Turquoise & Aquamarine Accessories For Your Home: Stools, Lamps, Pillows, Dinnerware, Candle Holders and More

We are inspired by the color turquoise. Also referred to as aquamarine, this color reminds us of warm tropical waters and relaxed days. Perhaps that’s why it looks so beautiful when paired with the colors of the sunset ~ reds, pinks, and oranges. Use a little bit of turquoise for a wonderful pop of color.

We have selected some of our favorite aquamarine accessories that you can add to your home or garden.  You’ll see candle holders, dinnerware, lamps, lanterns, tables, and even tile.  Spend a little time looking through our picks and you’ll see where they are available for purchase.

Design Destination Event: Legends Of La Cienega Windows To The World

If you’re in Los Angeles, there’s a fun event open to the public this week at the La Cienega Design Quarter.    Windows To The World begins Thursday, May 10, 2012.  It’s sponsored by Elle Decor, House Beautiful, Traditional Home, Veranda, California Homes and others.  

You’ll have a chance to see a rare exhibit of antique Fortuny designed dresses and cloaks from private collections, attend open houses with new product launches and book signings, and participate in panel discussions about design.

The La Cienega Design Quarter is home to many fabulous textile, furniture, rug, art, and antique shops.  Designers frequent this shopping area.  This event offers the public a glimpse at some of the best design shops in Los Angeles.

Click here if you’d like the schedule of events with free parking and valet information.

 

Wine Cellars: Create The Perfect Wine Tasting Experience Anywhere In Your Home

Who says you have to have a stone encased cellar to create the perfect wine tasting area?   Not so!  Be clever and create this wonderful entertainment area where it works best in your home.

The space does not need to be large but remember to include special details that will make the room come alive.  Pay special attention to all the surfaces.  We’re showing a photo from Houzz.com and Venetian Homes that illustrates this point beautifully.  Look at the interesting surfaces with nail head trim and faux metallic finish on the walls, faux copper barrel vaulted ceiling, and rough wood floors.

It’s the mix of different materials that makes this room interesting.  Instead of wood floors, try scored and polished concrete inlaid with vintage tiles.  Get the look of copper, stone, or steel walls with wallpapers like those from Vahallan or Jeffrey Phillips.  Don’t have a barrel vaulted ceiling?  No problem.  Make yours a stand out with faux wallpaper, tin ceiling tiles, or a mural on the ceiling.

Wine storage is a focal point for any wine tasting room.  We love the double X detail on the custom storage unit shown in the photo above and the mix of dark wood and blond interior.

While this room shows plush seating inside the temperature controlled zone with glass doors separating the refrigerated zone from the hallway,  consider how chilly you want to be while tasting wines.  Many rooms are designed with a table and bar stools outside the refrigeration zone.

Lighting is always important.  Wall sconces, pendants, and chandeliers provide softer lighting.  Recessed ceiling lights can cast harsh shadows.  Make sure all your lighting is on dimmer switches so you can create the perfect mood for a night of entertaining.

 

 

 

Add Color To Your Table For Spring

We found some great new items to update your table for Spring. Kim Seybert’s Entertaining Line for Neiman Marcus will add a pop of color to any room. Her Caviar Collection is shown below.

Check out all of our picks for accessories, wallpaper,furniture, and more.

Ceiling Fans, Table Top, & Free Standing Fans: A User’s Guide To Choosing The Best Fan For Your Room

This is the time of year when people think about installing a new ceiling fan. Figure out if it’s right for you in 3 easy steps.

1. Think about how many months of the year you’ll use this fan. Write it down.

2. How high are the ceilings in the room where you might install a ceiling fan? Measure and write it down.

3. Do you need a ceiling light as well as a ceiling fan? Write down yes or no.

Now let’s calculate the points.

If you’ll use the fan 3 months or less, you get 1 point. If your answer is 4-6 months, give yourself 2 points. Over 6 months gets 3 points.

If your ceiling height is less than 8′, give yourself one point. 8′-10′ ceilings get 2 points. Over 10′ ceilings get 3 points.

If you need a ceiling light, give yourself 1 point. No ceiling light gets 2 points.

Now add your points up. If you have over 7 points, a ceiling fan should be in your future.

If you have 5 points or less, you should strongly consider a table top or free standing fan.

If you are between 6 – 7 points, you are in the grey zone and could go either way.

