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The Design Inspirationalist

~ Inspiring Ideas | Spectacular Creations

The Design Inspirationalist

Tag Archives: wood

Inspiration Photo Friday: Renovation Dedication

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Inspiration Photo Friday, The Home

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

antique, art, diy, Ikea, interior design, kitchen, natural, nature, renovation, rustic kitchen, vintage, wood

My husband and I are finally fully renovating our kitchen. It has been a little over a year we are in the house and feel its time to take on the project. What was done before was only temporary until we had the funds and the time to get it done so you can imagine how excited I am to see my dream kitchen alive.

This is the first space I’ve designed from scratch and have really enjoyed the process. I want an authentic vintage kitchen so collecting items for the space has taken some time. We started a few months ago, visiting antique shops every weekend until we collected everything we were looking for. The whole room will be free standing pieces, nothing is installed or connected to the walls like cabinetry would be. So finding exactly what we wanted and making sure we had enough storage space was a task all in itself.

We were lucky to have found the perfect pieces at great prices, which helped out a lot considering our budget wasn’t big. Everything has been painted the same color to bring cohesion to the space. Whites and creams will grace the room beautifully. Thanks to Ikea, we were able to get a butcher block countertop at an affordable price and the sink cabinet is being built from scratch, another design I am excited about. When you can’t find what you want, build it!

We purchased wood planks for the ceiling and painted them white as well. And because of our budget, we chose laminate planks for the floor in a nice neutral, honey tone. The new schoolhouse lighting I chose will truly bring the vintage charm to the space and the large piece of art we had custom framed will look gorgeous. Every detail was thought of when it came to this renovation. Floor plans were drawn, measurements were taken, and I considered every inch of the room so we can really maximize the space. I’d have to say, its the most dedication I’ve had for a project in a long time and I know it will all pay off.

So for this inspiration photo friday, I wanted to share my inspirations for our kitchen renovation, since this project has been a focus for some time now. I looked to these and saw elements I loved. Then made them work for our space and combined them in way that worked with our budget. I feel its really important to have a starting point, some kind of inspiration to work off of. And these truly helped my creativity and determination.

Inspiration Photo Friday: Renovation Dedication
Photo Credit: House of Anais

Inspiration Photo Friday: Renovation Dedication
Photo Credit: {Left} Unknown {Right} Kitchen Building

We are currently in the middle of the process and are ready for demo. Everything is getting ripped out, walls and all. Besides my uncle helping us with the drywall, Dan and I are doing this all by ourselves and we couldn’t be more excited. We are DIY all the way and when its all finished, we can look back and be proud of what we accomplished. It just proves that with true dedication, you can do anything. Check back for my before and after photos soon as well as a detailed post about the project.

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget

18 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Everyday Design, Sarah Atkinson, The Home

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Tags

bedroom, beds, budget, curtains, design, designing, furniture, interior design, painting, redecorate, redesign, shabby chic, wood

It is that time of the year when everyone needs to be tightening the purse strings as Christmas well and truly hits and January is spent recuperating from it. But that shouldn’t mean you have to put off doing something you want or need to do. The word ‘budget’ doesn’t necessarily mean having to sacrifice quality and style, it’s all about knowing where to look for things and how to create an expensive look for a fraction of the designer price tag!

Don’t redecorate, work with what you’ve got
Redecorating can be the most expensive part of making over a room, but what many people don’t realize is, you don’t have to change the wallpaper or paint to change how it look. If you have neutral colors and patterns on the walls then you are in luck, as you can change the style of the room to just about anything you like. If you went for something a bit more bold and bright at the time of decorating, don’t start stripping the walls yet! Look into what the current trends are. Maybe when you first decorated it was in fashion to have every single item in the room in one color, but now the trend may be to mix and match, the more colors the better!

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget
Photo Credit: Digs Digs

Give your furniture new life
Kitting a bedroom out with a new bed, wardrobes, chest of draws, cabinets and more is another expensive part of redecorating a room. And there is probably nothing wrong with the furniture you have, you just got bored of it and fancy a change. So change it!

If its wood you can do so much with it. Sand it down and give it a new varnish or paint it a completely new color altogether. Shabby chic is very on trend at the moment, so painting it white and then distressing the paint would look great and isn’t hard to do at home. The best part is, it looks expensive and has a designer look. For other surfaces you could get some stencils and spray some fab new designs or purchase some appliqués (readymade designs) and stick them on to the boring old furniture surfaces.

