Decorating With Red

Red is a great color to use when interior decorating if you’re looking to make a statement. It is bold, warm, and full of passion. Red walls can radiate a stimulating energy and is traditionally representational of love, battle, and warmth. Red is one of few colors that can convey numerous emotions. Red is also a great accent color and is often used to draw attention to certain areas of a room or to make special, exciting features pop. Reds can offset paler, washed out colors and also coordinates well with darker hues of black, navy, and grays. When mixed with warmer shades of oranges, golds, and yellows the color radiates a sense of warmth and coziness. Reds are currently most popularly used in kitchens, living areas, and home offices. These are areas where the mind is stimulated and people are active versus a calm, relaxing, or quieted space like a nursery or bedroom.

Simplistic, Natural Window Treatments

Minimal and natural window treatments are becoming a popular trend in interior decorating as  the want for “green” design sky rockets. Whether you find yourself in need of fresh window treatments or are starting with a blank palette, it is easy to create and customize window coverings that are simple and minimalistic, while still reflecting the style, personality, and theme of your room. Exposed wood grain in blinds and natural woven shades are surfacing with bamboo as popular choices for modern, simplistic window coverings. Wood is making a comeback in decorative hardware, while bamboo, birch and maple are the materials of choice for the newest finials and pulls. The natural woods are light, in color and can be easily incorporated into various styles of décor. Another trending, modern window treatment is natural woven shades in bamboo and matchstick. These woven shades come in different colors of wood, and some include grassy woven accents. These treatments allow into the space but still allow for privacy. 

United Supply Company, sold at Creative Interiors.

Fabric Canvas DIY project!

Looking for an inexpensive yet crafty way to spruce up a drab room in your home? Try this easy, do-it-yourself project for a few new decorative wall pieces! Start by finding a fabric that you love; maybe something that coordinates with your wall color or pillows. (Robert Allen and P. Kaufmann are two textile companies that have trendy and interesting fabrics each season!) Make sure you purchase enough fabric to cover the entire canvas. Then all you’ll need to get started is staple gun, scissors, and a canvas, all of which can be bought at most craft stores. Find the composition that you want to show within the fabric and smooth out the cloth. You may have to iron it, depending on the type of fabric, but stretching it tightly on the frame will remove many of the minor wrinkles. Then all you have to do is staple it to the canvas frame! Start by placing a staple in the center of each side of the frame. Work out toward the corners, adding only a few staples to each side before moving to the next. The corners can be neatly folded and stapled to the backside of the frame. Viola! A there you have it! A simple, inexpensive and quick way to display some of your favorite textile prints and liven up a drab room!

THIS is an entrance!

The entrance is the first impression of the entire house. It sets the stage for all to see. This is where you should remember the key term that all house savvy people know: BONES. The bones of the house are the things you don't pack up and take with you when you move. The floors, moldings, the wood work, etc. This is what you should put your big bucks into, because good bones means a good listing price! For a grand entrance like this, one with magnificent bones, always call a skilled professional, like a builder. Builders work with designers all the time to make the most perfect house come alive. In fact, some are both builders and designers!

designbuildersonline.com

Bold Prints: Houndstooth

Houndstooth has gradually made its way from the fashion industry into home décor. Always the attention getter, houndstooth is a classic pattern that easily adapts to various seasons and can enhance everything from vintage to modern-looking spaces. Houndstooth is traditionally recognized in its bold black months and white palette during the fall and winter, but can now be found in an array of colors to coordinate and be stylized with all interior schemes. Depending on the scale, a houndstooth pattern can be very muted and quiet or bold and demanding. Small houndstooth prints are soft and charming, often relaying a vintage feel to accent pillows and blankets. Larger prints found on draperies or upholstery are more graphic, lively, and attention getting. The print can quickly add stylish and sophisticated flair to a bedroom. Accentuate your bedding with a houndstooth comforter, bedspread, or quilt for a classic look. Choose a traditional black and white pattern or pick bolder colors like red or yellow with white for an energetic, unconventional look. Coordinate with solid colored decorative pillows and throw blankets. Also, by placing black and white houndstooth cushions on antique chairs or vanity seats within the room, a classy, retro look can be achieved.

  

Rod Pockets

Rod pocket drapes and valances are also among the most popular styles of drapery headings. Simple to explain, the rod pocket is just that- a fabric pocket sewn against the top back of the drapery where a decorative rod can be placed through. Rod pockets are popular in minimalist décor and are a less extravagant type of window treatment. Rod pockets can be used decoratively though, pulled to the side with tie backs or used as a valance, where drapery is operational. Rod pocket draperies can easily pulled for privacy and are simple to install. These draperies are simplistic and require minimal upkeep. Rod pocket draperies are easy to maintain and launder, as they can be quickly taken off the rod to hand wash or thrown in a machine. Often rod pockets are used for draperies covering doors and are managed with a tieback or by pulling the middle section together to create an “hourglass” effect. They also look nicely when they cover only half the window to create a “café curtain”.


Picture from backyardcity.com

2013 Home Decor Color Trends

With March quickly coming and going, most of us are starting to feel it-- the winter blues. Yes, the tease of the sunny day where it is over 60 degrees followed by the rainy/snowy 20 degree day, it makes you want to pull out your hair... but please don't do that. I have a solution!

I have been researching the upcoming SPRING color trends, and they are fabulous. Earth tones are back again, with soft blues, grassy greens, wheat yellow, and pastels that make you want to hunt Easter eggs all season long! They are used on furniture, walls, draperies, pillows, and bedding too!