Tag Archives: decor tips

Traditional Dining Room Decor

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Formal dining rooms often follow a pattern in their design. Many formal dining rooms have a traditional style even if the rest of the home is more casual and comfortable.  In many minds, the dining room should be formal and for many of us formal means traditional.  This is the room where we dress up for dinner and celebrate holidays and milestones.

 

Achieving a formal feel in the dining room is often done with traditional design elements and furnishings.  Even if your style is more modern, these traditional elements are the foundation of any formal dining room.  You can take the traditional elements and modernize them to suit your taste, but you’ll find that you use the same pieces as a traditional style dining room does.

 

The dining table is the focal point of the room. Surrounded by a set of six, eight, ten or twelve chairs, the table is centered in the room by a light fixture, most often a chandelier.  The chandelier is typically hung thrity-something inches above the table, low enough to relate to the table and high enough not to interfere with the sight lines from the chair.  Other pieces in a traditional dining room include a sideboard or buffet and often a mirror above it.

 

This dining room has all the classic elements of a traditional dining room. Crown molding, a chair rail and picture molding below add a formal feel to the room.  The large area rug ties in the striped pattern of the wallpaper and the colors of the table and chairs.

 

Trend Spotting: Wall Mounted Headboards

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Upholstered headboards are a big trend in design right now. A variation on the upholstered headboard is the wall mounted headboard as seen here. The wall mounted headboard can make a big design statement as well as save space in a bedroom.

 

This wall mounted headboard features an ebony wood trim around a central panel that is upholstered and tufted with buttons. The headboard has a clean modern look with its black and grey colors and clean lines.  If you are using wood on a wall mounted headboard, you may want to coordinate it with other wood furniture and the wood on the floor. Having a dark, ebonized wood headboard with light wood floors would not look as polished as having both woods be in the same tone.

 

Wall mounted headboards can be done in a number of upholstery types and sizes. If you don’t want the permanence of a wall mounted headboard but you like the look, you can hang fabric from a rod behind the bed.  Another less permanent option would be to stretch fabric on a canvas stretcher and hang that above the bed for a similar effect.

 

When choosing an upholstery and finish for a wall mounted headboard or any upholstered headboard, select a fabric that you can live with for a number of years. Solid colors may stand the test of time more than the latest pattern. Choose classic colors and neutrals and update your bed linens to follow the trends to make the most of your investment.

Silver Hues in the Kitchen

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Silver is the choice for metal surfaces in the kitchen. Cool silvery hues like stainless steel, chrome, and nickel continue to be popular finishes for ranges, hoods, sinks, faucets and hardware in the kitchen. The influence of commercial kitchens with their stainless steel surfaces can be the source for this popular metal in today’s residential kitchens.

 

Stainless steel appliances set the tone for all other metals in the kitchen. When your largest appliances like the fridge or stove are stainless steel, they demand that other metals in the kitchen coordinate with them.  Of course you could add other metallic finishes to the room like oiled bronze or brass, but using silvery finishes with stainless steel gives the room a more unified appearance.

 

Silvery chrome and nickel work well with stainless appliances and sinks.  Chrome and nickel come in a number of finishes including satin and polished.  The more shiny the finish, the more the metals will stand out and sparkle in the space.

 

Silvery metals also work with any number of cabinet and floor choices. Dark wood cabinets and floors get a pop of sparkle with silvery chrome or nickel pulls.  The silvery pulls are like sparkling jewelry against the wood, like a sparkling bangle or necklace is against a little black dress.

 

These metals also look great with glass front cabinets and marble counters veined with grey.  Using silver against grey and white is a sophisticated look for the kitchen. It is also a great look for a bathroom.

Bringing Color into the Kitchen

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For kitchen design the reigning option for cabinets has been white or wood for years. We are starting to see more colored cabinets showing up in contemporary kitchens and even traditional kitchens. For contemporary kitchens with just upper cabinets we’ve seen the lower cabinets painted or finished in soft to bold colors.  If you are redoing your kitchen cabinets, you may want to look into adding color to your cabinets. If you are not doing a major kitchen remodel this year or in the foreseeable future you there are other ways to bring color into the kitchen.

