• About
  • Visit Gray Star Design
  • Minted Collection
  • Design Services
  • Contact

The Design Inspirationalist

~ Inspiring Ideas | Spectacular Creations

The Design Inspirationalist

Category Archives: Everyday Design

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

28 Monday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

balance, color, design, interior design, nature, rugs, small spaces, space, texture

Redefining Space

Here is another collection of ideas that will help you redefine spaces in your home. Sometimes it just takes a few tips to get you started and then you are set to go. There are easy and simple ways of accomplishing successful design. You just have to keep the space in mind and figure out what works best.

Have a stairwell in need of some love? Hanging photos or artwork on the walls will usually do the trick but what about the corner of the stairwell? Don’t think you can’t do anything with them just because it is a small space. Shop around for a corner piece of furniture or place a plant on a plant stand. Two ideas that will solve the problem and look beautiful. You can also dress up the stairs! Get creative and have some fun.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Corners in a room are very important. In my previous apartment I had glass bookshelves in the corner which looks great but still seemed a little empty. I happened to have a big branch that I found in my backyard that I felt would be perfect for the spot. I already had it in an oversized vase on the floor but it wasn’t doing much where I originally had it. This corner was the ideal spot. Not only does it fill up the space, it brings a natural and whimsical feel to the room.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Bringing natural elements into your home is one idea I always recommend people do. The Earth is such a beautiful place and it gives us so much to work with. This is one thing you can take for granted because most of the time it’s free and best of all, it enhances your everyday life in the process.

For natural elements, look around your local parks or even around your backyard. Remember not to settle with an item just because you want to get the project out of the way. Bringing in plants and flowers will always brighten up a room. Your home is an extension of who you are so allow it to represent your style and personality to the fullest.

Another problem I feel people have with defining space is understanding ways to open it up. If you have a small room, you shouldn’t bring heavy, dark furniture into the space. It will just make it look smaller. That doesn’t mean you can’t use browns and darker colors, it just means you should watch how you combine the elements in the room. It should always feel balanced. Knowing your measurements should help solve that problem.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

You can have a big, lofty room and still have it feel relaxing, airy and warm. If you want to fill up the space nicely and can use large furniture, then go for it. For big spaces you can choose from many colors that are warm or cool. It’s just a matter of how you want the space to feel. Color plays a big part as well. The warmer the hue (reds, oranges and browns) the space will seem cozier. The cooler the hue (whites, creams, blues and grays) the space will feel more open and airy. But as long you have a nice balance between color, furniture and texture, you can create the space of your dreams.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

For my living room, I chose a cool blue/gray palette on my walls and included a lot of white. I balanced that out with metal and dark gray furniture. Although its nice to have  a lot of light neutrals in the space, there should be some weight to help balance everything out. This is why I chose darker gray metal pieces with a mix of wood to fill in areas.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Textures also play an important role when balancing a space.  Again, if you are stuck with a small room, brighten it up with a high textured rug but don’t hide it with a heavy coffee table. To show the rug off you want to purchase a table that you can see through or has a very light feeling.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

Try to be creative when it comes to furniture. You don’t always have to buy something already made. Make it yourself! A year ago I purchased several crates from Etsy and stacked them to make shelves. Once I placed some of my vintage accessories on them, it stood out brilliantly. Keeping a collection together is more dramatic than spreading it around so try to pair up pieces by style, form or color.

Redefining Space – Design Ideas for Your Home

For vintage crates and things of that nature, stop by garage sales in your neighborhood. You never know what you will find. There are a lot of things in my home I found at yard sales and for a very good price. Don’t forget about antique shops too! Get creative and work with the space you have. It’s all up to you to make it functional and beautiful.

Hope you all have fun playing around with some of these ideas. Remember, it’s easy to design your space and balance it out. Just keep these tips in mind and DIY your way to brilliance.

