You are here: Home / Archives for Home Decor

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]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Neat and Nifty DIY Projects for Your Kitchen

August 18, 2016 by

While you may not be able to pull off a full kitchen renovation in your rental, you can make the space function better for your needs by crafting up a few simple projects. Here are just three useful DIY projects that will improve your kitchen space and help make it your own.

Dip-Dye Wooden Spoons [housebeautiful.com]
Looking to add more color to your kitchen without going overboard? This simple tutorial will add rainbow hues to your wooden kitchen utensils, and best of all, it takes less than an hour to complete. Store them upside down in a large ceramic jar to show off their fun new makeover.

Additional Cabinet Storage [lifehacker.com]
If the items in your kitchen cabinets are always stacked precariously on top of one another, you could likely benefit from additional storage. Add a tension rod for additional storage, or add a classic Lazy Susan so that you can reach things like spices and small jars with ease.

Cutting Board Tablet Stand [countryliving.com]
If you frequently use your iPad or other tablet to look up recipes or listen to music in the kitchen, keep it protected by creating your own stand out of an old cutting board. Simply attach a wooden Scrabble tile stand to the bottom to hold up the tablet, then prop up the entire cutting board using an old door stop on the back.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

These Two Wedding Registry Sites Can Help You Take the Plunge

March 17, 2016 by

When it comes time to register for gifts for your wedding, it can be difficult to choose the right places to meet your style and your needs. It’s best to keep in mind that you want high quality items that will last a good while, but at prices that your guests can afford. Here are two great wedding registry websites that will make your decision a bit easier.

Pottery Barn
Pottery Barn’s wedding registry is separated into neatly organized sections that help you to create your registry from start to finish. It features a simple registrant information page that allows you to create your couple profile, and it even enables you to decide where you’d like each gift shipped and your preferences on receiving gift cards from guests. Once you fill out your registry, Pottery Barn also makes it easy for friends and family to find your profile and navigate the gifts that you’ve selected.

Williams-Sonoma
The popular kitchenware store offers an impressive wedding registry site that’s packed full of cooking and entertaining items to help you create the kitchen of your dreams. Easily create and manage your registry with just a few fill-in-the-blank questions, then select the items that you love from Williams-Sonoma’s expansive inventory.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

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.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

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]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

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]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

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]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Seeking Original Artwork? Here’s Where to Shop for It Online!

May 21, 2015 by

Furnishing your home with original artwork is a very fulfilling hobby, but unfortunately it can also be very expensive. There are quite a few websites that offer artwork created by independent artists for much less than gallery prices, which makes them beneficial to both you and the artist. Here are a few of the best.

Etsy
Etsy has become the internet’s go-to spot for handmade art and home goods, and for very good reason. This online marketplace enables independent artists to create an online shop and sell their goods, whether those goods are paintings, sculptures, or even wall hangings made out of old license plates. Best of all, you can search Etsy by keywords to find exactly what you have in mind for any room in your home.

Fine Art America
If you’re looking for more traditional paintings or photography for your home, Fine Art America is a great resource. This site features artwork from artists and photographers from around the world, at all price points.

Zatista
While many online art stores sell reproductions of famous works, Zatista offers only unique, original works that none of your neighbors will have. If you live in a small town or city that isn’t teeming with art galleries, this is the ideal way to browse thousands of pieces from artists who could be the next big thing.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

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]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,

Spruce Up Your Space With Finds From These Two Retailers

March 19, 2015 by

Did you know that there are many affordable stores that sell furniture and decorations made specifically for apartment dwellers? Here are two websites to shop for apartment-friendly decor items!

Ikea
Ikea is everyone’s favorite one-stop apartment shop, beloved for its hip, modern aesthetic and impressively low prices. Here you’ll find everything from the perfect trundle bed to an artistic temporary light fixture that won’t jeopardize your security deposit, as well as all of the rugs, photo frames, and plants in between. Ikea also carries a wide variety of space-saving solutions for small spaces, which will help you to organize your space and keep it free of clutter.

West Elm
If your budget is slightly higher, West Elm is an equally stylish website with a bit higher quality selection of apartment decor items. Midcentury modern-inspired sofas and end tables are comfortable and compact enough for an oddly shaped apartment living room, while the wide selection of elaborate bedding, curtains, and rugs add a splash of color and texture to a cookie cutter living space. West Elm also offers a wide assortment of kitchen wares that can maximize space any kitchen.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »

Pin It on Pinterest