Home Decoration Tips & Tricks

Subterms

    Latest story

    138 Shares189 Views

    Not Yet Ready to Decorate for Fall? Try Doing This Instead

    by

    Pin on Pinterest

    Share on Facebook

    Flip on Flipboard

    It’s mid-August and hot outside. I bet if you are like me you are spending more time indoors out of the heat and perhaps even thinking ahead to the cozy days of fall.

    It is also around this time each year that many home decorating bloggers start sharing fall decor ideas with their readers which is fondly becoming known as “Augtober“. I enjoy these posts, but am not quite ready to decorate my house for fall yet.

    I am not letting the time slip away though while staying cool in the house. Instead I am finding small ways to make some of the items I use on a daily basis in my house be functional and easily accessible, but pretty at the same time.

    I learned the importance of doing this back when I came across the book, Living a Beautiful Life by Alexandra Stoddard. When I first read the book back in 1986 it changed my life. If you do the math, that was 38 years ago.

    Fast forward to 2024 and this book still holds inspiration for me.

    If you have ever read the book you know what a great book it was and still is. She taught us not only to find beauty in the everyday and joy as we go about our daily rituals, even our chores and of course how to master the art of puttering around the house to show it a little love.

    I still have a signed copy of the book that I have re-read many times, although the last time I read it I took notice of how it can seem dated since there is no use of technology mentioned. Even with this shortcoming, it doesn’t take away from the forever rereadable decor ideas and lifestyle inspiration.

    While I am not ready to decorate full-on fall yet, I have taken Alexandra’s advice to putter around the house looking for new ways to add simple touches that will elevate ordinary stuff that are used on a daily basis.

    It is the things we do and items we use everyday that involve eating, sleeping, bathing, and chores that we should focus on, yet few of us stop to consider how we perform the routines that occupy 95 percent of our lives.

    What inspired me most though in the book was where she taught us to:

    Swap the ugly for the pretty.

    Use color in unexpected places to delight our senses.

    Add small embellishments to items using ribbon.

    Flowers everywhere even if it is a one stem/bloom in a small vase on your desk.

    None of the ideas are DIY projects that need a tutorial. Instead the ideas are more about taking the time to putter about the house to tidy and pretty up so every detail not only looks more cohesive in a room, but you feel better in it.

    Below are a few ideas to get you started

    Small Embellishments Around the House

    I am sure over the years you have done many of these ideas yourself, but as you are waiting to decorate for fall, take a second look.

    Perhaps there is a new way that you can make something look better by reusing something you already own in a new way or adding a touch of color to it using ribbon, paper or some kind of embellishment that fits your style.

    Using Pretty Containers

    This blue and white pump jar of ordinary cream that I like to keep handy on my bathroom counter was what inspired to write this post. I like the cream, but not the container, so I went in search to find a pretty pump jar.

    I finally found one at HomeGoods.

    So much better, right? Take a look around your house and replace the containers and bottles the items you use come in with pretty jars and dispensers.

    To make my swap work, I needed to also swap out the tube end on the blue and white pumper and place it on my new pretty white pumper. This was easy to do as the tube just pulls out easily from each.

    If you can’t find a wide nozzled pumper for cream like the one I bought at HomeGoods, consider getting a plastic container with a pump dispenser or one of these Airless Pump Jars that are white and have no labels.

    Before throwing away a wine or liquor bottle take note of its shape. If you like it, fill it with a dish detergent in a fun fall color and add a clear pour spout to the opening. It will look nice by your sink and turn doing the dishes into a more joyful experience.

    Here is another pretty use of an empty liquor bottle.

    Always Eat Off The Good Dishes

    Life is too short to eat off worn, chipped or ugly dishes. Always eat on the pretty dishes and use pretty napkins everytime you eat. Why have them if you are not enjoying them and you don’t need expensive china, just what you find pretty.

    Mix and match pretty dishes that fit your style. I like many sets of dishes that I see when out browsing in stores or online, but instead of buying a whole expensive set, I buy just one or two.

    Doing this allows for Ed and I to mix and match with the plates I already own like I did here pairing a purple handmade plate found at the thrift store with a new Adele side plate from McGee & Co.

