October is only days away. The leaves are beginning to change and drop here in Chicagoland. The days are getting shorter. Autumn is here. So it's time to decorate your home in the beauty of fall. The vivid fall colors and symbols of the season always provide great inspiration for decorating.
Here are 16 simple, do it yourself ideas. See the slideshow from Better Homes & Gardens here.
[Editor Note: Photo from www.BHG.com]
Focal points are important in a room to give it focus and a center around which to decorate. Some furnishings, features, and details are obvious focal points. Here's how you can make the most of them, create others, and bring your entire room to life.
From the bedroom to the bathroom, see how you can create a focal point with these how-to steps. Read the article here.
[Editor note: photo from www.Leyla'sRoom.com]
What are the most common decorating mistakes? And are you guilty of making them? How can you avoid and fix them?
Read the articles provided by the links below. Most are so easy to do over time or without thinking that we've all been guilty at one time or another. But, fortunately, these mistakes are easy to fix and undo.
In this article, top designers give the most common decorating mistake that they see as well as their decorating pet peeves. Continue reading to get their advice on how to first start decorating a room.
Designer Tips and Decorating Advice: Common Decorating Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.
See pictures here of top decorating no-nos with pictures on how to do it right. Easy to understand. Don't be surprised if you recognize a mistake (from your friends' or family's homes, of course <wink>). These really are common errors. But you'll find simple ways to fix them in the next picture of how to do it right.
Most Common Decorating Mistakes!
Here you'll learn common Don'ts and Do's for home decorating. These mistakes occur frequently, but the fixes are pure common sense. How do they happen then? Easy. Being rushed, falling in love with an object and then deciding to decorate an entire room around it, and often simply a mistake in judgment. Fortunately, the solutions are easy and most don't even require money to fix. Love that!
Top 10 common decorating mistakes
Read these articles. Don't be chagrined. We've all done some of these before. Thank goodness, nearly all are simple, easy, and costless to resolve.
[Editor Note: Photo from Victoria Magazine's book, Designers in Residence Victoria Magazine.]
Recycling is hot in decorating. Architectural salvage, garage sales, and flea markets. One man's trash can be your treasure. Just a bit on ingenuity, insight, and creativity can transform an old, worn item into a new, lovely accent piece - one that can also double for storage.
Find 25 ideas to take flea market finds to creative and attractive storage ideas for your home. I especially like the dresser that was turned into a bar in the picture above. You'll also see many aged wood items. Leave it as it is for some shabby chic or repaint and refinish.
[Editor Note: Picture is from www.bhg.com]
Sometimes the look of luxury is merely in the details and not the price tag. Ok, not completely, but you can give your home and furnishing a more luxurious look by paying attention to the details and stealing, I mean, learning from the design pros.
In this article, you see how a noted designer uses a few simple tricks to add those rich details that really add to a home's decor. I especially like the slipcover cushions in contrasting colors, the lamp shade trim, and new table top ideas.
Read it all here and try a few tips yourself.
[Editor Note: Photo is from photographer Eric Roth.]
This article comes to us from a guest, Philip Montero, the Editor at www.HouseOfAreaRugs.com. Here he provides helpful tips to creating a casually elegant bedroom with some easy hints on how to give it that designer look without a designer price tag.
Read it here: Casual Elegance in the Bedroom
To promote a snug as a bug in a rug, enclosed feeling in a room, panel walls up to the typical picture height, about five feet up from the floor. Paint this paneling a slight, light, matte gray and the walls above the paneling to the ceiling and the ceiling, a bright cool white.
Reiterate the natural fiber rug by selecting bedside tables with wicker tops. Already purchased solid wood side tables to match the bed, ask your neighborhood rug store if they have two sisal rug samples you could purchase and set them on top of your existing nightstands. This will also protect the wood surface of the side tables from nicks and scratches.
To make basic white linens a bit snazzier, add thoughtful details such as piping, edging or buttons. These small touches will make all the difference between the same old boring room and designer chic elegance. Add layers of quite necessary blankets and throws for added luxury. Generously sized blankets – and lots of them – add a feeling of warmth, comfort and indulgence. Choose a double thickness wool blanket for extra-special warmth and comfort. Have every blanket, every piece of linen, especially the pillowcases, monogrammed. It is the difference between bland and what you see in your designer magazines.
You will find that a careful consideration into the design of the master bedroom, or any bedroom for that matter, will create a space that is not bland, but a masterpiece of restrained, classical elegance.
Thanks, Philip. Check out more rugs at HouseofAreaRugs.com.
Changing colors in a room - whether its paint, throws, pillows, or window treatments - is an easy and inexpensive way to dramatically alter the look of a room. So when you want to update your home but the budget is tight, there are simple and easy ways to do it like these 20 tips from Better Homes and Gardens.
Check out all the tips, complete with pictures, here.
[Editor Note: Photo is from BHG.com, photographer is Doug Hansen]
Often people want to decorate their kitchen but don't know what's appropriate or where to start. One tip - themes. It gives you a focus and a look that you can employ throughout your kitchen from your countertops to above cabinets and even to your kitchen linens.
There are many themes to choose from:
Fruit
Apples
Country
Fat Chef (you've seen this, and yes, this is the theme's name)
Rooster - graces my kitchen
Primitive
Chili Pepper - for a Southwestern decor
Pottery - French, colors, etc.
Wine - very popular these days
Vintage - 50s kitsch at it's finest
Coffee House - one of the newest themes to emerge
Light House - also popular for bathrooms and cottage/beach family rooms
Palm Tree - very popular in bathrooms
You can find these at various craft, decorating, and linen stores. Or you can shop online at ThemeKitchen.com
Wall sconces are a great way to give a wall an accent while creating a warm ambient light. Especially popular in hallways, bathrooms, and formal rooms like dining and living rooms.
You will need to properly wire a new wall sconce behind the wall. You can drop this down from the attic above or pull it up from the basement. You may need to do some drywall repair in the process. If you are uncomfortable doing electrical work, be sure to hire this out.
But in planning and selecting your wall sconce, be sure to check out these tips.
[Editor Note: Photo from one of my favorite Internet lighting resources, LightingUniverse.com]
