Showing posts with label House Beautiful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label House Beautiful. Show all posts

09 January, 2015

5 Closets That Aren't Closets Anymore


These DIYers found extra living space in their home's smallest spots. This article originally appeared on GoodHousekeeping.com
It's unlikely that you lament about having too much closet space in your home, but have you ever considered what you might gain from repurposing one altogether? We know, scandalous. But for these smart bloggers, transforming a closet was the key to a more organized, productive and beautiful home.
Is one of these creative rooms hiding in your house right now? Just imagine it..
 
If you can't dedicate a full room to a workspace, follow Christina's lead at #No. 29 Design. Floating shelves, chalkboard paint, and sconces turned her standard closet into a super-functional office.
 
Tanya at Dans Le Lakehouse didn't want to lose all of her closet's storage space, but craved a way to create a more spacious, friendly office. Now, her colorful filing cabinet and boxes look charming next to a quaint bench where she can consult paperwork, flip through a book, and stow extra supplies under the seat..
 
 
Before they're old enough to fill closets with clothes and shoes, kids will love sneaking into a DIY nook for reading and playing, like this one from Balancing Home.
 
 
Shoes, coats, and bags have a way of piling up in an entryway, never quite making it to the closet. If that's the case in your home, consider what Anu did at Nalle's House: Ditching the closet door and hanging hooks, baskets, and a bench instead.
 
 
If your sewing and crafting projects commandeer the dining room table, move everything to a closet, like Kim at Oh, Sweet Joy did. Worried about losing the storage space? Consider how this strategy might control your DIY clutter better than before.
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Happy New Year!
It's been a little bit since my last post - loads has happened in the meantime. And needless to say very happy to be back and share with you some amazing articles, images, house snooping and of course across the Palatial Living - decorating & style!
Sarah x  #palatialliving
 
article & images via HouseBeautiful.com

25 October, 2012

Vibrant Accents...

An empty bookcase painted Pratt & Lambert's Orange Spice sets off sparks in the living room, picked up in the custom-colored print by Galbraith & Paul on the pillows and curtains. Custom orange fabric from Lewis & Sheron Textiles. Charlotte wing chairs and sofa, coffee tables, ceramic garden stool, and Black Corbel chandelier from South of Market. Acrylic log holder by CB2. Wall paint is Benjamin Moore's Seapearl.
 Orange paint sets off the Palladian details of the bookcase.

Overscale willow basket lights from South of Market help define the breakfast area in a large kitchen. Tones of gray reappear in the curtain fabric by Lewis & Sheron Textiles and the Dual Seat Counter Bench by Lee Industries. Faucet by Waterworks. Sub-Zero refrigerator. Mirror from South of Market.

I love this Kansas City Apartment profiled in House Beautiful ... the accents of vibrant orange bring a modernity to the neutral palette, that also allows you to change up the accent when the mood or fashion strikes you.
Enjoy,
 An old shop awning is hung on a living room wall like a piece of art.



images via housebeautiful.com

30 August, 2012

Fresh Living Rooms...




Loving these fresh, light & bright Living areas...
some colour combinations and looks can be timeless.
Is it time to mix up your throw cushions, or a fresh coat of paint?
Enjoy,

The soft, creamy gray color running through this small living room
helps it feel bigger, since the eye doesn't focus on it and
goes straight to the windows.
Designed by Ginger Barber. Featured in July 2009 issue

Chardonnay grape vineyards surround this contemporary California farmhouse.
Designer Jean Larette wanted this living room to have a seamless
 indoor-outdoor flow. Two walls of foldable, glass-paned doors take the
 place of solid walls so the owner can feel the breeze and enjoy the view.

images via housebeautiful.com

02 April, 2012

Palatial Easter Projects...





Hanging Easter Egg Decoration
A bunch of pastel Easter eggs works as a festive decoration for your front door. Wrap plastic foam egg shapes (available at crafts supply stores) with crepe paper, and attach the ends with glue or a small straight pin. Add yellow ribbon, secured with small straight pins, and leave a long end for tying. Gather the eggs at various heights and tie the ribbons together. Hang the decoration from a removable adhesive hook or wreath hanger, and finish it off with a pretty bow.
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This weekend I put up my 'Easter Tree' - really several large gum tree sticks [over sized] from our yard, and hanging from them are several different coloured eggs in gold, blue, white & pink, and some little sparrow-like white & yellow with grey wooden birds. All hanging from colourful satin ribbon! Our little 'Is' was in awe this morning when she saw these eggs hanging from the 'sky' - usually they go straight into the pan for scrambled eggs for her breakfast!