 

Maybe you are tired of your existing kitchen cabinet color. You could consider painting them a soft yellow or navy to update your kitchen without doing a major remodel. Upper cabinets could be done in white and the lower cabinets in a soft shade of color that works with your counter tops and flooring.

 

If you love your kitchen cabinets, add color to the kitchen with accessories and counter top appliances. Depending on the style of your kitchen you might want to have one or several colors as your accent colors. You can carry the wall color onto towels and runners, or choose a color that contrasts to your walls and floors.

 

Counter top appliances are another way to add pops of color to the room. Most counter top appliances come in a range of colors these days as well as the standards of stainless, black and white. Even a tea kettle is a place to bring color into the kitchen.

Make your Bathroom Standout

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New construction is a wonderful opportunity to customize a home to suit your needs. Upgrades can add up and you might not get every upgrade you want due to your budget. Often the second or third bathroom in a home is lower on the list of builder upgrades than the kitchen or master bathroom. If this is the case and you have a builder basic bathroom, there are simple tricks you can do to give it the look and feel of an expensive upgrade.

 

Wall color is the first place to start. Choose a paint color that works with your cabinetry, floors and tile colors since those are more expensive to change. If you have builder’s beige bathroom, change the wall color. It doesn’t have to be a major change from beige to bold color. Even a deeper neutral like warm grey can make a big impact. If your vanity or other bathroom storage is off white or cream, you might want to avoid crisp white. If you have wood cabinetry, the white will highlight the natural beauty of the wood.

 

The large plate of mirror that is standard in a newer construction bathroom is another builder grade staple that can be change. You can put a frame around the large mirror to give it a more finished look. You could add a cabinet in between two sinks to divide the mirror in two. There are many fantastic tricks and ideas on dealing with large bathroom mirrors on design blogs.

Beautiful Browns in the Bedroom

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You might shy away from browns in the bedroom thinking they are too dark or dramatic. Layering shades of brown can create a warm, soothing bedroom that feels like a sanctuary.  This bedroom demonstrates that you can layer several shades of brown in the bedroom and create a beautiful room.

 

The carved wood furniture sets the tone for this bedroom. The tall headboard set into a nook is the focal point of the room. The heavy wood furniture has a beautiful rich wood tone.  Working from this warm wood, the table lamps are done in shades of brown that play off the furniture. Keeping the walls a light color keeps the room from feeling too dark. You could also play off the richness of the furniture’s wood and go darker on the walls for a much more masculine look to the room. Deeper wall colors would create a cozy feeling in the space.

 

Light walls lead your eye up to the tray ceiling where the center is painted a warm taupe. Bringing a darker color onto the tray draws your eye up to the architectural detail. The warm taupe color also ties in with the wood floor as it is a similar shade.

 

It would be nice to see more accessories in this room. Framed artwork on the wall above the nightstands would help balance out the large headboard. Window treatments that tied in with the wood of the bed or the colors of the bed linens would give a finished look to the room.

Boldly Colored Home Décor

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Sometimes design rules should be broken. Today’s design trends are turning traditional design rules on their sides. One of the most followed design rules is to purchase large investment pieces in neutral colors of grey, white, tans, browns and blacks. Breaking this rule and purchasing seating in bright, bold colors can be the perfect decision for some decors.

 

In a neutral decor, a red sofa, like the one pictured here, will be the star of the space.  Any brightly colored piece of furniture will be a focal point in a room with a neutral color palette.  Aqua, green, yellow, purple or red are bold colors that can work well with neutral colors and not feel too feminine or masculine.  A pink or fuchsia sofa will feel more feminine while a navy or royal blue might work better in a more masculine space. A boldly colored headboard is a great way to highlight the bed in a bedroom.

