Tag Archives: redecorate

Easy Ways to Update Your Kitchen on a Budget

Standard
Easy Ways to Update Your Kitchen on a Budget

If your kitchen hasn’t been looking its best for a while, now is the perfect time to do something about it. You can combine your spring cleaning with a kitchen renovation project that will make you happy, add value to your home, and ensure that the most important room in the house is looking its best. Whether you are looking to revamp your kitchen yourself or call in the professionals, here are some easy ways that you can update your kitchen:

Refresh Your Flooring: We sometimes neglect our kitchen floor for the simple fact that it is not in our eyeline as much as the cabinets, walls, etc. However, since the floor spans the whole of the kitchen, it is important that it always looks its best. Paying for a professional slate floor restoration or to have your wooden floor polished, for example, may seem like an unnecessary expense, but is something that you should aim to do each year or, at the very least, when your kitchen starts to look drab, because it can add a whole new lease of life to the room without you having to do much else.

Paint Your Cabinets: If you’re bored of your current kitchen cabinets, you need nothing more than some sandpaper, a block of wood, and a can of paint to put things right. Sand down your current cabinets before applying a lick of paint in the color of your choice for a quick kitchen update that won’t cost you very much at all.

Of course, if you are planning on completely renovating your kitchen piece by piece, the cabinets are the best place to start once you have saved and are ready to begin work. The improvement will be immediate and it will give your kitchen a brand new appearance. Look for reputable vendors for your cabinetry like Lovech. The last thing you want is splintering or stuck cabinet doors after you just replaced them!

Get a Handle on It: Updating your kitchen can be as simple as switching out your tired old cabinet handles for shiny new ones. There has never been more choice in the door handle department than there is at this moment, so whether you’re looking for traditional brass handles or something a bit more glam, your local hardware store should have you covered.

Add New Accessories: If your old tablecloth, curtains, and serving tray are looking worn, either upcycling them so that they look fresh and new again, or purchasing new alternatives will give your kitchen a real boost, and it won’t break the bank either.

Reclaim: The rustic look works well in the kitchen, which is why it might be worth keeping a look out for any old and abandoned stuff that might look like a good addition to the area. Old copper pots, wooden beams, and ancient barn doors will all add a unique touch to your kitchen for very little money. Reclaimed wood can also be used to build new shelving units, spice racks, tealight holders, and a myriad of other things that will compliment your kitchen. So, if you’re a keen crafter, this is one possibility for updating your kitchen. If crafting is not your thing but you love the rustic vibe, you might want to consider calling in the pros. From simple to in depth styling options, they will be able to help. Just enter a search for “Kitchen remodeler in Scottsdale, AZ” (or your local area) to achieve your design dreams.

Refresh Your Furniture: Another thing that you can do is refresh your kitchen furniture. Sand and re-varnish your table and chairs or paint them a brand new color for a big change. Or you can reupholster your chairs and even turn your dining table into a work of art using mosaic tiles – the choice is yours.

Featured Image By: Flickr

Stamp Your Personality On Your Home With These Quick Fixes

Standard
Stamp Your Personality On Your Home With These Quick Fixes

Homeowners are keen to turn a new house into their family home pretty much as soon as they move in. Even though they can be excited to start redesigning a new property, life can often get in the way and ends up slowing down this whole makeover. But don’t worry if you start to lose time to fix up your new house – there is plenty that you can do to stamp your own personality into a house no matter how long you have been living in it! Here are some super easy and quick fixes that can help you personalize your own home:

Use Plenty of Color: Homes in which the predominant colors are whites and creams are often regarded as quite austere and sterile. That is certainly not what you want to aim for if you want a home that pops with your personality! So be sure to use plenty of color in your rooms. You can go bold and paint your walls with bright colors. Sound a bit too intense for your tastes? Instead, opt for neutral shades on your walls but add bright accessories for bursts of color. You’ll find lots of colorful accessories by looking at sites like the Versace Home decor and furniture website.

Share Your Memories: No one will have the exact same memories as you do, so one great way to splash your personality all over your home is to share all your memories. There are various ways you can do this. For example, you could hang photos from all of your adventures abroad in your living room. You might even like the idea of collecting all your trinkets and souvenirs from around the world together and showcasing them in a display cabinet. Displaying family photos is also a great way to show off your fantastic memories, especially if your kids are no longer babies. Nothing beats cute baby pics!

