Tag Archive 'Design'

Apr 29 2010

Simple Ideas for decorating a Playroom

A child’s playroom should provide a place in the house where a child can have fun and enjoy having his or her own space. Not only that, but it allows you to get your child’s toys out of sight and into one room. However, this doesn’t mean that the playroom should not have functional decorating. Here are some great ideas for creating a playroom that is not only perfect for a child but functional for you.

Have Plenty of Storage Options
To keep the playroom neat and organized, you need to have plenty of storage options. This way, when it comes time to clean up, everything in the room will have its proper place. If you don’t provide organization and storage, your child’s playroom may end up looking every day like a tornado blew through it.

You can find furniture pieces such as an wood dresser that includes storage, or other items such as plastic bins and shelving units on the wall.

Be sure that any small items, such as puzzles, art supplies, and other toys, are stored in individual baskets or bins.

Make the Playroom Durable
A child’s playroom is no place for your favorite piece of furniture, unless you want to get it broken. Even little girls tend to be rough on furniture and other decorating items. Keep the room durable by keeping any decor items simple.

Use plastic bins and baskets for storage; they can also serve as decorations for the room. Find a rug with darker colors and patterns to hide any stains that might come. Also be sure that rug is easy to clean.

Keep Play Areas Safe for Your Kids
If you have any bookshelves, dressers, or an oak desk in the room, bolt them to the wall to prevent them from falling on a climbing child. Children’s size furniture is always best, as too-tall furniture can be unsafe for younger children. Store any small toys and art supplies up high where younger children won’t be able to reach them. Be sure to baby-proof the room if you have a baby or toddler. Covers should be placed on all the outlets and any hanging blind cords from the windows should be put out of reach.

Let Your Child Have a Say in the Playroom
Your child is going to enjoy his or her playroom so much more if he or she has a say in its decor. It’s easy to ask your children’s opinion on such things as the color of the walls or what color carpet they want. Even if your child wants a themed playroom, this is relatively easy to accomplish. Just find some stencils or stick-ons to add to the walls.

You want your child to like the look of the playroom because then he or she will be more likely to want to play in the room and keep it clean. Allowing your child to have some say in the decor and items in the room to a certain degree will make things far easier for everyone.

The playroom should be your child’s favorite place in the house. It gives then their own space in which they can be creative and independent, and have fun. Follow these decorating tips and you’ll find that decorating a playroom can be much more simple and less expensive than you may have thought.

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Oct 30 2009

Budget Decorating – 3 Easy Ways to Add Artwork

One of the most popular ways to decorate a home is with artwork, but most people believe it has to be expensive to look good. This is not the case, as inexpensive art can result in a wonderfully decorated room. If you want to include art in your home décor but don’t have a lot of money to spend, then here are some great ways to add interest and character to your home on a budget.

Find Free Artwork around the House
With a quick look around your home, you are sure to find many pieces that can easily be framed to create a beautiful addition to a room. Some examples of what you might find would be: hanging calendars with pictures, postcards, greeting cards, and perhaps even a decorative flag. You can even add something special to some of these pieces to make them look more professional: simply matte them with matting board in the frame.

Look to Nature for Art Pieces
Quite a few different things from nature can be framed in a shadow box or even a matted frame. For instance, you can frame a collage you’ve created from pressed flowers and leaves. Other items from nature such as sea shells, seeds, pinecones, branches, and flowers can all be used as pieces of art. It may take a little creativity on your part to come up with a collage of these items, but it is well worth it, for you’ll end up with artwork that fits your style perfectly.

Take Your Own Photographs for Your Artwork
If you have the ability to take photos, either with your own camera or one borrowed from a friend, then the possibilities of art you can come up with are virtually endless. After all, you can take pictures of just about anything: from flowers and trees, to houses and the sky . If you really want to get creative, you can use a photo editing website and develop the pictures in black and white or sepia. Have the photographs developed in the proper size, regardless of whether you enlarge them or print them in normal size.

A creative way to display them is to buy matching frames in different sizes and arrange the photographs on an empty wall. You you can also collect the photographs into a book and place it as a center piece on oak end tables or wood coffee tables. If you find that creativity is not your thing, then enlist the help of a friend to take photos. You can also go the traditional route and hang pictures of your family on the walls.

By getting creative, you should be able to find any type of artwork for your home without having to spend a lot of money. It’s easy to turn everyday objects into pieces of art. Find some old illustrated books and see if there’s a picture that would look great in your room that can be framed and displayed. Items like fabric swatches, buttons, magazine clippings, and other small things you run across can be used to make a collage for a shadowbox or frame. If you take the time to look around your home and use what you have, you will discover many possibilities for inexpensive artwork.

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Oct 24 2009

7 Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Update your Bathroom!

Published by ShreveportDesigner under Remodeling

7 Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Update your Bathroom!

Designing a bathroom is an exciting process! Following a few simple tips to improve your bathroom can create a spa-like luxury in your own home and ensure it’s the perfect fit for your home and lifestyle. Whether you are redesigning after repairs, updating an outdated bathroom, remodeling to sell, or just looking for a change there are a few important things to consider:

1. First, think about the layout of the room itself. A few simple changes such as adding or changing a bathroom sink, vanity or medicine cabinet can make a big improvement in the look and feel of your bathroom, while leaving the big things can save you money. TIP: Save a bundle by leaving the plumbing in place and designing around it!

2.  To make a small bathroom look and feel larger, consider the color of the room. Choose pale or neutral colors to make the room seem larger. Because many older toilet models are larger than newer designs, consider replacing your toilet with a newer compact model. Installing pedestal and vessel sinks can also increase your usable square-footage because they don’t take up as much floor space as traditional sinks.

3. Consider a vessel sink! These free standing sinks can sit directly atop furniture, or a special pedestal on which the sink is mounted. Although the vessel sink is a century-old design, they can now be found in a variety of contemporary materials to meet your design needs, including cast iron, glass, vitreous china and stainless steel, many of these options carrying a surprisingly low price tag.

4. Custom showers can be created simply by placing shower heads and body sprays in desired positions. Place sprays at a lower level for showers that will not get your hair wet, and raindrop shower heads at a higher level to achieve that rainfall effect!

5. Update the look and character of your bathroom inexpensively by changing the accessories—new towel rods and shelves, toilet paper rods and even toothbrush holders and soap trays are relatively small changes that can add big character to your bathroom!

6. The walls are biggest area of your bathroom and can be used to make the biggest impact. A new coat of paint can refresh the whole look of your bathroom, while tile transfers are a creative and easy trick to make plain tile look unique. These waterproof, washable stickers go over your existing tile and even come in embossed 3D and textured varieties.

7. Modernize your bathroom lighting by switching out a modern, stainless steel lighting fixture in place of an outdated one to give the room a fresher look. Install dimmer switches on overhead lighting to enhance mood.

Updating the look and functionality of your bathroom doesn’t have to be a complicated or expensive process. A few simple changes to your current room can make sure your bathroom retreat is the perfect fit for your home and lifestyle!

Based out of Los Angeles, Syd Crawford has over 25 years of experience with Kitchen and Bath remodelling and has worked for some of the leading plumbing companies in the industry. Syd’s experience is a driving force behind a team dedicated to bringing customers the best deals in Kitchen and Bath Fixtures and Supplies– www.regenfalls.com

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