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Posts Tagged ‘decorating’

If you’re fortunate enough to have an extra room in your home, turning it into a guest bedroom is a great way to help your houseguests feel right at home. Guest bedrooms are usually kept simple, but you can still choose to add some of your personal style to the room. By balancing simplicity with style, you’ll be able to make the room appealing to any guest who may stay in your home. If you are unsure on how to go about decorating your guest bedroom, then here are some simple tips you can follow.

Keep the Colors Neutral
In a guest bedroom, you should mostly stick to neutral colors, although it’s okay to add a pop of color here and there. By sticking to neutral colors, you can make the room more appealing to guests and also more comfortable for them. Even though neutral colors are dominating the room, you can still incorporate some colorful style with different décor items such as paintings, flowers, and pillows. You shouldn’t be afraid of having a stylish guest bedroom. On the other hand, by keeping it on the neutral side you don’t have to worry about red walls frightening your guests in the middle of the night.

Provide a Comfortable Sleeping Area
You might choose to furnish your guest bedroom with some of your old furniture and a mission bed. You just want to be sure that the bed is still safe and stable. It’s advisable, however, to invest in a new mattress so that you are able to provide a comfortable sleeping area instead of your 20-year-old mattress. You can also easily stain or paint your old bed another color to match the décor of the room. If you find that the bed just isn’t working, then there are many inexpensive and simple beds available that would work great in a guest bedroom without breaking your budget.

When you go to purchase bedding for the guest bedroom, don’t buy the cheapest sheet set you can find. You want to try to find something in the middle that will be comfortable yet still fits in your budget. A basic cotton sheet set, along with a comforter or a blanket, should suffice. You can even add some style and color to the room via the bedding set, as long as it’s relatively subtle.

Provide Storage Space
When you have guests who stay in your guest bedroom, you’re going to want to provide some storage and closet space for them. Therefore, if you typically use the bedroom’s closet for your own storage purposes, you might want to think about storing those items elsewhere for the time being. Of course, much of this will depend on a number of factors, including who the guest is and how long he or she is staying. If you’re having a family member who’s only staying a day or two, then that may not matter. But if you’re hosting someone from out of town who is staying for a week or longer, you’ll want to provide them with ample storage space.

Although decorating a guest bedroom can be a fun task, it’s important to keep in mind that even though the room is in your house, it’s other people who will be using the space. Thus, it’s always best to keep it on the simple side, adding your stylish touches here and there.

About the Writer…
Leon Tuberman has 40 years of experience in the furniture and interior decorating industry. He is the owner and operator of popular furniture store in California. They have a large inventory of handcrafted American built solid oak furniture for your bedroom, dining room and living room. If you’re looking for great quality American made solid oak bedroom furniture then they probably have everything you need.

There is nothing better than new flooring to add to the comfort and warmth of a home.  If you’ve been waiting to buy a new area rug, new carpet, or add a new look to a selected room or your full house, now’s the perfect time to take a look at and research some ideas.  There are so many new and exciting alternatives in the market place today for carpet that you are going to be dazzled at the new look you can simply design.  There isn’t any one right answer for today’s look in carpeting.  Home owners are using floor tiles, area rugs, oval designs, flooring carpet, as well as a variety of materials for any room in the house.  

If appears that carpet tile is growing in popularity for individuals who are replacing their old carpet and searching for something much brighter and with more color.  Because carpet tile can simply be done as a do it yourself project the pricetag is low and it is certainly straightforward to use carpet tile.  This sort of flooring is also straightforward to look after and straightforward to scrub.  It cleans up particularly well and stains seem to vanish with little effort.  Carpet tile can last a long while and holds up well in serious traffic areas.  It can take the punishment of the winter weather when folk come tracking their wet and mucky shoes in on your carpet.  It’s also cheap so that if you do become bored with it after one or two years you can replace it and not cost a bomb or your budget.  It is available in polyester and nylon materials.  

