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The Design Inspirationalist

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The Design Inspirationalist

Tag Archives: decorating

Decorating Tips for Your Home

30 Friday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Art & Design, The Home

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Tags

bookshelves, colors, decorating, flowers, home, interior design, patterns, plants, shelves, textures

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Everyone has a room in their home that needs a little love. Why not jazz it up and add a sense of style that won’t only look great, but completes the entire room? Here’s some easy tips to create a more comfy space and well-designed atmosphere. With a little guidance, anyone can do this. The main thing to remember is balance. You want to think of the bigger picture, so that the final result looks complete and well put together.

General Decorating
A great tip for placing items is grouping them in threes. Sometimes when you put two things together, it feels like something is missing. Three is the perfect number! Keep this in mind when you’re decorating any space in your home. It’s OK to mix patterns, but make sure they relate to one another. Whether by color or theme, they shouldn’t contrast with each other.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Play with textures! No one wants to be in a flat room. Choose your textures wisely but get creative. Having a high-textured rug in the room brings warmth and depth to any space, especially when your furniture may be a little cold (metals and glass).  Add some patterned curtains and fun pillows, and the whole room will feel lifted.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Wall Space
Remember, when hanging photos and framed pieces the middle should always be at eye level. If you’re shorter than most people, just raise it an inch or two. I go nuts when I visit people’s homes and they have pictures hanging almost from the ceiling. Whoa!  If you have frames that run along the lines of your doorways, that’s a no no.  Who lives with you? The Jolly Green Giant!

Also, try not to make your home look like a gallery or museum. Not everything has to be placed in a row.  Sometimes, depending on the piece, you can raise one of them so they’re not so streamlined. You want your house to look lived in, not like a museum.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Bookshelves & Shelving
Organize your books into categories. Either group them by color, by size or both.  It’s also good to keep certain subjects together so you can find what you’re looking for in a pinch. Sometimes it’s cool to have a section of old vintage books to add a sense of history to a room.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

If you’re a collector, this is a great opportunity to let your collectibles shine. You don’t want too many, so make sure you pick your favorites. Always keep some space around the items and don’t crowd the shelves. You want your book shelf to stand out, not just one particular item, so keep with general themes.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Bringing the Outside In
It’s good to keep the outside of your home in mind when designing a space. What do you see when you look out the window?  Is there a lot of green from leaves on a tree? Try to bring the outside in and highlight how beautiful it is. Decorate with some neutral colors like greens, browns and blues, and that tree will feel like a part of your home.

Think about light when choosing your curtains or shades. Is there a lot of light coming in a window or not enough?  If it’s not enough, then I suggest you get blinds that open easily or a sheer curtain. That way you can block the light when you need to and let the sunshine through the sheers beautifully.

Decorating Tips for Your Home

An easy way to brighten up any room is to bring in flowers and plants. Not only will it make you smile, but it’ll smell good and the air will be cleaner. Gotta love natural air fresheners!

Decorating Tips for Your Home

Decorating Tips for Your Home

The whole point of design is to attract and submerge. You want people interested in what you created and then happily drown in the sweetness of your work. I’m telling you, a few simple makeovers like this will add a modern and clever touch to any space.

If you’re like me, you’ll want to rearrange every room in the house! I absolutely love doing things like this. Not only because I’m a designer, but it really relaxes me. Good Luck!

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

country, decorating, home, kitchen, painting, redesign, rustic, vintage

On Valentine’s Day my fiance and I officially moved into our new home. We are so happy and excited to be homeowners and have a house we love. From the moment I saw a photo, it was love at first sight, and I had a feeling it might be the one. We both wanted an older home with lots of character and that is what we got. Our little dream house.

There was much work to be done and Dan and I busted our butts to get as much done as possible. Being a designer you can imagine the plans I had for the house and the excitement I felt to actually get started. This is the first post in my Home Sweet Home series where I will share our journey discovering the layers of our 1929 home and redesigning the space from inside out. I hope it inspires some great ideas of your own and gets you amped for some new projects you may have been planning to do around your own home. So lets get started!

The kitchen was one of the main rooms we had to do a lot of work to. It had blue tile board on half the walls and the rest was wallpaper. This was definitely coming down. The cabinets were built by the father of the family who lived here and are in great condition so they just needed a fresh face.

Kitchen Before

Kitchen Before

We also had to deal with an old hood above the stove that was way too big and super dirty. Taking this down was a pain in the ass because it was connected to an outlet that was hardwired to the wall fan underneath. We like the look of the fan but really have no reason to use it so we just closed it up for now. We also had to get the washing machine pipes moved and reconnected downstairs in the basement. Thank god for plumbers!

Kitchen Before

So, the day we ripped down the walls was a glorious day. Layer by layer, and there were many, I could see my vision coming alive. It was nice to start with a clean slate. We were happy the floors weren’t so bad because we had a whole list of things that had to be done and it was a relief the floors weren’t one of them.

