Decor

Welcome Home: Front Door Ideas and Designs

First impressions. The first impression of your home is not just important for visitors and potential buyers, but to you the person living there. Would you rather come home to a well lit cozy feeling and well designed front door, or a dark ratty tatty front door. Welcome yourself home everyday by sprucing up your front door.

A Grand Entrance

The larger you can make your entry way the better. It will look grander, and create the look of a luxurious house. This can be done with double doors. Or just with one door but have side panels on both sides of the door and even have a panel above. And create a thick frame around the door way, that includes a door frieze and cornice (this is a decorate frame that goes above the door just like in picture (7)).

These side panels can be purely decorative. Or if you get panels with windows in them, they can help bring natural light into the house during the day. A glass panel on the side of the door also allows you to see who is at the door.

Lighting Your Home

Front door lighting plays an important role for 2 reasons. First, having a light on at night deters intruders. And second, it makes it easier for you to see your keys and getting inisde when you come home at night. Plus it makes your house look good.

The most common way to light the front door is to use a wall. See if you can create symmetry for a more uniform design – so have one wall light on each side of the door. Wall lights tend not to be too bright, so having an added ceiling light can be a bonus.

Door and Side Panel Design

When it comes to the door design, and the side panels, you have two design options: 1) trim, and 2) glass panels. You can get doors covered in decorative trim that creates patterns, just like the green door in picture (5). The door in picture (3) shows a different style of trim work.

The second design feature is the glass and windows. As mentioned above, glasswork helps bring in light and helps you see who is at the door. Different door designs provide different levels of privacy. The door in picture (5) has a small beveled and frosted glass window. While the doors in picture (1) and (2) have huge glass panels with less privacy, but bring in more light.

You can get quite decorative with glass and window panels, either for your door or side panels. Some design options include:

beveled glass (decorative glass panels)
decorative metal grill inserts (2)
frosted or stained glass (6)
curved wooden screens
you can even get decorative and decorate glass doors with decals or use a white board marker for different holidays (4)

Make It Feel Good

You want to have a solid and heavy door. And also look for a solid door handle (and door knocker), made out of a premium material like brass. You will definitely feel the difference when you open the door, and it adds a nice luxurious touch to your home.

See if you can add plants to your front door area, and try and create symmetry. So have matching large potted plants on both sides of the door. Or for a more bohemian, green flavor, why not add hanging plants.

Decorative Elements

Try and create symmetry for your front door area. That means having a panel on both sides if you can. The same goes for light fixtures and decor pieces such as plants. Here are a few design and decor ideas that you could add to your front door:

The style of the house number you put up will say a lot about the style of the house. You’ve got more modern house numbers, like the ones seen in picture (4), and then there are more traditional styles such as the numbers on the door in picture (2). And if you want to keep symmetry, then stick the numbers in the center of your door.
How about fitting a brass handle plate, or footplate, just like the door in picture (1)

Playing With Color Ideas

More modern homes will have tall front doors, probably without glass panels and trim, and will be in a neutral color such as black, grey or white.

When it comes to choosing the color for your front door, you will need to take into consideration the color of your house. If your house is made up of a lot of different colors, then it might be best to go with a neutral toned down color (white, black, grey, cream) for your front door so it won’t clash with the colors of the house.

But if you have a neutral and uniformed colored house, just like the one in picture (1), you could go with a bold color for the front door. Since the house is neutral in color, the front door will really stand out and be a design feature.

You can also play with the colors within the door, see how the side panels in picture (3) are painted black but have touches of cream paint on the frames.

Here are some other posts to get more ideas from:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

May 28, 2016 in Decor, Outdoors

7 Ways on How To Make a Room Feel Cozy and Relaxing

I have written a long post on the many different ways you can make a room look bigger. This post is going to do the exact opposite – it is going to show you how to make a space feel cozy, secluded, and relaxing. You might want to do this because you have a small room, and instead of trying to make it look bigger you can embrace the size and make it truly feel like a cozy place. Or you are doing this because you just want to create a more relaxing room. Either way, the ideas in this post will help you transform your room into a cozy relaxing space.

1/ Relaxing Colors

If you want to create a cozy room, then you’ll want to paint the walls a nice dark color (such as navy, rose, or a dark grey). Not only will this make the room feel cozy, but it will also make it look more luxurious. Darker colors make a room feel secluded, relaxing and cozy. While light colors make a room feel bright, spacious, and livelier.

If you only want to create a relaxing room at night, then an alternative is to paint the walls white. When night comes you can turn on a modern mood lamp (get yours here) that will paint the walls in a relaxing color.

2/ How To Create Cozy and Relaxing Lighting

Avoid using ceiling lights when you want to create cozy lighting in a room at night. You can hook your ceiling lights up to a dimmer switch or how about using table and floor lamps instead. For a more whimsical look, hang up some string lights or use LED string lights wrapped in lace.

The ultimate way to create relaxing lighting is to use candles. To reduce the fire hazard, put your candles inside of a lantern. Or use a large glass bowl filled with water and have fairy lights float in it.

3/ Ways to Soften the Space

The more fabric you can add to your room, the softer and more relaxing it will feel. Some ways to do this include:

Bring natural light in during the day but have privacy at the same time by using sheers or lace curtains.
Hang up a tapestry on the walls (or frame a piece of fabric)
Create a canopy by hanging fabric down from the ceiling
Layer area rugs

4/ Ways to Bring in Natural Materials

You can bring warmth and color into a room by using natural materials. Add wooden pieces either by having wooden furniture pieces or decor items (wooden planters, wooden storage containers, wooden picture frames, etc.).

