Home Tree Atlas: Home Decor Ideas and Mood Boards

Creative DIY Ideas for Living Room Shelves

A few planks of wood and a little creativity is all that you need to make some shelves. Check out what people have done to create their own living room shelves below.

Repurposing Magic

There are a few things you can repurpose to create budget friendly shelves. Crates make for great stackable living room shelving, just like in picture (3). If you want to get away from that rustic feel, paint them all in white (4). Or what about using a charming rustic ladder to shelve plants (5). Place a plank of wood between the steps to create a long mobile shelf unit – just like in picture (6).

For the corners of the room, take a page out of Linda’s DIY notebook and use and old door to create some corner shelves (7).

New Materials

How about getting creative and bringing in some new materials into the mix. Like leather. A plank of wood, a strap of leather, and two nail is all you need to make modern minimalist style shelves for a living room (8). Get a little bit more fancy and you can create hanging shadow box display shelves complete with leather hangers (9).

Using tree branches was a creative idea to create some living room wall shelves to hold some books. Keep them raw for a rustic feel or spray paint them to blend them in with the rest of your living room decor (10). If you really want customised built in shelving then head on over to the piping section of the hardware store. Combined with some planks of wood you can create your own industrial style living room shelves seen in picture (11).

Then there is the side table in picture (12), made from planks of wood and bricks.

Pop of Color

I really like how the cabinet in picture (13) has a colored backdrop. It really makes the shelves stand out – creating a focal point in the room. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13

January 10, 2014 in DIY, Living Room, Storage

A Look Back: DIY Photograph Poster Prints

Since my Travel Confetti print turned out so well I thought I’d do another one, this time using the best moments of 2013. I went ahead and got it printed using the plotter printer (A1 black and white) and also on glossy A3 photo card. Both of these prints only cost me $3 each at my local printers.

Side by side with the A4 Travel Photo Confetti poster I did a while back. You can find the post here.

And here is the A1 plotter/blueprint print.

Doing it Yourself: This kind of thing is much easier to do in a photo editor program like Photoshop or Gimp. But it can also be done in a program like PowerPoint. Click on the buttons below for the template files (the plotter image is there, it is pure white so you can’t see anything. Just right click and save). The images are in the png format – so there are holes where the circles are. If you put your photographs behind the template image, they will show through.

The plotter print can be done in an A1 size, while the color print is best in A3. Hope this all helps, message me if you make them – love to see.

January 9, 2014 in Home Office, Made By HtA

From Italy: Tuscan Living Room Ideas

When it comes to Tuscan living room ideas, for me, the one thing to keep in mind is ‘raw earth’. You are taking a design style founded in the rolling hills of Tuscany – so there is a lot of inspiration coming from rustic nature. Just like in the Tuscan Kitchen Decor Ideas post, you want to use a lot of wood and stone, along with wrought iron pieces.

The colors you’ll see in a Tuscan style living room, are made up of natural yellows, terracotta, stone grey, deep woods and leather, and because it is the country side – splashes of greenery.

Warmth in the Walls

The walls of the room can really set the tone for the Tuscan style. Look at most of the pictures above and you will see a lot of stone work – whether that be stone bricks or tiles. If having the entire room in stone is a little too rustic, then look to have a feature wall (one wall) covered in stone – just like in picture (6).

The key with the walls is to create a textured effect. An alternative to stone walls is rough plaster or stucco. A step down from that would be to use textured painting techniques to recreate a similar feel. Check out my post here for different ways you can create a magical textured wall just by using paint: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects.

Architectural Pieces

Exposed beams lining the ceiling adds to the warmth in the room. Some other architectural styling ideas would include making use of arches to frame the room – like in picture (7). Or how about the wrought iron archway piece framing the walkway in picture (8). It really adds the Tuscan style to an otherwise modern looking house.

Flooring

If you live in a warm area then stone or terracotta tiles would be the best choice. Otherwise hardwood flooring would be a good alternative.

