What You Need to Know When Using Color In Your Home

These are the three things you have got to know about color . First step, take your temperature. Colors are either warm or cool, depending on their undertones. So first step, figure out where you land. Do gravity towards warm and cozy or cool and modern ?
If you love color , you have to let it breath. The best way to embrace color in your space is to embrace negative space as well. The room doesn't have to be filled with all kinds of saturated color .
The eye needs a place to rest. There has to be a balance and a push and pull. Make all your important color decisions in your space.
That's where you're living with the color . It's going to look completely different at home than it looks in the showroom. So get it home, live with it a little bit and see if it feels right.

You'll love these ideas to try in 2014! I hope you find these ideas useful and inspiring to you .... Enjoy it !!!!

Read More »

Easy and Fast Home Decorating Projects Under $20

These improvements may not cost a lot, but they'll make a big difference in how your home functions. Complete one or more of these projects this weekend.

You'll love these ideas to try in 2014! I hope you find these ideas useful and inspiring to you .... Enjoy it !!!!

Replace a Window Treatment : Has the window shade above your kitchen sink been marred by repeated exposure to splashes and cooking liquids? Replace a stained window covering with an inexpensive fabric treatment and see your kitchen in a whole new light.

Tackle Trimwork : You might not be able to install new trimwork in your home for $20, but you can make improvements to what you already have. Replace mismatched, missing, or damaged moldings, end caps, quarter rounds, or baseboard. Curved areas might require a special piece or trim made of an alternate material.

Organize the Entry : Keep dirt and mud contained with a boot tray near your home's entryway. Buy one that's easy to clean, or create your own from a jelly roll pan. If storage space is limited, tuck the tray beneath a slim console table.

Replace Switchplates : Replace a plastic switchplate with a wood, metal, or ceramic cover to make a visual statement. Some switchplates are even textured to blend in with marble, tile, or stone surfaces. Do this for light switches, electrical outlets, and phone and cable jacks.

Update with Paint : Breathe new life into an old piece of furniture with a fresh coat of paint. For wood pieces, remove dirt or wax buildup with a household cleaner and rinse. Sand rough areas and wipe away dust. Apply two coats of stain-blocking primer and allow it to dry between coats. Roll or brush on two coats of latex paint in the direction of the wood grain, and use a brush to finish the surface with smooth strokes.

Spruce Up Shelves : Give shelves a charming and cohesive look with an exciting backdrop by applying contact paper, scrapbook paper, or fabric to the back of a bookshelf. If you don't want to commit to a particular design or color scheme, measure the bookshelf's back panel and mount the background material on poster board, cut to the size of each shelf.

Get Stylish Underfoot : Try your hand at a fun paint technique and update tired flooring with a custom rug. Using a vinyl floor remnant and paint, you can create a fun, personalized focal point. Varying the stripe widths creates a cool, casual look.

Add a Divider : Drawer and cabinet dividers are a must when it comes to keeping kitchen tools in their respective places. Secure a wire rack inside a cabinet to provide sturdy storage for cookie sheets, muffin tins, and cooling racks. Some units match your kitchen cabinetry design for a completely integrated and customized look.

Step Up Storage : Plastic bins are a versatile and inexpensive way to restore order in almost every in home trouble spot. Using clear bins for storage in a garage or for a closet gift-wrap station, for example, is an easy way to take inventory and identify items at a glance. Use labels to ensure everything stays tidy and easy to access.

Improve Air Flow : Swap out a standard floor grate with a more impressive and possibly more efficient wood or metal register grille. An inferior grate might not channel air in the best direction for optimum flow.

Designate a Drop Spot : Enhance the style and storage of your entryway with a designated place for important drop-zone items. Create a mini hang up station for house keys and outgoing mail on the back of a cabinet door. Use magnetic strips, Peg Board, or an old ceiling tin and add hooks to store items in one convenient location near the door.

Put Towels and Robes Within Reach : Bid floor puddles good-bye by keeping after-bath accessories within reach. Add a towel bar or robe hook near your shower or bathtub, or move the one you already have to make it more accessible. Find bars or hooks that match or complement existing hardware in your bathroom.

Streamline Under the Sink : Ease cleanup and eliminate the clutter of freestanding bottles with an over the door wire organizer. This slim solution maximizes undersink space while keeping kitchen essentials within easy reach.

Add Hanging Storage : Free up valuable floor space in your basement, garage, or entryway with hanging storage. Seasonal items, such as bikes and sleds, are difficult to store and take up lots of space. Add hooks to an unused wall or ceiling area and discover space you didn't know you had.

Revive Outdoor Furniture : Capture the feeling of a sunny summer day with colorful outdoor furniture. In less than a weekend, you can give outdoor furniture a color makeover with paint. Find a set of inexpensive deck chairs, or recoat faded, chipped, and drab looking outdoor furniture. Many deck and siding paints come in a variety of colors and finishes. Choose a paint that can endure weather and temperature extremes, as well as UV rays.

Read More »

Creative Ways to Make a Curtain Hardware by Using Household Items

With a little imagination and a few simple DIY tricks, create one of a kind hardware and tiebacks for your curtains from everyday objects.