The Southwestern look in flooring also is favored by many homeowners.  It adds a new panache to your whole house or a particular room where you are trying to achieve a new and unique atmosphere.  You can find many Southwestern patterns that are available and will fit into any specific look you try to create.  These beautiful and unique patterns look good in any room.  You may purchase area rungs with a Southwestern look to accent any room where you need a contrast.  

Designer area rugs continue to be extremely popular for people that wish to distinguish their home with the absolute best in classic design.  There are many names available for designer area rugs that you’re going to want to have a look at and discover.  For those who want the absolute best in flooring for their home there are lots of decisions you can make.

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An important concern of new parents is how they are going to decorate the baby’s nursery. Decorating a baby nursery is certainly a lot of fun, but there are some essential things that new parents need to keep in mind concerning the decorating process.

1. Keep Safety in Mind at All Times
An important aspect of your nursery décor is that you keep safety for the baby in mind at all times. In other words, you may find that you’ll have to sacrifice some design elements that may be unsafe for your baby. Important factors to consider include: no small pieces that could create choking hazards, no strangling hazards, no items containing toxic chemicals, and no uncovered electrical outlets.

2. Set a Budget and Stick to It
It’s not at all hard to end up way over budget when it comes to decorating your baby’s nursery. It’s very easy to get lured in by all the cute baby items that are available. Therefore, be sure that you create a reasonable budget for the room beforehand and then stick to it. If you’re working with a tight budget, make sure you spend the bulk of the money on a quality crib and furniture, rather than decorations for the walls and other décor items.

3. You Don’t Have to Choose a Theme
One thing that many new parents insist on is that they have to choose a theme for their baby’s nursery. Yet a nursery’s décor can look just as nice without a theme as with one. By keeping the room simple with some great furniture and nice paint colors, you can create a wonderful nursery for your child. Once your baby becomes a toddler or young child, then it will be easier to change the room according to what he or she wants. A nursery theme is only one decorating option—don’t let others convince you that this is necessary.

4. Use Your Creativity and Talents
Some of the best baby nurseries have been designed by parents who have used their creativity and talents to come up with a completely unique design. If you can draw or paint, for instance, you can design your own mural for the nursery wall. Sewers and knitters can also create items to complement the nursery’s décor. Many new parents find that they like the nursery so much better when they have contributed their own talents and designs to the décor of the room.

5. Make Sure the Nursery Is Functional and Practical
In terms of the functionality of a baby nursery, some new parents have to learn the hard way. Above all else, the nursery needs to be practical rather than just aesthetically pleasing. The key to a functional and practical room is to find furniture and baby items that you will actually use. So although that rocking chair might give the room that perfect look, if it’s not comfortable to sit in, you will never use it and that money would have been wasted.

Most new parents genuinely look forward to decorating the baby’s nursery. By following these tips, you can create the best baby nursery possible for your little one.

About the Author…
Leon Tuberman has been in the home furnishings and interior decorating industry for four decades. He owns and operates a popular furniture store in California. They offer a huge assortment of solid wood furniture for your living room, home office and dining room that’s built in the Heartland of America. Are you searching for wood end tables for your living room or oak file cabinets for your home office then they probably have everything you need.

David Artsmith  -  When dealing with small spaces, it can be difficult to fit all of the decorative accessories that you want into the room. Luckily, some accessories can actually be used to make the space seem bigger.

Home decor is used to create many effects. In some cases you want to enahnce the look of the home, while in others you want to change the nature of the space, making it feel larger, or on the opposite end cozier. If you had a small room and wanted to make it look bigger, there is a simple decorating trick to make an apartment living room appear like a banquet hall.

You have to understand that rooms look small because you have your home decor in the wrong places. Move the non-decorative items to the background and keep the decorative ones in the center of the room or at conspicuous points. Living room accessories have a calming effect and will make the room look smaller. You want everything to be lined up symetricaly, in order to increase the perceptive space.

