Where do you find interior design color inspiration? Finding color inspiration is really as simple as opening your eyes and taking a look around! Color is everywhere, all the time. We eat it, drink it, watch it and wear it. You don’t need to go anywhere to find color inspiration, just open your closet door, look under your feet, or glance out the kitchen window. We are completely surrounded by a multitude of inspiring color palettes. [Read more →]

Don’t get stuck in a ceramic tile or porcelain tile kitchen backsplash rut! We did a little virtual shopping and came up with some other backsplash material options. Just as material options vary greatly, so do their prices. We’ve tried to focus our attention on options that are budget-friendly and stylish - not to mention easy for the do-it-yourselfer to install herself/himself. For each material example discussed, we have included a source, material size information and basic pricing.

A quick look at these kitchen backsplash pictures just might have you heading in a new design direction. [Read more →]

Looking for an inexpensive stainless steel kitchen backsplash? A stainless steel backsplash can be an expensive option. We looked at various options for stainless steel backsplashes and found that the prices for the stainless steel alone can be very cost prohibitive $170.00 to $330.00 for one 30″ x 24″ panel at one source. If you’re not feeling terribly confident about working with stainless steel yourself, add onto that the cost of having it professionally fitted and installed and you could be looking at hundreds of dollars. As the expenses add up a stainless steel kitchen backsplash doesn’t equate to a very budget-friendly backsplash option. And then we visited Ikea. [Read more →]

Don’t think you can afford a new kitchen backsplash? Think again! A faux tile backsplash is by far the least expensive backsplash option and quite simply the easiest to create. With just a few tools you’ll be well on your way.

[Read more →]

How To Design A Contemporary Home Office

A contemporary area rug not only adds soft comfort underfoot, but it can also provide inspiration for a color scheme. Such is the case in this home office design storyboard. The calming shades of blue and green, perfect for a home office, are pulled from the area rug and repeated in the paint samples and decorative accessories.

To make this design work for a small space, a console table functions as a desk. With its spare design and clean lines it takes up very little physical or visual space. [Read more →]

Any teen would appreciate a bedroom that included these elements of design.

Metal storage cabinets provide a creative and unique clothes storage solution. The wood finish of the clean-lined, contemporary twin bed frame is repeated with the use of the wood storage boxes as a decorative and functional accessory. The bold red of the metal storage cabinets is continued in the fabric samples. This red cotton fabric would be ideal for use as drapery fabric (with lining) or to make covers for throw pillows. The surfboard themed area rug introduces green, yellow and blue to the color palette while still continuing the red. Light can be directed where it is needed with the adjustable wall spotlight.

Product Details, Prices & Sources Are Listed Below The Storyboard [Read more →]

Coming up with an interior design plan is almost as much fun as seeing your dream project come to fruition. One tool commonly used by interior designers to show clients how a room design will come together is a storyboard / mood board. This design tool is not reserved for use by professional interior designers alone, you can step into the designer’s shoes and create your own design storyboard. [Read more →]

If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It

Words to live by in certain circumstances, but on the other hand, if you can make it even better, by all means, what are you waiting for? That’s how I felt about the built-in cabinet in my small bathroom. The cabinet was installed a little over a year ago. All I had to do at the time was prime and paint the doors and add hardware (knobs / pulls).

Now, one year later, I’ve had plenty of time to assess how this built-in bathroom cabinet works for my needs. It makes a great storage place for bath towels and extra rolls of toilet paper, provides space for displaying attractive bathroom accessories, and the bottom of the cabinet is a laundry chute that goes straight down to the laundry room which is a definite plus. All well and good, but I decided it needed to do more. In small bathroom design, you need to get the absolute maximum use out of every available inch of space. To maximize the use of this built-in cabinet it needed to offer even more functionality. This is what I did to turn a simple bathroom cabinet into a multi-tasking feature even more worthy of the space it occupies in my small bathroom. [Read more →]

When life hands you an ugly interior slab door, turn it into something functional with blackboard paint / chalkboard paint.

The slab doors most often found in houses throughout Canada and the US are hollow-core with a thin mahogany wood outer layer. There’s just one thing I can say about interior mahogany slab doors - YUCK! Generally, the only thing in a home’s interior that a mahogany slab door matches is the other mahogany doors in the house. They are cheap, unattractive, and unfortunately a standard feature in many homes. I guess that’s saying more than one thing, isn’t it? Oh well, point made.

If you’ve been blessed with these boring slab doors and have been looking for an inexpensive fix up, look no further, your solution is here. With a minimal cash investment, a little elbow grease and a bit of blackboard paint / chalkboard paint, you can turn an ugly interior slab door into a useful blackboard. This is an easy DIY project. [Read more →]

Just like any other trend, today’s hot decor colors could be passé by tomorrow. Well, maybe not that quickly, but because trends do come and go it’s important to put serious thought towards how and where you introduce them in your home interior design.

Here are some tips and suggestions on how and where to use trendy color in your home: [Read more →]