Fresh Donuts at Home

It is safe to say that donuts are one of the most delicious treats there are. Luckily, the first Friday in June each year is “National Donut Day,” an excellent excuse to have one (or two, or three) of your favorite sweets. Some donut shops even offer free donuts on National Donut Day—the only thing better than a donut is a free one! If you don’t want to fight the crowd for a free treat on this beloved holiday, you can celebrate by making your own donuts!

The Best (and Easiest) Glazed Donuts

Everybody loves a classic and sometimes there is nothing better than a good old fashioned glazed donut. This five-ingredient recipe from Sprinkle Some Sugar is a quick and easy way to make your own fresh glazed donuts at home.

Photo Courtesy of Sprinkle Some Sugar

Strawberries N’ Cream Blender Baked Donuts

This gluten free recipe from Cotter Crunch proves that healthy donuts do exist! That’s right—you don’t have to feel bad about indulging after whipping these baked donuts up!

Photo courtesy of Cotter Crunch

Chocolate Blackout Donuts

Chocolate donuts filled with chocolate pastry cream, topped with a chocolate glaze, and finished off with chocolate sprinkles. This recipe from Sugar Hero is definitely for all the chocoholics out there!

Photo courtesy of Sugar Hero

Baked Funfetti Donuts

This simple recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction is perfect to make with kids or just to brighten up your day! These baked donuts are easy to throw together and are sure to bring out your inner child.

Photo courtesy of Sally's Baking Addiction

We at H3 hope your day is filled with lots of delicious donuts!

2016 Pantone Color of the Year In Your Home

Back in December, Pantone chose the combination of two shades—Rose Quartz and Serenity—as the 2016 Pantone Color of the Year. Rose Quartz is described as a “warm, embracing rose tone” and Serenity as a “cooler tranquil blue.”

Photo courtesy of Pantone

If you don’t know, Pantone is a “color language” used by several different industries all over the world. These industries vary from the print industry to the fashion and beauty industries, and obviously the design industries. Pantone’s “color language” is used to set and access color trends, as well as control the consistency of color across the many different mediums in which it is used.

The Pantone Color of the Year is representative of the happenings in society and expresses the mood and attitude of our culture at the time. As Rose Quartz and Serenity are both beautiful pastels, there is no better time to introduce them into your home than spring!

Ashley Bryan, a designer at H3 Home+Decor Fort Smith, put together a mood board featuring La-Z-Boy, Hammary, Uttermost, and Surya pieces with Rose Quartz and Serenity as her inspiration. She wanted to create something timeless that gave a calming and sophisticated feel and she certainly did just that!

Could you see anything on this Pantone-inspired mood board in your home? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Don’t forget to take advantage of the FREE in-home design assistance available to H3 customers in Fort Smith and Conway. With a little information and inspiration from you, our awesome designers can help you create your dream room!

Sofa v. Sectional

If your living area functions as the family room, seating is very important. You and your family will spend a lot of time in this room piling up to watch TV and lounging around together. You will also want to have enough seating for guests. No one wants to pull a kitchen stool into the living room to watch the big game!

When choosing seating, there is one decision to be made: Sofa or sectional?

For ample seating, a sofa should be paired with other pieces of furniture. Depending on the size of the room, a sofa could be paired with a couple of accent chairs, a chaise lounge, another sofa—the possibilities are endless!

This Jonathan Louis room setting features a beautiful sofa and chair trio that could be easily rearranged.

Choosing a sofa allows for flexibility and a more open floor plan. With a sofa, you are more likely to be able to rearrange your living space easily and bring in or swap out coordinating pieces of furniture for a new look. Who doesn’t like to switch things up every once in awhile? 

Sectionals often only allow for one living room layout, which of course depends on the size of your space. Sectionals come in all shapes and sizes, some are even able to be customized to your liking.

Bernhardt's Adriana sectional is available in 3 or 5 pieces.

With a sectional, you are guaranteed to have ample seating and a cozy feel. The whole family can pile up on one piece of furniture and get comfortable.

Which would you choose? Sofa or sectional?

Need help deciding? Come explore your options at H3 Home + Decor!

6 Tips to Sleep Better

Maybe you’re a morning person, but chances are you could be getting better sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults should get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per day. Are you getting enough sleep? Follow these tips to help you sleep long enough and sleep better!

Tip #1: Go to sleep at the same time each night.

Bedtimes aren’t just for kids! Set for yourself a reasonable time to hit the hay and try to stick to it. Yes, even on the weekends.

Tip #2: Wake up at the same time each morning.

Once again, this applies to the weekends. For those mornings when you just can’t get up, try to limit yourself to hitting snooze only once.

Tip #3: Stay out of sleep debt.

Nap when necessary. It is unrealistic that you will be able to stick to your sleep schedule every day, especially on those busy weekends. Even if you miss your bedtime, wake up as scheduled and take a short nap during the day.

Tip #4: Wind down before bed.

Skip out on the after-dinner coffee and save the dessert wine for special occasions. Caffeine and alcohol right before bed may make it difficult to fall asleep. Instead, wind down by reading, listening to calming music or taking a hot bath.

