Guest Post: Tips for Beginners on Selecting Interior Finishes for Your Home

13 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

Tags

bay windows, beamed, cathedral, celing, coffered, country kitchen, home, interior design, rustic, staircases, vaulted

When you had visited your friends’ homes, were you attracted to some things that you felt like having in your dream home? There are many creative ways of choosing your interior finishes.

People usually make some noticeable changes when they buy a new house, like opting for granite counter tops, choosing wooden floorings in place of carpet, or potlights to replace standard fixtures. But there are a lot of other upgrades that you can add to your dream home which you might not even be aware of.

Ceiling
A decorative ceiling treatment is a smart way to really highlight your interior spaces. High above the living spaces, they create that special finishing look that can not be left unnoticed. The average home ceiling is 8 feet high and built of materials similar to the walls. Today “popcorn” textured ceilings are gaining popularity as the finish is inexpensive and best for concealing minor imperfections. You can also choose the ceiling to be different shapes such as cathedral, vaulted, coffered, beamed and tray. These are responsible for defining and dividing a room.

Photo Credit: The Ace of Space

Photo Credit: Furnishism

Photo Credit: HGTV

Bay Windows
Would you like to add some excitement and open up the living space in your home? The perfect addition may be an eye-catching bay window. Bay windows extend outward from the wall of the home to form an indoor bay. They are gaining popularity these days as they make the living space appear larger, allow plenty of natural light to penetrate, and add a fantastic touch to the interior as well as the exterior of the home.

Photo Credit: Fresh Home

Staircases
Besides being extremely functional, a staircase can add to the beautiful architecture of the home. Staircases for homes can be designed in various shapes and sizes to fit exactly within the space provided. Before choosing one, you should first consider: how much weight will your staircase be receiving, who are the people using those staircases, and how are the rooms closer by being reached.

Photo Credit: Houzz

After finding the answers to these questions, you should choose the shape that fits into the floor plan, while complimenting your home. Some shapes are straight, return stair, “L” stair, Winder, circular and spiral.

Photo Credit: BS2H

Creating the Perfect Country Kitchen
The aroma of a sweet dish spreads from the kitchen’s oven. At the same time a large bowl of vegetable soup simmers on the stove. Dishes like this remind you of your favorite spot as a child, your granny’s kitchen. You could design your kitchen to offer just the same kind of memories all over again.

Photo Credit: Trendzona

If you love rustic country, then choose the wooden cabinets to be of brown, barn red, or cream so that it creates an ideal rustic kitchen setting. Nickel hardware is also a nice touch.

Photo Credit: Home Designing

When it comes to flooring you should choose textured tones for an inviting casual feel, and any light colored wood flooring for a formal kitchen. Next, consider the cabinet details. Add attractive crown moldings to the top of your cabinets to create a custom feel. Another interesting way to enhance your cabinets is to include glass. You can also replace some cabinet space with open shelving. These options will help make the kitchen look larger.

Photo Credit: Refacing Kitchen Cabinets Cost

When deciding on your interior finishes, try to think outside the box. Read magazines or ask professionals. This your dream home, so be as creative as you can afford to be.

{Diana is a writer/blogger who loves writing, traveling, and reading books. She contributes to Lon Gorman}

Guest Post: Color in Unexpected Places

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

art, color, decor, decorating, design, home, interior design

Here are some ideas on how to incorporate vibrant colors in unexpected places in your home and add some pop and spice to your décor.

Living Room
Everybody expects color on the walls and ceilings but its usually painted a boring neutral color. Do the opposite and paint your ceiling a bright metallic blue. The light reflected onto the walls will give your room an ethereal look.

Photo Credit: J Taylor Designs

For architectural interest, add a single red stripe on your wall in an otherwise neutral room. Run the stripe through the ceiling and the opposite wall. You can also paint an accent wall with chocolate brown. It will act as a perfect backdrop for your flat screen television or an art master piece.