Show Off Your Hobbies: No matter what your hobby may be, there will certainly be ways of incorporating it into your interior design. For example, if you have an artistic side, you might like to create your own artworks to hang on your walls. If you love watching the birds in your garden, you could think about taking some photographs to hang on your walls. Love sports? Then why not buy some decorative sports equipment to display in your home. For instance, a vintage tennis racquet or a cricket bat will look very stylish propped up in your hall with smart lighting around it.

Get Your Kids To Help: I’m sure your kids will love having their pictures and drawings stuck onto the doors of your fridge. But why not spread them out around the house? You can frame the best ones and display them in your living and dining rooms. There are also some companies who will take a drawing that your child has done and print it onto a cushion cover. That will be a super cute touch to any living room!

Make boring and blah a thing of the past and add a touch of fun into your home with these tips.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Feel The Rainbow: The Importance Of Color In The Home

Standard
Feel The Rainbow: The Importance Of Color In The Home

Decorating the home is an exciting time. You get to turn a new leaf on the parts of the home that you don’t like. And, with the bits you do like, you can refresh them and make them look new again. But, despite most people’s love for beautiful rooms, most struggle to find colors that suit their space and style. This means that loads of people end up with rooms that they don’t like, even after redecorating. So, to help you out, this post will be going through the importance of color in the home and how you should go about choosing them.

Room Size: Color can have a great impact on a room. It can change the feel, mood, and even the size of a room. And, size is something that you have to consider. Some rooms feel far too big, even when they’re filled with furniture. Whereas, some rooms feel tiny, with no room at all. This needs to be a consideration. Different colors can have different effects on how we perceive the size of a room. For example, a small room would benefit from lighter colors, which make it feel more open. But, huge rooms are better with darker shades, to make them feel a little cozier. Of course, you’re not actually changing the size of the room. Color can just have the effect of doing so. Dark colors absorb more light than lighter ones, which reflect it. This makes a room darker, making it feel smaller. When a room is lighter, it feels more open and large.

Boring, Interesting, or Ugly! Once you’ve figured out the shade you’d like for your room, you have to figure out a balance. It’s easy to have too little color in a room, making it look boring. Likewise, you can also have too much going on, making the room look ugly. But, you want the house to be interesting – somewhere right in the middle. Doing this can be hard. So, it’s usually best to get the help of a professional. Having a painter give you their opinion on the room ideas you have is a great way to start. They see loads of rooms and they know what looks good. They will also be able to help you to complete the job. And, using a professional for painting will almost always have a better result.

rainbow1.jpg

Ladders are scary! :((

Choosing Well: Choosing the colors for your home is completely down to you but rooms shouldn’t have more than one vibrant color as a rule of thumb. Neutral colors can be played with a little more. But, it’s usually best to be conservative with what you choose. Use guides online to choose colors that fit with moods. For example, if you wanted a relaxing room, you could choose yellow as the main color. This sort of method will always see that you choose something that you love.

Hopefully, this will inspire you to start making changes when it comes to the decor in your home. It can be hard to make decisions like this. It takes a lot of work, and you have to be confident in your choices before you start the job. But, once it’s all done, you’ll feel much happier in your home!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Wait! Try These Tricks Before Throwing Out Tired Furniture

Standard
Wait! Try These Tricks Before Throwing Out Tired Furniture

Furniture can only last so long before it starts to look a little tired. Your immediate thought might be that you need to get rid of a piece of furniture that’s going downhill. However, if it’s something that you love, you don’t need to say goodbye to it just yet. There are some easy things that you can do to rescue your furniture and avoid having to throw it out. Some things you can do yourself or you could get a professional to help you out. Before you throw out that sofa or cabinet, here’s what you could do to save it:

Start By Giving It a Clean: The first thing you should do with a tired piece of furniture is to clean it. You could be amazed by how much of a difference it makes. Furniture made from wood, metal, or plastic can be very easy to clean. You only need to dust or wipe it down, perhaps with some soapy water or special cleaning solution. But upholstered fabric can be a little trickier to get clean. Some pieces have removable covers that you can put in your washing machine. You might also want to consider an upholstery steam cleaner, which will make it easier to get the fabric clean.

