You know what we love about Spring? Well on top of the great weather, the flowers blooming and the smell of happiness in the air, we love that's it's time to dust off those corners of our homes and redecorate! With so many options for wonderful discount furniture online, you can practically redesign any room with ease. Here is what i am thinking personally for this spring and summer...
Let some light in! No, I don't just mean open the curtains and blinds. I also mean let's focus on lighter colors. Especially, white. My suggestion this spring when it comes to decorating is to go classy with white. Mix and match different whites, creams and ivories in a number of different patterns and textures to give your room a rather elegant and clean look. One thing I love to do is play up textures and bring in pops of natural wood. For a beachy look I might bring in a dritowood lamp. Perhaps a bamboo coffee table. Or a teak bookshelf. The point is to mix and match your whites and creams. Get pillows for the coach that have different patterns - but are still all white. Then add in those natural pops of texture.
Trust me, it will be feeling like a light and east summer in your house in no time. If you have any fun decorating projects that you've been working on, feel free to comment below!
Showing posts with label discount furniture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discount furniture. Show all posts
Friday, April 15, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
Country French Design Style
Let's explore some design styles in the next few posts. To start with, we want to talk about one of our favorite classics - country french.
Better Homes and Garden does a nice job of explaining this look:
"If this is your particular design style, you are probably drawn to a rustic but refined style that feels comfortable and livable for today's families. Your version of country french might be rustic - think glazed pottery and chunky woven baskets - or more refined - think gilded details. Either way, patterned fabrics such as toile, stripes, and fleur-de-lis motifs will help you set the tone. Incorporate details such as stucco walls, wrought iron accents, and furniture with carved details for an old-world look."
We love the elegance of the country french look. It's sophisticated and demur and harkens out to lovely Provence, with all it's beauty and splendor.
If you are looking for some country french living room furniture, check out our website for ideas!
Better Homes and Garden does a nice job of explaining this look:
"If this is your particular design style, you are probably drawn to a rustic but refined style that feels comfortable and livable for today's families. Your version of country french might be rustic - think glazed pottery and chunky woven baskets - or more refined - think gilded details. Either way, patterned fabrics such as toile, stripes, and fleur-de-lis motifs will help you set the tone. Incorporate details such as stucco walls, wrought iron accents, and furniture with carved details for an old-world look."
We love the elegance of the country french look. It's sophisticated and demur and harkens out to lovely Provence, with all it's beauty and splendor.
If you are looking for some country french living room furniture, check out our website for ideas!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Budgeting a Redesign
Decorating a room can be fun and invigorating. It can bring you a fresh look to your home and express your unique style. But, it can also be expensive and with anything that requires financial budgeting, comes headaches. But buying new living room furniture or putting up new paint does not have to cause you stress. If you approach it with a clear plan in mind, the budgeting of the project should be fairly easy.
First things first, design your dream room. Set all financial burdens aside and plan the room as if it didn’t cost a thing. This way you can have fun and get out your creative side. Include practical stuff that needs to be fixed, upgraded and purchased. Next, determine your real budget and start be brutally honest with yourself about what you can and can’t afford. If you really don’t have enough money to make all the necessary changes to make you happy, then set the project aside for awhile until you do rather than maxing out your credit card.
Before you start making an itemized list of things you will change, do your research. Go online, open catalogs, hit the stores. Shop around and get to know how much things cost and what you can get for the money. Use an online furniture discounter, like us at Zara Living, to look for lower costs. In stores, you will see a lot of markup. Now, if you’ll need to hire anyone to help you with the redesign work, shop around for labor prices as well.
Sit with your itemized list of costs, your dream list and your budget in front of you. Think about what you can afford and what can be changed into something a little less expensive. After you’ve gone through it all and come to some conclusions, draft up a plan for the project. People work better with a clearly laid out plan and instructions. Especially if you have to assign tasks to others. Now you will have a way to make sure things get done on time so the project doesn’t drag on longer than it should.
