When you come home after a hard day of dealing with the harsh outside world, the last thing you want is to enter a house that makes you feel anxious, angry, or depressed. For some people this means slapping a bright coat of paint on the walls or making sure that clutter doesn’t creep in to overwhelm a small space. But did you know that your décor can actually play a huge role in how your home affects your mood? Feng shui experts have long espoused the principles of picking the perfect colors and arranging your furnishings just so for maximum comfort and flow. But you don’t have to work that hard to create a space that makes you feel good. If you want your house to improve your mood every time you walk in the door, here are a few décor tips that can make it happen.

Image via: Freshome Design & Architecture

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Mood lighting

There are many ways that lighting can be used to make you feel happy, content, or relaxed. The first trick is to nix fluorescent overhead lights, which cast a sickly pallor and give most people a headache. If you need bright lights in, say, the kitchen, simply replace fluorescents with interior LED or halogen options, which are bright but not glaring. And for every other room go with plenty of lamps or ceiling lights on a dimmer switch so you can adjust the amount of light depending on your mood. You may even want to opt for soft yellow or pink bulbs to create a warm glow that makes your whole space look appealing.

Photo wall

Most people only have to glance at photos of family, friends, and fun events and they get a smile on their face. If you want to give yourself that warm, fuzzy feeling in every room in your house, splurge on some frames (or hit up yard sales to find them on the cheap) and pepper your walls with photos to constantly remind you of a life filled with love. You can also add some inspirational artwork as well as a mirror or two to bounce light and make your space seem bigger.

Plush accessories

Nothing says comfort like some cushy throw pillows and a few fuzzy blankets dotting the furnishings. Okay, so this is not something you’d generally find in a bachelor pad, but there are manlier options for pillows (colors, patterns, and textures that are less feminine) and you can always hide extra throw blankets in storage furniture (ottomans) to pull out when you watch a movie with your lady and stuff away during bro night.
Pops of color.

Image via: Southern Living

Most people have a favorite color that they are drawn to

So if your palette is pretty monochromatic or mostly neutral, give your mood a boost with a few pops of color here and there to cheer you up. Include colorful pillows or candles, a patterned rug, or even a special chair in fabric and hue that you find appealing.

Plants

Studies have shown that being in nature helps people to relax and often cheers them up (not to mention the boost you get from an abundant source of oxygen). So fill your space with vibrant plants or hit up your favorite florist in London, Lisbon, Los Angeles, or Lima to schedule regular deliveries of fresh-cut blooms that will add some uplifting color and scent to your space.

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The long nights and dark days of winter bring with them an instinct to hibernate.  Although most of us still have to scrape the car windows, shovel the sidewalk, and head out into the winter winds each day to get the kids to school and ourselves to work, we spend the day dreaming about a hot bath and a bowl of stew when we get home.  The warm comforts that wait at home are the only things that make the winter months bearable.  And yet, if you’re not looking to some cuddle time with your honey to help stave off the chills that abound during this season, you’re missing out on a major source of shelter from the storm.  So leave your flannel PJs in the closet and get ready to generate some body heat with a winter bedroom makeover that’s geared at romance.

Image via: Luxury-Idea

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Make a nest

Okay, so you don’t need to pile on the pillows in order to create a warm and inviting love nest.  Even most women will admit that removing a bushel of pillows from the bed in order to get romantic is a hassle.  What you should do instead is use color, texture, and a few well-placed pieces to create a lush look that isn’t a frumpy, over-stuffed detriment to your sex life.  Forget about winter whites, which show every stain, and opt for high-thread-count linens in saturated jewel tones to entice the eyes.  Top them with a couple of fuzzy blankets and a gorgeous quilt that goes with your decor (skip the patterns and opt for a single color for a sophisticated look).  Then add just a few pillows in different sizes and maybe a bed scarf to approximate the feel of a posh hotel.

Dim the lights

Nobody feels sexy under harsh fluorescent lights, and even bright overheads can make you feel self-conscious.  So add a little mood lighting by dimming the bulbs in your bedroom lamps (try downgrading your 60-watt bulbs to a dim 25) and looking for options in soft pink (it’s flattering to every skin tone).  Candles are another option, and their gentle flicker will help to set the mood.

