Interior Design | The Trendy Home | Home Interior Design Ideas & Decorating Tips

Tips for Remodeling A Bedroom

The Trendy Home has the pleasure of another guest blogger, Megan Gates; Megan Gates is an active blogger who provides written work to the blogosphere pertaining to NY Rentals . The Hamptons, home improvement and the latest architecture, design and fashion. Follow her on twitter @MEGatesDesign.

Whether people remodel bedrooms for upgrading resale value of the house or just for their own comfort and pleasure, remodels can be fun. Showcasing the room’s shape and aura with a mixture of color and texture not only adds beauty, but it adds personality to the room.

Transforming a bedroom with classical overtones or pure whimsy reflects the bedroom’s tenant in all his imaginative glory. It makes the people who enter the room want to remain to enjoy its effects.

Windows

Aside from space, the focus of any room will be its windows. Windows allow light into a room while letting you enjoy the outdoors inside. Window treatments are going to be important, therefore, in highlighting the beauty of the windows.

Conservatory blinds: These are produced with reflective backing to block the sun’s harmful rays while letting in the light. They can be made to order in any color, in addition to a variety of styles, from roller blinds to woven to pleated blinds.

Folding shutters: Unlatch the hook, fold back the shutters, and let the sun shine in.

Swags: Swags can be arranged in pleats, folds or multiple hangings over rattan blinds, sheers or curtains.

Lighting

Since bedrooms aren’t usually lit brightly for specific purposes, such as reading or sewing, the lighting is generally soft. Lamps will be found typically for this purpose, or perhaps the light attached to a ceiling fan.

Recessed cans: Recessed lighting provides the softness generally found in bedrooms, and they can be brightened with a twist of the switch.

Track lighting: This, too, can be brightened or dimmed as desired and adds panache to any room.

Tree lamps: If you’re going to have a lamp, make a statement. The cans or arms can be positioned to light up corners for reading or sewing, or just add a glow to a room.

Flooring

Carpeting: Any upgrade to a house includes carpeting. But you can also think outside the box
Hardwood floors: Sprinkle them with area rugs in matching shades to your bed linens and watch the room come together.

Vinyl tile: This, too, can be strewn with area rugs, but you might not want the pretty pattern of the tile to be covered up.

Walls

Walls are fun. They can be outlined with a border, cut a niche into them for any purpose at all, such as holding a few books or collectible dolls, or walls can be built out to contain a corner fireplace/entertainment center. Walls can be lit with sconces to showcase paintings or they can support candelabra for a romantic evening.

Furnishings

Lighten up a room sporting dark woods in dressers, chests of drawers, armories or headboards with champagne satin coverlets for the bed and matching hangings for the window treatments.

Area rugs on the hardwood or tiled floors can add the freshness of a garden with floral patterns in light colors. Fabrics and pretty blankets can be mounted on walls like a tapestry. If the room’s tenant aimed the lighting at these things, the room would look fresh and lovely.

Remodeling a bedroom, for comfort or for resale value, is all about focus. Making the room look fresh and new is about color and texture, woods and fabrics, lighting and imaginative combinations. It’s about aura and personality. You might not even want to sell the house.

Thank you Megan for your blog, great tips and ideas for The Trendy Home readers, thanks to Better Homes and Gardens for some of the great pictures I used to showcase Megan’s tips.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this blog, what did you take away from it and did it inspire you to make any changes to your bedroom?

Thank You and come visit us also at The Trendy Bed, and remember to make your home:

Trendy Bedroom Designs

Create a relaxing and beautiful haven with these trendy bedroom tips; add color and texture with bedding and window treatments. Add character with furniture, and light and sparkle with mirrors.

If you have been following The Trendy Home you know I love to bring you pictures of beautiful homes and great decorating ideas that you can incorporate into your own Trendy Home. Hope you enjoy these new pictures, and some old favorites.