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget
Photo Credit: Painted Cottages

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget
Photo Credit: Thrifty Inspirations

For beds, divans allow you to change the headboard easily so you could get a new one or jazz up your old tired looking one. For complete metal or wood bed frames don’t despair! You can bring new life to those by weaving colorful fabrics such as ribbon or scarves through their framework and hang decorations on their ends.

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget
Photo Credit: Signature Homes

Curtains and bedding on a budget
Bedding and curtains are one of the main focal points of a bedroom and if done right they can make a room look modern with very little damage to your wallet. Satin is the material of luxury so it makes sense to assume satin bedding and curtains would be expensive? Not at all. You can find quality satin bedding and curtains for a fraction of the designer price tag. Don’t fancy sleeping in satin bedding or even want to change your bed covers at all? You don’t have to. You could simply purchase a satin bedspread which will cover the entire bed when you aren’t sleeping in it and throw on some bed cushions to make your bed look like it is straight out of a showroom.

Bedroom Makeover on a Budget
Photo Credit: Furniture 4 World

There is so much more you can do with your bedroom no matter what your budget, it just takes a little creativity and imagination and you could have a whole new bedroom whenever you like!

Written by Sarah Atkinson

10 Days of Sales, What a Hoot!

09 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by melissaoconnor in Awesome Shops, Shopping

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Tags

10 days of sales, calendars, cards, FREE shipping, gift cards, gift tags, holiday, journals, Night Owl Paper Goods, shopping, stationary, wood

This weekend kicked off the biggest sale event of the year over at Night Owl Paper Goods. They are having 10 days of sales everyday till the 18th. So everyday there is something new to look forward to, which is totally rad. From free shipping and discounts to a free git card with your order. Now is the time to visit the Night Owl crew and shop till you drop. So get moving! These awesome deals end at the end of each day.

10 Days of Sales, What a Hoot!

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

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

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Tags

diy, foreign countries, home, Natasha Alatassi, natural element, ornaments, rustic, Travels, wood, Wooden Floors, Wooden Furniture

Depending on your personal taste, you might love wooden features as much as I do. I think it can give a home a really natural look and adds a rustic feel to décor. However, unless you want to put lots of bonsai trees and tall plants in your house, it’s not easy to incorporate your love of nature in your interior design ideas.

That’s why I’ve come up with a few ideas on how you can do this – without making your property look like a jungle!

Bring Back Ornaments from Your Travels
My love of travelling allows me to combine a lot of my interests, and although you may not initially assume going on long-haul holidays does this, it enables me to express my character in my interior design plans. This is because you can pick up lots of knick knacks, pictures and ornaments from foreign countries, and I love bringing home lots of wooden features.

No matter where you go, you’re bound to find lots of carvings and picture frames made out of wood. I can’t tell you how many statues, masks and boxes I have from all over the world featured around my house. This is a great way to add a natural element to your property and it also gives you lots of things to talk about with guests when they compliment one of your findings. If you have items from lots of the countries you’ve visited, you’ll have several conversation starters to use with your friends.

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home
Photo Credit: Flickr – Riz

Buy Wooden Furniture
Perhaps the most obvious way to add wooden objects in your home (apart from putting lots of small trees in your house, which is often not a suitable option!) is to buy new furniture. It can be easy these days to pick up inexpensive pieces for our home. However, if it’s authentic wooden features you’re looking for, you may have to expect to pay a higher rate to get good-quality wood.

Having said this, you don’t have to replace these items of furniture as often as you would metal, plastic or a lower-standard of wood because they are built to last. Therefore, you could see your oak dining table or mahogany bureau enduring many years.

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home
Photo Credit: West Elm

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home
Photo Credit: Pottery Barn

Install Wooden Floors
If you really want a rustic look to your house, I recommend installing wooden floors. These fit well in a manner of properties, from old Victorian houses, where wooden floor boards were typical at the time, to modern homes.

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home
Photo Credit: Floortex Design

Those who are quite good at DIY might want to try rescuing the original wooden floor if you have one but I think it’s far easier to get new solid wood or engineered wood flooring fitted. This way, you don’t have to worry about any rotten or loose floor boards, as everything is brand new and looks smooth and stylish. You can choose from a variety of wood floors and have many options when it comes to color and style. You can even select ones that look aged to give your period property an authentic appearance. In fact, if it was me, I wouldn’t tell anyone your new floor wasn’t an original feature and I bet they wouldn’t be able to guess otherwise!

Guest Post: Different Ways to Add Wooden Features to Your Home
Photo Credit: West Elm

{Natasha Alatassi specializes in writing about home interiors and DIY on behalf of Ryder International.}

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