Tag Archives: decor

Extending the Life of Your Carpet 2

If you want to get the most out of your carpet purchase, you need to take good care of it. This is part two of a two-part series. Rearrange your furniture every so often to evenly distribute the wear on the carpet. This works in two ways. By exposing new areas of the carpet and covering up other areas, you reduce the chance that your carpet will be different colors due to fading from sunlight or dirt. Rearranging the furniture may also change the traffic flow of your room and prevent one specific area from becoming overly worn. If you … Continue reading →

Getting Free Design Ideas

It is always exciting when you have the opportunity to decorate or redesign a room. We are slowly making our way through repairs here at our house and are almost ready to decorate our family room. And, we have three sets of friends who are making big moves to new homes and will need to think about designing their spaces. So short of hiring an interior decorator, how can you get some design ideas? Look to the following places for free design ideas. Catalogues Catalogues of home items are filled with pages of professionally designed spaces. Naturally, the companies that … Continue reading →

Sea Tones for Spring

You may remember a blog I posted a few months ago about creating a room decor that was inspired by the beach. Well, it seems that home decor has finally caught up with me. Sea tones are definitely coming around as a popular decor for spring. You’ll find colors, fabrics and accessories that are all inspired by the sea. Obviously, I appreciate this look. It is calming, relaxing and restorative. The natural elements that are incorporated into the look lend a bit of authenticity. It brings me back to my days living in a Connecticut shoreline town, were sea breezes … Continue reading →

Free and Low Cost Artwork

We just mostly finished up our family room, installing new carpet and painting the walls. It looks great, and there are only a few things left to do in the room. One of the big tasks that is remaining is to select some artwork, including pictures for the walls. Right now, everything is blank. Artwork could really warm up the room and add some personality. Do you have any ideas for free and low cost artwork? Here are my ideas. My computer is filled with thousands of digital photos that we took, including scenic photos of flowers, birds, the woods, … Continue reading →

Creative Napkin Rings

Napkin rings are coming back into popularity, but with a twist. Instead of the old rings that might have been used by your mother or grandmother, today’s napkin rings are full of whimsey. And napkin rings can really turn a boring table into something special. Whether you have a formal party planned or just a casual family dinner, creative napkin rings can set the tone. Here are some ideas. I’d love to hear yours as well. Wooden drapery rings from your local home improvement store are an obvious choice for somethings that can double as napkin rings. The wooden rings … Continue reading →

What is a Rain Chain?

Rain chains are getting very popular these days and are springing up around homes all over the country. The trendy design shows are featuring them, and I even saw one that was built for Designed to Sell, a television show where the players help homeowners fix up a home before putting it out on the real estate market. Rain chains have been traditionally used in Japan to elegantly funnel water down from a roof. While in North America, many of these rain chains are often attached to gutters, they are mainly used for decoration. You can even create a fountain … Continue reading →

No-Cost Tricks to Freshen Your Home

Now that spring is here, wouldn’t it be great to freshen up your home? Unfortunately, changes in decor and even paint can cost money, something that most of us are trying to save these days. Fortunately, I have a few tricks up my sleeves for freshening our comes without paying a dime. Try these tricks for a new look. Rotate your artwork Just changing the art can make a big difference. Sometimes we get so used to art that is in our homes that we just don’t even notice it anymore. Sometimes, we just pile on the art, whether it … Continue reading →

Create a Custom Herb Garden

Are you itching to begin your spring planting? Why not start with an easy herb garden? You’ll get very quick results; you can use the herbs in your cooking; and with a little style, you’ll have a nice decorative element for your home. For this project, you’ll have custom-made pots that are just right for your new herbs. Chalkboard paint is so versatile and easy to use. We will create canvases on the pots with the paint. Then, using standard blackboard chalk, we can label the pots with the names of the herbs we are growing. Because of the chalkboard … Continue reading →

Decorating with Upholstery Nails

It used to be that upholstery nails were used for just that, upholstery. Remember the old heavy brass nails used for overstuffed leather furniture? Well, times have changed. Today upholstery nails come in all sorts of colors, sizes and designs. This fact makes it easy to use upholstery nails to decorate in Your home, Try one of the following projects. Dress up a mirror with upholstery nails (You’ll need a mirror that has a wooden frame) Dress up a picture frame with upholstery nails Create a border of upholstery nails near your ceiling in place of crown molding Create a … Continue reading →

Suspended Artwork

Suspended artwork is a classic look that is also a hot trend right now. It is rare when those two things come together, so take advantage of a new look that will be able to stay with your decor for years to come. Suspended artwork gives the look and feel of art that is hanging from the wall, or suspended by a visible hook or fixture. You may have seen this look in country decorating magazines. It is a favorite way of hanging art for Martha Stewart, who usually showcases her frames as being suspended by ribbons. To update the … Continue reading →