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It could be argued that there is nothing more important in a space than lighting. Lighting helps to set the mood in our homes, allows us to function in a space and greatly affects how we perceive color. With poor lighting, an otherwise beautifully decorated home can feel drab and depressing. With proper lighting, design flaws can be overlooked and a space can be almost completely transformed.
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree - what color will you be this year? Red and green again? Maybe some Silver Bells? Will that dusty box of mismatched ornaments make its way out of the attic only to create the same old holiday look for the gazillionth time?
This season, there really is no excuse for dull and redundant holiday decor. If you are like most people, you are probably tightening up your purse strings and sticking close to home this season. But that's no reason to have your home look tired and uninspired. With all we've been through this year, this is the perfect time to energize the home with some smashing new holiday styles and colors.
So break away from traditional red and green and go for something new. Don't feel like you have to make all new purchases to create a new look. Start with what you have, pick a theme that works well with some of your existing items and add to it. If you plan carefully enough, your new decor could very well take you into the New Year (minus the tree and fruitcake, of course.)
Here are some color and style ideas to get you started:
Playful Red and White
This combo is very kid-friendly with its high contrast and geometric accents. It's crisp and clean and a third color can easily be introduced. Elements from this scheme can easily be brought from tree to table to bedroom. Keep everything light and playful and you can't go wrong!
As we make our way back indoors after the summer months, we want things warmer, cozier. Autumn means shorter, cooler days and more time indoors. It also means the holidays are fast approaching. We'll soon be entertaining more with friends and family and we want to extend that warmth not only through ourselves, but also through the environment that we provide.
Chances are, however, that your home has been a little neglected during the summer. You've been busy with other things, and with so much time outdoors, you probably hardly even noticed! Well, its time to open up your eyes, take a look around, and give your home a little attention. It's time to bring a little fall into your home.
Color
Color is key to adding warmth to the home. It's easy to get inspired by the colors of nature. Leaves are turning from bright green to golden browns, oranges and reds. Pumpkins and pomegranates are replacing the bright hues of summer fruits. Fashion is also a great source of inspiration as it moves past fuchsia and canary yellow into deep eggplants, chocolate browns, and caramels. Page through fall issues of your favorite magazines and catalogs to really get inspired. Look at everything - graphics, clothing, advertisements, food. See what colors you gravitate towards, and then try to implement those colors into your decor. Work with colors you love - colors that make YOU feel good. Don't go with the trends of a big name retailer unless they fit your personal style. If you don't love all the baby butternut gold that's being shown, then don't use it! There are no rules to follow. Its your home, you are the one living in it, and you get to choose what you like.
Have you ever wondered why pink is a "girls" color and blue is a "boys" color? Where do these color associations come from? And just how long have we attributed feminine and masculine qualities to these specific hues?
According to Historical Boys Clothing, our currently held beliefs of gender specific colors didn't come about until the 1920s. Take this reference from an early 20th century publication, for example:
"At one point pink was considered more of a boy's color, (as a watered-down red, which is a fierce color) and blue was more for girls. The associate of pink with bold, dramatic red clearly affected its use for boys. An American newspaper in 1914 advised mothers, "If you like the color note on the little one's garments, use pink for the boy and blue for the girl, if you are a follower of convention." [The Sunday Sentinel, March 29, 1914.]"
Or this color "rule" from Ladies Home Journal:
"There has been a great diversity of opinion on the subject, but the generally accepted rule is pink for the boy and blue for the girl. The reason is that pink being a more decided and stronger color is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl." [Ladies Home Journal, June, 1918]
Notice anything interesting? Blue is for girls and pink is for boys! A complete switch from today's color "rules". Pink was considered a male color because it was derived from the powerful and virile color red. And blue was considered more "delicate" - perfect for little girls.
By the 1920s and 1930s it seems pink began to make its transition from being a masculine color to a feminine one. Probably the most compelling explanation for this transition was Nazi Germany's use of a pink triangle to identify male homosexual prisoners. It's suggested that the pink triangle itself wasn't actually "feminine", but rather it symbolized that the prisoners liked men.
Color is the perfect blend of science and art - it is also the perfect expression of emotion. So perfect, in fact that it is a wonder why anyone would want to shy away from using color in their home. But the truth is, color is also frightening to many people. And there are so many misconceptions about color, it unfortunately often gets a really bad rap.
If you are ready to surrender to color and push past the gallons of Ivory, Pale Cream and Navajo White on your next trip to the paint store, read on. You may be surprised to find that many color "facts" you have learned are actually some of the biggest color myths!
Top Five Color Myths
1. "Dark" colors make a room look smaller. "Light" colors make a room look bigger. Not necessarily true! Sometimes a darker color can actually make a room feel larger! A deeply saturated color can often times give the walls more visual volume, making a space seem to "grow." And sometimes rooms painted in "light" colors can suffer from a "shrinking" effect because the walls lack a visual weight. Can darker colors ever make a room feel smaller? Sometimes, but why is that a bad thing? Sometime smaller equals cozier. A room isn't all about its size.
Since the 17th century, natural wood flooring has been used in homes and revered for its inherent warmth and resiliency. Today, it is just as popular with homeowners either tackling a remodel or building from the ground up. What makes wood flooring so attractive? And with so many choices on the market how does any homeowner know what type of wood flooring to select? With a little guidance and research, any homeowner can find the perfect wood flooring for their project.
