Tag Archives: Home decor

Comfortable Interiors: Comfort Food for the Home

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Some rooms feel like the interior design equivalent of chicken soup or a casserole—in other words, comfort food for the home. Creating a room that envelopes us in comfort is more than just having comfortable seating. Rooms that succeed at making people feel instantly at home and comfortable are designed that way.

 

Comfortable interiors are all about inviting someone to sit, relax and enjoy the space. They can envelope people like a big blanket. Furniture and lighting play a big role in establishing a comfortable design.  Lighting should come from multiple sources and preferably not be overhead light but floor and table level. Overhead light can be too harsh and tends to wash out the room if it is too bright. An overhead light like a chandelier that can be dimmed is a good idea if overhead lighting is a must.

 

Comfortable furniture can take many forms. Straight back chairs and stiff sofas do not lend themselves to comfort as easily as a club chair or overstuffed down sofa. Materials for the filling of furniture should be soft and pliable, molding to the body rather than stiff and unforgiving. A mix of down and foam is a good choice for pliable cushions that also hold their form.

 

Flooring is another area where comfort can be incorporated into the design. Soft carpets and thick pile area rugs invite bare feet and lounging on the floor.  Accessories like pillows and throws can make a warm, inviting place to snuggle on the sofa for a nap or watching a favorite movie. Relax and Enjoy!

Design Inspiration: Mid Century Glass

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Mid century glass is a beautiful collectible that can inspire an entire room.  Mid century glass refers to glass created between the 1940s and 1970s. This renaissance of glass making, often done by hand-blowing the pieces, took place all over Europe and America.

 

Some of the most famous mid century glass comes from Murano, Italy, which is an island off of Venice. Murano has been known for centuries as a glass century. In the 1950s and 60s their iconic swirled glass, often flecked with silver and gold, was brought back to the States by post-war American tourists.  Ashtrays, bowls, and vases, easily imported in a suitcase decorated shelves and coffee tables in chic American homes in the mid 20th century.

 

Other mid century glass centers included the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. Scandinavian glass is known for its more simple shape and translucent colors and was both hand-blown and molded.

 

Because of the beautiful colors, patterns and shapes of mid-century glass is great inspiration for a color palette and décor. Rugs, carpeting and pillows can make colorful accents based on mid-century glass. A collection of mid-century glass on a table, shelf or console can be grouped together by color for a strong pop of color in a living room or dining room. Shelves lined with pieces or a single piece on a coffee table, mid-century glass is a beautiful addition to modern, contemporary or transitional space. The popularity of mid-century glass means that copies can be found new at national home décor stores and major retailers.

Stripes in the Kitchen

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Kitchens tend to be neutral color spaces with wood or neutral colored cabinets, neutral wood or tile floors and neutral stone counter tops. All these neutral colors can be gorgeous in the kitchen since they play off one another in both color and textures. A nice pop of color and pattern can help add a little more pizzazz to the neutral kitchen.

 

Stripes are a fantastic pattern for the kitchen. Stripes are a gender neutral pattern so they won’t make a kitchen, or any room, feel too feminine or masculine. They add great graphic pattern and can also be done in multiple colored stripes for a burst of color in the kitchen. White and a single color stripe creates a crisp, classic look that will work in kitchens from farmhouse to contemporary. Multicolor stripes are more lively but can also work in most kitchen styles.

 

Stripes can be used on curtains, valances, shades and cafe curtains in the kitchen. Striped runners, like the one seen here, make a great rug for in front of the sink or stove, or between the island and wall of cabinets. Striped tea towels and dish cloths continue the possibilities of stripes throughout the kitchen. Of course there are also striped glassware and dishes if you really love stripes.

 

As with any pattern you will want to monitor how many stripes you use in the kitchen. A single striped pattern is great but stripes of different sizes and colors used in a single space can make the room feel very busy.

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.

Fresh Accents in the Kitchen

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Kitchens like any other room in the home can be given extra pizzazz with colorful and bright accents. The hard surfaces of the kitchen can make it feel sterile or cold. The wood cabinets, stone counters, tile back splashes, stainless steel appliances and tile or wood floors are all beautiful but hard. Hard surfaces make clean up easier and are typically more hygienic—two important qualities to have in the kitchen.

 

Fresh accents can breathe life into the kitchen. Because a kitchen’s focus is food and eating, decorative accents can be food and food themed.  This modern kitchen features a tall tile backsplash with a contrasting border stone counter tops and sleek appliance. The bowl of fresh fruit and a row of small vases filled with herbs and flowers breathes life into the kitchen. Just a bowl of citrus or apples can provide color and texture to break up all the hard surfaces in the room.  A bud vase next to the sink or on the window sill will add a fresh accent that might even brighten up the tedious task of doing the dishes.

 

Colors and patterns from food and floral accents in the kitchen can be used to inspire other accessories in the room. The color of runner in front of the stove could be inspired by a bowl of fruit, a box of garden vegetables from a local farm or bouquet of fresh flowers. Tea towels and dish cloths can also be chosen to coordinate with these fresh accents.

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.

Home Decor – Paint It Red

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The primary color red is one of the strongest colors on the color wheel. Red can intimidate some people for its bold, rich color. Small doses of red can be used as an accent color to spice up a room. Buying or painting a single accent piece of red furniture is a fun way to add a pop of red to a room.

 

A red chair or ottoman in a living room or a red console table in the entry will create a focal point. Red accents can be in furniture, rugs, lamps or soft accessories like pillows and throws. A red bowl on the dining table or kitchen counter is a nice way to incorporate the color into a room. Even a bowl of red apples can add a little burst of red to a kitchen.

 

If you want to make a bigger statement, use red on furniture or the walls. Red area rugs or or multicolor rugs that have red in the pattern are less overwhelming than red walls.

 

Red painted furniture can be done with spray paint or traditional oil based paints for furniture. To get a good saturated color, multiple layers will need to be applied. A red lacquer is great for its deep color and hard surface—perfect for a coffee table or dining table. The shiny, glossy surface of lacquer can be imitated with a high gloss enamel paint. Durable enamel paint is a good choice for chairs and surfaces that will get a lot of wear.