Cork, Cork, Beautiful Cork! - Environmental Friendly
Cork is harvested without damaging trees and is therefore great for the environment. It is also great for your decor! Cork is better known as a great flooring material but it is also being made available as unique wall coverings and upholstery fabrics. A large tufted ottoman or unique chair can be made into an environmental friendly focal point by upholstering it with a soft, patterned cork. You can take pride in the fact that you are helping mother earth while you are helping create a warm and creative decor!
Chalkboard paint is fun and functional! A great place to use chalkboard paint is while decorating a childs bedroom. Here’s an inexpensive idea for doing just that. Take a childs craft table from a secondhand store thats seen better days and give it new life by painting it with chalkboard paint. The table now becomes a creative and fun furniture addition you don’t have to worry about getting ruined by creative little artists!
Usually when we need to add a softer touch to a room or dining table set, we add flowers. I love adding flowers to any decor. They add sophistication, a splash of color, and a touch of toughtfulness. My favorite thing to do with a fresh bouquet whether it’s home grown or sent via UPS, is put them in a clear glass vase with a mouth big enough to add fruit to the bottom. In a wide mouthed, big bottom vase, try the beautiful, and suble pear. Cranberries offer a great splash of color in taller, skinnier vases. Go to the grocerey store, see what’s on sale, and get creative. Fruit replaces the need for clear marbles or river rocks that many people use to hold stems in place and add interest to your arrangement. *Tip* try to use a fruit with a tough skin.
Give your sofa a makeover! No, I don’t mean go buy an expensive slip cover that “slips” off constantly and somehow makes your old sofa look frumiper. You can revitalize your old sofa for at least a few more good years with this simple trick. Remove all of the back pillows and replace them with big, overstuffed, colorful pillows. Don’t buy all of the same color- be bold and buy a few complimenting colors that will ork with your sofa color. Try to find fun patterns and textures. The fun part about this no-time-snazz-up is you will now see more potential in your old sofa. Change out the pillows with the seasons and have a new look every few months.
I heard a fun tip today from a fellow designer. If you are planning on having surround sound with your new entertainment system, you may already know that most systems have several speakers and it’s a headache to hide them without blocking their purpose. Most people simply hang them on the walls which, lets face it, looks pretty ugly. Try this fun trick; place a couple of decorative baskets on the top of your entertainment center in a random pile to give a casual appearance. Place a few speakers inside the baskets. They will hide the speakers without actually blocking any sound.