Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Life

Category: Interior Design

  • Fall Centerpieces Perfect for Entertaining – Home, Hearth and Holidays with BHGRE®

    Autumn has arrived, and the holidays are on the horizon, which means looking for tablescape and fall centerpiece ideas may be on your to-do list. From fun, creative projects that involve the whole family to simple designs that incorporate the best produce of the season, the options are endless. If you are stumped for unique ways to help you make the most of the season’s celebrations, read on as we reveal some of our favorite tablescape and fall centerpiece ideas perfect for busy hosts who are looking forward to entertaining this holiday season. 

    Create Pear Place Cards

    If you want to get into the entertaining spirit and incorporate the flavors of the season while decorating, try setting table place cards using your favorite fall fruits. From delicate lady pears to small pumpkins, you can craft the perfect place card holder by cutting a tiny slit onto the top skin of the fruit and inserting the name card. Want to add a unique touch that won’t break the bank? Meredith Waga Perez, a celebrity florist, suggests to InStyle that people try “the same trick with miniature albino pumpkins, which she says, ‘are a little more stylish and unexpected than traditional orange—plus, in white, they blend in seamlessly with any style decor.’” 

    Light a Lamp Chimneys Centerpiece

    Are you looking for a fall centerpiece idea that offers a lovely glow, doesn’t wilt, and won’t take substantial time to create? You’d be surprised how much your guests will appreciate a simple yet inspired lamp chimneys centerpiece. One of Martha Stewart Living’s favorite fall table décor ideas, this affordable centerpiece involves “simply [placing] candles on small glass dishes and [covering] them with curvy lamp chimneys (which you can find for dollars at hardware or antiques stores).” Then, to complete your celebratory tablescape, you can easily fill in gaps with items like mini-gourds, pears, and colorful leaves. 

    Arrange Golden Branches

    If you are creating a tablescape for a long dining room table or sideboard, you may have room for larger centerpieces. Luckily, the fallen leaves and branches in your backyard can not only be part of an affordable centerpiece but a gilded and inspiring one at that. Begin by grabbing some gold spray paint and adding a beautiful metallic sheen to your chosen leaves. From there, the designers at Martha Stewart Living explain that you “hot-glue [the gold leaves] to the branches, then arrange in a vase.” And, voila! You now have a gorgeous centerpiece that you can use throughout the fall and even into the winter holidays. 

     Surprise with Succulent Pumpkins

    If you find yourself with leftover, uncarved pumpkins in November, you will be delighted to discover that they can be repurposed as an unusual, nature-inspired vase. This beautiful fall centerpiece idea comes from the editors at Southern Living. All you need to do is “add a bit of damp florist foam to the top of the pumpkin and arrange [assorted small] succulents” on it. No need to deeply water the centerpiece to keep it looking festive throughout the season. Succulents survive on very little water; mist the succulents periodically, and you (and your centerpiece) should be ready for another day or night of hosting.  

    Craft a Fall Garland

    Eye-catching centerpieces do not need to be limited to the literal center of the table, and they don’t require professional styling. Another one of Martha Stewart Living’s favorite fall centerpiece ideas is a crafted garland that flows down the table from end to end. While that sounds like it might be expensive, the Magazine’s tutorial focuses on “a centerpiece [that] can be foraged from outdoor materials—fallen leaves, seasonal flowers, or gourds and pumpkins (many of which are abundant at this time of year).” They love using magnolia leaves and apples as part of the runner, but you can also incorporate small lanterns or candles. While these work well for any dinner party or luncheon you might host this fall, they can be fashioned to look particularly joyous at Thanksgiving. And if you have small children, you can even have them help you by adding homemade turkeys made out of leftover mini-pumpkins to the center of the garland. 

    Add Glowing Vases 

    Are you searching for fall centerpiece ideas that work for both indoor and outdoor entertaining? String lights may be your answer. Designer Rosanna Bowles suggested a “super-simple, one-step design” to Rachael Ray In Season: “Pile strings of white holiday lights into colored glass vessels and turn them upside down on the table.” You can also use colored lights in clear vases or mix-and-match. No matter which way you go, you are sure to have a delightful fall tablescape in no time at all. 

    Include Fall Bud Vases

    Bud vases are always a popular decorative element, whether you are upgrading your mantel or styling your Thanksgiving table. Food & Wine is a fan of taking the no-fuss decorative approach to fall and holiday entertaining so that you can focus on family, fun, and food. The Magazine raves about the idea of “[scattering] several small clear glass vases (we’re talking eight to ten, depending on the size of your table) with different flowers of the same color down the center of your table.” The bud vases can be different heights and widths. They even can have different decorative elements, which gives you substantial leeway as you set your festive dining table. 

    Spruce Up Votives

    Do you have dozens of plain white votive candles in the cabinet? Designer Mark Brunetz reveals to Rachael Ray In Season a terrific way to spruce up the votives (even battery-operated ones) without spending a lot of money: Add lentils! One of the easiest fall centerpiece ideas really does rely on some extra beans. Brunetz explains: “[grab] some juice glasses, [fill the bottoms with lentils], [add] votive candles and [tie] it all together with raffia from the craft store.” Before you know it, you have elevated your décor game and wowed your guests.  

