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Bring the Outdoors In: How to Decorate Using Natural Elements

September 15, 2016 by

One of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to decorate your home is with natural elements. Use natural materials from the outdoors and colors inspired by nature to decorate for any season. If your space could use s breath of fresh air, follow these tips and get this organic look in your home.

  • Use unique pitchers or containers to keep flowers in to give any bouquet a fresh look.
  • Add three-dimensional antlers or any kind of faux taxidermy to your wall to break up some of your framed pictures on your wall.
  • Gather some branches in your backyard to put in a vase to make a centerpiece for your table. You can also use a piece of driftwood for a centerpiece as well.
  • Use a large twisted branch to hang on the wall to add some modern dimension to a room.
  • Use clear glass lamps and fill them up with pinecones, seashells and sand, moss, or anything else you can find.
  • You can also use bowls or trays to fill up with the pinecones or shells.
  • Hang artwork with an earthy theme to hang on your neutral colored walls.
  • Place a collection of small green houseplants in different sized pots on your wooden table to add some natural character to your dining room.

15 Ways to Decorate with Natural Elements [Ebay]
Decorating with Natural Elements [Better Homes]
12 Easy Decorating Ideas Inspired by Nature [Houzz]

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5 Ways to Dress Up Your Apartment Using Cool, Colorful Wallpaper Swatches

April 21, 2016 by

While you may not be able to wallpaper your entire wall in a rental apartment, there are still a number of ways to use wallpaper to add some color to your space. Check out these creative tips for using wallpaper swatches all over your home at The Broadwater.

  1. Line your bookshelves. Give your bookshelves a colorful makeover by adding colorful, patterned wallpaper to the backs of the shelves.
  2. Create framed art. Fill some small frames with mix-and-match wallpaper scraps to create an eclectic (and budget-friendly) gallery wall.
  3. Line your drawers. Keep drawers clean while also making them more festive by lining them with wallpaper (just make sure that you can remove it once you move out).
  4. Revamp an old lampshade. Cover an old lampshade with a larger piece of decorative wallpaper. Simply cut it to size and attach it using tape or hot glue.
  5. Top a table. If you find a sturdy but scratched table at your local thrift store, give it an easy makeover by placing a piece of wallpaper on its top. Simply cover it with a piece of cut glass to keep the corners from peeling.

Creative Uses of Wallpaper in Any Room [Better Homes and Gardens]
10 Uses for Wallpaper Scraps [This Old House]
Unexpected Uses for Leftover Wallpaper [Real Simple]

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Follow These Tutorials to a Cool and Kitschy Macrame Plant Hanger

January 21, 2016 by

Macramé may have originally gained popularity back in the 1970s, but the kitschy weaving craft is coming back in a big way. If you love plants and you’re always looking for fun new ways to display them, you may even want to try making a macramé plant hanger of your own. Here are a few tutorials to help you get started!

Colorful Polyester Rope Hanger [hgtv.com]
With this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a macramé hanger using only a few colors of polyester rope, a carabiner, and a screw hook. The actual plant hanger itself is fairly simple, but wrapping the multicolored string around the top adds a fun pop of color.

Sturdy Macramé Plant Hanger [lowes.com]
If you’re looking for something that’s a bit sturdier to hang a particularly heavy plant, this is a great tutorial. It uses clothesline instead of the usual yarn or polyester rope, as well as 18-gauge steel wire and a chain ring for added reinforcement.

Mini String Planters [blog.freepeople.com]
For something quicker and easier, this cute tutorial from the Free People blog uses standard yarn that you might already have stashed away at home. This is a fun tutorial to do while you relax in front of the TV, and the finished product is a great way to hang small air plants or succulents in miniature pots.

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New to Feng Shui? Here’s How to Get Started

January 7, 2016 by

Feng shui may be an ancient Chinese practice, but its ideas for creating a clean, comfortable and inspiring home are still very useful today. If you’re new to feng shui, these simple tips will show you how to get started creating positive energy and great flow throughout your home.

  • Clear out the clutter. The first thing you’ll want to do is get rid of all of the clutter in your home. Feng shui focuses on minimalism and flow, and clutter will only get in the way of your end goal.
  • Rearrange your furniture. Next, rearrange your furniture so that you can easily move from room to room. Don’t block doorways or windows, and be sure to place important items like your desk and your bed across from the door. This promotes the flow of energy.
  • Promote clean air. Refresh the air in your space by adding lots of air-cleaning houseplants throughout. You’ll also want to frequently change any air filters and open windows to allow in fresh air whenever possible.
  • Choose different colors in different rooms. Colors represent emotions in feng shui. Consider using soft, soothing blues and greys in the bedroom, powerful reds in the office, and sunny yellows in the kitchen or den.
  • Create a map. For more help, create what’s called a “Bagua” map of your home with each zone corresponding to a different aspect of feng shui.

Feng Shui 101 for Your Living Space [Wonder How To]
Feng Shui Decorating Tips [Real Simple]
Feng Shui 101: Getting Started With the Basics [Inhabitat]
Balance & Prosperity: Feng Shui 101 [Ask Men]

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Calling All Telecommuters: Here’s How to Create a Functional At-Home Workspace

November 19, 2015 by

Nowadays more and more people are working from home full-time, whether you’re a telecommuter or a freelancer who works for yourself. While working at home has many perks, it can be difficult to find a space that’s free of distractions to get the job done. Here are a few smart tips for creating a functional workspace in your home—even if you don’t have a designated office.

