Gentle, Charming Bedroom January 31, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Design and Decorating , add a comment
Would you like to add charm to your bedroom? This room provides some great ideas for warming up a space. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Choose a soft color palette. The peaches and delicate creams work well with the light wood furniture and mid-tone wood flooring. The overall feel is comfortable and inviting.
Add some black. The fireplace and accessories, along with the china dog in the foreground, add just enough dark tones to keep the room from becoming bland. Minor touches of black ground a room and provide a good contrast to the lighter elements.
Include puffs and ruffles. The extra fabric and padding make the room feel more comfy and encourage stretching out on the soft-looking bed. This gentle mood has support from the plush area rug, which looks particularly inviting for bare feet.
Look at lighting. The window light is diffused, indicating a covered patio or porch that’s reducing any glare from outside. Inside, candles in and above the fireplace offer light without being too bright. The almost-white walls and ceiling also reflect and carry the light.
Keep window-coverings simple. In this case drapes that match the walls provide a functional answer to light control while staying in the background. Light-toned blinds or shades would serve a similar purpose.
Take advantage of architecture. The fireplace in the corner provides a warm focal point that really suits the style of the room. Don’t hesitate to play up advantages like that to add personality to a room.
What ideas can you capture from this room to make your bedroom more charming?
Add Pattern with Rugs January 23, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Area Rugs, Design and Decorating , add a comment
If you love patterns but are nervous about selecting furniture in anything but solid colors, you have another choice – a patterned rug.
Whether you prefer contemporary or more traditional rugs, a pattern on your floor is less obtrusive than patterned upholstery, but still adds interest.
Whether your primary flooring is wood, tile or carpeting, adding a patterned rug creates a focus area, brings one or more colors to a room, and serves as the foundation for the rest of your décor.
In this room, the light straw color in the rug is echoed but not repeated by the yellow-gold chair and light maple coffee table.
You don’t have to use a rug’s colors exactly. Because the material and texture is different enough, upholstery fabric can connect without a perfect color match. The simple pattern on this rug opens up a selection of options for the rest of the room. The sofa could fall in the mid-to-dark brown range, and accessories could come in as light as cream or even true black for an extra pop.
Notice the maroon throw pillow on this chair. Even with the neutral rug, there’s no reason why you can’t bring in some colors. This maroon works, and you could choose from almost any color family as long as you choose a color that suits the rug’s tones. For example, hot pink would not be a good decision, but a dusky mauve could work. Cobalt blue would be a mistake, but a soft grey-blue would bring in that brown-blue combination that’s still so popular in today’s homes.
If you’re not sure what to do with a room and want to introduce pattern, starting with an area rug can create just the right mood and inspire your decorating.
Making a Cool Room for the Boys January 17, 2012
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When two brothers have to share a bedroom, particularly when their ages are substantially different, it can be hard to make the room work for both of them while still looking nice from a design point of view.
This room meets all of these goals due to some smart planning and decorating.
To begin, the architectural elements have been kept neutral. The carpeting is a very light grey. The family could go light because they chose better quality stain proof carpeting, a good idea when you’re dealing with two growing boys.
The white painted furniture matches the window casings as well as the simple pull-down window blind. To use space well, the desks and shelves are built-in and make good use of the slanted ceiling area by setting up the two desks on opposite corners along this wall. This gives both boys room to do their homework and show off their favorite things. For the older boy, trophies and awards cover the shelf, and he can keep homework organized in files set in the bottom drawer. Other desk drawers hold pens and school supplies.
Choosing the simple layout and furniture doesn’t limit the personality of the space. Each boy has his choice of bedspreads and a bulletin board with contents that are constantly changing. The light blue walls will work with almost any color.
The older chose his red chair at a thrift shop – liking the sturdy look and unusual color. Once the large basics were defined, flexibility is the order of the day with everything else. Art and accessories will come and go, but this room will continue to be functional and attractive, at least as long as the boys keep it tidy!
Decorating with a Single Chair January 10, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Design and Decorating, Hints and Tips , add a comment
In decorating we like pairs of things. A pair of end tables, a pair of nightstands, a pair of lamps… and pairs of chairs. Using pairs brings balance to a room. This doesn’t mean that you can’t love the single, odd pieces of furniture and lighting. In fact, having a mix of pairs and singles makes for a more dynamic and interesting room.
In this living room, the unique chair really stands out for a couple of reasons. The single chair is placed in the center of the room, making it a focal point. The curvy lines and detailed style of the chair also contrast the more straight lines of the sofa and coffee table. The caning on the sides offers a nice antique detail that also adds texture. The circles of the caning and the nail-head trim on the coffee table are wonderful traditional details in a more contemporary space.
The dark stain on the wood floors makes the furnishings really stand out. There is enough contrast between the deep wood of the chair and the floor that the chair isn’t lost. The chair would not stand out as much in a room with lighter wood floors like walnut or oak.
Single chairs like this are sometimes called accent chairs or occasional chairs, which implies that they are not a favorite chair that is used all the time. We might need another name for these single chairs. The wingback that is perfect for reading or the club chair by the fire is much more used than just occasionally.
Create a Family Corner January 2, 2012
Posted by creatingyourspace in : Carpet, Design and Decorating , add a comment
When space is limited, look for opportunities to make your rooms work for the entire family. This corner of the living room is small, but has features that everyone can enjoy.
The bookshelves provide both book space and hidden storage underneath, while the images placed right in front of the books create a sense that this is both shelving and a wall.
For the children, the corner to the left, also partly in front of the shelves, provides a place for the large brick-shaped blocks that most children love to use to build forts and castles. Their light weight makes it easy to build and knock down imagined places.
The extra-soft carpeting makes the floor a great place to gather and draw or just play with the family dog. The parents were smart enough to choose a carpet that has a tone close to the dog’s fur, hiding any hair shed between vacuuming. The family’s choice of carpeting also helped to create this special space.
The love seat provides a spot for the parents to interact and enjoy their children even if they don’t feel like getting on the floor and it also provides a cozy place for reading or relaxing after the children are in bed. This one corner offers fun and comfort to every member of the family.
When you’re decorating your home, be sure to think beyond looks to functionality. If you create spaces like this one, your home will become the comfortable, livable space you dream of having.
