Ten Ideas to Spice Up Your Walls

No one likes a boring wall. Spice up your home’s walls with these ten genius wall decor ideas! 

 

Ten Ideas to Spice up Your Walls

  1. Artwork. If you are a collector of fine artwork, what better place to display your art treasures than at home? Artwork can be an amazing decor piece because it shows the homeowner’s personal style while letting the piece of art be displayed. This decor idea would work perfectly in your master bedroom!
  2. Photo Collage. Gallery walls are the perfect opportunity to display your favorite family photos in a unique way. This decor idea would work perfectly in your dining room or living room! 
  3. Floating Shelves. Having a floating shelf system is not only unique, but it is super useful. You can store items on your floating shelves by placing them in baskets. This wall decor idea would work perfectly in your bathroom to help stash all of your items! 
  4. Message Board. Cork boards are a great decorating tool for busy homeowners. It provides homeowners with a stylish space for memos, scheduling, and photos. This wall decor idea would work perfectly in kitchens, entryways, and home offices! 
  5. Chalkboard Wall. Who does not love an opportunity to express their creativity? With chalkboard walls, you can express it daily! You can create new drawings and messages each day while adding to the room’s decor. Need a place to write your grocery list? This will decor idea would work perfectly in your kitchen! 
  6. Mirrors. Mirrors are a timeless decor piece that we will never get tired of using. Mirrors can be great in entryways to see yourself one last time before you leave the house! 
  7. Clipboards. Are you looking for an interesting wall decor piece that will stand out? Using multiple clipboards on your wall will do just the trick! You can click on some of your favorite family photos or other art prints and hang the clipboards right on your wall. This wall decor idea would work perfectly in your home office! 
  8. Tapestries. Looking for a fun way to spice up your space? Tapestries are an amazing decor item for bedrooms and dens! 
  9. Decorative Hooks. There is nothing wrong with a little extra storage! Decorative wall hooks can provide you with the extra storage you always needed. Plus, you can go to a local antique shop and find one-of-a-kind hooks for your space. This wall decor idea would work perfectly in your foyer or mudroom! 
  10. Hanging Plants. Who does not love plants? We sure do! Hanging plants are not just for the outdoors, but you can use them to decorate the inside of your house. Try adding hanging plants inside of your kitchen, bathroom, or even home office! 

 

How do you decorate your walls? We would love to hear from you in the comment section!

 

Storing Your Gardening Supplies This Winter

As the cold weather begins to make its way back, homeowners can begin storing their gardening tools and supplies. There is nothing quite as nice as opening your shed in the springtime and having a completely organized, well-kept space. Before you dive right into the project, we gathered several tips for you to use while you organize and store your belongings. We hope you find these tips and tricks helpful! 

 

Storing Your Gardening Supplies:

Tip One: Create a System. 

Map out what you would like your shed to look like. Add function by putting in adjustable shelves and a shelving system on the walls.

Tip Two: Get Hooked. 

A great shed storage idea that we love is hanging your gardening hose on a wall hook. Be sure to purchase a large enough hook to hold your entire hose. But once you add this genius trick, you will never have to worry about a tangled hose. 

Tip Three: Magnetized. 

Are you looking for the perfect way to store your tools? Try adding a magnetic strip to one of your shed’s walls. Most of your tools will be magnetic, but if they are not, you can add a small magnet on each of your tools. Once the strip is added, you can properly hang all of your tools for quick access and have an easy clean-up.  

Tip Four: Ramp It Up.

Storing your larger items can get tiring. By adding a ramp to your shed, you can help make organization less work. Wheel barrels and lawn mowers can be easily stored and accessed with this ramp! 

Tip Five: A Good Cleaning. 

