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The Design Inspirationalist

~ Inspiring Ideas | Spectacular Creations

The Design Inspirationalist

Tag Archives: style

Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

antique, beauty, better homes and gardens, Christy Renee Designs, decoist, decor, design, eclectic, flea market finds, interior designd, style, vintage

Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds

Being a lover of everything vintage, my home surely reflects the beauty of the old and the freshness of the new. Some may think its easy to throw a space like this together but it does take some thinking. Because you want there to be a cohesive look you have to arrange furniture and items in a way that they flow effortlessly. So when your eye moves around the room, there is a nice mix of all styles you love. Here are a few examples of some spaces that are great inspirations for this look.

This dining room is casual with a bit of class. The paneling on the walls give the space an upscale look while the blackboard paint makes it fun. The mix of vintage glass and accessories blends well with the wood furniture and neutral tones of the textiles.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

Shabby chic and mid century design come together to create a space that is luxurious, feminine, and classic. The earthy elements and wood tones help ground the room while the antique mirrors help light find its way around this peaceful neutral space.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Christy Renee Designs

Bright, modern, and colorful, this space adds stylish interest to one side of the room. By using vintage benches as bookshelves, the unique accessories and books are displayed in a creative, yet smart way.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

A little bit of glam and old world charm give this sitting room a rich look. The earthy and calm color palette play off of the shabby chic style, which also adds a comfortable layer to the space.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Decoist

The traditional style of this living room includes earthy elements, such as the stone fireplace. With the addition of the vintage bottle collection and small rustic touches, a nice mix of old and new is created.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

Modern and contemporary style with a few vintage pieces keeps this space streamlined and true to the aesthetic while softening up the lines a bit.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Decoist

Recycling old items is an easy way to freshen up a space. This rustic and modern foyer welcomes you with style and unique flair.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

A little bit of country, rustic flair, and traditional style create a comfortable and airy space for guests to relax. The few pops of color are enough to add interest and freshness while the textures give the room the warmth it needs from all the cool neutrals. Bright and cozy live in harmony here.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Modern Furniture Decor 2014

The combination of rustic old world elements with vintage pieces bring an eclectic feel to this bathroom while the colors keep it interesting.
Mixing it Up with Flea Market Finds
Photo Credit: Better Homes & Gardens

Stress-Free Decorating Tips

27 Wednesday Mar 2013

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

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

centerpiece, clear pathways, decorating, decorating tips, household clutter, interior design, Keep colors simple, lighting, living room design, Natural elements, organize, style

Decorating is something that requires a decent amount of resources. Proper choices can help you relax, bringing less stress into your life, and allows a more easy sleep pattern as you find serenity in your home. What would the proper choices be when it comes down to it? This article aims to help you find the answers with the following tips:

Create a focal point
Having a focal point in your home is something that happens regardless of whether you want it to or not. It can be anything, though your control is what makes it unique and interesting. It can be a souvenir, a beautiful vase of flowers, or something else. Whatever your choose, it will become the face of your home, showing your personality with it.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Best Living Room Design

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Damn it’s Awesome

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Organize your household
Clutter is something any household has to go through. Anything that doesn’t serve a purpose and you’re not happy with should go, opening up the way for new belongings. This is essential, as having less clutter around your home will also let you clean your Sydenham Hill home much more easily, devoid of objects that collect dust for no apparent reason.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Apartment Therapy

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Lavender and Lillies

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Arianna Belle Organized Interiors

Open up space
Having too much around your home will also reduce the amount of free space we have available. Opening up the room will make it appear larger, giving you the freedom of not feeling cooped up in a small place. You can achieve this by ridding yourself of all non-essential decorations and furniture that serve no purpose other than to take up space.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Arch New Home

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Shark Bytes

Lighting
Keeping individual locations lit up can really help with the overall mood of your home. You can turn individual lights off according to your needs, giving you more flexibility in the process. You can use full-spectrum light bulbs which are better at mimicking natural light than regular ones.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Caribbean Home and House

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Decor Advisor

Keeping clear pathways
It is important to make sure your furniture allows you to move around, unhindered. Nothing can be more annoying than bumping your knee against the edge of your coffee table when you’re trying to get to your couch or something similar. Making sure your furniture is properly arranged can save you a whole lot of trouble.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Hamptons Magazine

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: HGTV

Keep colors simple
You should use restraint when you’re using bright and vibrant colors in patterns. Mixing them together can be straining on the eyes if you are using too many bright colors. Make sure there is plenty of contrast in what you work with so the design is cohesive.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Home Ideas Mag

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Greige Design

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Mr. Kate

Natural elements
Bringing parts of the outdoors in your home can be an excellent way to create a more relaxing and earthly atmosphere. A few houseplants, a mirror facing your largest window, and landscape photographs on a wall can make the place seem bigger and more interesting compared to what it was before.
Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Unsia

Stress-Free Decorating Tips
Photo Credit: Xcite Fun

Use your imagination
Whatever your dream home may be, you should follow that dream and do your best to make the most out of it. Whether you want your home to look like a cabin in the woods, a castle, or something similar, you can make that happen with enough effort.

{Cindy Davis is dedicated writer with great flair for home improvement and home remodeling projects. She is currently focused mainly on the household cleaning and decoration field and therefore her present article treats exactly this theme.}

Eclectic Not Hectic

26 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Guest Posts, Janet Majors, The Home

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bohemian style, boho, color, decorating, diy, eclectic, home, interior design, mix and match, pops of color, style

When you’re moving into your first place you’re likely to end up with a hodgepodge blend of furniture. A couch from your parents’ basement. A dining room table and chairs from grandma’s attic. A – well, you get the idea. The same thing tends to happen when you’re furnishing and decorating a home on a budget. A desk from your neighbor’s yard sale. Throw pillows from the clearance bin at Target. So on and so forth.