 

Why shouldn’t every room have a ceiling fan if you’ll use it part of the year? The biggest reason is that low hanging objects make a room appear smaller.   Ceiling fans brings down the height of the ceiling.  If your ceilings are quite high, this can actually be a positive benefit. However, if your ceilings are average height, your rooms will feel smaller and somewhat claustrophobic.

A light kit on a ceiling fan amplifies this visual dilemma.

You’ll notice in many newer homes, the ceilings are very high even though the rooms are quite small. When you first walk into these spaces, they feel larger than they actually are because of the high ceilings.

Today, there are so many great table top and free standing fans on the market. These are a great alternative a ceiling fan. Take advantage of sales and special promotion offers but get the right product for your space.

Mix, Don’t Match: How To Coordinate Fabrics Like A Design Pro

Do you like a lot of color or do you prefer a neutral palette?  Either way, we encourage you to mix, not match, the fabrics in your home.  It will make your rooms more interesting.  Here are some of our designer secrets to help you mix different fabrics like a design pro and a great photo from House Beautiful Magazine which illustrates our points.

1.  Mix the size of prints in your room.  Pick one larger print and one small print.

2.  Mix in a strip or a geometric fabric to keep your look feeling fresh and up-to-date.

3.  Mix textures.  Don’t forget all of the surfaces.  Sisal rugs and grass cloth wallpapers add a lot of texture to rooms.  Designers love mixing a soft fabric like chenille with a crisp fabric like linen.  Cotton and cotton blends wear well for families.  We also love solution dyed acrylics for kids and pets.  Wools and silks are sophisticated and work well for more formal rooms.

4.  Mix colors you love.  It’s easy to find one print that establishes your colors.

5.  Add an unexpected pop of color.  Try red, purple, orange, green or blue.

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Our Picks: Dining Room Chairs To Mix With Your Dining Table

Whether you’re getting dressed or decorating your home, a successful mix of color, texture, and style is essential.  This is especially true when you’re decorating your dining room.  This month, we have picked some great dining room chairs that can mix with your existing dining room furniture for an updated look.

So if you’re tight on space, go with a chair you can see through like the Louis Ghost Chair available at All Modern. or an open back chair that is narrow like the Chloe Chair available at Layla Grace.

Do you have a lot of dark wood in your dining room?  You will lighten up the look of the room by choosing a painted chair like the Loma Chair from Horchow or a light color upholstered chair like the Belle Meade available at Layla Grace.

If your style is more casual and family friendly, go with the Jamaica Wicker Chair from Ralph Lauren Home.  It will add wonderful texture to your space.

You can dress up a plain table with the Antique Carved Chair available from Layla Grace.

See all the  dining room chairs we have especially selected and find one that’s just right for you.

 

Hanging Art Salon Style: A Warm & Personal Way To Fill The Walls In Your Home

Salon style art walls are not new but they’re making a big comeback.  The idea originally became popular during the Renaissance when art flourished.  Hanging art salon style means that a wall is filled with a collection of art or art objects.

We love the salon style art wall from Cottage Living Magazine shown below.  In this picture, a rod is used to hang the artwork.  It eliminates the need for nails and makes rearranging easy.

Here are 5 reasons we recommend creating a salon style art wall in your home:

1.  A collection of different paintings and objects of art is warm, inviting, and personal.  It can reflect a subject matter that you love or things you have collected while traveling.

2.  This is a great way to fill large walls like those over a sofa.

3.  You can use what you have including mirrors and other objects of art.

4.  Salon style is eclectic.  You do not need to match frames.  The idea is to put together a complementary grouping.  Like a beautiful mosaic, a salon wall of art is viewed as a whole.

5.  There is less emphasis on lighting a specific piece of art which can be helpful if your lighting is less than perfect.

You’ll get more actionable information about hanging art in our newsletter.  Have your signed up?

 

Mixing Stained Wood Dining Room Tables With Painted Chairs & Slipcovers

At the recent Design Bloggers Conference, renown designer Bunny Williams talked about how much she likes mixing a dark wood dining room table with painted chairs. The first picture shows painted dining room chairs from one of Bunny’s beautiful dining rooms.

We agree with Bunny and we also love creating pretty linen slipcovers for dining room chairs. To illustrate this look, we are including another photo from Bunny Williams.

What do these two design ideas have in common and why do they work so well?

Mixing color and material makes a room more interesting. The human eye loves contrast. It gets boring to see matching wood furniture.

If you are buying a new dining room set, consider buying the dining room table separate from the dining room chairs. Think about mixing an upholstered chair or a painted chair with a dark wood table. Beeline Home from Bunny Williams has some great options.