Reupholster Fabric Furniture: Some upholstered furniture might still look rough after you clean it. Perhaps there are holes or tears in the fabric or it has just become very worn down. You don’t need to throw it out, though. You still have a chance to rescue it by reupholstering it. You can replace the fabric with something similar or give it a completely new look. This is a job you could attempt to do yourself. However, if you’re unsure about it, it’s just as easy to get a professional to do it for you. Get some quotes to make sure that you get the right price.

Repair Wood: Wooden furniture can end up with lots of little blemishes in its daily use. You might notice scratches, stains, or cracks in the varnish. There are some simple ways for you to fix these issues on your own. For example, you can repair scratches using moist coffee grounds by applying them for a few minutes and then wiping away. Oil and vinegar can help to remove stains, while sandpaper and nail polish can help you repair varnish. If you have bigger issues, such as loose joints, you could fix them yourself or have the furniture repaired by a professional.

furniture1.png

Pixabay Image

Paint or Varnish: A lick of paint is often a good way to give something a new lease on life. If your furniture is looking a bit dull, painting it could revive it. Just make sure that you use the right type of paint for the material. You could also choose to use varnish or a new stain on your wooden furniture if you want to refresh the surface. You could create an entirely new look or just give your furniture a subtle refresh.

See if you can save a piece of furniture before you decide to get rid of it. It could last for another few years!

Featured Image By: Pixabay

Normal House, One Of A Kind Home: How To Make Your Home Truly Unique

Standard
Normal House, One Of A Kind Home: How To Make Your Home Truly Unique

Your home should be a reflection of who you are. The problem with houses, however, is that many of them can be pretty similar despite how unique all of us are. But what if you started thinking about your home differently? Sure, unless you want to get started on some serious renovation work, the basic shape of your home is going to stay the same, but that’s where your limitations end. In many ways, the only limit to what you can do with your home is how far your imagination can stretch. How willing are you to break away from tradition and try something really different? If that sounds like your kind of thing then here are a few simple but daring ways that you can make your home as unique as possible.

Rethink What “Lighting” Means: Far too many people take lighting for granted. It’s such a central and important element to your home that it doesn’t make sense to start messing around with it, right? Wrong! There are plenty of exciting and interesting ways to bring light into your home without having to stick with the same boring old ideas. Scrap the lamps and try using some LED tape to light your home. With LED tape you can light areas of your home that you might never have even considered such as along the stairs or inside your bookcases. Not only that, but often the tape itself is completely hidden so that no one would know that it was there until you suddenly filled the room with light.

Don’t Take the Obvious Layouts: A lot of the time you walk into a room and the obvious way to lay it out is right there in front of you. But hold on a second! Before you decide to do things the same way as everyone else, ask yourself if there isn’t a more interesting option. Look at the light sources in the room, think about the way it flows into other parts of the house, and ask yourself what would be the most enjoyable layout for you personally. You might find yourself going for something pretty unusual, but if it works for you, then that’s the most important thing. It’s your house after all!

Break the Rules: There are entire books written on the rules of interior design. We all have lists in our heads of things that we should and shouldn’t ever do. You know what the best thing to do with those rules is? Throw them out of the window! This is your home so if you want big, bold patterns, then go for it! Make your home as open and spacious or snug and cozy as you want. Don’t listen to anyone who tries to tell you what you can and can’t do in your own home. Once you break free of that idea, you’ll be able to turn your home into somewhere truly one of a kind.

Featured Image By: Wikipedia

Be a Rebel: 7 Small Space Decor Rules That Are Worth Breaking

Standard
Be a Rebel: 7 Small Space Decor Rules That Are Worth Breaking

Hiii everyone! This is a post from one of my darling friends, Chloe, who is an interior design queen. Thanks again, Chloe girl! 🙂

Be a Rebel: 7 Small Space Decor Rules That Are Worth Breaking

A famous American author Theresa Anne Fowler once wrote that “some rules are nothing but old habits that people are afraid to change”. And boy, was she right. People would rather obey conventional wisdoms than take the risk of creating something different. This is especially true when it comes to decorating small rooms, which are labelled as “difficult” to design. Still, is painting the walls white always a good way to decorate a tiny space? Of course not. There is no one universal solution that works for all small rooms. Here are some decorating rules that could benefit from a little rebellion.