    Build Pinecone Turkeys

    Are you searching for a kid-friendly craft that can be incorporated into your Thanksgiving tablescape? Southern Living loves the idea of having kids create pinecone turkeys. The supply list is small – brown pipe cleaners, an assortment of colorful synthetic feathers, glue, pinecones, and wiggly eyes, which can be found at most craft stores. Their tutorial takes you through the steps of creating some truly unique pinecone turkeys – a charming addition to your fall decorations. 

    Style a Fall Terrarium

    Is there an empty fishbowl in your garage or closet? If so, you’ll love being able to put it to use as you DIY a cozy fall centerpiece. Real Simple offers a straightforward how-to guide to creating this seasonally-inspired décor idea. All it requires is some moss, as well as a couple of pinecones, acorns, and mini pumpkins. Add the moss to the bottom of the fishbowl (or round vase), and “then arrange the mini pumpkins, acorns, and pinecones on top of the greenery.”  In minutes, you will have a fall centerpiece that you will be proud to display into December.

  • The Ultimate Fall Décor Guide

    You will fall in love with these autumn-inspired decor ideas that can transform any space. Below you will find tons of clever ideas to help you welcome fall and bring magic and coziness into any room.

    • Give a plain plastic pumpkin a makeover and rustic feel by wrapping it with yarn or twine.
    • Create a gourd-geous centerpiece by carving out a squash or gourd and turning it into a vase. Nothing is more beautiful than a DIY pumpkin planter filled with your favorite fall flowers. You can also cut the top off a faux pumpkin and add drainage holes in the bottom.

    • For a rustic finish, wrap a foam wreath in burlap. Use a hot glue gun to add burlap flowers to the wreath or any other autumn-inspired items you want.
    • Discover how to make gold-leaf pumpkins to bring a classy fall feel to your home.
    • Fill a tall glass vase with pinecones, acorns, or apples. Another great option would be to fill glass cloches of different sizes with your favorite fall items.

    • Nature truly is nurturing. Place colorful leaves in a glass frame with no back.
    • Create a leaf-shaped dish to hold jewelry, change, or your keys. Press a leaf that you like onto a rolled-out piece of clay. Using a knife, carefully trace the leaf. After you’ve outlined the leaf, slowly pull the leaf off and gently curl the sides up. Place newspaper under the edges so it holds its shape and takes the form of a dish. Once it’s dried, paint it any color you want and seal it with a gloss or matte sealer to protect the finish.
    • Learn how to bring instant coziness to your home with these farmhouse fall decor ideas.
    • Paint old mason jars or upcycled glass bottles gold and white and use them as vases.
    • Put the petal to the metal… door and learn how to make your very own stunning sunflower wreath.
    • Create a beautiful succulent pumpkin planter. Fill a hollowed-out pumpkin with fresh succulents and moss.

    • Here are tons of crafts with leaves you can try.
    • Treat yourself! Make fall candles using seasonal scents such as cinnamon, pumpkin, or apple. First, find a glass jar you want to use as the holder. Double the amount of wax you would use to fill the container and melt it in a double boiler while stirring frequently. Mix in the fragrance oil you choose and place the wick on the bottom of your jar before you slowly pour in the wax. Secure the wick while the wax hardens by placing it between two chopsticks that are balanced on the top. You can also glue cinnamon sticks onto the outside of an old candle to make your home smell incredible.
    • Check out fall door decor ideas that go beyond wreaths.
    • A few things to use as décor that have an autumn vibe include amber bottles, throw blankets, plaid pillows, and leaves spray-painted gold.
    • Uncover farmhouse mantel decor ideas that add cozy charm to your space.
    • Here are some fall plants and grasses you can place around your home:
      • Mariachi ‘Salsa’ Helenium
      • Chrysanthemums
      • Black-leaf millet grass
      • Bayberry
      • Fuzzy kangaroo paws
      • Gerbera daisies
      • Chinese lanterns

  • 7 Ways to Boost Natural Light—and Make Your Home Look Brighter

     

    There are a few things a home simply can’t have too much of: space, storage and sunlight. And while you can’t increase the square footage of your home without taking on a major renovation, there are some easy decorating and cleaning tricks that can make your home look brighter. Incorporating some strategically placed mirrors, choosing the best wall paint and finding the right window treatments can all help increase the natural sunlight in your home. One added bonus of bouncing more sunlight around a room: more light can actually make the space feel bigger. Try some of the tips below to make your home feel bigger and brighter—without the reno.

    Optimize your mirror placement.

    You’ve probably heard this design trick before: Add mirrors to a room to bounce the light. But for the best effect, you’ll want to place the mirror across from a window, angled so that the natural light will be reflected toward the darkest area of the room. New, clean mirrors will reflect the most light, but even antique mirrors with patina will work.

    Choose shiny surfaces.

    Similar to mirrors, glossy surfaces can help reflect light in a room. Stainless-steel appliances and sleek white cabinets will make a kitchen feel brighter. In a living room, try adding some metallic or mirrored accents, especially on the shelves or tables positioned closest to the windows.

    Lighten up your window treatments.

    Even if you pull them open every morning, those dark velvet drapes hanging beside your windows aren’t going to help the room look brighter. In the spring and summer, swap out heavy curtains for light, airy ones. If privacy is a concern, pair a gauzy white curtain with blinds or a roller shade you can close at night.

    Pick the best paint.

