Easy Fall Decorating Tips for your Home

To help you get started, we traveled back in time on Stagetecture to bring you the best and easiest fall decorating ideas. Take a look!

Add Autumn Floral Arrangements

A vase of happy fall seasonal flowers such as sunflowers or colorful fall foliage can instantly enliven any room. It will help to create a beautiful and elegant atmosphere and bring in lots of energy. Colors like yellows, reds, oranges, and purples are perfect for the autumn season Just make sure to keep the blooms fresh by changing the water every few days and removing the leaves below the water level.

Decorate with wallpaper in the bathroom

The bathroom is the best place to experiment when it comes to using wallpaper. As there aren’t many furniture pieces and colors in this area, busy wallpapers really seem to work. However, try to choose fall themed prints and colors such as leaves, harvest and more. Also, opt for quality wallpapers to ensure easy removal after the season.

Fall decorating tips: update with candles and scents  

While candles look great any time of the year, they are just perfect decorative pieces for colder months as they suggest light and warmth both the things that nature does not offer during this season. Team it up with colorful scented potpourri, pine cones, and seed pods to create a vibrant focal point. Pick scents like pumpkin, cinnamon, or apple to provide a seasonal touch. However, make sure to stick with one or maximum two aromas at a time to avoid mixing of fragrances.

Use literary accents for Fall decorating

Decorating for fall cannot get easier than this. Simply cut out F, A,L, and L out of craft paper and get it framed or tied in a string. Pick autumn inspired colors for craft papers to really get the feel of the season.

Finally, it’s time to bid adieu to warmer months. So, get started, use these fall decorating ideas and fill your home with scents and sights of the season. The best part is it’s easy, inexpensive, and fun. Have more interesting ideas to share? We are hearing through comments.

For more fall decorating tips on Stagetecture, click here.

How to Use Pale Trending Colors of the Year in your Home

Image via: Benjamin Moore

This year, however, the unveiling of 2016 colors was a bit of a surprise.

Instead of leading us all in the direction of bright and bold, two of the major names in the world of decor trends point to the soothing qualities of whites and pale tones. Benjamin Moore Paints even named “Simply White” the 2016 Color of the Year, noting that it’s time “to surrender to the complexity of white.”

In the same nod to neutrals, Sherwin Williams introduced Pura Vida as one of four separate color palettes for the coming year. It features subtle hues drawn from nature and it features pale tones rather than the vibrancy of the previous year. Paint names reflect the mood: Alabaster, Ancient Ground, Useful Gray, Doeskin. They aren’t quite “no color,” but they are far from bright.

Image via: Sherwin Williams

Where Does It Lead?

Were does this forecast lead in terms of decorating your own home? Well, unless you insist on starting from scratch to reflect the latest “with-it” trends, it means that you have freedom to mix some new with your existing decor, and to keep it simple. It also allows you to build a base that you can brighten up when the mood strikes you.

If your walls need freshening, choose a “whiter shade of pale” to serve as a starting point. Benjamin Moore notes that, of its top 10 best-selling colors, five are shades of white. With more than 250 variants of white to choose from, you will certainly find one to love.

White can be the “bones” of a soothing, Zen-like ambience for any room of your home, but it’s particularly appropriate for establishing a spa-like feel in a master bathroom. Think white in all its forms: sculptural bathroom fixtures, soft terrycloth robes and towels, white linen shades at the windows, white or bleached wood cabinets, white marble underfoot. Add in pale vanilla candles for visual and “scentual” appeal and luxuriate in your own private retreat to restore a sense of balance to your life.

Image via: Home Bunch

Throughout the Home

Revamping a bathroom is a perfect way to begin a home update. Unless it’s time for a major rehaul, the smallish size of most baths means that a redo can be accomplished in minimal time and within a reasonable budget. If you already have white bathroom fixtures, layer on different textures and varying shades for a stylish monochromatic scheme. Use the same principles for decorating a dynamite kids’ space, but add in some gray or beige towels that won’t broadcast the residue of clean-up efforts. Use natural toned wicker baskets to corral grooming gear.

Go subdued in a guest powder room. Refinish a vanity cabinet and framed mirror with chalky milk paint, add a fluffy white rug, stack armloads of pale hand towels on a counter, and accessorize with pale seashells. Find sepia-toned prints of deserted beach scenes and have them framed in rustic gray wood. Avoid a laboratory or clinical feeling by adding plenty of texture and making certain that the “whites” don’t all match. It will always be beautiful, and never boring.

When you’re ready, go ahead and expand the non-color into other areas of your home.

For more color ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Wellness: Therapeutic Colors For Your Home’s Interiors

Image Via: As You See It

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Pink Hues for your Interiors

Pink is a soothing color that stimulates unconditional love. No wonder it finds a perfect fit in your child’s bedroom. It is a nurturing color, the one that dissolves anger and promotes love, no wonder it is the choice to make for children spaces.

Image Via: SWAT Design Team

Turquoise Give Hints of the Sea

Turquoise is a color that cools. It basically calms down your nervous system. It’s apt for most spaces but don’t use it in areas that require a lot of activity, like game rooms, because of it’s settling down properties.

Image Via: Marie Burgos Design

Violet

Violet is a color that has a calming effect on mind. It is healing in the sense that it purifies the surroundings and your mind. Best used in mediative spaces, it is one of those therapeutic colors that enhance the bigger purpose behind things. So, if you have a little meditation space in your house, violet in its pastel tone is the best color to use.

Indigo

Indigo is the color of divine knowledge and intuition. One might also add that it has a sort of sedative effect on mind. It’s pastel tones hence, might find a good place in bedrooms and the quiet parts of your home. The color indigo and its shades are also very effective in treatment spaces, libraries and study rooms, well not for its sedative qualities but for the fact that it promotes the yearning for knowledge and puts your intuition to a good use in that respect.

Peach Hues Can be Feminine & Light

Peach, which one may classify as a pastel tone of red, is the one that promotes activity. It’s an energizing color that excites emotions and stimulates appetite. No wonder there are so many peach dining rooms around.

Image Via: S.B Long Interiors

Yellow

Yellow stimulates mental activity and keeps the mind alert. It also symbolizes confidence. It’s a good color choice for high activity areas of your house like entrances or entertaining areas, however, keep it away from bedrooms as too much yellow can create mental restlessness.

Image Via: Homes & Ideas

Green Gives Balance of Nature

Green is a harmonizing color. It’s qualities include balancing, promoting understanding and hospitality. It can be used almost anywhere. Its pastel tones find a good use in any part of your home.

Image Via: Rachel Reider Interiors

Blue Sends a Tranquil Feeling

Blue calms, relaxes and heals minus the sedative effects of indigo. Its a also a color that promotes communication and socializing. Try not to use it in the high activity areas. Anywhere else, it’s a perfect hit:)

Image Via: TEA2 Architects

White

White is a result of putting all colors together. As a color it symbolizes simplicity, purity and clarity. It forms a good base to work upon. You can use as much white as you want anywhere, but to some it might become boring, so it’s wise to have some interludes of colors.

Image Via: Jeanette Lunde

Black Doesn’t Have to Feel Dark

Black symbolizes energy. It also symbolizes a strong state of self reflection and self contemplation. It’s advisable to use this color sparsely and not to paint your entire room black. This color actually has a very strong effect on ones psyche and mind.

Image Via: Erika Beirman Photography

Therapeutic colors, have big role to play in our home decor as they have a pronounced effect on our moods and being. I would suggest that if you are using any of the above mentioned colors in your home, then try to go in for a pastel tone of that color. Dark colors can have an overwhelming effect on you and might cause a lot of anxiety in the longer run. Of course you can have dark feature walls and use these colors as accent colors but don’t go overboard. Do share what you think about the use of therapeutic colors in your home:)

Click here for more Color Ideas on Stagetecture!

Home Decor: Decorating with an Asian influence

Image credit: Sheridan Interiors

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Color palette

From turquoise beaches to deep, lush green landscapes, Asian home decor is largely influenced by nature. Hence, it is best to keep the color palette as neutral as possible. However, this does not mean that white is your only option. Light blues, earthy tones, elegant grey’s, and gentle creams are just perfect. Use the neutral shades as backdrops and complete the look with a hint of vibrant hues such as red, gold, maroon, and black.

Focus on minimalism

Image credit: Cynthia Lynn Photography

When it comes to Asian theme, decorating with a very minimalistic style should be the key. The ideal way to achieve this look is with lots of multipurpose furniture and hidden storage. For instance, Murphy beds and futons are a classic example of this tradition. In Asian homes, cabinets and wardrobes often contain multiple shelves and drawers, allowing you to take advantage of hidden storage. Additionally, modular, low furniture is also popular because of its versatility and usefulness.

