Category: neutrals

  • Why It’s Important to Make Repairs Before You Start Decorating

    Why It’s Important to Make Repairs Before You Start Decorating

    Whether you are planning to decorate your new house, redecorate your old home, or trying to tidy up the property before selling it away, it is of the utmost importance in all situations to make the necessary repairs first. In case you are wondering why it is so, there are actually multiple reasons and we will discuss the most important ones next.

    redecorating ideas

    It Could Save You a Lot of Money

    Home décor is not cheap and especially not so if you decide to hire professional help. However, you could actually be saving money if you did your repairs before starting with the redecorations. For example, you might still be using the old, buggy dishwasher or the faulty fridge, but if you just decide to get it repaired instead of replacing the entire thing and buying a new one, you could save money. Sub-zero Refrigerator Repair Austin is an example of a service that can save time and money versus finding a new refrigerator.

    One of the main issues people run into whilst getting repair however, is the brand of the appliance, as some companies only cover certain brands. Make sure to research and settle on a company that covers a range of brands, for example due to the popularity of the brand, Zanussi repairs by Service Force are really popular, but as a repairs company Service Force also cover a range of other popular brands.

    redecorating ideas

    The money saved in the process could then be used to further augment other parts of your home aesthetics, instead of putting it into something that did not need to be replaced in the first place. In other words, getting your appliances repaired will actually help to cut unnecessary costs from your decorating budget.

    A Well-Maintained Property Will Fetch a Better Price than a Well-Decorated One

    In case you are trying to tidy up the old property before a potential buyer comes in to see the house, you can rest assured that they will be more impressed by the actual condition of the house than how well it’s been decorated. Even if some novice buyer likes what they see and fails to notice the missing repair works, they will inevitably be revealed during a professional house-inspection. So, you would be better off by taking care of the following repairs, or you might regret wasting money in decorating the place up when you should have been using those funds to repair it.

    redecorating ideas

    • Basic plumbing should be in decent shape
    • Get the electrical work done if required
    • Any appliances included with the house should be in perfect working condition
    • Kitchen cabinets should not be falling apart and they should be clean
    • The bathroom needs to be as clean as possible, so get it cleaned professionally if required
    • Doors and windows should be clean; broken panes and rotting wood won’t do
    • Mow the lawn
    • The pavement and the driveway should not show cracks
    • Paint the fences and the mailbox
    • Paint the house and seal up the cracks, if any
    • Change the rotten floorboards and fix the chipped baseboards, if any

    You Will Eventually Have to Take Care of the Repairs Anyway

    If you paint over a cracked wall without repairing it, or put a new carpet over rotting floorboards, you will have to repair it eventually at some point anyway, but it will actually cost you more in the future because now you will have to redo the décor again. Redecorating without taking care of the necessary repairs first is an exercise in futility; sure, it may push back the extra cost for a few months or even a couple of years, but when it cannot be avoided anymore, you will be paying twice for the same decorations, when you didn’t have to.

    redecorating ideas

    As you can see, prioritizing repairs over decorating is not only the right thing to do, it’s the more economical option as well. In case there are far too many repairs to be done and you cannot afford both at once, just choose to repair first and hold off on the decorations for now and you won’t ever regret your decision.

    Thanks to Zanussi for partnering with us on this post!

  • Interior designer house tour: Mark Sikes’ elegant Southern California Home

    Interior designer house tour: Mark Sikes’ elegant Southern California Home

    Interior Designer House Tour

    Interior designer Mark Sikes’ and partner Michael Griffin’s home is full of unexpected and wonderful moments of old world Hollywood glam, while still maintaining an open and organic feel.  Check it out below:

    Couch in the kitchen?  How genius is that for entertainers.  Just make sure it’s a stain proof, easily washed material.  Not as crazy about the pendant lights though…

     

    Super comfy looking daybed in a super serene home library.

    All the below pictures are of their devine guest bedroom and bathroom.

    I would love for a bed half as dreamy as this to be in my master!

     

    The black and white striped awning outside, as well as the black and white palette in the room makes me think of the book “The Night Circus”

    Great mix of eclectic (armoire) and elegant (chair)

    How unreal is this bathroom – check out the chandeliers!

     

    Love the shower curtain that looks like drapes.  I can’t figure out if that framed black and white photograph is in the shower of just a reflection…

    What do you think of this Southern California home?See and read the entire story at Lonny Mag

  • House Tour: Interior designer Mark Sikes’ Southern California Home

    House Tour: Interior designer Mark Sikes’ Southern California Home

    House Tour!

    Interior designer Mark Sikes’ and partner Michael Griffin’s house tour is full of unexpected and wonderful moments of old world Hollywood glam, while still maintaining an open and organic feel.  Check it out below:

    Couch in the kitchen?  How genius is that for entertainers.  Just make sure it’s a stain proof, easily washed material.  Not as crazy about the pendant lights though…

     

    Super comfy looking daybed in a super serene home library.

    All the below pictures are of their devine guest bedroom and bathroom.

    I would love for a bed half as dreamy as this to be in my master!

     

    The black and white striped awning outside, as well as the black and white palette in the room makes me think of the book “The Night Circus”

    Great mix of eclectic (armoire) and elegant (chair)

    How unreal is this bathroom – check out the chandeliers!