    Paint holds a lot of power in the design of a room—it can make it look cleaner, more relaxing and, yes, even brighter. And, no surprise, when it comes to hue, cool shades of white and pastels will make the room look lighter. To make sure you’ve chosen the best color, leave paint splotches on the wall for at least 24 hours, so you can see how the color looks in the light throughout the day.

    Where we often go wrong is when choosing the paint finish. Like mirrors and glossy surfaces, shinier paint will reflect more light. Opt for satin rather than flat wall paint, and choose semi-gloss or gloss for the molding and trim. But be careful: glossier paints will also betray any imperfections in the wall.

    Trim the trees.

    If your living room or bedroom is darker than it was a few years ago, the trees, bushes or vines outside may be to blame. Consider hiring a tree-trimming service. They will help cut back light-blocking branches, without harming the tree or making it look lopsided.

     

    © Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

  • How to Set Up a Fun Home Fitness Room

    Setting up a home fitness room that you want to use is easier and more affordable than you think. In fact, your space can be transformed into a place where you can work on strength training, cardio health, and flexibility exercises for significantly less than an annual gym membership. You may even inspire your kids to join you. Read on as we reveal our favorite tips for transforming any space into a motivating home fitness room.

    Find Your Home Fitness Space

    Whether you want to focus on Pilates core mat workouts or weightlifting exercises, you need to find a space that grants you enough room to move freely. Your spare bedroom or garage may be the perfect place for your new home fitness room. A section of your basement may be right for a home gym transformation, or a free corner in your apartment’s bedroom may do the trick. Even a back patio or cleared balcony can be your new fitness oasis if your region’s weather allows for year-round, outdoor activities. Once you claim your space, your home fitness room can take shape.

    Set the Room’s Mood

    If you are transforming a spare room, garage, sunroom, or large balcony into a home fitness room, you will want to create a mood that inspires you. You want the space to be a place that beckons, and you can do that by painting the walls (and sometimes ceilings) vibrant or soothing colors. There is no doubt that the color of your space can have a significant impact on your emotions. If you find peace in painting the walls Benjamin Moore’s Aegean Teal (the Color of the Year, no less), or another calming, eco-friendly or vegan paint, start exploring their color palettes online. Want something that is fun and energizing for you and your family? Bright primary colors are a big hit with kids and anyone looking for a little extra spark to start their fitness routine. Designs, decals of the kids’ favorite cartoon characters, and motivational yet humorous sayings stenciled on the walls are all approaches to making your home fitness room fun and inspiring.

    Are you taking over a small section of the basement, living room, or bedroom? Don’t be afraid to create a colorful fitness zone, even when sharing a room. You can use a paint shade that works well with the existing décor that clearly delineates this area for another purpose. Stenciled wall art and patterned wallpaper can also work to create your new fitness “room.”

    Stock Your Home Fitness Room

    As the experts at Shape explain: “You don’t need a ton of equipment or bulky machines to make your home gym an effective place to exercise.” Think about what your goals are. Are you going to focus on strengthening exercises or cardio (or a combination of them both)? Are you trying to introduce your young children to a fitness routine that will be both fun and physically challenging? What do you need to keep motivated? Now think about your budget and the size of your fitness space, and start to stock the room with what you need to achieve your goals.

    Strength Training

    If you have the budget and the space, you might want to investigate the modern strength training equipment from places like NordicTrack or cable machines from Nautilus. But they aren’t necessary for you to get a solid, strength-focused workout. If you need something smaller and more affordable, Shape recommends that you “invest in a single kettlebell, a pair of adjustable dumbbells, [and/or] an entire set of dumbbells…, which give you the same muscle toning without the bulky storage concerns.” 

    The editors at Real Simple are fans of adding a curl bar and dumbbell handle apparatus to your home fitness setup. Why? The Magazine explains that “[curl] bars allow you to strengthen your chest, back, and shoulders with greater weight, and the angled bar helps reduce stress on your joints,” while “[dumbbells] are also a home gym essential, since you can work more specific muscles with a variety of exercises.” The set’s affordability also gets high-marks, as you can purchase it at shops like Dick’s Sporting Goods for around $30.  

    Want something even easier to store? Resistance bands are fully portable and can be stored easily in a spare drawer or under-bed container. The editors at Health rave about the “Black Mountain Products Resistance Band Set.” This affordable “pack includes a door anchor, soft grip handles, exercise chart, carrying bag, ankle strap, and starter guide.” The Magazine is also a fan of the “WOSS Attack Trainer” which “allows you to use your own body weight to strengthen your entire body for a fraction of the cost of more advanced trainers. The harness can easily be hooked to a door with an included built-in anchor.”  

    Want to use what you may already have at home? Turn to sealed water jugs or laundry detergent bottles, according to American Ninja Warrior Angela Gargano. In an interview with Shape, Gargano suggests using the jugs because they are not only a “great way to ‘utilize what you have’” but a quick way to quickly add intensity to “goblet squats, water jug swings, and kneeling single-arm overhead presses.” 