So if you're thinking of getting some Easter decorations up this week... here's a few 'quick' ones that will see your home beautifully decorated, looking fun, and colourful for this wonderful celebration [on the Christian calendar]. Have Fun with them & Enjoy,


Colored Easter Egg Wreath
This easy-to-make Easter wreath adds a pop of pretty pastel color to your front door. Using an awl, poke a small hole in each end of 12 plastic eggs. Cut 1/2x3-inch strips of patterned paper, cutting small slits along the edges to reduce wrinkling.
Brush Mod Podge onto the back of one paper strip and apply to an egg, pressing out the excess glue or air bubbles; repeat until egg is covered. After all the eggs are covered, brush two thin coats of Mod Podge over the eggs, letting them dry in between coats; let dry. String the eggs onto a 16-gauge wire, allowing an extra inch at each end; clip the wire. Wrap one end around the other to form a wreath shape; cover wire ends with a pretty pastel ribbon and hang.


 
 Rustic Watering Can with Blooms & Eggs
Filling a rustic watering can with pink tulips, greenery, and pastel blue eggshells is the perfect decoration for spring. Stuff the watering can with floral foam to secure the stems. Add picks to blown-out eggshells to secure them as well. When you're finished creating the arrangement, wire it to your front door and cover the wire with ribbon. Tip: To keep flowers fresh, put the stems in water vials or heavy plastic bags filled with floral foam powder, available at floral supply stores.

 
Simple Natural Wreath
Japanese maple and sedum wired to a wreath form produce a pretty wreath that adds natural beauty to your door. Work with your local floral retailer for the supplies or substitute your own dried spring blooms or faux flowers and leaves. Hang it to your front door with a wide ribbon in a contrasting color, such as the green pictured here.


Beautiful Easter Door Decoration
A bouquet of pink tulips, along with greenery and dyed eggshells filled with daffodils, tuck neatly into an umbrella for a unique Easter door decoration. To make, tie a pretty pink ribbon halfway up a closed umbrella to create a makeshift vase for your arrangement. Create pockets between front ribs and tuck in tissue paper to support a crafts-store bird's nest, blown-out dyed Easter eggs, fresh flowers, and greenery, such as ferns and moss. When you're finished, wire the arrangement to a front-door hook to hang.
Tip: To keep flowers fresh, put the stems in water vials or heavy plastic bags filled with floral foam powder, available at floral supply stores



Jelly Bean - Easter Egg Front Door Monogram
Instead of a wreath, hang a fun monogram on your front door for spring. Paint a papier-mache letter (available at crafts) using acrylic paint in a pretty spring color, such as the soft purple shown here. For a single-color decoration, match the paint color to the jelly beans [or small easter eggs]; if you want a multi-color decoration mix pastel jelly beans and a single color of paint for the letter. Once the paint is dry, hot-glue the jelly beans to the front of the letter and let dry. Hot-glue a ribbon to the back to create a hanging loop and attach to your front door.

Native Floral Wreath
This pretty wreath made from dried flowers and leaves is a gorgeous decoration for your front door or wooden garden gate. This wreath is made with a base of dried sage and accented with celosia, globethistle, static, Liatris, and Eryngium. We stuck the dried elements into floral foam, working clockwise from the top.


Easy Flower Bouquet in Glass Bottles
Perfect for a garden trellis or front door, a small bouquet of annuals / flowers tucked into clear glass bottles makes a natural statement. Fill recycled glass bottles with your favorite flowers, mixing up the colors for a pretty spring decoration. To make this arrangement work on your front door, wrap wire around the bottle necks to secure to a door knocker or nail. Attach a strip of removable interlocking adhesive to the door and the bottle so the glass won't knock against the door every time it's opened.



images & subtext via bhg, house beautiful, country living, coastal living

21 December, 2011

Small Spaces For Christmas Decor ~ Part II...

So with only 4 sleeps to go - if you're still stuck for some holiday decorating in Part II of my posting for Small Spaces Decorating - you may just find some great nifty quick ideas as well as getting that table decor you've been pondering over for Christmas Day! Take a look, there might be an idea just for you!
Enjoy,
Go Small with Displays
Ornaments have tons of pop -- utilize their glitter and glow for a small-space display. Glue an ornament to a small, round plastic or glass disk. Remove the hanger and tuck in mini blooms or sprigs of berries. Group the vase ornaments on a tray for a centerpiece.


