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The Design Inspirationalist

~ Inspiring Ideas | Spectacular Creations

The Design Inspirationalist

Tag Archives: home

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

16 Monday Jul 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts

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Tags

bamboo, blinds, curtains, decor, design, diy, eco friendly, home, home decor, light, modern, roller bilnds, tone, venetian blinds, windows, wood, wood blinds

From their easy fitting to their ability to control tone and light, blinds provide an excellent way to modernize your home. Moreover, they can provide essential solutions to establishing an overall decoration scheme, while updating your fittings to be more environmentally sound, and making the most of the space. It’s important to look at the different kinds of blinds that you can use, from horizontal Venetian blinds to UPVC vertical blinds, as well as single fabric roller and Roman blinds. With the multiple options available for those looking to update the feel of their home, it’s worth considering how each of these blinds will provide different but complementary effects.

Choosing the Right Kind of Blinds
First, you must think about what kind of blinds best suit your home and the ways in which you want to create a modern look. Vertical UPVC blinds are particularly recommended for creating a minimalist look, and are ideal for kitchens and bathrooms. However, horizontal wooden Venetian blinds work well for creating a relaxed atmosphere in studies and living rooms, and can also work well in bedrooms. Roller blinds are similarly effective as single pieces of fabric that can be decorated to tie into your overall decor.

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

The Best Blinds for Managing Tone and Light
You need to think about the best way of managing color, tone and light in your home and how it will contribute to an updated, modern style. Roller and Roman blinds that use high quality fabrics and insulating materials are recommended if you want to use striking or more understated colors, while single color vertical or horizontal blinds can blend in with the tone of wallpaper.

In terms of managing the amount of light passing into a room, easily adjusted UPVC and horizontal blinds are excellent at making small changes to a room’s atmosphere. By contrast, roller blinds can be easily removed from view, or converted into black out blinds if you want to create a more striking look.

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

Contributing to an Overall Decor
The perfect blind should contribute to an overall decor, and should be consistent with the look of a particular room. Kitchen blinds should consequently be lighter, using UPVC materials and horizontal slats to best let in light, while bathroom blinds should have the option for complete blackout for privacy. If you want to create a minimalist and modern look for your home, using these kind of simple blinds can ensure a clean finish. By contrast, heavier Roman fabric and wooden Venetian blinds are effective if you want to establish a rustic look for living rooms and bedrooms.

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

Being Eco Friendly
A modern home should take eco friendly materials and appliances into consideration as part of an overall commitment to recycling. As well as eco lighting and LEDs around the home, blinds can be chosen to provide the perfect blend of style and environmental strengths. Vertical and horizontal blinds can be purchased in materials like bamboo, woven polyester and honeycomb. These materials are naturally sourced and designed to be long lasting and resistant to dirt, while improving insulation and protecting from UV rays.

Maximizing Space
The best blinds are capable of enhancing the space in your home, and work particularly well for rooms with low ceilings. Vertical blinds work well at lengthening a room when combined with high bed posts and mirrors. Roman and roller blinds that can be removed from view during the day will also let in more light and open out the room. Skylight blinds fitted in conservatories and to windows in bedrooms can also work well to maximize the space in a room.

Guest Post: How to Choose the Perfect Blinds to Modernize Your Home

{Writing in coordination with Web Blinds, Christina Appleworth reviews the process of choosing the most perfect blinds to modernize your home. Christina’s passion is creative writing but when not writing she enjoys DIY design and modernizing her own home!}

Shop of the Month – Rejuvenation

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Shop of the Month

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

antique, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts, Classical Revival, Colonial Revival, decor, doors, exterior, exterior home, hardware, home, Industrial, lighting, lights, mailboxes, Mid-Century Modern, old world, Period Basics, rejuvenation, victorian, vintage

Rejuvenation is a lighting shop I came across a couple of months ago. Once I saw their products I was in love. They had tons of options from many different time periods which is right my alley. Now that Dan and I own an older home, dated around 1916, looking for vintage and antique items to fill it up is a must. Plus, we adore the vintage style and love to be surrounded by pastime goodies.

