On The Farm Fun With A Barnyard Style Kids Bedroom Design
May 9th
Few things can get a home stylist as pumped up as a fully-themed room design. Especially when that room is being designed for the ones you love the most – your kids. Kids love themed rooms and laying out a room in a fun design provides a sense of uniqueness that tells a child that the room is all their own. Every child is different and they will all have their own likes and dislikes. One thing that many younger kids, in the 2-8 year old range, love is farm animals. We read a lot of books and sing a lot of songs about the farm to our kids. A barnyard themed room can be a fun idea for your little ones.
Bedroom Design Tips To Add Some Romance
Apr 29th
We all love to sleep. Nothing feels quite as good as diving into bed at the end of a long hard day. Married couples may find that they spend a lot of time in bed together, but it is always for sleeping and never for any fun. Your bedroom design, or lack thereof, could be a big contributor to the doldrums in your bedroom. If you’re looking for some ideas to bring a romantic yet relaxing decor to your bedroom, we’ve got you covered.
Rich, Dark, Colours for Furnishings
If you have white, yellow, or (heaven forbid), pink furniture in the bedroom, it’s time to do some serious work. For a room to have a romantic, relaxed appeal; deep, dark, inviting colours work best for the furnishings. Think about replacing light coloured furniture, or repainting it if you are on a tight budget. For wood, a dark refinishing can be a simple way to make the bedroom more inviting.
Luxuriant Textures & Linens
To offset the dark furniture with a spark of fun and colour, think texture. Soft, silky, and warm should be what comes to mind. New bedding and linens can be expensive, so shop around and you may be able to find some great deals online. Add a lot of pillows to the bed to make it an inviting, fun place to spend time with your significant other. Use some fun, bright detailed comforters and pillowcases to infuse the right colours to your bed.
What About The Walls?
Go with a darker or neutral tone for wall paints. A beautiful deep brown or tan can add just the right touch. Stay away from wallpaper borders, instead use some soft, floral stenciling around the tops of the walls. For the stencils try to match the colours of your bedding to really bring the room’s design full-circle.
Balance
Romance is all about the right balance. Aim to keep a bedroom from becoming too girly. The dark colours in a bedroom make the lighter, more feminine design elements all the more appealing. Keep a balance and have some fun. Once you have everything in place, a fun breakfast or dinner in bed can be just what you need to christen your new, romantic bedroom. One thing, though, keep the TV turned off, or out of the room altogether. The bedroom is for romance and relaxation, when you’re together with your mate, keep it that way.
Personalized Bedroom Style
Apr 28th
Your bedroom is your own, personal part of the house. Many people go to great lengths to customize their home’s style, but somehow stop short in the master bedroom. Many homeowners figure that not many people will see their bedroom, so they do not put a lot of thought into its design. What some fail to remember is that your home decoration should be foremost for the people that live there. Most people simply don’t sleep in their bedrooms; they read, relax, and watch television there as well. Taking time to personalize the style aspects of your bedroom will help you to really feel at home in your own private sanctuary.
Colours and Shades
Even if you don’t spend a lot of time in your bedroom, you’ll still want this room to ultimately say one thing – Relax. Your bedroom should be a place where your mind can be at ease and the stress can melt away. For years, pastels have been the colour of choice for bedrooms, but recently people are beginning to discover that neutral tones offset with darker hues can really bring a sense of mental relaxation that people need today more than ever. Try a nice warm brown or tan paint offset with white borders, or vice-versa. Whatever colour you choose, make sure it is one that brings a sense of tranquility and warmth to the bedroom.
Bedroom Furniture
Do not skimp when it comes to bedroom furniture. Having a bedroom with shabby furniture can be a nagging style choice that doesn’t allow for the relaxation you want. Of course the bed is the centerpiece of your bedroom. Nice wood frames and headboards, like oak, are especially inviting to use. A matching wardrobe, dresser and end tables should fill the room out nicely. Try to keep space in mind and don’t make your bedroom too cramped. If space allows, a writing table or corner desk is a great idea.
