We learn early on that you can’t fit a square shape into a round hole. Small Living rooms often have the same kind of restraints. Unlike a child’s puzzle, real rooms have more leeway for furniture placement, but that can still make things tough. Planning your furnishings carefully is the key to multiple layout options.
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Source: krakenimages
17 Decorating Mistakes to Avoid in Small Spaces
You can avoid adding unnecessary stuff to your small space. The trouble comes from the everything else you don’t think about. Here’s 17 ways to avoid UNCOMMON decorating mistakes that can leave you with frustration and regret.
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Source: Анна Хазова, Pexels
8 Impactful and Easy Ways to Create that Wow Factor in Any Room
If we dissect what the wow factor is, it becomes clear that what we’re actually after is something surprising. This surprise is the secret weapon that designers rely on to knock our clients socks off. It takes planning and execution to make that kind of impact but, there’s a few easy tricks anyone can do. Here’s how.
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Source: Wayfiar and Living Spaces for Michael Helwig Interiors
Got a Room with Opposite Focal Points? Here’s How to Arrange it!
If you don’t have a gravitational pull towards something in a room with opposite and competing focal points, you have a room that feels out of place and unfocused. You don’t know where to look or how to position your furniture.
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Source: Pottery Barn for Michael Helwig Interiors
7 Questions You Need to Ask Yourself About Open Concept Layouts in Small Homes
Few or no internal walls. Some might think, heck yeah that sounds amazing! Others might think, no way, that’s like being stuck in the same room all the time! Is open concept living still right for life in a post 2020 world? Find out.
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Medley, West Elm, Holistic Habitat
What is Fair Trade, Non-Toxic and Sustainable Furniture? Everything you need to know.
Climate change is a huge pie with many slices.
One of the slices of the climate change pie has to do with how we source and discard the furniture we live with.
It’s so much more than responsibly discarding unwanted furniture.
It’s about the origins for where the furniture comes form long before it’s thrown away.
There’s not only environmental consequences at play, there’s human and economic impacts that directly affect the planet and all of those factors are tied to where you spend your money.
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Top 7 Pros and Cons About Living in a Small House
No matter how you crack it, more stuff is why we have bigger homes.
If you have 4 people in a house, that’s 4 individuals with hobbies, interests, tech, and all the paraphernalia that comes with them.
So, do you think it’s comfortable for a family of 4 to live in 1200 square feet or less?
I love small houses and think that they’re charming and cozy.
If you think yours is cramped and crowded, I’d love a shot at changing your mind.
Don’t get a storage locker for all your extras or ship one of the kids off to grandma’s until college.
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How to Choose a Designer: 10 Essential Make or Break Tips to Keep You Sane!
You’ve been kicking around the idea of making a change in your house.
Perhaps one of your rooms needs better function and you’re looking for help re-configuring doorways, closets or moving plumbing and electrical.
Or
You might need help sourcing new furniture because you’re in a new house and your old stuff doesn’t fit or your layout needs tweaking.
There’s a pro for every project imaginable but not every pro is right for every project.
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No Fail Lighting Formula and 12 Clever Ways to Light up a Small Room!
Nothing makes a room feel more like a cave than a single light source, especially if the room is small.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a ceiling fixture, floor lamp or table lamp, one light source will highlight shadowy areas and really make the walls feel like their closing in.
The solution doesn’t have to involve installing expensive hardwiring.
You can absolutely achieve a fantastic lighting scheme with a simple formula and a few clever tricks so you can enjoy a properly lit room.
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5 Ridiculously Simple Ways to Improve Your Accent Furniture Game
Accent furniture is a piece of furniture that compliments a space.
Literally it is a piece that emphasizes something like a color or style.
Accent furniture adds the punctuation to a room, providing a pause as you peruse the space.
Often, they complete a design; adding that last detail, or filling an awkward corner where nothing else works.
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The Magic Picture Hanging Height Formula to Make Your Art Look Incredible!
Have you ever noticed art that just doesn’t look right in someone’s house?
I’ll bet you’ve looked at it and thought, “wow, that’s way too high up!”
Like there’s a ton of space between the floor or whatever is underneath it and it looks weird.
Or worse, if the piece is super tiny and it’s hung so high it’s hugging the ceiling… Ugh!
Nothing ruins an awesome piece of art like an incorrect placement.
I’m definitely not a stickler for EVERY home decorating standard and I’ll be the first to break the rules if I think something will look better another way.
However, some rules, like the right way to hang art, make a lot of sense.
Art looks best when you can appreciate it straight on.
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Can’t decorate? 5 Quick Ways to Change Your Thoughts So You Can Change Your Space.
