Posted
May 5, 2010 by
deb under
How to 
One of the easiest ways to make something your own, it to accent it with Japenese masking tape {Look at Happy Tape for endless options}. Look at these great projects that have been transformed with the simple use of tape.
Jenny over at Little Green Notebook transformed her space with temporary wall paper
Dress up simple vases via To Be Charmed
Make a little wall art via Apartment Therapy
Customize a book for your coffee table via Happy Tape’s blog
I just love this, don’t you? Such a great and inexpensive way to make things your own.
Tags: Japanese Masking Tape
Posted
April 20, 2010 by
deb under
How to 
{Room & Board}
Are you curious how much space you need to put between your coffee table and sofa? Want to know what the typical width of a walk way? Well, I’ve drummed up a list of furniture spacing guidelines just for you!
I hope this helps with your layouts and space redesigns. Let me know if you have any questions!
Tags: furniture spacing
Posted
February 23, 2010 by
deb under
How to 
We’d love to welcome Jessica McKay as a Guest Designer this week. Jessica is an interior decorator located in Omaha, NE. and is the owner of Birdhouse Interior Design Consulting which specializes in affordable and accessible design. Birdhouse’s services include interior decorating consultations, remodeling consultations, online Client Files and custom furniture redesign.
I like to look at decorating like I look at getting dressed in the morning {or let’s be honest, sometimes the afternoon} – use what you have and make it unique to you. That means you have to blend high, low, and every price point in between to get your desired look. Most people can’t dress in head-to-toe Prada and can’t furnish their home with nothing but designer pieces. In my opinion, even if I had the money to do that, I wouldn’t want to because when you never have to think about cost and can look at a showroom or the runway and snatch up exact looks, then you will never develop your own personal style.
So let’s break this down. I shop wherever I want and can afford {I’m not too proud to pop into Wal-Mart on the rare occasion}. I can’t afford many {if any at all} designer duds so that part of my wardrobe is very, very limited and probably only purchased at a discounted rate. My budget affords me to buy department store prices, which can limit the originality that will go into my closet. But, I love peeking in anywhere from the Gap to my favorite store of all time, Target. I know that I can find something there that will allow me to build on with more unique pieces. Those unique pieces often come from thrift stores, hand-me-downs from the women in my family, random little boutiques that I pop in while traveling, etc. Then, I blend everything together and it comes out original to me.
This is how one can approach interior decorating. You don’t have to look like a showroom, and quite frankly it’s boring if you do. You can find an awesome lamp at Target and place it atop an inherited side table like I did here. The marble side table was my grandfather’s.
Mix in some books, personal accessories– that red jar was my husband’s grandfather’s and where he kept his tobacco– and you have a unique, little vignette.
Or take a look at what Elizabeth from the blog Peacock Feathers did in her bedroom. She mixed a thrifted little bench with a K-mart lamp that she spray painted to make it even more unique, and other personal accessories.
Start thinking about what is important to you. Think about what you love and would be thrilled to incorporate into your décor. When you add personal touches and original pieces, any stylish mass-market piece will fit seamlessly into your space and people will think you paid much more for everything then you really did.
Tags: Jessica McKay, Mass-market
Posted
January 19, 2010 by
erin under
How to Go into any flooring store and you’ll easily be overwhelmed by the many different types of carpets available. How do you decide which type of carpet will work best for your space? Start by asking yourself these questions:
-What type of space is getting the new carpet? Is it a space that is frequently used, a high traffic area, or one rarely lived in.
-What type of surface is the carpet being applied to? The concrete foundation? Maybe it’s on the 2nd Floor and will be applied to a plywood substrate? These things can make a difference when deciding what type of backing for your carpet to use.
-How much time do you have for maintenance? Some carpets require different types of cleaning.
With the answers to these questions in mind you’ll be ready to select your carpet. The first type of carpet that I’ll share with you today is Nylon carpet.
Nylon carpet is the most widely used in residential. This type of carpet is dyed after production and is available in a wide range of colors and patterns. It’s durable and resists crushing. (You know…what happens after you’ve walked the same path on the carpet for a while and it starts to crush the fibers and looks like a trail?) Nylon carpet is fairly easy to clean, and usually a yearly maintenance with a carpet cleaner is all that’s required to keep it looking good! Here are some of my favorite nylon carpets:
{Ethan’s Dream from Shaw Carpet}
{Casco Carpet from the Angela Adams collection for Shaw Contract}
Don’t be afraid of patterned carpets either! When you’re looking at carpets, place them on the ground and step back 10′ or so and look at it. Many times when you step back the carpets with smaller patterns will disappear. It looks like a solid color, but because it has some variation, allows for little spots to not show up as well. They become camouflauged in the variation of the yarn colors.
Patterned Carpet up Close
Patterned carpet installed
{These Dreams from Shaw Carpet}
Tags: carpet
Posted
January 14, 2010 by
erin under
How to Remember Tip #1? What if just a consistent layout line isn’t enough? Have lots of different images, color, black and white, things that don’t necessarily go together? Frame them in the same frames, or different frames and use the same mat color. You’ll create the consistency you need and allow your collected items to shine through!
(Frames Courtesy of West Elm)
Tags: collections
