From the Floors Up

Decorating with Paris Flea Market Style

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Shopping in Paris is a dream for decorators and design lovers. Wandering around Paris flea markets, finding antiques and treasures, and decorating your home with your finds might not be a possibility for you. But this doesn’t mean you can’t decorate your home in French flea market style.  There are many online resources that import French antiques as well as local merchants and flea markets that have similar furniture and objects to the French markets.

French flea market style is an eclectic style that mixes antiques, salvage and garden decorations to create a romantic, nostalgic style room.  Imperfections are welcome as they show age and give character to furniture and objects alike.  Flea market finds in artwork can decorate your walls with beautiful still life or anonymous portraits.  Transforming finds into something new is also a hallmark of French flea market style. For example, a wood urn can be turned into a table lamp.

Anderson | Tuftex Kensington Color: Pembridge

French grays and beiges create a neutral but sophisticated palette. Pale wood floors or painted wood floors work well with this style, as do faded antique or vintage rugs.

Look at blogs and magazines that feature French flea market style for inspiration. Build your collection one piece at a time for a beautiful room inspired by the flea markets of Paris.

Bring Fall Colors Inside

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Autumn thanksgiving decor with candle, sunflower and pumpkin

Outside nature is beautiful. Shades of copper, burnt red and shimmering gold sparkle in the sunshine. Why leave all those lovely colors outside, why not bring them inside and bask in the splendor of fall indoors?

If you have a neutral themed home this is a no brainer. Bring in some faux greenery such as forest green leaves, golden gourds, orange pumpkins, multi-colored flowers, bushes, vines and interesting branches with bright-red berries. A colorful bouquet in the foyer will welcome visitors and immediately convey the friendly ambiance of your home. Perch other autumn arrangements on the fireplace mantle.

For the kitchen, put out bowls of mini-pumpkins, charming little gourds, fresh vegetables, oranges and lush red apples. Don’t forget to hang a welcoming fall wreath on your front door. Buy a pre-made one or design your own from artificial flowers, fruit, pinecones or any other variety of nature’s bounty.

Pull out a cozy throw and some vibrant throw pillows in cranberry red, velvety gold or deep chocolate. Switch your breezy summer curtains for the heavier tapestries of fall. Consider hanging autumn theme prints on the walls. A well-placed piece can bring fall’s unique charm into a room in a moment. Don’t forget to change out your candles. It’s time for the reds and oranges to replace the summer pinks and whites.

Fall is the perfect time to redress your home and yard for cooler weather. Warm colors will “cozy-up” your home psychologically and permit you to keep the thermostat down a little longer. Whether you make temporary changes or more permanent ones, enjoy the wonderful palette that this season provides. Let its reds and greens carry you right on into the holiday season.

Shabby Chic Christmas Décor

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We spend a lot of time and effort in designing our homes and tailoring them to our style. Having a Shabby Chic style can say a lot about you. This pastel, vintage wonderland can create a soft and dreamy oasis. Everything in your design has a purpose and place to help achieve the vintage look. However, traditional holiday décor may not always go with your home theme. While holidays décor is timeless, Shabby Chic has a very distinctive color palette and styling. Adding a forest-green tree with red bulbs can seem to clash with your home design. So, this year, why not make your Christmas décor accommodate your home? Investing in Shabby Chic seasonal décor is just another way to take more pride in your style even during the holiday seasons.

Christmas Tree

What is Christmas without a Christmas tree? While traditional styles may call for a rugged pine, your home will thrive with a more frosted look. Look for a frosted white, all-white, or silver Christmas tree this holiday season. You can decorate this beautiful tree with silver tinsel, pastel bulbs, and your favorite antique ornaments. This conversion from the traditional tree to a Shabby Chic appearance will make it hard for you to take down the décor after Christmas passes! Consider even the wrapping paper you use. Go with wrapping paper designs that complement your design in order to take your Christmas tree scene to the next level. Top it off with some white lights and a floral tree skirt to help complete the whole look!

Christmas Wreaths and Garland

Another aspect that is part of every Christmas design is the wreath. If you have already converted your Christmas tree to a Shabby Chic style, consider changing out your Christmas wreaths and garland. Having them be uniform with your tree can help accessorize your design. Plus, adding some Christmas bulbs and accessories to spruce up the look never hurts. In fact, you will find that these are great ways to help keep your design flowing throughout your space.

Other Décor

Also, your whole home is an outlet to express yourself. There are thousands of décor options for Shabby Chic homes to use during Christmas. From antique fireplace mantel décor to cute laced stockings to candles, you will have endless options to express yourself. Remember to keep your theme focused and agreeing with your current design. Do not over clutter your home during the holiday season so you can keep it feeling homey and well-kept.