    Using Color to Spark Joy in Every Room

    Here are a few more takeaways from the book that you can ponder before decorating for fall begins in earnest.

    Add cheerful pops of your favorite colors in every room to create a happy vibe.

    Line the inside of drawers with colorful paper where you least expect to see a pretty pattern to delight your eyes.

    Make It As Luxurious Feeling As You Can

    Sleeping is all about comfort. See what you can find that will make your bed feel special. Try to sleep on the most luxurious sheets and bedding that you can afford. Buy it a color that will quiet your mind to endure a great night sleep.

    If you have a duvet cover, consider placing more than one comforter inside to make it extra full and cozy. This is what Pottery Barn and bedding catalogs do to make their bedding look super comfy in the photos.

    Don’t Settle for the Wrong Type of Lightbulb

    The type and color cast from a lightbulb can make or break all your decorating efforts. It is worth the time to find out what color of bulb not only looks best for your rooms, but one that also makes you feel good in it.

    Lightbulbs have come a long way and are constantly getting better so much so that now they are made where on bulb’s color cast can be changed without having to remove it. Alexandra must love these!

    Household Chores

    Not many of us place cleaning the house high on our list of favorite things to do, but it has to be done. To make it a more pleasant experience, don’t use smelly old cleaning tools.

    Instead, opt for brooms, mops and dusters with fun colored handles that will engage your senses into action. Not sure doing this will have you wanting to clean every day, but it may help. 🙂

    See & Feel The Results of Your Small Changes

    The results of the small changes you make don’t have to be time consuming or expensive, they don’t even have to be permanent! What matters is that you took the time to be present in your home and show it a little love without really decorating at all.

    With the shift in season coming and as new daily fall rhythms begin taking the time to pretty up the small things and tidy up now is a good thing so every room in your home is ready when you do feel inspired to start adding fall decor around the house.

    Resources

    More Decorating Posts You May Enjoy

    Pin on Pinterest

    Share on Facebook

    Flip on Flipboard

    Post navigation More

    More stories

    • 100 Shares159 Views

      in Decorating

      12 Decorative Ways to Brighten a Dark Room

      by

      Pin

      Share

      Tweet

      Easy and foolproof designer tricks that will add light to dark rooms in a house through decorative details. From adding the right type of lighting to layering in accents and accessories that will reflect light. Here are 12 room brightening tips to help you maximize the light in every room in your home.
      I receive a lot of emails and comments asking me all sorts of decorating and DIY questions. One that has popped up more than a few times in the past few weeks is this question… How can I brighten a dark room?

      I think the reason the question has been coming up more recently is because we are entering the time of year when it’s dark when we wake up and dark before dinner. It can feel depressing. When my husband worked in an office building, he called this time of year… like living in a tunnel with no light at either end of his work day.

      Designer Tips on How to Brighten a Dark Room
      I am a lover of light, airy and bright rooms so I feel I can answer the question with my tried and true, easy and affordable room brightening tips and tricks.
      If a room in your home is feeling gloomy, these changes will immediately brighten it.

      A few of my room brightening methods may require a bit of DIY effort. This was the case with my living room shown above that had a dark brick wall that made the room look dark and drab. Most however, can be done in an afternoon with no remodeling or contractor needed.

      1. Using the Right Shade of White Paint
      First and foremost, do you have features in your home that you cannot change? Perhaps a room with north facing exposure or a room where the windows or doors are obstructed by a covered porch that blocks natural light from entering the room? In rooms like these you need to experiment with different shades of paint to lighten dark rooms in a home.

      True white paint may not be the answer, but a warm white like Sherwin Williams-Creamy will work as it will warm up the cool grey that northern light casts onto a room’s walls.  If you add white with a blue tone, you are only going to add to the grey-ness of the light.
      You may be thinking you just want brighter light in a room. Just remember that light, especially artificial light, or the direction a room faces can add either warm (more yellow) or bright (more blue) light to the room.
      Finding the right balance in-between these two is what I strive for – a true white light throughout my house. In my house the color of the white walls that works is Sherwin Williams – Pure White.
      Both warm and cool light can brighten up any room; picking the right one is more about what makes you feel good in the room. I prefer pure white, but I have a friend who has a bright, open home, but she uses more warm whites in paint and the light bulbs she uses in her home.
      With lamp shades, she uses ecru-colored shades, where I prefer a pure white lamp shade. Her rooms never look dark, but they are not white white. So making a room appear brighter is not just about using pure white for everything.

