Tag Archives: Decorating

Create A Gallery Space

Create a formal (or informal) gallery space to add elegance and fun to your home. It is easy to do! The first thing you need to to is to pick an area of your home for your gallery. A hallway way is an idea space, especially if it acts and an entry point into your home or into the main entertaining space. But if a hallway doesn’t work for you, consider any wall space, from a dining room to a family room. One home I saw had their gallery in their first floor half-bath, and it really livened up that … Continue reading →

Making Peace with Our Homes

Can you look past the trees for the forest? So much of what we read or view about our homes is all about improvement. From organizing, to decorating to adding on, moving up and filling it with the latest things, such as granite countertops and high definition televisions. All of that advice is great and interesting, of course. I am a huge fan of home improvement shows, house flipping shows, design shows, etc. I blog about decorating, design and home improvement here in the Home Blog, and I read as much as I can about these subjects. But once in … Continue reading →

6 Uses for Used Calendars

Don’t throw out that 2007 calendar just yet. It might be 2008, but there is no reason to let something like that go to waste. After you have recorded the dates and other information you want to remember, follow these creative and clever ideas to use that old calendar in a new way. Nearly every calendar has a pretty picture for each month, here are some ideas to use those pictures. They make a fun and creative gift wrap for small packages. You would wrap the same way you would wrap with wrapping paper leaving the date part on the … Continue reading →

Frugal Ornaments

Christmas tree looking a little bare? You don’t have to spend a lot to make it beautiful and full of happy things. Just take a look at the following ideas that will help you decorate your tree for free (or almost free). Some of these ideas are taken from traditional Christmas Tree decorating traditions from folks who know what it is to live frugally, while other ideas have a more modern spin. Enjoy! Here is an idea that an old friend and I used to decorate his tree when we didn’t have much to work with in terms of cash. … Continue reading →

Frugal Ceiling Stars

Kids just love those glow-in-the-dark stars that you stick to the ceiling, don’t they. They are generally made out of plastic or come in sticker form. If you want to cover an entire ceiling, these stars can get pretty expensive. Well, here is a smarter way to fill your ceiling with stars for a fraction of the cost. And, as a bonus, these stars take care of the two main problems you get with the store-bought ceiling stars. Either they won’t stay on the ceiling, falling off instead, or they stick so tightly to that ceiling that you can never … Continue reading →

Two Weeks until Christmas!

My youngest grabbed the eraser and the chalk and adjusted our little Santa chalkboard that indicates the number of days left until Christmas. “Only fourteen more days!” she shouted, adding a happy dance. “Yep, only fourteen days,” I agreed, smiling but at the same time thinking I can’t believe Christmas is only two weeks away! I’m not quite ready yet. Are you? My husband and I did a little shopping Saturday and we finally put the tree up Sunday. Schedules have been hectic and trying to get everybody together for any length of time has been a challenge lately. My … Continue reading →

Tour the HGTV Dream Home

Want to know how the other half lives? Okay, so maybe it is really the other 2 percent. With HGTV’s Dream Home for 2008, you can not only dream of the perfect home, but dream big. That is because, along with taking a virtual tour this custom built, furnished and decorated home, you could be lucky enough to own it. I have been following the HGTV dream homes for a few years now. Every year I droll over these home and faithfully enter the contest for a chance to win. Of course, it is never me. I guess I could … Continue reading →

Top Tree Trimming Trends

What are the hottest looks that will be decorating trees this season? Here are some of the most popular ideas that we have been spotting around the country. Wide Ribbon One trend that is new but at the same time timeless is using wide ribbon (usually in a shimmery gold or silver) to decorate the tree in place of tinsel. Not only does this give an elegant look, but the ribbon is much more kid- and baby-friendly than that tinsel. Color coordinate the rest of the tree with the overall look in your room. Black and White From a really … Continue reading →

Can I Really Give Them Autonomy Over Their Space?

I know in my head that my older teens need to have control over their environment and they need space and autonomy in many areas of their lives. I can talk about it and believe in “theory” that it is a very good thing. But, last night when my middle daughter informed me that she was going to be rearranging her bedroom and it involved putting the bed “in the closet” and other creative ideas—I not only balked, I tried very hard to put a stop to the whole endeavor. I tell you it was an absolute hair-trigger response. I … Continue reading →

Sugarplums and Gingerbread: Create a Tree Good Enough to Eat

Make it a magical holiday for children of all ages when you create this yummy tree that is as beautiful as it is delicious. Just imagine the awe on the faces of the little ones when they see a tree filled with all sorts of good things to eat, such as gingerbread boys and wrapped chocolate truffles. You can create this tree as your main tree or as an additional smaller supplemental tree. The idea also works well for anyone just starting out in their home, because the “ornaments” can be had easily. If you plan the tree out with … Continue reading →