Design Styles

Staying Up To Date: Modern Living Room Ideas

There are 3 main areas to think about when it comes to modern living room ideas – 1) The color scheme, 2) lighting design, and 3) straight line design. I also go over some simple modern decor tips in this post.

The Color Scheme

From the living pictures in the mood board above, you can see that modern spaces use mostly neutral tones (white, grey, black). This applies to the main feature pieces in the living room – such as the wall color, the seating, cabinets, the coffee table area, and any area rugs. These are the main accent pieces in a living room, pieces that really impact the style of the whole room.

Classic: Black and White Living Room Ideas and Designs

Like most spaces with a neutral color scheme, you can add warmth and color through the use of natural materials. Try and infuse wooden features into the living room, or add some plants,

If you want to add a pop of color, then try and stick to 1 to 2 other colors. Otherwise you’ll take away from the overall neutral look of the space. Check out the modern living room in picture (6) with the pops of yellow.

Modern Living Room Lighting Ideas

The main way to light up a modern living room design is through recessed lights. Recessed lights are fitted into your ceiling, so that all the fixtures are hidden away creating a sleek and modern look.

Hook up these recessed lights to a dimmer switch so that you can dim them down for softer lighting.

And for other light fixtures, see if you can get one of those arch lamps seen in a lot of the pictures. Get yours here:

Straight Lines – Modern Home Designs

If you take a look at the pictures in the mood board, you’ll notice that the rooms feature strong straight lines and edges. Everything has a straight edge. Even the chairs don’t have any rounded sides. Instead you have sectional straight edge modern furniture.

Some Other Design Notes and Modern Decor Ideas

Go with a hookless curtain and curtain rod
Use subtle textures and patterns when it comes to the fabric of the furniture, or the area rug
Keep the space clutter free. Try and store items away in cabinets, and use a tray on the coffee table to group together clutter items
You can give your closest and cabinet doors a modern makeover, with some paint and new hardware (DIY Challenge: Give Your Closet Doors a Makeover). Have a look here for specific examples on what modern closet doors look like: Design Tips for Modern Closet Doors
For modern decor ideas, have a look at my post here: A Clutter Free Home: Modern Decor Ideas. Or check out this one: Simple Yet Stylish Modern Wall Decor Ideas.

Have a look at these posts for more living room ideas:

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

April 15, 2016 in Design Styles, Living Room

Style Guide: 10 Vintage Kitchen Table Ideas and Designs

You don’t even need to buy a new table to create a vintage looking one in your kitchen. You can simply cover your existing table with a vintage style tablecloth. In this post you can find a list of vintage kitchen table ideas, from using tablecloths to different table designs.

And for ideas on what to use as a centerpiece, have a look at my post here: Table Decor: Vintage Centerpiece Ideas.

Cover Your Existing Table

Stitch doilies onto an off white cotton table cloth to give it a little vintage style, just like the table in picture (1)

Lace is another tablecloth idea that will transform a kitchen table into a vintage looking one (2)

Or a vintage style tablecloth, like the one in picture (3) can be used to cover your existing table. You can get one in the Amazon window below.

Table Styles

If you have a small kitchen, then opt for a round wooden one, that has tapered legs. You can buy the one in picture (4) from Urban Outfitters.

If you do have space in your kitchen, then how about the kitchen table in picture (5). All you need to recreate this look is a wooden table, and white paint to paint everything but the tops. A classic look. Or you can buy a set already looking like this in the Amazon window above.

You can white wash a wooden table for a more shabby chic look. This is when you mix white paint with water and paint over furniture. It gives the furniture a light covering of paint, just like the table in picture (6).

A farmhouse style table is another way to go. The kitchen in picture (7) has a table with chipped white paint, and uses a bench instead of individual chairs.

If you can find some reclaimed planks of wood, these can be used to replace the top of your existing table (8).

If you want to add more color to your kitchen, then use light pastel colors to paint a wooden table. Paint colors such as mint, baby blue, or a really pale yellow would work well for a vintage kitchen. The table in picture (9) is quite bright, and has the chipped look effect for a more shabby chic look.

And for a more retro look, check out the vintage formica kitchen table in picture (10). You can find one of these metal tables in the Amazon window above.

Have a look at these posts for more ideas on creating a vintage kitchen:

image credits 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

March 24, 2016 in Design Styles, Kitchen

Vintage and Rustic Farmhouse Decor Ideas: Design Guide

There are two ways you can go about creating that vintage farmhouse decor look in your home. The first way, which is the best way, is to invest in the focal points of the room – the bed in the bedroom, the dining table in the dining room, etc. This one piece in the room, the focal piece, that will immediately styles the whole space.

The other option is to look for small rustic decor pieces. The problem with this, is that if you don’t have a farmhouse style home, you’ll have a hard time creating the look.

In this post I go over ideas for the focal pieces of a room and smaller home decor pieces that can be used to style a farmhouse inspired space.