While storing your supplies for winter, it is a good idea to focus on cleaning your tools and supplies. This way dirt and grim will not be left on them while they sit unused during the winter months. For help cleaning your gardening tools, we have created a simple three-step system: 

  • Step One: In a large bucket, pour in dry sand. Moisten the sand with vegetable oil. 
  • Step Two: Remove dried-on gunk from your tools with a putty knife. Afterwards, you will want to submerge your tools inside of your sandy mixture. Make sure that the wooden handles are outside of the sand for easy access. Let your gardening tools sit inside this sandy bucket for approximately ten minutes. You will want to keep putting the tools back in the bucket until all the residue is gone. 
  • Step Three: Once all of your tools are cleaned, wipe them off with a piece of burlap. After they are wiped down, you will want to store them on your magnetic strip. They will be cleaned and ready to use once spring arrives. 

 

How do you prep your outdoors for winter? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the section below. We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Getting Your Home Ready for the Holidays

The holidays are the most joyful time of year. The holidays reunite the family and bring seasonal cheer. With the holidays, some homeowners can become stressed and overwhelmed trying to get their house in sorts. Luckily, we have created a guide to help you through this busy season! Here is how you can get your home ready for the holidays:

Getting Your Home Ready for The Holidays:

  1. Focus on Your Main Rooms

During the holidays, your main rooms will do most of the entertaining. The spaces like your living room and kitchen should be your main focus. Before your guests arrive, begin clearing the clutter out of these spaces. Make room for your company by providing extra chairs and storing bulky items. While you declutter your space, this is a great time to create a donation and discard bin. As you go through all of your stuff, you can begin placing items in their appropriate bin. This will help make cleaning up after the holidays faster and more efficient. 

  1. Decorating. 

Once the clutter is cleared away, you can begin decorating your rooms. Design experts recommend replacing current decor with decorations instead of adding more to the room. For example, you have a clock and some picture frames on your mantle. Instead of adding decorations in between and around these items, store the clock and picture frames. Then you will want to add your seasonal decor in place of those items. 

  1. Know Your Space

It is important for homeowners to recognize the amount of space they have before the holidays. Make sure you are not biting off more than you can chew. You want to be assured that you fit all of your guests with a good amount of wiggle room. Once you have assessed your space, you will want to begin to factor in your gifts. How much room will your gifts take up? Where will you store your gifts? 

  1. Make a Holiday Game Plan

The best way to get ready for the holidays is to create a game plan. Make a list of everything you want to accomplish. From baking cookies with your kids to caroling with your neighborhood, you will have everything laid out for the holidays. Just remember to add a little bit of wiggle room for unforeseen circumstances and new activities. 

 

We hope you enjoyed these tips on getting ready for the holidays! We wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday season! 

Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun

No matter what age you are, cleaning is not the most fun activity. It takes time, patience, and sacrifice to clean up an area that has become messy and we are supposed to lead by example right? But what if cleaning is down-right boring and a waste of time in a child’s minds. We get it, they would rather be playing than spending their time cleaning. We want to help you make cleaning more fun for your kids with these four easy tips. 

 

4 Ways to Make Cleaning More Fun

  1. Color Coordination. 

Color coordination is an excellent method for storage plus it can help younger children practice their colors. Use color coordination to store toys, crafts, etc. 

Pro-Tip: Legos are fun, creative game for children, but they can create a mess. Plus, they can be a hazard if left out and stepped on by a family member. Store legos by their color in color containers to help your clean-up process go smoothly. 

  1. Stickers Galore. 

Stickers are a fun way to label boxes. Moms suggest encouraging your child to clean up by rewarding them with a sticker after they put away their toys. Have your kid put the sticker on the box that matches the item represented on the sticker. For example: If you have a toy train, give your child a sticker of a train to place on the box after he/she cleans up. The box will soon be decorated by all of their cleaning accomplishments. 

  1. Just “Doh” It. 

PlayDoh is only fun until it dries out. To prevent over-drying, collect old mason jars and lids for storing your child’s PlayDoh. This can create a clean look for your home while cleaning up the PlayDoh. Plus, your kids will have a blast molding the doh into the shape of the glass for clean-up time! 

