Casual Farmhouse Style in the Kitchen May 23, 2013
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There is something warm and inviting about farmhouse style in the kitchen. Perhaps it is the nostalgic longing for a simple life in the country or a slower pace. In any case, farmhouse style just works for a family kitchen. Farmhouse blends traditional elements with vintage style that creates a comfortable style that works well for today’s family’s lifestyle.
One of the best things in farmhouse style kitchens is the huge farmhouse style sink. These deep, wide sinks are heaven for a large or small family. Pots, pans, baking sheets can all fit in the sink. The popularity of farmhouse sinks even extends to other kitchen styles, including traditional and contemporary kitchens.
Farmhouse counter tops can be a variety of materials. Butcher-block counters can look right at home in a farmhouse style kitchen. Wide plank wood floors, stained or painted, are also great in a farmhouse kitchen. Vintage materials like linoleum and Marmoleum can also work in farmhouse style kitchens. For a French farmhouse style kitchen, stone floors like travertine or slate are good choices. Painted cabinets are also perfect for farmhouse kitchens.
Vintage farmhouse tables can be used to add eating space or as a kitchen island. Doesn’t matter if these tables have chipped paint and scratched wood tops; the imperfections add character to the room. Open shelves and glass front cabinets will let you show off your pottery and vintage glassware collections.
Area Rug Maintenance May 14, 2013
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Here are a few care and maintenance tips to keep in mind for your area rugs around the house:
Vacuum: Vacuum or sweep your rug as you would wall-to-wall carpeting, but be careful that the fringes don’t get pulled or sucked in by the vacuum cleaner.
Rotate: You should rotate your rug 180 degrees every few months, or every year, depending on traffic patterns. We recommend you do this so because all parts of your rug should be exposed to light equally so that the colors fade evenly. All parts of the rug should be exposed to an equal amount of traffic, too. This allows the rug to age nicely and evenly.
Spills: A water spill should be dried immediately with a hairdryer set on a warm temperature. Try to dry both sides of your rug if possible. In case of a soft drink or alcohol spill, apply salt or baking soda to the spot for a few minutes to absorb the color of the drink. Then vacuum off the salt or baking soda. After vacuuming, use a wet towel to gently wipe the stain in the direction of the nap (the direction the pile faces), but be gentle; you don’t want to scrub your rug.
Professional cleaning: For old stains, take the rug to a professional handmade rug retailer. Do not try to clean old stains yourself. Have your rug washed by a professional every 2 to 5 years depending on the amount of traffic on the rug.
Padding: Padding under your rug can make a major difference in the lifespan of your area rug. It will stabilize and protect your rug.
For more information on area rugs or other flooring maintenance visit our website here.
The Appeal of Floating Shelves February 8, 2013
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Floating shelves have been around for awhile now. These shelves do not have visible supports and seem to float on the wall. Great for a clean contemporary style, floating shelves can work throughout the home. Even if your decorating style is not contemporary, floating shelves may be a design solution for the blank wall in your home.
Floating shelves can be hung in groups or pairs; above desks or console tables. These are incredibly versatile storage options. Floating shelves can be used as picture shelves where you can display a rotating gallery of family photos, artwork and children’s projects. These shelves allow you to display a number of framed pieces without adding multiple holes into your walls. Depending on the length of the shelf as few as two screws can be used to attach it to the wall.
Floating shelves are great for small spaces that do not have the floor space for a bookcase or cabinet. Even if you do have the floor space for a bookcase, you may still want to consider floating shelves to save floor space. These shelves take up less visual space and therefore won’t make the space feel smaller or cramped.
This type of shelving can be found in bathrooms, living rooms and even kitchens, where the shelves replace upper cabinets. You can choose a shelf that matches your cabinets, molding, walls or floor color. Wood tones can be found to match or coordinate with your wood floors and molding.
Design Dilemma: No Formal Entry January 27, 2013
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In some home designs, there is no formal foyer or entry hall. When you enter the home you walk immediately into the living room. This can be the case in both older homes and new construction. If you have a front door that leads right to your living room, we have tips for carving out an entry. Having a place to land when you come in the door is a must.
This living room is the first thing you walk into when you enter through the front door. Having two different flooring surfaces helps delineate the living are from the entry. This is a smart design plan. Hardwood, laminate or stone floors are a good choice for the entry by the front door. Placing a door mat or runner by the door will help absorb dirt and moisture. Carpet or an area rug in the living room help make the space feel like its own room and not part of the entry.
If you look to the lower left side of this picture, you can see a small table that is directly next to the door when you walk in. Adding a table or console near the front door will create a landing zone for keys, purses and wallets. A table lamp or wall sconce can provide illumination for the area. A flush mount ceiling light or small chandelier would also add pretty lighting. Putting a mirror or piece of art above the table will make the area feel finished. A coat rack or row of hooks can also provide storage for coats and bags next to the door.
Decorating with Nostalgic Style January 22, 2013
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You may have an heirloom inherited from your grandmother or husband’s great aunt that you want to display. Or you might be one of the thousands of dedicated thrifty shoppers and flea market shoppers who collect nostalgic and vintage items rather than buy new. In either case, decorating with a nostalgic or vintage style is right up your alley. Incorporating vintage and antique finds and heirlooms into your décor is what makes your house feel uniquely your own.
