Product Spotlight: Kirsh Wrought Iron Drapery Hardware
in Remodeling & Home Improvement Projects, Window Coverings
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
in Accessories, Lighting, Living Rooms, Window Coverings
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
in Bathrooms, Flooring, Furniture, Kitchen, Other, Paint Colors, Remodeling & Home Improvement Projects
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
in Dining Rooms, Entry Rooms, Flooring, Lighting, Living Rooms, Remodeling & Home Improvement Projects
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
in Bathrooms, Craft Rooms, Decks & Patios, Dining Rooms, Entry Rooms, Family Rooms, Fireplaces, Guest Bedrooms, Home Offices, Kitchen, Libraries, Living Rooms, Master Bedrooms, Media Rooms, Mud Rooms, Remodeling & Home Improvement Projects, Studies
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
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
in Bathrooms, Decks & Patios, Entry Rooms, Kitchen, Tile
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
in Fabrics, Family Rooms, Flooring, Furniture, Guest Bedrooms, Living Rooms, Master Bedrooms, Rugs
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
in Accessories, Fabrics, Kid's Rooms, Lighting, Linens
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.
Have You Caught the Missoni Home Goods Fever?
Luxury goods manufacturer Missoni made headlines last week with the introduction of their Missoni For Target line of home goods and clothing. Now, both the lower cost line and the high-end luxury goods are flying off the shelves.
We thought we would share some of our Missoni Home Collection favorites.
Have you thought about adding the Missoni signature look to your home? Tell us on the askDECOR Facebook wall.
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