Don’t put decorative pieces in the way of visitors. Move them to spacious areas. Once they are out of the way, passages will be enhanced with the effect that the room becomes bigger. Again, buy home decor objects that are tall instead of broad. Broad furnishings take up more space and will make the room look small.

Lighting can affect how big or small rooms look like. Dull or dark lighting will make the place look cozy and big. Bright light will produce a harsh effect on the room and make it look congested.

try to stay away from colors which contrast heavily with one another when trying to make a space seem larger. Let the colors harmonize. For example if you have red sofa, you can go for purple or maroon curtains to match.

Choose plain, light curtains for your home decor. These will often make an environment seem more open and roomy. They will be easily swayed by the wind and will create an impression of roominess.

Regardless of what type of flooring you decide to put in your place, it will need some care, especially if you have kids or cats.  Some kinds of floors are more easy to maintain than others.  Carpeting can be hard to keep clean since mud and hair and stains can get worked into the carpet, especially if it’s a extraordinarily light color.  Simpler options include laminate flooring and hardwood flooring. 

Laminate flooring is available in several designs and colours, plenty of which have been created to seem like more natural materials like wood or tile.  The advantage of this kind of flooring is that it’s a lot less costly than those other choices.  It will not last quite as long, but with correct care you can keep it looking absolutely fantastic for a long while. 

Taking care of a laminate floor is very easy.  You want to wipe up any stains and spills as fast as possible with a humid material.  You also want to sweep and vacuum the floor regularly to keep it free from mud that might finish up scratching the floor.  Most furniture should have floor protectors underneath the legs to stop dents, and any furniture on wheels should be kept on protecting mats. 

Hardwood flooring is one of the most well liked options available at this time, especially since it basically increases the value of your house.  This kind of flooring looks beautiful and can last a while.

Maintaining a hardwood flooring is similar to caring for a laminate floor.  You would like to brush or employ a dust mop on your floor every few days to avoid the dust scratching the finish on your floor.  You also wish to clean up spills right away, and don’t use water on the floor unless you know it has got a water resistant coating that’s in good shape.  As with a laminate floor, you also should use protectors beneath furniture to prevent scratching.  One of the benefits of hardwood over laminate though is that you can have your hardwood flooring refinished should it begin to look a little too worn. 

Naturally, although carpet generally is tougher to keep looking new, there are some things that may be done to make this a comparatively easy to worry for flooring option too.  You must select a dense carpet with a mix of both loops and cut pile.  Buy a carpet with at least some adaptation in color or pattern, and also one that isn’t too light or too dark and then stains will be less certain to show.  Make sure that your carpet is treated to make it more stain resistant, and clean up any spills or stains straight away so they don’t get set in.  Vacuum your floor continually, and from time to time get it cleaned either with a rented machine or by professionals with their own equipment.

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When it comes time to choose your bedding, there are hundreds of different options available. Put some time and effort into buying the best bedding set you can, as it will play an important role in the décor of your bedroom. There are certain things you need to remember before you buy your next bedding set.

Determine the Color and Style
Unless you’ve already found a random bedding set that just jumped out at you and you are decorating your bedroom around that, then you’ll need to determine what color and style of bedding sets you are looking for. This typically depends on what style and colors you have chosen for your bedroom. For example, no matter how much you love that zebra-print bedding set, it won’t go with the décor if you’ve already planned a beach-themed bedroom.

Other people will decide to shop for a bedding set first. Then they will base the décor of their bedroom off that. Even then, you still want to have some sort of an idea what you want to do in the bedroom. This way you are not aimlessly shopping.

Set a Budget
The wide variety of bedding sets that are available today range from expensive to inexpensive. While you might be able to purchase a very inexpensive bedding set for 50 dollars, a luxury bedding set may cost up to 2,000 dollars. Therefore, it’s best to decide beforehand how much of your decorating budget you’re going to want to spend on your bedding set.