Use common scents

Your bedroom may not necessarily be smelly, but if you want to do your best to fan the flame in your relationship, it behooves you to tantalize all the senses.  For some warm and romantic relations in the heart of winter, consider scented candles, oils, or air fresheners that make you think of home.  Those that smell like foods are probably your best bet, with apple scents and baked goods topping the list of deliciously appetizing smells.  But you might also bring about a love connection with some light flower scents (just avoid heavy, cloying odors like gardenia or jasmine).

Avoid electronics

There is no quicker way to kill the romance than with a TV that is always on or a thousand lights blinking around the room.  If you really want to create a retreat geared towards a healthy relationship, consider ditching the electronics altogether.  Relegate the TV to the living room, send your gadgets to the office for nightly charging, and remove your digital clock in favor of your old analog standby.  You might be surprised what this simple transformation will do for your love life.

Image via: House Garden Design

Add romantic touches

Romance isn’t something that just happens on its own; you’ll have to make an effort.  And unless couples counseling is on your agenda this year, it behooves you to do what you can to keep the spark alive.  So introduce some massage oil, a few nice lingerie items, and even racy romance novels to your bedroom atmosphere to spice up the space and complete your romantic winter retreat.

For more bedroom & living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Happy Stagetecture Holiday D.I.Y. Saturday! For the last 24 Saturdays I have focused on do it yourself projects that will help you around the home with maintenance, and improving your home. For the next 7 Saturdays we will focus on holiday home ‘how-to’s’.  (Believe it or not, 8 Saturday’s from today is Jan. 1, 2011!!) To make your season less stressful and to get ready for your entertaining needs, I will bring a holiday themed D.I.Y. craft, project, or helpful tips to make this holiday the best ever!

Today, I thought I’d help you start getting your home into the Thanksgiving vibe. By bringing in color, smells, and dinner table suggestions, you can start getting ideas now! Remember the secret of this holiday is to ENJOY it, not STRESS! Plan your way through, and it will all fall into place.

Murray Anderson, from Do it Yourself.com gives us tips for starting the Thanksgiving decor.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year. Friends and family gather to renew friendships, share time together and celebrate the season with a traditional Thanksgiving feast (and maybe a touch football game). However, for many people the idea of actually hosting a Thanksgiving celebration in their home raises their anxiety levels to the high point with worrying about how to decorate their home as well as plan and cook the meal.  While I can’t teach you how to cook a fantastic turkey dinner, I can provide a few easy and inexpensive ways to add some Thanksgiving touches to your home decorating, so you’ll only need to worry about the meal. Here’s some Thanksgiving decorating ideas for your home.

Start with fall colors

Keep in mind Thanksgiving means fall colors, so build your home’s Thanksgiving decorating around a fall color scheme of golds, yellows, reds, browns and greens.

• One easy way to add fall color to your home is to place appropriately colored throws or small blankets on the arms or back of some chairs. Alternatively you can add color by displaying bright red cranberries in a clear glass vase, or provide more neutral but natural color by doing the same thing with pecans or acorn in their shells.
• Alternatively, bare branches can be arranged in an urn or pot then made into Thanksgiving decorations by tying fall colored ribbons around them.

Your Thanksgiving dinner table

• The table is the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving decorating and one way to minimize your stress level, is to follow this simple plan. Keep the decoration simple, keep it low (so it won’t impede conversation) and don’t use anything with a scent (candles, potpourri) that will impact on your dinner.
• To give your table that Thanksgiving look, start with a regular neutral colored table cloth then simply add a table runner in gold or yellow to bring in the Thanksgiving feel. Complete the look with neutral cloth napkins but napkin rings color coordinated with the runner.
• Add low standing (and inexpensive )light to your table using tea lights or votive candles in clear glasses.
• Create a simple, seasonal center piece using freshly fallen leaves, some bare branches and glue gun. Glue the leaves and some small branches to a larger branch, add some candles in glasses to the middle and finish up with some brightly colored Indian corn or small gourds.

Some finishing touches

• Give your home a welcoming scent by placing some cinnamon in a warm oven. Or, place scented candles (pumpkin pie, pecan pie, nutmeg) around your home so your guests will slide into the Thanksgiving mood. Just be sure you don’t put any of these scented candles near where you will be eating because the  scents could overwhelm your dinner.
• If you have a fireplace, light it or turn it on. The sight of a crackling fire gives everyone a warm, comfortable feeling.
• Don’t have a fireplace – you can still stack some logs or pine cones in a large basket to give your home a fall feel.
• Finally, you can give your home a true Thanksgiving touch by placing wheat sheaves tied with Thanksgiving/fall colored ribbons in the corners of your rooms.