If you already bought that dining room set, you still have options to make it look more interesting. A furniture refinisher can apply a custom painted finish to your chairs.

An upholstery shop can make dressmaker style slipcovers, just covering the seat or covering both the back and the seat. Because they’re removable and can be sent to the dry cleaners, slipcovers are a family friendly option.

So how can you create one of these looks in your dining room? The old saying is true ~ a picture is worth a thousand words. Start collecting pictures of what you like.

Seek out upholstery shops in your home town that can create the slipcovers or find furniture refinishers that can paint your chairs. Show them the pictures of what you like along with pictures of your existing furniture and the dimensions. Get cost estimates and get started creating an interesting and beautiful dining room of your own.

If you like this article, please share it with your friends.

 

Favorite Benjamin Moore White Paint Colors

There are hundreds of white paint colors to choose between so it’s easy to get overwhelmed when you need to select one.   Right now, there’s a trend of rooms with white walls that look perfect in the magazines.  Have you admired these rooms?  Here are our designer tips on how to pick the perfect white paint colors, when to use them, and our favorite shades of white from Benjamin Moore.   Need to freshen up the paint in your house?  Try out these ideas.

1.  A room painted white can look bland and boring if you don’t layer several different hues of white in a room.  The slightly different tones add interest and intrigue, especially when your room has beautiful architecture.   When you paint the walls white, they become the perfect backdrop for showcasing wonderful artwork, graphical fabrics, and sculptural furniture.  White walls pair especially well with dark floors and contrasting fabrics.

2.  Don’t forget to select the perfect finish.  Adding a touch of shine with semi-gloss or high gloss paint on cabinets or trim and contrasting it with a matte finish on walls will add textural interest to your space.  Even if you use the same color paint, it will look different because of the finish.

3.  Your home’s lighting will impact the color.  It’s important to see how different whites look in your space BEFORE you paint by creating large samples either on the wall or on poster boards.  Check out these samples at different times of the day.  You may see too much green or peach or gray coming through in the white that you thought you loved.

4.  If you want to add a little bit of warmth to your room, consider Benjamin Moore Linen White.  It is a soft white with a hint of yellow and creates a beautiful contrast with dark floors.  We often use this color full strength on walls and at half value on trim.

5.  If you have a cool palette of fabrics in your room, consider using  Benjamin Moore Decorator’s White.  It is a cool white with a tinge of grey in it.

6.  If your room will have a soft, neutral color palette, you might want to use both Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17 and Benjamin Moore Dove Wing OC-18.  They have a tinge of grey and work very nicely together for walls, cabinets, or trim.

7.  Benjamin Moore Ivory Tusk OC-91 is creamy without being too yellow.  We use this white on stair railings, built-in cabinets, doors, and interior trim.  It’s especially great when combined with warm harvest colors such as gold, sage, and red.  Dark flooring looks great with Ivory Tusk.

8.  We love Benjamin Moore November Rain OC-50, a cool white with hints of green.  It is especially wonderful as a trim color with Benjamin Moore October Mist #1495 on the walls.   Our clients agree–it’s a stunning combination.

Have fun selecting your white and look beyond the “swiss coffee” of yesterday.  Instead, choose something with more depth.  You will be amazed at how these white hues can transform your space.

Please share this with a friend who may have a painting project in their future.

Change The Look Of Your Sofa Or Chair With Reupholstery

Did you know that you can completely transform the look of your sofa or chair when you reupholster by asking for different style arms, skirts, feet, backs, and cushions?  Many people don’t know that this is possible.

It’s important to have pictures of what you want so that you can show them to the reupholstery shop doing the work.

One of the easy ways to do this is to find a picture of a sofa that you would like to copy.   You may want to copy elements from a few different pictures.  For instance, you might like one arm style but would prefer a different number of cushions.

We love narrow arm styles because they provide more seating room for the same space.  We often specify English arms and box style arms.  We’re showing a picture of a box style arm on a Holly Hunt Sofa here.

 

Also pay attention to the bottom of the sofa.  Designers love dressmaker style skirts that start just below the cushion.  Another idea is to show the foot of the sofa if there aren’t too many chair legs already in the room.

If you don’t have them now, consider down filled back cushions.   You will sink into them. Down can also be used for the seat cushions but if you don’t like fluffing, you may prefer wrapped HR foam seat cushions that retain their shape.