By : Brian Patrick Flynn

Braced With Bracelets 

Many women's bracelets and men's cuffs are the right size for cinching single-width drapery panels. Put bracelets and cuffs to creative use as tiebacks by placing them around drapery panels and hanging freely, or create a more permanent look by attaching them to the wall with Velcro.

Branching Out 

Sometimes the perfect object for a lightweight drapery rod may be sitting right outside your window. Branches can make for excellent, sculptural drapery rods with a few simple do-it-yourself updates. Search for a branch with the proper length and width to fit above a window and handle the weight of the chosen drapery panel. Next, cut it to size and spray-paint it in a color which contrasts well against the wall. Lastly, secure standoffs, ready-made drapery rod brackets or L brackets directly to the wall using plastic drywall anchors, then attach the branch with screws or bailing wire.

A Touch of Menswear 

When draperies need to be pulled back from or tied back in the middle of a window, neckties are a stylish solution. While freestanding tiebacks simply require a proper Windsor knot slipped up along the bottom of a drapery panel, fixed tiebacks are created with Velcro placed along the back of the neck loop and attached directly to the wall.

A Nod to Nautical 

Sisal rope has endless uses when it comes to decorating. To add a nautical touch to windows, consider adding small two-by-two-inch wooden blocks above a window. Then, after cutting a spool of rope to size, knotting each end and sliding drapery rings or panels directly onto it, attach rope securely to blocks with decorative screws and washers. Depending on how tight the rope is pulled before being secured to each block, a more tailored or relaxed look can be achieved.

Fashion Forward 

Add a fashionable touch to your curtains by repurposing an old leather belt into a stylish and preppy tieback. Wrap the belt around the gathered drapery panel and add an additional hole to the belt using a nail and hammer. Secure the belt to the wall approximately 10 inches in from the front edge of the belt buckle. Wrap the belt around the drapery panel and buckle in place with the brand-new hole.

Stylishly Sporty 

Bring an unexpected touch to a man cave with golf-club drapery rods placed above small windows. In order to use the golf club successfully, pick up C hooks from a home improvement store, secure them into the wall above and alongside the window, slide panels onto the clubs, then secure them to the C hooks.

Nifty Necklace 

Get those seldom-worn accessories out of the jewelry box and in plain sight by using necklaces as curtain tiebacks. To ensure the proper effect, stick with necklaces large and thick enough to be seen from different vantage points in the room. If thin pieces are used, they may lose impact and look more like clutter than decorative tiebacks.

Design Home Run 

Bring the ball game to a boys' room or grownup guys' space with baseball drapery rod finials. To turn the baseball into a finial, use a paddle bit slightly larger in diameter than the rod, drilling directly into one side of the baseball. Next, position the baseball directly along the end of the rod, securing a tight fit by hand.

Toy Story 

Many finials made specifically for children's rooms are branded, themed or too trendy to withstand the test of time. Put a classic spin on a colorful, kid-friendly space by repurposing wooden blocks as finials with wood glue, a drill and paddle bit. Once the proper hole is drilled into the side, secure the blocks to the end of the drapery pole with properly sized screws or bolts.

Read More »

Best Tips for Drapery & Curtain Care

Maintain the quality of your curtains and drapes with these cleaning and care tips.

Caring for Your Window Treatments 

Both the selection and care of window treatments are important for the protection of your home furnishings as well as for your privacy, comfort, and personal preference. Care depends on the construction and fabric of your window treatments.

Sunlight Considerations 

Sun, as well as dust and grime, is destructive to fabrics. Light-colored fabrics generally reflect sunlight and resist fading. Dark colors absorb light and fade. To protect fabrics from the sun, use lined window treatments, blinds, or shades.

Drapery Care Tips 

Daily care of lined draperies or drapery panels is simple. Give them a gentle shaking as they are drawn closed at night. This will prevent dust and dirt from lodging in the fibers. Every month or so, vacuum with a handheld vacuum and soft brush attachment. Use the low-section setting if your vacuum has one. Always make sure that trims, buttons, and other embellishments are secure before vacuuming.

Tips for Washing Draperies 

Wash plain panel or simply constructed draperies only when they are labeled washable. 

Hand or machine wash window treatments on the gentle cycle, using cool water and mild detergent.

Don't overload the washing machine. Rinse gently and thoroughly.

Tumble dry on the low or air setting, or line dry.

Iron the window treatments on the reverse side.

When Not to Wash 

Do not wash draperies under the following circumstances:

If the drapery or lining isn't washable.

If the drapery and lining are made of different fibers. (One may shrink, causing the other to pucker and hang poorly.)

If sunlight has weakened the fabric.

If the draperies are constructed with pleats, which may not hold their shape during machine washing.

If the draperies are too large for your washing machine.

If the trims and embellishments aren't washable or colorfast.

Washing Curtains 

Check the label before laundering ready made curtains. If your curtains are washable, remove hooks, rings, and hardware. Check that the trims are tightly attached. Unless the directions instruct otherwise, machine-wash on a short gentle cycle, using cool water and mild detergent. Tumble dry on low and remove immediately, or line dry.

