Category Archives: Home Tips

Once the Move is Over

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Moving into a newly purchased or built home is an exciting and overwhelming event. Once the moving truck has pulled away, the real task of turning a house into a home begins. You may be left with a pile of boxes surrounding your furniture and area rugs. Unpacking and decorating will take weeks, sometimes even months or years to complete.

 

Because you will be overwhelmed it is best to label boxes with the room name where they belong. Keeping the kitchen stuff in the kitchen and the master bedroom boxes in the master bedroom will help manage the chaos.  You can set aside a space for the miscellaneous boxes in a spare bedroom or basement, but be careful not to let them sit unopened for months or years.

 

When decorating a new home, try to get the floors and walls finished before you move in to the house. This is one of the great things about a new builder home; all the painting and flooring can be done by the builder before you move in.

 

Unpack the essentials like bedding, bathroom essentials and kitchen stuff first. Set a goal of unpacking a certain number of boxes each day until your new house feels like home.

Home Decor – The Power of Citrus

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We all know that citrus is healthy for us. Experts have been touting the power of Vitamin C for years. Beyond being a good source for vitamins, citrus can also be used to freshen up our homes as well as inspire colorful designs.

 

Citrus oils capture the fresh scent of orange, lemon, lime and grapefruit. They can be used to freshen up the air after cooking in the kitchen or combat other household odors.  A few drops of citrus oil can be added to unscented cleaning products, especially homemade cleaning products, to add a clean fresh scent.  

Beyond the scent of citrus, the colors of the fruits can also serve as design inspiration. Bright splashes of yellow, orange and green, combined or on their own, can add a touch of citrus to any room. Patterned fabric with slices of citrus makes a lively table cloth or tea towels in a kitchen. Kitchens are dining rooms are both great places to decorate with food themed décor.  The easiest way to incorporate citrus into these rooms is a big bowl or even cylindrical vase filled with citrus.  Using the actual fruit to decorate a tablescape is an inexpensive way to add color to the table.

 

Citrus is not only good for you, it can be good for your home and your décor too.

Carrying an Accent Color Around the Room

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Accent colors, or pops of color as the design industry likes to call them, are highlights in a room’s overall design. These accent colors are used to complement the primary colors in the room. A room’s primary colors are typically the wall, flooring and large furniture pieces. Predominate colors in a room can be monochromatic, in which case the three colors will be all within the same hue if not the same shade. Accent colors are the source of color in these neutral spaces.

 

This bedroom demonstrates how to carry an accent color around the room to create a balance of color.  Carrying an accent color around the room gives the eye a path to follow. Leading the eye can prevent confusion from a disjointed design. If all the color is located in one spot in the space, the eye may focus there and not take in the entire room. This is why focal walls are so effective at drawing the eye.

 

The pops of maroon on the bed, lamp and art work are a map for the eye to follow. The eye will take in the bed, nightstand and the art work above the bed rather than just settle in one place. Using accent colors this way can draw attention to the highlights of the room and the design. Placing the same or a similar color on the floor with an area rug or curtains on the window would further balance the room’s design. Keeping a color palette to three or less colors is a good principle of design.

Stylish Doormats

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The first thing that greets your guests at the front door is the door mat. These functional mats can keep mud, dirt and water from getting tracked in to the house. Doormats can also be a stylish introduction into your home.

 

This entry hall nicely illustrates how a colorful and patterned doormat can liven up the space. The British Union Jack is a classic pattern that gives the hall a touch of Anglophile style. The red, white and blue of the mat coordinate with both the exterior and interior colors. Adding color and pattern with a door mat creates a cheerful greeting for guests and family.

 

Doormats can be placed on both sides of the front door. Outside mats should be a durable weather resistant material like jute or rubber. A boot scrap next to the front door is a good way to remove thick dirt, and mud from the bottoms of your shoes before entering the home. The interior door mat can be a more traditional wool throw rug, sisal or something that wicks moisture. There are so many options for patterns, prints and sizes that there is a door mat to match your decorating style.

 

Having a mat on the exterior and interior of the front door or kitchen door will help cut down on dirt and moisture being tracked into the home. Getting in the habit of removing your shoes by the front door is another way to prevent extra dirt from getting onto your floors and carpets.

Creating a Place of Calm in Your Home

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Escaping to a spa weekend or a meditation center is an ideal way to relax and shed the stress of our everyday lives. Unfortunately it is not always a reality for us that we can leave our real lives behind and follow our bliss to a spa or ashram.  Creating a place of calm in our homes can be the next best thing to a weekend away.

 

Finding a space in the home for meditation and quiet can be a little tricky for a house that holds a busy family.  A corner of a home office or spare bedroom, a space in the master bedroom or even outside could be used as a place of quiet and reflection. It is all about cultivating calm energy no matter where you find the space.

 

Designating a space in the home as a meditation or quiet place can be done with simple decorations and a soft place on the floor to sit.  A soft area rug or floor cushion can create a comfortable place to sit and meditate or have quiet time.  Placing a small table with a candle or incense or even a beautifully scented fresh flower can designate the space as special.  Silence may be preferred but you can also have music playing that calms your heartbeat and your breathing.

 

Having quiet and calm for five, ten, or twenty minutes can restore your focus and energy so that you can face the rest of your busy life.