Bedding & Drapes
Choose fabrics that add a little punch to your bedroom. While wild colours should be kept to a minimum, there is no harm in adding a little brightness to offset the overall warm look that you have given the room. Let your personality shine through a little in choosing bedding and window treatments. A nice burgundy comforter and matching pillowcases can make anyone feel pampered and empowered in the bedroom. Take time with this step to really choose colours and textures that make you feel good.
Take all of these things into account when you design your master bedroom. Don’t go too cheap with your bedroom design. Even if no one else ever sees the room, you still want it to be a place of sanctuary that reflects your own personal style.
A Bedroom You Can Relax In
Apr 23rd
As odd as it may seem, the Master Bedroom often gets overlooked when it comes to creating a stylish room. Even more bizarre may be the fact that even when people do put some effort into designing a nice bedroom, few do it with an eye toward relaxation. A bedroom should be a tranquil escape from the hectic day-to-day activities of your busy life. Don’t think of your bedroom as a place to merely sleep or watch television; think of it as a place to relax and really unwind.
Soothing Colours
Choose neutral, soothing colours when you are painting your bedroom. You want colours that are both easy on the eyes and on the mind. Don’t use widely contrasting colours or busy patterns, instead go for nice relaxing shades. Earth tones are particularly inviting and can make your bedroom much more conducive to real relaxation.
Comforting Textures
If you’re thinking about textures when laying out your bedroom designs, think about one word in particular – soft. Keep bedding soft and inviting. It is difficult to even think about sleep without thinking about fluffy, inviting pillows. Be sure to have an abundance of pillows. Even if you don’t like to sleep on a big stack of pillows, you should have them strictly for the welcoming feeling they invoke. You can never have too many pillows. Just be sure that all of your pillowcases are complementary to the colours you will be using.
Keep Distractions to a Minimum
Don’t overload your walls with photos, pictures, and knickknack shelves. Keep any design elements scarce and simple in nature. A nice print featuring long, broad strokes of even tones can be particularly relaxing. Remember you want to keep your mind calm in your bedroom, so don’t overdue it or add any bright, chaotic pictures.
By using these tips, your bedroom will become the safe-haven you have always wanted it to be. You will have the perfect getaway to escape the stress of the day and immerse yourself into a good night’s sleep.
Sports-Themed Room Design Tips
Apr 19th
If you spend a lot of time doing home re-decoration projects, you know that interior decorating is a reflection of your personality. If you have kids, they may want their bedroom to do the same for them. Kids love having a bedroom that really expresses something about their personalities. You can work with your child to develop a themed bedroom to help them have a space that is uniquely their own. One popular type of bedroom for kids is the sports theme. For most kids the sports that they watch and play are a big part of who they are. A sports-themed room decoration project can really help your son or daughter feel involved in the home décor as well as provide some quality time with them.
What Sport Do They Like Best?
You may have a little athlete that excels in a few sports. If so, you can incorporate several types of sports into the bedroom design, but it is important to try and pick one that is the dominant theme. For this example we’ll use baseball as the dominant sport theme. Talk to your child about doing a baseball themed room and get some ideas from them. A good tip is to ask them to come up with three to five words or phrases that sum up what they like best about baseball. An example list might look like this.
- Their favourite player/team
- Balls
- Bats
- Gloves
- Summer-Time
Design Around These 5 Words
Once you have five good words, get to work. Start off by picking colours. In this example, your child’s favourite team was the number one pick. Find out the team’s home colours, if you don’t already know them, and begin painting the room in those colours. Choose the primary colour as the main color for the walls, and use the secondary colour for trims, doors and furnishings. This step alone will do wonders for the bedroom.
Work Down The List
Once you have the colours on the wall, start adding the extras. There are some cool life-sized player decals available online at stores, like FatHead, that can go up on the walls. You can also order team logos, or you can paint one by hand if you have the skill. A baseball bat rack can be easily attached to the wall. Put some team memorabilia and some books on a bookshelf and use baseball mitts as the book ends.
