April 11th is National Pet Day
We bet your pet brings you lots of joy and helps you alleviate daily stress. It’s important that we also take good care of our pets and make sure they too can enjoy and relax in our home without accidentally destroying our things. Here are 5 pet friendly design tips that will help you and your pet coexist under the same roof:
Designate a play area for your furry friend. A place where they can chew their favorite toy or climb and scratch without worrying about destroying your furniture. It doesn’t need to be an entire room, it can be a space in the corner where you know they can’t get in the way. Keep an open basket or decorative box in the same area to hide all their toys, so it’s easily accessible for you and your pet.
If you’re not a big fan of leather, try Microfiber, a synthetic fabric. Microfiber fabrics are stain and spill-resistant because the tiny polyester and nylon threads are tightly bonded together creating a lightweight, dense, water-resistant material. They are also easy to clean with a lint roller, fabric shaver, and vacuum.
Make it a functional entryway that will make leaving and entering your home a lot easier for you and your pet. Use woven baskets, wall shelves, and stylish hooks to store all your pet’s accessories, like leashes, raincoat, poop bags, and pet wipes to clean their muddy paws before entering the house.
April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. https://www.
Child proofing furniture. Adding rubber bumpers on furniture with sharp edges and corners is a smart and easy design installation. Also, securing tall pieces of furniture to the wall, like bookshelves or dressers, will prevent them from tipping over if your child has the urge to climb!
Locks can save lives. Storing all household chemicals, like cleaning products and medications, in one cabinet with a high security padlock can stop those curious little minds from getting their hands and mouth into poisinous products.
Elopement is common in children with autism, it is when they wander away from the safety of their own homes or a secure location. This is extremely dangerous because they can get lost and injured. If your child doesn’t understand their safe boundaries, sometimes having a double sided deadbolt is the only way to prevent your child from wandering away.
A quiet space. One of the most vital design adjustments to make for your child with ASD is designating a quiet area for them. They need a special place to recenter themselves after being over-stimulated. To create this quiet space, first learn what helps to calm them down, then apply it to that space. It doesn’t need to be an entire room, just make sure to define the space with a soft toned rug, or a small tent. The space should have dim lighting and cushions with different sensory textures. You can also provide noise cancelling headphones or a bluetooth speaker to play calming music.
Changing the small things can go a long way. Spring is the perfect time to switch up the covers on your toss pillows and throw blankets. Replace them with lighter and brighter fabrics. If you love patterns, try nature-inspired fabrics.
Declutter and reorganize the accessories on your coffee table, fireplace mantel, or bookshelves. Freshen up your surfaces with colorful, glass vases filled with blooming flowers. Switch out your coffee table books for a more spring inspired theme.
Nothing says springtime than an updated and refreshed wardrobe! Give your closet the makeover it deserves. Besides organizing your closet, if you have a walk-in closet, update your light fixture to something more glamorous or add fun wallpaper. Incorporating new storage, like boxes or shelves, or just making sure you have nice, uniformed hangers can make a huge difference in your closet.
Switch out the filters for your heater, air conditioner, vacuum, and air purifiers. Daylight Savings is a great time to remind yourself to eliminate the dust accumulated during the winter and change out or clean your filters for new and clean ones. This way you will remember to change them every year.
First, you have to decide which decorating style you want for your room. If it’s a traditional style room, try stripes or an elegant floral pattern wallpaper. For a more modern look, go for a bold geometric pattern with metallic accents.
Patterns affect the size and shape of the room. Vertically lined patterns can make your room appear taller because it causes the eye to move upward, perfect for a small space, like a bathroom. Horizontal patterns can create an intimate and cozy environment, great for a reading room or nursery. If you have imperfections on the walls, textured wallpaper can help hide them. The patterns on textured wallpaper will blend with your popcorn or orange peel walls.
If you cover all four walls, a simple and large-scale design will give the room an updated and contemporary look. If you want to cover only one wall, a mural wallpaper or a brighter, more intricate pattern wallpaper can enhance the design of the space. For example, in a home office, putting wallpaper on the wall behind the desk and chair will give your office a modern and sophisticated design.
If you are covering the entire room, measure all walls and multiply the width by the height of each wall in feet. Then, add all measurements to get the total square footage. Don’t forget to subtract windows and doors. Always order one roll extra than what you need, incase of any mishaps!
Non-woven wallpaper is backed with paper and easily strippable which is a great option to have when you don’t want anything permanent on your walls. It’s also a fairly easy application, first you apply the paste directly onto the wall with a roller, and then you hang the wallpaper dry.
Woven wallpaper is backed with fabric and is recommended for high traffic areas because it’s more resistant to grease and moisture, and it can be wiped down with a damp cloth. Depending on the brand, there are two ways to apply woven wallpaper, the “paste-the-wall” or the “paste-the-paper’ method. The latter is harder to apply on your own, so it’s best to have a couple of friends help out or hire a professional.
Homes are being designed with built-in storage spaces, like drawers built underneath the staircase. People are looking for more space so they can have their own gym, a home office, and a home theater system, instead of wasting the extra square footage on storage.
The home office won’t be a last minute add-on. A couple of years ago, you had a home office because you had an extra room to spare, and maybe you used it once in awhile to sort out your mail, pay your bills, or file your taxes. But now, more companies are transitioning to remote working.
TV cords, cable cords, computer cords, charging cords, etc, we’re surrounded, but our home doesn’t need to drown in electrical cords. Conceal your tv chords with a cord cover that you can simply stick to the wall. For all those messy computer cords, store them in a basket under your desk.
image source: https://www.pinterest.com/cutsandcrumbles/_created/
A color mood board is an organized way to layout all your ideas and inspiration, so you can see what will work for your space. Magazine cutouts, paint chips, fabric swatches, photos, can all go on your mood board. Don’t feel like you have to jam all your ideas into one gigantic board, you can always create a mood board for each room in your home.
If you’re aiming for a more classic and modest color scheme, a neutral monochromatic color scheme is your best choice. It’s based on one neutral color – like white, beige, grey, etc – and uses its various shades and tones to add depth and character. To keep your space from appearing dull and boring, add texture and patterns through decorative accessories, accent chairs, throw pillows, and rugs.
