Moving into a new house can be very exciting. Thinking about all the possibilities, all the ways you’d like to decorate the house. If you’re anything like me, you go through a space for the first time and your mind starts reeling with all the things that you can do with it. But before you get ahead of yourself it’s important to think about how you’re going to live, day to day in your new house. This determination goes above and beyond the durability and aesthetics of furniture. That’s certainly important; but I’m referring functionality as part of this excitement. A little bit of planning how you need your house to function for your everyday life can really help when you’re furnishing a house from scratch. Here are my top 5 tips so you can avoid headaches down the road and to keep you on track.
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Five Instant Ways To Get a Cool Color Scheme For Summer
It’s finally happening summer is almost here and I for one couldn’t be happier. Spring is my favorite time of year for sure because I love all the newness of flowers and green. Living in the Northeast US, the winters are long, and I complain often about how brown everything is. So, when Spring finally comes and the birds sing and flowers bloom, I get excited! With summer being literally one week away, I thought it’s a great time to tweak some stuff around the house. It’s time to put away the extra blankets and slippers and bring in some different ways to make home feel ‘summer easy’. So, in that vein here are five Instant ways to get a cool color scheme for summer.
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Minimalist Copper And Wood Jewelry Stand
The minimalist look is super hot right now and what better way to display your treasures than with a super simple minimalist jewelry tree? It’s beautiful, functional and easy to make. Plus, you’ll be able to have all your favorite pieces right at hand – total grab and go on those busy mornings! Let’s get into how to make a minimalist copper and wood jewelry stand.
The Right Way To Hang Wall Art
There are a lot of techniques out there to help simplify the art of hanging wall art… I know, bad pun. If you’ve tried to symmetrically line up pictures without a plan, I’m sure you’ve experienced some frustration. There always seems to be one or two pictures off. One’s slightly higher then the one next to it or off in some other way… The same could be said for asymmetrical installations; if something is off, it’s still really noticeable, right? Well, what if there was a super easy way to get your art up on the wall and aligned just the way you want it the first time? Best of all, you won't have to save this project for a long weekend cause you won't be patching and painting all the extra holes you would've made... Stop trying to eyeball where stuff goes. Let’s get into the right way to hang wall art so you can save time and leave your frustrations on the curb!
How To Make Glitz And Glam Pumpkins
Who says that Fall decorations have to be orange, red and yellow? Not every seasonal decoration has to be the traditional colors that you see in nature. Don’t get me wrong, the Fall colors are beautiful and they make everything look so vibrant but what if you want to infuse a bit of glam into the season? I say, if you want to bring in the glitz, go ahead and do it. So in the interest of making the season just a bit more glitzy, here’s a new take on the classic pumpkin. Let’s make some white glitz and glam pumpkins to add to your Autumn décor, shall we?
How To Make Your Bathroom More Relaxing
A few weeks ago I attended a wedding and I stayed at the hotel spa where the wedding was. It was a beautiful wedding and everything was perfect. My entire suite was stunning but the room that got my attention was the bathroom. It was spectacular. No detail was left to chance; it was an oasis: Aroma therapy oils wafting in the air, amazing acoustics, and perfect water pressure! My favorite part of this bathroom, you ask? It had a glass enclosed steam shower! Pure luxury for anyone who has experienced one. When I arrived home I announced that we must get a steam shower! This spa hotel experience got me thinking… What makes a relaxing bathroom? What can you do to make that luxurious oasis spa feel a reality for your bathroom today? Well, keep reading because I came up with 5 tips on how to make your bathroom more relaxing. Ready? Let’s get to it:
Simple Picture Frame Fall Wreath
It’s Fall and the leaves are beginning to change here in the Northeast. Soon the colors of Autumn will be ablaze with color everywhere the eye can see. For this week’s Sunday diy I thought what better time to get a jump start on all those incredible colors than with a beautiful and SUPER simple wreath for the front door. Let’s honor the season and create a simple picture frame Fall wreath! Fire up the hot glue gun and let’s get started!