Organization Tips

18 Friday May 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Crafty Ideas, Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

cleaning, mail, money, office, organization

Now that the warmer months are among us its time for Spring cleaning and to get organized. Here are some tips to liven up your space, clean out the clutter and take on a new season with ease.

Keep your home free from clutter by creating a space for everything. Utilize the space you have and make the most out of it. Keep closets in order by storing items you rarely use on top and important products at eye level.

Organization Tips
Keep notebooks and other office supplies neatly
stored for easy use.

Organization Tips
Even the dog can get organized! Keep all your pet’s
toys in a colorful bucket or bin so they aren’t all over
the place.

Organization Tips
Keep magazines in a decorative stand and you won’t hesitate to put them away.

Organization Tips
A vintage inspired catch-all holds papers and journals safe and neat under a coffee table.

Use clear containers to see what you have and label items if you rather have stuff hidden away. Add some unique elements, like using ribbon to tie sheet sets together. Recycle old jars to keep detergent in. Replace packaging so items look more refined and fresh.

Organization Tips
Colorful boxes add a nice touch to the top of a bookshelf while office materials are safely stored away.

Organization Tips
Labeled boxes are a great way to store items because they look neat and are very accessible. 

Your Mail & Money

Get rid of all that junk mail by visiting Ecocyle and devote a space to store a shredder. When junk mail comes in, just shred it right away.

Organization Tips
Create a shredding station where junk mail doesn’t
have a chance!

Create a space for incoming and outgoing mail and devote five minutes everyday to look through it. Keeping it by the shredder is a smart idea!

Keeping tabs on your bank account balance is smart and responsible. Why not make it easy and fun by using free programs like Mint or Manilla? Having everything in one place is key.

Keep a calendar for bills only. Use different colors or those snazzy star stickers for each of your accounts, and it will be even easier to keep track of when payments are due.

Food

Setting up your week by meals makes grocery shopping and dinnertime much easier. Plus, I guarantee you will save money. Pick one day a week to plan out your meals, and only purchase the ingredients you need for that week. Less food will go to waste and you will know ahead of time what’s in store.

Keep snacks in clear containers in the pantry so you know when you run out. By storing the healthy snacks lower, you encourage both you and your kids to pick them over sweets. This will also add uniformity, color and neatness to the pantry.

Organization Tips
Clear jars brighten up the pantry when filled with dry goods. Plus, you can see when you need to buy more.

By keeping labels on food items facing forward you can see what you have. This keeps products organized and you won’t get stuck buying things you already own.

Follow these few tips and you’ll be on your way to a more stress-free and organized season in no time. Make your projects fun and get creative!

Chalky Pastels Bring Spring Closer to Home

20 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Color Inspiration, Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

better homes and gardens, chalk, interior design, nature, palette, pastels, spring

Chalky Pastels

In the May issue of Better Homes & Gardens they feature chalky pastels and include some tips on how to use them. Being a lover of pastels I had to share these pretty colors. Soft and cheery are great words to describe them for they bring a touch of happy to any space.

Using them on the walls will make a room seem larger so painting a small space a lighter hue is a great idea, if thats what you’re going for. Painting a ceiling will do the same. Accessories that showcase springs beautiful colors help brighten up a space so touches of pretty pastels here and there create a flow of sunshine.

Chalky Pastels

{Spinach White: Sherwin Williams – Raspberry Ice: Benjamin Moore – Mild Mint: Olympic – Filtered Sunlight: Ace Hardware – Inviting Warmth: BH&G for Glidden}

Here are some examples of using pastels successfully. Hope they inspire you to bring spring closer to home. Surrounding yourself with happy colors makes all the difference.

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

Chalky Pastels

{Check out my Better Homes & Gardens board on Pinterest! It’s my entry for their $5000 Dream Home contest. Wish me luck!}

Everyday Tablescapes

14 Saturday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, decorating, design, interior, parties, tablescapes

Everyday Tablescapes

Setting your table doesn’t have to be boring.

