Bedroom

Vintage Bedroom Decor Accessories and Ideas

Color Scheme: For a vintage style bedroom you’ll want to go with more neutral and pastel colors like light grey, light brown, light green, or just white as seen in pictures (1) and (2).

Bed Styles: Wrought iron (3) or French bed designs with the large decorative headboards (4) are the best choices. Look for ones with decorative legs.

Furniture Pieces: Look for French style furniture sets. Focusing on French pieces makes decorating a vintage inspired room a lot easier. French design is decorative but timeless. You’ll see the classic rounded shapes and decorative hardware pieces like iron handles and knobs. Check out the French vanity counter in picture (5). Hand painted and chipped furniture would also be a good fit in a vintage bedroom.

Closets: How about giving your closets a vintage makeover. You can do this with a vintage style paint, such as mint, cream, or pastel shades. And then add some vintage style hardware – such as knobs or handles. Or you could even using a ceiling medallion to frame the handle. Have a look at these posts to see what I’m talking about:

Fabrics: When it comes to things like the bedding and throw pillows, floral motifs work best. Or if you want a more homely and informal look how about using a quilt (The Free Spirit: Bohemian Bedroom Ideas).

Other Vintage Bedroom Ideas: When it comes to decorating the bedroom here are some vintage accessories to consider – iron keys, birdcages (6), antique books, vintage maps and globes (7), iron letters, decorative frames (8), and splashes of lace. Vintage watering cans or glass bottles can be used to hold plant stems or candles (9).

Lighting: When it comes to lamp shades you’ll want to stick to the more traditional cone style ones (10). A mini chandelier hanging in the middle of the room will also add a vintage feel to the bedroom (11). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

If you are looking to put together a vintage style bedroom then check out the shopping guide post I’ve just put together here Home Style Shopping Guide: Vintage Bedroom Edition

Here are some more vintage mood board posts to get ideas from:

March 6, 2013 in Bedroom

How to Create a Romantic Bedroom: Pictures, Designs and Decor Ideas

Here is a wide range of bedroom decor ideas that tickle all of the right senses and create that romantic setting:

Focal Point: When it comes to designing a room, you want the focus to be on the purpose of that room. So in the bedroom the focal point should be the bed 🙂 Some ways to do this is to have a light on each side of the bed and hang a large decor piece in the center above the headboard as seen in picture (1). Hanging drapes around the bed is another idea to focus the attention towards the bed.

Furniture: There are a few bed styles to choose from, like a platform or sleigh bed. For the romantic bedroom the best choices to go with are either a four post bed or a canopy one (2). Canopy beds can be decorated with hanging drapes which adds to the intimate feel of the bed.

Having a small sofa/couch would be a great addition. We say small, so that it is easy for two people to cozy up in one. An alternative would be a round loveseat (3).

Romantic Lighting Ideas: The lighting in the bedroom will have a big role in creating that sensual romantic setting. When you want to create a secluded and intimate space, you will want to avoid lighting the ceiling. So instead of switching the ceiling lights on use wall lights, table or floor lamps. Installing a dimmer switch is a great way of being able to transform a bedroom instantly.

A mood light would be a great addition to have in the bedroom. Something like the Yantouch Jellyfish (4), which you can get here, which lets you set a specific color (how about deep red, purple or blue for a romantic night or light green and yellow to create a brighter room on other nights) or set it to automatically cycle through different colors.

A more whimsical lighting idea is to hang up string lights (5). If you use the LED version (which produce less heat) you can wrap them in drapes to create a soft glow. Another idea is to wrap them around tree branches planted in a bucket of rocks or sand (6). Or how about using flameless candles as seen in picture (7)? These are battery powered candles so you don’t have to worry about the flame. You can even find ones that are scented, have a real wax base, and there are some that will even flicker just like a real candle.

If you are planning on doing remodeling in your master bedroom, some major romantic ideas include fitting fiber optics into the ceiling to create constellations (8). Or if you live in a cold place how about installing a fire place to keep you warm and cozy (9).

How To Make Your Bedroom Cozy: Easy Ideas

Colors: The great thing about using a mood light is that you can change the color of the room pretty easily. If you do want to use a mood light then it is best to have walls painted in white, this way the mood light can work its magic well. If you want to paint your walls and create that romantic feeling then it is best to use dark hues of red, purple or blue. Or how about creating a texture with some unique painting techniques: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.

Scent: Lighting takes care of one sense, now moving onto scent. If you tickle as many of the sense as possible, you’ll create an amazing bedroom sanctuary. A simple aromatherapy burner with oils of your choice will create a relaxing bedroom (10). The best oils to use for relaxing are chamomile, rose and lavender.