A Touch of Class: I found this one on Better Homes and Gardens, Architectural relics, such as this dramatic old bar mirror to make a great beautiful headboard. The oversize scale of the piece works in this room because the mirror reflects so much light, giving the appearance of spaciousness. White matelasse linens add interesting texture while allowing the mirror to shine.

Add Class with Glass

Do you live by the Beach? This next picture is a beautiful “Beachy” bedroom that is not overdone. The white beaded boards and navy walls make a beautiful frame for this handsome bedroom inspired by the beach. Shell artwork and accessories reinforce the theme but it’s not over the top. Beautiful, elegant, and inviting. Check out our Black and White Bed in a Bag by Royal’s Hotel Collection to help you achieve the same look as in the picture below.

Bliss at the Beach

When Two Bed are better than one! I love this look, can you tell which one is the Ladies Bed, and which one is the Mens? Ruffled Shams vs Tailored Shams is a nice little decorating tip to separate the sexes. Twin beds aligned along the same wall naturally lend themselves to a symmetrical scheme — are always pleasing to the eye. Underscore the effect by dressing the beds with matching bedding and treating the wall space above the headboards in the same manner. Anchor the center of the duo with a singe table for this beautiful look.

When Two are better than One!

Would love to hear your thoughts on this blog, what did you take away from it and did it inspire you to make any changes in your home?

Thank You and come visit us also at The Trendy Bed, and remember to make your home:

Cathy Campbell

Wall Art Styles for Your Living Room

The Trendy Home would like to welcome our first guest blog, Reyna Ramli from Arcadian Home Decor.

Wall art is the most common way to breathe life into an empty wall. These simple pieces are easy to install and require almost no maintenance whatsoever, apart from the occasional dusting.

The only real problem, however, is the choice of wall art.

It is said that all art is beautiful – except not all the time. This can’t be truer for wall art, since picking the wrong kind of wall art to go with your living room can actually make things cluttered and tasteless instead.

So what kind of wall art will you add to your living room?

Canvas Wall Art

Paintings are probably the first thing to pop up in most people’s heads when it comes to decorating the walls of a living room – and for good reason too.

‘Design Shuffle: James Rixner Interior Design’ (via)

Canva s opens a wide array of artistic possibilities, all within the confines of a symmetrical rectangle. Mismatching an artistic style with the living room’s décor, however, is a pretty common problem for those who fail to grasp the basics of artistic pairing. Make sure that you have a solid understanding of your living room’s theme before picking out a painting and you should do just fine.

Wall Art Tapestry

Woven cloth has always been a favorite medium of art in many countries, and the exotic air about a tapestry piece will definitely add much to a living room’s design.

‘Fine Art Tapestries Formal Residences Italian Villa Wall Tapestry / Wall Hanging’ (via)

Wall tapestry is something that adds an earthy, tribal feel to a wall – even if the tapestry itself is made from space-age materials. Even the manner by which art is portrayed on woven thread gives it an exotic aura, adding even more to its overall charm. Just make sure that the designs and colors on the tapestry will match well with the other pieces in the living room.

Metal Wall Art

The toughness and solidity of metal gives it an oppressively powerful aura, making it an ideal material for centerpieces meant to draw a person’s full focus.

‘Butterfly Metal Wall Art’ (via)

There are many designs for metal wall art, but the material they are crafted from will never remove that powerful effect. This makes wall art very effective in filling up large chunks of space on the wall; providing a lot of aesthetic benefits even when only one piece sits on the said wall. This is something that you have to remember, lest you congest your living room’s wall with too many metal art pieces.

Abstract Wall Art

Are you fond of being unique? Do you like moving away from convention? Do you like to tickle people’s thoughts with baffling art? Then abstract art is just the thing for you!

‘Design Shuffle: Chris Judy Abstract Wall Art’ (via)

The puzzling interplay of shapes and colors is what defines this particular genre of art, and this puzzling effect can be brought about in your living room with abstract wall art. Abstract art, however, clashes violently with other more conventional styles. It is for this reason that you have to be very careful with how you integrate this particular art style with the rest of your living room.

