Hanging Art on the Walls

Posted on May 7, 2013 by creatingyourspace

There are a few things in decorating that can intimidate most of us homeowners. Major investments like flooring and appliances can give us pause on making the right decision for the money and our lifestyle. Another one of the biggest decisions is choosing what to hang on the walls.

Why is art so intimidating? Is it the expense? The worry that we like the “wrong” kind of art? Not knowing what to buy or where to buy it? Art for the walls of our homes doesn’t have to be expensive art bought from galleries and auctions. While it is wonderful to collect art, decorating our walls doesn’t need to be a huge investment in the art market. The best rule for buying art is to buy what you love.

If you buy art that you love, it will make you smile whenever you walk into the room. Art can also be much more personal. Framed family photos and heirlooms are lovely hung in large groups or enlarged. You can have them printed in all black and white for a cohesive look. There are even companies that will print your photos on canvas to make your photos really feel like works of art.

Creating gallery walls is a wonderful way to display art. As opposed to one large piece over the sofa as was tradition, creating a space to display a number of works is visually more interesting. Mix in fine art with family photos and children’s masterpieces for a personal wall of art.

Don’t Get Too Wrapped Up This Year

Posted on December 5, 2012 by creatingyourspace

Do you find yourself stressing as the holidays approach about getting everything wrapped and ready? Here are some suggestions to reduce the demands of gift wrapping and give you more time to enjoy the season.

Set up a gift-wrap center: Whether it’s a card table in front of the TV for a few weeks or just a spot on the floor, prepare a place for wrapping. Include good paper scissors; an office-style tape dispenser that can be used one-handed; and your gift-wrap supplies including paper, ribbon and tags. With just a little planning, you have a go-to space for everyone in the family to wrap gifts.

Pace yourself: Unwrapped gifts scattered around the house look and feel like clutter, but wrap them and you have instant holiday decorations. When you come home after a day of shopping, take part of the evening to wrap up and label the spoils of your labor.

Pre-sort: Will some gifts be brought to a family member’s home and others stay? Are certain presents planned hostess gifts? Create separate sections for each category of present, so it will be easier to pick up the ones needed at the right time.

Make a list, check it twice: Before wrapping your gifts, be sure to make a list of whom you’re giving what to, so that you know when your shopping is done.

Keep it simple: This may mean just one style of wrapping paper and ribbon so that you don’t have to worry about balancing colors. It may involve using stick-on bows or thicker wire-edged ribbon that makes it easy for your gifts to look splashy with little effort. You may want to have a few holiday bags for those gifts such as footballs that just don’t work with wrapping paper.

This year make your gift-wrap process easier and more streamlined, and you may have time to sing a few holiday songs and even bake cookies.

Get Your Dining Room Ready for the Holidays!

Posted on November 10, 2012 by creatingyourspace

If you are fan of decorating shows and blogs, you’ll know there is a big trend right now to mixing and matching furniture. Breaking up sets of furniture and adding pieces from different eras and styles are popular with designers on and off television. So, don’t be afraid of bringing in different chairs around the table for more seating for your guests. The typical set of dining room furniture where the chairs, table, buffet and china cabinet are all purchased together is changing and evolving. Adding your personal touch to a set of furniture will make it feel less like you are living in a furniture showroom or model home.

As you can see in the dining room above, there is a mix of three different sets of chairs around the table. It still looks elegant with this collection of chairs. The chandelier is a great way to add sophistication to the space. The neutral patterned wallpaper enriches the entire room, without overpowering it. The storage cabinet in the back is a perfect solution for storing plates and decorations. The mirror makes the room feel bigger; if you have a mirror hanging just make sure to have it reflecting something pleasing to the eye. A buffet area would allow for extra space to place food or drinks that are easy to access during the holiday meals.

Make the holidays interesting by having special table settings and decorations around the room. Cut into a gourd or pumpkin and you can place your guests’ names there for place settings. Candlesticks or vases with flowers are always a great option for centerpieces. Get the kids involved and have craft time. You can display their special crafts as centerpieces for the table or décor for around the house.