All these little tricks will help complete your home. Remember, you can decorate your home how you want. If you love Shabby Chic, take pride in your design and let your Christmas decor also feel beautiful.

Do you love Shabby Chic? What are some of your favorite Shabby Chic holiday decorations? Let us know below in the comment section, and for more holiday ideas, make sure to subscribe!

Rustic Christmas Decor

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Do you love Rustic design? Many homeowners and businesses love to incorporate this authentic, homey style to create a cozy environment. It takes the strengths of nature and facilitates them throughout your space while the earthy tones help ground the design. This rural design style is charming, and unpretentiously uses many raw elements of nature and ties them together in the design. If you love Rustic design, you should consider incorporating it into your Christmas décor. Not only is Rustic a homey and welcoming design, but it can be a perfect complementary style to the already cozy Christmas atmosphere in your home. Here are some great ways to make Rustic design part of your Christmas décor:

Christmas Tree

Your Christmas tree will be the focal point of your Christmas design. With Rustic design already being grounded with country-style living, this green pine will be the staple piece to harmonize your designs. A real authentic tree would be ideal for helping capture the true smell of pine and raw nature. Just make sure to decorate your tree with all the Rustic décor you can. Add some earthy tones to your tree like beige tinsel and brown Christmas bulbs for an earthy feel. Also, pinecones are an excellent addition to make your tree feel even more authentic.

Fireplace Mantle

In many Rustic home designs, fireplaces are classic focal points of living rooms. They help create the Hygge and comfort in your home. Plus, winter is a perfect time to have a fire and really facilitate this feature in your home. Try to decorate your fireplace mantle with some very Rustic-inspired Christmas décor. Garland and pines are excellent. You can also look for some cozy-looking stockings to hang from your fireplace mantle. Creating this scene will make your space feel very comforting and cozy while perfectly complementing your Rustic design!

Seasonal Décor

Hygge is a Danish word that encompasses the quality of comfort in your home. Create Hygge by making your Christmas feel cozy. There are hundreds of additional Rustic Christmas décor pieces to add to your home. From soap dishes and candles to wash clothes and blankets, the possibilities are endless. Take pride in your Christmas décor and allow it to help accent your Rustic design.

As Christmas quickly approaches, it is time to start thinking about putting up your yearly décor. If you love Rustic décor, this is the perfect time of the year to incorporate it into your home. Have your Christmas feeling cozier than ever with a true pine tree, a beautifully decorated fireplace mantle, and other miscellaneous Rustic Christmas décor.

Understanding Masculine and Feminine Design

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Designing your space can have many outlets and options to help to tailor your home to your style.  Generally, homes are designed neutral or genderless to help with resell value; however, your home is a personal escape and designing it to your needs comes first.  If you are looking to make a man cave or a female hangout area, there are several ways to go about it.  To help, we broke down some great options to incorporate in your own home to help design these spaces.  

Masculine Design

While both masculine and feminine designs generally accept many of these options, certain elements and colors are traditionally used in masculine design.  Leather sofas and chairs are great additions to help create your man cave.  Colors like blues, browns, and blacks can be affiliated with masculine characteristics. Darker palettes are also typically used. You can give homage to rough or distressed look with natural elements like stones, woods, even metals.  Masculine design can also be associated with geometrical patterns.  Whether used on curtains, paintings, or decor, geometrical patterns are great for forming the space.

Feminine Design

Colors and shades can typically alter a room’s feel.  Lighter shades and pastel tones can be associated with feminine characteristics.  Pinks, whites, and creamy greys can influence a space to feel more feminine. Where hard lines and geometrical patterns flourish in masculine design, soft curvy furniture can be appreciated in a feminine style designed space.  Consider floral and damasks patterns in your feminine themed spaces.  Feminine design can also appreciate good artwork with meaning and portraying an image rather than just shapes. 

Harmony

While both feminine and masculine design can appreciate each other’s styles and no element is distinguished particularly for one over the other, some of these elements can help enhance a style.  Try using these in your own home or mixing and matching to create balance. Both features can help the balance of the other to create a stunning space. Limiting your space to gender-specific décor can hurt your atmosphere.

Allow both designs can be used to help one another. While both masculine and feminine can enjoy both design styles, it can be most beneficial to mix and match. Masculine and Feminine design styles are slowly fading away as we move along in Modern Era. Incorporating both to your space can be truly beneficial.

From the Floors Up

From the Floors Up blog was created with the goal of providing a destination for consumers, designers and those interested in the flooring, design, and kitchen and bath industries. Here you’ll find, current, accurate and informative information that is always just a click away!

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