Photo Credit: Houzz

Fire up your living room with a single red couch.

Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Make a statement with yellow, green or purple window blinds and paint your fireplace to match the blinds. Why not add a splash of color in an otherwise white room by displaying a piece of vibrantly colored modern art. Another quick way to add visual interest is by throwing in a couple of black or multi colored pillows on your couch.

Dining Room
Paint alternate chairs in your dining table-set bright green or purchase a green set.

Photo Credit: Trend Zona

Add some whimsy by stenciling in a couple of interesting patterns on the walls.

Photo Credit: Fresh and Fancy

For some ways to create interest on your table create a gorgeous purple centerpiece or fill a purple bowl with colorful pebbles and water. You can also try floating a few fresh or silk flowers in it. When you have guests over include an odd colored plate in your dinner set or add a lavender desert spoon to your silver ware.

Bedroom
Make your bed more luxurious and inviting or brighten up a guest room with a multi-colored festive patchwork handmade quilt.
Photo Credit: Angela Flicker

Sleep like a baby by painting a soothing blue on your walls or even just an accent wall.

Photo Credit: My So Called Home

To highlight your windows add a glowing golden valance above your blinds and complement it with a flaming yellow carpet on the floor.

Kitchen
Create a colorful herb garden on your window sill. Nature always adds a nice touch to any space. You can also try painting your sill violet and place two or three herb pots painted bold red, yellow, and green for a pop of color.

Photo Credit: Yankee Magazine

Paint two random kitchen cabinet doors fuchsia and pale green respectively. The complementary colors will add an unexpected freshness to the room. For a quick pop of color, place a turquoise blue cooking pot on your stove.

Bathroom
Liven up a boring bathroom with a free standing tub in daffodil yellow or electric blue. Pick your color and make it a DIY project.

Photo Credit: SCC Kitchen, Bath & Home

You can also try installing a Fuchsia vanity countertop or paint the frame of your vanity mirror a slate-blue. For instant pop, place a violet-red vase with white flowers on your countertop. Why not add interest to the space and stencil in bright patterns or flowers on the window frame.

Stairwell
Paint a faux salmon colored runner on your stairs. Make it pop out by stenciling in a few flowery accents.

Photo Credit: Babble

Paint each railing in different shades of blue starting with the palest blue at the bottom and moving up the color spectrum as you go up the stairs. Finally, bring in fresh flowers in a riot of colors!

Photo Credit: Decoist

{This post was written by Jason Torres brought to you by UniqueVanities.com and UniqueMirrorsOnline.com, where you can find the best modern single sink bathroom vanities}

Simple Tips for Home Makeovers

01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Daisy Hart, Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bathroom, decorate, diy, home, interior design, living room, living room decor, Remodeling

Having the perfect home is not so much about finding the perfect property, but about creating it yourself. There are plenty of interior tricks and design improvements you can utilize to turn an ordinary house into your dream home. Both exterior and interior are important parts of the house, but the interior affects our mood, health and life the most. The more time you spend improving it, the better you will feel at home.

Some things will require major renovations and changes, but the result will be worth the time and the investment. Some improvements can be accomplished without professional assistance. All you need is a solid plan, a checklist and a clear vision of how you want your home to look like.

Determine the areas you’d like to work on. If you don’t have the sufficient budget to cover all of the places that need renovation, focus on the focal points at home – the kitchen and the living room. The bathroom usually takes a big amount to be fully renovated. If you have a kitchen and living room you are proud of, your home will look much better. Make sure the changes coordinate with the rest of the house and each room has something in common with the overall design.

Go to a furniture store and home improvement store to look for pieces which will bring something new and better to the space. You can change the fixtures in your bathroom or get a modern cabinet which can accommodate all products. This will declutter the the room considerably. When you have enough storage, the area will be a tidier and cleaner place.