    Cardio Fitness Training

    Does the sight of the Peloton bike fill you with gleeful motivation to get your morning heart-rate up? Provided you have the space and the budget to accommodate the expensive system, you’ll love unleashing your potential with their training programs. But that expense is not necessary to get a terrific cardio workout. In fact, one of Real Simple’s favorite cardio workouts incorporates a playground favorite: the jump rope. The Magazine reveals: “Jump rope exercise is a great way to get your heart pumping, and you can do it pretty much anywhere.” This inexpensive piece of home fitness equipment is available in standard lengths, as well as one that is height-adjustable so every member of the family can use it. And, of course, jump ropes designed for kids often feature their favorite cartoon characters on the handles for a bit of extra fun.

    Want to increase the intensity of your jump rope workout? Personal trainer and host of podcast All About Fitness, Pete McCall, suggested to Shape that “to crank up the intensity, [you should] use a weighted jump rope, which is a little bit heavier to turn, so your wrists and forearms will be working harder to keep it rotating.” 

    Do you have your heart set on a treadmill but have concerns about keeping it out in a shared room? The editors at Real Simple recommend a folding treadmill that is available through online retailers for under $300. The folding model allows for easy storage but still provides a serious workout. Fitness professionals recommend trying a “15-minute interval workout on your new [folding] treadmill to burn more calories and build endurance.” 

    Flexibility Training and Recovery

    As the fitness experts at Real Simple explain, “a quality exercise mat is a must for ab workouts, stretching, and yoga.” It’s also a crucial equipment piece for recovery after a hard workout – nothing feels better than slowing your breathing and stretching sore muscles than assuming “child’s pose” on a comfortable mat. Large cushioned mats can take up significant space, but many high-quality mats have eyelets that make hanging them up on a wall an easy storage solution. And, of course, vibrantly colored yoga mats can be rolled up quickly and stored under beds, in closets, or wicker baskets in the corner of your home fitness room.

    Searching for other fitness recovery tools that can double as exercise accessories? Fitness expert Ellen Barrett tells Shape that she “loves foam rollers because they’re so versatile — you can use them for ‘kneading’ out muscles, strengthening your core, or as a prop for yoga poses.” 

    Fitness Room Accessories

    Don’t forget the accessories! Now that you’ve narrowed down the equipment you want to incorporate into your home fitness room, it is time to move in some basic accessories that will improve the space’s functionality and add a dash of fun at the same time.

    Computer with Internet or Television with a DVD Player

    Unless you have a well-worn routine that you love, you will want to follow along with DVDs or online videos appropriate for your skill level. With a strong Wi-Fi connection, you can take “live” classes on Zoom with fitness instructors who are broadcasting their sessions online during the COVID pandemic. If you want to have one-on-one instruction, make sure your computer’s camera is working, and check with your favorite fitness trainer to see if they offer virtual training.

    If your schedule doesn’t match up with zoom classes, YouTube has a terrific library filled with videos for every skill level that can work in even the smallest home fitness rooms. Parents recently compiled a list of the best exercise videos to do with kids. The list is full of “fun free workout videos recommended by family fitness experts [that] are a great way to blow off steam inside.” In addition to the physical benefits, working out with your kids can be a “powerful mood-booster, it generates play and silliness for everyone and if you can shift your expectations from it being about your own deep workout time, to a family activity, … everyone gets to move and release pent up energy,” reveals fitness expert Rachel Welch in an interview with Parents. And while any screen will do, hanging up a flat-screen, Internet-enabled television will make it easier for the entire family to follow along with the video fitness instructors.

    Wireless Speakers or Stereo System

    If you want a space that is screen-free, be sure to find a way to pipe in energizing tunes or soothing sounds into your fitness room. Even if you just want the calming sounds of rain or chimes, the sounds will help you keep your focus inside the room and away from potential outside distractions.

    Mirrors

    If possible, add at least one full-length mirror to your home fitness setup. Is your room on the small side? Shape advises that mirrors can “help to open up a space, making it appear larger than it actually is, which may help you feel less cramped in a smaller home gym.” Mirrors allow you to check your form as you complete your exercises. From Bar Method to Pilates to weightlifting, quick glances in a mirror can help you avoid injury and get the most out of each movement. Do you have something extra in your budget for a splurge? “The Mirror” is turning heads. It hangs and looks just like a mirror when not active, but it actually allows you to stream exciting workouts through it.

    Small Refrigerator

    If your home fitness room is in a fully converted garage, spare bedroom, or large patio, consider putting in a small refrigerator to keep water and energy drinks cool. It’s not necessary, but it will help keep you focused and in your workout space instead of potentially getting distracted by a trip to the kitchen.

    Towels

    If your workout space is carved out of another living or bedroom area, you don’t have to worry about creating a space for towels. However, if you are in a completely transformed, separate room, consider putting up a rack, installing hooks, or setting up a basket for clean towels. It’s a nice luxury that makes your home fitness room feel truly complete.

  • Creating a Calm Work Environment at Home

    Our surroundings can have a huge impact on how we feel. From what we see and smell to lighting and colors, numerous factors influence our moods. Below are a variety of scents, sounds, and things you can incorporate into your home in order to create a calmer and happier environment. 