Keep these art styles in mind and you’ll be able to pick out the right one for the walls of your living room!

Content provided by Arcadian Home Decor, a site that specializes in top quality home decor items at extremely affordable prices. Come visit us today!

Thank you Reyna and Arcadian Home Decor for this informative blog.

At The Trendy Home our goal is you make your home

Cathy XOXOX

Trendy Fall Decorating Tips

Trendy decorating tips to take your home from Summer to Fall.

The transition from summer to fall can be a good time to get your home organized and in shape since most of us shift our focus indoors. If you’re like me, I’ll take my bedding from white to color.

Let’s not be fooled by all the attention paid to “Spring Cleaning”, in the fall your home will need just as much attention due to being closed up. This is the perfect time to infuse your space with color and warmth to carry you through the winter months.

Bring the outside in with mums and pumpkins, decorate your dinning table with a decorative centerpiece and update accessories to fall colors. There are many ways to bring in the warm, deep colors and cozy textures of fall, Bedding, Bath linens, accent pillows, place mats, and cloth napkins.

To really make a statement without too much work focus your seasonal decorating to what your guest see first when they walk in your home.

It’s OK to be bold, bold stands out and Say’s Notice Me!

When decorating try to focus on a big ticket item in a room such as the comforter or quilt in the bedroom or pillows, lamps or rug in the living room.

This years colors are bold and bright, especially deep reds and purples and can be a nice complement to the normal subdued and darker tones that are usual for fall.

Add a vase, candle stick, or bowl to make your room pop with color.

Enjoy, be creative, and most of all have fun in making your HOME

Cathy C

Interior Decorating Tips: Staging

Staging Your Home to Sale…

In today’s market many home sellers are hiring professional “Stagers“ to assist them in selling their home. By professionally staging your home you may increase the odds of attracting a qualified buyer. Here are some tips and tricks that the pros use to sell your home quickly, making it look more inviting and the best value all in one.

Remove the Clutter.

Remove the clutter: Making your home look organized and de-cluttered is rule #1. Having a clean and organized home from top to bottom is the number one golden rule of staging a home. Your home must look inviting, cleaner and less cluttered than ever before to meet today’s demands. To get ready to sell your home one needs to have a yard sale or rent a space to move your “clutter”. Remove seasonal clothing out of the closets (makes your home look like you have a lot of closet space), move your Christmas Decorations out of the garage to a rental space. (Makes your garage look larger)

Spring Cleaning In August

Clean your home: Hire a professional to come in a clean your home, it’s Spring Cleaning in August! Top to Bottom; move the furniture, wash the windows, wash your window treatment, take down the screens and wash them.

Curb Appeal

Crank Up The Curb Appeal: It’s the first thing that prospective buyer sees when they come to look at your home! Spruce it up! Good home and yard maintenance is a must if you want someone to even think about purchasing your home. Paint the front door, place fresh, colorful plants on the porch. Step back and look at your home from the buyers perspective, not yours!

Walk Through and Inspect Each Room

Do a Walk-Though: Stand back and look at your home! Stand in the doorway of each room and look at it as if you’d never seen it before. Does it look too cluttered? Look up, Look Down. Does the ceiling need painted? Does the baseboards need cleaning? Ceiling fan blades need cleaning? What can be removed to make the room look bigger? What can you do to make the room look more inviting? Is it warm and inviting, or too cold? How the lighting? No one likes a dark, drab home. Open the drapes and let the light come through.

Upgrade your Bedding

Does your hardware need upgraded? Switch plates need cleaned or replaced? Wall paper coming loose? Take it down and paint. Kitchen cabinets need a uplift with new hardware? Would the bathroom look newer and larger with a new vanity? Replace the old floral bedspread with something more neutral to make the room look more inviting and sophisticated? Visit The Trendy Bed for all your bedding needs.