YouTube – Thanksgiving Table Decor

Watch Stagetecture’s You Tube Channel for more DIY ideas

A few weeks ago, the DIY Stagetecture Saturday was about how to install outdoor landscape lighting. Outdoor lighting can make the difference between your home looking inviting to guests at night, or being able to enjoy your home past sunset.  Today, I welcome Paul Gosselin from NightScenes Landscape Lighting Professionals he explains how outdoor lighting can enhance your home’s curb appeal and improve safety at the same time.

Homeowners today are spending more time outside the confining walls of their homes.  A great deal of time and money is being invested to create beautiful and relaxing outdoor living spaces, only to see them fade into the darkness, making the space unusable when the sun goes down.  Bringing these areas of the home back into the light and extending your hours of enjoyment in these spaces is one of the

primary functions of professional landscape lighting.  With properly designed and installed professional landscape lighting, the homeowner can enjoy the exterior of their abode at night all year long.  With the beginning of fall just around the corner, there couldn’t be a better time to consider adding some light enhancement for your outdoor entertaining!

The use of light fixtures to add a degree of safety to your property – as in walkways and steps —  can be attractively planned to avoid the “runway syndrome” which many do-it-yourselfers fall prey to when purchasing ineffective solar lights from the local home improvement store.  Professional designers can create art in illumination, utilizing an understanding of light and space, as well as the knowledge of wiring and low voltage electricity.  A proper design would use a taller fixture with a cover that blocks the actual source of the light (light bulb) preventing glare.  Well-designed light fixtures will cast the light down onto the walk area or steps, not into the eyes.  It is also prudent to remember that these fixtures should be placed in non-turf areas so that mowers and weed-eaters are not forced to navigate around them causing damage or noticeable “tilting” of the fixtures.  An alternate plan to safely light walkways and step areas could be the use of “moonlighting.”  This effect is achieved by placing fixtures as high as 25 feet or more into the canopy of a tall tree allowing the beams to filter through the branches casting lovely diffused light below.

In addition to lighting for safety, low voltage lighting can enhance your property and architecture, becoming a distinctive style element.  Decorative lighting can really add some punch to flowerbeds.  By placing “spread lighting” fixtures in planting beds, a lighting designer will bring out the floral color and add a bit of flair to any ordinary display.  With the extensive range of fixture choices, your personal style can be reflected – be it traditional, whimsical, rustic, contemporary – or even eclectic!

Down lighting, often called “moon lighting”, produces a soft, diffused effect by placing several fixtures high into the canopy of a tall tree to let the light gently filter through limbs and branches simulating the effect of moonlight, creating striking patterns on the grounds below.  Using a spotlighting technique will bring attention to a particular object or architectural aspect, like a statue or entryway.  By selecting the proper fixture, lamp (light bulb), and beam spread, the lighting designer can make these features stand out in the landscape.  By placing a light directly in front of and below an object, the designer can create dramatic shadowing on the vertical surface behind it.  Changes in beam spread and the color of the light will generate a wide variety of effects which can be intense and extraordinary.  An impressive affect can be achieved when the designer places the correct fixture close to a textured surface such as a brick or rock wall, or even a tree trunk, and shines the light across the surface.  This grazing effect highlights the high points of the object forming shadows in the low points.  To achieve a more three-dimensional look to an object, the landscape lighting designer may employ a cross lighting technique.  Here, two or more fixtures are used to illuminate a statue, or a large plant or tree.  Striking results can be attained by a creative and skillful designer using lighting to silhouette an object.  Probably the most dramatic affect can be achieved with up lighting.  Since all natural light comes from the top moving down, seeing the opposite light effect can be very powerful.  A talented designer knows how to use this effect sparingly so as not to be too busy.

When designing a landscape lighting system, the professional designer uses just the right combination of all these techniques to create a special look and atmosphere unique for each client.  By selecting the proper fixture, lamp, and beam spread along with the understanding of light and space, professional lighting designs can bring the exterior of your home to life at night, and make that outdoor living space an area that is beautiful, comforting, and a joy to be in anytime of the day  – or night.