Have fun with your dining room decorating this holiday season! There are no rules as long as you enjoy it. Get creative and enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Entertaining: Casual Dinner Party

Posted on October 5, 2012 by creatingyourspace

In our busy lives it can be difficult to make time for friends and family gatherings. Starting a tradition of weekly family meals is one way to make sure you have quality time together. Another great tradition is to have dinner parties with your friends and neighbors. These parties do not have to be formal affairs. A casual meal in the slow cooker or on the grill is a good excuse to bring together a small group of friends and neighbors.

Open concept kitchens that open onto the dining area are great for these casual dinner parties. It seems at most parties people gather in the kitchen. Allowing the chef or chefs to interact with guests both in the kitchen and gathered at the table is a great thing for the hosts. Having an open concept kitchen dining area that shares the same floor surface, whether it be tile or wood, will make the two spaces feel like one large room.

For a casual dinner party, you can make it a progressive party where courses are served at different homes. This is a great idea for neighbors or a small block party. Potluck can help keep the costs down for you if your guests bring dessert or appetizers.

Making time for friends and neighbors is a wonderful way to open your home and entertain guests. Dinner parties do not have to be formal or fancy to bring people together over good food, good drinks and good conversation.

Creative Projects for Wallpaper Remnants

Posted on September 25, 2012 by creatingyourspace

Wallpapering walls and even ceilings is a hot trend that we’ve been seeing all over the design world. If you’ve recently done a wallpaper project in your home you might have a partial roll of paper leftover. There are many ways to use wallpaper beyond the walls and ceilings of your rooms. If you are too leery of putting up wallpaper and don’t have a spare roll lying around your home, you can buy a single roll for these projects.

Wallpaper is a great way to add color and pattern to a room and can also be used to spruce up furniture and cabinets. You can use spare rolls or buy a roll or two of wallpaper for smaller projects. Adding wallpaper to cabinets and furniture can give new life to old or dated pieces.

Add wallpaper to the inside of a bookshelf or cabinet to create a colorful background. Painting the exterior and adding wallpaper can turn an old cabinet or flea market find into a custom piece that perfectly matches your décor.

Just like an area rug can add pattern and color to the floor, wallpaper can add it to any flat surface. A console table, dresser, or table top can be transformed with chic wallpaper. Be sure to seal the surface after you apply the paper to protect it from spills and wear.

For less permanent ways to use small sections of wallpaper, think about framing them. A collection of framed wallpaper patterns is an expensive way to decorate bare walls.

Adding Pops of Color

Posted on September 19, 2012 by creatingyourspace

If you follow design shows on TV or read design blogs (like this one), you’ll be familiar with the beloved “pop of color” used by designers. The pop of color is that burst of accent color that adds life and energy to a design. It can be a single color, contrasting colors, or multicolored. These pops are typically accent pieces and accessories. Even a large piece of furniture in a color can be a pop of color if it is in a neutral space. More commonly the pop of color is something small that can easily be swapped out for another object, should the mood strike.

In this living room, predominate colors are neutral. Neutral color upholstery on the chair, neutral wall colors, and the neutral carpet make for an almost monochromatic room. The dark brown TV stand/cabinet creates a focal point for the room.

While layers of tonal colors can feel sophisticated and chic, interest in this room comes from the small pops of color. The purple accent pillow on the chair and area rug add a nice layer of color. The green and red bottles as décor on the TV stand/cabinet also add more depth. Any of these colors can be swapped out and the effect would be the same.

Art on the wall introduces other colors to the room and becomes its’ own pop of color. The fact that the painting colors don’t perfectly match the other accent colors makes the combination more interesting and less matchy-matchy.

Life’s Little Messes

Posted on September 17, 2012 by creatingyourspace

Cheese puffs on the rug, dirty paw prints on the wood floors, juice spilled on the sofa… life’s little messes can happen throughout the house, and they do on a daily basis. Having the right flooring and upholstery can help make sure life’s little messes can be easily cleaned up. The perfect house that is never dirty or the perfect sofa that never has popcorn between the cushions might exist somewhere, but for the majority of us, it isn’t a reality. Homes and rooms are meant to be lived in and enjoyed. So eat your cheese puffs and let the dog into the house.

When shopping for carpet or area rugs, look for materials that are stain-resistant. Ask about stain fighting properties when purchasing your carpet and rugs. Wool is a natural stain-resistant material because of the natural oils in the wool yarn. Other types of carpet and rugs may be engineered or treated to fight stains. To hide stains and dirt, look for rugs with deeper colors and complicated patterns.