When working with nostalgic pieces, preservation is key. Those faded family photographs of your ancestors should be protected from sunlight. If you want to display them, have copies made for you to frame. You can enlarge the photos for a family gallery wall or display them in silver frames on a table or mantel.
Vintage and antique furniture should be used and enjoyed, but also taken care of for the next generation. For vintage furniture, reupholster and paint it to incorporate it into your room’s décor. Antique pieces shouldn’t be fussed with too much. If you don’t know what you have, ask a local antique dealer or get it appraised before you change the finish or remove the upholstery.
Vintage and antique rugs are a great way to bring vintage and nostalgic style into a room. Needlepoint, braided, loomed, or woven rugs can add color and pattern to your floors. If you’ve bought a rug at auction or a flea market, you’ll want to get it professionally cleaned before bringing it into your home.
Happy Holidays! December 25, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Holidays , add a commentWishing everyone a wonderful, safe holiday from all of us here at Big Bob’s!
Using Color in the Bathroom November 9, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Bathroom, Design and Decorating , add a comment
Small spaces can be safe spaces to explore bright and bold colors. The bathroom or powder room is just such a small space. The dominant color choices of the last few years for bathrooms have been white, neutral and stone. It might be time to break out of these safe colors and bring back color to the bathroom.
Powder rooms are often a place where we feel safe exploring color and pattern. Because it is not a space we spend a great deal of time in, or even use every day, the powder room can be a place to be bold with color and pattern. Painting the walls in strong color, using a colorful tile on the floor, or even hanging wallpaper can all be done in a powder room. If you don’t want to invest in wall changes or new floors, use soft goods like towels and rugs to bring strong color to the powder room.
The same ideas apply to the bathroom as well. Neutral white tiles and floors can be the perfect backdrop to add color to the walls. If you have tile on the lower half of the wall or wainscoting, put a bolder color on the wall above. Again, if you love your white or neutral walls in the bathroom, like the powder room use towels, rugs and accents to add spots of bold color. Shower curtains, curtains and vanities are other places where you can bring color into the room. Framed prints or photographs are additional ways to bring color into the bathroom.
Decorating the French Provincial Kitchen November 1, 2012
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When it comes to decorative terms, “French Provincial” is also known as “French Country”. This style of interior decoration in French Provinces came to the forefront during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Decorating the French provincial kitchen includes walls that are either rough textured and painted, whitewashed or smooth covered in beautiful wallpaper. Paint is often a warm and milky white. What if milky white is not your favorite color? No need to fret, you can alternatively go for violet blue, soft sea green, washed out ocher yellow or even light gray. Decorative mirrors and historical portraits are also very indicative of this style.
The floors are often distressed wood or plain terra cotta which is often laid in intricate patterns. Rugs are used to create a sense of comfort and warmth underfoot.
The furniture can be painted and other times lightly stained. A long harvest table with side chairs makes for a wonderful eat-in kitchen.
Cabinets are often kept to below the countertop with open shelving on the walls above which allows you to display your collection of glassware and crockery. There are lower cabinets that are designed with doors while others are open. In decorating the French provincial kitchen, you may decide to wax the raw wood used or paint the cabinets with milk colored paint.
Vintage Schoolhouse Style Inspired Storage October 25, 2012
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For mudrooms and playrooms, vintage schoolhouse style storage can be a great option for stylish storage. Storage containers such as lockers and cubbies can make charming storage in the home as well as the school room. Vintage style metal lockers are great for corralling coats and backpacks in a mudroom or casual entry. Cubbies that hold cloth bins or baskets can be used for everything from shoes to art supplies, and recycling to toys.
Older homes and homes in colder climates tend to have mudrooms. These are small rooms off of a kitchen entry or side door that allow you to shed coats and wet boots before entering the rest of the home. Some older homes have mudrooms or vestibules at the front door before you enter the foyer. These spaces tend to be more casual than formal with rows of pegs for coats and a place for umbrellas and shoes.
If the mudroom is large enough a narrow locker or set of lockers, like seen here, they can hide the clutter of coats and keep shoes off the mudroom floor. Wet shoes and should be kept on trays to prevent puddles on stone or wood mudroom floors.
Lockers and cubbies are also great for playroom storage. Colorfully painted lockers can brighten up the space as well as provide much needed organized storage. Cube bookcases can be used instead of school cubbies. Fill them with baskets and cloth boxes to keep small items for spilling over. Cubes can be painted or left natural.
Creating a Teen Friendly Family Room October 16, 2012
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Parents often joke about teenagers being a different species. They sleep all day and seem to eat their weight in food. Designing spaces for teenagers can be tricky because they have their own sense of style that may be at odds with mom and dad. For a teen friendly family room, it is a good idea to ask your teens for input, but ultimately the design decisions are yours. It is your home after all.
Teens come with a lot of stuff and a lot of friends. A teen friendly family room should account for both large amounts of storage and large groups of people. Ottomans that have storage are a good choice instead of a traditional coffee table. They can be moved around for extra seating and to hide games and remotes. Other storage options are baskets in shelves and on the floor for gaming controls, books, DVDs and Blue Rays.
Flooring in the family room should be able to stand up to high traffic, spills and dirt. If you have hardwood floors, put down a durable area rug or carpet squares to not only protect the floors but create a softer place to land or lounge. Floor cushions, in addition to ottomans, are a great option for additional seating and padding on the floor.
Work with your teens on a color scheme that you can all agree upon.