You can let yours and your child’s imagination run wild on this project. Start off basic and add as you go. There is so much sports memorabilia available, so you should have no problems finding the right extras to add to the room. A favourite for most kids is to get a jersey with their name on the back of it. Buy two, one for them to wear, and one to display in their room in a shadow box. You’ll love the reaction that you get from your child and they will love the effort and time spent together with you on the project. Have fun together!
Your Personality Will Shine Through With A Great Bedroom Design
Apr 10th
When you are decorating a room, you want your style to shine through. The rooms you design in your home should be a reflection of your personality. It often helps to start out any design project with a theme of some sort. You don’t have to go overboard; just pick a style, colour pattern, or piece of furniture to work your theme around. Having a theme gives your design efforts a framework to keep you on track. You can go with a contemporary theme, floral, contrasting colours, romantic, or any other kind of theme that you prefer. Just make whatever theme you choose personal and fun. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when decorating or redecorating your bedroom
Colours and Shades
You want your bedroom to be a soothing spot to relax in, so, you should choose deep dark tones, or neutral colours. Another option is pastels, but try to keep from going to bright. Humans have very authentic reactions to colours, so making a bedroom too bright can be detrimental to your sleep. You should also avoid busy patterns. Simplicity and elegance are the ideal concepts behind any good bedroom colouring scheme.
Furniture Concerns
Of course, furniture is going to be a big concern for your bedroom design. Before you go out and shop ‘til you drop, remember that the right use of space is key. Take good measurements of your bedroom and be sure that whatever furniture you choose can fit into the room comfortably. A cramped bedroom is not a comfortable bedroom. Common pieces of furniture that you should consider are a bed, side tables, wardrobe, a desk, and a chest of drawers. You don’t need all these pieces, and if space doesn’t permit, you will likely have to pass on one or more of these pieces.
Keep It Cohesive
Whatever your colour and furniture choices, keep the design on the simple side. Bedrooms are a place to sleep, relax, read, and possibly have some fun romantic times. Keep these activities in mind and choose design elements that are compatible with these activities as well as complement the theme that you have chosen. Have fun and create a bedroom that you will enjoy spending time in.
Bedroom Furniture: Keep Things Simple
Feb 24th
One thing I enjoy is the look of a clean and stylish bedroom. You can tell a lot about a person by the look of their entire apartment, but how their bedroom is presented is particularly important. The bedroom is a private place where you retreat to at the end of the day where you should feel as relaxed as possible. What is important to keep in mind is that simplicity is key: Yes, you have many interests and it’s fun to show them off, but at a certain point it all becomes useless, aggravating clutter. The transition from my bedroom at my mother’s house to the bedroom I have now in my very own apartment was very difficult but thankfully not expensive at all.
The bed is the obvious focal point of the bedroom in regards to furniture so it should look presentable. To get a more contemporary look to the room, I suggest a solid platform bed with a wooden slatted base (I find the metallic ones don’t have a personal vibe to them and they come off as a little cold). The low to the ground look is very much in vogue right now and if you have a small bedroom, it gives off the look of extra space. I also believe that a box spring isn’t necessary because I honestly find them a little tacky and well, boxy. I got my black-brown platform bed frame at Ikea in a Queen size a couple of years ago and it’s still going strong! It’s the Malm model and Ikea.ca lists it at $189.99, which is around a hundred dollars less than what I paid for it originally. But even at almost $300 it was an amazing deal!
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S39849855
I’m really plugging Ikea here but another great item that I have in my bedroom is the Hemnes 6-drawer chest in black-brown. What I like about it is that it’s tall and that is another great way to save space and give the room a more modern look at the same time. I have nothing against the longer ones that take up half the wall; they can look amazing if you have the room (unfortunately, I do not) and if you find a piece that compliments your living space instead of overwhelming it. It’s listed at $299 and comes it also comes in a cute blue color that I wish I had thought to buy but at the time I was so concerned with being “matchy-matchy” (my entire bedroom furniture is Ikea black-brown and it looks good but I should’ve shaken things up a bit)!
http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/70121249
As for shelving, I recommend wall shelves as opposed to having a giant book case. That enables you to keep only a few of your favorite books, CDs/records and knick-knacks in your bedroom. The living room is the place to keep the heavier objects but the bedroom should have a lighter, airier feel to it.
