiful colors of fall for more time during the year with less raking and maintenance? With that being said, I have put together a list of my favorite plants and shrubs that offer the look and feel of autumn from spring to the first snow.

Japanese Maple

This is one of my favorites for its vibrant red leaves that stay bright for three seasons of the year. The Japanese maple is a smaller tree, growing between two and 30 feet tall depending on the variety, but it requires a low level of maintenance (preferring full sun to partial shade) and adds a lot of color to any property.  

Redbud

This tree blooms early in the spring with bright pink and purple flowers and then transforms through the summer with the appearance of green, tulip-shaped leaves. In the autumn, the leaves turn a nice golden color, making it a real horticultural chameleon with a lot of personality. The tree, which can grow to around 30 feet, even produces bold buds on its trunk and structural branches.

Witch Hazel

My daughter tells me that this shrub is dual functioning as the bark from its stems and roots are extracted and distilled into many popular natural facial toners. But besides its skincare benefits, witch hazel also offers dazzling yellow leaves and flowers that produce a pleasingly spicy scent from October through December. 

Burning Bush

With a name like that, you won’t be surprised to find this flowering plant sprouting with fire red leaves that will add a real pop of color to your shrubbery from spring to fall. A word to the wise on this one though – its aggressive growth tendencies actually put it on the list of prohibited plants in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, so you’ll want to keep it well contained. 

Kale

This one is my wife’s favorites. You might see kale on menus in restaurants all over town, but the vegetable also looks great in the garden and can be used to add loads of color to pots, on porches, and anywhere else around the yard. Kale is one of many cousins in the cabbage family and its green, white and purple leaves have serious staying power – even peeking through after the first winter frost.

This variety of plants, trees, and shrubs is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of keeping fall colors in your yard all year long. What are your favorite autumn-hued plant picks? I'd love to hear from you. Drop me an email or send me a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/odonnellbros.

Bob O’Donnell is the owner of O’Donnell Bros. Inc., a Bristol-based home improvement company established in 1975. Email your questions to info@odonnellbros.com with the subject line “Ask the Pro.” All questions may be considered for publication. To contact Bob for your remodeling needs, call O’Donnell Bros. Inc. at (860) 589-5155 or visit http://www.odonnellbros.com. Advice is for guidance only.