Accent Your Kitchen Windows
Open, airy windowpanes dance with color, thanks to these colorful snowflakes. Hang similar ones in a pattern or at random; add the final touch with a simple swag of greenery overhead

Use Window Space
Simplicity is key for small-space decorating. White pillar candles, placed on a silver tray, add elegance to a windowsill. Two faux dwarf evergreens, wrapped in burlap, add a bit of color to the wintry scene

Make an Impactful Wall Display
Old photos are great conversation starters, particularly at the holidays, and this display takes up only minimal wall space. Start with baby photographs; cut them in a circle, mount on foam core, and arrange in a tree shape. Little space, big impact.
Great Tip: For a great together-time activity, have family members guess who is who in each photo.
Color
A bare-bones tree is a treat for a small corner, and choosing just one accent color is a good way to cut down on visual distractions. For the base of your tree, wrap a small box with a dish towel and fill the base of the box with stones (disguised with a layer of pearl-white ornaments) to hold in place. Add a few more wrapped boxes in a variety of papers and ribbons

 
images & subtext from BHG, tumblr, Country Living, House Beautiful


12 May, 2011

Ways to Making the Most of Small Rooms...


I recently found a great article in American interiors mag House Beautiful that I wanted to share with you... I thought it had some great tips & tricks for making the most of small or smaller spaces that often perplex us with 'what to do?' . These are probably the most asked questions & dilemmas that my clients come across in styling their homes & office spaces - that's where I come in to help them!

Organize Furniture into Mini-Rooms > In this New York City studio apartment — just under 400 square feet furniture is arranged by function. The distinct zones help make the space feel much larger.

Choose Furniture that Does Double Duty > To maximize space in the studio,  a large farm table is used as a desk, and transforms it into a dining table when entertaining. Large black wire bins stylishly store files — and make it easy to move them elsewhere.

Float Furniture in the Center of the Room > In this small guesthouse in Salt Lake City, Utah, designers Marshall Watson and Jeffrey Kilmer arranged the furniture in the small living room away from the walls. "If you create space beyond the furniture, it adds volume to a room," says Kilmer

Create Hidden Storage > Interior designer David Kaihoi lives large in his small New York City one-bedroom apartment with multi-functional furniture. The elegant banquette serves as seating for both the dining table and the living room, plus it stores linens and towels underneath.

Use All Available Space > To use all available wall space and height, Kaihoi built this floor-to-ceiling bookcase. There are storage cabinets on the bottom, a spot for the television, and plenty of room for books.
Select Multi-Purpose Children's Furniture > Choosing furniture that works throughout a child's life is a smart investment. This antique gentleman's chest has served multiple purposes for Kaihoi: desk, bar, child's bureau, and — when the child was in diapers — changing table.

Match Furniture to the Wall Color > Kristen Ewart designed this beach house on Balboa Island, California. She painted these dining chairs semigloss white to match the walls. The chairs disappear into the walls, opening up the room.

Try Nesting Tables > Since the master bedroom is small, Ewart chose nesting tables. One can be pulled out at night, and pushed out of the way when not needed.

Add Closet Space with an Armoire> In a 1,400 square-foot Alabama cottage, designer Melanie Pounds designed an Ultrasuede armoire to compensate for small closets in the master bedroom.

 
Create an Additional Entertaining Area> If you have a small kitchen and entertain frequently, set up a small table away from the kitchen. In her home's entryway, Pounds chose a skirted console table to display books and flowers for everyday use. When she entertains, she uses it as a bar or serving table. "There's less congestion in the galley kitchen and dining room. It saved us!"

Choose an Open Console> Pounds designed a leggy console to hold her bathroom sink instead of a traditional closed cabinet. The open space helps to make the bathroom feel larger.
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Hopefully these 'small' ideas will help you with any 'small space' styling dilemmas you might have in you home!
Enjoy,


images & subtext via house beautiful


21 April, 2011

Happy Easter!


Just in case I don't get a chance to wish you all a very Happy Easter on Sunday, I am being organised and thought I would send you my Easter wishes today...
This evening & tomorrow morning I am going mad into organising Isabelle's 1st Birthday party we're having a small afternoon tea for tomorrow! So between now & then I am baking cakes, making a no '1' birthday cake [thanks vintage Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book!] hanging some super cute bunting, blowing up balloons, dishing out the party bags & setting the tables! All in shades of Pink & Green with stripes & spots for good measure!

So here's to your safe travels through the Easter & ANZAC long weekend, warm sunny [autumn] weather, delicious Easter eggs from the bunny and a Happy one too!
Enjoy,

BTW - will post my Easter Egg tree later on... just need to download my pics!

images via bhg, house beautiful, country living, sunset, montage by Sarah Verity - Vernandah Home & Garden Living Solutions

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