Having dinner guests?  There’s no better way to make them feel welcome than with a great tablescape. Of course, a yummy dinner should follow! What if you’re having some people over? You want to wow your guests so they come back, right? Well, here are some great ideas that you all can do, DIY style.

You can create a great tablescape with what you already own. Just collect some of your best looking dinnerware and try to create a theme. You can choose a color scheme, an event or even certain objects. Just be creative and remember it should be fun.

All my ideas are simple and easy. I find that when people put too much on a table, it ends up being overkill. You don’t want people distracted by the tablescape, but appreciate what you’ve done and enjoy the evening.

So, let’s say you’re having another couple over for dinner. An easy addition is to put some flowers on the table. Not a huge bouquet, but a small, quaint one for that whimsical feel. Also, think outside of the box when choosing a vase. To make it less formal, try using an old jar, a piece of pottery or even a decorative cup.

Everyday Tablescapes

Cute place mats and cloth napkins will dress up a table a little without going overboard. Try to stick with the same color scheme so it all looks put together. Simple and functional, yet beautiful at the same time.

Having a romantic dinner for two?  Make it casual and comfortable and go with the same idea. A small bouquet of flowers and a simple setting. You can even ditch the place mats!  The more natural the better. The cloth or linen napkins are enough to dress it up. Clean and simple is the way to go.

Everyday Tablescapes

If you want something a little more formal, then use a table cloth. They have some really cool patterns these days, so finding something unique shouldn’t be hard. Not into a lot of graphics? Then go for one that is a solid color, but matches your theme of the night.

When having a small get together, you want to hang out with your guests, not get stuck in the kitchen. I’ve found that the best way to accomplish this is to set it up a buffet. Have one table for all the dinnerware and another for the food. Or just set up a big table where food is on one side and the dinnerware is on the other.

A simple and stylish way to dress up the table is to use a table runner. This is the one time when I think it’s most appropriate. Set the runner down and place all the dinnerware in a row. Using a mason jar to hold the silverware sets a nice tone. Sometimes you can find these super cheap at garage sales.

Everyday Tablescapes

Now, you want to include that one element of design that makes a statement. Yes, you can place flowers on the table, but try using items you normally don’t use. I took some onions and garlic and placed them in a glass bowl and it looked awesome. It’s natural and the subtle tones of the veggies brought a nice vibe to the table. Try showcasing wine corks in a jar or vase.

Everyday Tablescapes

You can also go naked. Who says you need to put down a table cloth or runner? Not me! Express your love for clean and simple and showcase your table. If you want to dress it up a bit, use a tray to place all the cups on. Add some flowers or even a small bunch of branches tied with a ribbon and you’re done.

Everyday Tablescapes

For dessert, the same rules apply. Invest in a cute cake stand and some serving plates and all your yummy treats will look even better. I have a lot of little plates that come in handy for times like these. I suggest you stock up as well.  They are great for desserts, appetizers or even a simple snack. Plus, they look so cute!

Everyday Tablescapes

So try these ideas the next time you have guests and I promise they’ll be a success. Just because something is well designed doesn’t mean it took all day to do. I say, clean lines, natural tones and creative thinking is the key to all kinds of design. Dinner guests beware! You might just get blown away from my DIY tablescape.

{For more inspiration check out my Pinterest board}

← Older posts
Newer posts →
color in films sound in color art inpsired palettes
art and design the home events and parties weddings real weddings color inspiration film-reviews historic places news and updatesminted






minted.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives



martha

Magnolia Rouge

Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 2.29.10 PM

Etsy

Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 2.18.10 PM

logo

Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 2.42.13 PM

P&PBlogHeader

wedding chicks


ruffled

Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 2.47.49 PM

Screen Shot 2014-04-23 at 2.16.32 PM


lauren-elle-photography

jenlombardo

logo_website

site-logo1

kelly_dekenipp_logo

homelogo

Website Powered by WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • The Design Inspirationalist
    • Join 1,379 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • The Design Inspirationalist
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...