From the Floors Up

Design Inspiration: The Colors of the Mediterranean

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Deep blue seas, terracotta tiles, golden sun yellow, olive green, rich ochre—these are the colors we think of when we think of Mediterranean style.  These rich, vibrant colors take their inspiration from the sea, land and sky around the Mediterranean Sea.  Found throughout countries like Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Morocco, the colors of the Mediterranean can be incorporated into your home for a beautiful color palette.

Terracotta flooring is great in a Tuscan or Spanish inspired kitchen. These warm reddish brown tiles can be paired with white or wood cabinets.  Terracotta tile can also be used in entryways and bathrooms. Moroccan tiles that are typically colorful with bold patterns are another choice for flooring or backsplashes inspired by the colors of the Mediterranean.

Plaster walls tinted with a hint of yellow ochre are also wonderful ways to bring in a bit of the Mediterranean to kitchens, bathrooms, living or dining rooms.  Ochre is a warm, golden yellow that looks amazing paired with deep blues and olive greens.

For more Mediterranean color inspiration, look to the textiles of these Mediterranean countries. Provencal fabrics from the south of France offer great color pairings and inspiration for walls, floors and furniture colors.

You can be inspired by the colors of the Mediterranean even if your style is not Mediterranean. Accents in these vibrant colors can work with most styles of decorating. Use these colors as a jumping off point for your own style décor and the result will be colorful and cheerful.

Professional Kitchen Designers

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For a full down to the studs kitchen remodel or an update, working with a professional kitchen designer can be a great idea. Professional kitchen designers can help you design your dream kitchen or choose new countertops for a quick update.

 

Flooring, counters, back-splashes, cabinets, appliances and lighting can each change the look and feel of a kitchen. On their own they can update the kitchen; together they will give your kitchen a whole new look. Selecting a single one of these to work with your existing kitchen can be tricky. Choosing a combination of new counters, cabinets and flooring can be downright daunting. Enter the kitchen designer.

 

Kitchen designers can help you select a stone backsplash that coordinates with granite counter tops that also work with your existing cabinetry. Larger guts and remodels can be planned by a kitchen designer to change not only the look of your kitchen but its functionality.  These designers can recommend changes to floor plans that can up the function of your kitchen without expanding the floor plan.  For major projects an in home consultation to take measurements is a must.  Even for surface changes, a home appointment should be done for measurements and color samples.

 

To hire a kitchen designer you can begin by asking friends and neighbors for recommendations who have recently remodeled their kitchens. If there is a local kitchen showroom, visit and ask for a consultation. Get several estimates before deciding to make sure you find the right kitchen designer for your home and budget.

Home Tips – Realtor Staging Tricks

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The smell of fresh baked cookies invokes the comforts of home. Realtors have used this trick to make an open house seem more inviting to potential buyers. Scenting the air with rich chocolate or spices can create a sense of home and encourage the fantasy of what life would be like living in that house.  Along with the scents of home, realtors often encourage the seller to hire a home stager who can optimize the home décor for the best presentation of the home.

 

Taking a cure from the home stager can make our own homes feel more polished and presentable. Some tricks like using smaller scale furniture to make a room feel bigger might not work for everyday living. Others like clearing out the clutter should be embraced by all.

 

The point of home staging is to maximize the home’s assets.  Opening windows and blinds to let the light in is an easy trick. Keeping clutter contained and out of sight is another. Clean homes show a pride of ownership. Neatly vacuumed carpets and fresh wood floors show off the other elements in the space rather than draw attention to themselves.

 

Removing too much stuff from a space will instantly make the space feel larger. Look around the rooms in your home and see what areas feel too crowded. Less photographs on a wall or fewer knickknacks on a mantle can change the look and feel of the space, giving your room a fresher feeling.

 

Home Storage Solutions – Vintage Schoolhouse

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For mudrooms and playrooms, vintage schoolhouse style storage can be a great option for stylish storage. Storage containers such as lockers and cubbies can make charming storage in the home as well as the school room. Vintage style metal lockers are great for corralling coats and backpacks in a mudroom or casual entry. Cubbies that hold cloth bins or baskets can be used for everything from shoes to art supplies, and recycling to toys.

 

Older homes and homes in colder climates tend to have mudrooms. These are small rooms off of a kitchen entry or side door that allow you to shed coats and wet boots before entering the rest of the home. Some older homes have mudrooms or vestibules at the front door before you enter the foyer. These spaces tend to be more casual than formal with rows of pegs for coats and a place for umbrellas and shoes.

 

If the mudroom is large enough a narrow locker or set of lockers, like seen here, they can hide the clutter of coats and keep shoes off the mudroom floor. Wet shoes and should be kept on trays to prevent puddles on stone or wood mudroom floors.

 

Lockers and cubbies are also great for playroom storage. Colorfully painted lockers can brighten up the space as well as provide much needed organized storage. Cube bookcases can be used instead of school cubbies. Fill them with baskets and cloth boxes to keep small items for spilling over. Cubes can be painted or left natural.

Trend Spotting: Grown Up Dollhouses

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Many girls play with dollhouses when they are young. Dollhouses for little girls are less about the decorating of each room than they are about creative play and using their imaginations. Recently we’ve spotted dollhouses for grownups on several design blogs. These dollhouses are all about the decorating. The dollhouse is a mini show house with each room perfectly decorated. The completed miniature show house can be proudly displayed on the shelf of your home office or design studio.

 

Playing with these dollhouses can be like designing the perfect home… on a much smaller budget. Everything from flooring to wallpaper to lighting and furniture can be done in miniature for these dollhouses. Scaled down accessories and furniture can be found that replicates everything from traditional to contemporary decorating styles. Carpet, area rugs and even wood floors can be found for dollhouses. What can’t be purchased can be made by you. Wallpaper and fabric swatches can be used to decorate walls and windows.

 

Dollhouses for grownups are a fun way to play designer. Each room can be a different theme or style. These dollhouses are a great way to experiment with color, pattern and texture. Designing a room in miniature is a nice way to stretch your designing skills before investing in designing an entire room in your own home. It’s easier to change the look of a dollhouse room than a room in your home. If you’ve finished decorating your own home, a dollhouse is a wonderful way to keep decorating.

 

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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