If your project includes decorating the whole bedroom, you need to be sure to set money aside for other items you might need. Also keep in mind that not all bedding sets contain the same pieces for the bed. So you might also end up having to buy extra sheets and pillows for the set as well.

Know the Size of the Bed
Before you even start looking at bedding, you need to know what size bed you have. It’s not a bad idea to take measurements of the mattress as well. Know the correct size the first time around. That way you won’t end up going back to the store and returning items. When you go to measure the mattress, just be sure to measure its length, depth, and width, especially if your mattress is a pillow top.

Research Bedding Materials
Bedding sets can be made of one of several different materials. The price is usually determined by the type of material that’s used, so you’ll need to choose something that’s in your budget. You need to also look at thread count for the sheets. Luxurious sheets tend to have a higher thread count and also be more expensive.

Cotton is the most popular bedding material, although there are several different types you can choose from. At the more expensive end is Egyptian cotton, which is also very luxurious. The most common and least expensive material that is sold for bedding is standard cotton. Other materials you might choose from include silk, flannel, and chenille.

The bedding set you choose can easily add to or take away from the décor of your bedroom. You can avoid ending up with bedding that’s a mistake by planning accordingly before purchasing the right bedding set for your bedroom.

About the Author…
Leon Tuberman has 40 years of experience in the home furnishings and interior design industry. He owns and manages a popular furniture store in California. They carry a large selection of American made solid oak furniture for your home office, dining room and bedroom. Are you looking for a oak file cabinet for your home office or a wood bed for your master bedroom then they probably have everything you need.

These days, trying to sell your home is no easy task. Currently there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers, which makes it a buyer’s market. Particularly in a buyer’s market, you’re going to want to make sure that your house is dressed to impress.

What this means is that in order to get your house to sell a little faster, you might have to do some quick and simple decorating. If you are currently trying to sell your home, consider some of these decorating tips to help things move a little faster.

Paint the Walls
Any walls that are loud or vibrant should be painted with a more neutral or softer color. Although the new homeowners could come in and do this for themselves, sometimes the color of the walls can be distracting and you run the risk that this might take away from the appeal of the home for certain potential buyers. The other great thing about painting the walls is that it gives the home a fresh, clean look.

Keep the Décor Simple
Potential homeowners are not interested in seeing your house with 20 pictures of your family hanging around; they want to envision what it would look like if it was their home. Thus, when listing your home for sale, it’s always a good idea to go around from room to room and take down some décor items.

You want to keep the décor simple and neutral, particularly when it comes to your family pictures and other personal items of that nature. For instance, rather than having five pictures on the wall, cut it down to one. Even better, put something like a mirror or a clock there instead. By keeping the décor simple, you give potential homeowners the freedom to better imagine what the house will look like with their possessions in it.

Replace Anything That’s Broken
Take the time to fix things in your home before you have people come look at it, whether it’s a broken door or even just a light fixture that has a burnt-out light bulb. Go through your entire house to find the small things like light fixtures, doors, trim, cabinets, and appliances that might need fixing. Most of these fixes will be relatively simple. Sometimes all you might need is a bottle of caulk for the bathroom sink or a pull handle for a cabinet in the kitchen. Potential homebuyers will appreciate these repairs, as they make a house seem well-maintained and much more appealing.

Keep It Clean and Organized
You need to make sure that your home is always ready to be shown once you put it up for sale. This means that you’ll need to give your house a good cleaning from top to bottom when you first list it and then maintain that cleanliness on a daily basis. You want to be sure that there aren’t any dishes in the sink, dirty towels on the floor, or toys all over the place when people come over to look at the house.

While you’re trying to sell, organize your home so that everything has a place where it can be put away. Put things you’re not using at the moment (such as seasonal items) in a separate storage facility. This opens up the storage areas in the home, giving you plenty of space in which to organize your stuff. Keeping things clean and organized is important. After all, some potential buyers will see a messy, crowded home and walk right out, without even looking at it.

