Home Decorating Tips For Your First Apartment
May 9th
There are so many articles on home decorating that you could fill a large library. If you read enough tips about redecorating a living room, you often find that the author assumes that it is a house that is being decorated. Many people live in apartments where it is not always possible to go as all-out as you can in your own home. Decorating your living space is important no matter where you live. Many first-time apartment renters are looking for a way to spruce up their first apartment. Here are some quick tips to get some great style into your apartment or condo.
Turn That Spare Room Into An Entertainment Room
May 9th
When the weekend rolls around and it’s time to watch the latest movie or hook up the X-Box 360 for some serious gaming, the living room is where these things usually take place. If you have a spare room that is collecting dust and boxes of junk, clear it out and turn it into a high-tech entertainment room. You can keep a television in the living room for everyday viewing, but think about relocating all the really fun stuff to a room designated for good times.
Hollywood At Home With A Stylish Home Theater
May 9th
Going to the movies is a fun experience that nearly everyone enjoys. Even when the movie is terrible, there’s nothing like getting out and experiencing a film on the big screen. One thing is for sure, though, it gets expensive going out to the movies. Many people are installing home theatre systems to get the best movie experience in the comfort of their own homes. This may sound like a daunting design project, but it is easier than you might think. There are some great systems available for reasonable prices that can have your home theatre open for business in no time at all.
High-Tech Gadgets for Your Living Room
May 8th
When people think about home style or interior decorating, they often immediately begin thinking about colours, textures, and furniture. These are great places to start, but have you thought about designing a room around electronic gadgets. Don’t be afraid. This doesn’t mean that you have to turn your house into the house from the Jetsons. Designing around your electronics is just putting an eye toward functionality as you begin your design project. Taking a different starting point will actually enhance the choices you make about colour, texture, and furniture. Here are some of the common electronics that are found in most living rooms.
5 Steps to Your Dream Living Room
May 8th
It’s hard not to think of the living room first when you are planning a design makeover. The living room seems in so many ways to be the center of activity. Few rooms have as much furniture as the living room or as much to think about in terms of design. If you are having company over, you know how important it is to have a good looking room for everyone to relax in. More than anything, though, you want your living room to be an extension of your personal style. It should reflect the kind of atmosphere that you want to be dominant in all of your rooms.
Sofa Picks For Modern Home Designs
May 7th
Is your living room stuck in the past? Are you looking for a way to blast your living room design into the 21st Century? Getting modern with your living room means taking a turn toward minimalism in design. Of course even the most minimally designed rooms still need the right furniture. You just can’t have a living room without a couch. Streamlined and sparse are the goals when going modern or post-modern in your design plans. Here are some tips to get you moving in the right direction.
5 Steps to Your Dream Living Room
Apr 23rd
The living room is usually the crowning jewel for home design. When you have guests over or want to unwind and watch a movie, the living room is usually the central location. Nothing can change the way you feel about the inside of your house faster than a quick living room makeover. Here are a few steps to make a living room redesign much easier.
- Take time to think about what you really want. Don’t rush into your redesign. A good suggestion is to walk out of your house, clear your mind, and then walk into the living room. Think about how you feel and write it down. Now think about how you want the room to make you feel and write that down.
- Compare your two lists. Find the things on your list that bother you the most. For instance, if you think the room makes you feel dreary and dull, and on your other list you find that you want the room to make you feel lively and energized, you have a good starting point.
- Move things around. A quick furniture shuffle can do wonders to put you into a more creative mindset. Start with a few smaller items, and build your way up to moving everything else. You can get some great ideas for things you need to get, or get rid of, by simply moving some things around.
- Get some new cushions and throws for your couch and chairs. You can add a quick splash of colour and style by throwing some colourful new pillows and throws on your furniture. You may not even want to get new furniture if you see how these things can liven up what you already have.
- Make your living room redesign a work in progress. Living rooms are typically one of the largest rooms in the house. Don’t feel overwhelmed by how much there is to do. Choose one thing to work on from the list you made and zero in on that for the next few months. You may find that by the time you finish just one thing off your list, you have a whole new feel to your living room.