Ironing Curtains 

If necessary, iron on the reverse side. If seams have puckered, spritz lightly with plain water. Pull the seams to stretch back to size, taking care not to break the stitching. Reattach metal hardware only after the curtains are dry.

Caring for Lace 

Remove dust from lace curtains by tumbling in the dryer on the air cycle. Many new lace curtains are hand- or machine-washable. Follow the label directions or gently wash in cool water. Use detergent made for fine washables. For extra body, dip freshly washed lace curtains in a light starch solution. For a soft look, re-hang the curtains without starching while they are slightly damp. If you use metals hooks, temporarily place a piece of tissue paper under each hook where it comes in contact with the damp lace. This will prevent the hook from rusting onto the fabric.

Caring for Sheers 

Most sheers are washable synthetics; unless the label states otherwise, wash in the same manner as lace curtains. Dry-clean organdy sheers, which are fragile and prone to sun damage.

Read More »

Style on a Budget Decorating : House Tour from BHG

Take a cue from this home and see how easy it can be to rework remnants, castoffs, and closeouts into stylish, personality-filled home decor.

From the outside, this Colonial style home looks about like any other. But one step inside reveals a carefully accumulated collection of furniture and accessories purchased from yard sales, closeout sales, and antiques shops that have all been updated and brought to life with paint, upholstery, and other decorative touches.

Inspired by the bold pattern blue and white area rug, a navy blue accent wall adds dramatic appeal to the home?s living space. Hits of high contrast white, including the coffee table and fireplace surround, brighten the room. Simple white curtain panels make a window that lacks molding look finished. The homeowner hung the window draperies high and wide to make the window seem larger.

Look online to score deals. This pair of bookcases, an online score, was given new life with a coat of soft blue paint. Paired together, the units create a focal point along one wall of the living room and offer plenty of storage and display space. The backs of the bookcases were painted navy to help tie the units in with the area rug and accent wall.

Give a mismatched group of furniture a cohesive look with paint. Here, a thrift store cabinet, painted white to match other living room furniture, serves as a media console. The doors of the cabinet feature a motif similar to that of the area rug, which helps tie the piece in with the rest of the living room. Different size black and white images hung above the TV add height and make use of old frames the homeowner had on hand.

A variety of gold accessories scattered throughout the home?s living space lends glamorous appeal. Here, a dramatic gold mirror frame makes use of empty wall space. Use gold paint or gold leaf to give ordinary objects sparkle. A small half moon shape console table below the piece provides a bit of additional display space and visually grounds the mirror.

Mix and match furniture by relocating pieces from different spaces. In the casual breakfast nook, a hand-me-down table is paired with chairs that originally came with the dining room table. An outdated yard sale chest was painted black to match the chairs. Designer fabric snagged from a remnant bin was used to create the zippy curtains that add character to the neutral space.

With the dining room chairs relocated to the breakfast nook, a bench was introduced for seating in the formal dining room. Thrift-store chairs painted white and reupohlstered with fabric to match the drapes serve as additional seating. The final look is an eclectic, unpexpected alternative to the basic matching dining room set. A former TV console now serves as a handy buffet, topped with lamps that were updated with spray paint and new shades.

No guilt, no fuss is the feeling in the master bedroom, where simple white bedding and cool gray walls allow for easy redecorating for pocket change. The clean lined four poster draws the eye upward and toward the unique ceiling treatment. White painted dressers flanking the sides of the bed work overtime as both nightstands and clothing storage space.

Read More »

Easy Ideas for Decorating Small Spaces

Decorating a small space has it’s own set of challenges. Today I have 7 ideas to help make the most of your space even if it’s not that large. Through the use of color, the right accessories, proper furniture placement and a few other decorating tricks, you can turn your small space into a fabulous space.

Paint an Accent Wall. Dark colors make a wall recede giving the illusion of more depth in a room. Paint one wall a contrasting color then carry that color into the room through accessories and fabrics.

Create a desk in a niche. Utilize small nooks or niches to add a shelf to use as a desk. Decorative corbels and trim help to give it a finished look.

Choose furniture you can see through. Clear chairs and a glass top table help to visually expand a small dining area and keep it from feeling cramped.

Choose furniture that is multi-functional. A daybed functions as a sofa during the day and a bed at night. This is an excellent solution if you live in a studio apartment or don’t have the space for a guest room.

Use smaller armless side chairs. Lightweight chairs without arms work better in smaller spaces because they are easier to maneuver in and out of and they can easily be moved from one room to another.

Keep your kitchen storage open. Heavy upper cabinets can sometimes make a small kitchen seem even smaller. By using open shelving, the eye is tricked into believing the space is larger.

Select furniture that doesn’t weigh the space down. This bed offers a great focal point in this room and the height brings the eye up. Like the clear furniture mentioned above, the sleek style doesn’t take up too much visual space. Keeping things light and airy helps to make the space feel larger.

By Peggy Pardo

Read More »