     

    Love the shower curtain that looks like drapes.  I can’t figure out if that framed black and white photograph is in the shower of just a reflection…

    What do you think of this Southern California home?See and read the entire story at Lonny Mag

  • Interior designer Mark Sikes’ Southern California Home: Open, glamorous, and elegant

    Interior designer Mark Sikes’ Southern California Home: Open, glamorous, and elegant

    Interior designer Mark Sikes’ and partner Michael Griffin’s home is full of unexpected and wonderful moments of old world Hollywood glam, while still maintaining an open and organic feel.  Check it out below:

    Couch in the kitchen?  How genius is that for entertainers.  Just make sure it’s a stain proof, easily washed material.  Not as crazy about the pendant lights though…

    Super comfy looking daybed in a super serene home library.


    All the below pictures are of their devine guest bedroom and bathroom.

    I would love for a bed half as dreamy as this to be in my master!

    The black and white striped awning outside, as well as the black and white palette in the room makes me think of the book “The Night Circus”

    Great mix of eclectic (armoire) and elegant (chair)

    How unreal is this bathroom – check out the chandeliers!

    Love the shower curtain that looks like drapes.  I can’t figure out if that framed black and white photograph is in the shower of just a reflection…

    What do you think of this Southern California home?
    See and read the entire story at Lonny Mag

  • Don’t miss this house tour – a glamorous beach cottage that still manages to be laid back

    Don’t miss this house tour – a glamorous beach cottage that still manages to be laid back

    This beach home, located on Bald Head Island, belongs to interior designer Lisa Sherry.

    It’s a dream of mine to one day have a beach home.  I imagine there is a special kind of insurance for vacation properties, so if you plan on having a vacation home one day, be sure to look into it, or you can secure your home with Privilege building and contents insurance.*

    Lisa’s home is a three-bedroom with a screened-in wraparound porch. Let’s start with the best part, shall we?  The wraparound porch

    How great would it be to nap on this divan?



    I would live on that porch.  I love the dining table and chairs.






    I can’t decide if I like the cluster of paper lanterns…what do you think?


     The ’70’s home was one of the first built on the island.  Lisa freshened it up by tearing down some walls and painting almost everything white.

        I think the guest bedroom, with the sheers, is my favorite.


    via Lonny Mag
    *disclosure: this post in partnership with Privilege.com

  • Creating a space with whites/neutrals, and dark accents

    Creating a space with whites/neutrals, and dark accents

    So reader Cynthia wrote me with a question regarding her bedroom suite and using it to create the look she’s going for:

    “We are in the process of moving into our new house and I was wondering if you could help us with the decoration of our bedroom? We have an antique white colour bedroom suite (same as the photo attached but the only difference is ours is antique white in colour).

    We would like our room to be cosy and elegant,with loads of neutral colour and loads of dark wood. Our main inspiration is from the house in “Something’s Gotta Give”. We are just worried that it might look out of place with the white bedroom suite and that would throw the whole scheme off..”

    Here is the style of her bedroom suite – but her’s is antique white.

    Here are shots from the home in “Something’s Gotta Give, ” to get an idea of the look she’s going for


    So lots of neutrals, creams, and dark wood accents. The floors are also a dark wood.
    Movie shots via Hooked on Houses

    Pretty much, I think the look Cynthia is going for is totally possible with the white bedroom suite that she already has. The important thing is to keep in mind the proportion of lights and darks when decorating the space. So Cynthia might want to balance out her white bedroom suite with some furniture pieces in dark wood – such as lamps, a side table, chair, etc.

    This room has white furnishings but dark wood beams and a dark piano.
    via Living Better Together

    The white furniture in this room is kept from being too matchy-matchy be the addition of the brown leather chair.
    via House to Home




    3 above via DecorPad

    via Ideal Home
    The three images above all display a casual balance or white and/or neutrals, and dark woods.

    This room is a mix of so many styles but still gorgeous
    via DecorPad

    via The Lennoxx


    The four images above illustrate how even with dark walls white furnishings can be integrated with dark wood; just make sure you supply adequate lighting.
    2 above via CocoCozy

    Well, I hope I was some help Cynthia – or atleast provided some eye candy. If anyone else has some advice for Cynthia please comment!

  • Beautiful, peaceful bedrooms

    Beautiful, peaceful bedrooms

    I’m heading “home” this afternoon after living out of a suitcase since Dec. 28th. It’ll be great to sleep in a bed and not a couch or a cot. I have gotten used to traveling and will miss it a bit, but a little time off the road will hopefully be recuperative and prepare me for my next round of travels! So, I thought some gorgeous bedrooms would be appropriate for today’s post!

    a.
    The natural light in this pastel bedroom is amazing

    b.
    This bedroom is maybe a little more modern than I like but the clean lines make me feel like I could sleep all day –
    images above via BHG

    c.
    I’m a fan of benches or chest at the end of beds – and isn’t the headboard adorable?

    d.
    I’m really into sophisticated grays lately
    images above via LivingEtc.

    e.
    This is one of my favs – a modern retro bedroom with a twist of femininity and coziness.
    via Decor8 on Tumblr

    f.
    via Elle Decor

    g.

    h.
    I’m a sucker for mix n’ match bedding – it’s just sometimes a lot easier “seen” than done.

    i.
    I love this sort of vintage elegant bedroom – it’s so indulgent

    images above via ? (credits welcomed)

    Which bedroom would you pick this weekend if you could stay in any?