  1. Choose the right space. If you have a separate room for your office, that’s great, but if not, you’ll need to create your own area. Pick somewhere where you can shut yourself away and avoid outside noise, and make sure it’s a spot where you can avoid distractions.
  2. Invest in a desk. Instead of working on the kitchen table (or worse yet, the sofa), invest in a designated desk that’s reserved only for work.
  3. Create storage. Keep your supplies organized by adding a file cabinet, shelving, pencil holders—whatever you need to minimize clutter.
  4. Add a comfortable chair. Instead of focusing on style, choose a chair based on what’s most comfortable for long hours in front of the screen.
  5. Make your Internet work for you. Fast, reliable Internet is essential for telecommuting, so to avoid unnecessary headache, choose a carrier that comes highly recommended in your area.

Telecommuting Tips: Setting Up A Home Office [Drive Less. Save More.]
4 Great Tips for a Functional Home Office [Flex Jobs]
10 Quick Tips to Create a Home Office You’ll Actually Want to Work In [Fast Company]

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Good Vibes Only: The Basics of Feng Shui

July 23, 2015 by

Have you ever considered applying the art of feng shui to your home's decor? This 300-plus-year-old Chinese belief system involves organizing the home in a way that promotes the flow of energy, and you don’t have to be an experienced scholar in order to reap its many benefits. Use these simple feng shui tips for organizing your home.

  1. Get rid of clutter. This is one of the most important aspects of feng shui. If you don’t use it, get rid of it. Try donating, gifting or recycling unused items.
  2. Know the health “trinity.” The feng shui trinity includes the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen, the rooms most associated with health and vitality. Keep these areas clean, filled with light, and free of clutter.
  3. Properly position your furniture. Your furniture should allow for easy flow and movement from one room to the next. Avoid blocking doors or walkways, and keep hidden areas (like closets) free of blockages.
  4. Consider color. Colors like red and orange are associated with passion and energy, so use these in offices or dining rooms. Soothing shades of blue and green promote trust, peace, and harmony in the bedroom or bathroom, while cheerful yellow should be kept to the kitchen.
  5. Clean up the air. Add plants throughout your home to promote air purity, and keep the windows open as often as weather permits.

How To Create Good Feng Shui in Your Home [About.com]
Feng Shui Basics [Feng Shui For Real Life]
Feng Shui Basics: How Your Space Can Affect Your Mood [Tiny Buddha]

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Add a Touch of Color to Your Space With These Easy-Care Blooming Houseplants

June 18, 2015 by

If you want to breathe new life into your home’s decor, there are few better ways than by adding a few blooming houseplants. These unique plants give you a pop of green and a burst of bright color from their blossoming flowers, and they’re surprisingly easy to care for.

  • Begonia. Although most people think of begonias as outdoor plants, they also look beautiful inside your home. Types with fibrous roots work best indoors, and they bloom almost continuously throughout the year.
  • Peace lily. This elegant plant features a beautiful, white flower against its lush green leaves, and it’s one of the easiest to keep alive. The peace lily even does well in low light.
  • African violet. If you’re looking for a plant that will last for years to come, this is the one to choose. Their purple, red, or white flowers bloom almost year-round.
  • Orchid. Although orchids can be quite finicky plants, they flourish when placed in bright, indirect sunlight. Plus, they’re some of the most beautiful flowering houseplants.
  • Geranium. If you’re prone to forgetting a few waterings here and there, the geranium is the plant for you. These vibrant flowers thrive in dry soil between waterings, and they really bloom when placed in a bright window.

Flowering Houseplants [About Home]
The 16 prettiest and most colorful indoor flowering plants [Today Home]
16 Drop-Dead Gorgeous Flowering Houseplants [AOL Real Estate]

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How to Add Organic Touch to Your Home’s Decor

May 7, 2015 by

Going organic doesn’t end at the grocery store. In fact, there are a number of different ways that you can incorporate organic elements throughout your entire home. Here are just a few great ways to add a natural touch to the decor in your living space.

  • Create a nature-inspired vignette. If you admire something beautiful on your morning walk, such as a unique branch or a particularly interesting stone, add it to a stack of books on a tabletop to create a flawless vignette.
  • Create stone hot pads. Glue smooth, flat stones to the surface of simple kitchen hot pads to keep your countertops protected from hot pots and pans.
  • Choose natural rugs. Soft, organic materials like jute and hemp look beautiful when woven into a rug, and they’re much friendlier on the environment than synthetic versions.
  • Create organic centerpieces. The next time you host a dinner party, fill a ceramic vase with foraged tree branches or add pine cones to a clear bowl for a unique centerpiece inspired by the outdoors.
  • Change up your drapes. One of the simplest ways to bring the outdoors in is by allowing as much natural light as possible into your home. Switch out heavy drapes with soft, sheer panels to maximize the light.

Decorating with Natural Elements [Better Homes & Gardens]
10 Simple Ways to Bring the Outdoors Inside [Freshome]
Decorating with Natural Elements from Natural Kitchen and Home [Pinterest]

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