I visited the Hotel California in Todos Santos, Mexico, in August during the trip that was arranged by the Mexican Tourism Board and Ogilvy. It was my first trip to Mexico, and fell in love with the country, and among others this little town, hotel and the vivid colors in Mexican interior design.

Hotel California is in a small town called Todos Santos, which has authentic colonial architecture and cobblestone streets and it is a perfect spot for some Mexican design inspiration. Hotel California, with its famous name from the Eagles song was already founded in 1947, and you could spot many of the design elements already from that era.

Each room is decorated with rich colors and original art work acquired locally and worldwide and has just the right mixture of rustic Mexican look and luxury. The vivid color palette made me feel alive and inspired, and I came home wanting to redo my entire home. Hope these pictures inspire you to think outside the box in your home, and bring some color to your fall home.

I loved the mix of colors at Hotel California. Many of the rooms were decorated in vibrant yellows, lime green and red, but the outdoor areas had great mix of blues, whites and greens, combines in objects that looked rustic, earthy, natural creating a very relaxing atmosphere.

I absolutely love the mixture of bold colors and rustic accents, and how you could easily get this look also at home with flea market finds, and paint. Look at the rustic details from Hotel California – they would look amazing also paired with more natural color palette.

Disclosure: My trip to Mexico was paid, and I was invited to the trip by Ogilvy and the Tourism Board of Mexico, but my opinions are my own.

SchubLaden is a company in Berlin, Germany creating new furniture with vintage drawers. They have some ready for sale furniture, and in addition they offer customization. I love the idea of upcycling old drawers to new furniture. The vintage drawers look modern in schubLaden’s modern dressers designed by Franziska Wodicka, and each unique piece is signed and numbered.

The whole idea behind schubLaden is preserving the history and beauty of the unique drawers, while building a sturdy new structure around them making a new piece of furniture that will last for a long time. The furniture structures are mostly made out of varnished or oiled MDF boards or out of oiled solid wood.

I love this idea, and one day I will try to recruit my husband in helping me to create one of these myself…

If I were really honest with myself, I could admit that what I really want is for my home to look like something you’d see in the pages of a magazine. Of course, real people live here, so its unlikely that will ever happen. One of the tips I’ve picked up from years of browsing through magazines is simple: Fresh flowers and plants are a simple, inexpensive way to brighten up a room. Colorful fruit can do the trick too.

Want to see what I mean? Check out all these magazine-featured rooms featuring greenery and fruits:

Photos from the portfolio of Eddie Ross

Photos from Young House Love

Photo from the portfolio of Kelly LaPlante

The last example is a bit extreme, since most of us would never consider adding a whole tree, but you get the idea. If you’re bored with a room and don’t have a whole lot of money to spend, pick up a cheap bouquet of fresh flowers from the supermarket or florist. You can do this for free if you happen to have a garden or a lot of wildflowers nearby. And a bunch of like-colored fruit in a bowl can always make a great centerpiece.

And don’t go thinking you need a fancy vase or pot to contain your greenery. An empty glass jar or bottle makes an excellent container, and you can even use a pretty mug or cup from your kitchen.

There is little else I can think of that will make a room feel more alive more quickly, easily or inexpensively.

Written by Jennae Petersen. Jennae is Skimbaco’s Green Living & Decor Expert. She is a mother, a graphic artist, a connoisseur of beautiful interiors and a purveyor of all things design. She also believes it is her duty to strive toward sustainable living. This means being more conscious about every aspect of life. She is the founder and author of Green Your Decor and Green & Gorgeous blogs. She also runs Hibiscus Creative, a successful, full-service graphic design firm specializing in branding and Thesis theme customizations. She designed the Skimbaco logos and blogs.

One of the design trends I spotted at DIFFA 2010 is the natural and eco look. It’s nothing new, and I hope and believe that green living is here to stay.

Four NYSID students created this “cradle to cradle” concept focusing on sustainability and modern aesthetics. The table design and the booth was almost entirely made of salvaged materials.

The materials used were recycled lumber and low VOC paint, even the dishes were biodegradable sugarcane tableware and the utensils bamboo. The purpose of this table setting was to promote the concept to “leave and imprint and reduce the footprint.”

The origami flower centerpiece illuminates as the center piece and is a perfect symbol for organic design. Origami was used in other table settings as well, like at the 2 Michaels table, the simple napkins were folded origami style, and also the 2 Michaels table was illuminated by a delicate paper tower.

I love the modern rustic combination of rustic wood and fibers against the delicate white origami paper and white linen.

DIFFA’s DINING BY DESIGN 2010 was hosted during the Architectural Digest Home Design Show in New York City in March. Read all of my posts featuring DIFFA and the Architectural Digest Home Design Show.

I was able to get modern nursery decorating tips from interior designer and a clothing designer Molly Payne for my upcoming Lifetime Moms blog post, but I couldn’t help but share the photos here as well. Molly Payne owns Zeal Interiors, and is a co-owner of A.Bird, a children’s high-end clothing brand, which I could call “modern heirloom” style.

Molly’s daugther’s name is Ayla, and her nickname is Bird, thus the A.Bird brandname was born. When Molly designed her daughter Ayla’s nursery, the birds were also an important part of the design. The hand-carved bird-mobile and the bird wall stickers on the wall make the nursery a perfect nest for Molly’s little Bird. The 200 year-old heart peck cypress wood crib is made by Molly’s husband.

The A.Bird children’s clothing collection is now available for pre-order at Zeal Baby and here are a few adorable pictures of the line.

And stay tuned for my upcoming post at LifetimeMoms.com/home for modern nursery decorating tips from Molly.