World Map Clock And Airplane DIY
One of the hottest trends in home décor this year is the world map. If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling the world in 60 seconds, like Elon Musk will probably have us doing in 12 months, then you’re going to love this Sunday diy! It’s a pretty easy one this week. I got the idea for this one from Mad Stuff With Rob. I modified my design a bit. He’s got some pretty cool diy’s on his channel. I’ll link to the video at the end. Let’s make a world map clock with airplane second hand. Ready, let’s go!
What Is The Best Material For Kitchen Counter Tops?
The kitchen renovation is scheduled and now you have to get down to deciding on your countertop and everything else. The choices for kitchen countertops is intimidating to say the least, right? How do you know what the best materials are? How can you make sure you’re up to speed on the best choices? Which ones are heat resistant? Which ones are the most durable? There’s a lot to consider when renovating a kitchen. Let me help you make this choice a bit easier. Today I’m going to answer the question: What is the best material for kitchen countertops?
Gilded Edge Paper Agate Wall Art
I guess I’m really stuck on this crystal thing lately. I came across this idea when I was searching through some wall art ideas for a client who loves geodes and natural rock formations. All of the pieces I found were quite expensive, I’m talking almost $400.00. Granted they were the real deal and beautiful. Now full disclosure, I saw a tutorial for how to make these out of polymer clay and I was like, sign me up for that! I gave it a whirl and just about burned the house down… Guess I’m not too handy with polymer clay. Plan B: paper crafts, much more my forte! Now if you don’t have $400.00 to drop on some awesome agate slice wall art, just keep the money in the bank cause I’m gonna show you how to make this grouping for under $15.00 including everything shown. Impossible you say? Well naysayers be gone! Let’s get into how to make some gilded edge paper agate wall art!
10 Easy Dorm Decor DIY’s
No it’s not diy Sunday but, ‘tis the season for heading back to campus. So what better time than now to craft up a few super easy and quick(ish) décor ideas that will really make your dorm room the envy of everyone in your quad. Let’s get into 10 easy dorm decor diy’s!
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How To Make A DIY Light Up Marquee Sign
It’s dorm room season and do I have a cool project for you today! You’ve seen them all over Pinterest and Tumblr and you’re always wanted to try it craft one up yourself. Well if you think a light up sign is a tough thing to make, I’m here to tell you it’s super easy! It’s DIY Sunday and if you’ve ever dreamed of seeing your name in lights, here’s how you can do it! Let’s get into how to make a diy light up marquee sign!
Need Lighting Over The Dining Table? Here’s What You Need To Know Before Buying.
Candle light can really set the mood for a romantic dinner for two. Everything and EVERYBODY always looks better in candle light, don’t you think? Remember the movie Sixteen Candles, when Molly Ringwald finally gets to kiss Jake Ryan on her birthday? Que the song, “If You Were Here” By Thompson Twins.. Cut to Molly and Jake sitting cross-legged on the dining table, lavishly lit by 16 flickering birthday candles atop the perfect birthday cake… I mean come on! Does it get better or more romantic than that? Sadly, not every dinner can be so perfect. Even sadder still, not every dinner has birthday cake.. But if you use your dining room table often, (mine is used as a pop up office almost daily), then you’ll want the right lighting to make dinner time more enjoyable and all those other “non food related” activities at the dining table, do-able! So if you need lighting over the dining table, here’s what you need to know before buying.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals!
For this week’s Sunday diy I’m going full on Mr. Wizard! And if you’re old enough to remember Donald Herbert Kemske, a.k.a. Mr. Wizard, you’ll recall he did some pretty amazing stuff on Mr. Wizard’s World in the 80’s and early 90’s. I’m pretty sure he’d appreciate this diy. Today, my Dear reader, we’re going to make our own magnificent, sparkling crystals! The prep time for this project will be just about 10 minutes. In the end you’ll have an awesome décor piece that you can display on a bookshelf in your room, dorm, home office, desk or window. Hell, you can put it anywhere you want a bit of bling! Wanna know how to do it? Well let’s get started.
