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.

This room was fairly easy to update for current use. The window provides much needed light and the soft sheers allow privacy while maximizing the amount of light provided.

In contrast with the window and soft white walls, the flooring’s dark wood tone helps you visualize the way this room once looked. Most of the older and antique furniture carries that theme farther. This feels more real than most “shabby chic” choices. It’s easy to imagine it as a haven, perhaps for a brother and sister away from the rest of the family.

The ultra-fluffy cream rugs feel almost like clouds against a dark wood sky. The simple furniture is not new but works well together. To the left a comfy chair and ottoman invite a reader to get cozy. On the right, one sibling might write a letter while another practices on the trombone. This just may  be that quiet place they were looking for.

As a design strategy to deal with the sloping ceiling/wall, a choice was made to bring all the furniture in and ignore the shadowed corners on two sides of the room. In this case, the choice adds interest. With the French doors opening on the scene, it almost seems more like a painting than a room.

The robot on the top is not the winner; he is merely surveying the destruction left by a boy with way too many toys to his name.

Holidays, birthday parties and grandparents may all have contributed to this pile. And don’t deny it – that red underwater-looking guy was your purchase!

And by the way, equal time to your little girls. Chances are the color and type of toy will be different, but the pile could easily be just as high!

Rescue is at hand. If this situation is reducing your ability to reach his drawers and replace clean clothes and you notice that certain elements are drifting down the hall to the rest of your home, now is the time to handle the situation.

How are you fixed for storage bins? You may want to get a few sizes and colors to help with your sorting. Also pick up a label-maker or at least some stickers and a sharpie.

Now, sit down with your child and start a combination of sorting and negotiating. Even though most children hate to get rid of their possessions, it’s time to use a little strategy. Offer a bounty for every toy given away – say 2 dollars for a big toy and go down to 10 cents for those plastic toy soldiers that are all one color. Let your child know that they can spend that money on whatever they want (as long as it’s already on your approved list).

When you’re finished, chances are that pile will be noticeably reduced. Even the biggest pack-rat child won’t be able to resist the lure of new stuff to pile up in his or her room. Now, don’t delay. Remove the choice objects from sight immediately and donate so that children who are not as privileged as yours can have a pile of their own. And then rejoice – you have a room under control at last. But realize that this is not a one-time project. Prepare to continue until he or she grows up and leaves home permanently.

With just a little planning, you can keep everything you need to run your business in one place and thoroughly organized.

Look for a closet or nook that isn’t really in use. Add shelves if needed. Or buy a cabinet such as this one. For a reasonable price you can find a full-size two-door cabinet in a melamine or laminate finish. Choose one that complements your décor.

Place the cabinet in a spot with hard smooth flooring such as the vinyl shown in the photo. Laminate or wood floors will also work well. Using a level and some shims, make sure the cabinet is set evenly on the floor. This will allow you to safely store heavier supplies.

You probably already have many of the supplies you need already, but perhaps not all in one place. Make a plan for you new supply cabinet. If you want, label the locations of each item on the shelves. Add a notepad on the door to keep track of low inventory and outages. That’s your list for your next trip to the store.

Look for boxes to hold small supplies such as pens or paper clips to keep them tidy. Include extra printing paper and a set of ink jet cartridges along with anything else you use on an almost daily basis.

With a day of planning, you will save yourself hours of unnecessary trips to the office supply store, and like those old in-the-office days, you will have your own supply closet for grabbing essentials quickly.

To start, don’t try to do it all in one day. Divide the process into parts and focus on one job at a time.

The most important step involves making sure your garage is safe. If you have a corner or wall that looks something like this photo, it’s time to fix it.  Storing gas, paint, oil or solvents all together without safe containers is an accident waiting to happen. Contact local waste control authorities to find out where to dispose of hazardous waste. Then follow their instructions to clear up this situation.

Next, sort through the clutter that has collected over time. You may want to focus on clearing up one wall before going to the next to keep from getting overwhelmed. As when you clean out a closet, don’t put anything back in your garage that you don’t need.

When possible, look for opportunities to store materials on the wall rather than on the floor. This makes it easier to clean the garage with a hose without having to move items in and out. Take a look at this wall. Just some inexpensive pegboard and a few hooks helps tools stay tidy and easy to find.

While you have your garage in shape, you may want to take advantage and paint or cover the floor. Walking on raw concrete floors brings dust into your home, requiring more cleaning of your home’s flooring. Concrete paint is available, or take a look at some of the newer resin coatings that seal the cement and look very attractive.  By cleaning up and fixing the floor, your garage will look fine, even without a garage band to add cachet.