Photo Credit: Bathroom Improvements

Photo Credit: Paperblog

One way to have a better looking living room is to keep the furniture to a minimum and make sure the shelves and the cabinets don’t reach up to the ceiling. Buy plants, paintings, and frames for any photos you would like to feature and add unique accessories that will brighten the room and add some pop of color. Choose a quality carpet or a rug that will bring flair and style to the space and change up the curtains. You can easily rearrange the sofa and armchairs as well. With just a few minor and affordable changes the living room can look like a completely new one.

Of course you can use the assistance of a professional interior designer, who will determine the budget you need and what can be done to freshen up the space. Interior designers know how to combine style, trends, and comfort within a certain budget. Even a friend with a good sense of design can be a great help. Don’t rush the process – it’s best to do little positive changes to your home once in a while than to renovate what you can afford all at once. You don’t want to miss the chance on any further modernization you can do in the future.

Written By Ella Andrews

Guest Post: 5 Resolutions to Update Your Kitchen in 2013

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Guest Posts, The Home

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

cabinet lighting, color, hardware, home, interior design, jillian watkinson, kitchen, redesign, resolutions, wood floors

With the new year brings an urge to update and refresh your home. Since you spend a lot of time in your kitchen you surely do not want to look at the same four walls year after year. There are things you can do to refresh and update your kitchen rather quickly and easily. You can do these on your own without the help of a contractor. You may need to buy a few extra tools if you do not have a good tool selection, but other than that, you can have an updated kitchen in a matter of a weekend.

Under Cabinet Lighting
You can add some lighting under your cabinets with a drill, a few screws and the right type of lights. You do not want the lights to be very bright and you want them to fit without being seen. Other than this, the choice is really up to you. You can choose battery-powered or ones with cords if you have plenty of outlets. The battery operated ones tend to look the best because then there are no cords all over the place. If you are trying to be more eco-friendly, then get lithium batteries that can be recharged so that you can use them over and over again. Then, just screw the lights into the bottom of your cabinet and enjoy this new feature.

Update Your Hardware
If your cabinet and drawer handles are old, replace them. This will take just a few hours and a screwdriver. You can find a variety of handles at hardware and home improvement stores. If you are going modern, then you should go for something like a brushed nickel or stainless steel. If you are more a French country or shabby chic person, you can find porcelain handles that you can put on your cabinets and drawers.

Photo Credit: Pottery Barn

Use Your Ceiling More
Pot racks are not new, but they are also not a staple in every home. If you have an island or a butcher’s block in your kitchen, a pot rack works very well here. However, a new trend is putting a pot rack above the sink. If you have a window right here, you can actually use a simple curtain rod above the sink, but instead of curtains you will use it to hang some pots and pans. Just get some “S” hooks so that you can attach them to the curtain rod and then hang the pots and pans by their handles.

A Splash of Color
If you have cabinets with glass in the doors then you can make a quick update that will really add some color and life to your kitchen. This works especially well with white, or nearly white, kitchens. Head to the craft store and find tinted film. Simply cut this down to size and put it on the glass parts of your cabinets. This will make it seem like you have tinted glass as part of your cabinets. You can also add some colorful, vintage pieces, such as vases, cookie jars and other small items. These little bursts of color will turn a boring kitchen into a work of art.

A Wood Floor
Wood is modern, works with traditional designs as well and is easy to maintain. There are wood floor kits that you can buy at the hardware store that you can really install yourself. The pieces lock into each other so they lay easily. You will need a power saw and some skills in using this to get the border pieces cut to size, but other than this, you can have a new wood floor in your kitchen in a matter of a couple of days.

Photo Credit: Coco Cozy

{Jillian is a interior design and organization expert. She reviews kitchen island designs, and kitchen fixtures, and everything else that goes into kitchen design, including sites like Community Home Supply. When she is not fixing up other people’s kitchens, she enjoys spending time in her own kitchen cooking and helping her son learn about different foods.}