Do you believe that what you think can influence your life? If the only word you find to describe your living room is blah, you’re letting your thoughts affect your feelings.
A blah room is uninspiring and dull.
I’ll bet if you felt that way about the clothes you wore, you’d go shopping for some new pieces or accessories to jazz things up, right?
You wouldn’t go years feeling the blahs with your outfits without making some changes.
Why would you live with décor that made you feel that way and expect to feel differently without making changes?
Just like a new outfit, new throw pillows or an area rug won’t change the course of your life, but they can ignite a spark that inspires a revolution in the way you feel about your room.
How you think can about your home will shape your reality.
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Rug Rules. The Right Size Area Rug and Where to Put it in Your Living, Dining and Bedroom
Area rugs can be the impetus for a total room makeover. They help to define a space. They anchor your furniture in your living room. They compose the functionality of your dining table. And, they define and reinforce the aesthetics and functionality of your bed.
The thing about rugs is people often choose the wrong size for the shape and size of their room.
You wouldn’t buy shoes that were 4 sizes too small and expect them to fit comfortably, right?
The same goes for rugs.
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5 Critical Ways to Overcome Self Doubt So You Can Make Excellent Decorating Decisions
Choosing furnishings, paint colors or accessories for your house can be a lot of fun.
But if you have difficulty making decorating decisions this process can be torture.
Making decorating decisions is a mental game.
If you’re feeling stuck, it’s critical to get a handle on exactly why you’re procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed with making choices.
If you’re triggered by feeling something’s wrong with you because you don’t love the latest trend even though all your friends are gaga for it, this post is for you.
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14 Timeless Sofas for Your Perfect Living Room Makeover
I watched video after video of “here’s how to recognize Mid-Century Modern Sofas” from a handful of novice decorators. What I saw had as much to do with Mid Century Modern sofas as if Abraham Lincoln hitched a ride on a SpaceX rocket for a stroll on the moon.
Yes, quite a few of the videos showed a Mid Century looking sofa, and I’m good with that. I think a reproduction that gives you that look and aesthetic is great. But, don’t tell your audience that a fuchsia tufted Chesterfield loveseat will check the Mid Century vibe you’re wanting.
When you’re planning a makeover with a specific aesthetic, it’s important to understand why a sofa or couch fits into a particular style. It’s also important to know basic terminology for a particular style so you can adequately communicate exactly what you want to a furniture store salesperson or designer.
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How to Make Every Inch of Your Small Living Room Count: Furniture Buying, Layout, Wall Color and Décor!
We’re all looking at our small living rooms and wondering how we can improve their layouts or get more functionality out of the space.
In many small homes the living room is where we spend most of our time.
We’re working from home and putting together makeshift offices and homeschooling nooks in living rooms.
And I suspect that we’re probably sick of the way things look, décor, rugs, wall color, etc.
Maybe because they have to be more than just “living rooms” we’re interested in how to get multi-function without sacrificing style.
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How 8 Bold Decorating Ideas Will Change the Way You Feel About Your Small Rooms
Little houses usually don’t Have big rooms where you can experiment and close them off until you’re ready to reveal your creativity. That luxury of space doesn’t exist for small homes where the all rooms are literally steps away from the front door.
So, it’s totally understandable to not want to challenge tried and true small space decorating ideas in favor bold, gutsy choices. But, when you think about a bold decorating choice as a way to highlight the good or diminish the bad, then the prospect of embracing that choice isn’t as scary.
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20 Incredibly Clever Ways to Decorate with Mirrors in a Small Living Room
Small living rooms can be challenging to decorate. This is especially true if you feel that your room is small and boxy.
If you’ve struggled to make your small living room feel a bit roomier, using mirrors in strategic and creative ways can help to make your space feel bigger and brighter.
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10 No Fail Rules for Styling Small Floating Shelves
Sometimes there’s a fine line between styling a shelf and overloading it. I recall one of the pearls of wisdom Coco Channel said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take at least one thing off.” This advice applies perfectly to decorating wall shelves too.
It’s especially relevant for small, floating shelves. Their openness doesn’t provide much space to hide stuff. And, when you cram too much stuff on an open shelf, you know it right away because it feels heavy and unbalanced.
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What You Need to Know to Pick the Right Outdoor Fabrics
I’m going to break down the top 4 outdoor fabric types and give you the low down on the durability, clean-ability, water resistance, mildew resistance and UV protection for each.
Depending on your home turf, you’ll have all the information you need to make a solid buying decision whether you’re looking to purchase a full outdoor seating area or if you’re in the market for accents like pillows and curtains.
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