Layla Brown
The Modern Bed
Feb 24th
Without a doubt, the most important piece of furniture you will every buy for you or your family is a bed. We spend somewhere between a quarter and half of all our time in bed after all. For the young and very old, that percentage can climb even higher.
There is nothing quite as appealing as a beautifully made, inviting bed to climb into after a long day at the office, golf course, or wherever you may be.
Beds and bedding have come a long way since our grandparent’s time. Yet, the manufacture of high end organic mattresses, pillows, and accessories looks more like it did in their day than ours. With the combination of pure organic materials, creative design and professional hand craftsmanship, some green mattress companies have transformed their manufacturing facilities to a completely organic and pure environment.
Now for the good part! The styles of these beds are very modern but can still fit into a traditional environment. So, the beds look as good in a Soho Loft as they would at ‘The Cottage’.
The great advantage of green beds and bedding are not only comfort and luxury, but also organic bedding is extremely healthy, particularly for allergy sufferers.
The new organic mattresses and bedding are antimicrobial. In other words, they are made of a substance that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi or protozoans as well as destroying viruses. I don’t know about you, but I would rather not sleep on anything that even remotely resembles fungi!
Of course all this organic bliss is going to cost you a little more than your average run of the mill mattress. Organic mattresses retail between $2000-$5000, compared with the $850 you can spend on a spring coiled model.
Look on line at www.greensleep.com, www.obasan.ca, or www.vivetique.com for more information on retailers near you.
Sweet dreams….
O. Alexandra Viteznikova
Choosing The Best Possible Children Bedroom Sets
Dec 25th
Choosing the best possible children bedroom sets may not necessarily be the same as when you are picking your own master bedroom set. When it comes to your children’s bedroom, the most important feature is safety. This is especially important if you have children who are fond of exploring and experimenting new things.
Safety First
When it comes to your children’s bedroom, safety should be your number one priority. A good place to start is by picking furniture that does not have corners, but rather rounded edges and tips. This way, when your chilren run around and play they won’t injure themselves on the furniture. Moreover, you should also pick furniture that does not contain any harmful chemicals like varnish or enamel that may be toxic to young children.
Baby Bedroom Sets
Picking a baby bedroom set may also be a tricky task. First, you have to ensure that the crib that you purchase is in fact safe for your baby. This means that even if your baby climbs up or perhaps crawls around the crib, there is absolutely no way for him or her to be in danger. Baby bedroom sets also enable you to put your creativity to work. So add different toys and designs that can provide a good distraction for your baby, especially above their crib.
Picking children bedroom sets are definitely important when picking your house’s furniture. This way, your children or your babies will find enjoyment and peace whenever they are inside their rooms.
Choosing Bedroom Furniture Sets
Dec 25th
Choosing a bedroom furniture set is something that people only get a chance to do once every few years. Since it is important that you find the best suitable furniture set for your bedroom, it is wise to invest in good quality products that provide function as well as style. Here are simple tips that you can follow when choosing your furniture.
Be Aware Of Size
The first thing you have to keep in mind is the size your bedroom. If you choose a furniture set that is too big for your bedroom, it will definitely not work to your advantage. Likewise, choosing a furniture set that is too small will make it look too spacious and bare. This is why it is important to find furniture that is just the right size to fit your needs.
Choosing Modern Sets
The second thing you have to know when picking out bedroom furniture is whether you want a modern or traditional bedroom set. Your choice should depend on your personal preferences and should also comply with your bedroom’s interior design. To get a more modern look, try incorporating glass in some side tables perhaps. Another moderized look is placing metal inside your bedroom like metal rimmed cabinets or metal made chairs. All of these ideas can give off a more contemporary look to your bedroom.
On A Tight Budget?
If you are on a tight budget, there are still a lot of styles and designs that you can choose from. You may need to look at bedroom sets that are made from materials like plastic, but they can still provide you with the right look if you choose carefully. Although plastic bedroom sets may not necessarily be as durable as other types, you can simply make sure that you take good care of them so they will last longer.