Bring in shades of green into the room by having potted plants. You can even create a curtain of plants by hanging pots of plants down from the ceiling.

5/ How To Hide Things Away

You don’t want to have a messy space if you’re trying to create a cozy room. So you’ll want to hide everything out of the way, and be left with just the pieces that create a relaxing environment.

Maybe you can’t hide everything out of sight. Instead get good looking matching storage pieces. This way they will also act as decor pieces for the room. Here are some good looking storage ideas:

Wicker baskets, hampers, and trucks
Enamel or galvanized buckets
Wire baskets or glass jar.

Another way to hide things is to have a room divider. Maybe you have a home office space or gym equipment in a bedroom or living room, or laundry machines in a bathroom. All of this can be hidden away when not in use. Hanging up a curtain is one way of doing this, book shelves and folding wooden dividers are some other options. Have a look at my post here for more ideas: Ideas Mood Board: DIY Room Dividers.

6/ A Sanctuary in a Sanctuary

The whole room doesn’t need be a completely relaxing and cozy space. Instead you could carve out a little cozy nook instead. This could be a reading nook or more of a day bed – just a small secluded space where you can relax.

This nook can be created in a corner of a room, by a window, under the stairs, or built into a closet space. Or how about just hanging up a hammock. And to close yourself off from the rest of the house, hang up some curtains, or put up some book shelves, or check out the DIY room divider post I linked to above.

7/ Inspiring Place

Surround yourself with inspiring or memorable art pieces or photographs. Do this by creating a gallery wall, hanging up a collection of framed pieces. You can check out my vintage gallery wall post or my Pinterest gallery wall board to see examples and ideas on how to create your own.

Here are some other posts to get more ideas from:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6

May 28, 2016 in Decor, Online Interior Design Course

How To Create A Magical Evening: Outdoor Movie Night Ideas

When creating an outdoor movie night, there are 4 main things to think about. 1) Where are you going to set it up. 2) What is the best way to create the movie screen. 3) What sort of seating/furniture are you going to use (this can be as easy as using floor cushions). And 4) Why not add some soft relaxing lighting for your movie night.

Choosing a Spot:

By the pool if you have one. Or blow up an inflatable pool to relax in.
Inside a pergoda or a hut, just like in picture (7)
If you have a deck, this could be a place where people can sit to watch the movie – then project the movie onto a nearby wall or hang up a bed sheet.
Or how about building a simple raised platform just for your movie space – like in picture (8)
Choose a spot near a white wall. If you have a fence or a flat white wall on the outside of your house, this could be a place to screen your movie and set up your projector. Or there are the ideas listed below showing easy ways on how to set up an outdoor screen.

How To Create an Outdoor Movie Screen

Here are some ideas on how to create an outdoor movie screen:

There is the idea mentioned above, which was to use a flat white wall
Hang up a white bed sheet in-between trees or poles
If you are hosting a large group of people, then hiring a large inflatable movie screen would be an option
Or create a DIY movie screen stand using PVC or plumbing pipes – which you can use to hang up a bed sheet
There are also portable screen stands, get one in the Amazon window below

Furniture Ideas

Outdoor garden floor pillows are great for an informal and cozy atmosphere. Get yours in the Amazon window above
Check out my pallet post that shows how pallets were turned into outdoor cinema loungers: The Pallet Cinema: A Garden Movie Night
Or this post here has more ideas: Is That a Pallet Swimming Pool? 24 DIY Pallet Outdoor Furniture Creations and Big Builds

Setting the Mood With Lighting

Hang up some string lights. Stake some tiki torches around (use citronella oil as it is a natural insect repellent), or use candles and lanterns. In my outdoor DIY lighting post you can see how normal candles shoved onto stakes make for easy outdoor movie party lights: Getting Crafty: DIY Outdoor Lighting Ideas.

For more ideas for your outdoor movie night, have a look at these posts:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8

April 25, 2016 in Decor, Outdoors

The Pegboard House: Inventive Ideas on Using Pegboards Around the House

When most people think of pegboards, they will picture them being used for customized storage. But you can get creative with them, paint over them, and use them in more unique ways – such as a pegboard headboard (seen in picture (1) DIY steps here), a headboard that you can fit lights to or a book shelf.

Inventive Uses

Create a mobile wall divider and storage wall with pegboard sheets and casters (Ideas Mood Board: DIY Room Dividers) – just like the one in picture (3) which you can find the DIY for here [in Dutch]
Use a pegboard to create a holiday wall. Arrange pegs to create a Christmas tree shape for Christmas (7), a pumpkin shape for Halloween, or a star for the 4^th of July.
Keep your bedside table clutter free by having a mini pegboard wall behind the table to hang up beside items – from watches and books to charging phones and wallets (2).
Check out that 3D pegboard table runner in picture (6) – get the DIY steps here. Instead of those geometric decor pieces on the peg stands, you could create paper angels for Christmas, numbers for a birthday, or spell out someone’s name – the possibilities are endless
You can create a vertical garden by using long pegs or hooks to hang up planters above each other
Create a command center in the kitchen – hang up a clock, letter rack, paper sorters, a penholder, and a sheet of metal and use magnets to create a bulletin board.

Creative Storage Ideas

Hang a pegboard onto the back of a door – to hang up clothes, scarves, or even as a jewelry holder
Instead of creating a tile backsplash in the kitchen or bathroom, use pegboard sheets to create a customizable backsplash with storage – just like the kitchen backsplash in picture (5)
Create a coat rack in the foyer

Decorating

Here are some ways you can go about decorating and styling a pegboard: