From the Floors Up

What Décor Does Your Design Style Demand? | Part Three

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Interior design is a science and an art. It balances aesthetics as well as functionality. Some styles and themes have been created throughout time, which have mastered not only the look but the functionality. They are thoroughly created with guidelines and structure yet give homeowners the freedom to create and design their own version themselves! The structure and guidance can create a science where the freedom to express and break the rules can come down to your own artistic touch.

When designing a room, there are many elements used to create the space. From colors, flooring, lighting, furniture, and even architecture, we see many design themes that flourish with these features. As we have seen in some of the prior themes, the décor you choose can help express yourself while also enhancing your overall design. We previously looked at some of the most popular designs and saw how some styles could use fine details to capitalize on our design themes. Well, we realized there are still many popular themes to explore. Here are several more themes that you may have in your own home:

Southwestern

Southwestern design is a blend of Latin American culture and West Coast styling. It uses earthy tones and accent colors of turquoise, reds, oranges, and yellows. With enriched textures and upholstery, this design prides itself on traditional Latin American styling. Help enhance your space by adding clay vases, culturally-influenced patterns, and vibrant accent colors to pop against your earthy toned atmosphere.

Eclectic

This style can be the easiest yet the most challenging. Eclectic is a style that blends and mashes many designs together to create a unique, artsy styling. From the most contemporary elements to the eldest antiques, every piece of décor has a purpose and meaning. All colors are welcomed; however, this design can be the most challenging to prevent from becoming too chaotic. Additionally, it is not uncommon for a dining room table to have several different, unmatching chairs. The pride of every piece’s individuality works together to create harmony. Remember, nearly all décor is welcome, yet understand how everything works together and flows.

Traditional

Traditional interior design was inspired by the 18th and 19th centuries. These designs have very bulky and ornate furniture. While these pieces can take up a lot of space, they are very well-crafted and made to last. This design is a very orderly and relaxed environment. Symmetry is at the forefront of the styling. Two matching chairs, two matching end tables with duplicate lamps are very common. Keep this in mind with your décor. While nothing is really a focal point, focus on balance and symmetry with your antiques to master this style.

Interior design themes are great to use in our own homes. We all love different styles for many different reasons. So, make sure you get the most out of your designs by adding the right décor since it is the best way to express yourself in your design.

What Décor Does Your Design Style Demand? | Part Two

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As we explored in Part One, every style gives us different guidelines that we can use to keep our styles focused. Different themes have become staples in home designs for their abundance in popularity and versatility. What creates a design theme are not only the colors, furniture, and flooring we select, but also the décor we use. Décor can be your way to give a personal splash of taste to your own design. So let us take a look at several more common design styles and what decor pieces each one needs.

Shabby Chic

Shabby Chic is a very airy, feminine design. This design uses antique and distressed furniture. Usually, its woods can be painted with distressed or whitewashed colors. Colors added to this design are done through pastel tones. These muted tones are pastel pinks, turquoises, and greens. Whether pastels or antique woods, both are great accent choices to enhance your décor.

Boho

Bohemian design is very lackadaisical and carefree. This style is colorful and loves to put comfort first. The décor is more spiritually-influenced or features textile patterns. This look is a great style to use tapestry or other unique textiles like carpets and throw pillows. Flourish your Bohemian style with patterns and repetition to help create a more uniformed space.

Industrial

Industrial or Urban style designs are typically found in lofts or inner-city areas. Unlike other designs that push more elements of nature, Industrial design is all about finding the beauty in the architectural structure of the space. Exposed beams, brick walls, pipes, Edison bulbs, and concrete are common styling influences. The raw, exposed construct is featured as the main highlight in these designs. Edgy, colorful artwork is perfect for these environments. You can also choose furniture that is more unfinished and exposed. Additionally, metals play a massive role in Industrial styling! Be creative and consider adding artificial décor pieces made from metals or repurposed goods.

Every design theme brings different visual and functional effects. Fully understanding how to accomplish a theme can allow you to decorate it properly. Try using some of these tactics in your own home to help better emphasize your preexisting design themes.

Choosing a Theme Style for Your Home

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Now that you have a new home, you can officially begin designing it. However, you may quickly realize that there are hundreds of design themes. How do you choose the right one? Rustic, Contemporary, Mid-Century Modern, and Shabby Chic are all great styles. Yet, choosing the right one can be hard. There are several great tools to help you narrow down the right choice for your own home. Here are the best ways to help guide your theme selection:

Personal Touches

Cabinets, flooring, and countertops are already tailored to the look you want! Instead of dwelling on what style will work best, simply add your own personal touches. Vases, pictures, throw pillows, wall art, and décor are all great ways to make a house your home. Interior design is expressive and a chance to individualize yourself. Take advantage of the opportunity and embrace your internal design desires.

Architectural Features

Another significant guiding factor in designing your space can be complementing your architectural influences and home’s surrounding environment. For instance, many homes in Arizona are designed with southwestern design themes. This factor is a great design style to emphasize your own design and help bring to life. You would want to try to incorporate rich textures and earthy tones into your atmosphere. Woven fabrics, suedes, and leathers can also be facilitated to amplify this effect. These are some great tools used to create a Southwestern atmosphere.

What You Already Own

You should also allow your current furniture and belongings to help guide your theme. What kind of preexisting furniture are you bringing into your new home? What colors, fabrics, rugs, pictures, and décor did your old design have? If you did not have a very balanced design, you could begin to look for what works together and creating a design. Perhaps, you have had a very eclectic design but notice many earthy tones in half your furniture. This factor is a great start in transforming your space into a Rustic design theme. You can slowly replace the odd and unmatching décor and furnishings to create a new theme.

Designing your space should be fun and expressive. In fact, it is the best part of making a house your home. What design tricks do you plan on using in your new home? We would love to hear from you! Let us know below in the comment section.

Creative Design Hacks for Your Apartment’s Bathroom

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Apartment bathrooms can come with their own series of problems. They can be smaller than some home bathrooms while also lacking the freedom to remodel. While you cannot install the tile of your choice or paint the walls the color you want in most leases, there are still several ways to make your bathroom personalized to your taste. Take your apartment bathroom’s aesthetics to the next level with these easy tricks.

Two Shower Curtains

If your apartment needs to have a shower curtain, this is an opportunity to get creative. Traditionally, you would purchase one shower rod, your rings, and the shower curtain. However, there is a creative, functional, and more aesthetically pleasing look to consider. Purchase two matching shower curtains. Allow them to part in the middle like curtains do on windows. You can also improve the look even more by investing in curtain hooks or a curved rod!

Add Another Mirror

Another common amenity your bathroom probably offers is a mirror. While the single mirror serves its own purpose, adding another mirror will double the benefits. You can find a framed mirror in any shape to add to your bathroom. This second mirror will move light even more around your bathroom and help eliminate visual barriers, making your bathroom look and feel bigger.

Floating Shelves

With limited space available in many apartments, functionality and aesthetics should be attempted to be used together. Add some floating shelves to your bathroom to allow you to add some personalized and stylish décor. Use these as extra spaces to help display your taste will providing more storage.

Upgrade Your Showerhead

While aesthetically, this feature will not make a significant difference, you will love this upgrade. Changing your showerhead to a more efficient and personalized one will make your shower time much more enjoyable. This feature is an easy fix that you can switch back after your lease ends.

Do not let a lease limit you from making your home feel like home. Add some personal, stylish, and creative additions to your bathroom with these tricks. What design tricks do you use in your own bathroom? Let us know in the comment section.

How to Design a White Room

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An all-white room is a blank canvas for you to create whatever you like. Perhaps, you love the crisp and clean feel of a white atmosphere. And while monochromatic spaces are rooms that use only one color in their color palette, white can be tricky. Unlike traditional colors like red, yellow, blue, and so on, you do not have the privilege to play with hues or darken the color. However, this does not mean making a monochromatic white room is impossible. There are several tricks for decorating and designing a white room that you might want to try. Let’s take a look!

Texture

With a monochromatic color palette, texture is vital. Texture will help create depth and contrast in your home. And since white on white does not pop, adding some texture will create clear, crisp lines.

Add Warmth Subtly

White is as neutral of a color as you can get. You will want to warm up your home with subtle influences of color. Never add too much to take away from the all-white look, but just enough to add warmth. Consider adding some light pastel tones to pillows or décor pieces in your room. These soft, muted colors will not distract from the overall design, but help enhance the space.

Wood

Another element you can add without taking away from the design is wood. Consider adding hardwood or wood furniture to the room. This feature can help give a classy and sophisticated look to your all-white color palette. Plus, wood will also help stay neutral and support your design rather than overpower it.

Plants

A key secret to any design is adding plants. Plants will add vitality to a room and help spruce up your space. This greenery is a great way to add a little color without distracting the eyes. With such a clean and crisp color palette, your plants will also work as a natural air purifier in your home as well.

Metal Accents

There are metal accents in many areas of your home. From door handles, accent pieces, trim, furniture, and drawer handles, all of these items can have metal to them. Making the metal trim agree in your design will help bring it to the next level!

A monochromatic room is a tremendous and foolproof way of styling your space. Simply buy everything in the color of your choice. When tackling white; however, remember to keep some of these tricks in mind. They will help make your monochromatic white room feel aesthetically pleasing and well balanced.

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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