First Impressions In The Home

Focus on First Impressions – In The Home: When a prospective buyer enters your home it’s usually by the Front Door, here’s your second chance to make that impression. (First was your curb appeal) Apply fresh paint, replace worn out throw rug, upgrade light fixture or upgrade light switches if needed. Clean out that coat closet again so that it looks more spacious. Would adding a mirror make the Foyer look larger? Mirrors are a big trick decorators use to make a room look larger. Are your silk flowers looking a little worn? Remove and or Replace. This is the place you want to WOW any prospective buyer coming in your home! If your first impression didn’t measure up to their liking, here is your last chance to get their interest to make them want to look at your home.

Versatility

Versatility: The more versatile your home, the more buyers will be able to see themselves living there. Turn your sewing room into a more general – use guest room with a desk, table, and room to sew. (Hide away the project materials for now while getting your home ready to show) Paint gender-specific rooms in more generic colors, and reduce the “kids rooms” effect by storing large collections, posters, trophies, musical instruments, and personal items while you are trying to sell your home.

Visual Effects

The Visual Effects: What does your room say visually? Dark walls can make your room look smaller, creating logical conversational groupings make the room seem larger. Professional stagers suggest that rugs stop a foot or two from walls. A rug that is too big can visually “shrink” a room; if it’s too small it just looks awkward. If your dining room is modest in size, take the extra leaves out of your table and limit the chairs to four.

These are some great decorating tips and tricks to make your home seem larger and more inviting. All of these tips and tricks are from Better Homes and Gardens – my best friend!

I hope I’ve given you some great ideas and inspired you to turn your home into…

Interior Decorating Tips – Guest Room

Sometimes I Love when Guest are coming, or we are having a get-together, It’s the only time my “Honey Do” List gets done completely! It is a great motivator for home improvements, or maybe it’s just a little sprucing up.

Is it time to declutter your home?

From that to this?

Don’t get me wrong, A home needs to look and feel comfortable and lived in but too much “lived in” can be a little over whelming for your house guest.

In decorating your guest bedroom, keep it simple. I guest room can be very comfortable and accommodating without being over done.

If you have only one guest room choose twin beds over a double or queen; that way children, friends, or couples can occupy the room comfortably. A shared, center table serves both beds as a place for a personal items and alarm clock or radio.

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Another way to make your house guest comfortable is by installing a TV. We all know the purpose of a house guest is to visit with the host, but we all need some “down time”, this can come late at night when one goes to bed, or first thing in the morning with their first cup of coffee.

Make space for your guest with drawer space and closet space. If you are like me, my guest room closet is full of winter coats – move them if you can or at least move them to the side and make it known that this open space is for them. Make sure they have hangers available and a nice house/bath robe is a nice touch that your guests would surly appreciate. At The Trendy Bed we have Bamboo Robes and 100% Organic Cotton House Robes made by Pure Fiber.

Please make sure your guest have comfortable bedding. You don’t have to have the best, but the one thing you do need is clean, comfortable, well fitted sheets.

At The Trendy Bed let us help you in this area, we have Sheet Sets from 300 thread count to 1500 thread count; Satin Sheets, 100% Bamboo, or Bamboo / Egyptian Cotton Blend. Our 300 thread count – Beyond Bliss is heavenly, and affordable with matching Duvet Covers, Bed Skirts, and Shams.

Guest Rooms are one topic I enjoy writing on, it’s so nice to be spoiled; and it’s even nicer to spoil someone we love!

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to help you to turn your home into….

thetrendyhomeBLOG-THUMBNAIL

Cathy C

XOXOXO

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Interior Decorating Tips – The Mud Room

The 21st Century Mud Room

Before we look at today’s mud room, lets look at the history of the Mud Room. Farm and manor houses had a back room or porch where farmers would deposit their soiled clothes and boots and wash up at a pump before entering the main house.