Chances are, you want to sell your home fast. By making some of these simple decorating changes in your home, you will make your house much more appealing to potential buyers.

About the Writer
Leon Tuberman has 40 years of experience in the home furnishings and interior design industry. He owns and manages his family owned furniture store. They offer a huge assortment of solid wood furniture for your living room, home office and dining room that’s built in the Heartland of America. Whether you’re looking for a oak end table for your living room or a mission chest for your master bedroom then they carry everything you need.

In decorating your home, you want things to be stylish and show some character, but you also want it to be functional. The furniture takes up the bulk of the space in most rooms, whether it’s oak bedroom furniture or the living room furniture. This is why arranging your furniture is such an important part of the process when you are decorating your home.

Typically, the way you arrange your furniture depends on several different factors. Of course, the type of room you are decorating will be a factor, but so will what furniture you are working with and what style you are going for in your décor. Although you are going to approach arranging the furniture in each room differently, there are some basic tips you can follow in every room.

Choose the Focal Point of the Room
You’re not going to be able to arrange your furniture until you’ve decided where the focal point is going to be in your room. This might be a natural focal point, such as a fireplace or a bay window, or it might be one of your pieces of furniture.

Pay attention to where your eyes are drawn when you first walk into the room. This is the part of the room you want to focus on. Once the focal point is decided upon, you can now plan accordingly where you want the furniture to go in order to emphasize that place in the room.

Plan Your Design
Often homeowners like to play around with the design of a room before they get it the way they want it. Start by arranging the largest pieces of furniture first.

If your largest piece of furniture is your focal point, then that will be easy to place. The largest pieces need to be arranged first since they are going to take up the most space and be more dominant than the smaller pieces in the room. In a bedroom, this might mean figuring out where your bed goes first. In a family room, it may mean planning where the sofa will go.

The placement of your furniture should relate to the focal point you’ve chosen. Not everything needs to be facing the focal point, but the furnishings should be arranged so that they show off the importance of the focal point. You need to also be sure that you are not putting all the larger pieces together, as it will throw off the balance of the room. Once you’ve figured out where you want to place the larger pieces, you can then move on to the smaller one, such as side tables and chairs.

Consider the Purpose of the Room
When arranging the furniture, it’s important to keep in mind the purpose of the room. In your dining room, for example, you need to pay attention as to whether there’s enough space for people to comfortably pass by the wood dining table when others are seated there. In your living room, on the other hand, you want to be sure the seating is close enough together so that people aren’t shouting in order to hear one another. Two key things to keep in mind when arranging the furniture in any room are functionality and purpose.

Realize that when you arrange the furniture in your home, it’s never set in stone. Once you get the furniture in place, you can always leave it there for a couple of weeks to see how it works out. If you don’t end up liking it, you can always start over and create a different layout for the room.

What homeowner wouldn’t love a spa bathroom right in their very own home? While a spa bathroom can be a great addition to a home, it can also cost a lot of money. Completely renovating your bathroom to resemble the local spa is going to cost you. Fortunately, there are some affordable tricks you can do to create a spa-like bathroom on a budget.

Install the Right Lighting
In your bathroom décor, lighting plays a major role. You need adequate lighting to perform such tasks as putting on makeup or brushing and flossing your teeth. At the same time, for a spa atmosphere, you don’t want light that is too bright disturbing you. A dimmer switch is the best way to fix this. This way, you can have dimmed lighting to set the mood when you are relaxing in the but still have full light for everyday tasks like putting on makeup.

Keep Things Clean and Organized

If your bathroom is a mess and nothing is organized, it’s going to be difficult to relax in your spa bathroom. First, be sure that you have a spot for everything in the bathroom. Keep things organized by adding baskets and bins to the shelves and cabinets. For a more stylish look, try adding wicker baskets and painted shelves to dress the place up a bit.