The Fool Proof Way To Get The Right Size Dining Table
“We’ve moving to a smaller home and my formal dining set just doesn’t fit the new space, help!” I hear that almost every day. There is a building boom going on in Buffalo and the charge is being lead by the Baby Boomers and a few Gen X’s. For many couples, the kids are grown and out on their own and they are finally getting to have the home design they’ve always wanted. For the most part this new exciting chapter is filled with dreaming and planning new furniture layouts, color schemes. Some days are filled with wood, metal and tile samples, fabric swatches and a few little headaches here and there. One of those headaches being the dinning room. Now for some reason, and this has been my experience as a designer, people really know what they want their new great room/open kitchen to look like but the dinning space really throws them. If that’s the case for you and you’re struggling to finish up your new dining space, here’s the fool proof way to get the right size dining table. It’s broken down into 5 tips to avoid buyer’s remorse.
DIY Scoppio Sphere Sunburst Spike
This diy is hot, hot, hot! And easy, easy, easy! You may have seen tons of tutorials on this kind of whimsical décor on tumblr and Youtube. I’ve seen metal versions go for as much as $30.00. Its one of those pieces that has legs, meaning it transcends seasons. You can place a bunch of them on a Christmas tree or put a few on a mantle for the holidays. I put mine on my book shelf in my office and it looks great all year round! They can be customized with any color you want, I’m sticking with gold cause I’m obsessed with gold, white and black accents at the moment… How much does it cost, you ask? Well, my Dears, you can diy this nifty little sculpture for under $5.00. $7.00 if you use a fancy paint. Wanna know how? Let’s get into making a diy Scoppio Sphere Sunburst Spike!
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Should I Put Furniture In Front Of Floor To Ceiling Windows? Mom Said No, But…
I remember having this discussion with my mother years ago. Can furniture go in front of windows? As I recall, she did not like that idea much. Growing up my mother even placed her bed, angled, between the two adjacent windows in the bedroom to avoid the window. I think she was afraid of falling out of the 2nd story window or something, not sure. As I’ve progressed in my profession I have come up against this very question a number of times and I’ve switched up my own thinking about it. I used to think, “you can’t put furniture in front of windows! We’re you raised in a cave?!” But I’ve learned, sometimes the best place for furniture is in front of a window. And I think that this might be even more imperative when you have floor to ceiling windows, especially if they go around the space. To help you decide, here are 5 key points to consider when deciding, “Should I put furniture in front of floor to ceiling windows?
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3d Modern Tabletop Candle Holders
Diy Sunday!! I am so excited to bring you this SUPER simple diy Sunday project. You can make these two candle holders in 1 hour or less, no lie! If you have an outdoor party, these are perfect for the patio or poolside. They will look amazing as the candles in a centerpiece on your dinning table. Put them on a étagère or bookshelf. Place them on the fireplace mantel. They can be placed anywhere for some instant glam and pizazz! Don’t let the fact that they look a bit modern throw you because you can use other materials to get a totally different look. So, without further adieu, let’s learn how to make a set of 3d modern tabletop candle holders!
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale For Your Living Room
Let me guess, HGTV did it to you again. You’ve just binge watched Flip or Flop and Fixer Upper and now you’ve decided to spruce up your living room. You think - a little change, like some new accent pillows. So off to the rabbit hole, A.K.A., Pinterest, you go! Seven hours and a bottle of Pinot later, you decide, “forget it!” It’s not that you didn’t see anything you liked, it’s that everything you saw, you liked.. right? After doing a little math in your head and thinking that heat and hot water is a more responsible investment, you arrive at: “Let’s just keep everything gray and call it a day.” Well my Dears, I’m gonna let you in on five decorator tricks to make your living room come to life without having to spend the kid’s inheritance to make it happen! Let’s Mix it up and get the skinny on mixing patterns, texture and scale for your living room.