4.    Get Jammin’. 

Nothing motivates more than music! Turn on some of your child’s favorite jams to get the cleaning party started. Encourage equal parts dancing and cleaning to get them up and moving. 

 

Hopefully, you can utilize these tips and see a difference in your kid’s attitude towards cleaning. Let us know how you keep your children motivated to clean in the comment section. We love to hear back from our readers. 


How to Keep Your Plants Alive & Well

Some homeowners have the magic touch when it comes to growing plants indoors. Other homeowners may struggle a little bit with letting plants flourish and grow to their full potential. We have three tips and tricks on how to keep your plants alive and well this fall! Let us get started:

 

Tip No. One: Water only when needed (not necessarily when you think): Watering plants can be one of the most tricky things for homeowners to get right. Homeowners tend to lean towards overwatering their plants rather than under watering the soil. If you want an easy trick for watering, stick your finger into the plant’s soil. You will typically want to place it near the edge of the pot to get a good read on its dryness. If the soil is dry, you can water your plant! Experts recommend doing this until you understand your plant’s watering schedule. When you water your plants, lift up the leaves and, using a watering can dampen the soil. You can have a little bit of water underneath your plant, but clean up any excess water that may have occurred. 

Tip No. Two: Use something to help with drainage: From pebbles to gravel, there are solutions for you to help your plant with its draining system. The key to proper drainage is to keep water from your plant’s roots. The excess amount of water can lead to rotting and that means bye-bye plant. If the pot for your current plant does not have holes, you will want to replant in a pot with holes to avoid rotting.

Tip No. Three: Understand what your plant likes: Whether you bought it from a local florist or at a grocery store, you will want the rundown on your plant. You will want to research your plant to the best of your ability to learn things like: does it prefer direct sunlight? Once you understand its lighting and eating preferences, you will be set up for greater success. Say that you do not know what type of plant you own, you can always take it into your local nursery and ask them. They may even give you some tips and tricks that are personalized to your plant type. 

 

We hope you enjoyed these three easy tricks. Make sure to check back weekly for more blogs and updates. 


Sprucing Up a Gray Room

Starting off with a gray palette, whether it be on the walls or from the furniture, may seem a little dull but with the right imagination, you can take it to the next level. It just takes a little extra thought and effort. 

 

Mixing things up depends on how subtle or dramatic you want your surroundings to be. While pops of color like yellow, green, pink and orange will draw the eye, not everyone is looking for such a striking contrast. If you want to inject some color, try these shades in a softer tone and use them sparingly in the room. That way you won’t have to worry about one or two pieces taking over the whole arrangement. Without having to use dramatic colors, you can still bring some excitement to the room. Gray pairs well with black, white, cream and beige. You can still enjoy all the neutral colors you love while having a little bit of distinction sprinkled throughout the room. However, if you are a fan of dramatic contrasts, feel free to display this through a brightly patterned rug, wall art, throw pillows and decorative flowers.

 

In addition to color, another way to make a gray room pop is through decoration. An arrangement of black and white photographs above the sofa or playing up the gray with antique finished furniture are both great ways to add visual interest. A clear glass coffee table that provides a view of the area rug below is an easy way to add a bit of style. To add warmth, use some items that contain earth tones to creating an inviting environment you’ll want to linger in. This can be as interesting as adding a sliding barn door to your entryway or as simple as showcasing your hardwood floors. Whatever style your home favors, grays and browns can work well together in it.

Additional ideas for sprucing up the room would be through texture. A good example of this would be the incorporation of an upholstered chair or richly toned floor length drapery for the windows. From fluffy throw pillows to a large oil painting, there are plenty of ways to add texture and bring a soft touch to a cool, gray room.

            

Feng Shui Home Design Principles – Color

When incorporating Feng Shui principles in the design of the interior of your home you need to give thought to what type of colors you’re going to paint each room. Yes, using colors, based on how they mesh with your energy, is crucial to creating a home that promotes well-being and balanced energy. 