The end result has the potential for greatness in the form of a truly unique space wrought with personal style. However, the end result also has the potential to leave your home looking like a cluttered thrift store. The question then becomes how to keep eclectic home furnishings and decor from looking hectic and thrown together. Here are some options:

Start with a base coat
Try to pick one color that will serve as a unifying shade in the space. For example, white is often a good choice because pretty much everything goes with it, and if you’re moving into an apartment there’s a good chance the walls will be white or some shade of off-white. Get many items in your base coat color and let other items that you can’t control the appearance of (ex. your Aunt Anita’s love seat) act as pops of color in the space.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: i Space Design

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Houzz

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Coolitdoc

Clear out clutter
Try being a minimalist to downplay how eclectic your belongings are. Allow the natural features of the space such as large windows, rich wood floors, or exposed brick to act as accessories to your furnishings.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Homie Nice

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: 4 Design Home

Force a match
If you’re truly concerned about your furniture being diverse consider altering it to match. For example, you can buy slipcovers for couches and love seats online without racking up a huge bill. In addition, you can paint and refinish many pieces of furniture including dressers, tables, entertainment centers, picture frames, and bookcases to make them look more alike.

Add a pinch of mix and match
In your eclectic space, try sprinkling in elements that match one another. For instance, throw pillows and picture frames that are the same color. You could also try a throw rug and a throw (blanket) draped across the back of a chair that match. These elements, here and there, that do match can help tie the rest of your decor together or at least make the rest of your decor not seem so obviously miss-matched.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Elle Decor

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Houzz

A square peg in a round hole
Don’t worry about making sure every aspect of your furniture match. For instance, if you’ve managed to secure furniture in similar shades don’t worry about the shapes being different and vice versa.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: My Deco

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Home Bunch

Find a peace keeper
If the pieces in your home have colors that traditionally conflict with one another find a piece that can unify them. For example, if you have a green sofa and a wicker chair with orange striped cushions look for accessories that can unite those two pieces such as throw pillows, wall art, or a rug that have both green and orange.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Home Design Lover

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Olive and A

Embrace the eclectic
Having a truly eclectic space isn’t bad. It’s bohemian. Don’t be afraid (or embarrassed) to simply embrace a space full of eclectic furnishings and decor. Mix-matched items can make a space feel relaxed and casual. They can say, “hey, a free spirit and mellow personality lives here.” There’s nothing wrong with that.
Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Lonna de Anna

Eclectic Not Hectic
Photo Credit: Little Blue Deer

At some point or another in life, most of us are going to be living in a space with eclectic furnishings and decor. There are certainly things that can be done to help tie pieces together and make the space feel more planned out. However, on the other hand, there’s nothing wrong with embracing the randomness. The bottom line is to go for furnishings and decor that you love, things that truly speak to you. If you do that, your space will never feel hectic and thrown together – it’ll always feel like home.

{Written by Janet Majors}

Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home

21 Thursday Mar 2013

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

accessories, decorating, furniture, homeowners, interior design, minimalistic, modern, new home, shopping, sofa, style, traditional

Choosing the right furniture for your new home is important for many reasons. Not only are you are creating a cozy and safe area for you are your family, you are setting the tone for how your home will look like for years ahead as well. The fun part is experimenting with colors, materials, and styles. How do you pick the right furniture and where do you start?

Look and Feel
Before you buy anything, you need to get an idea of the feel that exact piece will bring to your home. It depends on the style you want to create. Whether you are single, married, have children, divorced, or a young  professional, your own status should lead you to the right choice. Modern furniture these days is decorative and minimalistic, the focus is on edgier furniture, bright colors, and functionality. If you want a beautiful and comfortable home, you need to spot the right furniture.
Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home

Buy the Right Sofa
Along with the kitchen, the living room is a main area of the home. The room’s appeal depends on the style and size of your sofa, so choose wisely. Sit on the sofa and move around to get an idea of its fit. You will spend most of your time on it, watching TV, eating, reading, or working on the computer, so you need a sofa that is the right material, the right height and size. It is one of the priciest pieces, but it’s worth the investment. A great sofa of a quality material will serve you well for years to come. A sofa made of real suede/leather will have a longer life, but suede and cloth get easily stained and are harder to clean, so think of the top leather conditioner before you buy.
Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home
Photo Credit: Houzz

Maintain the Theme
In order to have a well-arranged home where all the furniture pieces come together, you need to choose them in a way that they complement each other. Have some consistency and a main theme and your new home will be perfect.
Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home

Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home

Compare and Shop Around
The furniture in the SW12 house you’ve moved in is above all, a long-term commitment, so don’t buy the first piece you see, unless you are completely in love with it. Go to multiple furniture stores, check websites to read what people say about those pieces you like – for example, Palliser furniture reviews, – and compare prices. You could even negotiate your own price for a set of individual furniture pieces. It’s important to be a smart shopper at all times.

A few more things to think about:
– Choose the furniture after you’ve painted the walls or at least after you’ve determined the colors.
– Select the room accessories after the furniture pieces arrive and finish the look with wall décor and artwork.
– Classic, Mediterranean, minimalist or traditional – the theme of your home has to be in line with the furniture.
– Don’t put too many pieces in the areas of high traffic, so it doesn’t get impossible to move around the house.
– Remember, to extend the theme to the outside of your home since its the first thing people see.
Guest Post: How to Choose Furniture for Your New Home

Hopefully, with these few tips of advice, you can move forward in creating the home of your dreams. Don’t forget to have fun in the process!

{Written by Ella Andrews}

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