 

Boldly colored furniture in a colorful room that features bright colors on the walls and floors should either contrast with the wall or floor color or blend in with the other dominate colors of the room. Having more than three colors in a room can make the energy in the room feel too intense. White rooms with a boldly colored sofa or chair is a nice way to add pops of color.

 

With a custom made slip cover in a white or other neutral color, the boldly colored chair or sofa can be covered up should you tire of the bright color.

Décor – Celebrating Dog Lovers!

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Dogs have been appearing in art and design for centuries. These beloved pets appear on decorative accessories from china to pillows and everything in between. Painting of and about dogs can decorate the walls of a traditional or contemporary home. Dogs are not only some of our best friends; they make for handsome decorative elements in interior design and decorating.

 

Dogs in art became popular with Sporting Art that originated in England in the 18th century. Dogs were also popular subjects in Impressionist and Modern art. Contemporary art today often features dogs like the famous Blue Dog series. There are numerous businesses that provide custom artwork and photographs of the beloved family pet. Custom portraits are even available for any kind of pet.

 

Artwork is not the only area of decorating where dogs are used as decorative elements. English Staffordshire figurines of dogs, as pictured here, are highly collected. Dog figurines and sculptures decorate shelves and table tops. Popular dog breeds for these small decorative items are Scotties, Greyhounds, English Bulldogs, Poodles and Setters.

 

Soft goods like rugs and pillows can feature dog silhouettes and patterns.  Needlepoint rugs might feature a classic hunting scene or fox hunt. Needlepoint pillows with every breed from pugs to poodles can offer a charming accent for sofas and chairs.

 

Hang a portrait of a beloved family pet or decorate with your favorite breed, letting the house go to the dogs can be a fun way to add a personal touch to your décor.

Modern Design for Today’s Living

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Although mid-century design is now over sixty years old, it still feels fresh and modern in today’s interiors. Modern style can often be confused with contemporary style. Modern refers to modern mid-century design and style while contemporary is current to today’s time period. Both styles prefer clean lines and simple forms.  The icons of mid-century design that were popular sixty years ago are even more popular today.

 

Some of the mid-century design icons include pieces by both American and European designers. America and Scandinavia were the capitols of mid-century modern design movements. Vintage pieces from American and Scandinavian mid-century designers are highly collectible, and the master works can often fetch tens of thousands of dollars at antique shows and design shops.

 

Among the most iconic and popular mid-century designs is the Tulip table designed by Saarinen, a Finnish designer. The streamlined design works with both mid-century modern style chairs as well as more traditional chair forms for an eclectic look.

 

Other design icons include a coffee table and rice paper lanterns designed by Noguchi; bentwood chairs design by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames; and starburst clock by George Nelson. These are but a few of the designs from the mid-century that are popular today. Textiles, shag rugs, china, pottery and glassware as well as furniture from this era are popular for today’s interiors.   Color palettes from the mid-century are also being reinterpreted for today’s homes.  These designs are so popular that many of them have been released in new editions or copied.

DIY – Brighten the Room with Flowers

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There’s nothing more appealing and inviting than a bouquet of fresh flowers. Be inspired and create your own flower arrangement!

Start with the container. Do you have a favorite vase or pitcher that you think would look especially appealing filled with flowers? Take a good look at its shape and measure its height. You will want your flowers to reach about 1 ½ times higher than the size of the vase. So if your vase is six inches high, you’ll want your flowers to run at least 6-9 inches higher than the top of your vase.

If you have a reliable grocery, discount or warehouse store that sells flowers, you will find the best values there. If you really want to indulge yourself, visit a florist and pick out each flower individually. You will pay more but chances are you will find more variety and choice. At a florist, you could even bring your vase and ask for help in choosing the best flowers for it.

Bring your flowers home and take your time arranging them. If you plan them for a coffee table, look at the arrangement from all sides. If it will be against a wall, make sure you showcase the best side.

Spring is here so bring an extra bit of fresh-flower brightness into your home for everyone to enjoy.