Tag Archives: design tips

Three Things That Every Home Design Needs

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Designing your home is a great way to express yourself. Plus, you can choose from hundreds of styles and themes when creating your space. Every element you add to your home design is just another way to make your house a home. Whether you choose a monochromatic theme, a rustic, farmhouse-style design, a contemporary styling, or even your own individual design style, there are three things that every home should include in their design. While design is expressive, these three elements work in every atmosphere and can help tailor your home even more to your style. Let’s take a look!

Pictures

If you do not have pictures or wall art in your home, you are missing out on an excellent design opportunity! You can cover those bland walls with some beautiful art. This is a chance to create a focal point in your room or guide your theme. Adding pictures to your design is a crucial element in any home. Plus, there are thousands of genres and styles of pictures. From hand-painted masterpieces to landscapes and modern art, each picture has a new opportunity to amplify your design.

Plants

Plants can be facilitated in any home. They help improve air quality while looking great. Plus, there are thousands of plants to choose from when adding them to your home. Succulents, cacti, flowers, trees, vines, and everything in between are just a few great examples. First, decide what kind of plants will grow best in your home. Do you want low-maintenance plants or plants that do not need to be directly in the window? You can even consider growing herbs for your kitchen as well. Get creative with it and tailor your plant choices to your personal design. 

Fragrance

Home improvement and design go beyond the eyes. In fact, one of the most powerful senses we have is our sense of smell. Therefore, this sense should never be neglected in your design. Candles and essential oil diffusers are great for creating the scent you want in your atmosphere. Just remember not to mask unwanted smells but eliminate them completely before creating your own fragrance.

These design tricks are essential for any home. What are some of your favorite elements that you have added to your own design over the years? Let us know below in the comment section.

Design Tips: Balancing Heights

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22021044_SWhen displaying anything – accessories on a side table, a buffet for a party, birthday or wedding presents, the impact is much stronger if you vary heights.

Designers know that getting the right balance of heights makes any visual more dramatic and interesting.

Let’s start with the photo above. The colors of pink and citrus green contrast nicely with the white china and the fabric to the left provides some textural interest. But notice that the difference between the tallest and shortest element is only a few inches. This pretty picture has charm but really doesn’t engage the eye.

21556061_SIn contrast, take a look at the photo to the right. The colors are actually slightly more limited, but the eye flies across the image thanks to several design choices.

To begin with, the height differential is almost a foot between the lowest and highest elements. The crossed ribbons in the background emphasize the height differences while pulling attention from one part of the image to the next.

14892527_SNow you may have no reason to stack your plates and bowls, but you can use this same concept with accessories in any part of your home. In this last photo, the same concepts are applied to the accessories on a side table.

The grasses lying horizontal against the table are over a foot lower than the red flowers that top the vertical vase. The chair backs and the bookshelf in the background provide strong horizontal lines, so the verticals need to come from the accessories.

Finally, notice how the plant provides some nice diagonals to draw the eye the same way the crossed ribbons did in the second photo above. The look is completely different, but the same design concepts combine to make both arrangements powerful and eye-catching.

Design Tips: Like with Like

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10593053_SDo you have a collection – either small or large – that you value? If so, think about finding a way to display it in your home with flair.

One fundamental design rule is to position like objects together: like with like. But don’t limit your thinking to only combining things that are exactly the same. Like can mean from the same period of time, in the same color or colors, the same shape, the same theme, or anything you can discover that makes a connection.

Now, the old leather-bound books shown above are together, but they don’t have much of a chance to make a statement sitting on a bookshelf.

7786742_STake a look at about the same number of books combined with a roll of older paper, an old inkwell and a feather that could be a quill pen. By combining the books with other items related to writing from approximately the same era, they change from a few interesting bindings to a design statement.

For small items or things that you don’t mind people playing with, look for interesting ways to build displays that use more than the sense of sight. For example, set music boxes or wind-up toys together on a table with a little note that says, “Please touch.”

10847524_SMaybe you have your grandparents’ old collection of buttons or marbles tucked away in a closet. How about pulling them out and placing them in a container that fits the time those buttons or marbles were used? Set them on a side table next to a favorite spot for your visitors to sit, and you may have created an interactive accessory that your guests will really enjoy. For example, by setting the buttons in the photo in an open old tin box, you encourage people to stop, look, and touch the different materials, sizes and shapes.

These are just a few ideas. Now, when you draw on that designer tip of “like with like,” stretch your imagination to create home accessories that are as unique and interesting as you are.

Finding Design Inspiration

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We are so lucky to live in an age where great information is available in so many outlets. Today’s world of design is no longer a secret.  Tips, tricks and secrets of the trade can be found online in so many places.

Design inspiration and information can be found through articles, blogs, websites and Pinterest boards. You can find blogs on specific topics, like flooring or paint or furniture, or general information on projects all over the internet. There is so much information out there you can get addicted to searching for design inspiration!

If you are looking for design inspiration online, start with sources you already know. A basic Google image search, online magazines and sites like Houzz and Pinterst are all good places to start. Each of these will probably have links to other resources. Researching online can be daunting so pace yourself!

Design inspiration is all around us. You can find inspiration in any store, in nature or at a friend’s house.  Ask for paint colors! Snap pics of things you like! You never know where you’ll find inspiration for your next project.

We’re here to help if you need us, but until you’re ready, spend sometime seeing what inspires you online!