Home and Garden: 2013 Resolutions

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Guest Posts, The Great Outdoors, The Home

Tags

bold, color schemes, eco friendly, emerald, garden, gardening, green, home, interior design, nature, new year, plants, resolutions, upcycle

We always start the New Year with great intentions for the coming months. A common resolution is to take more care and attention over your home and garden. But it’s usually around now, a couple of weeks into the New Year that these good intentions can start to slide. However, when it comes to your home and garden, there are some simple changes you can make to help keep everything looking and feeling fresh for 2013.

Color schemes: Be Bold
2013’s color of the year is Emerald Green – not necessarily an easy color to fit in with your current decor (unless you’ve already jumped on this trend!) However, this is a great opportunity to be bold with your home interior and add a little something different. Experimenting with colors is a perfect way to inject some excitement, especially at the start of a new year.

Photo Credit: Simplified Bee

This doesn’t mean a complete overhaul is required; a touch of green can come from a variety of objects and ideas. Potted plants such as the Homalomeno ‘Emerald Gem’ provide a burst of color and are ideal for interior settings. If plants aren’t your thing, depending on your existing color scheme, you could add emerald green throws to your couches. For a more subtle touch a couple of green cushions will help to create a similar effect. Whichever way you incorporate the color into your home, making a resolution to try something different with your color scheme is something that is simple yet effective.

Photo Credit: Simplified Bee

Gardening: Be Eco-friendly
Making a resolution to keep your gardening eco-friendly will not only have wider benefits for your local environment, it will help to keep your garden in tip top shape.

One aspect of your garden that may not spring to mind when it comes to the environment is your soil. Most commercial potting soil contains peat which is a non-renewable resource, and it can only be found in certain parts of the world. However, it is used as a form of energy, so it would be beneficial if gardeners looked to other sources of material for their soil. One popular alternative is to use coconut coir. This is a natural by-product of the coconut industry, and it helps to promote plant health.

Photo Credit: Gotta Shop It

Reducing the amount of pesticides and insecticides you use is another way of helping the environment – instead of using whatever is lurking in your garden shed, go to local garden centers and ask for advice or any alternative methods to pest management. One method is to frequently check plants and remove any bigger pests that are visible by hand. Another way of helping is to try and encourage insects like ladybirds and spiders as these types of insects will naturally help to reduce the number of pests in the garden. These may not seem like revolutionary ideas, but will help your garden to look great, alongside the achievement of helping the environment.

Upcycle: Be Unique
Upcycling is the perfect way to save money and make use of items that may have been long forgotten, but it can sometimes seem like a lot of effort for little gain. However, there are simple ideas and inspiration everywhere you look.

For example, a great method for accessorizing old t-shirts only takes some newspaper, chalk, bleach, a paint brush and some imagination. Use on darker-colored t-shirts to get the most effective look. Put some newspaper inside your t-shirt to prevent any bleach from soaking straight through the material.

Draw a design on your shirt with chalk – staying simple is usually more effective; however you can experiment and see what you prefer. When your design is complete, dip your paintbrush into some bleach and trace over the chalk design. Once you’re happy with the color and the bleach has soaked in, wash your t-shirt. The bleach will have stained the shirt in the shape of your design, and the chalk will be rinsed off. You can use this method for other items of clothing or any other material you may have around your home.

Photo Credit: The Berry

This is just one simple example of upcycling – there are plenty of methods you can find online and in craft shops, depending on what items you want to upcycle. So before throwing anything anyway, take a second and think about what you could do with it!

These ideas can help you to keep up with your home and garden over 2013, without breaking the bank and that even a novice could attempt. What home and garden resolutions do you have for 2013?

{Danielle is a guest author working on behalf of Tiger Sheds. She is an enthusiast of home improvement and gardening, and loves to keep on top of the latest design trends and inspiration.}

Office Space Beauty

17 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

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Tags

crafts, Inspiration, interior design, office, organization, work

Whether you work in an office or out of your home, you should be in a space that is inspiring, organized and beautiful. Even cubicles don’t have to be stuffy and boring. Dress them up with things you love like photos of loved ones and trinkets that make you smile and bring in plants to enhance the air. Remember, this is where you are most of your day so why not create a space you love?

Since I work from home, my office is shared with my husband. Even though I take up most of the room, he does have a small space for his desk. My two dogs also have access during the day so you can imagine how hectic it can get with them running around, playing and barking most of the time. It makes me nuts! But I make sure the space itself is organized and designed to help me get stuff done. This is what truly makes a difference.

I created 3 essential zones; my computer desk area where all paperwork and graphics are done, my printing station where I keep all orders as well as files and my craft area where I cut all paper and keep most supplies.

The closet holds all inventory, magazines and other storage we have. Everything is organized into labeled boxes and kept in groups that make sense.

I also developed a system that would make fulfilling orders easy so I can keep track of my progress. I have a board above my desk that lists all current orders with lists of what to do. After each task is done, I check them off the list until the order is finalized. I also have a weekly to do list I update which enables me to see my projects in advance.

As far as design, both my husband and I wanted the office to feel a bit more masculine and by incorporating a darker color palette in the space I think we accomplished that nicely. I wanted it to have a more study feel as apposed to a business feel. So with the navy hue on the walls and darker toned wood pieces, its warm and cozy. We also surrounded ourselves with artwork we love, books and lots of vintage finds that make us happy. I have to say my office is one of my favorite places to be.

Here are some other really great examples of office spaces that are beautiful and organized. They are sure to inspire you to create a room you love too.

Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens