Neutral no more- adding color to your home interiors- part 2

The second part of my adding color to a neutral interior space address a family room/den area. (To see part one of the series click here). In this typical neutral cream to taupe space, I have chosen complimentary colors to accent the space in blue and red-orange. As in the previous space, I have used olioboard.com to create the space. This color palette can take a room to an Americana space, Eastern influenced space, or can go quite modern. I have gone with a hybrid of Eastern and Americana.

With the simple addition of changing the accent pieces I have taken the ivory walls, sisal rug and cream sofa to a brighter, polished finish with blue wing back chairs, on trend patterned pillows with blue and white, tones of orange red in the lamp bases and a bronze Brown cut work bowl with a blue lining. Could this space go further to add color? Surely, but for the color timid, this is a great start by adding small changeable color pieces and practically neutral blue chairs.

If you are interested in any of the item's on this board, I would love to tell you more about them! Simply drop me an email at LaurlSelf@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you.

Neutral no more- adding color to your home interiors, part one

I recently had the pleasure of teaching a community school class on adding color to your home. I would love to share some of the information from my research here in a multi-part series.

With the help of my new best friend Olioboard.com, I was able to create this mood board to add color to a neutral room. Neutral spaces seem to be all the rage on home design TV shows, but they lack some zip in real life. In fact, studies show that your brain has a hard time distinguishing edges in a space where the colors are close together. By adding color to a space, you can break up the larger areas of the same color with visual interesting pieces.

Cool greys and creams can create a soothing space, but too much of a good thing it not always good! I have chosen a taupe, cream and teal color palette for this living room and created additional visual interest by adding elements in a lighter version of the teal. I choose to layer natural elements over room with the addition on tree form based table, faux bois drum table, sconces with a limb look, and bamboo look to the shelving as well as a floral pillow and pillow with nests printed on them. The formal sofa with the french lines is made fresh with the fabric and painted wood in a similar color. And though the space reads a modern due to the light teal pieces and the lines of the West Elm wing back chair, the space has classic elements with the sofa, patterned wall paper and classic lines of the storage piece. Because I love some sparkle on a space, I have add the Bourgie lamp from Design Within Reach. Want in item from this board or want to know more about it, just drop me a line at laurlself@gmail.com and we can chat!

Storage quest!

 

I'm on a storage quest. I want vintage-esque/ used/ recycled, metal and uber functional. I care not the color or if it is a bit rusty as I plan to paint it/them lovely colors. Bringing the office home is not a new concept, but more home office probably lack the accessories that work offers and leaves you spinning your wheels searching for something.
I am making a conscious decision to purchase metal and used. For one reason, I like the durability of metal, for another I want to encourage recycling when possible. Lastly, I want to resist the "quick- fix" urge to by the plastic, on sale, bulky boxes from the craft stores. Metal always seems cleaner than the plastic items anyway! And I can paint them in the colors of my choice.
Valspar has launched an array of fantastic colors that are well suited to painting metals and changing one's mind! I'll admit part of the attraction to the product was the new can design! I love the look of the cap-less design and the new design will alleviate the "spray paint finger" I always seem to have which requires a new manicure!

 On my quest, I found a fantastic small metal file drawer at the Hoover Antique Gallery. The finish is so nice, I haven't painted it yet! And I am still thinking about a beautiful eggplant storage drawer that I didn't buy! So, today I will be questing a different antique gallery for more metal office storage!

Playin' Hookie

Summer is the perfect time to play hookie! How else will you hang up all those beach towels, straw handbags and for all you Austen-ite those flowers and herbs you're drying?

Here is a selecting of fun hooks I found on Etsy- the best place for handmade and one of a kind items... then again I am rather partial having a few stores there myself!

This gem is from the Shabby Shak, and perfect for the beach house, boy's bedroom, or sun porch!

I love the humor of an antler hook! This set, from the door stop, is actually cast iron, not real antlers.

Though silverware as hooks are not a new idea, these are particularly well done! From jjevensen, this set comes if a variety of silverware patterns!

Honoring the artistry of the blacksmith, this hand forged hook from SemiosisForge is only $15!

As you can see, hooks can make a statement whether something is on them, or not! They can express a theme like lodge style with antler hooks, or nautical with the anchor hook, without being overt. Rooms are best when they are layered, like people. A cottage chic room, can also be a white room and a nautical room or a cottage chic girls lodge! The forks can be cottage chic kitchen, cottage chic folk art dining room. Or, they can add the whimsy to a formal room with out loosing the formality, since they are silver. Once you have the bog picture of a space with wall colors and furnishings, then you can look to specifically chosen details that relate to the big picture, but add a secondary and tertiaries layer, dare I say theme, to a space.