Farm House Rear Mud Room

This is a perfect example of a farm house with the mud room attached to the back of the home.

In the late 1970′s, the laundry room moved up from the basement and the mud room/laundry room combination became the logical transition from the outside into the home.

Combination Mud Room/Laundry Room

The disadvantage to this arrangement was the obvious conflict between outside dirt and the need for cleanliness with the wash. Today, the laundry rooms are usually separated from the mudroom and are built closer to the bedrooms. This ideal has been well received by homeowners especially in two story or split-level homes, or even in the larger single story home.

Family Mud Room

Ideally, today’s mudroom should serve as an entrance to the house from both the garage (if attached) and the rear of the house. A well-designed mudroom serves as a great place for backpacks, sports equipment, purse, car keys, jackets, umbrella’s, brief cases, boots, sneakers, beach bag, and more.

Mud Room and Family Pet

This keeps the clutter out of the kitchen and helps keep busy families better organized. This is also a great place to hang a bulletin board with game schedules, or a chalk board to write short reminders to other family members.

Family Mud Room

Mudrooms can accommodate such things as hooks, hangers, storage cabinets, walk in closets, locker size cubbyholes, shoe racks, umbrella stand, and built in desks.

Keeping Family Organized

Mudrooms may even serve as a dog kennel when the family is away from the home.

Better Homes and Garden Mub Room

The mudroom should be where the FAMILY entrance to the home is, not at your front door where you receive your guest.

Front Entrance

Where mudrooms are for the family and located at the back of the home, it’s a smart idea to have some accommodations at your front entrance as well. This entry features a cozy recessed niche that offers a place for you or your guest to drop off a bag, purse, or briefcase and ample room for coats.

Mud Room Addition

If your entry space is in short supply and you’re tired of entry turmoil, consider a mudroom addition to accommodate your family’s needs. Here an addition provides just enough space for a mudroom to serve a full house. Hooks hold purses, coats, and hats while a storage bench conceals winter-weather accessories. Reliable tile flooring makes cleanup easy.

Let us help you turn your home…

thetrendyhomeBLOG-THUMBNAIL

Cathy C

Living Room Decorating Tips – Trendy Home Challenge

Today’s Trendy Home Challenge #3: Furniture lines every wall!

Today we will be looking at Living Rooms and how to make intimate groupings that encourage conversation.

Living Room #1

This is a large beautiful Living room but is the furniture spread too far apart? Can you reach the coffee table sitting on the sofa or chair?

Living Room #2

In this Large Living room they actually made two intimate groupings, two identical sofa’s are lined up back to back with a sofa table between them to add height and separation between the two groupings.

Living Room #3

In this living room you get a nice close and Personal feeling, nobody likes a wallflower, especially when it comes to furniture.

Living Room #4

Moving the furniture away from the wall and making an intimate grouping will actually make your room seem larger.

Living Room #5

In the United States, sometimes the living room is reserved for more formal and quiet entertaining while a separate recreation room or family room is used for more casual activities.

Living Room #6

In most of these groupings they have something in common, two matching sofa’s facing each other with a coffee table in between to support the beverage and light snacks.

Living Room #7

This last picture is a living room in a Condominium or Townhouse where the rooms are not as large or defined as in your standard house, but as you see they have created a very nice, intimate area for two people to enjoy a conversation and the ambiance of the fireplace.

I hope you enjoyed today’s challenge of creating a more personal, intimate space in the Living Room and have helped you in making your home….

Build-Ins Decorating Tips – Trendy Home Challenge

Today’s Trendy Home Challenge #2: Blank Build-ins

Bland Built In

To be honest with you this is an example of beautiful workmanship - I sincerely hope this picture was posted before they were done, but for this blog this is a sample of a bland built in.

Add texture and Color

Add punch to a window seat or built in by adding texture and color. Add your cushion and decorative pillows to give you your texture and comfort and top it off by a colorful throw.