For this fellow, the soft carpeting and perfectly-sized space provides all he needs to get comfy with his books. For other children who are not natural readers, it pays to create an area that encourages reading and other quiet play.

If you would like to designate a place in your home for your children to read, you don’t need a lot of space or money to make it happen.

Start by choosing a quiet and out-of-the-way place to fix up. This may be a corner of a bedroom, a basement room, the space under the stairs, or even the back of a large walk-in closet. Find a place as free of distractions as possible.

Make sure the selected spot has sufficient lighting. This may be just an overhead light fixture or a floor lamp. For a chair, a table lamp may work. Look for lighting that is positioned to shine on the pages without glaring.

Comfort is the final requirement. For some children this may mean a corner like this boy found. Others may want pillows or cushions to create a little nest. A comfy chair and maybe an ottoman could be another preference. Consult with your child to determine the right choice.

It’s nice to have a shelf or table to hold current books. With a good place to read, you may find your child spends more time on this enriching activity.

Dressing tables are almost always available at used furniture shops for very reasonable prices. This table originally sported a dark wood finish, but a light sanding, a coat of primer and another of bright white paint brightened its look.

The original hardware was feminine enough to keep. The table top already had the cut-to-fit glass, but if your choice doesn’t, it’s a good way to keep everything easy to clean.

The final feminine touches come from a silk flower garland and a collection of pretty boxes and bottles. The garlands can be found at hobby or some fabric shops in almost any combination of colors and flower types.

The rest of this room is just as pretty and feminine as this corner. The simple white curtains are trimmed with pink ribbon, and a pink flowered area rug connects this corner to the rest of the room. Add a bedspread that coordinates and your daughter is on her way to having the girly and inviting room of her dreams.

Include your daughter in the planning and execution of her room’s new look. She will enjoy the experience and you will have the chance to show her that she can make her dreams come true with enough effort and time.

Are you trying to make unique and daring home design decisions while limiting yourself to photos from home and interior design magazines? How about looking outside that box to discover new realms for inspiration? Let’s start by looking at how one designer took an unrelated image and turned it into a beautiful bedroom design.

Both colors and textures from this rustic gate are represented in the bedroom. Notice how the flooring pulls its colors from the wood of the gate. The texture for the floor is smooth, but that just civilizes the power of the weathered gate colors without losing any of the definition or appeal.

If you’re looking for a modern sophisticated design, don’t be hesitant to look beyond the traditional flooring choices to some that stretch your imagination and the room’s capabilities as this flooring does.

To represent the bolt and lock, look to the furniture. The stitched leather and natural cherry wood frame shows the darker shades of the bolt and the rusty red tones. The soft silver lock comes in with the bedcover, and even the gold shams pick up highlights from the photo.

Finally, the art on the back wall mirrors both color and texture from the gate. This stunning decision to stretch the art across the wall to the ceiling pulls everything together with a feeling that the wall was constructed to echo the boards of the gate. The end result is powerful and perfect.

The peach, lavender and green color palette creates an inviting look in a combination daring enough to keep this room from looking boring. You could paint the walls any of these colors or find wallpaper that combines two or more with some texture.

The arch over the window can be recreated with curved molding and paint. Stencils can produce flowers if your painting skills aren’t where you want them.

The wing chair and ottoman don’t have to match as long as the same wide striped fabric is used on both. For the dresser, look for one in honey pine and add an oval mirror to match. To carry the replication further, use a soft sage green glaze on the drawer fronts.

You may not have a window seat to match the one in this room, but a bench with cushions and pillows placed just in front can serve the same purpose.

This painting leaves the flooring to your imagination. Carpeting would look nice in cream, sage green or even lavender. Light wood flooring with a few rugs in floral designs or even simple plain colors would also suit this room. Whatever you choose, the space will be just as pleasing and pretty as this painting.

One tactic is color connections. The tone of the small diagonal tiles added to this stone floor match the feature wall on the upper right. The same tone comes through on the stair banister. These elements pull the flooring together with the rest of the room.

The tall narrow windows and extra-wide crown molding provide architectural touches that make the entire space feel integrated from top to bottom. If architectural elements don’t support the high ceiling, it’s hard to compensate with decorating.

Using large-scale art is another effective approach. The three-piece canvas between the windows covers the need for art reaching down to eye-level while still reaching up almost to the ceiling. The soft tones of this piece keep it from distracting visitors while establishing the height connection.

One final touch comes from the long lean plant toward the back. This accessory carries the tall theme onto the living area of the room. Altogether almost every element in this room is designed to ensure that everything works to create a space that has elements of grandeur while still remaining inviting.