How to Bring Beach Decor Glam into your Bathroom

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Keep Bathroom Fixtures to a Minimum

Like fashion, bathroom decor is constantly evolving. What was stylish five years ago is no longer stylish. For this reason, it is advisable to do less with the fixtures when revamping your bathroom and more with the accessories, towels, photos and paint. This way, you won’t have much work to do in case you need to renovate. However, this won’t matter if you are doing a full renovation of your bathroom.

We love these 7 beach bathroom ideas from Southern Living

Bathroom Vanity Ideas

The focal point of the bathroom is the vanity. If you wish to replace it and create a coastal theme, consider going with something neutral. A flat panel vanity mounted with a modern bathroom sink will do the trick. A white vanity will give the impression of a distressed look, without compromising on the overall style.

Countertops

Like the vanity, you should go for neutrals when it comes to the countertops. For instance, earth tones of faux granite with flecks of ‘sand’ sprinkled all over will give the impression of a coastal or beach feel. Also, it’s versatile and therefore allows you to work with new trends should your preferences afterward.

Bathroom Flooring Can Seek Ideas from Beach Decor:

When choosing the flooring of your beach bathroom, try to think boathouses. These often feature distressed wooden floors, which also come in handy for your coastal bathroom. Try a neutral white or a sandy shade to create the perfect contrast with the rest of the space.

These Coastal Living beach decor bathrooms lend ideas.

Shower

Consider using green or blue tiles on the walls as they best evoke a sea feel. On the other hand, neutral shades of quarry tile give an impression of surf and sand. And to show off these walls, go with glass doors. The glass doors also serve to let more light into the bathroom.

Bathroom Wall Decor Can Be Enhanced with Paint

Painting is one of the simplest ways of creating any look without spending a lot. Given your theme is a beach, consider colors like sea green, aqua or pale yellow. These will be perfect especially when complemented with bathmats and towels. You can also go with a wallpaper border that has a beach motif. Ideas to try include fish, waves, and sea wave motifs.

Bathroom Lighting Tips:

This is easy, and you can work with what’s already there. For instance, you can add a wooden ceiling fan if you have enough room. You can also switch sconces with pineapple shaped clear glass shades over the mirror.

Accessories Make Bathroom Decor Beautiful

The best thing about accessorizing a beach bathroom is that there is no limit to what you can use or how you can go about it. Items you can place strategically around the bathroom include a vase filled with sea grass, baskets filled with coral, photos of your favorite islands or coastal destinations, driftwood as well as seashells.

Wendy is a super-connector with OutreachMama who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition.

Kitchen Ideas: Infusing Color Into Your Interiors

Image Via: Corynne Pless

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Color With Wallpaper

The exposed wall surface in a kitchen is usually less as most of the space is taken by cabinets and drawers. If the rest of your kitchen is white or another neutral shade, then you can use little wall space to bring in color. Since the effective area for wallpapering will be less, so will be your costs.

Image Via: Andrea Schumacher Interiors

Bright Backsplash

A bright backsplash is more than enough to bring in life to a rather dull kitchen. These days the market is flooded with beautiful backsplash options but I would put my bet on gloss finished backsplash tiles. Not only these tiles are very easy to clean but they also add a touch of elegance and class apart from infusing in a spurt of color. Another one effective of kitchen ideas, is to display your colorful crockery on open kitchen shelves. You will get a kitchen full of playful colors and hues.

Image Via: Adrienne Photography

Playful Cabinetry

If you would adopt a rather bold approach my suggestion would be to experiment with cabinets and drawers. With the other decor aspects kept neutral you can chose colorful laminates to adorn your kitchen cabinetry. If a single color sounds boring you can work with similar family colors, contrasts or even printed laminates.

Image Via: BarlisWedlick Architects, Trebeca Studio

Experiment With Contrast

A kitchen that exhibits contrast in fact executes color infusion in a very nice way. And the good news is that you can work as efficiently with bold colors as you can with lighter tones. You can choose a color for your walls and another one for accent items. I would suggest using darker tones of turquoise with coral reds and likes for best effects.

Image Via: Camilla Molders Design

Expose That Brick

If you have the opportunity to expose the brickwork in your kitchen you must do so. The beautiful rust red of bricks alone brings enough color and life to your kitchen. Also you will end up getting a nice warm rustic feel in your kitchen.

Image Via: Avocado Sweets Interior Design Studio

Bring In Some Art

Artwork is another way to brighten up your kitchen. You can use artwork in various forms. You can use handcrafted tiles on the kitchen backsplash, bring in some interesting lighting elements and lamp shades, display rich chinaware on walls, bring in a nice piece of clock, hang beautiful paintings or even display your child’s artwork interestingly.

Image Via: Luci.D Interiors

Whatever way you choose to bring in color, the end result is going to be a kitchen full of life and color. Seeing bright and lively colors around you might just inspire you to toss something equally interesting. Kitchen ideas that add life and vitality to the ambience are also equally uplifting and rejuvenating for individuals. I hope you find some of these ideas useful and doable. Do share your ideas on bringing colors into your kitchen interiors.

Click here for more Kitchen Ideas on Stagetecture!

]]> https://stagetecture.com/kitchen-ideas-infusing-color-interiors/feed/ 1 76324 https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-how-to-choose-the-right-option-for-kitchen-countertops/ https://stagetecture.com/guest-blogger-how-to-choose-the-right-option-for-kitchen-countertops/#respond Sat, 25 Aug 2012 16:54:04 +0000 https://stagetecture.com/?p=32405 Guest Blogger #637, Entry #1514, August 25, 2012

When it comes to the kitchen surfaces that you use while chopping your veggies, buttering your toast, and stacking your dirty dishes to cue them up for the washer, you might not think that you have very many options. But just because ceramic tile and slabs of natural stone (marble, granite, etc.) have dominated the countertop scene for the last few decades doesn’t mean you have to succumb to the trends if you don’t like them. And you might be surprised to learn that there are actually a wide variety of potential materials to consider when it comes to your counters. Here are just a few that could make your kitchen makeover a revelation (or a revolution, if you happen to be a trendsetter).

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Stainless steel.

If you’re willing to get stainless steel appliances, why not countertops? This material will give your kitchen a sleek, modern look and it has an awful lot of benefits. For one thing, it doesn’t really stain, and if you accidentally set a hot pot on it you won’t have to worry about scarring the surface with (although you probably don’t want to touch it for a few minutes after you move the pan).

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Rustic wood.

The farmhouse kitchen had something of a resurgence recently by way of giant kitchen sinks with no dividers (like small tubs ensconced in your countertop) and antique-finish hardware made to look like it came straight from 1930 (manufacturers have really nailed that dark patina). But if you like this look, why not take it a step further by installing a wooden countertop? While the original look would have called for nude wood, you’ll probably want to use some kind of matte lacquer to stave off food stains (wood is pretty porous). And you’ll certainly have to be careful about placing hot items on it without a trivet in place. But the fact that you can use the entire counter as a cutting board kind of makes up for it.

Formica.

Believe it or not, this retro look is coming back in a big way when it comes to kitchen customization. The saturated colors and metallic sparkle that made this plastic laminate so popular back when your parents (or grandparents) were kids has been recently rediscovered by a new generation of homeowners who are looking to put a personal stamp on their interior spaces. And thanks to the melamine resin used in Formica, this counter surface will resist heat, staining, and abrasion.

Composites.

You’ve no doubt heard of materials like Coriander and Silestone, and these composites can provide you with a wide range of color options as well as durability and ease of use that you simply can’t get from natural stone.

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Eco options.

Both concrete and recycled glass can make for a killer kitchen countertop. Concrete, for example, may be poured as is if you like the ultra-minimalist look. But it can also be stained and treated to look like all manner of other surfaces, including natural stone, wood, and even leather. As for recycled glass, it is crushed and molded (sometimes with concrete) to create a one-of-a-kind surface that positively glitters (and you can choose the color of glass). And if you decide you want the look of granite or marble tile, simply seek out reclaimed materials that don’t call for further mining.

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

Have you ever considered if your beautiful granite countertops are eco-friendly and affecting you and your family’s health? While granite is beautiful as a countertop surface, many of us don’t think about the properties of the counter and if it can off gas dangerous fumes. So I decided to go to one of the best sites for green living and eco-friendly questions: USGBC’s Green Home Guide. It always has tons of green living ideas.

Here’s the question: Are Granite Countertops Eco- Friendly?

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Answer from USGBC Green Home Guide:

This EPA indicates that any type of rock could contain naturally occurring radioactive elements, such as radon.

• Some types of granite may contain more of these elements than others.
• The link indicates that there are no generally accepted testing methods for radon in granite counter tops.
• The EPA also discusses the length of time for radon to degrade and the types of home tests available – which may be a good idea for anyone to know, given the potential health risks associated with radon.

This EPA outlines the health risks of radon and can a be a good starting point to learn and provide guidance toward mitigating radon.

Whether you are looking to add granite to your kitchen or bath, or you are just curious as to granite and its natural properties, these tips should give you better insight to make an informed decision to put granite in your home.

For more green living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Today, Lisa showcases her highlights of what she saw at this year’s Kitchen and Bath Industry show which I couldn’t attend, as I was in NYC for the Sandra Lee event. So I was excited to hear that Lisa wanted to share some of her great finds with my readers!

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A couple of weeks ago while attending the annual Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) I nearly tripped over myself as my body was cruising the aisles and my eyes felt the magnetic pull of a new product at the Formica booth.  As a designer my search for innovative, new and cool was complete but unexpected, in a booth about laminate countertops.

Solid granite or stone countertops are not inexpensive and can be too costly for many homes and downright inappropriate for others.  However, with the new Ideal Edge from Formica the look is now available at a fraction of the cost.

Ideal Edge eliminates the dreaded brown line so often the key identifier of a laminate countertop.  Plus, contractors can finally achieve an attractive finished edge on all sides.  By using either the Ogee or Bullnose edge, laminate has just been elevated to a whole new level.

But wait there’s more…

Homeowners have often balked when contractors use a mitered corner. So Formica also introduced 5 new colors to their 180FX line of laminates, available only through contractors, (seen in the first pic and below) which mimic the visual graining and life of a full granite slab.  Yep, this means they come in sizes up to 5’ x 12’.

Dolce Vita 180FX Bullnose

Visually one can’t tell the difference unless you are up close and personal and looking for it.  These new options bring laminate into the current century and allow homeowners options beyond what was once unaffordable.

Blanca Luna 180FX Bullnose

Silver Travertine with Ogee edge

Formica has provided stylish and upscale options for the homeowner on a limited budget looking to update their kitchen or bath for their own use or resale.  Now one can do a respectable remodel at a fraction of the cost.

This new Formica gives granite a run for its money without running away with yours!

Other than the first and third image, all images are courtesy of Formica Corporation.

Lisa M. Smith is an interior designer, color maven and artist shares the design world with you. Interiors involve textures and layers, so does her blog – The Decor Girl.  Join her there where she talks about color, interiors, architecture, art, cars, fashion, travel and what ever else seems interesting at the moment. You can follow Lisa on Twitter – @TheDecorGirl

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

If there’s one room that a lot people tend to spend a lot of time in, but not so much on, it would have to be the kitchen. For many of us, it’s basically seen as the place where the food is kept. Oh, but it’s actually so much more than that. The kitchen is where we create things (meals). The kitchen is where we have our meals. And when you look at a lot of family-themed sitcoms, where do a lot of scenes take place: in the kitchen, right? This lets us know that the kitchen is also where a lot of lifetime memories are made.

So, why not place a bit more effort into upgrading that very space?

Here are five design tips that will have you well on your way to one that’s a top of the line gourmet edition.

Image via: Houzz

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Select a classic color.

Kitchen walls don’t have to be that bland yellow color or be wallpapered with that dated country-time print. There is a world full of color awaiting everything about your kitchen space. When it comes to the walls, many interior designers recommend either going with an earth tone shade or the total other extreme by using a bright red or blue. Then you can build around that. White painted cabinets are a timeless addition and green, black or white countertops will always stand the test of time.

Revise your countertops.

Fashion has trends and so do kitchens. What’s really hot right now is exchanging your current tile countertops with ones made of natural (such as marble or soapstone) stone. One reason why they’re attracting more attention is due to the fact that they’re eco-friendly. They do require a bit of maintenance, though. You’ll need to seal marble on an annual basis and go over soapstone with some mineral oil bi-weekly.

Have the right appliances.

