Shedding Some Light on the Subject

Lighting makes a huge difference in any space. It has the ability to take a house and turn it into home, providing a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere. I feel that lamps do the job best. Here are some fun ways to incorporate lamps into your space.

Accent Lamps

 Purchase a wine glass (this doesn’t have to be pricey, dollar store even) and tea lamps. Using fabric, adhesive spray and construction paper, follow the pattern here and cut the shape out of construction paper. Then, use the construction paper as a template to trace the pattern onto the fabric. Cut the fabric out and if you have some anti-fray, apply that to the raw edges of your fabric. Stick the fabric to the construction paper using the adhesive spray and glue the two sides together with hot glue.

Lamp shade makeover

Recovering a lampshade with fabric, spray adhesive, hot glue gun and some trim. Since you won’t be able to see the lamp shade after you’ve given it a facelift, it doesn’t matter what it looks like underneath. In other words, shop thrift stores for your lamp shade!

Fixing your florescent light fixture

If your apartment or home has florescent light fixtures first of all, I’m sorry. These have the tendency to make you feel that you are back at your office or in a classroom, the last things that home should feel like. Here is a easy fix: buy cream tissue paper and lay it in the bottom of the light cover, making sure it lays flat. This will take the light from appearing florescent to feeling homier.

Decorating: Where do you start?

Where do you start? It’s easy. Find an inspiration piece. Mine was a 25$ piece of art. Yours could be a cool chair you find at a thrift store, a rug your great Auntie Linda gives you, a fabric swatch, a cool plate, toss pillow etc. Look at the picture above. There are a handful of objects in this room that could serve as an inspiration piece! It’s helpful if your inspiration piece has a couple of different colors incorporated into it. Make sure you like the colors because BAM! You’ve automatically got the color scheme for that room. That was easy!

Find an inspiration piece for each room in your home and you will be surprised at how easy it will become to put together the rest of the room. (A shower curtain in the bathroom, a pillow for the master bedroom, hand towels for the kitchen = inspiration pieces. Let the little things inspire you)

Don’t be afraid of color. Color can make a big difference in any space.

Don’t use big prints in small spaces. Big prints become overwhelming and because most of our first homes and apartments are small, we want to avoid this. Life is hectic enough already girls, let’s not let the crazy into our homes!

9 Easy Ways to Turn Ordinary Furniture Pieces Unique

1. Wallpaper the backboard of dressers, hutches etc. for a pop of color and design.

Filing cabinets are functional but not when it comes to design. Wallpaper the surface for an all around great piece.

2. Paint an ordinary piece an extraordinary color and BAM!

For this look, choose your colors from a paint chip card with gradient colors and then buy small sample jars of each color for the separate drawers in your furniture piece.

3. Exchange old knobs for new and give your piece an added dose of character.

4. Just add cushions! Cushions serve an ordinary piece best when they incorporate vibrant/rich colors and patterns complimentary to the room they reside.

Look how these cushions took an ordinary deep blue coach and made it extraordinary and attention grabbing.

5. Antique for a rustic look. Paint two layers of color and with a rag and paint remover, remove the first layer in desired spots.

6. Stencil a design on the surface. Remove the knobs and pencil on a design or buy a stencil.

7. Wood cut outs can be glued to a flat surface and painted over with the rest of the piece.

8. Wallpaper the insides of your drawers for a happy surprise every time they are opened.

9. Inside one color, outside another! Just use blue painting tape for crisp, differentiating lines.

15 Ways to Make Your Bouquet Unique

1. Laced Stem

2. In Remembrance of Pictures (for those who can’t be there)

3. Pendant attached to stem 

4. Fabric flowers

5. Feathers

6. Dripping Beads

7. Crystal Detail

8. Dripping Moss

9. Pendants

10. Twined Stem

11. Lace Flowers

12. Lace Doilies

13. Hanging Ribbon

14. Buttoned Down

15. Bows