 

The key to effectively using colors that harmonize with Feng Shui principles is to balance out the color scheme. Too much of a dominant color will have your energy in disarray. Here is a guide to finding the right Feng Shui colors for your home!

 

Yellow: In Feng Shui, yellow is associated with sunlight and energy from the Earth. It infuses energy, hope and it increases mental clarity. By using yellow as part of your color scheme you create a sense of stability. Try using yellow in an area of the home such as the office area, living room, or your bedroom.

 

Red: Red is a fiery color which is associated with fire. This color has the power to increase the heart rate and blood pressure. Red also helps alleviate depressions and stimulates activity. You can use this color in areas of the home such as the living room and bedroom.

 

White: White is a pure color that’s often associated with serenity. White and metallic colors are also associated with metal which is one of the five elements of Feng Shui. White can be used in any area of the home.

 

Green: In Feng Shui, green falls under the element of wood. It is a color that promotes growth or action and inspires internal change. Use this color in rooms where the whole family gathers to promote positive energy.

 

Black and Blue: Black and blue represent the element of water. Black can increase mental activity and inspire creativity. On the other hand, blue is good for the body because it decreases accelerated heart and breathing rates while lowering the blood pressure. These colors are ideal for private areas in the home where you retreat to for privacy and solace. 

By using these ideas in your home, the Feng Shui of your space should be more harmonious!

Feng Shui Home Design Principles – The Five Elements

Using ancient Feng Shui can do more than just improve the flow of energy in your home but it will also enhance your quality of life.

 

Five Elements of Feng Shui

Water, wood, earth, fire, and metal are the five elements of Feng Shui. You should try to incorporate at least one of these Feng Shui elements into each room in your home.  Plants or ceramic accessories can represent earth while candles or lamps can stand in for the fire.  Each of these elements will inspire a different mood.  Here are some additional tips for incorporating each element into your decor:

 

Wood –  Wood harnesses creativity. Traits like strength, birth, flexibility, and growth are a representation of wood. Too much wood in a design scheme will make a room feel rigid. Too little shows a lack of creativity. When using wood in your decor be sure to include some of the following.

  • Plants
  • Natural fabrics
  • Wood furnishing
  • Hardwood flooring

 

Fire – Fire increases enthusiasm. It also encourages leadership and expressiveness. Using too much of this element will come off as aggressive and shows irritability. To expand fire elements in a space try the suggestions below.

  • Add candles or allowing more sunlight to flow into your room
  • Accent with animal prints
  • Use shades of red, purple and pink

 

Earth – Earth invokes physical strength while generating an overall sense of stability. Too much of this element in a room will give off sensations of sluggishness and boredom. On the other hand, not enough can make you feel disorganized and unfocused. You can incorporate elements of the earth in several ways.

  • Use earth tones such as brown, green and sandy colors
  • Hang paintings of landscapes or nature scenes
  • Add potted trees and green plants
  • Incorporate flat surfaces

 

Metal – Metal encourages mental clarity and logic. When this element is used within a space it produces characteristics such as organization and righteousness. When used generously in a room it can be perceived as over critical. You can enhance a space with metal used judiciously.  

  • Use iron, gold, or silver fixtures
  • Include rocks and stone
  • Decorate with colors such as white, silver, gray, and light pastel colors

 

Water – Water is the final element in Feng Shui. Water brings inspiration, wisdom and it balances emotions. You can incorporate it into your design scheme through the use of water-like items.

  • Use deep and dark tones
  • Incorporate objects with reflective surfaces such as mirrors
  • Find items that are irregularly shaped
By using these design tips, you can incorporate a Feng Shui design into your home!

Feng Shui Home Design Principles – Furniture Placement

Create a home that both balances energy and promotes overall well-being by implementing Feng Shui home design principles. In interior design, Feng Shui is based on the beliefs that our homes should be a reflection of our what’s inside us. Yes, the purpose of Feng Shui is to align our environment with our inner energy. How can this be done?