      2. Add More Lights – Literally
      This is the easiest way to brighten up a dark room. Add more lamps. When I worked in interior design doing decor consults, I often found that homeowners didn’t really understand the power of lighting, the amount of lamps needed and the cast of color a lightbulb emits. They are almost an afterthought in their decorating scheme.
      Instead, make room light a decorating priority and give it as much thought as you give when choosing a new piece of furniture and how it will fit into the room as a whole.

      To easily brighten up a room, have at least 3 sources of light. This can be a mix of floor lamps, table lamps, overhead lighting fixtures, pendants, accent lights, or a wall sconce in every room. They should be placed around the room in a triangular pattern You can read more about how to do this in Decorative Lighting Tips. 
      This approach will spread the light around the room in a pleasing way. You can have more than 3 if you have a large room, or if there is a dark corner, an extra small lamp will help.

      If you like warm light, use incandescent soft white 100 watt light bulbs, if you can find them.  If you prefer the look of a cooler brighter room, use white LED’s. 
      Do some lightbulb testing trial and error. Lightbulbs have become overly expensive in the past few years, so save the receipts while you do some experimenting.
      Buy a few different types of bulbs and wattages and try them out in your lamps and fixtures to see how the light affects the room and how you feel in it. Some bulbs will make the room appear too yellow or blue. Experiment and edit.
      Trust me, it is worth the time and effort to find what lightbulbs and wattage works for your room. Return the the lightbulbs that you didn’t like and then buy a few more that you do like so you always have the type you like on hand.

      3. Use White Lamp Shades
      When adding more lamps to the room, make sure that the shades are not totally opaque and that when turned on, the color of light that shines through the shades is the same. You don’t want one to have a yellow cast and another to be bright white.

      I have a lamp in my living room with a shade that looks awful at night. It looks white during the day, but when turned on at night it looks orange. It is because the inside is more ecru and over the years it has aged and yellowed more.

      4. Don’t Block the Windows
      If you have window treatments that block a part of a window, remove them or hang them higher on the wall so natural sunlight can enter the room.

      If the window draperies block the sides of the window when open, remove or learn tricks on how to hang drapes and curtains on the rods so that the stack-back of the drape on each side is not covering the window at all. Doing this will not only add more light into the room, but will make the room appear larger.
      Another way to brighten dark rooms is to use light-colored curtains or blinds. If you have blinds on your windows, pull them all the way up during the day.

      If you have any landscaping outside your home that blocks a portion or all of a window, trim it back so that the full amount of light can enter.

      5. Paint the Ceiling White
      Regardless of whether you like warm or cool light, paint your ceilings white.  I use Sherwin Williams Pure White in a flat finish. I once made the mistake of painting a ceiling using high gloss thinking it would brighten the room more, which it did, but it looked horrible since it showed every imperfection in the ceiling.

      If your ceiling is very high and perfect then paint it high gloss, but a flat white finish on a ceiling will provide light reflecting qualities to a room, too.

      6. Add Glossy Wainscoting to Walls
      If you have read my blog for a while, then you know about the space in my home I dubbed “the hallway of darkness”.  This hallway was a dark space all day long.
      I tried a few room lightening methods like painting the walls white and the trim a glossy white. I even painted the door a bright fun color, but the hallway still looked drab.