For new upholstered furniture purchases, ask about stain fighting properties in the different upholstery options. Some retailers offer a stain protection plan that will protect your investment with professional treatment of stains. Using outdoor upholstery indoors is a smart idea if you have kids or pets. Outdoor fabrics are designed to withstand moisture and dirt more than delicate fabrics.

Messes happen. This is a fact of life. Choosing the right flooring and upholstery means the little messes are no big deal.

Beautiful Bathroom Sinks

Posted on August 21, 2012 by creatingyourspace

Bathroom sinks need to be functional there is no doubt about that. Bathroom sinks can be also be beautiful and almost sculptural unlike kitchen sinks that must fit pots and pans. Bathroom sinks, especially in powder rooms, can be unusual sizes and shapes while still being functional, as we need them. The wide variety of bathroom sinks available on the market today is testament to the desire to have something beautiful and functional in the bathroom.

Depending on the square footage and floor plan of your bathroom you may opt for a pedestal sink, wall mounted sink, or sink and vanity combination. A bathroom sink with vanity is the classic set up for the bathroom. This doesn’t mean that this combination is dull and boring. Vessel sinks continue to be a popular option for the bathroom sink. Having a vessel sink can shrink the size of the vanity, or create more counter space.

Other popular sink options are to have the sink and counter be of the same solid surface. As seen in this bathroom sink, continuing the same material from backsplash to counter and even the sink creates a seamless design. Since all of these elements are stone, you could continue the stone onto the floor for a cohesive overall room design.

Bathroom sinks can be stone, metal, ceramic or glass. The shape and form of the sink are only limited by your design imagination and the space allocated for the sink. Choose the right sink for your style and bathroom needs for the best results.

Classic Combination: Console Table and Mirror

Posted on August 16, 2012 by creatingyourspace

For a foyer or small space, the classic furniture combination of a console table and a mirror can be the perfect solution. The combination of a console table and mirror has been popular for centuries. We talked about French doors earlier this week so it’s only fitting we stick with the same theme. Going back to the French kings, these two pieces were placed in halls and rooms. Like this gilt wood mirror and console table, the pair could be elaborately decorated. Antique mirrors and consoles were often created as a set. Today’s style of decorating means that you don’t have to have a matched set. The mirror and table can be made of different materials, from different eras, and even designs.

Console tables and mirrors are the perfect choice for an entry, foyer or hallway because they have a small footprint, but can make a big impression. For a formal entry, an antique console and mirror paired with an antique rug sets a traditional tone. A black and white marble floor would also suit an antique French style mirror and console. Farmhouse or rustic style could pair a painted table with a braided rug or a sisal runner on wide plank floors.

As a landing place in a foyer the console table has just enough surface space for a lamp and a place to put your bag or the mail. The mirror is the perfect place to check your hair or lipstick on your way out the door.

Besides the standard rectangle, demi-lune, or half-round table are popular. Paired with a round or rectangular mirror, the console table is a great choice for a small space that needs a big dash of style.

Beach Inspiration

Posted on August 7, 2012 by creatingyourspace

When you plan your patio, have you considered how you want it to look and feel? How about using the beach as your inspiration? With a few modifications, this lovely image can be translated to an appealing patio. Let’s take a look at what we can do to build this feel in your own backyard.

Of course, shipping bags of sand will not accomplish your goal. However, travertine pavers set in a layer of sand can provide the same natural light colors and gentle contrasts. The simple rectangular pattern suits the patio while reminding you of the beach.

In the same way, while it has a natural charm, you may not want this rustic twig furniture at home. Instead, how about oiled teak? The finish matches the standards that most people want on their patio but the tone and material echoes the beach tables and chairs.

Colorful flags work well on the beach but seem a bit odd for a back yard. To capture the same pops of color, let’s add some throw pillows. Thanks to today’s weather-resistant fabric and pillow forms, you can leave them out in the weather and they will continue to look inviting.

Finally, bring in the lighting. As the sun sets, set candles or lanterns on each table and add some strings of outdoor lights to add light and charm.

So be daring and let the beach come to you during those times when you can’t get to it. Without sand and surf, you can still create the coastal mood you want in your own home.

From the Floors Up

Category Archives: Hints and Tips