Kitchen Before

Then the fun began. I had a few photos of inspiration I worked off of but I wanted the space to be very natural, soft and bright. My color palette would consist of creams, whites and wood tones with small touches of more colorful neutrals. These two images were my main inspiration.

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

After I cleaned and painted the cabinets and added new hardware, they looked fresh and new. Their 50s style shined a little bit brighter after I was done with them.

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

We had wide plank paneling installed with crown moulding on the walls and that totally gave the space a facelift. I wanted a modern country feel with rustic accents and the new walls helped that idea come alive. Once we painted and put up the new curtains I could see it all coming together perfectly.

Our table and chairs played an important role as they carried out the wood tones I needed for warmth. The darker laminate floors also helped anchor the room.

We purchased 100 year old barn wood on Etsy and used it for the backsplash which further added to the rustic feel I wanted. We bought it in strips so putting it up was just a matter of nailing them into the walls.

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

A new sink was in order so once that was installed along with our new faucet, the counter area looked much more cleaner and brighter. Because we plan on ripping everything out down the line, we decided to keep the countertop for now. Especially since it goes with our vintage theme.

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

The last thing on our list is the lighting which we are working on now but I have to say we transformed the space into something magical and beautiful. It may not be perfect yet but I love our new kitchen.  This was all done on a budget and pretty much a DIY project all the way through. We are happy we got the help we needed for the paneling because we just couldn’t do it all.

After all our hard work, this is what we created. I wish you all tons of luck on your home projects. I always say, the harder you work and put your heart into something, the payoff is extremely satisfying. Do it yourself and be proud of what you created. I know we are!

{Shops I purchased items from: Target, Ikea, Lowes, Etsy, Home Depot, Kmart}

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Kitchen Redesign

Photographic Palette – Vintage Carnival

08 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Color Inspiration, Photographic Palette

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Tags

blues, browns, carnival, decorating, design, green, nostalgia, pale, purple, vintage, yellow

With its pale hues and pop of whimsy, our vintage carnival palette brings a unique feel to any space. It brings you back to the good old days where carnival rides and candy make you feel at home and your inner child is set free. The colors in this palette are calming yet exciting and can easily beautify a space by adding that touch of personality and humor a room may need.

Check out Sensational Color’s Pinterest board for more inspiration!

Palette - Carnival Fun

It’s All in the Details

16 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Wedding Decor Ideas, Weddings

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

antique, birdcage, birds, decor, decorating, details, events, flowers, fun, items, paper flower bouquet, party, succulents, toys, vases, vintage, weddings

When creating a successful wedding, it all comes down to the details. Even a large event such as a wedding relies on a theme, palette and unique decor that tie into the chosen scheme with ease. You don’t want to overdo it just as much as not doing enough, which can easily happen with a small budget. Knowing what you want is a start. Being able to put it all together is what will make or break the overall design.

I feel the biggest problem most people have is seeing the bigger picture. Some can have a great idea but not a strong enough vision to pull it together or even see the end result . Getting help shouldn’t be hard. That’s what designers are for. But sometimes, if you can combine fun items you like, those details that are so important come alive. Then being able to cross the finish line and look back at an amazing event is priceless.

Here are some fun party items for all events that I hope inspire you to create the party, gathering or wedding of your dreams. Remember to relax, be open minded and stay true to who you are. This is the fun part!

Beau coup – Baby Dot Cupake Wrappers $12 {set of 12}baby-dot-cupcake-wrappers-500

Tree Beginnings – Bird Seed Heart Favor $1.79+ each
97-Heart-Bird-Seed-Favors-Unique-NEW-3991

Wedding Things – Oatmeal Kraft Box Wedding Favor $0.95
oatmeal_kraft_favor_box

BHLDN – Birch Placeholders $24 {6}
birch placeholders

Sparkle – Sparklers $45 {box of 288}
sparklers

Paloma’s Nest – Ringbearer Bowl $48
ringbearer bowl

BHLDN – Blue Bird Table Number Cards $44 {15} & Place Cards $10 {18} 
blue bird cards

Le Box Boutique – Wool Acorns $15 {set of 12}
wool acorns

Postscripts – Rustic Dessert Stand $39.99+
rustic dessert stand
The Lonely Heart – Personalized Linen Ribbon $5 {2 yards}
personalized linen ribbon

At Company b – Cake Banner $24
cake banner

Succulents Galore – Succulent Corsage $32
succulent corsage

BHLDN – Proprietor’s Keys $18 {12}
Proprietor's Keys

Marry Me Rosie – Paper Flowers Bouquet $149
paper bouquet

BHLDN – Urchin Shell Vase $16
urchin shell vase

Cake Vintage – Bon Appetit Placemat $22
bon appetit placemat

Flutter – Tin Music Box $8.50
tin music box

Anthropologie – Ivory Epoch Pot $10
ivory epoch pot 

The Blushing Apple – Metal Birdcage and Feeder $21.99
metal birdcage and feeder 

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