9 Tips for Making Your Shelf Display Look Great
March 1, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Learn the tricks stylists use when arranging objects on a shelf
So you have things in your home that you love and want to show off, but you aren’t quite sure how to display them, or how to get that professional touch stylists and designers seem to get. Well, I’m going to show you how — to get that polished look when styling your shelves and bookcases, and get the perfect vignette. What’s a vignette, you ask? It’s a fancy word for an arrangement or grouping of objects. Just a warning though, it can become addictive. I like to change things up and style my shelves every other weekend.
Kids’ Rooms: 10 Gender-Neutral Nursery Ideas
February 28, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Create a sweet space to suit you and your new baby — whether a boy or a girl
If you’re preparing the nest for a new arrival and have resist finding out the sex of baby, you may be in need of some nursery decorating inspiration. Or perhaps you simply aren’t excited by traditional colors? Either way, forget outmoded ideas of blue for boys and pink for girls and make life easier by choosing a color scheme that will suit either gender. With a clever use of paint, prints and accessories, you can create a room you’ll feel proud to bring your baby home to and that will work for your family for years to come.
Kitchen Storage Hacks to Make Use of Every Space
February 27, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Cupboards full? Try these kitchen ideas for working more valuable storage into your cooking space
Kitchens have to accommodate a great variety of stuff. All but the biggest kitchens are under pressure to store utensils, pans, crockery, the food we eat and the appliances we use to cook it, and everything we need to clean it up afterward. As most of us don’t have banks of cupboards and acres of floor space in our kitchens, it can make fitting in that wine rack or finding a home for your new food processor tricky. It’s time to get creative.
Why Wood Works in the Bath
February 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Don’t be afraid of choosing the warmest, most versatile material for your bathing space — it can work wonders
Laying a wooden floor or covering surfaces in wood used to be a decor no-no in the bathroom. But modern sealants and paints and superefficient ventilation systems mean you can now embrace your inner Scandi by welcoming the tones and textures of wood. Check out these schemes for inspiration.
9 Ways to Save on Your Kitchen Remodel
February 21, 2015 By Leave a Comment
A designer shares key areas where you can economize — and still get the kitchen of your dreams
When you’re investing in a home remodeling project, you want to make sure that the results not only please you but add value to your home and save you money. Never is that more true than in a kitchen remodel, where costs can added up so quickly that your budget can all of a sudden seem like pennies in a jar. To avoid that and keep costs in line, and yet still get the kitchen of your dreams, here are a few of my favorite ways of getting the most out of a tight budget.
Taking a Kitchen From Beige to Bright for Less Than $9,000
February 20, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Improving on what he had, designer Chad Esslinger transformed a basic kitchen into something bright, white and modern
Moving into a house that was just 16 years old meant that Chad and Patty Esslinger wouldn’t have to take on any major renovations. But the problem with the relatively new home was that it was stuck in basicville, and the kitchen was the town hall.
10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Home’s Original Floors
February 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Save yourself the cost of replacing your old floorboards with these tips for a new finish
If you live in a property benefiting from wood floorboards, you can save a tidy sum on carpeting and make a style statement by incorporating them into your decor. Wood floors are easy to maintain, and wood that has already been in place for many years is unlikely to warp or shrink (provided you treat it correctly). Bare floorboards are also a practical choice, requiring only a quick vacuuming and mopping to keep them looking their best. There are numerous techniques to consider for finishing your floors — here are some favorites.
That Gap Under the Deck: Hide It or Use It!
February 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment
6 ways to transform a landscape eyesore into a landscape feature
At last you’re ready to install the deck of your dreams. Before you begin construction, it’s important to consider how to address the underside of the deck and accompanying staircase. If the deck will extend from the second story, this can be quite a lot of potentially usable space. There will be less space to address if the deck will extend from the ground-level story, but the eye will still be drawn to that dark (often weedy) slit of earth.
So how do you maximize this awkward space? Whether you want to completely hide this area, create a semiprivate screen or turn it into storage, here are six ideas to help transform what’s often a landscape eyesore into a landscape feature.