    Scents:  

    • Lavender: Lavender is a go-to scent for relaxation. The scent can help calm not only the mind but your body as well. The fragrance is also used to help treat insomnia and ease sleep issues. 
    • Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus can help you destress, clear the mind, and even help with breathing. Try keeping a piece of Eucalyptus in your shower so you can inhale it and relax.  
    • Lemon: The smell of lemon can improve concentration. Citrus smells can also make you feel more alert. 
    • Jasmine: Jasmine is known to alleviate stress and reduce anxiety. It can also help the body unwind. 
    • Peppermint: Peppermint may boost concentration and can also serve as a mental stimulator. 
    • Vanilla: The smell of vanilla, or vanilla bean, can elevate your mood and also make you feel relaxed. It’s known to evoke feelings of happiness. 

    Sounds: 

    • Nature: Nature sounds are associated with a decrease in the body’s sympathetic response, which is what causes the “fight-or-flight” feeling. They can also help the body relax, reduce stress, and promote feelings of positivity. Nature sounds can even help improve your attention. Not everyone has a babbling brook to sit next to, but there are many nature sounds available on streaming services, YouTube, or sound machines. 
    • Classical Music: Classical music can improve cognition, lower blood pressure, enhance memory, and even help reduce pain levels. If you’re feeling stressed listening to classical music can help calm you down and improve your quality of sleep.  
    • Meditation: Meditation music and sounds are great for reducing stress. Meditation sounds are also known to improve one’s concentration.

    Surroundings: 

    • Plants: Surrounding yourself with plants has numerous positive side effects. Plants can improve your concentration, make you happier, and even lower your blood pressure. Start placing them around your home or workspace in order to boost productivity and reduce your stress levels. 
    • Colors: Colors have been proven to dramatically affect moods, feelings, and emotions. Keep in mind different shades of each color can have different effects. Warmer colors such as red, orange, and yellow are generally more stimulating. Use red and orange to stimulate the body and mind, or to increase energy levels. Lighter shades of yellow are often associated with happiness, but bright yellow can sometimes activate the feeling of anxiety. Cooler colors such as blue and purple are known to be more calming. Blue is believed to have a calming effect, but it can also help treat pain and inspire feelings of security and serenity. An easy and affordable way to incorporate blue is with paintings, pillows, or even lights. Purple is known to make people feel calm and creative.  
    • Lights: Research has shown that receiving an adequate amount of light is key during the day. It not only improves your mood and energy levels but can also affect concentration. However, if the lights in a room are too bright it can intensify certain feelings, so try incorporating warm lights at home and avoid intense lighting. Light bulbs that simulate natural lighting are a great choice, especially while many of us are spending a large amount of time indoors. It can help ease depression, make people feel happier, and even help you sleep better at night.   

  • Best Decor Schemes for Kids’ Rooms

    From infant to rugrat to toddler to teen, decorating your children’s rooms can pose a constant challenge and seem like an ever-moving target as favorite colors change on a weekly basis and hobbies are tried and abandoned. Of course, the best decor schemes for your kids’ rooms will conform to their personalities as they develop. But your decorating time and money may not be infinite.

    Here are a few suggestions that won’t break the bank but will help ensure your kids’ home decor reflects their personalities without putting you as a parent on a decorating treadmill.

    Decide how the space has to be used

    If your children’s bedrooms have to fulfill many functions, your decor scheme has to map to the room’s usage. You may have a study area in another part of the house, and if you don’t want your children doing their homework in their rooms, they may not need a desk. You may have a large playroom where your kids spend the bulk of their spare time, and if that’s the case, creating storage within their rooms for all their favorite toys isn’t as critical.

    But if space is tight and you’re trying to create a room that looks good, allows your child to express his or her personality, and will also be the place they craft their first book report, you’ll have to create a plan that works with the space and makes your child feel their room is a haven to which they can always retreat.

    Treat one wall

    Rather than paint an entire child’s room in the color of the month as their favorites change, keep three of the four painted walls neutral and take a creative approach to the fourth.

    The options for the fourth wall are endless:

    • Create an entire chalkboard paint wall so they can get creative whenever they want.
    • Wallpaper a single wall in a pattern dominated by their favorite color. Wallpaper is a lot easier to apply and a lot easier to remove than it’s ever been before, and there’s a lot more variety in design and texture. It’s easy to indulge in various childhood phases (puppies and kittens, dinosaurs, space exploration, sports) when you know they’re not permanent decorating features and can be easily removed if you want to sell.
    • Create a “map of the world” wall for all the Dora the Explorer and Diego fans in your family. Even if your children ultimately decide Diego and Dora are no longer their heroes, maps are beautiful in and of themselves. If they learn a little geography along the way, that’s a good thing.
    • For younger children, an alphabet wall with each letter in a different size, shape or pattern can be a great decorating feature as well as an early learning tool. 
    • Dedicate one wall to decorative decals that are easy to apply and easy to remove. Inexpensive and immensely varied, this is the quickest and cheapest way to give your kids’ room “feature wall” an almost-immediate facelift.

    Keep things kid-sized and shaped

    Invest in some bean bag chairs or some colorful pouffes in your kids’ favorite colors. Soft furnishings are a lot easier to move than actual furniture, and they’re a lot less likely to cause tears and bruises when your child collides with them. Large pouffes are particularly versatile: they can hold a tea tray, act as an impromptu couch, or let your child perch on them cross-legged while watching cartoons.

    If your kids’ rooms are playrooms as well as rooms for sleeping, make sure they’ve got a little table and chairs so they can do crafts at the table. Having child-sized furniture will make them feel special and all grown up simultaneously.