Paint It White:

This must be the most boring interior design rule out there. Why must we paint a small room white? White does contribute to the illusion of spaciousness, but so does beige, sand, and other light neutrals. Or, if you prefer style over size, you can always go with bold deep shades.

Darker colors can be used to accentuate certain architectural features (e.g. built-in wall shelves) or simply to provoke visual interest. When painting a small room with darker hues, go with a glossy, instead of matte finish, because it can reflect light making the space appear bigger.

ch2

Beige for days!

Keep the Knick-Knacks at a Minimum:

If you followed every conservative décor rule, you would leave your favorite vase, your travel souvenirs, and all of your lovable knick-knacks in the attic, since you wouldn’t display them in your small room. But, if you ignore the naysayers, you will fill your room with charming accessories which will turn an ordinary space into a home.

ch3

Cool kitsch

Avoid Large Scale Patterns:

“Sure, you can use patterns in a small room, but only teeny-tiny polka dots.” Forget all about that and go with bold patterns. Go back to the ‘80s and revive the popular trend of flame stitch patterns or vivid floral motifs. Introduce patterns with wallpaper, upholstery, drapes, rugs, and accessories such as throw pillows, tablecloths, etc.

Stay Away from Large Furniture:

Your small room doesn’t have to look like a Barbie’s house. Small furniture in a small room can only hurt its functionality and comfort. Sometimes it is better to rely on your sense of design and decoration instead of sticking to some preset rules. One large bulky piece of furniture can make a room more inviting and open. If you are planning to include such a piece, opt for a sitting item, such as a sectional sofa.

ch4

Tres chic

Heavy Drapes Are a Big No-No:

One of the most common misconceptions about interior design is that bare windows make a space look bigger. Bare windows might work in some cases, especially when the view is great, but not always. Contrary to the popular opinion, heavy drapes, especially when hung very close to the ceiling, can make the room look taller thus making it visually more spacious.

Compromise on Dining Area:

An open-space concept in a small apartment means that some things have to be left out. The most common choice is the dining table. It is more often than not reduced to a kitchen island with chairs or a foldable table in some corner. It doesn’t have to be like that. You don’t have to go with a full-blown 12-seat table, but you can downsize it to 4 seats. Then, you can still host your friends and family comfortably for dinner and drinks.

ch5

Pexels Image

Go with Matchy-Matchy:

Introducing matching patterns and colors is one of the basic rules of interior design, and it is especially used in small spaces to avoid overwhelming them with too much stuff. Go against this rule and don’t coordinate colors and patterns, and you’ll get a fun and interesting result. However, be careful not to overdo it, this rule is here for a reason. Try to display colors and patterns in pairs (e.g. two striped cushions + two green candles).

ch6

Pretty in pink

Stop sacrificing the personality of your small room just to create an illusion of a few extra square inches. When you go for a rebellious design approach – the sky is your limit.

^^^ Shout out to Chloe for such a fab post! -Sarah

Featured Image By: Pexels

How Unique Can You Go? Tips For Making A Home Unlike Any You’ve Seen

Standard

Who doesn’t want a home that’s different from anyone elses? In life, the more unique we can be, the better. There’s something satisfying in knowing that you’re the only person with that particular style. You’ll become the envy of your friends and will probably set a few trends of your own! The only question is, how do you achieve a look that’s different from anyone else? Being individual can be hard. We’re all trying to achieve the same goal, aren’t we? It makes sense that we’re all trying the same style ideas! We’ve got some ideas about how to achieve the most unique home you can imagine. Following these will ensure that you’re creating a home that no one’s ever seen before!

Build Your Own: We’re going to start this list with the most extreme suggestion. We’re aware building your home isn’t an option for many people. It is, however, the best way to get a home unlike any other. When designing your home, you have a say in every aspect of the house you’re living in. You can go as mad with your plan as you like. You could even employ the services of a company like http://www.structural-innovations.com, and get creative with the structure you put in place!  If you have money and time behind you, the world is your oyster! Or at least, your home is. If you’ve never considered building your home, research whether it could work for you.

unique.png

Wikimedia Image

Think Outside the Decor Box: If you’re not keen on embarking on such a massive project, there’s plenty of other things you can try! The easiest way to change your home is to focus on decoration. To achieve a look unlike any other, try not to let anyone’s decoration influence you. Sit down and plan the room from your mind only. Whatever choices you come up with, you can ensure they’ll be unique to you. Have fun with this. Tap into your creative well and use it to get your home looking great.

