Tag Archives | Inspiration

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

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

Here are some more home office posts to get ideas from:

March 6, 2013 in Bedroom, Home Office

Kitchen Lighting Ideas Mood Board and Inspiration

Here are the specific areas of the kitchen that need lighting and the types of lights to use.

Over The Sink: The sink area is one place where lighting is often overlooked. Which lighting design ideas and options to use will depend on what you have around the sink. If there are any cabinets overhead then under cabinet lighting will work (see below). The most common solution would be to have ceiling track lights nearby. Since you can angle these lights, have one angled towards the sink. Other ideas include having a pendant light hang down close by as seen in picture (1), and for the daytime a window will bring in sunlight.

Stoves: Most hoods will have lights built into them (2) (3). If there aren’t any an alternative would be to once again angle a track light towards the area. You’ll want the light shining down so that the person cooking doesn’t cast a shadow over the stove.

Cabinet Lighting Ideas: There are under cabinet lights and display lights. Most cabinets will be hung over countertops. So you’ll definitely want to have under cabinet lights – not only to make the kitchen look great, but they light up the counters making it easier to prepare food (4).

Then there are display lights. These are puck lights that are attached to the underside of the shelves inside of the cabinets. These will require wiring, but a quick fix is to have motion sensor battery powered puck lights (found on Amazon), which will turn on when you are looking for things inside of the cabinet.

The Kitchen Island: For specific ideas on this area have a look at our post here (Beautiful Spaces: Kitchen Island Lighting Ideas).

Over the Dinner Table: A great way of lighting up a dinner table would be to have a pendant light hanging down from the ceiling right above the table. A stylish option would be to use a drum light (5).

Kitchen Bar: Here, just like a lot of the areas in a kitchen, you’ll want to bring the light close down to the countertop. Pendant lights would be the best choice (6). You can even find adjustable pendant lights – you pull them down when you want to use them. Take a look at pendant light adapters if you don’t want to do any wiring and electrical work. These are pendant lights that screw into and hang from a normal ceiling light socket (7). An alternative to pendant lighting for a kitchen bar would be to use adjustable track lights.

General Kitchen Lighting Ideas: The ideas above are great for providing localized and focused lighting to areas in the kitchen. For more general and ambient lighting, recessed lights would be the best way to go. These can be used alongside pendant lights, chandeliers, and track lights (8).

Added Features: Dimmer switches would be a great feature to have in a kitchen. You can instantly transform the space from a functional bright work area to a romantic dinner setting.

For a beginner’s guide to home lighting design, have a look at my post here: The Simple Guide: Home Lighting Design Basics.

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

February 17, 2013 in Kitchen, Lighting

Inspiration and Ideas for Decorating Kitchen Ceilings

Here are a few ideas to get you inspired on what to do with your kitchen ceiling:

Remodeling Ideas: A drop ceiling can make the space feel cozier and allows for modern recessed lights as seen in picture (1). It also allows for cove lighting which bounces light off of the ceiling and into the room creating a grand setting (2). Instead of having a drop ceiling another idea is to have a more rustic look with exposed beams (3).

Decorative Ideas: Wallpaper can be used to decorate the ceiling, have a look at our post here: Design Notes on Kitchen Wallpaper Ideas. A cheaper alternative would be to have the ceiling painted. This can be one solid color (4) (5) (6) or you can go for a more textured look by using some unique painting techniques (7) – check out our post here for ideas: Textured Wall Painting Ideas: From Faux Wood to Linen Effects. For ideas of what colors to use and how to create an overall color scheme take a look at our post here: A Palette Guide for Kitchen Color Schemes: Decor and Paint Ideas.

Other kitchen ceiling ideas include: Fitting beams to the ceiling and have them lined with crown molding (8) (9). Another idea is to fit tiles for a more decorative look (10) (11). 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8//10/11