The shop carries lighting and hardware within nine collections: Period Basics, Mid-Century Modern, Classical Revival, Industrial, Art Deco, Victorian, Arts & Crafts, Colonial Revival and Old World. I am sure you will find something you love!

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

I also appreciate the clean and modern design of their website as well as their beautiful photographs of their products. It’s also organized and easy to navigate which is very helpful when you offer so much to your customers.

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Besides their inventory, Rejuvenation also offers restored antiques. They also have a blog that showcases the many things that surround their products such as architecture, artists and real spaces that use their lighting. And for any advice or inspiration you may need on the subject, the shop has that too. All of this makes your shopping experience fun and exciting while learning a thing or two in the process.

Check out some of these inspiration photos from their gallery.

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation

Now for some of my favorites! I hope this post inspires the Thomas Edison in all of you and gets you thinking more about lighting and how important it is in a space. Maybe it will remind you to make the exterior of your home just as nice as the inside. With all its hardware and door sets its certainly easy to! Shop around and look at what Rejuvenation offers. I can guarantee you will find something that will look beautiful in your home.

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Rose City

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Jefferson

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Alexandra

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Industrial

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Holywood

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Wildwood

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Arts and Crafts

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Old World

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Door Hardware

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Cabinet Harware

Shop of the Month - Rejuvenation: Mailboxes

My Future Kids Rule

06 Wednesday Jun 2012

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

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Tags

antique, artsy, children, crafty, design, future kids, home, inspirations, kids, mid century, shabby chic, style, toys, vintage

My Future Kids Rule

Dan and I definitely plan to have a family and are both excited to have kids. Even though we are going to wait a little while that doesn’t mean I can’t start wondering what I will surround them with. Art, design and music of course! Here are a few inspirations, items and ideas that remind me of my future kids. Enjoy!

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

My Future Kids Rule

Pinterest - My Future Kids Rule

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blues, brown, gray, home, interior, living room, neutrals, redesign, white

This is the second post for my Home Sweet Home series. If you haven’t checked out the last one, you can read it here. This time I will sharing our final design for the living room of our new home. I love how the space came out and am very excited to show it to you all. Transforming the room took a series of steps and even though it was hard work, it all paid off in the end.

Here is what the living room looked like before. It was dingy, musty and the beautiful characteristics were almost unseen.

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

The first step was to take the rugs up. Dan gets all the credit for this one. He took up all the rugs in the house by himself! Once they were up, the room was able to finally breathe.

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

The second step was the painting. The main issue we had was the walls. The previous owners liked to add layer upon layer which was a pattern we saw throughout the whole house. So, underneath the paint was wallpaper. Because of this, the walls were cracking and peeling. Since we didn’t have the funds to replace the walls, I used textured paint and went over the bad spots to make them even. It didn’t come out 100% but it certainly helped.

You can see the worst spot in the room to the right of Danny. What were these people thinking!

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

After the walls and moulding were painted, the room was starting to look like I had envisioned. I wanted a calm and peaceful space that was a combination of our favorite styles; industrial and country with vintage and crafty touches. First, we placed the furniture and hung up the curtains and blinds.

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Then added all the details and brought it to life. Most of the items in the room we already had. We just bought new covers for the couches, a new coffee table, a small recycled jute rug and textured curtains which was a great buy. It’s cool how the stuff you may of had for years looks take on a new life in a new home.

We stuck with a cool palette of blues, grays and whites with a touch of brown here and there. All neutral colors that bring a soothing and airy feel to a space. This is my favorite color scheme of all. It makes the room feel fresh, clean and comfy. With the addition of all the plants, its a haven of the earth.

I must say the living room is my favorite space in the house because it is everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s a room where people can gather to hang out, Dan and I relax and introduces guests when they enter our home. It speaks of comfort and peace and has an inviting feel. We LOVE our new living room!

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

Home Sweet Home: Living Room Redesign

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