Too pinched financially to take a vacation this summer? Have a staycation instead! Just be sure to summerize your space so it will feel like you’re at the beach all season long. Use the following easy tips to make your home feel like a beach resort:
• Scatter shells and other beachy items around the house to remind you of the beach. Who says a glass bowl filled with sea shells isn’t art?
• Wood hutches in neutral colors and white end tables lighten up your space, adding to the vacation-house feel you’re looking for.
• Drape a blanket over a chaise lounge to create a comfortable spot to read. It will be just like the beach—minus the sand!
• Get fresh flowers. Because they are an indulgence, it will add to the vacation vibe you are going for. Just try not to smile every time you pass by a vase full of fresh flowers. We dare you.
• Give your bedroom furniture a mini makeover. For the summer months, transition to unfussy bedding in relaxing shades of white and blue. Bonus points for splurging on a high thread count.
• Frame those pictures from your last beach vacation that have been sitting on your digital camera. They will summarize your home and get you thinking about your next beach getaway.
Showing posts with label living room furniture online. Show all posts
Showing posts with label living room furniture online. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
This Summer - Decorate With White
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!
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!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Polished Casual Design Style
Ok, so onto another popular design style that you can incorporate into your living room and bedroom design and furniture. It's called polished casual.
Here's Better Homes and Garden's great explanation:
"You love to mix and match your favorites from several styles, so polished casual is the best way to describe your look. Crisp, fresh and always comfortable, this approach anchors itself in neutral, subtle hues and furniture that isn't fussy but isn't slouchy either. Pair your clean-lined sofa with a dark leather wing chair or a weathered metal table - anything goes, but simplicity is key."
This look is great for the casual, fun person. It allows you to bring in different pieces of your personality and mix and match.
Here's Better Homes and Garden's great explanation:
"You love to mix and match your favorites from several styles, so polished casual is the best way to describe your look. Crisp, fresh and always comfortable, this approach anchors itself in neutral, subtle hues and furniture that isn't fussy but isn't slouchy either. Pair your clean-lined sofa with a dark leather wing chair or a weathered metal table - anything goes, but simplicity is key."
This look is great for the casual, fun person. It allows you to bring in different pieces of your personality and mix and match.
Warm or Cool - Color Schemes to Fit Your Mood
So, we recently posted about color theory in regards to home decoration. We'd like to continue that discussion by talking now about the different types of color. Let's start with the main colors and what type of feeling each conveys.
Cool colors -
Cool colors in general convey a sort of serenity and peace in a room. They are soothing and zen-like. Blues are remeniscent of the ocean and sky. Blue can also show professionalism. Purples are cool tones, but convey a sense of regality and money. Cool colors in general tend to recede in a room. They are not the dominant colors.
Warm colors -
Warm colors are stimulating and advancing. They command attention and power. They spark creativity and warmth. In a sense they reflect objects in nature - the sun is yellow, fire is red and orange. Red and yellow make us hungry. Look at the colors of all your favorite fast-food joints. These colors tend to be the dominant colors.
A tip to follow when decorating - For either color scheme, warm or cool, make sure to balance it with pops of a color from the other side. Perhaps add a green plant to a warm room, to cool it down. Add red pillows to a blue and white living room sofa to warm up a cool color scheme.
Either way, carefully plan what type of feeling you want your room to have and plan accordingly. The worst thing to do is to start decorating without a plan.
Cool colors -
Cool colors in general convey a sort of serenity and peace in a room. They are soothing and zen-like. Blues are remeniscent of the ocean and sky. Blue can also show professionalism. Purples are cool tones, but convey a sense of regality and money. Cool colors in general tend to recede in a room. They are not the dominant colors.
Warm colors -
Warm colors are stimulating and advancing. They command attention and power. They spark creativity and warmth. In a sense they reflect objects in nature - the sun is yellow, fire is red and orange. Red and yellow make us hungry. Look at the colors of all your favorite fast-food joints. These colors tend to be the dominant colors.
A tip to follow when decorating - For either color scheme, warm or cool, make sure to balance it with pops of a color from the other side. Perhaps add a green plant to a warm room, to cool it down. Add red pillows to a blue and white living room sofa to warm up a cool color scheme.
Either way, carefully plan what type of feeling you want your room to have and plan accordingly. The worst thing to do is to start decorating without a plan.
Using Color in Your Room Decor
At Zara Furniture, we have an in-house team of interior design experts, ready and able to help you with all your design needs and advice. Today, we want to talk about color and how it can affect the design process.
So, let's start with a little lesson in color theory. Traditionally, artists defined red, yellow and blue as the three primary colors from which all others on the color wheel can be mixed. For decorating purposes, we like to point this out because you need to understand the relationships and harmonies between different colors. For example, how purple relates to both red and blue and how green derives from yellow and blue.
The basic color wheel that you are most likely familiar with, shows the pure hues of colors. However, with design and decorating, you most likely will be using tints and shades of those colors. Tints are lighter values of a color. Shades are darker values. Colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel are known as complementary colors, meaning that when paired, each makes the other appear more vivid. The next thing you need to know is that colors that sit next to each other on the wheel are known as analogous, meaning that the always look good together because they share a common hue. Lastly, triads are any three equally spaced colors on a wheel. The purpose of this combination is to obtain a lively balance.
So, why does all this matter? When it comes to purchasing furniture for the room you are designing, and choosing paint colors, you need to best plan out a color scheme that works best for you. Otherwise, you may run into a poorly colored room, with mismatched colors all over the place. A room should be a neat reflection of yourself. It is your space, so when picking out living room furniture or choosing paint colors, think about yourself and what you are trying to express.
In the next post, we will talk about the different colors and how they make you feel. Stay tuned...
So, let's start with a little lesson in color theory. Traditionally, artists defined red, yellow and blue as the three primary colors from which all others on the color wheel can be mixed. For decorating purposes, we like to point this out because you need to understand the relationships and harmonies between different colors. For example, how purple relates to both red and blue and how green derives from yellow and blue.
The basic color wheel that you are most likely familiar with, shows the pure hues of colors. However, with design and decorating, you most likely will be using tints and shades of those colors. Tints are lighter values of a color. Shades are darker values. Colors that lie opposite each other on the color wheel are known as complementary colors, meaning that when paired, each makes the other appear more vivid. The next thing you need to know is that colors that sit next to each other on the wheel are known as analogous, meaning that the always look good together because they share a common hue. Lastly, triads are any three equally spaced colors on a wheel. The purpose of this combination is to obtain a lively balance.
So, why does all this matter? When it comes to purchasing furniture for the room you are designing, and choosing paint colors, you need to best plan out a color scheme that works best for you. Otherwise, you may run into a poorly colored room, with mismatched colors all over the place. A room should be a neat reflection of yourself. It is your space, so when picking out living room furniture or choosing paint colors, think about yourself and what you are trying to express.
In the next post, we will talk about the different colors and how they make you feel. Stay tuned...
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