In The Bedroom

The main focal point in the bedroom is the bed. If you get a stylised one, you can instantly transform the look and feel of the room.

The go to option for a bed is an iron one: just like in picture (1). This is really the only true farmhouse bed. You could go with a wooden one, maybe a four post bed – but the iron bed is really the style to go with.

And don’t forget about the bed linens. Since the style and color you choose for them will also have a big impact on the styling of the bedroom. Go with white or off white sheets, and add in some subtle texture and patterns – again just like the farmhouse bedroom in picture (1).

For more farmhouse bedroom ideas have a look at my post here: Farmhouse Bedroom Ideas, How To Style Your Space.

Farmhouse Kitchen Decor

White is a popular base color for a farmhouse kitchen. White walls, and white cabinets with iron handles – mixed in with a porcelain tub sink and a wooden counter top – just like the kitchen in picture (2). Barn house style lighting (such as pancake lights) would be an ideal fit for a vintage or french style farmhouse kitchen.

Bathroom Farmhouse Designs

The important area in the bathroom is the vanity. Just like in the kitchen, a porcelain tub sink is the way to go. A free standing sink with porcelain legs is more on the farmhouse style. But if you are tight on space then you’ll want a countertop with storage built in underneath.

Try and incorporate wooden countertops into the bathroom design (3) (4), along with wooden shelves.

Since traditional country farmhouses have a lot of space, a free standing bathtub is a standard fixture in the bathroom.

The Living Room

For the seats, it is usually white or off white. It’s the coffee table where more focus is needed. You’ll want an antique looking wooden one (5). Reclaimed wood would be ideal with iron fixtures.

Farmhouse Living Room Ideas, How To Create The Look

Farmhouse Decor Ideas

My way of thinking when it comes to decor pieces is based on design through function. That is, decorating a room with stylized and high quality functional pieces such as lamps, storage containers, and furniture pieces. These pieces go a long way in styling the room vs. buy small decor pieces to try and style it.

This way you keep out the clutter, and can invest more in fewer pieces that are functional and decorative.

Storage: Use wooden crates (6) and trunks (7), wicker and wire baskets, galvanised and enamel buckets (8).
Lamps and Light Fixtures: Check out industrial and barn light fixtures here and my post on Vintage Lighting Ideas.
Natural fiber rugs
Iron curtain rods
Wooden side tables
Or how about a wooden ladder to store towels in the bathroom, magazines and blankets in the living room, to hang up clothes in the bedroom, or to hang up pots and pans in the kitchen.

Follow me on Pinterest to get all of my future posts on farmhouse style decor ideas.

For more design ideas, have a look at these posts and pages:

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

March 19, 2016 in Design Styles, Farmhouse Design

Host A Beautiful Vintage Garden Party: A Mood Board of Ideas for Decorations

The garden is the perfect place to host your vintage party – whether it is for a birthday party or a tea party. Set the mood with some soft glowing lighting, and decorate that food table with vintage inspired pieces. The list of vintage party decoration ideas below will help you transform your garden into a vintage wonderland.

Setting the Mood with Lighting: If your party is set to go into the evening, then you’ll want to have some lighting. This can be done cheaply by hanging up vintage style string lights just like in picture (2) (get them here), using paper lanterns, or use candle lanterns to light up the tables.

You can put candles in Mason jars (3), and even cover the outside of the jars with colorful craft paper.

One of the simplest and cheapest ways of adding lighting is to put candles onto stakes and plant them into the ground – a DIY idea by A Subtle Revelry seen in picture (4).

For more pictures and lighting ideas, have a look at my post here: Vintage Outdoor Lighting Ideas Mood Board

The Food Table: Some vintage party supplies to decorate the tables include using Mason jars as glasses, glass drinks dispensers seen in picture (5), twine to wrap napkins around cutlery sets, and have mismatching plates (6).

Decorate the table with a lace table cloth, a doily table runner or a burlap one. Vintage style glass bottles can be used as table planters (Table Decor: Vintage Centerpiece Ideas)

Birdcages: A birdcage can be used to house plants, string lights, or vintage books as a decorative piece (Home Decor Ideas: Using Birdcages). They can also be used on the food table to house cutlery or sauces.

Bunting: You can get handmade vintage style bunting decorations on Etsy (7).

How To Create A Magical Evening: Outdoor Movie Night Ideas

A Chalkboard: See if you can incorporate a chalkboard into your decoration plans somehow – just like the one in the vintage garden tea party in picture (8).

This can be as easy as grabbing a piece of thick cardboard and covering it in chalkboard paint (get some here). A sheet of plywood would be better, or check out my DIY post where I used an IKEA Billy bookcase door to make a chalkboard display. Or have a look at my DIY post where I printed out some vintage borders and painted in the empty space with chalkboard paint (Print and Paint: DIY Chalkboard Paint Posters).

Suitcases: Old vintage style suitcases can be used as food stands, or just decorative pieces.

Here are some more mood board posts, where you’ll definitely get more ideas for your vintage party decorations:

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