Get Creative With the Layout: While you’re getting daring with home design, why not try something different with the layout? There are certain layout norms that many of us follow for no real reason. Of course, some rooms, such as your kitchen or bathroom, can’t change around. Your other rooms are fair game, though. Why not swap your bedroom and living room? If it’s possible, it’s worth a go. People will look twice; that’s for sure!

Make Furniture: Making your home may not be practical, but making your furniture is a more achievable goal. If you’re not good at making things from scratch, repurpose things to fit into your home. Why not scrap the lights and have a lantern of old jars instead? Use watering cans as plant pots. You can even work solely with one material in making your own furniture, just like this discount Amish furniture; stuff like this is made entirely out of wood, which makes it incredibly durable. And the more restrictions you put on your making process, the more creative your ideas can get! Small touches like this will bring an individual style to any room. You could even reupholster old furniture. Learn how on sites like http://do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.com. You can choose any material you want to get the furniture you need!

unique1.png

Pexels Image

Blitzing The Kitchen – Things To Consider When Renovating Your Favorite Room

Standard
Blitzing The Kitchen – Things To Consider When Renovating Your Favorite Room

There will come a time when all homeowners realize that their kitchen needs an update. Like it or not, you might have to spend a healthy sum to get the desired results. So, it’s vital that you consider the crucial information on this page before you begin. The last thing you want to do is get things wrong and waste your savings. Thankfully, the specialists you visit to purchase your new units will have lots of cool ideas that you could use. You should always listen to their input because they have lots of experience but here is just a little extra advice:

Marble and Similar Surfaces are Durable: Nobody wants to undertake a kitchen renovation too often. That’s why it’s sensible for you to select durable materials for your work surfaces. Marble tends to cost a lot more than the alternatives. However, it could last more than twice as long. So, you need to see the expenditure as an investment that will save you hassle in the future. People with children in their home might like to purchase some rubber safety accessories for those sharp corners. Nobody wants to take their little ones to the hospital with a head injury because they got excited and started messing around.

Installation Isn’t Usually That Expensive: When you visit your local supplier and choose a new kitchen, they will ask if you want a professional installation package. Smart people will always pay the extra money and leave the job to the specialists. Individuals who fit kitchens for a living can complete an entire room in only a couple of days. Managing the project yourself could mean that you lose your spare time for more than a week. That is especially the case if you work long hours and only have a few moments to yourself each evening. Some suppliers might even throw in fitting for free if you spend enough cash.

Simple Accessories Can Help to Extend the Lifespan of Your Kitchen: There are lots of ways in which you can make sure that you don’t have to repeat the job too often. You just need to look for accessories that could reduce the amount of wear and tear. Soft close drawer runners are an excellent idea because they stop your units from becoming damaged. No matter how hard someone might slam the drawer, it will close at a steady pace. That means there’s no need to worry about damaging the surrounding wood and the drawer itself will continue to work correctly. Best of all? It takes around five minutes to swap your current runners for soft-closing alternatives.

kitchen4

Flickr Image

This information should help you to make better decisions when blitzing your kitchen during the next few months. Just make sure that you choose a design that isn’t going to go out of fashion anytime soon. Taking steps to extend the useful life of your kitchen is all well and good. However, it’s pointless if you select something that you’ll have to change in only a couple of years!

Featured Image By: Flickr

5 Easy Ways To Balance Your Decor

Standard
5 Easy Ways To Balance Your Decor

Decorating your home can be hard. Not only does it tend to be costly (even if you’re thrifty), it can be hard to coordinate. Whether you’re redesigning each room from scratch, or adding to what you have, bit by bit, ensuring that your decor is balanced and just works can feel like an impossible task. Impossible, but doable.

Whether you choose to hire an interior designer, follow the principles of feng shui design or research, try and buy, you might need to work on balancing out a few areas of your decor. If you’re tackling the task alone, these points should act as a starting guide for you to work from.