Add the Right Accessories

Accessories don’t have to cost a lot, and they can make all the difference in a décor.

· An easy way to create a spa ambiance is by adding candles around the bathtub and the rest of the bathroom.

· You might also consider adding other things such as flower arrangements and air fresheners.

· Fill your bathroom with soothing and relaxing music by installing a radio or CD/MP3 player either in the bathtub or on a shelf nearby.

· Add a luxurious bath mat for when you get out of the tub so that your feet don’t hit the cold tile.

· You can set a relaxing mood in your spa bathroom with a water feature, such as a small fountain.

· Surround that small fountain with a few small plants to create your very own oasis in your bathroom.

Choose Peaceful Colors for the Room
The best colors in a spa bathroom tend to be neutrals or soft pastels, especially for the main wall colors. Don’t pick anything too loud or vibrant, such as red or bright yellow, for the walls and décor. Remember, you’re trying to create a peaceful feeling that will best come from lighter colors and neutrals.

Peaceful doesn’t necessarily mean boring, however. You can add splashes of color with towels, candles, flowers, and other décor items. Paint is very inexpensive. By simply painting over a dark or vibrant color with a neutral or pastel, you can easily change the entire look and feel of the room.

When creating a spa bathroom in your home, you don’t have to spend as much money as you think. When you apply a little creativity and work with what you already have in the room, you’ll find that there are plenty of ways that you can create a spa feeling in your bathroom without breaking your budget.

About the Writer…
Leon Tuberman has been in the home furnishings and interior design industry for four decades. He is the owner and manager of popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They have a huge inventory of handcrafted Amish built solid wood furniture for your bedroom, dining room and living room. Are you looking for a arts & crafts coffee table for your living room or a wood nightstand for your master bedroom then they probably have everything you need.

While some rooms have a natural focal point, other rooms might require you to add something to the room in order to create that focus. It’s important that before you add anything you make sure you look at the room closely to see what it has to offer. For instance, you might already have something like a fireplace that is a natural focal point that just needs to be played up when decorating.

A large piece you already have in the room might make a great focal point, such as a wood bookshelf, an entertainment center, wooden dressers, or even a couch. Creating a focal point might be as easy as rearranging some furniture, or you might have to start from scratch in choosing the proper focal point for a room.

The Fireplace as a Focal Point
One of the best natural focal points in any room is a fireplace. If there’s already one in a room, then there are plenty of ways you can draw attention to that fireplace.

Arranging the furniture around the fireplace is an easy way to create an instant focal point, although there are other things you can do. You might create an accent wall by painting the wall the fireplace is on a different color than the rest of the room. By changing the style of the fireplace or even adding a new mantle to it, you can draw more attention to that area of the room. Then top the mantle with eye-catching décor items, or hang a large piece of art over it.

The Couch as a Focal Point
A favorite couch makes a great focal point that can easily be achieved with some rearranging of the room. Just be sure the couch is in great condition. If it’s necessary, you might want to add a slipcover to it.

By adding colorful or patterned pillows or a throw to the couch, you can help draw attention to it. Then arrange the rest of the furniture so it is facing the couch. If your couch is large, place it in the middle of the longest wall in the room. If needed, add some side tables to the couch as well.

The Armoire or Entertainment Center as a Focal Point
If you have a media room or family room and want an armoire or entertainment center to be its focus, be sure to concentrate on that piece’s quality. You’re not going to want a cheap-looking entertainment center, after all, to be the main focus of the room. Thus, be sure to invest in an attractive piece of furniture that’s also of decent quality.

It’s not a bad idea to also look for a furnishing with doors that will hide any electronics. You can add additional style to the furnishing with flower arrangements, candles, and frames.

These are just some of the many ways you can create a focal point in a room. Different rooms are going to contain different pieces that you might want to show off. In a bedroom, for instance, most people want their bed to be the focal point. With a little creativity, you’ll be able to show off and highlight your focal point in any room.