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale, Trick #1: Mix Small, Medium And Large Patterns.
Yes, decorating has small medium and large, just like Dairy Queen! But unlike an Oreo Blizzard with extra Oreos, you don’t have to rationalize the pattern on your sofa’s accent pillows as a “cheat day” pass… like last Friday after the kids’ swim class. Anyway, mixing the size of your accent patterns, like pillows, area rugs and accent seating can make a huge impact in your living room style. It doesn’t matter if you like traditional, eclectic, or contemporary, when you mix it up and add in a small, medium and large pattern, you create visual interest and that goes a long way! This trick works for those of us who like lot’s of color and for those who prefer more neutral color schemes as well.
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale, Trick #2: The Pattern Combinations That Work Great Every Time.
Let’s stick to accent patterns for one more minute. Trick number two, understanding which patterns work together always, is really tried and true. Sometimes, after a lengthy project and having to really rack my brain to get a layout that is functional as well as pleasing to live in, a process that I LOVE, btw.. However, sometimes it can be a relief to get to pick out the soft finishes like pillows, area rugs and drapes. If that makes you want to burry your head under the covers and forget that you even have a living room to decorate, then I have a short list of my favorite patterns to mix for maximum impact. Here you go:
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale, Trick #3: Vary The Line And Scale Of Pieces.
Trick # 3 is all about creating movement with the objects that you place around your room. Most of the time your décor won’t literally move but, you can create a sense of drama, movement and energy with the composition you choose to arrange. The most important thing from this trick to remember is that you don’t want a dull composition where everything is the same height, and your décor is all straight lines up with no variation. Instead you want to mix your décor items, vases, pottery, picture frames, sculptures, etc. , where some items are taller than the others. Think of arranging your composition like a vignette that tells an interesting story that highlights a color, texture or theme to bridge the pieces.
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale, Trick #4: Layer Your Décor.
Trick #4 is also closely related to #3 in that along with varying the line of your décor pieces it’s also really interesting and appropriate to layer your items as well. Placing a small sculpture in front of a picture that’s in between a tall vase of flowers or decorative braches is a wonderful way to create a moment. By layering your items in a composition, you automatically create interest and drama. This simple layering can do wonders for an empty corner that feels out of balance with the rest of the room. Layering a live plant in front of some tall vertically hung art in an empty corner is a classic way to fill an otherwise less functional space.
Mix It Up! Get The Skinny On Mixing Patterns, Texture and Scale, Trick #5: Mix Up Your Textures.
Trick #5 is all about mixing up wood tones, metals, stones and glass or pottery. Gone are the days where you had to match all the pieces in your space for the room to be considered “finished”. I say, good riddance! These days, in order to make a truly “designer” room, you want to bring in touches of distressed wood in an otherwise traditional room. Introduce a silver metal along with your brass accents. If you have a few tables that have turned legs, go ahead and bring in a metal accent table with straight pin legs and a stone top. Mix until your heart’s content!
There you have it! My 5 favorite tricks for mixing patterns, texture and scale for your living room. To review:
Mix small, medium and large patterns.
A tired and true list of patterns that look great every time!
Vary the line and scale.
Layer your décor.
Mix up your textures.
Want to Know a secret? How about 11? That’s exactly what you’ll get when you read my Secrets only designers know to make your space rock! You;ll be the envy of the neighborhood by implementing these 11 carefully guarded secrets.
Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.
Get The Most Purpose Out Of Multi-Purpose Furniture
Space saving, dual, triple, multi-function. That’s the key to making a small space work. I’m still on the small space kick that I was on last week. I just really like the challenge of designing small spaces. So if you need to have furniture function a few different ways or you’re afraid you’ll have to sacrifice style to get a functional space, then this post is for you my friend! Let’s explore a few ways to get the most purpose out of your multi-purpose furniture.