How to Create the Perfect Reading Nook

Select your space

Perhaps you have a neglected little corner of the home that never gets used or you have an unused window area offering a great view. You won’t need a huge amount of space and a reading nook is, as the name implies, a little cosy area suitable for one person. Calm, quiet and relaxed should be the qualities that this area exudes and a space away from the busy traffic areas in your house will be ideal. A window spot will be perfect and you’ll benefit from natural light as well as a touch of fresh air when required.

Image via: Glenn Gissler Design

[ad#co-1]

Keep furniture to a minimum

A comfortable arm chair is of course a prerequisite although a window seat or a small sofa with cushions will do just as well. You’ll also need someplace to rest your mug of coffee, books and magazines, so start looking at the wide range of coffee tables available. You can easily find a table to suit your space and decor but ensure that it doesn’t take up too much room – clutter-free is conducive towards relaxation. A shelving unit or bookcase is another good idea if you have the space but this isn’t essential if you already have a table in place.

Image via: Flickr – Islxndis

Light and airy decor

Your choice of wall colour will definitely make a difference to the atmosphere of your little oasis and neutral shades such as beige, ivory or khaki will create a relaxing atmosphere. If you’re looking for a more intimate ambience then darken the shade down a notch or two. Lighter colours will also help to make a small space appear slightly larger as well as giving off a welcoming atmosphere. If this is a space just for yourself then you might want to consider personalising the wall décor in order to separate it from the rest of the home.

Those little accessories

All you really need is a good book and a great cup of coffee but a few little touches won’t hurt. Consider scented candles or a small vase with flowers or even one of your favourite art prints hung on the wall. A reading lamp will be necessary and you can place a floor lamp behind your chair to give additional light when required. Keep it comfy with some additional cushions or a warm throw kept close at hand.

Everyone needs a little time to simply relax and escape from daily life and your little reading corner will provide just that. Individualise your space and make it a place you’ll look forward to spending some time in each day.

For more reading nook ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Combined Spaces: Merging your Home Office

Image via: Nancy Sanford, Inc.

[ad#co-1]

Apply a Subtle Wall Color

Soothing colors such as soft gold and sage green will give your living room and office a warm, inviting feel. If the room is small, use a neutral wall color like beige and ivory to make it look bigger. If it is big, make it cozy by painting the walls neutral hues in dark shades. Also dress the windows to cater to your needs and decorating style.

Image via: Home-designing

Buy Versatile Furniture

Your furniture must accommodate both your living room and home office needs. Choose comfy furnishings for the living area and pick a desk and chair which suit your decorating style and office needs. For example, if you have a contemporary living room, get a desk with a glass top and chrome legs to match the style.

Choose Proper Accessories

The accessories you choose for your living room and office should create a cohesive look. Connect the two spaces with identical artwork and avoid bulletin boards or anything that can make the place look too office-like. You can adorn the desk with potted plants to create an outdoorsy look. Disguise your fax machine and printer by surrounding them with beautiful home accessories. Additionally, replace your desktop with a laptop which has a low profile.

Image via: Beautiful Homes Designs

A home office situated in the living room can be decked out to create a difference between the recreation zone and the work zone. If you want an office with a lot of privacy, use a room divider to separate the two zones. You can even use filing cabinets and office shelves as room dividers. If you have children and want to keep an eye on them as you work, place your desk in the corner with your back to the wall. Creating a multipurpose living room is easy, all you need to do is use the above space saving tips.

For more home office ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

A relaxing coastal home interior is definitely welcome for every homeowner. This makes every person living at home feel utmost experience and accommodation. And you don’t have to be near a coastal area to achieve this beautiful interior idea.

Although this isn’t an overnight task, but the beauty of its output is enough motivation to push through. You will also be amazed on how you feel the relaxing and vibrant ambiance of a coastal interior.

Image via: Sam Oberter

[ad#co-1]

If you want to experience ultimate comfort, here’s how to bring relaxing coastal ideas for your interiors:

Choose Neutral Coastal Colors

Giving your interior a neutral look will definitely make it cool and relaxing. You can have shades of blue on your walls and match it with floral fabric throw pillows on your sofa. Curtains can also do the trick. A nice and well-designed blue curtain will be a great accessory. Hang your favorite artworks that will complement the neutral looks of your interior.

Image via: Houzz

Enhance your lighting

Proper lighting illuminates the beauty of your interior. It will highlight areas where you want to emphasize. You can also provide accent any area of the interior where you want your guest to pay attention. Also, by enhancing your lighting, it will make your interior look spacious. This idea will certainly complement your neutral settings.

