Category: library

Cozy Cottages: Light or Dark?

Cozy Cottages

Just the word cottages makes one think of being curled up by the fire with a great book, or of lazy mornings at the beach front. How do you prefer your cozy cottages – in light or dark? Beach breeze coming through an open window or thick wool blankets and crackling bacon?

Light Cottages

Light cottages often feature rustic charms like white walls, often shiplap, and bare time-worn floors. Window treatments are kept to a minimal to let as much light in as possible.

Nothing in a cottage like this screams “new.” Woods have an aged patina and everything is full of character and charm.

images above via Southern Living

Dark Cottages

Snow and wind outside your door? If you are in a dark cottage that won’t bother you. Layers of warmth in the means of blankets, deep cushioned armchairs, and firelight abound.

In dark cottages walls are usually painted in moody blues or grays.

Lots of wood tones.

Heavier upholstery and textiles are also a mainstay of dark cottages.

images above via Apartment Therapy

image above via Tumblr

So – which way do you lean? Light cottage or dark cottage?

Craving more cottage eye candy? Check out a past post featuring beautiful cottages and little escapes.

February 10, 2020
Cozy Cottages: Light or Dark?

Cozy Cottages

Just the word cottages makes one think of being curled up by the fire with a great book, or of lazy mornings at the beach front. How do you prefer your cozy cottages – in light or dark? Beach breeze coming through an open window or thick wool blankets and crackling bacon?

Light Cottages

Light cottages often feature rustic charms like white walls, often shiplap, and bare time-worn floors. Window treatments are kept to a minimal to let as much light in as possible.

Nothing in a cottage like this screams “new.” Woods have an aged patina and everything is full of character and charm.

images above via Southern Living

Dark Cottages

Snow and wind outside your door? If you are in a dark cottage that won’t bother you. Layers of warmth in the means of blankets, deep cushioned armchairs, and firelight abound.

In dark cottages walls are usually painted in moody blues or grays.

Lots of wood tones.

Heavier upholstery and textiles are also a mainstay of dark cottages.

images above via Apartment Therapy

image above via Tumblr

So – which way do you lean? Light cottage or dark cottage?

Craving more cottage eye candy? Check out a past post featuring beautiful cottages and little escapes.

December 20, 2018
Choosing furniture that will make your home stunning

Choosing Furniture

I guess it doesn’t really need to be said that furniture makes a room. Not every home has standout bones, so more often than not we use furniture to express our aesthetic. That being said, I tend to feel horribly constrained by the few chain stores from which I can furnish my home, and even more constrained if my budget is small.

An over scale piece of furniture like the wooden wardrobe adds impact to this room without being flamboyant. Since the walls are white it also helps to visually push the wall back a little. You can find pieces like this at antique malls and sometimes a little elbow grease is all that’s required to restore furniture and make it look like they belong in a museum!

Wow. What a statement that giant square dining table makes. Even though it’s a little bit rustic, the upholstered chairs with nailhead trim keeps it in luxe territory. Quality made wooden furniture is beautiful when implemented correctly. If you’re looking for custom made designs, take a peek at Anne Quinn Furniture.

via Carla Aston Designed

A giant metal trunk as a coffee table is sure to be a conversation starter and acts as an amazing anchor to the otherwise visually light pieces in the room . From this perspective it also leads the eye up to that amazing window and built-in bookshelves.

via stylebyemilyhenderson

If you want your space to have the appearance of being collected and put together over time. DO NOT buy furniture in sets (don’t do this anyway). And if you do have a couple of matching pieces, make sure you have at least two pieces that are different. This gives them an element of being special of precious in some way and is a great way to create the focal point of a room. No way anyone is glancing over that antique furniture at the foot of the bed!

via stylebyemilyhenderson

Keep in mind that you don’t have to limit yourself to furniture only available in your country. The internet has given us more and more options when it comes to international shipping. Even if a furniture site isn’t in your native language, you could possibly find a thorough guide for shipping furniture to Singapore if that is where you call home!

July 19, 2018
How to Choose Artwork for Your Home

Artwork can complement a room and bring out its best elements, or can completely clash with it and ruin the whole design. Unfortunately, too many people don’t how to pick artwork correctly and end up making mistakes that could be easily avoided. The good news is that you don’t have to be an expert designer to understand how to pick the best artwork for any room. Here are a few tips on how to pick the perfect piece of artwork for your room of choice.

via simpledetailsblog.blogspot.com via pinterest

Like what you Like and have a Clear Intent in Mind

The primary goal when buying art for your room should be to please yourself, not your visitors. You shouldn’t be swayed by the opinion of “art experts” and only go for a certain type of art simply because it’s the hot thing right now. The best way to know if a piece of art is for you is if it moves you. A piece of art should never be a “maybe”. It should be something you want to see every day and always leaves you astounded.

via bloglovin’ via pinterest

Don’t be Afraid to Mix and Match

A lot of people make the mistakes of being too matchy-matchy with their room design. While some matching is always good, contrasting colors are better. You also want to mix textures and time periods. If you’re using the piece of art as a focal point, you want it to pop out rather than blend in the rest of the room. The focal piece is the star of the room and should be treated as such. Match vibrant oranges with teal blues, hot and cold, old and new, low end and high end. By mixing various elements, you’ll be giving the room much more personality.

via booklandia via pinterest

Don’t Go Crazy with the Budget

Let’s be real: unless you’re going to shell out a few thousand on a collector’s piece, there is no need to spend an arm and a leg for art if it’s only meant to be decorative. If you’re a genuine art lover, fine, splurge away, but if you have little knowledge of art, chances are you won’t notice the difference between a $500 piece and a $5,000 one. Online art marketplaces like Fine Art America have art pieces for all styles and budgets. If you want to see their collection, you can visit https://fineartamerica.com/. These types of online art marketplaces make it easy to find pieces that are ideal for your home and within your budget.