Spend big money on the big room items. The things that will make guests say “wow.” And scrimp where you can on the smaller cosmetic changes. For the wow pieces, look online for a great furniture supplier. For smaller items and décor, check out secondhand stores, estate sales and discount retailers. It may be like looking for a needle in a haystack but when you do find something it is usually a great steal.
First things first, design your dream room. Set all financial burdens aside and plan the room as if it didn’t cost a thing. This way you can have fun and get out your creative side. Include practical stuff that needs to be fixed, upgraded and purchased. Next, determine your real budget and start be brutally honest with yourself about what you can and can’t afford. If you really don’t have enough money to make all the necessary changes to make you happy, then set the project aside for awhile until you do rather than maxing out your credit card.
Before you start making an itemized list of things you will change, do your research. Go online, open catalogs, hit the stores. Shop around and get to know how much things cost and what you can get for the money. Use an online furniture discounter, like us at Zara Living, to look for lower costs. In stores, you will see a lot of markup. Now, if you’ll need to hire anyone to help you with the redesign work, shop around for labor prices as well.
Sit with your itemized list of costs, your dream list and your budget in front of you. Think about what you can afford and what can be changed into something a little less expensive. After you’ve gone through it all and come to some conclusions, draft up a plan for the project. People work better with a clearly laid out plan and instructions. Especially if you have to assign tasks to others. Now you will have a way to make sure things get done on time so the project doesn’t drag on longer than it should.
Spend big money on the big room items. The things that will make guests say “wow.” And scrimp where you can on the smaller cosmetic changes. For the wow pieces, look online for a great furniture supplier. For smaller items and décor, check out secondhand stores, estate sales and discount retailers. It may be like looking for a needle in a haystack but when you do find something it is usually a great steal.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
WAKING MY BEDROOM UP FOR SUMMER
The other day I was taking a look at my bedroom and started to think that perhaps it’s time to make some updates. Spring is upon us, and that always reminds me of cleaning, shedding layers and starting afresh. Now that winter is coming to a close, I want to try out a different look in my room. Something fun, something to rejuvenate me.
I’m thinking of a textural, beachy feel. Something reminiscent of Caribbean romance and cool ocean breezes. To obtain that look I am going to focus on draping the bed in white linens, adding a few textural pieces and fun pops of color. Let’s start with the bed. Covering it in white linens, I am planning on adding a nice gold and pink bedspread to lie across the foot of the bed. I want to create a mosquito net feel, by attaching white, gauzy linen to the ceiling and to the head of the bed frame.
Next, let’s move on to the flooring. I may consider ripping out any carpet and replacing with wood paneled flooring or tile. A really fantastic area rug, with a great jute-like textural feel would look phenomenal here. As for new bedroom furniture, a desk or armoire made of darker, teak wood would look great, especially with a vase with a couple of fan palm leafs on top. Rattan seating would complete this look giving the room a generous touch of rustic island flavor.
With just a few changes here and there, it would be very easy to get rid of my stale, winter bedroom look and lighten it up for the spring and summertime. I think I’ll go for it. How will you rejuvenate your room this spring?
I’m thinking of a textural, beachy feel. Something reminiscent of Caribbean romance and cool ocean breezes. To obtain that look I am going to focus on draping the bed in white linens, adding a few textural pieces and fun pops of color. Let’s start with the bed. Covering it in white linens, I am planning on adding a nice gold and pink bedspread to lie across the foot of the bed. I want to create a mosquito net feel, by attaching white, gauzy linen to the ceiling and to the head of the bed frame.
Next, let’s move on to the flooring. I may consider ripping out any carpet and replacing with wood paneled flooring or tile. A really fantastic area rug, with a great jute-like textural feel would look phenomenal here. As for new bedroom furniture, a desk or armoire made of darker, teak wood would look great, especially with a vase with a couple of fan palm leafs on top. Rattan seating would complete this look giving the room a generous touch of rustic island flavor.
With just a few changes here and there, it would be very easy to get rid of my stale, winter bedroom look and lighten it up for the spring and summertime. I think I’ll go for it. How will you rejuvenate your room this spring?
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