Prioritize comfort

There’s no better way to achieve comfort than having comfortable furnishings. For instance, acquire the best, comfortable sofa available for your living room. This will make your guests feel utmost comfort while staying in your interior. You may also include interesting magazines or reading materials that can be reached easily.  Use colorful furniture such as rich navy and royal blues, turquoise, coral, and natural coastal colors to bring a focal point to your furnishings.

Image via: Warren Jagger

These are just a few relaxing coastal ideas for your interiors. It’s an exciting and rewarding makeover idea that you will definitely enjoy the experience afterwards. So, take your first step to a relaxing coastal-inspired interior!

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

I love this idea because many of us have flat screen televisions, but don’t want to damage our walls with all the support systems, wiring, etc.. Today you will see this innovative idea for building a temporary dry wall in front of your permanent wall to hang your television from! This idea originally is from WIRED and watch a video to see how it all gets done!

[ad#co-1]

 

Video – How to Build a Flat Screen TV Wall

Link to video –> How to Build a Flat Screen TV Wall

When you’re living in an apartment, you have to expect that you will have limitations in terms of a makeover plan. But this doesn’t mean you can’t have the best of what you plan for your apartment room. You just have to know the best idea to put them in place. Like when you want to install a TV on the wall, this is very possible without damaging the wall of the apartment. How? Just follow the steps below on how to build a TV wall for your apartment:

Tools and Materials

• Lumber
• Screws
• Paint
• Sandpaper
• TV mount
• Electric drill
• Hole saw bit
• Circular saw
• Clamp
• Protective goggles

Procedure

Step 1: Measure and cut your wood

The measurement depends on the size of your TV. Use the circular saw for a quick cut. But if you want it easier, there are stores that offer pre-cut wood according to your measurement.

Step 2: Screw them all together

What you need to do is to sandwich them all together where the drywall on top, followed by the plywood and then the 2 X 4 lumbers. Screw the four, longer 2 X 4 vertically. Ensure that you space them equally at 16 inches apart.

Step 3: Paint

Paint it with the right color that will blend perfectly into your wall. You may also have it in contrast with the color of the wall to provide accent. Make sure to spackle over the screws and the edges so it will look neat and elegant.

Step 4: Attach the TV mount

Attach the TV mount into the wall into the studs of your fake wall. This should hold the TV firm and steady. In this step, do not attach your TV yet.

Step 5: Drill

Using the hole saw, drill in places where you will insert the cables and boxes. Make room for audio-visual accessories that you may want to install in the future.

Step 6:  Install it into the wall

Now, look for a stud that you can drill a screw and attach into the real wall. A 4-inch screw should be enough to hold them thoroughly.

Step 7: Mount your TV

The last step is to mount your TV and attach the wirings. Make sure you have everything connected accordingly.

That’s it! Now, sit back, relax and enjoy your tv without worrying about damaging the walls when you move!

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

]]> https://stagetecture.com/diy-sat-161-building-a-flat-screen-tv-wall-for-your-apartment-video/feed/ 4 54417 https://stagetecture.com/inspiring-ways-to-decorate-with-passionate-red/ https://stagetecture.com/inspiring-ways-to-decorate-with-passionate-red/#respond Thu, 01 Aug 2013 10:59:05 +0000 https://stagetecture.com/?p=52795  Entry #2704, August 1, 2013

There’s no color that says passion and excitement like red.  Whether it’s a dining room, living room, bathroom, or bedroom, red is always a bold choice.  With such a powerful color, finding the perfect shade and the perfect places for red is all the more important.  So if your dream color palette involves the confident color, here are some things to consider before reaching for anything and everything red!

 Image via: Home Portfolio

[ad#co-1]

Set the mood with the color red

Although your first color association may be excitement, red can elicit a range of emotions from cheerful and happy to aggressive and flashy, depending on the amount and shade.  Think about your own fashion choices for a moment. You may love red, but do you wear it from head to toe every single day?  Interior design is the same way: there is always a balance between a bit of color and too much of a good thing.  The more red you use, the more energetic (or even forceful) a room will feel.  Tone back the amount and you will have the power to direct attention exactly where you want it with bursts of cheerful color, like a red piece of jewelry.  Keep your desired mood in mind as you plan your room.  No matter where you’re using red, you want your home to feel welcoming and interesting, not loud and overpowering.

Image via Pinterest

The color red can bring out your style

Just like the many emotional effects of the color red, you can also create all different design styles with your color choice.  For a contemporary feel, use bright, orange-based reds only in specific pops of color against a light, neutral palette.  Bring in light fixtures, pillows, and decorative accessories to serve as the focal points.  In a more traditional design, deep, rich burgundy reds are warm and cozy.  Use them in upholstery, classic Oriental rugs, or window treatments to bring a comfortable, homey feel to your space.  For the rest of the palette, use the same deep, muted shades of other colors close by on the color wheel for a relaxing, cohesive effect.