Paul R. Gosselin, Sr., clvlt is a professional landscape lighting designer and president of NIGHTSCENES Landscape Lighting Professionals located in Kingsland, Texas.  He is a graduate of the “Kichler Kollege” for landscape lighting professionals and has attended additional training schools conducted by CAST, Unique Lighting, and Hadco Lighting.  He has also attended the acclaimed Janet Lennox Moyer Landscape Lighting Institute in Troy, NY.  Mr. Gosselin is certified by the Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals, a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining safety standards and quality training in the outdoor lighting field.  In February 2007, he was elected to the Board of Directors for the AOLP and is currently serving as the vice president of the association.  He is regarded as a national leader in the low voltage lighting profession, has contributed to numerous industry related publications and is consulted by professional designers throughout the country.

For more outdoor landscape lighting ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Indoor light quality can make or break a room.  Remember our post this week about vanity light, and if there is enough good light at your bathroom sink?  Today on DIY Saturday I will show you how easy it is to transform your existing lighting into the capability of adding more ambiance to your rooms.

Dimmer switches are easy to install and they can make the lighting in your space go from romantic candlelight dinner ambiance to bright task lighting in one controllable switch. Here are some advantages to adding a dimmer switch, as well as the tools necessary to install yours from Do It Yourself.com.

Advantages of adding a dimmer switch:

• You have control over the amount of light in a room.
• You can leave bathroom or hallway lights dimmed for small children or overnight guests.
• The way dimmers tend to make a room look more romantic and cozy can actually increase your house’s re-sale value and give you an added edge over other houses on the market.
• Dimmer switches offer versatility and add richness to any room

Tools and materials you will need:

• Screwdriver
• Wire Strippers
• Needle nose Pliers
• Voltage Tester (Don’t worry, you don’t need an expensive one. Most hardware shops sell inexpensive ones for as little as a few bucks.)

• Electrical Tape
• Wire Nuts
• Dimmer Plate (Not all companies supply one with the switch, so check before you leave the store.)

You Tube Video: How to install a dimmer switch.

 

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture, & Stagetecture’s YouTube Channel, click here.

Every morning millions of people get ready at their bathroom sink and I often wonder, “How good is the light at your bathroom sink?” For most, the light is adequate and they deal with whatever they have. While for others the beautiful aesthetics of the fixture is more important than the light it emits.  Personally, I need to see everything! I want to see to put makeup on, see to do my daughter’s hair, and see when there is more than too much dirt to be acceptable!

Today I show you beautiful inspiration vanity sink lighting fixtures.  I love all of these for different reasons.  What is your favorite? The next time you are getting ready in your bathroom – ask yourself. ” Do I have enough good light?”

Recessed lighting in a bathroom adds perfect ambiance.  Often referred to as “can lighting”.  If you are using your bathroom sink lighting for applying makeup, or putting in contacts, the height of the ceiling should be considered.  If the ceiling is too high, the light the lamps cast may be too dim.

Wall sconces can cast an up or down light.  Depending on the wattage of the bulb, shadows can be cast so be mindful that additional ambient lighting may be needed as well.

This bathroom has multiple light sources to make a perfect setting for any task needed in the bathroom.

Vanity lighting is an important part of how well your bathroom performs for you.  There isn’t any sense of having a great looking bathroom if you can’t see yourself getting ready!

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

From as early as I can remember I’ve always thought I would love to have a white formal room in my home.  A room where on Sundays the family would come over and we would drink tea, and eat little cookies, and talk about how lovely the day was… o.k. I may have been 4 when I had these dreams.

In real adult life, with 3 kids, a cat, and a busy lifestyle, the thought of a white ANYTHING is out of my head.  While perusing through a home decor magazine I see a trend towards using white, but in a casual sense. Having pops of color in accessories, coupled with tones of beiges, whites, and greige are a modern way of adding a casual side to white.

Look at these examples of how white decor may make you want to outfit a room in your home sooner than later!

Here are some tips on how to tone down the formality of white:

1. Use small amounts of color to bring new focal points for the eye.
2. Use dark accents like dark wood flooring to ground the room and remove the formality of the stark white color.
3. Use tone on tone variations of the same color. This gives depth to the room and allows for the flexibility of making the space more formal or casual at any time.
4. Paint an accent wall with a bold color to create a specific ambiance.
5. Use bold printed accessories to play against white furniture.

The next time you are thinking about white furniture with a wrinkled up brow, think again.  It just might be the added lift your home needs!

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.