And when shopping for pieces, try to get the most out of your money as possible. If your budget is $500 and you have the choice between a 20’ by 20’ and a 50’ by 50’ piece, then I would suggest you go for the bigger one. Sure, the smaller one might be nice, but if you have a limited amount to spend, better go for a statement piece you can build a room around.

via blog.tagesanzeiger.ch via pinterest

Conclusion

Choosing art for any room doesn’t have to be difficult if you know how to go about it. If you follow the few tips in this article, you should be able to find that statement piece you’ve been looking for in no time.

this post in consideration with Chetty Builders

December 14, 2017
Cozy Cottages: Light or Dark?

Cozy Cottages

Just the word cottages makes one think of being curled up by the fire with a great book, or of lazy mornings at the beach front. How do you prefer your cozy cottages – in light or dark? Beach breeze coming through an open window or thick wool blankets and crackling bacon?

Light Cottages

Light cottages often feature rustic charms like white walls, often shiplap, and bare time-worn floors. Window treatments are kept to a minimal to let as much light in as possible.

Nothing in a cottage like this screams “new.” Woods have an aged patina and everything is full of character and charm.

images above via Southern Living

Dark Cottages

Snow and wind outside your door? If you are in a dark cottage that won’t bother you. Layers of warmth in the means of blankets, deep cushioned armchairs, and firelight abound.

In dark cottages walls are usually painted in moody blues or grays.

Lots of wood tones.

Heavier upholstery and textiles are also a mainstay of dark cottages.

images above via Apartment Therapy

image above via Tumblr

So – which way do you lean? Light cottage or dark cottage?

Craving more cottage eye candy? Check out a past post featuring beautiful cottages and little escapes.

August 16, 2017
Mixing wood and white

Mixing wood and white in your interior

Contrasting elements, like mixing wood and white, add a lot of visual interest to a space. I’ve gathered up some images of spaces that marry two of my favorite interior elements: white, and wood. I personally don’t think there’s anything more classic, crisp, and “home.”

Those floors are gorgeous!

The shelves are a great use of an otherwise hard-to-use wall adjoining a gabled ceiling.

Do you like white and wood?

1.-2. Rue Mag 3.-5. Sweet Home Style

April 18, 2017
The best of July!

This July was a hot one and so was the blog this month! Here are the top posts from July:

An Old Portland Library Turned Into a Beautiful Home

A Brooklyn apartment full of inspiring ideas and details

Inspiring small living rooms

Relaxed and comfortable bohemian style

Filling empty corners

Which post was your favorite?

August 5, 2016
Fresh home office inspiration

I’ve been kicked out of my home office since my husband started working from home two days a week. I love having him at home, but working from the dining room table has lost it’s novelty. I figured getting some inspiration by finding some home offices that are beautiful and functional would help motivate me to move back into my office.

For me, I need a crisp, well-organized space in order to focus and get started on the project at hand. It looks like the curtains can close and hide the shelves if needed.

An office in the pantry! For a chef or food blogger this is genius! It would be dangerous for me to work so close to food.A nice view is really important to me too!

Whether decorative or utilitarian, storage is important no matter what you do.If you’re a creative type, objects you find beautiful are really important to have around your workspace. For me, flowers are always inspiring.

Crisp and minimal is a great place to start if you tend to have trouble getting into the “zone”

March 31, 2016
Light, airy and beautiful spaces from Lonny Mag

Lonny is great for bright airy spaces. So when I’m feeling a bit frazzled and out of control, I like to peruse their archives.

via Lonny Mag

May 13, 2015
Dinning Room Do Over

Today I want to share some idea for underutilized dinning rooms! Unless you are entertaining frequently this room seems to be used only on the holidays or large events. Here are some great ideas for utilizing the space year round!

Use your dining room as an office! There are some seriously great perks to having your office in the dining room. Chances are better that you will keep it clean and working with a clean slate is a great way to start a work day. There are also creative ways you can contain your office items so that it isn’t overwhelming when you need to convert the space back into a dining room!

Make your dining room a library too! Adding shelving on your dining room walls to hold your books can make for interesting dining room conversation as well! Add a comfy chair in the corner or by a window and you might find yourself getting away in that room more often than dining!

If you are looking for something a little more family friendly, you can add some games to your library and make it a family game night! Make it a getaway from all the electronic distractions and use this space to have a little more fun. Your dining room might become the families favorite space in the house.

Change up the seating! Make it a more cozy space instead of a stiff dining room set. Use your eat in kitchen for breakfast and lunch but take dinner to a new level by using the new comfy dining room. What’s the point of having a space if your not going to use it?

If you or your kids are crafty you can tie in this pace to store your items for those last minute project ideas! Throw a drop cloth over your dining room table and challenge yourself to make something new each week and utilize this space! The large dining room table will give you great work space and if you need it to go back to being a dinning room just move a few storage items out of the way!

If you need a more kid friendly space. Let the little ones take over this room when it’s not in use! Finding great storage piece that can contain toys and double as a bar table during dinner parties.

There are so many easy combinations you can do to make a dining room a more usable space!

January 8, 2014