Home Improvement

Pastels are playing a huge role in coats for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. What used to be reserved for darker blacks, grey, and navy, have been replaced by more subdued cotton candy colors. With pastels making a statement in a season other than traditional Spring, I came across this room above, that keeps the pastels and sweet colors slightly toned down with a graphic black and white rug, funky light fixtures, and a bit of nature with a pop of kelly green plants. Keeping the furniture simple both in shape and style is key in a room like this one. With the prints and patterns displayed on the fabrics, the basic furniture helps to balance it out, and the robins-egg blue table picks up on colors in the blankets. 

How would you arrange pastels in your home to keep them from being overly sweet? I'm in love with that rug!

Home Improvement

Being in college and planning on moving to New York City after I graduate in a few years definitely has prepped me for dealing with living in small spaces. In more compact environments, it is important to make use of every nook and cranny, but making sure to still stay true to your sense of style and need for comfort that should be associated with spaces like homes. In an open floor plan, moveable pieces like wall dividers and easily moveable pieces of furniture can help to quickly transform a space with minimal effort and maximum effect. Today's feature for home improvement follows this similar idea. While I'm not sure if this particular wall in the image above is moveable, I began to think how great a moveable gallery style wall would be. While we all know how much I love a well curated gallery wall, they seem so permanent to me because each piece of art has to fit well with the others on the wall--like a puzzle. By creating a similar gallery-stye wall, but on a moveable piece of furniture, you can take the art that you already have worked to gather and arrange, but can create a completely different effect when moved to a different space, possibly sectioning off a new space, as well. After all, however, small spaces provide plenty of room for creativity and experimenting with what works for you.

What do you think of the idea of a moveable gallery-style wall?

Home Improvement

Have you ever seen things differently after you start taking interest in a new trend or activity? When Madewell came out with their 'map view' print, I began taking an interest in maps of all kinds. While we don't really look at traditional paper versions as often as we used to on travel excursions and road trips and turn to the digital iPhone, Mapquest, or GPS version, I think that there is something so intricate and interesting about them. It takes a great amount of skill to layout and organize an entire area of a place. For this week's Home Improvement, the kitchen above with the large wall map in a black, white, and grey palette creates an interesting sort of wallpaper and art piece at the same time. In keeping the furniture to a simple style and neutral, natural colors, the focus is clearly on the wall and doesn't make the rest of the room boring.

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Home Improvement

There's something about leaving a brick wall exposed that makes a room feel sort of unique and special.  While I typically associate red and brown brick with coziness and warmth, this white bricked small space is comfortable and cozy in a similar relaxing way. Pairing the rustic brick with the more feminine pink and creme pillows and wicker furniture makes for a combination that is both aesthetically pleasing and perfect for a room to lounge in. 

Home Improvement

My love for bright colors is not one that goes unnoticed. However, sometimes, in a room full of colors from wall paint, furniture, artwork, and so on, the brilliance of the colors on their own can become lost. The dining room in the image above, though, does just the opposite. By having a neutral and otherwise fairly stark looking home aside from the dining room set and the lamp at the top of the stairs, the brightness and amazing hues of cherry reds and persian rose, are able to really shine and be appreciated.

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