    Painted furniture

    Buy some solid wood furniture at a thrift store or haul some of those old dressers out of the basement or garage and paint them in your children’s’ favorite colors. Paint them as often as their favorite color changes. It’s a lot easier to paint a dresser or bookcase than it is to paint an entire room. And these small pieces of furniture can provide a welcome pop of color against neutral walls. 

    Even if the dresser, desk, and bookcase don’t completely match in terms of style, painting them a single vibrant color will pull the room together and please your children.

    Celebrate the ceiling

    The ceiling is an under-used decorating feature, but one of the newest trends in kids-room decor is celebrating ceilings. There are lots of ways to do this:

    • Go bold, and paint the ceiling something other than boring white. Maize, medium green or blue, or even terra cotta could all work.
    • Wallpaper the ceiling in a bold stripe or interesting pattern.
    • Put glow-in-the-dark decals on the ceiling. Even a tiny bit of light is enough to make them light up. Decals are easy to apply and easy to remove. 

    Whatever approach you take, if your children are old enough to talk they’re old enough to be consulted about the features and color schemes for their personal space. Involve them in the process and they’ll be a lot more invested in keeping rooms they love clean and tidy.

  • Transform Your Shed

    If you’re lucky enough to have both a garage and an outdoor shed, perhaps it’s time to consider a few shed design ideas to repurpose the space and turn it into a home away from home, the adult version of a kids’ tree fort. Find a place to store the garden tools and the lawnmower in the garage, and take advantage of a retreat to your own backyard.

    If you plan to use your shed year-round, you’re going to want to make sure it’s wired, so make an appointment with your electrician to get an estimate of what’s involved. Don’t forget to install a light on the outside of the shed too so you can see to get back to the house after dark. In really cold climates you’re probably going to want to add insulation as well.

    Create a craft room

    An old woodshed is a perfect space for crafting, especially if you install a skylight and some more windows. Most older sheds are lit with a single overhead fixture and are designed for storage, not habitation. That won’t work for crafting. But hopefully, you can repurpose some of the things that have been stored there for years. Old doors make great craft tables, and if you have three or four of them you can create a U-shaped work area just by removing the doorknobs and laying them on sawhorses or attaching metal table legs. Bonus: the holes from the knob openings will let you thread electrical cords through your craft tables so you won’t trip over them in a small space. If the shed’s big enough, you might even be able to invite friends over for a weekly craft night.

    Make it a she-shed

    Home decorating is, in many ways, the art of compromise. Furniture and paint choices aren’t a solo act when you live with others, and often practicality wins over taste, especially if you have young children. Whether your personal taste is frilly, feminine and pink or white-with-splashes of color and blond wood, a she-shed is the place to create a room full of things you love. That includes pieces of art that bring you joy but make the rest of your family cringe. It’s also the perfect place to curl up in a comfy chair, indulge in your favorite “guilty pleasure” TV viewing, or read in peace and quiet. 

    Home gym

    Even small sheds should be able to hold the equipment you need for a home gym, whether it’s a recumbent or stationary bike, a rowing machine, a hula hoop, a bench and weights, a mini trampoline, or just a yoga mat. Think of all the time and money you’ll save on commuting and a gym membership. If you design your shed like a dance studio with a back wall of mirrors, the space won’t seem as small and you’ll be able to check your form to avoid injury.

    Shed as music room

    Whether you play or just listen, most sheds are quite a bit larger than music room practice cubicles, and that may be just what you need if you have a youngster in the early stages of mastering a musical instrument. Giving your kids some privacy to practice without an audience may save everyone’s sanity, whether they’re learning violin or drumming. As they grow up, the shed could become a rehearsal space for your teenager’s band. Or you could start your own string quartet.

    Home office/artist studio

    More and more people are telecommuting on either a part-time or full-time basis. Unless your home has an extra bedroom, it may be difficult to carve out the space you need to concentrate on working from home. An insulated shed with good lighting, a coffee maker, kettle, and bar fridge makes for a perfect home office. 

    If you’re a visual artist or a potter, you can renovate your shed only to “studio” specifications: no carpeting, a floor that’s either easy to clean or that you don’t plan to clean (other than sweeping), and a constant source of natural light whenever it’s available. You’ll need a nearby source of water for brushes and pottery wheel clean-up, but chances are good you’ll be able to use your garden hose for at least eight months of the year.

    When thinking about transforming your shed from just a storage space to a room you plan to occupy, try to think of it as an addition to your home. And if gardening is one of your passions, there’s nothing wrong with turning your shed into a space for potting plants, drying herbs, and starting next season’s seedlings. 

    Find more ideas on taking advantage of outdoor space in our Outdoor Design channel.

  • Workarounds for Wood Paneling

    It doesn’t seem to matter how old or new your home is, inherited wood paneling is just sometimes a fact of life. Love it or hate it (and there is some wood paneling no one could love, especially the mid 20th Century rec room look), removing wood paneling or drywalling over it is a major renovation. It may require more time, money, and skill than you have or create mess you’re not prepared to tolerate. Even a gorgeous Douglas Fir vaulted ceiling Victorian home can make you feel dreary if it’s stained a dark color and you don’t have a constant source of natural light.

    Sometimes the best way to cope with wood panel design you wouldn’t have chosen yourself is to just accept the inevitable and embrace it.