Decorate with accessories

The best part about Asian inspired home decor is that you can incorporate the theme in a cost-effective manner. Accessories like scented candles, beautiful wind chimes, decorative fans, jade statues, and sandalwood incense elevate the Oriental feel to a new level. To this, add a few pieces of shrubs and potted plants to bring in nature’s goodness. Lighting is another consideration. Lanterns, sculptural lighting, and paper shades will give your home interiors a warm glow.

Overall, Asian home decor revolves around flow and harmony. Its interiors instantly evoke an image of serenity and tranquility. In order to achieve this, make sure that your home is organized and free of clutter.

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

We’ve compiled some easy ways for you to start personalizing your home and give it a welcoming feel. Just remember: to achieve great things on a tight budget, you need to be creative.

Image via: Kim Duffin for Sublime Architectural Interiors

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5 Easy Ways to Spruce up your Home on a Budget

Say it with color

Pale pastels and nature-like neutrals are known for having a positive effect on an occupant’s state of mind, hence their extensive use in interior design.

According to Pantone, which pretty much rules the world of color with their seasonal report on what’s hot and trending, this season is all about simplicity and natural inspiration. Aquamarine, soft blues, minty greens, and warm tangerine are good color options that will easily turn your home into a soothing retreat.

If you decide to go with a pastel color palette for your home, you can always use bold colors as accent. A brightly colored living room sofa can be easily used to add vigor and style to any interior.

Image via: Fringe Design

Lighting matters

For a home to be comfortable, it needs to be warm, airy, and well lit. If you’re lucky enough to have large windows, make sure they stay unobstructed for natural illumination. You can use some sheer drapery to add warmth to the room while still letting natural light in.

As for artificial light sources, the options are endless and range from highly decorative to totally functional, from low priced items to expensive pieces of art. Vintage stores and antique shops are a golden resource for those decorating on a budget.

Professional Tip: For contemporary home designs created with the busy professional in mind, use a combination of general lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting to achieve a practical and aesthetic effect.

Sometimes it’s all in the details

You can easily spruce up interiors by dressing up walls with expressive art or photo frames. Wall decals are also an inspired solution if you’re aiming for a quick makeover of a bedroom, for example. Wall art plus plush bedding and some cozy window furnishings can help you achieve that perfect spot for daydreaming.

Incorporate seasonal home décor

Autumn brings in a greater harvest than all the other seasons. We mean a harvest in terms of natural décor that you can use to revamp your quarters on a dime. Twigs, leaves and branches, pebbles, pumpkins and potted shrubs, all make ingenious home décor contributions that will render your home unique.

Image via: Point 2 Homes

Get your inspiration from nature

A smart idea that would help you transform your home without breaking the bank is to incorporate natural materials such as minimally processed woods, stones, and plant life, in your design scheme. More than just an aesthetic improvement, live greenery creates a healthier living environment for you and your family. Orchids make excellent home plants, being both vigorous and elegant, just like flamingo lilies and English ivy.

Also, when your budget is rather limited but you still want to give your interior décor the wow factor, consider introducing an exposed brick or a stone accent wall. These add both richness and an interesting vibe that will surely make your home stand out from the crowd.

Image via: Apartment Therapy

PS: When you embark on remodeling projects, whether seasonal adjustments or floor-to-ceiling revamps, it’s essential that you have a plan. Know exactly what you want to achieve with your re-design scheme and jot down all the steps to make sure you have all the necessary elements lined up.

Amalia Otet is a creative writer for Point2 Homes, exploring topics such as smart construction, housing trends, lifestyle, and renewable energy. She combines her passion for photography with her love of healthy living & interior design and strives to live beautifully, one green step at a time.

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

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Summer Window Treatment Trends for the Home

Sheer Window Treatments

For the summer why not let the light shine in your home a little more than usual and get some of that vitamin D flowing throughout that you have been missing from the previous winter months. Sheer fabrics and window treatment choices are ideal for this purpose and can bring a sense of elegance to a room. Although you may think that you will lose privacy by having sheer draperies, consider doubling the drapery fabric for more privacy or pairing with adjustable blinds so you can control the amount of light that is let in and also remain as private as you would like.