Audio: Oh yehh, get some tunes playing. Try and make it as convenient as possible by having a music player with a remote control. The easiest way of doing this is to use an iPod dock. For surround sound and higher quality audio why not have speakers fitted to the walls or just have a small music station on a side table.

Personalized Decorating Ideas: Other romantic bedroom ideas include personalizing the space as much as possible. Ways of doing this include arranging a framed photo layout on the wall (11), how about printing out a photo of the two of you with large blueprint prints (these only cost around $5 to make), or how about hanging up a romantic quote on the wall (12). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

March 6, 2013 in Bedroom

Mens Bedroom Ideas and Designs

Yup all men are different, but some things are universal – like wanting a low maintenance room, with a bold and simple decor style. Here are some design tips and bedroom ideas for men:

Design Style: The design style of a man’s bedroom should be big and bold. Have a look at the large blocks in picture (1). Even the chandelier in that picture is large, bold and simple and does not have any decorative elements.

Colors Schemes: When it comes to the bedroom’s color scheme you’ll want to keep to strong solid colors. This doesn’t just apply to the wall paint but everything in the room – from the furniture, to the bed sheets, wall decor and accessories.

White is always a great base color to have on the walls and build the rest of the room from. Other paint color ideas include black and white, grey (2) and earth hues like green, brown (3) and even navy. For a more rustic wall style have a look at getting stamped concrete made – or check out our post here for different textured painting techniques Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.

The furniture pieces in the room will add to the overall color scheme. Some manly furniture styles to go for are dark woods (4) and leather (5), or chrome finishes for a more modern look.

Furniture Pieces: Here are some ideas on what furniture pieces to include. A great bed style to go for is a platform one. A leather bench is also a great addition. Having a full body floor mirror helps in getting ready each day as seen in pictures (6) and (7).

Gadgets: Get tunes playing by having an iPod dock or just a bedside table with a music unit. Or if you want to get fancy, the AudioBulb is a light bulb and speaker in one (8) – pretty cool. You just screw them into any normal light socket (ceiling or lamp) and you’ll have an instant wireless sound and light system that you can control from a remote control.

Lighting Ideas: Here is a design tip: if you want to make the bedroom feel large then you’ll want to use as much ceiling lighting as possible and aim to light up all corners of the room. Hanging a mirror on a wall also makes the space feel larger. If you want to make the bedroom feel more cozy and romantic (How to Create a Romantic Bedroom: Pictures, Designs and Decor Ideas) then you’ll want to avoid using the ceiling lights and instead use table and floor lamps. Having your lights hooked up to a dimmer switch is a great way of changing the feel of the room instantly.

Men’s Decor Accessories: When it comes to more decorative elements for a guys room – abstract pieces work best. Like the paintings in pictures (9) and (10). Other mens bedroom ideas include decorating with black and white photos – which adds a nice classical touch (11). Having small dishes or bowls by the bed helps group together clutter and keep the bedroom looking sleek and elegant (12). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12

March 6, 2013 in Bedroom

Bedroom Office Ideas, Tips, and Designs

It’s not the best place in the house to have as an office space, because the work clutter can make the bedroom a bit of a stressful place (which can disrupt sleep). But here are a few quick tips and ideas for turning a bedroom into an office and making it a great working and sleeping area.

Top Bedroom Office Ideas and Design Tips

Fitting a Desk: You don’t really need to have much space in the bedroom to fit in a home office. A tiny, well organized desk up against the wall will do for most people as seen in picture (1). You can even combine the home office with existing bedroom furniture – like using a dresser that has a pull out or pull down tabletop (2). Or if you have more space in the bedroom, arrange the desk to face outwards so you’re not looking at a wall just like in pictures (3 – fitting a mirror makes the space feel larger) and (4).

Covering Up: Being able to close off the office space when it is not in use would be ideal. This can be done with curtains, screens, or placing book shelves in between the office space and the bed area.

Another idea is to fit the home office between closets (5), or inside a closet (6). This is a great space saver for smaller rooms. Have a look at our post for designs and ideas on fitting an office in a closet (aka a cloffice) anywhere in the house – Creating a Workspace At Home: Closet Office Ideas.

Storage: You’ll want to keep everything contained to one location as much as possible – so that you can also enjoy the room as a relaxing bedroom, and not just a work space. The wall above the desk can be made for great storage – by hanging wall shelves (7) or peg boards (8). A closet can be used to store work items, and the inside of the doors can have calendars, white boards, and pegboards fitted. In picture (9) a bench doubles as a filing cabinet, and hides all of the paper work when not in use.

Lighting: To make it a comfortable work space you’ll want to have a good amount of lighting. Setting up the desk by the window is a great idea as you’ll have tons of natural lighting during the day (10). Table lamps or having a track light fitted to the ceiling (one that can have the lights angled to different parts of the bedroom) work well during the night. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10