Any way that you use it, red can transform a room into exactly what you want.  Have a clear idea of what your goal is, and embrace adventurous red!

For more color ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

The summer season brings beautiful blossoms to your garden. Flowers and foliages are abundant with sunlight. This is an opportunity for them to showcase their loveliness and be prominent among other plants in the surroundings. But wouldn’t it nice to bring the beauty of summer florals into your interior?

Image via: Niki Papadopoulos

[ad#co-1]

Having a floral interior design is a great choice especially this summer. Your interior will certainly look vibrant and relaxing. It’s like having a garden inside your home. This will not only complement summer but spring season as well. If you’re interested about this idea, take note of these tips on how to bring summer florals into your interiors:

• Consider floral-designed wallpapers

This is one of the easiest and quickest way to makeover your home interior. You can transform your interior in an instant. Don’t worry about the design. You will be amazed to know how many designs are there for you to choose from. But you have to be very picky in choosing your designs. It should be something that will fit the summer season to bring out your desired theme. Anyway, you will never run out of designs when it comes to wallpaper option.

Image via: Tara Seawright

• Put emphasis on a single area

The idea of having only one area to emphasize is to provide accent to your design. It becomes a highlight in your home interior and can be your best spot to welcome your guests. It may also be the right place to have your weekend family bonding. This will save you time and effort in doing a great interior makeover. A well-arranged bouquet of flowers can do the trick.

Image via: Travis Neely

• Choose a color scheme

Summer colors such as yellow, green, pink, blue and purple are just some of the popular colors to complement the season. If you have a color scheme in your home interior, you will no longer worry about having a mismatched in terms of your design. All you have to do is to stick with your chosen color and have it visible in your interior.

These easy-to-do tips can truly work magic into your interior. Take time to visit your nearest hardware store and see if they can offer you the materials you needed. Or check your storage for anything you can use for this project.

For more home decor ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Warm, sunny summer days mark the beginning of fun, refreshment, and cheerfulness. A great way to bring a part of that warmth and happiness inside your house is with color and to paint it, partly or entirely, with yellow – a color that emanates brightness and symbolizes sun and warmth. Here are some ideas by which you can fill your home with sunshine through using different shades of yellow.

Image via: JL Construction

Yellow for the Exterior of your Home

A front door is great place to apply a bright color. If the exterior of your house is painted with white or any neutral color, a bright, yellow front door will successfully catch onlookers’ attention and add a cheery opulence to the outside.

The trim or window shutters are also good places to apply this color. If you want, you can paint the whole exterior with yellow. In that case, use bright yellows if you have a tropical or beach home and pale yellows if your house is old.

A Black & Yellow Combination

Black is undoubtedly gorgeous and aristocratic but too much of black can be boring and stressful to the eye. So, a punch of yellow on desk, wall art, or couch amid an all black room can be refreshing and break the monotonous look. On the other hand, black and white furniture can add a bold, graphic feel in a room that is already vivid with yellow.

Image via: Paint A Lifestyle

[ad#co-1]

Bring Elegance with Unusual Mishmash

Add some yellow shades to the color palette of an uninspiring place to create a dramatic look. The combination of black, white, and yellow is one of the best recipes to bring drama into a place. However, the addition of moss green or espresso brown to this palette is a good idea to display your creative side. For example, the drama created by yellow walls, black furniture, and white accessories can be playfully undercut by using moss green upholstery on the chairs.

Yellow for Refreshing Creative Spaces

It is important to have a refreshing look in any creative space like a reading nook, a writing corner, a scrape booking area, or a crafting alcove. The addition of yellow shades in these places will showcase a burst of color and creativity. You can do it by adding yellow to the photo or mirror frame, lampshade, storage bin, coffee table, flower vase, pillows, area rugs, or upholstery of sofas or chairs.

Image via: Tara Seawright

Yellow paint has the ability to uplift the look of a neglected, dull house into a shiny one. You just have to apply the right shade of yellow color at the right place because some places need the bright, sunny yellow while soft gold or umber is the perfect choice for some other places.

For more color ideas on Stagetecture, click here

Walls are great canvas in your home. You can display your creativity and show your personality, and create colorful and dynamic appeal with just one wall. When you decide to change your wall interior, expect that it will provide a huge impact in the entire interior. Any change or makeover will be very obvious. This is how your wall makes a difference in enhancing your home with the addition of a accent wall. Whether your living room, bedroom, or bathroom or more, look at these ideas to enhance your home.

Image via: Space Harmony

[ad#co-1]

If you feel like you’re bored with your existing wall, check out these creative ways to make an accent wall:

Update your wall with wallpaper or eye-catching color

This is probably the quickest and easiest way to upgrade your wall. Providing an accent with wallpaper will never be a problem. This is because you have a lot of wallpaper designs to choose from. In fact, you may find just the perfect design that you desire – or even more! The wallpaper is so easy to stick and peel.