Image via: Stagetecture.com

Neutral Color Ideas for your Window Treatments

No longer are homeowners looking for heavy patterns and bright options for their window treatments this summer. Homeowners are looking for neutral fabrics to use for their summer window treatment choices to continue with their decorating ideas in other ways that exclude changing our their window treatments every season. Choosing to place a neutral fabric as their window treatment allows the homeowner to interchange their décor with colorful tablecloths and pillows as an easier and quicker option of changing things up a bit.

Image via: Stagetecture.com

Ease of Care

With summer upon us, homeowners would rather spend their time out and about enjoying time with their family, friends, or even their hobbies rather than stay in and clean or be tied down to taking their draperies to the dry cleaner. So it is no surprise that we are looking for fabrics and window treatment options that may cater to the ease of care required so we no longer need to spend the time taking care of the draperies but more time doing what we want to do. An option to fulfilling this trend within your home may be choosing shades for your window treatment.

Image via: Stagetecture.com

Window treatments allow you to enjoy your home more when it fits your needs and style that you are looking for at each season and this summer brings with it changes in trends for summer window treatments. This summer, window treatments are turning towards allowing you to spend more time out at the beach or playing golf and less time cleaning. Trends for the summer are moving towards a more minimalist style and keeping it simple, easy, and neutral.

This summer, what are some of the window treatment trends that you have experienced?

For more bedroom living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Designer Event to Watch – 2014 Las Vegas Market

Image via: World Market Las Vegas 2012

Image via: Stagetecture.com

This year the Las Vegas Market will also be providing an Interior Design Camp featuring Celebrity Interior Designers Kelli Ellis and Lori Dennis, with special guest segments from local experts in their specialized fields. Not only will you be able to spend each day looking for the pieces for your home that designers use in their designs, but you will be able to enjoy some of the newest products coming out to the public in the near future.

Design Center

The Design Center spans over the first two floors of the Las Vegas Market featuring more than 35 showrooms full of a selection of designer furniture, fabrics, lighting, floor coverings, wall décor and decorative accessories. You will spend endless hours perusing the items available for purchase and perhaps finding that one piece that you will hold onto for years to come. The Design Center also serves as great inspiration for coming up with your design or what you would like to do in your own space.

Image via: www.wmclv.com

Exhibits

This year at Las Vegas Market, exhibits will be available featuring unique and themed destinations to draw each person in for a look at some of the most wanted home décor items and gifts available. Whether you are looking for a nice comfy sofa or that piece that may finish off that design that you have been working on for your space, the exhibits are a great way to find exactly what you want. These exhibits will make you fall in love with so many pieces that you may find yourself leaving with more than one item.

Image via: Pinterest

Modern Trends

The Las Vegas Market this year will showcase some of the hottest trends in modern design on the 6th and 7th floors of Building B. If you are looking for what is new in products, finishes, furniture, and home décor in the contemporary and modern design styles, then this is where you want to be. This design event allows you to be one of the first to see these new items before they are out in the public eye.

Image via: www.wmclv.com

The Las Vegas Market this summer will be occurring starting July 27th and provides a plethora of opportunities to enjoy showrooms, exhibits, understand modern trends, and even meet celebrity designers. The home furnishings and décor that are showcased here are part of new product lines being offered by brand name manufacturers across the country. Attending this 5 day event will not only be a consumer’s shopping dream but an interior designer’s heaven.

We can’t wait to hear all the latest trends this season! For more design events on Stagetecture, click here.

Summer Decorating Tips for Your Home

Image via: Laurie Flower

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Bring in the Outdoors

Summer is all about the outdoors. The season brings with it fresh blooms and lovely fruits. These deserve a lovely spot in your living space. Flowers, plants, and fruits not only look beautiful, they give rooms a lovely fragrance. If you prefer a rustic look, add jute and hemp area rugs which bring an exotic, natural feel.

Window Treatments

Image via: Bedroom 511 blogspot

To keep out the harsh summer heat and bring in the cool night air, use curtains instead of drapery. Fabrics used to make drapes are mostly heavy and dark and generate a lot of heat. Curtains on the other hand are made from light materials. They provide versatile flexibility in the summer months. If you don’t want to cover up your windows, use valances. Choose those in summer colors to give your windows a finished look.

Furniture

Dark, muted tones may be perfect for autumn and winter, but they look dreary in summer. Add summer accents with decorative throws and removable slipcovers. Choose those in bright hues like lime, pink, orange, sunny yellow, and ocean blue. These bring in plenty of color and brightness. If you prefer white and neutrals, use white or khaki slipcovers and dress them up with informal throw pillows.