      It wasn’t until I decided that what the space needed was more glossy or shiny surfaces.  When I added bead board to the walls and painted them in semi-gloss Sherwin Williams – Pure White and went with a deep dark Navy with no yellow undertones for the top portion of the walls, the hallway came to life.
      I even added a fake transom made with mirror tiles above the door to reflect the light from the single ceiling light.
      So the moral of this room brightening tip is that you can still use dark colors, you just need to pair them with crisp pure white glossy paint and a white ceiling,

      7. Place Mirrors Near Light Sources

      Placing mirrors and shiny items near light sources allow you to reflect light into a room. Shiny items could be a shiny floor finish or decorative objects.
      When I made over this thrift store table, I had mirrored glass cut at my local glass store to fit into the top.  When placed by a window or door, the natural light coming in bounces off the mirror reflection and into the room.

      Where should you place a mirror on a wall when you want to brighten a dark room?
      To maximize reflected light to brighten up a room, hang large a wall mirror on a wall in a room on the opposite wall from a window or door. This doubles the reflection of light coming from the door or window.
      Even if that is not possible, hang a mirror on an adjacent wall so that it can still catch a reflection and will double the amount of light entering the room.

      It is truly an amazing light trick. I have a mirror hanging in every room, except my kitchen and studioffice to help double the light in each.

      I have sliding glass doors in every room on the lake side of my house. I place large mirrors on the walls opposite these doors.  When out on the lake, you can see the mirrors through the sliding glass doors, but the mirrors look like windows that appear to be on the street side of the house.
      This makes it feel as though you can see through the rooms to the front of the house, making my house feel more open and expansive.

      8. Paint Doors and Trim in Glossy White
      Shiny white doors and trim always make a room look brighter. In my previous house, I used either Sherwin Williams – Alabaster or Valspar – Bistro White on all the trim in my house. It looked like pure white in the natural light that came into that house.

      When I used the colors on the trim in the lake house, the colors took on a warmer cast that I didn’t like. I had to try out a few paint colors until I found that Sherwin Williams-Pure White looked like the truest white in the natural light.
      It is for this reason that I hesitate to give out advice on using certain colors of paint. Every home has different light.
      No two are the same so the only way to find the right color is to do some experimenting and paint sampling of paint shades until you find one that rings true white for the trim in a room.
      Have your chosen color made up in gloss or semi-gloss and paint all your trim and doors with it.

      9. Paint Dark Furniture in a Fun Color
      If your room is still feeling dark because of a large piece of dark furniture after making a few room brightening suggestions, consider painting the piece in a light or fun color. Large pieces of furniture that have a dark finish can make a room appear darker.
      In the case of the dining room in my previous house, there was a dark corner with a dark stained corner cabinet in the room.

      Placing a lamp in the corner would have looked odd, so instead I painted the piece a bright fun color making it pop out of the darkness.

      Chandeliers with glass globes and crystals brighten a room.
      If you have never painted furniture before, it is not hard. You just have to schedule time to get it done. If you need some guidance, I have many how to paint furniture tutorials that will help you to achieve painting success on a piece of furniture.

      10. Wash the Windows
      No one wants the chore of having to clean, but it is amazing what squeaky clean windows can do for a room. Grab a bottle of window cleaner and lint free paper towels and get to work. You will be rewarded with a much lighter feeling room.
      To wash unreachable outdoor windows with ease, learn how to tackle the chore in this post, Inside & Out Window Cleaning Tips

      11. Aim Light at Walls and Ceilings
      If you have ceiling lights where the bulbs can be directed, then take advantage of this. Instead of having the light shining down into the room, change the direction of a few of the fixtures to light the walls. Try to keep a balance of light throughout the room, though.
      When choosing lamp shades, don’t use shades with top covers that don’t allow the light to hit the ceiling.

      12. Remove Clutter
      Lastly is a trick that will not only brighten a room but make it look larger at the same time. Remove clutter.  Clutter makes a room feel visually heavy and can lessen all your room brightening efforts. Tidy up and reap the room brightening rewards of having less stuff in the room.

      I hope this answers the question, how to brighten a dark room. As you just read, learning how to brighten a dark room is not limited to just adding mirrors and white paint to the walls.
      More Home Decorating Tips & Tricks

      Pin

      Share

      Tweet

      Post navigation More

    • 75 Shares179 Views

      in Organization

      DIY Under Desk Cord Management Solution

      by

      Pin

      Share

      Tweet

      Learn how to assemble this easy office organization solution for under desk cord management that you can DIY in about 30 minutes. Your wires and cords can all be hidden, even the cords running to a faraway wall outlet.