    Here are a few things you can do that might help you learn to love the wood panel design you wish you didn’t have in your home.

    Accept the inevitable

    If you’ve decided you can’t or won’t remove the wood paneling in your home, accepting the inevitable and adding more wood might be the solution. By varying the width of wood used in a room but sticking to the same materials and color palette, you may be able to reconcile yourself to living with it.

    Part of the problem with uniform width wooden paneling and flooring is that it inevitably conjures images of a sauna. Which is great if it is a sauna, but not so great if it’s not. If you have narrow wood panels on your walls, using wide floor planking in the same wood and stain creates an elegant variation on a theme and supplies some visual interest.

    You can also frame panels to create separate wall areas and hang a series of prints or small paintings inside each panel. If your entire room is thinly paneled wood, adding a chair rail will break things up a bit.

    Add contrasting moldings

    Invest in some interesting moldings that will draw the eye upward. This is an easy way to draw the eye beyond the feature you don’t want to emphasize. It also creates a more formal feel and some architectural interest. Don’t try to match the existing panel color or even the ceiling. Use this space to inject a shot of startling or soothing color.

    Paint it

    If your main objection to your home’s wood paneling is its color and texture, the solution is paint. The possibilities are endless. You can whitewash the paneling to lighten it up with almost no prep work. You can paint it a dark color so the paneling recedes within the room. You can paint it a bold color, and, especially if the paneling extends to the ceiling, lacquer it afterwards. This kind of treatment may make you forget what’s under there and supply some interesting texture to your walls. Or you can paint it white to conjure thoughts of picket fences and long summer days.

    Cover it up

    There are two ways to do this, one literal and one figurative. The figurative treatment, especially if you have only one wood-paneled wall, is to paint the paneling and then install shelves the entire length of the room and fill them with books. The paneling will still be there, but the colorful books will make you forget it except when you have to dust.

    The literal cover-up for wood paneling that again works best for a single wall (although you can use it on an entire room) is to upholster the wall. You’ll need a tall ladder, a good staple gun, and enough polyester batting to cover the wall as well as far more fabric than you think you’ll need. Pattern matching is as important when upholstering a wall as it is when hanging wallpaper, so make sure you buy extra. You can seam each wall panel together and carefully press each seam open or use trim to cover the fabric panel edges.

    And then there’s wallpaper. For the truly egregious 1950s rec room paneling that probably isn’t really made of wood at all, this may be the quickest and most effective solution. If, however, you’ve got real wood paneling with grooves more than a quarter inch deep, you’ll have to fill the grooves with caulk, prime the paneling with a latex primer design that blocks stain, then begin the wallpaper hanging process. If you’re going to all that trouble anyway, you might want to use paintable wallpaper, available in various textures. You can paint it to match the rest of the room or use it as a feature wall. Even paintable wallpaper will need two coats, but with any luck, no one will be able to guess what lurks beneath. Unless, of course, you tell them.

    For more great design solutions, check out our Home Maintenance channel.

  • Guest bedroom makeovers

    One of the luxuries of homeownership is having a bit more space than you need so you can expand to fill it. One of the others is having a home large enough to entertain without having to leave home. Sometimes that means having people over for dinner or brunch; other times it means having out-of-town friends and family stay over.

    Guest bedrooms, like cottage furnishings, often suffer from “not good enough to get rid of, not good enough to use every day” syndrome. If your guest bedroom looks like the not-quite-final resting place for the mismatched and ready-to-be-retired, here are a few bedroom interior design ideas for a makeover.

    Create a bunk room in your attic

    Since you’re probably going to be in your house for a while and your own and your friends’ families may be expanding, rather than designate a ground or second floor bedroom as a guest room, why not create a bunk room in your attic? That way you don’t need to worry about whether your guests can share a double or need a queen or king-sized bed. Buy as many twin beds as the room will easily fit or repurpose your children’s twin beds as they graduate to doubles and queens and an entire family (or two of your old college friends) can easily share a guest room.

    This works particularly well with the sloping ceiling aesthetic of most attics. Choose similar (they don’t need to be matching) wrought iron bed frames at a flea market and paint them white (or black). Install wall-mounted lighting above each bed and the tiniest of bedside tables in between. Pick a color theme (blue and white, for instance) and use a different blue and white quilt on each bed. A bench or trunk at the end of each bed will give guests a place to store their suitcases. If the attic doesn’t have a closet, make sure you’ve got some hooks for guests to hang their clothes.

    If your attic room does indeed have sloping ceilings, consider painting the ceiling and the walls the same color. That doesn’t mean white: even small rooms look bigger if there’s no contrast between ceiling and walls. If you choose a strong or dark color though, stick to neutrals or whites for your bed linens and pick up the wall color with throw cushions.

    More than any other bedroom in your home, your guest bedroom is going to be used primarily for sleeping. Keep things bare but functional.

    Accentuate the room’s function

    If the only room you can spare for a guest bedroom is tiny, rather than try to cram too much into a small space or make it look bigger, adopt a Japanese sleeping pod/old time railway berth approach to decorating and center a four-poster bed (with or without curtains, but keep them sheer if the room is very small) in the room on the shortest wall.

    An over-the door hook, small triangular corner shelves on both sides of the bed, and either a wall-mounted lamp at the head of the bed or two small ones on each shelf and you’re done. If you’ve got room for a storage ottoman at the end of the bed, you’ll have seating for your guests and a place to store the linens for the guest bedroom (including extra blankets, pillows, and throws).