Getting Started
Before you get started it is important to understand the difference between your basic flooring options. You have three main choices when it comes to wood flooring:
1. Solid Hardwood
Solid wood flooring is a made from a solid piece of wood. It comes either finished or pre-finished and usually is nailed or glued down to a plywood sub floor. Most solids cannot be installed directly on a concrete.
2. Engineered Wood
Engineered wood flooring is manufactured using cross-directional laminated construction (3-5 layers) with a top layer of premium hardwood. The layers help the floor to expand and contract making it very stable and resilient. Engineered wood floors can be glued or nailed down or floated.
3. Laminate Flooring
Laminate flooring, like Pergo, is not technically wood. It is created from a surface layer of two thin sheets of paper impregnated with melamine. The surface layer is a photo of wood grain. Under the photo layer is a ˝” of wood chip composite. Laminated wood flooring can be floated or glued down.
What Type of Wood Should You Use?
With so many new species of wood readily available at our fingertips, selecting a wood floor is no easy task. It is important for a homeowner to take their lifestyle, style preference and budget into consideration before making a decision. Here are some options to look into:
So, you're finally getting ready to move forward with your kitchen remodel. Maybe you're tired of having to strategize which cupboard to open first when emptying the dishwasher. Maybe you don't even have a dishwasher. Or maybe you're tired of hearing that your 90-year-old grandmother's kitchen is more modern than yours.
Whatever the case, you have decided to bite the bullet and give your kitchen a much-needed facelift. Here are ten tips to help you avoid turning your kitchen remodel into a kitchen disaster:
01. Budget
Have one. Without a budget, you will inevitably have problems. Everything is going to cost more that you anticipate. Period. If you don't have a budget, you may find that you start running out of money halfway through the project. You never know what sorts of problems may be lurking under the floors and in the walls once demolition begins. Be prepared for extra expenses and don't blow your budget on an unnecessary luxury that you may never use (like a refrigerator with a built-in TV). If you are going to splurge on an item, make sure it will have maximum impact - like a colorful glass tile for the backsplash.
02. Get to Know Your Existing Kitchen First
You can't fix what you don't know is broken. Study your existing kitchen objectively and intensely. Scrutinize all the details. What works? What doesn't work? Many kitchen design books have checklists you can use to help you figure out a better kitchen plan. This step is very important. Once you've determined what isn't working you can formulate a design that will actually be an improvement from your current kitchen.
After we passed through the rough part of our evolutionary journey, we humans began to make more than spears, clothing and shelter. We started to produce material goods and build structures that not only worked but withstood the test of use. For a long time, individual families were the original archivists, passing genealogical records (as well as actual treasure) to newer generations. Then came tribes and villages, then cities and kings. All this while, craftsmen, architects, artists and ordinary people were creating small wonders. Swords of the finest forged metal. Furnishings, pottery and yes, art. Eventually someone got the idea that certain objects, documents and creations belonged to humanity. Some things should be kept for the ages. Today, there is a museum for every category of human endeavor and concern imaginable. Design museums preserve and celebrate the Applied Arts.
You visit an art museum to see sculpture and paintings. You visit a design museum to admire the subtle, functional beauty of a Shaker bench. You come to marvel at an early La Pavoni espresso machine. At an art museum you are impressed by the painted detail of the dress Queen Elizabeth I is wearing and the drapes behind her. At a design museum you view the actual textiles and learn about their artisan weavers. Design museums are fascinating, educational and inspirational. Most of them are open to the public, hosting both permanent and traveling exhibitions.
Is your life at a standstill? Do the walls seem to be closing in around you? You want to break free but you have no idea what it is that's binding you. You try to think positively. Your heart is in the right place. You are a good person. You eat right and exercise. You're doing all the things that modern society tells you to do and still, you live under a cloud. Maybe it's time to stop beating your head against the brick wall of Western thought and look to the philosophies of the East. Maybe you need to see your home or workplace through different eyes - through ancient eyes. Let go of your clutter and align your Chi. Embrace the time-honored philosophy of Feng Shui.
Pronounced "fűng shway", the words (translated from Chinese) mean, "wind and water". While we in the western world know the term in reference to home design, the concept is ancient. Many early civilizations and cultures depended on the stars and mankind's relationship to them. Instead of looking at the heavens and seeing the gods, early Chinese philosophers and mathematicians saw a grand, revolving order. The universe was in essence, a map of the world and a reference resource for destiny. A crop would fail if planted in defiance of the planets. A cite would not be built until the stars aligned in a specific order. For many thousands of years, people in the Asian world have lived their lives and planned their futures based on the concepts found in Feng Shui. It's not such a silly way to look at things considering that the sun and the seasons do indeed, determine whether we feast or starve. Despite the Maoist revolution of the 1960's, Feng Shui has survived and since the late 1990's, has taken hold in the western world.
The first step in designing any room is choosing a color scheme. The predominant color you choose will set the overall mood for the entire room, creating the ambiance and determining how visitors will feel no matter what furnishings you add after the fact. In fact, color affects our emotions, thoughts, health and even the rest of our senses. Is it any wonder that the color of a room can profoundly affect our lives?
Vish & Asia We created FOKaL to share and catalog our favorite design finds and interior design inspirations. We're life partners, designers and entrepreneurs with many years of... Read More