My computer's hotness level!

So, I have a hot computer. Yes, it's a real looker in brown plaid with a touch panel on the top of the keyboard to adjust the volume. But my computer's hotness was temperature related. (sigh)

See, isn't the volume slider cool!

I've been diligently typing, adjusting, grammar checking and looking for images for my final paper to complete my Master of Arts in Interior Design. All of this has caused my computer to break into a sweat! And frankly, I do not need hot air blowing on me in the summer. So how do I fix this problem on grad student funds! After quite a bit of Internet research, which contributed to the problem. I came up with two solutions, one was inspired by a techie pages on the web, and one from my problem solver-ness.

Here's the techie plan-

This is not my laptop, but it is similar.

1. First find a screwdriver small enough to fit the screws on the back of your computer.
2. Turn off the laptop and unplug it (safety first!)
3. Pop out the battery with the mystery slider on the bottom of the computer and remove all panels you can with out taking the actually back off (no need to be extreme, now.)
4. Place the little doors on the other side of the room so there is no chance of vacuuming the screws up.
5. Get your strongest vacuum, or your only vacuum. (Not the one for the computer, the one for the floors.)
6. Then, suck out all the open compartments, even if they look clean.
7. Next suck out the fan vent section- a lot... like until you are deafened from the vacuum noise.
8. Put all the little doors back on the laptop back and the battery back in place.
9. Plug in turn on and continue working. Be amazed at how quiet your computer fan is!

Step two- my problem solving plan!Because I do not use a computer desk, but a vintage desk, it is a bit high for laptop use. So, adding the special fan base to cool my laptop really made typing for a long period of time uncomfortable.
I needed the vent-ability of the cooling fan mat without the bulk.
Then it hit me.
Clothes pins!
Yes, clothes pins!


These are some of my clothespins on etsy!

I have placed two wooden clothes pins under the back of my computer to tilt it up. They allow air to flow underneath my computer without altering the height of the keyboard... much.







Please know that I am not a computer person. And this is only my experience with my computer. Use my advise at your our risk. By keeping your laptop clean and cool you will extend the life of it and in the long run prevent excess electrical appliances out of landfills. Always recycle computers when the time comes!

Work room re-do

I have been working on reworking my work space... which is a lot of work! Once you realize that you use the dining room a hand full of times a year for dining, but daily as a work space, you know it is time to quite dancing around all those chairs and get some storage in there! Here are a few inspiring work spaces for you!

I would love to go to work in a space like this one to the left that I found on pinterest! Organized, pretty, vintage-y, and with a large window.  I need a window in every space I work in because I need the view, I like the air flow and I think hearing the birds twitter calms the mind!














Fantastic sewing/crafting room. Black white and some color!

What makes this space work is the amount of white, which allows the eyes to rest from the pattern and color. Another great part about this space is the photographs of plants at eye level. Attention restoration theory teaches us that allowing a view of nature, even it is a photograph can rewire the brain to refocus on the task at hand faster then looking at something not from nature. This fabulous image came from the blog HouseofTurquoise.com.

Smart use of space with many recycled items!

Organization is the key to keeping your craft room as a space you will want to work in. Since I run my online business from a craft room, I have to remember to keep it neat, otherwise I will only go in to fulfill and order and stop designing new item! I like this space because it look like a building on a campgrounds. By reusing furniture pieces, you not only cut down on the cost of outfitting your space, you are doing a service to the environment by avoiding cheaply made "craft room" furniture and plastic products. Storing items in plastic is great for many reasons, buy using them judiciously and thoughtfully, is the best use of that resource.



The first yard bouquet

Every year I get excited about the first yard bouquet for my desk. Being in Alabama, it will usually include hydrangeas and gardenias. Though my hydrangeas bloom first, it seems it is never worthy enough to create a bouquet until you have something that is scented. Once the gardenias bloom, the bouquets are ON!

One of the thing I love about hydrangeas is the  bigger they grow and the deeper the roots spread in the soil, the more contact they have with minerals that can change their color. Each year you can have a variety of color and they can change from year to year. Adding soil amendments can change the color, but I like the surprise of finding out what I will be getting each year.
Growing flowers for cutting gardens are beneficial on many ways. They provide you with an opportunity of enhance or alter your indoor environment with the addition of color. Additionally, the flower provide food for bees, hummingbirds and if they make berries, food for birds in the winter. Cutting gardens are a win/win for the indoor and outdoor environment!


"Yard" bouquests in your work space, like this one on my desk, provides for a place
for you eyes to rest when thinking. Allowing your eyes to rest on something from
nature "resets" you brain faster than resting on something man-made!