    Give your guests a powder room

    If you can make the plumbing work, consider repurposing your spare room’s existing closet to create a tiny powder room in the guest room. Just a toilet and a sink will make all the difference in giving your guests a sense of privacy and make their stay less disruptive for the rest of the family. They’ll still have to share one of the main bathrooms for baths and showers during their stay, but at least they’ll be able to brush their teeth and splash some water on their faces before they join you for breakfast in their robes.

    Repurpose a closet and add sliding barn doors with a stop as your guest powder room. Add some shelving above the sink and you’ll be able to store guest room towels and linens there. Bonus: seeing all the towels there will make them feel they’re staying in a luxury hotel suite. And if the room is big enough, consider adding a single-serve coffee machine so your guests are caffeinated by the time you see them. A little note on their pillow with the WiFi password and some light reading material, including copies of your local city or regional magazine and a thriller or two, should do the trick. For more design ideas, check out our Interior Design channel.

  • Best flooring choices for your kitchen

    Whether you’re planning a full or partial kitchen renovation, the good news is that there are myriad options when choosing the best flooring for your kitchen, and those choices are available at a variety of price points. We’re no longer restricted to tile, linoleum or wood flooring.

    Here’s a rundown of some of today’s best kitchen flooring options and some of the pros and cons of each.

    Best environmentally friendly kitchen flooring options

    If you’re concerned about off-gassing or passionate about leaving the smallest environmental footprint as possible, you may want to stick with options that don’t include vinyl or heavily manufactured floorings.

    Those can include cork, bamboo, new or reclaimed wood, and stone.

    Wooden kitchen floors are a huge trend these days and one that’s likely to continue for the next decade or so. If your kitchen cabinets are painted, glass-fronted or melamine, wood can provide some much needed visual warmth as well as design continuity between your kitchen and the rooms adjacent to it. Both hardwood and softwood floors are expensive. If you can find a source of reclaimed wood or salvage flooring from your own renovations, reclaimed wood might be your best option, especially for smaller kitchens.

    Bamboo, while gorgeous, is not a great idea for kitchen flooring. While it’s an amazingly renewable resource and very durable, it’s also highly reactive to temperature and humidity.

    Cork flooring is a great choice for kitchens and is both environmentally friendly and durable. It does, however, need to be resealed every few years. Check out the cork flooring options available and you’ll discover you’re not confined to natural cork-colored flooring. Dyed cork is available in a whole range of color options, from mint green through dark red to bright purple. And it’s available in tile, sheet, and plank formats. Cork is also both warm and comfortable underfoot. If you spend a lot of time (or long stretches at a time) cooking, it’s a lot easier on your legs than almost any other kind of kitchen flooring. Cork can be dented over time, so choosing a near-industrial grade of cork flooring is important for a high traffic area. Bright sunlight can also cause cork to fade, and light is important in a kitchen. If your kitchen has a southern exposure, this may not be the best flooring choice for you.

    Stone floors are beautiful, luxurious, environmentally friendly and extremely durable. You will be limited in your color choices if you choose stone kitchen flooring, and you’ll also pay a premium for them. Artificial stone floors are available in a wider color range. But the beauty of slate or stone floors is the natural color variations and textures. The other unexpected premium you may pay for stone floors is replacing dishes. If you drop it, you break it. There is also the beyond slippery-when-wet factor. You need to wipe spills up immediately, not to protect your floors but to make sure you get from the fridge to stove without a mishap.

    Last but not least is linoleum. Made primarily from linseed oil derived from flax seeds, it can also include jute, cork powders, wood flours and tree resins. Linoleum could work very well if your kitchen has a retro theme, and is available in many color options. Installing linoleum is a renovation that won’t add anything to your home’s value, however.

    Best comfort options for kitchen flooring

    Cork, softwood, and vinyl flooring are your best kitchen flooring choices if you spend a lot of time in your kitchen cooking and baking.

    Vinyl flooring is cheap, durable, and highly water-resistant. Think of it as linoleum’s “synthetic cousin.” It also comes in almost-infinite options: sheets, planks, and tiles and in almost as many designs as you can imagine. There is some very good vinyl “wood” flooring on the market these days. It’s also warmer and softer than either wood or ceramic tile floors, and a padded underlayer can sometimes be added for even more cushioning. It is, however, one of the least environmentally friendly flooring options.

    Best design options for kitchen flooring

    Wood is “in” for kitchen flooring, whether it’s real or engineered hardwood or vinyl planking, and the first two options can add significant value to your home. Wood flooring can provide nice design integration in a more open-plan home, but be careful not to create wood overload if your kitchen cabinets are wood as well.

    Stone floors are a time-honored, casually elegant option.

    Porcelain and ceramic tiles are extremely durable. The color and design combinations are endless, from mosaics to marble. Porcelain tiles are harder and less porous than ceramic tiles. If your kitchen isn’t absolutely level or your house is settling, these tiles can crack easily and repeatedly in problem areas. They’re not indestructible either: a hammer falling off a counter can crack or chip one of these tiles. There’s no one best flooring choice for all kitchens. Try to eliminate some options based on price, availability, and difficulty of maintenance and installation.