Colorful Room Styles/Part 1 of 2

Nature offers the ultimate color palette. When designing outdoor spaces, keep colors simple and let the beauty of nature take center stage. In this space, mariaferlo mixed white drapes and cushions and added soft color with pillows.Keep your furniture, floors and walls neutral if you want to highlight colorful artwork. RMS user shortcar hung bold paintings high on the wall, making them instant focal points.Set apart indoor-outdoor spaces with bold colors that contrast with the exterior. RMS user Val Moore opted for red and black and gave this space an inviting, Asian feel. Purple is a perfect complement to gray. Add sleek white furniture, molding and an inspiring wall treatment and you've got one stylish office. Design by smoodgie.    This...

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Styles of Lighting

AmbientAmbient is a hidden source of light that washes a room with a glow. It flattens an interior and creates very little shadow. A wall sconce is an example of ambient lighting, as are paper lanterns. Use of a dimmer can also provide ambient light. Design by Troy Beasley. AccentDirectional lighting or lighting that adds interest or highlights a certain object or unusual architectural feature in a room. A bulb and some kind of shield to direct the light are all that's needed for this type of lighting. Halogen spotlights and table lamps with opaque shades are good ways to achieve accent lighting. Design by Lori Dennis.TaskTask lighting is just that; lighting that's used to perform daily activities such as reading, cooking, shaving, putting...

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Bedside Lamps

Glass EleganceThis clear glass lamp and white shade are perfect for a soft color palette.  Bold GoldA unique lamp can make a bold statement. This circular gold bedside lamp offsets the black floral wallpaper and dark wood nightstand to expand the pale colors of the headboard and bedding. Design by Erinn Valencich.Thin and SimpleA simple stick table lamp works perfect with this bedroom's modern decor. Design by Lori Dennis.Moroccan BeadsA dark wood headboard and colorful Moroccan-inspired pillows in this bedroom call for taupe bedside lamps to neutralize the deep colors of the accent pillows. Design by Daniel Bodenmil...

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Minute Makeovers

This is for anyone who doesn't have to have a perfectly symmetrical sofa ensemble. Place two of the same square pillows on one end, and toss a wool throw on the other because it gives the sofa a casual, please-sit-here attitude. Consider contrast when choosing pillows and throws. These larger chocolate brown velvet pillows allow the smaller cream felt ones to really pop. Put a pair in each corner, and then add a round orange silk pillow on one side to keep the mix from looking matchy-matchy. Fold a throw in thirds, and place it underneath one of the pillow sets. Fill the prime piece of real estate in front of your sofa with the right building blocks. The key is to use objects of varying heights. This dark wood table is a study in rectangles....

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Updates In Minutes

Break Up Dining Chairs Unless you seat 8 to 10 people at your dining table every week, your chairs probably don’t get much use. Steal two from the dining room, and use them to flank a console table in your entry, a dresser in your bedroom, or the sideboard in your living room. Update Your Lampshades Outdated lampshades can make a room feel stale. To give your space a more modern feel, trade your pleated shades for simple drum-shaped ones -- they’re better looking and easier to keep clean. If you really want to make a statement, forgo a white shade in favor of something more dramatic, like gray. Decorate the Personal Spaces When decorating, we often spend our time, money, and energy on the rooms that we assume will be appreciated by other people....

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Creative Home Decor

Choose Pieces with a MeaningWhen Jason and Jill Williams hired a firm to design their home, they clearly stated that the theme was "sparse."They did not intend to buy things to simply fill the house; they wanted to acquire pieces over time that had meaning, complemented their lifestyle, and reflected their personalities.While the theme was "sparse," sleek and modern wasn't their design choice. Instead, they mixed furniture styles with rustic, stained, and painted finishes.Every piece serves a purpose, and each can be used in different ways for years to come.Design for gatheringFamily rooms are gathering places that should exude a relaxed style and communicate warmth and playfulness.Perhaps the most important consideration for such an active...

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Quick Style Fixes

Group Shot Rehang your art. Group small pictures together for maximum impact. It can give your room an instant facelift. This is easy to change and fun to arrange! Also, it's much cheaper than buying a large piece of art. Musical Chairs Rearrange your furniture. Assess what’s blocking the flow of traffic through your house and move it to a more convenient location. This will make the room appear more organized, and you might just find that long lost remote once you move the couch. China Cheer Hang mismatched antique pieces of china on a wall instead of a painting. Buy discarded china plates at any local flea market or thrift store. Pick colors in the china patterns that coordinate well with your room and buy plates in a variety of sizes and...

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Design Cures

Home Rehab Designer Phoebe Howard of Mrs. Howard and Max & Company worked her magic on this coastal space -- to rid the condo of light-barring walls and cramped, cheerless spaces.The Quick Fix: Infuse life into a small room by combining a variety of textile patterns in similar tones -- like the polka-dot, honeycomb, and geometric fabrics shown here. Custom Kitchen Island The designer installed oak floors stained dark to resemble old European hardwoods, then she enlisted help to design a kitchen island and bath vanities to distinguish the condo from the run-of-the-mill builder's special. The Quick Fix: Craft your own kitchen island using a favorite antique piece as inspiration. This one was made with a wooden shiplap back and bracket feet.Looks...

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Decorative Napkin Rings

Linen Lessons A simple, ruffled red ribbon makes a holiday setting even more festive. Roll the napkins, secure them with ribbon, and place them on a simple cake stand so that guests can help themselves. Natural Sparkle On a plain linen napkin, tie a bow with sheer metallic ribbon and attach "bells" of milk chocolate kisses. This will give family and friends a sweet treat to remember the gathering. Bright Bows Fold your napkin in a square, and tie it like a package with pretty silk ribbon.Tip: Make the bows really pop by using wire ribbon. It's available at crafts stores and is inexpensive when you buy it by the roll. Festive Finery An embellished napkin deserves a refined ribbon.Tip: Be sure to use extra-sharp scissors so that your cuts are...

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Accenting your Fall Tablesetting

Delightful Detail Inscribe your guests' initials on a pretty leaf for an unusual place card. Use a metallic paint pen for a polished look.Orange You Glad For another nature-inspired touch on your table, stud oranges with cloves in guests' initials for fragrant placeholders.Rich Textures Combine a variety of materials for a sumptuous table. Here, glass, metallic, and iridescent finishes lend festive glimmer.I loved these creative ideas I found on my homeideas. Adding these small touches can make a fall tablesetting so special and memorab...

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