The number of cushions is personal preference but bench style seats with one long cushion have clean lines and a modern feel.

If you have a good sofa or chair but it’s looking tired, there is no need to buy new.  Reupholster with a new fabric and with design changes that will update the style.

Continue the conversation on our Facebook page and share your design dilemma.

Product Spotlight: Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware

 

Comparing Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware vs. Custom

We recently installed Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware at one of our projects after years of only using custom made wrought iron.

So how did it compare and were we happy?

Is this drapery hardware something you should consider for your home improvement project?

Our answer is a resounding YES!

We were so pleased with the product, we decided to spotlight it.

Here’s what we liked best about Kirsh’s Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware:

1)  The quality.   The pieces look hand-made and old world.  The wrought iron is heavy like our custom product.

2) The selection of designs and finishes.  You can pick from many more finial designs if you purchase from a custom wrought iron fabricator but Kirsh has a nice selection of finials.  Some are shown here.   You can see the entire product line online at Kirsh.

3.  The availability.  Custom work can take 3 or more weeks.  Kirsh has product stocked and ready to ship.  We were able to find it locally but there’s a great selection available through online stores.

4.  The price.  We did not have to pay more for what looked like a custom product.

When To Use Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware

It’s always more interesting to mix materials in a room.  So access your space.  How much wood do you have already?  How much glass?  How much metal or stone?

If you already have a lot of wood in the room that you’re hanging draperies in, consider using metal for your drapery hardware.

You’ll need to tailor the look of the wrought iron to the overall look of your space.  The best way to do this is with your finial and finish selections.

If you want to stay more casual, consider a very simple ball finial.  If you want a more formal look, choose a more intricately designed finial.

Obviously, a gold finish is more dressy and will make more of a statement.  A blackened or brown finish can look more traditional and more casual.

In general, wrought iron works best in traditional or transitional spaces.

If you have a very contemporary home, you may be better off choosing  polished, clean-lined, metal drapery hardware.

We think it’s a good idea to take advantage of magazines and websites like Houzz and Pinterest to find different looks you like.  If you end up loving wrought iron, we think you should definitely look into Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware.

Ask A Designer: Adding Color To A Neutral Living Room

 

Q:   I have an off-white living room sofa, brown and taupe pillows, taupe walls, and bronze color drapes. How can I add color to my room and still keep it looking contemporary?

 

Neutral Living Room With Few Accessories

 

A:   You can add a lot of personality and interest to your room with some new, colorful accessories.  Check out our after photos below.

We swapped out neutral accessories for bold, sculptural shapes in bright yellow and green.  The room was dark so we added lighting.

In this case, we kept the lighting neutral with a mercury glass finish and taupe shades because it blends so well with the yellow and green tones.  The combination of colors is very fresh and contemporary.

 

Neutral Living Room With Bold, Sculptural Accessories In Yellow & Green

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at the before and after photos above to see how new accessories can finish off a room.

We found these accessories at some wonderful retail stores.    Here’s where you can shop this look.

Room Service (stores in LA, Newport Beach, and San Francisco) for bright yellow & green vases

The Gazebo (store in San Gabriel, California) for green ceramic box & votive holder

Marshall’s (stores in most states) for table lamps

Home Goods (stores in most states) for green ginger jar

 

The Best New Knobs & Pulls To Update Your Kitchen Cabinets & Furniture

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we think you should show some love to your home with new cabinet hardware.  After all, knobs and pulls are the jewelry on your furniture and cabinets.

New hardware handles can completely transform the look of any piece.

See our picks of the best new knobs and pulls from Mother of Pearl, Sun Valley Bronze, Soko Studio, Jeffrey Alexander, Alno, Anthropologie, Rocky Mountain Hardware, and RK International.

Think about changing out the knobs or pull handles on a new dresser, nightstands, or your kitchen cabinets. You’ll be delighted with the fresh new look.

The Most Useful Home Design App For Planning Out The Space In A Room

An app so fun, you’ll become addicted to it?  So fun, you’re kids will want to play too?  That’s our experience with Home Design 3D by Live Cad for iPad and iPhone.

Create a room to your specific dimensions and add furniture, fixtures, colors, textures, and materials.  Click  3D for a better perspective of what the room will be like.  Change materials and colors.   Adjust the dimensions of the furniture or built-ins.  You can even upload photos.

At $6 for iPad and less for iPhone, this home design app won’t break your budget.  We think you’ll save a lot of money by making changes on your app, before you start your project.