Tuscan Style Lighting

One of the best ways to infuse the wrought iron pieces of the Tuscan decor style is through lighting. You’ve got everything from wrought iron chandeliers and pendant lights, to wrought iron lamps and candle holders.

In the daytime you’ll want to make use of large windows to bathe the whole living room in natural light. This would be another area where you can infuse arches – check out the arch window in picture (9).

Tuscan Decor and Furniture Pieces

When it comes to the seating area, plush leather chairs or upholstered chairs with hardwood frames would be the way to go. These chairs add that raw natural brown color into the room, just like in picture (10).

For decor items, some Tuscan style living room decorating ideas include: ceramics and pottery, wrought iron decor pieces (letters, sculptures, baskets), and terracotta pots.

And don’t forget about the coffee table, a piece that could set the whole style for your living room. Ideas here include a hardwood top with wrought iron legs. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

January 7, 2014 in Living Room

Romance at Home: Shabby Chic Living Room Ideas

The shabby chic style is formal and informal at the same time. Yup.. Here is a good example: a chair. The style will be more French – formal looking and decorative, but it will be painted in a light pastel color and possibly chipped. Below I’ll go over more shabby chic living room ideas to give you a good idea on how to style your space.

When it comes to the color palette of the room, try and keep it to white, off white, cream, and pastel shades. Just like the swatches in the mood board above.

Fancy Storage Ideas

White wicker baskets, just like in picture (2), are great for grouping items, storing blankets and extra pillows, holding magazines, and kids toys. Wire baskets also work as storage containers and create that shabby chic look. Another idea would be to lean an old wooden ladder against the wall and use it as a magazine rack or to hang up blankets.

A great way to add some greenery is to use vintage glass bottles as planters. Check out my post here for more ideas on using vintage glass bottles as decor pieces around the house.

Sitting Down

A style to borrow from when it comes to shabby chic living room furniture would be French. It is decorative and ornate. In terms of color, the best would be either white or a pastel color. Chipped furniture adds to the shabby chic style and this can be done at home DIY style – check out the steps for doing so here.

A white coffee table (3) will look good surrounded by your shabby chic furniture. Other shabby chic coffee table ideas include using a trunk (4).

Whimsy and Lighting

You can create a romantic ambience in the living room by using low down lighting. So avoid using the ceiling lights at night and go for some table or floor lamps. On the coffee table have some lanterns and use candles or battery powered candles.

A must have if you really want to create a flawless shabby chic style is a chandelier (5) or a mini one. This will be a feature piece, hanging down in the middle of your living room.

Lightweight drapes can be wrapped in LED string lights to create an elegant soft glow in the room. You want to use LED lights because they give off less heat making them safer to use with fabric.

Accenting with Decor Pieces

A large painted French style mirror adds to the style of the room just like in picture (6) and makes a living room feel larger and more spacious.
A good way to hack the shabby chic style is to put a chipped painted, reclaimed door in the living room as a decor piece – just look at the living room in picture (7). Reclaimed windows work too.
When it comes to decorating ideas for the seating area, lace pillows and even burlap pillows (8) with a printed graphic on it works. A blanket with lace edging or a quilt (9) can also be draped over the couch to add a shabby chic touch.
Curtains tend to make up a large portion of the living room walls – so the right style here can make a big impact on the look of the room. The way to go would be with more traditional style curtains – like using lace, or decorative drapes just like in picture (10). Don’t forget to use tie backs to create a formal look. One DIY idea is to use vintage door knobs as hooks to tie back the curtains.
Have some vintage pieces decorating the living room like a skeleton key, botanical prints, or an antique looking clock.
Add some pink and white flowers to the mix (11) either in a galvanised buckets, enamel containers or a ceramic serving jug. You can always wrap these containers with lace.

If you want to go that extra mile to create the shabby style, look at creating textured walls. Either with rough plaster, stucco, or even with textured paint techniques seen here. 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11