You can also usher in summer by arranging your furniture to face the yard, pool, or ocean. This way, you’ll be able to enjoy the lovely weather even when you are indoors. Open windows if that’s what makes you feel good or buy a wall décor whose look and feel you love.

Image via: HGTV

As you decorate your home this summer, focus on creating a relaxing, livable interior. Use these summer decorating tips to create a gorgeous home you’ll be proud to show your family and friends. Then sit back, relax, and enjoy all the things that the season brings.

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Smeg Refrigerators: Retro Style & Summer Cauliflower Au Gratin Recipe

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Refrigerator Features

Smeg Refrigerators are not only for style but for function as well. These energy efficient refrigerators provide ample space with 3 easy to clean glass shelves and storage compartments located in the doors. Other features include a chrome wine rack and a large fruit and vegetable containers making Smeg refrigerators a practical and beautiful addition.

Image via: fallingpixel.com

Color Showcase

Smeg has recently showcased some hot new colors to add to their current list of colors they offer for their retro line. Not only can you get their current line of colors that they have offered since 2007, but now you can get your vintage style fridge in Yellow, White, or Union Jack.

How to Incorporate Smeg into your Home

Smeg refrigerators offers function and style in one bringing the past and present in line for any kitchen or office. Since Smeg offers the refrigerators in two different sizes, you will have the option to use in a residential or an office kitchen. The mini fridges that are offered by Smeg are perfect for dorm rooms, residential bars or other entertainment areas. You can pair this vintage style refrigerator with traditional or modern cabinetry as well as showcasing it as a statement piece.

Image via: creativeinfluences.blogspot,com

As you consider your next appliance purchase, think about using these energy efficient and iconic refrigerators into your design for your new kitchen or office.

Did you know that Smeg also has a great array of recipes? Take a look at this summer side this season! Check out the rest at Smeg Recipes.

Cauliflower and Broccoli Au Gratin

Image via: Pinterest

Ingredients

• 1 Cauliflower and 1 Broccoli
• ¼ cup of Butter
• ½ cup of All-purpose Flour
• 2 ½ cups of Milk
• 7 oz of Swiss Cheese
• Grated Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper

Preparation

1) Clean and cut the cauliflower and the broccoli into large florets.

2) Boil salted water in a pot and cook the cauliflower for 10 minutes or until soft, but still firm. Add a piece of bread to reduce the smell.

3) Drain in a colander and let cool down. To speed up the cooling process you can rinse under cold running water first.

4) Repeat the same procedure for the broccoli.

5) Pre heat the oven at 375F.

6) Grease the oven pan with butter. Add the cauliflower and the broccoli.

7) Heat the butter in a saucepan. As soon as the butter is melted add the all purpose flour, 5 oz of the Swiss cheese and milk 1 cup at the time and stir until smooth. Keep cooking for 5 minutes or until the Besciamella sauce is ready.

8) Pour the Besciamella sauce on top of the cauliflower and the broccoli.

9) Top the dish with the remaining Swiss cheese and grated nutmeg.

10) Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot.

For more kitchen ideas and wonderful recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

Designer Event: AIA Convention 2014 – ChicAIAgo!

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Product and Material Trends

Every year, the AIA convention offers displays of the latest materials and technologies that are on the rise in the market for Architecture and Interior Design today. This year AIA will be providing eight specialty pavilions to provide the opportunity for designers and architects alike to receive a detailed view of some of the best solutions for building codes and client demands.

Image via: archdaily.com

Product Marketplace

Be sure to check out the Product Marketplace that AIA will have available to showcase the newest and most innovative products. Some of the product highlights from last year that may entice you to visit the product marketplace are the newest technologies of 3-D printers and an engineered pane of glass that came all the way from Germany.

Image via: asmp.org

Live Broadcasts and Education

The AIA Convention will also have many opportunities for education and activities to assist in continuing education for designers and architects alike for sustainability and green design. Not only are educational opportunities available, you will also be able to take advantage of live broadcasts sharing thoughts from leaders in the industry.

Image via: aiasurety.com

If you have the opportunity to attend this event, consider participating in some of these activities and enjoy seeing the new technologies and products coming to the architecture and interior design market.

For more design events on Stagetecture, click here.