Take time to think about how you feel about the design of your living room as you go through this process. You may take a wrong turn that makes you like the room less than when you started; that’s OK. The beauty of breaking up your designing efforts like this is that you can always change courses and bring new ideas into the mix. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll accomplish and how you’ll feel about the room in just a few weeks.
Using Contrast to Liven Up Home Décor
Apr 14th
Every great story, movie, or piece of music has something that draws people in; something that creates interests. Home decorating is really no different. Many people choose to play it safe and build design themes that create no interest in the room. The right use of contrast can bring a boring room to life and add impact to a room.
When you mention adding some contrast to a room, many people simply think of colours. Adding colour is a great place to start to liven up a room that uses mostly neutral tones, and can be a great way to add some energy. However, contrast does not begin and end with just colours.
Contrasting Textures
Even if you use the same colour scheme throughout a room, taking some time to create tension with different textures can do a lot to make a room really stand out. For instance, if a room has a lot of light coloured wood furniture, adding a sleek metallic coffee table or end tables can really set the room ablaze with energy. Think about the textures that dominate a particular room and how you can mix in something new to really make a dramatic statement.
Add Something Interesting
Placing something that is seemingly out of place with your design theme can make a room more interesting. It doesn’t have to be something huge, but just enough to draw some attention. For rooms that are designed around a country theme, the addition of a post-modern piece of sculpture or art can really jazz things up. The idea is not to go overboard, but to merely break up the routine a bit.
When using contrast in colours, textures or design elements of any kind, you want to retain the comfort of a room while adding something that deviates from the norm. The idea is not to make the room overbearing, but to give it a personality all its own. Experiment by starting with some smaller things to add some contrast to your room before you move up to larger-scale changes.
Furnishing Living Room Spaces
Feb 24th
There are many styles of furnishings to choose from when decorating living spaces. Selection of patterns, colors, functionality, and their proper fit are some things to consider.
Creating Uniqueness
Most living spaces are typically known as; the living room, family room, lounge, sitting room or den. Some choose to furnish their spaces for the sole purpose of catering to others, and some prefer to have their living space completely off limits. Alternative approaches to furnishing your living space can include having a vision or theme, enabling the freedom to express some inner creativity.
Consider renaming your space to something new such as; “the drama room” for a theatre type atmosphere, or “the retreat lounge” if creating a serene and relaxing oasis. If you are planning on hosting a wide selection of events within your living space, the “Jamboree Hub” might be appropriate. Whatever the choice, a new title for your space will help bring your vision to life as you create an environment filled with unique qualities.
Clearing the Clutter
If your current space has you feeling haunted or unimpressed, it may be due to some visual clutter disturbances or serious dust issues. It might even be the spooky inherited furniture carrying negative memories within its tattered floral or checkered patterns. You should feel happy and delighted when entering your living space, so if the room is filled with furnishings that feel wrong or do not seem to fit well with your new theme, these items should be relocated, cleared out, returned, sold, or left on the side of the road for collection. Trusting your instincts will certainly help with the de-cluttering process, as even Grandma’s old sofa could become the next founding inspiration of a glamorous furnishing theme. Some existing furniture may have just the right shape or potential essence that fits well into your theme. If you want to simply change the color or texture of the fabric, consider having the pieces altered or reupholstered.
After you have made your decisions and the clutter is cleared, you can fill your space with fresh items to liven up your living space.
Selecting Furniture
Select well-made durable furniture to create a safer environment and choose appropriate fabrics according to comfort level and stain resistance. Seating area furniture makes good focal points within a living space. The larger pieces and accents such as tables, ottomans or lighting fixtures can be easily added; unless of course you are planning to create a desert theme, needing only rocks for seating areas as you sit around the big palm tree that has become your main focal point.
Selecting appropriate colors and textures of furniture also add life to your theme. Having cool toned and eco-friendly furniture for a natural theme, or bright coloured furniture with slick leathery textures fill the room with drama.
There are many places to find unique and interesting furniture, you may even find that special something after your neighbour has cleared their clutter away, leaving behind some unique pieces that you have been longing for and know just what to do with…