Visualizing new furniture, new paint colors, or a remodeled kitchen or bathroom is tough.   Have you ever picked out something that did not work when you got it home?

Continue the discussion and connect with others on the askDECOR Facebook page.

New Hardwood Flooring, Beadboard Walls, & Coffered Ceilings Transform A Space

We talked about our project transforming an old apartment building into a beautiful sorority several months ago.  Now we have before and after photos that show our dramatic improvements.

We concentrated on upgrading the surfaces to completely change the appearance of the interior rooms.  Here are three changes we made to the building’s surfaces that yielded huge results.

1.  We removed the old carpeting/linoleum and installed engineered hardwood floors.

2.  We opened up the entry and framed out the entry and hallway walls with beadboard.

3.  We gave the dining room charm and personality with a custom coffered ceiling and drop pendant lighting.

 

Now enjoy our dramatic before and after photos!  You can click on any of the pictures to see it in a larger screen.  The first set of photos show the difference made with engineered hardwood floors and the beadboard walls in the hallway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This second grouping of photos shows how we opened up the entry and framed it with beadboard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dining area was dramatically improved with coffered ceilings, pendant lighting, and engineered hardwood flooring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upgrading to better flooring is something that can dramatically improve most homes.  Do you have flooring that you’d like to change?  Go to our Facebook page and take our poll on your favorite flooring.  While you’re there, we hope you’ll click the  “like” button.  We ask our readers to continue the conversation from our blog on our Facebook page.

 

Has January Left You Feeling Blue? Furniture, Rugs, Lamps, Tiles, and Accessories To Update Your Home.

The excitement of the holidays is over and all we can think of is blue, our color inspiration for January.

 

Blue, by itself, is serene and restful. But pair this neutral with any other color for exciting results.  The possibilities are endless.

So think about adding some blue to your rooms. Come see our picks from Barclay Butera, Edward Ferrell + Lewis Mittman, Ralph Lauren Home, Circa Lighting, Farrow and Ball, Oomph Online,  Serena and Lily, and others.

Whether you’re looking for furniture, rugs, lighting, accessories, or tile, we’ve picked the best in blue to update your home this month.

The Best Online Photo Galleries For Interior Design Inspiration

Do you have some things you’d like to accomplish around your home this year?  Large projects can feel overwhelming.  Breaking them down into smaller steps helps.

One of our favorite first steps is to look at inspirational photos that relate to your project.  It’s a low-cost way to make sure you’ll like the look before buying anything.

 

For instance, if you were thinking about painting your cabinets blue, wouldn’t it be great to see this photo first to make sure you like the look?

This photo was found on Houzz, one of our favorite inspirational photo galleries.

We love online photo galleries because they allow users to search by category, tag and save photos, or print pictures.

Check out some of our favorite “go-to” inspirational photo galleries.  You may become addicted to them.

1.  Houzz.com

2.  Pinterest.com

3.  LuxeSource.com

4.  DwellingGawker.com

5.  ElleDecor.com

6.  HouseBeautiful.com

We’re taking a poll on the askDECOR Facebook page to see which inspirational photo gallery was most addicting for you.

Please share this with your friends.

New Year’s Resolutions For Your Home

Q:  I want to do so many things around my home that it’s overwhelming.  How can I set some New Year’s Resolutions and actually achieve them?

A:  We have 3 baby steps that you can take to achieve all of your dreams!  Watch our video and get going on your New Year’s Home Improvement Projects.

What home improvement goals do you have for the New Year?  Go to our Facebook Page to continue the conversation.

Jewel Tone Accessories For The Holiday Season

Add rich jewel tones to your home with our favorite picks for December. We’ve chosen pillows, stools, dinnerware, lighting, and more.

See all of our jewel tone inspirations under “our picks”.

Product Spotlight: SICIS Mosaic Tiles

We were recently introduced to the beautiful, artistic mosaics of SICIS (pronounced “see-cheese”).   You may have seen their advertisements in top interior design magazines showing spectacular mosaic designs in glass, marble, and steel.   It looks so expensive, you’ll be surprised to learn that SICIS has very reasonably priced tile options for homeowners who might be remodeling a kitchen, bathroom, pool, or even the flooring in a room.

Here are 3 ways you may want to incorporate this high quality and beautiful tile in your home:

1.  Use the well priced basic mosaic tiles in those areas where you will need a lot of product.  The basic tiles do not look basic at all.  Each small mosaic takes on a slightly different hue.  We would use this product on the walls of a shower,  as part of the flooring in a bathroom, or at the bottom of a swimming pool.

