Tag Archives: wall art

Decorate Your Bedroom Like a Pro

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Let’s face it – you spend half of your life sleeping, so the bedroom really is one of the most important spaces in your apartment. Creating a comfortable atmosphere in your bedroom is key, but it’s also an opportunity to make unique, highly personal style choices. If you don’t have a lot of space in your room and aren’t sure if you can fit in a massive headboard for your bed, never fear – you can still achieve maximum visual impact (without spending the $$$ associated with traditional headboards). Style and space can both be yours with these unique headboard ideas.

Tip 1 – Get crafty with a stenciled canvas or folding screen. Overstock.com has DIY folding screens that are quite inexpensive (in the $100 range). Paint a folding screen instead of a wall to go bold and bring color into the space with zero commitment (no need to give up your renter’s deposit!). Get creative with your own design, or create a bold, graphic pattern by using a pre-cut stencil. The result is a perfectly unique headboard that can move when you do. Or, pick up an inexpensive painter’s canvas from Michael’s and create your own instant artwork to hang over your bed in place of a headboard. All you’ll need is a yard of your favorite fabric and a staple gun. Both of these décor options are instantaneous and create a huge impact.

Tip 2 – Play with texture and pattern with framed wallpaper. I am a wallpaper fanatic, so I especially love this tip. If you are a commitment-phobe, you can apply wallpaper to a large-scale painter’s canvas, or just frame it like art. No muss, no fuss, and none of the headache of applying wallpaper throughout the entire room. You can even create large panels of wallpaper by using tall sheets of Masonite (roughly 8-by-4 foot sheets) as your base. This is also a great opportunity to splurge, without breaking the bank. Buy that gorgeous (but really expensive) wallpaper you love, because you only need one roll with this method! No huge financial investment here, meaning you’ll get to satisfy your champagne taste on a beer budget!

Tip 3 – Add DIY excitement with a reclaimed mantle. Mix up the purpose of items in a space to make décor exciting. An upcycled or recycled piece like a mantle has unexpected character when used as a headboard- it will bring your space to life and keep your décor interesting. You’ll also have the added benefit of reducing your footprint by using a recycled piece. You can find great, gently used pieces at your local thrift shops, antiques store or flea markets. Go one step further and line the mantle with tea lights or hang photos above to create depth and add layers of interest.

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Add Color to Your Space Without the Commitment of Painting

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You don’t have to paint your walls to add color to your space. A little DIY will go a long way.

Living in an apartment can mean limited décor options. Painting your walls in your favorite shade of green or blue may not always be ideal. In fact, it may go against your lease. And even if you did have the option of painting your walls, losing your deposit is something you would risk.  So, how do you add color to your space without going against your lease agreement? With a quick visit to your local crafts store and a little DIY, you can add color and personality to your apartment in no time with very little impact on your walls – and your wallet. If you’re not sure what color is best suited for your space, check out these tips on using the color wheel for inspiration.

Large Painting
If you have a large empty wall in your living room, consider creating your own piece of art. Have fun and mix and match the colors to go with your space. Next, measure the width of your wall to determine how big your piece of art should be. Then, head out to your local art store and purchase a canvas that will best fit the space, painters’ tape (you can determine how wide the lines should be), acrylic paint and a foam brush.

Create a geometric design on the canvas using the painters’ tape. This is where you can have fun – it doesn’t have to be perfect. Next, cover it with the paint. You can use different colors. Let it dry. Once the paint is dry, carefully remove the tape, and voila – your very own art piece.

Fabric Wrapped Canvas
Similar to the large painting, you can easily use an artist’s canvas to add color to your wall. Head out to your local crafts store and purchase a yard of a fabric that you love. Consider using a fabric that will add that pop of color, as well as one that will add texture to your space, like a textured silk. Wrap the fabric around the canvas – like a present – and use a staple gun to secure the fabric in place. This is great because all you need is one hole, which betters your chance of getting your deposit back in the end.

Scrapbook Paper Gallery Wall
Create your own at-home art gallery. This is an easy way to add a pop of color to your boring white walls, and it allows you the freedom of picking and choosing exactly what you want. An easy place to start is purchasing nine picture frames and your favorite colored spray paint. If you like the color of your frames, then you won’t need the spray paint. Check out the scrapbook paper aisle of your art store and purchase nine pieces of scrapbook paper. Frame each piece of paper in a frame, and then hang it up on your wall. Use a leveler and a tape measure to make sure the frames are straight and spaced correctly.

Framed Wallpaper
This is the same concept as the scrapbook paper gallery wall. Create panels by purchasing three long frames, and frame your choice of wallpaper. You can use the same wallpaper in all three frames, or you can use your creativity and find three different wallpapers. The three papers should have one element that incorporates them, like a similar color.

Folding Screens
Folding screens serve many purposes; they can divide an open space into different areas, and they can also be used to add color and texture to your space. Find a simple folding screen and use a stencil to paint a design onto the screen. This will allow you to add color to your room without the commitment of it being in a certain place. You can move the screen to a corner or place it behind the couch.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/adventtr

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11 Ways to Make Your Small Apartment Seem Bigger

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Small apartment kitchen

Make the most out of your small space with smart storage and decor solutions.

Whether you’re moving to a small apartment or home for budgetary reasons or just because this place is in a great neighborhood, don’t let the four walls close in on you. Brighten and widen up your small space by following the clever design tips below.

Paint the walls a light color on all four walls. Don’t even think about painting a contrasting-colored wall – it will just make the room look smaller. White is best, but light blue, green and cream with a lighter-colored trim will also brighten up the room and make the wall appear farther back.

Purchase coffee and end tables with skinny legs and glass tops. The more space you see – and the less bulky living room items are – create the illusion of space. Glass-topped tables allow more light to flow through the room.

Have bed linens in a similar (light) color as the walls. Use contrasting pillows or a throw at the end of the bed.

Put an area rug down that’s smaller than the perimeter of the furniture. Let the sofa hang off the back of the area rug, which will act as an island and focal point for your furniture.

Make sure furniture is lightweight and as short as possible. Since your space is small, you may need to hide pieces to fit more than four people in your living room. Make sure you can move it easily. If furniture is short, your ceilings appear taller.

Keep wall art minimal and mostly light-colored. Find pieces that hang horizontally instead of vertically, and go for one large piece instead of lots of small ones. Find them in a color that’s similar – if not matching – to the wall color so the art looks like it’s “floating.”

Choose armless furniture, ideally the same color as the walls. The added bulk of sofas and chairs with arms hasten the flow of a living room or dining room, and if at least some of your furniture is the same color of the walls, the room will appear wider.

Hang curtains from the ceiling instead of right above the window. This will make your ceilings in your home seem taller.

Go crazy with mirrors. The benefit of mirrors is two-fold: First, they reflect light, which brightens rooms. Second, they give the illusion that the room is doubled. Choose large, vertically hung mirrors with thin or no frames.

In the kitchen, utilize wall and above-cabinet space. Mount magnetic strips on the wall to hang knives, and hang a thin line of hooks close to the ceiling to hang pots and pans. Store seldom-used items on top of your cabinets and refrigerator to get them off the counters.

Clear out clutter. Nothing makes a space seem cramped like piles of laundry, stacks of magazines and too many knick-knacks. Adopt a minimalist décor style to make the most of your space, and give away unused goods as often as possible.

Photo Credit: iStockphoto/Shershel

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