Before the pandemic, most of us didn’t even have a designated home office space. For those who did, it was the room that was last in line in receiving a design makeover. Now, the home office is becoming one of the most attractive spaces in a home.
Pantone’s color of the year 2021, is not just one color, but two, Ultimate Gray and Illuminating. As the New York Times best describes it, “The light at the end of the tunnel.” The cement-like gray evokes strength and wisdom. Illuminating yellow promises hope and happiness. Here are the creative ways we will see these two colors come to life in interior design:
Celebrating a new year inspires people to make improvements and changes in their lives. If you don’t know where to start, how about promising yourself to make unique and exciting upgrades to your home? We’re not talking about spending money on laboring projects, we mean focusing on refreshing subtle design improvements. Here are 5 interior design resolutions that can kick start the new you in the new year.
Sometimes, all you have to do is change the small things to make a big impact. A couple of new accent pillows with geometric patterns, or changing up your picture frames to a more modern and clean look, or even replacing your light fixtures, can make huge improvements in any room.
Invest in quality pieces that will enhance the way your space looks and feels. You don’t need to do this all at once – take your time – promise yourself to invest in one or two pieces every year. In five years, you’ll own a collection of timeless pieces of furniture.
Creating happy memories with your kids is one of the best things about celebrating the holidays. It might seem hard to get into the Christmas spirit during this particular holiday season, but don’t lose hope! We gathered 5 fun and magical ways to surprise your kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Buy fake snow and while the kids are sleeping, sprinkle it in their room or throughout the house. If you don’t feel like cleaning up the fake snow later, you can also hang snowflakes from the ceiling. If you want to go even further, crank up the air conditioner. When they wake up, they will feel like they’re in a winter wonderland.
Get the whole family a new set of Christmas pajamas. It’s a beautiful tradition and everyone can wear their new set of pajamas on Christmas Eve. The pajamas don’t have to match, but waking up on Christmas Day, wearing a new set of clean and comfy PJs will make anyone’s day.
A photo tree is personal and easy to make. Display your favorite family and friends photos into the shape of a Christmas tree. You can stack acrylic picture frames to create a stronger and steadier structure or you can pin them on the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree.
A chalkboard tree is great for classrooms or the kids’ room. You can buy a mini chalkboard or you can paint your wall with chalkboard paint. Draw your tree with colorful chalk and use nails or Command decorating clips to hang ornaments and twinkling lights from the wall.
When decorating your fireplace mantel, keep it simple and focus on 1 to 3 types of holiday accessories, like pumpkins and wheat bundles for Thanksgiving, versus a variety of all sorts. It’s a sophisticated design style and it’s easier to admire the limited accessories you do have on display.
Designing your home is not just about making it look pretty, but it’s also about complimenting the natural architectural flow of your space. You want your space to feel good as much as it looks good. Here are the 5 most common design mistakes that disrupt the natural flow of your home.
Clutter can physically and visually ruin natural flow of a room. Clutter not only looks uninviting, but being surrounded by clutter can even add more stress to your life. Eliminate the clutter by donating or throwing out the things you don’t need and storing the rest in decorative baskets or cabinets.
When you enter a room, do you have to walk around a piece of furniture, in order to get to the other side of the room? If so, then move it or get rid of it. One exception would be a coffee table in front of the sofa.
If you’re sitting at your desk and your back is against the entrance, try turning the desk so it faces the door. The goal is to allow the natural flow of your space to take control by eliminating the obstacles in your way.
A common mistake is to place all your furniture against the walls. Step back and find the most admiring focal point of the room. If it’s a window overlooking the city or your backyard, try placing the sofa or accent chair in front of it. Your space will look more unique and the flow will feel less constricting.
Big, bulky furniture in a small room can make the space feel dark and claustrophobic. On the other hand, many small pieces of furniture in a large space can look cluttered and uninviting. Furniture and accessories (like art, sculptures, knickknacks, etc) should be appropriately scaled to the space it is in.
If you have natural lighting in a space, make the most out of it, and don’t add heavy blinds to block out the light. Natural lighting is the best ambient lighting for any room, the kitchen, living room, bathroom, bedroom, office, etc.
If you don’t have enough or any natural lighting in a room, bring in artificial light that creates a soft and inviting space. Table lamps, with a translucent linen shade, will spread light with a calming glow. Avoid bright florescent lighting or bright spotlight lighting.
Now that more people are working from home and kids are attending school via Zoom, creating more privacy has become a major design goal. People are using stylish room dividers and privacy screens as makeshift walls to temporarily make more rooms, mainly in open floor plans.
No matter what size balcony, patio, or backyard, people are putting more of a design effort into their outdoor space. Firepits, for cold nights, outdoor ambient lighting, and comfy outdoor seating are ways people are setting the mood in their outdoor oasis.
Re-designing or creating space for a home office has been the most popular topic in interior design. Everyone’s trying to squeeze the most out of their spaces, by turning small closets into office spaces or sectioning off a corner of a room for a work area that blends into the rest of their design.
Gardening has always been therapeutic, so of course it has become increasingly popular during the pandemic. Gardens allow us to connect with nature and also produces a sense of pride. You don’t think you have enough space? Try a vertical garden or make a tiny herb garden next to your windowsill.
Working from home, usually means eating at home too. Also, many are choosing to eat at home rather than restaurants. Eating at home means needing more storage for food and leftovers. A quick and simple way to make more room for storage is to add a bar cart or an island with extra shelving on the bottom.
