Guest Post - How To Decorate Your First Home On A Budget

Buying or leasing your first home is a milestone. Whether it’s a small apartment or a large house, it’s your residence. Yet it takes more than your signature on the paperwork to make that space feel like home. The bare walls and empty rooms of which you’ve taken ownership likely will need a lot of work before you can feel truly comfortable there.

It can be challenging to decorate on a budget. You’ll need to find furniture, area rugs and other accents that fit your style, personality and financial limitations. Fortunately, you can find ways to refresh your home even if times are tight. You just have to be smart about how you shop and learn a few tricks for cost-effective interior design. For instance, don’t underestimate the impact that color coordination can have on a room.

Even if you have to buy individual pieces of furniture from multiple sources, you can make them all fit more effectively by painting them matching colors. Estate sales and online retailers also offer opportunities for bargains if you’re willing to do the legwork. For even more tips to help you decorate smarter for your first home, see the accompanying infographic.

Author Bio: Shelley Alexanian is spokesperson for Alexanian, one of Canada’s most successful and versatile full-service flooring and window covering businesses. With several years of industry experience, Shelley is skilled at creating beautiful designs under a variety of budgets — she believes design is at the heart of everything. 

Guest Post - 5 Captivating Renovations to Bring Your Family Room To Life

Are you tired of looking at the same old family room? Not exciting or glamorous as it once was? Maybe it’s time to renovate that old space into something you and your family would enjoy.

There are several different ways you can go about doing this. It doesn’t have to be a major project or cost a lot of money, it can be a simple renovation or facelift.

Here are 5 things you can do to bring your family living room to life!

1. Change The Flooring

2. Change Your Ceiling Fans and Lights

3. Rearrange your furniture

4. Update your windows

5. Repaint your walls

Consider New Flooring

Your family room may look dull because your floors are worn out or scratched. Marble or tiles can become scratched and scuffed, or the grout lines become darkened over time.

Changing the flooring can not only have a big impact on the appearance of your family room, but it definitely increases the value of your home. If you want more lighting or natural lighting into the room, change your flooring to lighter floors. You could also use smaller pieces of tile to illuminate the space.

You should also experiment with different layouts. Don’t be afraid to use different styles and get creative. You can transition flooring between rooms to add some flare.

Change Your Lights and Ceiling Fans

Old fans and lighting fixtures may be making your family room bland. Chromed parts can crack and tarnish after a while, and canvas lampshades can start to yellow over time. Moreover, a ceiling fan can make your family room look very dull if the fan wobbles or makes squeaky noises.

You don’t have to buy a simple ceiling fan, there are different styles and functions of fans you can choose from:

• Energy star ceiling fans

• Dual motor ceiling fans

• Remote controlled ceiling fans

• Damp and wet ceiling fans.

Replace your lights and ceiling fans to an updated style of your choice. Switch to LED bulbs, these cost 50% less than CFL lights. Play around with the lighting, add ambient, accent, and task lights.

Rearrange Your Furniture

Changing your furniture could potentially open up new spaces and improve traffic flow for your family and guests. It may also free up outlets that you didn’t know were there.

For example, you could change your furniture into a formal and balanced type of look. This includes two small sofas facing each other and a coffee table in between them.

You could also go with a casual and balanced look, by placing the matching chairs opposite from each other and the larger sofa in between them.

If you have a big family or a lot of guests, a versatile seating for your family room would be best. You could also go for a minimal and comfortable look or a retro party pad look.

Update Your Windows

Worn out or warped windows can make your family room look aged. If you want more daylight coming into the room, increase the size of your windows.

Go all out, update the window frames and curtains to dramatically improve the look of your family room. If you want the family room to feel taller, get curtains that are tall enough to cover the top and bottom of the windows. Also, add extra fabric width so that the pleats are evenly distributed when the curtains are closed.

If you are looking for a different style, consider a casement window. This allows for adequate ventilation and a central view of your yard.

Repaint Your Walls

Changing the color of your walls could really bring your family room back to life and even heighten your mood. Pick a color that best suits your family.

Play around with patterns, who says it has to be a simple coat of paint? Sponging, rag rolling, and dragging could really add special effects to your family room.