 

Implementing Feng Shui home design principles involves giving some thought to what type of accessories you bring into a room as well as furniture placement. According to Feng Shui principles, everything holds energy including inanimate objects. Such principles will help you bring in good vibes and enable the flow of energy.

 

Furniture Placement

One basic concept of Feng Shui you should apply when arranging the furniture of your home is to “command the position.” Commanding the position involves feeling more secure in the room that you’re in and taking charge of the room.

 

If you have a home office, you may be tempted to place your desk in a position that allows you to look out the window and take advantage of the view outside. However, according to Feng Shui concept “commanding the position” you should place your desk in a position that allows you to see most of the room including the doorway Therefore, your workstation should be set up with the window behind it. Remember, the primary function of this room is to get work done and you don’t want to send creative energy out of the window. This would be a more efficient layout.  If you’re set on getting a glimpse of your beautiful view you can angle the desk sideways so that you can still view the entire room while enjoying the view.

 

Living Room

What about the living room area? Ideally, you’ll want to place the sofa against the wall and away from the entryway. However, be sure to leave a few inches between the couch and the wall. One of the biggest Feng Shui mistake that homeowners make when designing the layout of their living room is creating an awkward seating plan that prevents the flow of conversation.

 

Often, in the living room, the television becomes the focal point of the room. Since the living room is the place where the family gathers you should set the television up in a less central spot. According to Feng Shui, you want to avoid letting electronic devices dominate the room.

 

Bedroom

The bedroom should be balanced especially if you’re in a relationship. When designing the layout of the bedroom apply the same concept of “commanding the position”. Your bed should be placed in view of the door but not directly in front of the entryway because this is considered unlucky. Be sure to include bedside tables on each side of the bed. This will represent equality in the relationship. 

5 Tips Towards Reducing Clutter

Clutter can overtake our lives. Sometimes, we grow so accustomed to it that we do not feel like we do need to do anything about it. It is a scary thought to think that we are okay with the clutter-filled lives that we live. Let us be honest, we are not minimalists and we are not saying you need to be one. But reducing clutter can lead to a happier lifestyle, a healthier home, and reduced stress.

 

Before you jump into reducing clutter on your own, we have five tips that we think will be useful for you: 

 

Tip One: Make a Difference. Getting rid of stuff can be difficult, especially when you get in your head. Thoughts like “what if I will need this for ___ one day” or “I have always wanted to use this, but I just have not gotten around to it.” There will always be an excuse or a reason to keep something. A good way to look at it is that you will be making a difference through donations. Donating can help the less-fortunate find items they truly need. While going through your belongings, think of the families in need that you will be helping. You can make a difference right from your own messy garage. 

Tip Two: Only One. The rule of “only one” will help you in rooms like your kitchen, bathroom, and living room. You only need ONE of each thing. For example, you only need one spaghetti strainer or one bottle of bubble bath or one television remote. Once you have reached one, donate the others. 

Tip Three: It Needs a Place to Call Home. A great way to reduce clutter is to only keep items that have a place to be stored. No more storing a massive load of untouched boxes in your garage. Go through all of the items and if you do not have a place to store it, pitch it or donate it. There will definitely be exceptions like if you are housing something for someone else, the items are seasonal decorations, etc. 

Tip Four: Tackle The Untackled. Typically, we avoid sorting and cleaning out areas of our home that are unorganized and messy. That ends today. You want to take a good look at the areas you are ignoring and avoiding and start with those areas. There may be a ton of stuff that you did not even realize you owned! It is a great time to get a fresh start and donate these unused items. 

Tip Five: It Will Not Happen Overnight. A lot of homeowners get stressed and overwhelmed during this process. To reduce stress, give yourself breaks. Whether you go out for a walk or watch a television show, you want to be able to walk away from the project and come back at a later time. Do not over-frustrate yourself. It will get done. It just takes time. 

 

Getting rid of items that you own can be difficult and we understand that. As a reward, you should treat yourself with something special. You worked hard! Go on, you deserve it.