Home Tree Atlas: Home Decor Ideas and Mood Boards

Never Have a Plain Wall Again: Creative Wall Design Ideas

There are so many different ways you can style a wall, creating an elegant design element in any room. Here is a list of creative interior wall design ideas that will help you transform any room in your home.

Wainscoting: Normally you’ll see white wainscoting on a painted wall. But you could also paint over the wainscoting to match the wall color, just like in the living room in picture (1) – (The Finishing Touch: Wainscoting Ideas and Designs).

Wall Paneling and Trim: Wainscoting is when you add wooden panels to the bottom section of the wall. But another design option is adding thin wall trim on the whole wall, just like in picture (2). And this looks great with some decorative crown molding.

Crown Molding: This is when you add decorative strips to the top of the wall, hiding where the wall meets the ceiling. You can get simple crown molding, or there are more decorative kinds like the one in picture (5).

Framing: Any fireplace, doorways, archways, even bookcases (3), and wall mounted media consoles can be elegantly framed.

Add a Texture: There are a few ways you can add a subtle texture to your walls.

Wallpaper: Find one that has a subtle patterned texture. Or use anaglypta wallpaper, which is a 3D patterned wallpaper that can be painted over or left white

Painting Techniques: There are different painting techniques that create unique textures on the wall. For example using a sponge can create a marble look, while a thick brush creates a linen effect. For more ideas and a guide on how to do this, check out my post here: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood To Linen Effects

Stucco: This is a plaster that you use to cover your walls. Different patterns and textures can be created to create a slightly rustic, country look in a room.

Stamped Concrete Walls: If you are putting up concrete walls, these can be stamped to create different effects: like wood (just like the wall in picture (6)), stone, or tile.

Re-Designing Shelves: If you have any open shelves, like the ones in the living room in picture (4), these can have the backs painted a different color than the walls.

A Gallery Wall: Hang up a collection of framed paintings, photographs, or posters to create a decorative gallery wall (8). For a more modern room, use matching frames. And for a more vintage look use different styled frames (Design Tips on How To Create a Vintage Gallery Wall). You could also add in a clock, decorative letter, mirror, or sign into your gallery wall layout.

Make the Room Feel Larger: Hanging up a framed mirror helps make a room feel larger. Also the style and color of the frame you use will help style the space.

Decorative Lighting: If you do have a decorative wall, whether it be a gallery wall or a textured wall, then look to have some downlights. These are ceiling lights that are placed near a wall highlighting it.

And here are some other unique wall design ideas:

For a playroom, kids bedroom, kitchen, or home office, why not paint a wall with chalkboard paint
Check out my post on wooden walls to see different design ideas using wood: 8 Beautiful Wooden Wall Designs
Lastly there is the option to create a veneer wall. For example you can take brick slices, seen in picture (7), to create a faux brick wall. The same can be done with marble and stone sheets.

Here are some other decor posts to get more ideas from:

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

April 15, 2016 in Decor

A Fine Selection of Modern Wallpaper Designs

If you take a look at modern rooms in a home, you’ll notice that they are made up of neutral color palettes. Mostly white, grey, and black. So when it comes to modern wallpaper designs, the same principle applies. The modern wallpaper ideas I have showcased in the mood board above (links to where you can buy them are below) align with the neutral color palette design scheme, with a few colorful designs thrown in.

Being Subtle is Key

A modern room is a clutter free space. It is almost minimalist in style. For your wallpaper choice, you’ll want to avoid designs with heavy patterns.

Instead look for wallpapers that have a subtle texture, like most of the ones shown above. Look for a linen texture, tweed, or a texture that resembles stone.

Where To Buy The Wallpaper Designs in the Mood Board Above

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

6 | 7 | 8

Pushing the Limits

There are also 3D wallpaper designs. These are usually called Anaglypta wallpaper. You can see examples of this in pictures (2) and (5). And these can be painted over to match the color palette of the room you are decorating.

Making A Wall a Design Feature

Downlights can be fitted in the ceiling, close to a wall. This not only adds more lighting to a room, but will also highlight the subtle wallpaper design on the wall – creating a design feature in the room.

Alternative Wall Designs

Paint – A painted wall does not have to be one flat color. There are ways to create subtle texture (and it is much cheaper too). Using a brush you can create a linen effect for example. Have a look at my post for more ideas and photos: Texture Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.

Stamping – Check out my post here (Never Have a Plain Wall Again: Creative Wall Design Ideas) for creative ideas such as stamping a concrete wall to make it look like wood or linen.

Wainscoting – A modern wainscoting design can be applied to your walls. These would be lower down than normal wainscoting, and would have more minimalist paneling. Have a look at my post here for an example: Wainscoting The Finishing Touch: Wainscoting Ideas and Designs.

April 15, 2016 in Decor, Modern

Creating the Right Look: Modern Stairs Design Ideas

Here a few design tips when it comes to creating modern stairs for the interior of your home.

Materials

A metal staircase and stair railing would create a more modern look, just like the one in picture (1). Wood can also made to look modern, if you mix in some metal with it just like in picture (5), or mix in glass (3) (6).

Design Tips

Add some decorative lighting by putting uplights by the wall running up the staircase, or embed the lights into the staircase just like in picture (8)
Open staircase design – in the pictures you can see that all of the modern staircases have an open design, meaning they are not closed off on all sides. Either they are completely open, just like the staircase in picture (1) or they use glass as a divider (3). This creates a more spacious look in the area. A lot of the steps in the modern staircase designs are not even connected, creating an even more open look and feel. And you even have the floating staircase designs seen in pictures (2) and (4).

Here are some other posts to get more ideas from:

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

April 15, 2016 in Modern

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