You could also go with waves, they are eye-catching and let you use more than two contrasting colors. Instead of using two colors, add three using a stripe design to your family room.

You can also go for abstract designs that induce a mood or create a design of something you love. Ombre designs offer a lot of flexibility, it can eliminate the boundaries between the ceiling and the walls, and eliminate straight angles.

Conclusion

There are many other ways you can update your family room. These examples are just easy ways to get you started. You’ll be on your way to a new and improved family room that you and your family will be sure to enjoy. Happy renovating!

Author Bio: Isaias Valencia is a blogger who loves to write about DIY home renovation and home organization. He believes recycling and upcycling should be considered wherever possible in any home remodeling project. Stay up to date on his latest projects at Smart Remodeling.

Guest Post - Home Design Projects That Can Be Done in a Weekend

The thought of giving your home a makeover may seem intimidating. Ideas of renovating, or even moving out some of the old and replacing it with the new, feels like a commitment of both time and money. But it is the small touches like a new piece of wall art or an attention-grabbing centerpiece that have the ability to make a home feel cozy and tasteful. Fortunately, there is no shortage of projects that can improve your home in just a couple of days time.

Fill Your Walls With Stories

Adding to your walls is what makes a home uniquely yours. Whether you choose to display family photos, handed-down trinkets or décor that exhibits your personal style, walls are essential—quiet literally—in bringing the home together. You just need to determine what stories you want to share. Collections are a great way to display your interests in a striking way. You may have a compilation of pictures, vinyl records or decorative plates, and all it really takes is fixing them to the wall in whichever formation you desire to create a statement piece. Placing your collections tightly in an irregular formation or overlapping them does a brilliant job of creating a textured accent wall for added dimension. If you find yourself without a collection to display, you can easily enough find or make one of your own.

A more recent trend for dorm rooms and homes alike is creating personalized canvases. Whether it’s a simple “welcome to our home” or you are pulling quotes from your favorite authors, what could be more telling than a phrase that speaks specifically to you? Personalized canvases can be painted in any number of ways but lettering can also be created from fabrics and old magazines.

Using unique shelving devices is another great way to add a bit of personal flair to the room. By merely fashioning a sturdy piece of string through an old board, a hanging shelf can be made to display whichever items best complement the room. Should you prefer a more traditional shelf, try buying a plywood board and fasten brackets that are unique, such as recycled piping or vintage brackets that can be found in a second-hand store. For the book lovers and collectors who appreciate the aesthetic appeal that bindings offer, utilizing floating bookshelves allows the opportunity not only to display your favorite stories but also emit the gift of illusion guests will forever be intrigued by.

Creating One-of-a-Kind Windows

Arguably, windows are the most important feature of any home. They are the intersection that connects the inside to what the outside world has to offer. While rooms are often designed so that we may appreciate the view, light and sounds provided, having a barrier of privacy is also essential. Luckily, this can be achieved with style. One such way is by adding a bit of life to your blinds or shades. Roller blinds, or blackout shades, do a fantastic job of keeping out the light for a reasonable price. For a personalized shade, try sewing or even gluing on a fabric that complements the room’s décor.

If your goal is to keep the sun at bay, blackout curtains will do the trick. But if you only wish to gain a bit of privacy while allowing the light to stream in, privacy screens are an easy DIY project that are also aesthetically pleasing. All you need to do is measure the dimensions of your window while taking into account the area you wish to be overlaid. Generally, privacy curtains are used for the lower half of the window, so it is easiest to follow the line of the lower window sash. Doing this will also allow you to insert the screen into the lower window casing on days when you want to let in the breeze. After stapling together the screen panels, finish by sewing on a lace fabric of your choice. Frosted glass is also another option, though more permanent and sometimes uneven if applied to a larger glass surface. To add a bit of design, try laying stickers or decals on the glass before using the spray. Once it has dried, remove the stickers to create a truly original window.

If you have little ones running around the house, functionality and safety are probably your top priorities. However, that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. There are tons of great, modern window designs and treatments that will give your home the appeal you’re seeking and keep your children safe. One of the best options for child-safe window blinds is a cordless blind or shade, which has grown in popularity over the years and is now available in almost every color and style to fit your exact taste. They are easy to install and can work wonders in transforming a space.