Bedroom Window Seat

What color do I choose for my throw?

Window Seat

Look for a predominant color on the dust jackets or spines of the books in your shelving and repeat it in your throw.

Window Seat

As attractive as window seats are, only a few older homes with deep dormers seem to have them.

Kitchen Window Seat

As we have seen in these pictures by adding texture and color the space demands attention, and is a beautiful addition to any room in your home.

Show house Window Seat

If you have a beautiful window seat, built-in, or just a boring corner in your home add a touch of color to splash it up.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog today and I hope I have helped you in making your home…..

thetrendyhomeBLOG-THUMBNAIL

Cathy C

How to Dress A Trendy Bed…

Beautiful Bed in Gold

Have you ever walked by a Linen Department and seen a bed in the middle of the department that was so magnificent in grandeur that it made you think, how can I create this look in my home? To be honest with you, it’s very easy! It’s called “Dressing the Bed”, just like you dress your self in the morning, you dress your bed. When it’s cold out side you put on layers of clothing, a bed requires layering, and the more layering, usually the more beautiful a bed becomes.

Romantic Bedroom

Designer looking bed

Looking at this photo; Let’s start with the sheeting which includes the FLAT sheet (A), the FITTED sheet (B), and the pillow cases (C). Most likely all of these pieces will match and are considered a Sheet Set. Sheets can be very basic from 300 thread count cotton, to 1500 thread count Egyptian Cotton, or Satin Sheets – this is what you will be sleeping in between, I say make them comfortable and a dream to sleep against! This is one area that I don’t mind spending a little more for higher thread count sheets, we all deserve a little luxury in our life! Note: your sheets “should” enhance the top of the bed components, such as the duvet cover, shams and coverlet.

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Our next layer is a Coverlet, or matelasse. (D) Coverlets are available in a variety of fabrics, weights, colors, and styles. Selecting the “right” one is a matter of personal preference. Coverlets are a great way to add depth to the bedding ensemble and some coverlets come in set’s with matching shams. At The Trendy Bed we have a great selection of Egyptian Cotton Quilted Coverlets in seven different colors with matching shams. Note: If using a patterned Duvet Cover and Shams, a coordinating solid color Coverlet is the perfect way to break up a bold and busy pattern.

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The Duvet Cover (E) and Shams are now added to the bed, some people like a Comforter instead of Duvet Cover, this is personal choice. Your Duvet Cover and Shams (or Comforter) is the inspiration for the entire look. Most likely these 2 pieces are of the same pattern and tie together the entire ensemble. While placing the duvet cover at the foot of the bed with a lofty Goose Down Comforter inside evokes the feeling of relaxation, comfort, and elegance. Placing the Shams at the head of the bed are what adds the height to the bed.

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Shams come in different sizes, with the European Sham (F) being a large square pillow placed against the headboards to the boudoir sham (G), which are smaller travel size pillows that add the “decorative” touch, along with dimension and character to the bed. The more pillows used on a bed, the more elegant and luxurious of a feel it creates.

We are talking about the bed skirt next, but I must say… This goes on your bed FIRST between your box spring and mattress. Some bed frames today are very decorative and do not require bed skirts, (H) but I believe if your bed is a work of art, then the Bed Skirt is it’s pedestal upon which it sits. Bed Skirts or Dust Ruffles come in many styles today; Ruffled, Box Pleated or tailored are the most common. Your bed skirt can match either the sheeting or the duvet cover and shams and create a very “finished” look to any bed.

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To give your bed a creative and daring look, and making it your own is where you can throw on a couple of beaded or embroidered decorative pillows (I). Like getting dressed in the morning and putting on a bracelet, necklace and earrings, this is where you accessorize the look.

Garden bedroom

I hope you enjoyed “Dressing” the bed with me, now go and have fun and turn your Home into The Trendy Home you’ve always dreamed about!

Cathy C, The Trendy Bed...