Tip #5: Set an ideal environment.

Keep your bedroom at a cool temperature. Harsh temperatures, either too cold or hot, may cause you to toss and turn throughout the night. Spring for some blackout curtains if you’re sensitive to sunlight. Fill your room with sounds that soothe you. A sound machine may work for you, but a fan or humidifier could do the trick too—multitasking at its finest!

Tip #6: Sleep on a comfortable mattress.

Your mattress may be the cause of all your tossing and turning. Whether it is too small or it has lost its cushioning, a new mattress could be the solution to better sleep.

Sealy mattresses are available at H3 Home + Decor.

Try these tips out and let us know how they work for you!

Festive Holiday Treats

Holiday Season is in full swing and that means one thing: lots of parties and potlucks. During this time of year, it isn’t rare to spend hours on end in the kitchen making dishes to bring to several different get-togethers. These festive treats are an easy and quick fix. Not only are they easy, they’re a fun and edible activity for the whole family. Make a new tradition this year!

Krispie Treat Christmas Trees

Talk about a tongue twister! These cute little treats {from Raining Hot Coupons} are perfect to make and decorate with the kids!

Snowball Cookies
These cookies {from Setting for Four} look just like bite-sized snowballs and you don’t have to worry about them melting. What a perfect snack to leave for Santa this year!

Grinch Fruit Kabobs

Need a quick snack for the kiddo’s class party? Skip the sugar high and make these fruit kabobs {from Nourishing Minimalism} instead. They’re ridiculously easy and quick, plus they’re adorable. Your kids will love making—and eating—these, too!

Santa Hat Oreo Cookie Balls

A holiday spin on everyone’s favorite—Oreo balls! This recipe {from Endlessly Inspired} transforms these yummy cookie balls into cute little Santa hats.

Rudolph Brownies

These brownies {from Kitchen Fun with my Three Sons} require almost no effort and are as cute as can be!

We at H3 hope you have fun in the kitchen and bring the most festive treats to your holiday parties this year!

La-Z-Boy 3D Room Planner and In-Home Design

La-Z-Boy is one of the many brands we carry at H3 Home + Decor. When you hear La-Z-Boy, what do you think? The iconic recliner may come to mind. Of course, La-Z-Boy has a lot more to offer than recliners, including chairs, sofas, sectionals, ottomans, loveseats and tables. With over 900 fabrics and leathers to choose from, La-Z-Boy allows you to make each piece of furniture uniquely yours.

With that many choices, you may need some help. Don’t worry, La-Z-Boy has you covered!  Free in-home designers provide you with expert advice and help make the design process easy and fun!

La-Z-Boy also provides a 3D Room Planner to help you visualize pieces in your home or even recreate your whole space. Use the room planner on your desktop or you can download the app for your iPad! Draw your floor plan, add wall colors and floors, and add the La-Z-Boy products you’ve got your eye on. The room planner is fully customizable, allowing you to add in windows, doors, and other existing pieces of furniture in your home so that you get the full effect.

  

Design Expert Kelly Edwards explains how to use the 3D Room Planner:

Whether you’re adding to your space or completely redecorating your room, take advantage of the resources that La-Z-Boy offers and skip out on all of the rearranging! Check out the 3D Room Planner ask us about our complimentary in-home design services at H3 today!

Cozy Up Your Home This Winter

The temperature is dropping quickly and winter is soon to arrive in full-swing. Bring some warmth into your home this winter without laying a finger on the thermostat. All you need are a few accessories to cozy up your living space! That’s right, no need to repaint or rearrange—just add a few homey touches.

Toss out some extra throw pillows and blankets. 

What makes you feel warmer than cuddling up with a fluffy pillow under a warm blanket? Functional and decorative, you can’t go wrong. This sofa pairs perfectly with the patterned chairs! The throw pillows and blanket tie all of the patterns and colors in together very nicely.

Throw a rug down. 

For those who already have an area rug or have carpet, don’t shy away. Rugs on carpet and layered rugs both bring dimension and texture to a room. These are two of many beautiful rugs Surya offers. There are endless possibilities when it comes to patterns, textures, and sizes.

Bring in some lamps. 

Also functional and decorative, lamps will provide a warm and inviting glow into a living space. These two Surya lamps certainly have a lot of personality.

Add a few natural elements—plants, flowers, wreaths, etc.

Build a fire for an authentic warmth. Decorate with leaves, twigs, pinecones, and even fruits or vegetables. Whether or not they’re real is up to you. Don’t go overboard, just a few touches to give a seasonal feel. This beautiful mantle is from Home My Design.

Make it smell amazing. Appeal to the sense of smell with scented candles, wax melts, or potpourri in festive winter scents. What is your favorite scent? Fill your home with it!

Finally, make the room look lived-in. Add some personal touches—books, photos, vases, baskets, stools, etc. These act as fillers for bare spaces and bring personality to the room. Once again, don’t go overboard—add just enough that your room doesn't look bare.