Our Home Is a Reflection of Our Personality….
Times have changed substantially and our homes have become more than just a roof over our head – they've become an extension of our lifestyle, personality and an expression of who we are. Turning a house into a home comes from creating the perfect atmosphere and often it's the little tweaks and changes that make the biggest difference.
The days of kitchens being just a place to cook meals and store the pressure canner, or the bathroom just a place to park your toothbrush are a long distant memory. When it comes to decorating, kitchens and bathrooms are always high on the list.
Design trends reflect this new approach to living, with warmer tones, quality wood grains and metallic finishes beginning to appear. With the growing interest in food, lifestyle and health, the kitchen has become the central focus of the living environment, where much of the interaction between family and friends takes place.
With our fast pace lives of today, bathrooms are becoming a place of escape, thus the trend is moving towards larger bathrooms with a softer, more sensual look. White bathrooms give a feeling of calmness and can be accentuated with colored bath towel sets and accessories.
Creating a calm home that radiates elegance and beauty can be a simple process. Yet many people are faced with knowing that they need to do something to improve their living room or perhaps bedroom, but don't know where to start. Have you ever felt like this?
Well, the purpose of DiscountHomewares.com is to inspire you with decorating ideas, resources and products to help you turn your home into your paradise. Whether you want a new look for your dining room table and chairs, ideas on closet storage systems, looking to change your blackout blinds or even re-organize your home office computer furniture, consider these 7 easy steps to get you started with your decorating project.
1. Pile on the Texture
Touch, the most intuitive of all the senses, is the key to comfort and relaxation in the home. Think about the texture of every element in your living space – from the dining room table and chairs, to bed comforters, to the floors.
Select textures you feel comfortable with. Natural materials always touch us more than their artificial equivalent, for example unfinished flooring or pine bedroom furniture. Consider combining different textures together to highlight the contrasts: oak hardwood flooring with a zebra rug, knits with cables, and natural rugs with silks.
2. Flowers on Display
Fresh flowers connect us with nature and introduce life, color, scent and sensuality into even the blandest of spaces. Choose flowers you love and avoid busy arrangements – flowers look best when kept simple. Blend flowers with candle sconces for a very appealing arrangement.
3. Create a Cozy Living Room
Just as we change the clothes we wear with different seasons, so should we change the décor in our living room. You don't need to change your living room furniture sets to achieve this, rather simply change fabrics, wallpaper decals, blackout blinds and accessories. This alone will transform the atmosphere of your living room.
In warmer months, use lightweight fabrics in pastel or white colors. In cooler months, bring in the warmth by using deeper colors and thicker textures such cashmere, velvet, mohair and wool. Layer these fabrics to increase the comfort aspect. Also consider switching to thermal blinds during winter.
4. Make White Your Best Friend
The most expressive decorating element is color – it can transform the feel of a room immediately. A warm white scheme, rather than a cold bluey-white, is brilliant for creating light and serenity in any space. Another benefit of a white scheme is that it gives the impression of space, making a small room feel bigger. For example white pine bedroom furniture or white bed comforters, gives a bedroom a sense of space and peacefulness. To lift the room, add accents of one or two soft neutral colors, for example scattered natural rugs. Pastel colors form a sense of calmness and help to relax us by creating a tranquil feeling.
White dinnerware also has a sense of elegance and can be enhanced with the effective use of décor and accessories depending on the theme.
5. Add a Personal Touch
The most inviting, personable and most soulful spaces are those that exude personality and tell a story about the people who live in them. The easiest way to add a personal touch is to introduce photographs with a collage on the wall or a collection of frames on display. Perhaps even a zebra rug or antler chandelier from a trip you made. You can also add home-made pieces of art or furnishings – either way these are things that turn a house into a home. Be proud of them.
6. The Power of Scent
Smell stimulates instant emotions and triggers age-old memories, which is why a house filled with familiar aromas makes us feel at home. Try perfumed room diffusers, scented candles on candle sconces or pot pourri in glass dinnerware, for an easy solution that provides a subtle smell.
7. Contrast with Color
For a strong but simple scheme, pick two complimentary core colors and use them for fabrics and accessories. Deep and moody natural colors such as burgundy, midnight blue and olive add significant depth – vary your colors by season. By limiting the use of color to smaller, transferable pieces, you can easily modify the atmosphere of your room again later. You can also achieve contrast with color by using wallpaper decals, plastic storage containers and natural rugs.
These ideas can be transferred and used in any room, including your baby nursery decoration project. Your only limitation is your imagination – have fun!
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