      This is what the cords and wires under my desk in my home office used to look like. An unsightly mess!
      Table of ContentsHow to Declutter and Organize Your Work Space with Under Desk Cord ManagementItems I Used:

      Desk centered in room with an easy DIY cable management solution.
      They cords and wires dangling all over are no more.

      There are a variety of products available to help with under desk cord management, but did a little DIY desk cable management yesterday. All the needed, but pesky cables, cords and wires that go to my lamps, computer, and chargers are how hidden.

      Cord management can help to prevent tripping hazards and improve the overall appearance of the space. I have been meaning to corral and manage all the cords since moving my desk to the middle of my office over a year ago and finally did it.

      My Under Desk Cord Organizer
      How to Declutter and Organize Your Work Space with Under Desk Cord Management
      Most of the items you will need to make this organizer can be purchased at the dollar store which makes the price for this under desk cable management system budget-friendly.
      It will help keep the cords organized, electrical outlet easily accessed, and the wires out of sight as much as possible.

      supplies needed:
      Wire basket – I found mine at The Dollar StorePower strips or surge protector outlet stripExtension cord long enough for length needed to wall outletZip ties or Velcro wrap strips4 – 6 cup hooks (You can use screws, but cup hooks are easier to use.Clear cord organizing clips with sticky back adhesive – 4 flat damage-free cord clips and 2 organizer clips from Command BrandWire cuttersWire Mold cord protector – home improvement store

      Items I Used:

      Note: When working with electrical cords, keep safety in mind at all times. Running a cord under or over a rug could become a tripping or fire hazard if not done correctly.

      Time needed: 1 hour. Installation Overview: The wire basket becomes a cable management station. It is going to hold the power strip and be hung upside down under the desk using cup hooks.  Cut Wire Basket Using wire cutters, cut one of the corner sections of wire off the basket. This will allow you to thread the cord and wire plugs into the side of the basket. Attach a Power Strip Place power strip in basket so it is face up.Once the power strip is in the basket, tie it down on both ends to the bottom wire on the basket using cable or zip ties. Optional: If running cords under a rug: If needed, attach the power strip to an extension cord. I have an outlet on the floor under my desk so I didn’t need to run the cords to a wall outlet. Best invention ever that conceals the outlet under a rug or carpet.To keep the cord from getting damaged under the rug, cut a piece of rubber cord protector to the size needed and thread the cord into it. Make sure you keep the cords flat and as well as the cover. Cover the Cord Cover Cover the protected cord with the rug to conceal it. Attach Basket to Underside of Desk Attach the basket with the attached power strip to the underside of the desk using a cup hook at each corner. The power strip outlets should be facing down.Optional: Depending on the hardness of the wood under the desk, you can pre-drill the holes needed for cup hooks. Attach Sticky Back Cord Holders Attach the clear cord holders/organizers that have sticky backs to the side leg of the desk. These will secure the cords along the surface of the desk. They open and close like a hair barrette. Run the Cords Through the Clips Run the floor power cord up through the clips. I used two on the leg of the desk. Optional – Flat Cord Clips For the lamp cords on my desktop, I used 4 flat cord clips. Attach Along Desk Attach them along the front lip of desktop and then run the cords through each clip as needed for the length of your cords and wires. Bring Cords to Underside of Desk Once cords are clipped in, bring the excess cords under the desk and weave each through the basket and then use another cable tie to tuck in and secure.Leave enough cord excess to plug in each item into the power strip.For a large laptop cord with the bulky box, screw in 2 cup hooks about 6-inches apart on the under side of the desk to hold it out of sight.When laptop is taken away from desk, you can simply grab the tied up cord and unplug it.

      As you can see with a little bit of effort, under desk cord management can be easily achieved! The space around my desk looks so much better now. Neat and tidy! No more disorganized jumble of cords and wires on the floor.
      More Cord and Wire Hiding Ideas:

      Pin

      Share

      Tweet

      Post navigation More