When it comes to decorating your bedroom, you want to come home to an inviting, warm, and relaxing space especially after a long day at work.  It should be one of your favorite rooms in your home where you can unwind and really be yourself.  A bedroom should flow with harmony and balance and a great place to start is your walls.  An accent wall can be a perfect way to break up a large room, to emphasize a beautiful architectural feature, to create a focal point that instantly draws your eye, or to define an area in an open space plan.  I’d like to show you some accent walls I really love to not only add spark to your bedroom décor, but also to accentuate your space. Since I love color so much, an accent wall is a great way to add a pop of color in your home without it being too much for you to handle. Check out these accent wall ideas below, share with friends, and let me know what you think!

Keep it Simple with One Bold Color

In the bedroom, a bold turquoise or dramatic bright pink can not only highlight architectural details of your room from wainscoting to peaked ceilings, but it can also create an exciting and invigorating mood in the space.  Having an accent wall painted a bold color really makes a statement and draws your attention even if there is nothing else on the walls. If you aren’t ready to paint one of your walls a dramatic color, try a softer blue or gentle green to liven up your bedroom.

Benjamin Moore

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When it comes to designing your bathroom, you may feel a little lost as it is so much more involved than selecting furnishings and accessories like you would for your bedroom or living room.  There are a lot of things to consider for your bathroom, especially how you use it. Next to the kitchen, it is the second most important space in the house. It is also the only room where hot steam from a running shower circulates in the air where condensation can occur if there isn’t proper ventilation.

Most people want to come home to a space that feels like they just entered an elegant, relaxing, and meditative day spa full of wonderful aromas and soothing music. You too can create your own personal spa retreat. Start with visiting a bathroom showroom to see what kind of bath fixtures are out there.  Ask them questions.  If you still feel overwhelmed with the endless options or don’t know what questions to ask, consider working with a designer who can help you by making recommendations and guiding you through the selection process. There is a lot of information out there today from books to online articles, so start familiarizing yourself with different types of bathroom fixtures and think about what would fit your needs for function, style, and mood.  Let’s look at some below.

Bathtub

Bathtubs are still very popular even though some bathroom designers and experts would say that its out of style and the new trend is modern showers. Bathtubs are soothing, relaxing, and a meditative experience especially after a long day at work.  They have personality whether it’s a clawfoot, freestanding, whirlpool, or alcove tub shower combination. There is nothing better than soaking in a tub surrounded by fragrant candles and soft music of nature. If you have a whirlpool tub, you can get a nice gentle massage too while enjoying your reflective experience. It’s quite a different experience bathing in a bathtub compared to taking a quick shower and that is why bathtubs are still very much appealing to the consumer.

Drummonds

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Winter can be disheartening, as the winter days are long and possibly gloomy with not enough sunshine (depending on the geographical location of where you live). The good news is that there are ways you can brighten up your home this winter season. By making your home cheerful, you can make winter more tolerable and warm! So, what are some ways you can get rid of winter blues and brighten up your home? Here are some simple interior design tips to help you or to spark creative ideas on your own.

Artwork

Not only is hanging art great for your home, it is also a great tool to brighten up your space during winter. If you already have some art on your walls, you can always add a few more pieces just for winter. Vibrant, colorful artwork will help brighten up your space and you can choose paintings, photos, or prints with sparkling landscapes or floral cheer.

Flickr-Jeff Jacinto

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If you live in any major city from San Francisco to New York to Chicago, most likely you are faced with the challenge of living in a small space. Small spaces can actually come with a host of advantages especially where space is limited. Maybe your rent is cheaper or you get to live in the heart of your favorite bustling city. Small spaces force you to get organized and prioritize what you really need sitting around. Plus it’s less space to clean, and that’s just more time to focus on pressing matters, like your goals for the new year.

But what happens when your New Year’s goals include wanting or needing a home office? Then your small space starts to look like a large nightmare. Where do you even put an office? How do you make room for a table? Maybe you start worrying and thinking that you’ll need to throw out your bed just to have some workspace.

Fear not my friend. There are tons of small office ideas to make your workspace feasible in any living situation, no matter how horizontally challenged your living quarters may be.  The better your space is organized, the easier it is to focus on those goals of yours and accomplishing them!

Stack Your Space

In small spaces, it’s challenging to make space horizontally.  So what do you do? Go vertical. One of the most common and popular creative small office tactics is to make maximum use of wall space. Shelves will come to your rescue as they allow you to claim previously unused wall space. Before you know it, you’ll have tons of space for books, boxes, accessories, and papers.

In the same vein as using wall space, this wall organizer by Martha Stewart gets it all together for you

Avery

Or this Peek shelf with mirror from CB2.
CB2

If drilling holes in your wall isn’t an option (like in most rental situations), get vertical with office accessories. You can find stacking letter trays with fun patterns like this one

Container Store

or these colorful stackable storage boxes to store all your supplies both from Container Store.

Container Store

Creatively Commandeer Your Apartment Space

Small spaces demand a certain level of innovation. You’re probably in a situation where almost all your space is taken up with the necessities of living like your bed, clothes, seating, and kitchen supplies. That’s when you have to turn your attention to the more unconventional areas.

If you have any nooks and small corner spaces, see if you can create a small table through the use of floating shelves. Any tiny, empty space can become a small office world in and of itself. This person got creative and e made an office out of a small spare closet

MissButterCup

You can also use a wall mounted table that can be flipped up when needed and flipped down when not in use.  like this one from IKEA.

IKEA

Get Modular

The key to using a small space is to think of it like a puzzle. Fitting everything perfectly and creatively together will allow you to not only know where everything is, but also reclaim space that was poorly optimized and just plain wasted. Consider multifunctional furniture, like this armoire that folds out to create a desk and acts as storage the rest of the time.

Other products can help you optimize your space better, like this modular desk organizer from B&A Studio that will help you visualize where everything goes.

Inhabitat

Also, make sure your drawers are in order with drawer dividers like this Bamboo Drawer Organizer Tray from Container Store.
Container Store

Remember, a more organized small office space means less time looking for your stuff and more time focusing on your New Year’s goals.

February is the month of love and whether you are excited about Valentine’s Day or not, it can be fun to incorporate some of the things Valentine’s Day is known for into your interior decor. Simple things such as candles, flowers, artwork, and the color red can really liven up your space and make it feel warm and inviting setting the tone for Valentine’s Day, which is just around the corner.

Heart Décor

What’s Valentine’s Day without hearts? It’s everywhere from boxes of chocolates, throw pillows, balloons, clothing, cards, and so much more.  They are all shaped in the form of hearts to bring home that lovely warm Valentine’s mood. You can incorporate hearts into your design without it being tacky or too overwhelming. Something as simple as a small wall hanging or a wreath can add some love to your space without being too much.

Luminouslifepath

As an interior designer and business woman, I can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of meeting new clients, following up with past clients, preparing proposals, and designing spaces that are magical. So this week, I’m slowing down so I can tell you more about myself and why I chose the path of becoming an interior designer. Knowing a little bit more about the person behind the design is important because you want to work with someone who has the appropriate training, understands design, and most importantly understands you and your lifestyle.

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