Have a stylish painted pattern

This is another great wall option. You can definitely express yourself with abstract patterns. It’s like painting your own masterpiece. You can play with the colors, shapes and curves. The best thing with painted pattern is that it can create an illusion of wider space, cool ambiance or any effect you wanted.

Image via: House + House Architects

Consider a wall sized mural

Wall size mural is one quick makeover option. It’s like turning your wall from a plain canvass into a work of art. Wall size mural is perfect for the theme or scenic design. You can turn your room into a landmark spot or make it look like you’re in an outdoor setting. Also, this is so easy to install.

Take your time to think and make your move. There’s no better time to make a wall makeover than today. Visit your favorite home interior shops and see if materials are available.

For more interiors ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

While living rooms should be relaxing and comfortable at one end, they should be trendy and stylish on the other. Living room is a place, which is constantly in use, a place where the whole family can sit, relax, and entertain guests. For this reason, living rooms should have beautiful ambiance thus creating an environment where in the whole family can live some lovely moments together. Since living rooms are the first place that anyone entering a house acknowledges, it should be enchanting and eye-catching. A well designed, aesthetically appealing and contemporary living room excludes the need for a separate place to entertain guests.

Image via: Home-office designs

[ad#co-1]

Create a Focal Point

There should be one “centre of attention” in your living room, something that appeals to the audience, a place where they can rest their eyes. It could be anything, a state of the art fireplace, a beautiful piece of art or even a flat screen television might take the centre stage.
Create a focal point on the farthest wall of the living room so that it draws attention, inspiring family and friends alike.

Image via: Dupuis Design

Get in Balance and Soften the Place

Make sure that everything that you place in your living room should be in complete accordance with each other. It should give a complete and balanced look. Do not just invest in a huge sofa, instead add in plants, paintings, a wall mirror, high back chairs etcetera. This will allow people to have a greater view of your living room rather than just limiting them to a single spot.
Give your living room a soft touch by adding different kinds of lighting, a blend of floor, table and ceiling lamps will give it an aesthetic appeal that you are looking for. A fine, stylish and trendy rug is necessary have for giving a classy look to a living room.

The most important point is to make your living room as inviting and welcoming as possible. Since this is the place, where the entire family sits together and chill, the environment should be very cozy and comfortable, so throw in some plush cushions, over size pillow etc. This will accessorize your entire living room in such a way that the entire set up will speak for itself.
With these simple tips, you can easily improve the looks of your living room every three months to keep your guests feeling refreshed each time they visit you. Now you do not have to waste time waiting for an interior decorator or spend large amounts of money hiring help. Just get on your feet and do it yourself, the way you want it.

For more living room ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Whether you live near the coast or in a city loft, incorporating a beach theme especially during the summer will give your home a soothing ambiance. It will lend an airy, light feel to the interiors of your house. The most important aspect of the beach theme is not the décor, but the feelings it evokes in the members. So, if you are up for featuring the comfortable, clean look of a sea cottage in your own boundaries, these tips will help you get started.

Image via: House of Turquoise

[ad#co-1]

Color scheme

When choosing colors for tropical style décor, consider imitating the hues from sky, sand, and water. Think of natural colors such as light greens, sand tones, soft blues, sheer pinks, and yellows of the sun. All white is another decorator trick for beach themed houses as it lends a sense of space and light to any room.

Image via: A Lovely Mist

The furniture

Select furniture that reminds you of lakeside homes or seaside cottages. Furniture fabricated with driftwood or the ones that appear to be worn out by water will give your home a perfect rustic beach feel. Sofas, chairs, and, beds should look clean and comfortable. Add white or light colored slipcovers without any fuss or frills. You may also consider wicker furnishings, but make sure that it’s sturdy enough to be used as household furniture.

Using accessories

Image via: Tracy Murdock

This one is the simplest and cheapest way to add beach flair to your home. Use accessories inspired by nature such as shell-framed mirrors or clear jars filled with shells and sand. Simple, but bright colored vases and natural colored candles will also do the trick. If you have an aquarium, fill it with tropical fishes for the final touch up. But remember not to over-accessorize the décor. Keep it airy, fresh, and to a minimum.

Add greenery

Adding a touch of nature is a great way to give final accents to your beach theme décor. Place tall plants such as ficus or palms in the corners of spacious rooms. Orchids or African violets can be used on tables to serve as beautiful centerpieces. Put them in rattan or bamboo containers to complement the look.

Image via: Pinterest

When it comes to decorating your home using a beach theme, you are likely to get carried away. So, be careful about going overboard and try to keep it simple yet classy. The basic aim should be to keep your home uncluttered and relaxed.

For more summer ideas on Stagetecture, click here.