Just like there is a new phone or computer seemingly every other month, there are new kitchen appliances that find their way into our favorite stores on a fairly consistent basis too. When you’re upgrading your kitchen, be careful to not overlook your refrigerator, stove and dishwasher. It may take a bit, but if you get one piece at a time, it will definitely change the overall look of your kitchen. Built-in stoves are becoming a popular preference and more and more people are using smaller refrigerators to conserve electricity and to allot for more space. Plus, being that many companies are “going green”, buying new appliances will provide you with access to ones that use less energy, which ultimately makes them far more efficient (you can find some of these appliances online at LG.com).

Chalkboard paint your accessories. Chalkboard paint for children’s bedroom walls has been a favorite by many for some time now. But why not consider purchasing some chalkboard paint for some of the accessories in your kitchen too? Your glass cookie jar, lemonade pitcher or salt, sugar and flour canisters are the perfect platform to using chalkboard paint to stencil in your name or a cute cooking quote.

Grow your own produce…inside.

Did you know that there are many foods that you can grow in containers in your very kitchen? This includes everything from herbs and apples to squash and peppers. If you go to your favorite search engine or to YouTube and type, “grow organic foods indoors”, you might be surprised at all of the options that will keep you from having to go back and forth to the grocery store. After all, when a gourmet cook grows their own food, really, does it get any more epicurean than that?

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

Laundry rooms don’t have to be big on size to be big on features. With a little planning and these space saving tricks you can have a room that functions much bigger than the sum of its square footage.

By using simple components that are readily available at Home Depot and Lowe’s, you can have the laundry room of your dreams. Ideas like hidden ironing boards, drying racks that drop down, and stacking full size washing machines and dryers will help you to make the most of your space.

Image via: Iheart Organizing

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Cabinets

Upper cabinets are missing from most laundry rooms but are a storage miracle. I can never figure out why some people leave them out. I suspect they may be one of the first things to go when the budget gets tight.

You don’t need expensive cabinets, however. Basic white cabinets will do. Using wood framed glass doors will lighten up the look of the cabinets. Then cover the glass with lace adhesive film to hide the contents of the cabinet.

Countertops

Don’t fill the entire area under the countertop with cabinets. Leave some of the area open so you can slide a chair under it or for laundry baskets.

No need for expensive countertops like quartz or granite in the laundry room. I always recommend plastic laminate considering the light use that the counters will be getting.

Plastic laminate countertops are not only cheap but they are beautiful as well. You can get laminates that mimic natural stone very well, and with custom edges most on-lookers will be fooled into thinking you spent the extra cash on stone.

Image via: Pinterest

Dressing Up The Utility Sink

Get yourself a deep utility sink, just like the ones you see at Home Depot and dress it up.

Wrap a skirt around it to hide the plumbing, plastic legs, and whatever you are storing underneath. These step by step instructions will show you how to make one in a jiffy.

Conceal The Ironing Board

A hidden ironing board is a must have for a small laundry room. Home Depot and Lowe’s both sell pre-made units. Dress up the unit by wall papering the inside of the box for a little bit of fun every time you fold down the ironing board to reveal it.

Cabinet Shelving

Inside the cabinets, wallpaper the back walls to match the inside of the ironing board box. It will help to bring uniformity to the room.

Use trays inside the cabinet to help you corral small items that tend to get lost in the cabinets.

Image via: Tiny White Daisies.Tumblr

Wall-Hung Drying Racks That Fold Out

You can get a drying rack unit that attaches directly to the wall just like this one. When you need it, the racks folds out at a thirty degree angle to save lots of floor space.

You can also build shelving with rods underneath it for drying clothes on. You can easily fit two shelves on the wall, stacked one on top of the other, that will allow you enough space to hang clothes from rods mounted into the support brackets.

For more interior decorating ideas you can visit Scott Jenkins website. He has many article that will give you some inspiration around the home like using peel and stick carpet tiles and faux tin ceiling tiles.

For more laundry room ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

A few days ago I showed you beautiful kitchen inspiration.  Today, I’m showing you kitchen countertops that come in so many varieties. From the least expensive plastic laminate to the other end of the spectrum marble and granite. Take a look at these countertop ideas from Architectural Digest, and see if any of them is the ideal for your kitchen.

White marble countertops and white concrete floors make Chef Giada De Laurentiis’ kitchen gorgeous!

Look at this beach home with a beautiful countertop called pietra serena, an Italian basalt.

Actress Diane Keaton’s kitchen features white marble countertops.

I love these these wood and soapstone countertops used in this Austin residence.

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