2.  Consider a special geometric pattern in different colors or mixed materials for an emphasis area.  This could be at the water line of a pool, as a bathroom back splash, or on the wall above a cook top.

3.  SICIS will work with you to create a specially sized panel that showcases their unique cut mosaic designs and this is a great way to use the most expensive materials in a more limited way.  You could frame a panel and place it on a special wall in your home.  Or install this special design in your entry way floor or in front of sink cabinets on a bathroom floor.

Some other things we love about Sicis above and beyond their spectacular product line?  They have created an inspirational and user friendly SICIS website that you’ll want to visit.   They manufacture in Italy but some of their products have lead times as short as 2 weeks.   And they are introducing jewelry and furniture in the future.

AskDECOR is happy to work with you to access this product for your remodel.

5 Decorating Tips To Make Your Thanksgiving Table Spectacular

Here’s a question from one of our readers:

Q:  I’m having everyone over for Thanksgiving.  I’ll need to set up several tables and I don’t have enough of my fine china.  What should I do?

A:  It’s fun to use more casual plates and accessories at your Thanksgiving table.  We’re showing you this photo from Southern Living Magazine because it’s one of our favorites.

Follow these decorating steps to create a beautiful setting for your family and friends this Thanksgiving.

1.  Assemble natural items like miniature pumpkins, gourds, Fall leaves, and dried corn stalks on your Thanksgiving table.  A little bit of olive oil on a clean cloth will “polish” the pumpkins, gourds, and leaves.  The colors will become much more vibrant.  Just make sure they’re dry before placing them on your table.

2.  Create layers of interest on your table.  Don’t just put your plates down on a solid tablecloth.   Use place mats,  fabrics snaked across the table, leaves, pumpkins, gourds, flowers, and lots of candles.

3.  Don’t worry about mixing different plates because you don’t have enough of one pattern.  This can actually make your table more interesting.  But unify your look with your coordinating accessories.

4.  Make sure your centerpiece is above or below eye level so that when you are sitting at the table, you can see everyone.

5.  Be sure to add some background music and dim the lights.   Light the fireplace.  And above all, enjoy this special day.  You’ve made it delightful for your family and friends!

Great Marigold Color Accessories To Buy Now

This month we pick marigold as our color inspiration.  Have you thought about adding marigold accessories to your home to warm up your interiors during the chilly months ahead?

We’ve chosen perfect side tables,  wonderful new lamps, pillows and other accessories.  Use them in your home to create a cozy reading area.   See all of our marigold color inspirations under “our picks”.

5 Easy Halloween Decorating Tips

This week we introduce a new format where we answer your questions.   We’re calling it ASK THE DESIGNERS.

Today’s question is:

Q:  How can I decorate for the Fall without spending a lot of money?

The answer is to use what you already have around the house but group these items together in new and creative ways.

We show you step by step solutions for Halloween decorating at your house.

Watch our video to learn how to decorate your front porch and dining room for a Halloween party.

After you watch the video, go to the askDECOR Facebook page and ask us your decorating question.  We will pick one question for our upcoming blog post.

Dorm Room Decorating Ideas

Do  you have a college bound student?  Make their dorm room the best with our inexpensive style solutions.

1.  Start with one item that sets the tone for their dorm room.  We started with the fabulous picture just above the desk.  The colors in that picture include green, orange, pink, teal blue and brown.  We limited our bedding, pillows, fabrics, towels, rugs and accessories to those colors.

2.  Make their dorm bed super comfy with egg crate padding, memory foam, a feather bed, or a down-alternative mattress pad.  Add colorful sheets, a patterned duvet cover or comforter and pillows that pop with color.  We used a queen size duvet and cover on a twin bed so it would hang down over the sides of the bed and it won’t fall off easily.

3.  Create a faux headboard by stapling patterned fabric to a large canvas frame.  Canvas frames are available at art supply stores.  We used a 30″ x 40″ size canvas and one yard of fabric that we found for under $10 on Etsy.com.

4.  Add an unexpected lamp and homey accessories for a stylized and personal look.  We found ours at discounter retailer Tuesday Morning.

5.  Cover the standard issue bulletin board with some fun fabric that ties in with the colors you have selected for the room.  Use push pins to secure the fabric around the edges.

Do you have a college student that needs a dorm room makeover?  Go to the askDECOR Facebook page and continue our discussion.

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