Tag Archives: decor

Back Home Again

There is a saying that you can never go home again. While some of that may be true (I’ll never fit into my fifth grade dance costume, for example), when it comes to an actual home, I think the statement is a little misleading. Life changes, and our home reflect those changes. In my life, I’ve lived in a smaller starter home filled with mismatched hand me down furniture, a sleek luxury apartment with hip accessories, a home filled with a crib, a high chair and lots of pastel and baby things, and a home where toys seem to have … Continue reading →

How to Plan an Artful Container Garden

You can really enhance your curb appeal and transform your outdoor space through the artful arrangement of plants in container gardening. Think of it as instant art meets practical appeal. Container gardening makes everything flexible enough to be changed with your mood or the seasons. Here are some tips on successful container gardening. Think about the size of your pots. Larger pots make a bigger impact and generally look better against the scale of your home. Lots of little pots can look messy and uninspired. Mix up sizes for interest, but then tie them together in other ways, such as … Continue reading →

Fall and Holiday Centerpiece and Decorating Ideas

Over the summer, Better Homes and Gardens published an idea for a nautical centerpiece that used an old lantern, some sea glass and a lemon. While it wasn’t exactly my style, I though the idea could really be adapted to fall and holiday decorating, especially with a few changes. The concept is very flexible, and you can adapt it to suit your own particular style. For example, why not substitute the nautical lamp for a hurricane lamp? This may give you a more homey, New England or country feel to the decor. Actually, any type of container that has some … Continue reading →

Limited Mess Pumpkin Decorating Ideas for Kids

Whereas I was tempted to title this blog “No Mess Pumpkin Decorating Ideas,” I know better than to do so given that glitter is involved in some of the following projects. Trust me; as a mom of a craft-loving preschooler I know what happens when a few containers of glitter are placed on an art table. Still, I’ll take a beach full of sandy glitter over a sink full of slimy pumpkin guts any day. With that said, here are a few more ways you can make your pumpkin stand out from the other gourds this Halloween: Glitter Pumpkins While … Continue reading →

A Blue Home May Make You Lose Weight

If you find yourself hungry all of the time, consider painting and accessorizing with blue. Experts tell us that the color has real influence over our appetites. Blue kitchens, blue dining rooms, blue tablecloths, blue plates and blue napkins can help us fee full. How does this work? A color theory professor explains that our brains are turned off by the association of the color blue and food. Food generally does not come in blue (even blueberries are mostly purple). When food is blue in nature, it generally means that the food is spoiled with mold and may contain harmful … Continue reading →

The Relaxed Cottage Look

I love decor that has a fresh, relaxed look, is light and airy and reminds me of a summer cottage. Blame it on the fact that I lived in New England across the road from a lake and down a few more roads to the ocean shore. The summers there were wonderful: warm but with cooling breezes and the scents of cliff roses mixed with the scent of the sea. The feeling was very casual, as if you could come in from watching the sunset over the water, enter the house, kick off your flip flops and flop yourself down … Continue reading →

Three Painting Tips

Painting a room is an easy and affordable way to update it, change the decor and make it fresh. If you change nothing else, a coat or two of paint will be a big improvement for your home. Here are three painting tips to help you in your project. 1. If you get interrupted or have to stop painting for the day before you are finished, don’t bother washing out that paint roller. Instead, wrap the roller carefully and tightly in regular kitchen plastic wrap. Then place the wrapped roller in your freezer. Before painting once again, let the roller … Continue reading →

Turning Bad Design Trends into Good Design Trends

Some trends in home decor and design can seem hip one minute and out the next. Sometimes the trend is so fast that they are out before the magazine featuring them hits the stand. If you like to experiment and you have the means (budget) to do so, go ahead and have some fun. For the rest of us, though, these are some of the trends we should probably stay away from. Here is how you can taken an existing trend that might make you say “What???” and turn it into one that will make you say “Wow!” Bad Trend: … Continue reading →

Think Twice Before Installing a Vintage Sink

Farmhouse sinks are really a big trend at the moment. Everyone loves the look. Many homeowners have fun finding a real vintage sink to fit their home, whether it is a farmhouse style or not. Older sinks can really add a sense of style, nostalgia and a feeling of being true to your older home. But before you install your vintage sink, take a look at this article. You may just think twice. Let’s start with that farmhouse sink, as an example of a vintage sink. While the style is definitely in demand, you might find that the trend has … Continue reading →

Matching Kitchen and Bathroom

One recent trend in home renovation and design that I have been seeing lately is the matching of kitchen and bathroom to create a sense of continuity in the home. This idea expands on the modern sense of open space in a home, with wide open areas and a sense of flow throughout the home. In the past, kitchens and bathrooms were treated as separate islands in the home. They were functional spaces that were often isolated from the rest of the home. A bathroom might feature colors, such as bright pink, or a kitchen bright yellow, that you would … Continue reading →