Give Old Furniture a New Makeover

With minimal time and effort, a broken down piece can be reclaimed to look new and original. Painting is almost always the best way to refinish furniture. This can be as plain as applying a couple of fresh coats of paint, but you can also get as creative as you want by applying stripes, fun designs and decals to produce one-of-a-kind furniture. For furniture that has had a tough run, try running a bit of sandpaper over the finish for a distressed appearance. By constructing a rougher surface to a piece with existing scars, you can achieve the ultimate shabby chic look. A less conventional option is wrapping it up. Decoupage with magazine clippings, fabrics or actual wrapping paper to add an artsy element to any piece. Unfortunately, not all furniture can be saved. If a piece is worth salvaging, you can give it a new purpose, like taking the drawers of an old desk and converting them into decorative baskets or knocking out the bottom and using the remaining frame for a new and unique shelving unit.

What better way to spend your weekend than by adding crafty new touches to your home? Updating doesn’t need to require a lot of time and effort. With a bit of imagination, the whole family can have fun helping to make your home as cozy and original as possible.

Author Bio: Kenneth Gordon serves as the Assistant VP of Factory Direct Blinds. Kenneth is responsible for overseeing the planning, development and execution of all Factory Direct Blinds marketing and advertising initiatives. Before joining Factory Direct Blinds, Kenneth served 6 years in the United States Air Force as a Military Police Officer. Kenneth enjoys spending time with his two sons and beautiful wife Brittany when he’s not working or writing.

Guest Post - How Virtual Reality is Going to Change the Interior Designing Industry

Ours is the age of technology, its fashion, food, construction or interior design. Virtual reality has begun to change the way interior designers work. Designers feel more confident in presenting their ideas with the help of virtual tools and software because they make the ideas come alive before they actually come alive. To get more insight into the virtual reality software and their impact, we had a little chat with Westbrook Interiors, Office Interior Design Head. Our expert associated the satisfaction of customers with productive and efficient processing that virtual reality provides in these words:

“We ensure that our clients get the feel of their desired space before the execution that satisfies them and makes us more confident to pursue each process with more efficient and productive manner. It is only possible with great quality Virtual Reality software."

Walking a client through a digital room filled with your design and all the little details makes the entire process more meaningful. The accurate estimation of details was never possible before this technology. Virtual reality is also a highly customizable phenomenon. With digital performance and the instruments like glasses and headsets, it constructs an interactive experience. Therefore we hear the designers say, it makes individual participation more engaging and enables individual variations in creation in an immersive way giving an edge on other interior designers.

Efficient use of space has always been the prime focus of interior practices, and VR has made it easier for designers to achieve the goal of efficient space use with a more functional design that confirms user well-being. For example, TrueScale is user-friendly software that allows constructing, edit and explore the designed spaces in 2D, 3D or real scale of superior design experience. It provides a more precise sense of scale and depth that was not possible with traditional graphics and pen performance.

The greatest thing about virtual reality is that many great and advanced software is available to designers that help them to bring the projects and designs to life before execution. It immensely helps the composition, designer and customer as everything can be thoroughly assessed before breaking the ground. It allows to make changes at initial steps minimizing risk factors and finalize all the major and minor details for once, resulting in efficient and effective planning that promise superior consolidated results.

The visual conceptualization not only determines project visibility way earlier in the process but the explicit details can be communicated more accurately to contractors and construction teams. Virtual technology not only replaces the pen and paper drafting technique but enhances each process involved in building a space that can achieve operational efficiency.

We can see why virtual reality is the next big thing in the interior design world and it is almost impossible for any designer to work without virtual reality software who wishes to compete in this field. Nowadays, interior designers can use many advanced 2D/3D designs and BIM software solutions that enable them to advance their ideas from concept through to completion.

In this age, virtual reality enables a user to see the full picture of the final design beforehand as compared to traditional blueprints while future promises possibilities that are unlimited.

Authors Bio: Alex Tchablakian is COO at Letstango.com- leading online shopping destination, Alex is a die-hard lover of games and gadgets. His aim is to help customers to discover and choose the right product. You can reach him at alex@letstango.com.