Color: Color can often be a safe starting point when it comes to your decor. You should be able to see straight away whether colors will work well together, or whether the entire look and feel of the room will be thrown off. But, some colors can be tricky. When that’s the case, hunt down interesting color palettes on Pinterest and see which ones most appeal to you. You’ll also be learning as you look, and will start to see how to match colors that balance well together.

Space: Another way to work on the balance of your decor is to use the space. If you’re working with a small room, you’re going to need to be smart. You’re not going to want to cram a lot of big furniture into the room, as it will look overcrowded. Instead, you’re going to want to opt for space saving storage ideas and lots of bright, fresh, airy colors. When you’ve got a larger room, you might need to be a bit more generous with the furniture and accessorizing. Otherwise, it will be out of balance and look quite bare.

Fabric: Your soft furnishings can also say a lot about a space. You might not think that the rugs, throws, cushions, and curtains that you add into the room make a lot of difference right now. But, if you get the combination wrong and the room is off balance, you’ll soon see it. When you pick fabrics, you need to choose ones that coordinate well. It’s pretty similar to the color situation – if you choose something that doesn’t work well together, then you’re often left with a lot of loud clashing and a bit of a headache.

Pattern: Many people can be afraid of playing around with patterns. And while that is a safe bet to take, you can actually create an incredibly well-designed and daring home with different patterns. But, you still have to make sure that they balance. When patterns clash, it can be chaotic. So, you need to make sure that you use them tastefully and sparingly, to create the desired effect. Try finding patterns with similar colors in them so that they blend rather than compete against each other.

Design: Then, there’s the overarching design itself. You can often be swayed by different interior design trends. But, if you opt for something new and different, rather than sticking to a style that you know you’ll always love, the space may not feel right. It’s important that you choose a style that you feel comfortable with, as you’ll then be able to make it balance with the accents and accessories that you add in.

Featured Image By: Pexels

Beyond Spring Cleaning: Those Changes You Should Make To Your Home

Standard
Beyond Spring Cleaning: Those Changes You Should Make To Your Home

It can sometimes seem as though there is no end to the amount of changes that you can make at home. It makes little difference how long you have been living somewhere, there are always improvements which can be made. Some of these are relatively modest, and are merely the work of an afternoon. But if you want to notice a more profound change in the home, then you might want to consider making some bigger changes.

These kinds of changes might take a bit longer – but will definitely be worth the extra time. However, it can be difficult to decide on what kind of changes to actually make. In this post, we are going to look at a few examples of some of the things you could be doing around this time of year to improve your home.

A Fresh Coat Of Paint: This is one of those things that is so basic that we often forget about it entirely. But giving your home a fresh lick of paint can make a surprising difference to the overall ambience of the space. If you notice that you have not repainted any of your rooms in a while, spring is a great time to do it. Especially if you go for lighter colors, which can help to really liven things up in time for the fresh start of the new year. If you are unsure of what colors to go for, it might help to bear in mind that it doesn’t matter all too much. The main thing is that you are happy with the overall effect; whether or not you have unity in color between rooms should be wholly irrelevant.

Improve The Security: Security worries us all from time to time. One of the most essential things for anyone is to be able to feel at home in their own home. You need to feel safe there if nowhere else, as this is the whole idea of it being your home. That’s why it pays to keep a close eye on the security of your place. The last thing you want is to leave your home vulnerable to attacks or natural disasters. The good news is that improving the security of your home does not have to be a complex or expensive issue. If you install security window screens, you should find that any potential break-ins are thwarted at first attempt. And you might also want to consider taking out an insurance policy on the home and its contents, just for even more peace of mind.

spring1

I See Youuu!

Prepare The Garden: As is likely to have happened, your garden is probably rather desolate at the moment. This, of course, is perfectly natural for it being winter, and there is little that can be done about that. However, now is a great time to start thinking about preparing the garden for the brighter and warmer months. This might be a simple case of reseeding the lawn, if necessary, or you might even want to turn the land so that the soil has a better chance of enabling plants to grow. Most importantly, think spring with bright and bold flowers and a lovely little bird house for your backyard animal visitors.

Featured Image By: Pexels