4 Tips for Furnishing Your First Home
Congratulations if you’ve just bought your first home, or if you’re moving out for the first time! Now here comes the fun part; thinking about furniture. This is your chance to make your brand new space your own. You’ll most likely have a small budget at the moment so here are some top ideas to get the most bang out of your buck. Invest In Your Bed Your bed is one of the most important pieces of furniture you’ll own, you’re practically spend a third of your life sleeping in it. Never simply settle for the cheapest pick in the store or waste money on a used mattress. You’ll simply wind up shopping for another when it falls apart after a relatively short amount of time. The mattress is the most important thing here so skip on the frame if your budget doesn’t allow it. If you can’t afford a good quality bed right off the bat, consider sleeping on an air mattress for a few months while you save some money toward a better investment. It’s worth it in the long run! Prioritise Your Sofa After your bed, your sofa is going to represent not only your biggest investment in your new home’s furnishings, but also the most important one. Make sure that the couch you choose is well-made and capable of standing the test of time. Choose durable, wear-resistant upholstery and definitely make sure it’s comfortable. There’s a million different things to consider when choosing a sofa but focus on comfort, construction and style. You’ll be using your sofa to entertain and to relax so make sure it’s made well. Scope Out Bargains on Storage Wardrobes, dressers, and chests of drawers are excellent and affordable ways to not only fill space and add to the look of your new place, but to expand storage as well. IKEA offers some great affordable storage options that will last you until you need something a little more permanent. Don’t Forget the Lighting While it’s true that most homes have built-in lighting options, it’s not uncommon for these to be too bright or harsh for everyday use. For this reason, it’s always a good idea to invest in some lamps to place throughout your new home. Watch the sales and specials at your favourite furniture outlets for chances to score some great finds. It’s also more than possible to find some terrific, affordable lighting options online or even at garage sales. Focus on the most important furniture items first – your bed and sofa and don’t skimp out on these pieces. You’ll be spending most of your time in bed or on...
Small Apartment – Big Design Statement
What’s the biggest impulse purchase you have ever made? A TV, a car? New York shopping expert and owner of Fab – online retail store, Bradford Shellhammer has surpassed even his own biggest expectations by purchasing an entire apartment on a whim. Having honed his eye to instantly recognise objects of value, he is rightfully considered a true shopping guru but buying a property just like that? Does this border with madness? “We walked in and I had this very emotional reaction. I felt something.” explains Shellhammer So he submitted a bid for the small New York apartment. Surprisingly, it got accepted and Bradford and his husband acquired the property. However, this impulse purchase of a small apartment turned out to be one of the best investments the couple has made. Since the property was recently renovated by the previous owners, Shellhammer got to just swoop in and start decorating. Do the “fun stuff” as the shopping expert said. By the looks of it, the couple had a great time picking out wall colours, the art and home accessories. While the apartment is obviously small and the guys have quite a lot of belongings on display, everything just fits in. From the grocery shopping bags to the drag-queen portraits by Andy Warhol each single object manifests its own character. What’s So Unusual About This Small Apartment Decoration? It’s simple, unlike most small living spaces this one is decorated in bold dark tones. The myth that tiny areas should be painted in whites and neutrals has been debunked. The living room walls are in Pigeon Gray by Benjamin Moore whereas the predominant cool yet vibrant colours on the furniture jazz up the room décor. The word moderation certainly doesn’t describe Shellhammer’s personality as there is barely a free undecorated inch in the entire space. Still, it looks just fabulous! The small bathroom, the bedroom and the dining area are just as extraordinary as the living space. With intricate portraits and objets d’art, geometrical elements and lots of open shelving, every room in the dazzling apartment has its unique surprise element. Compared to the rest of the appartment, the bedroom seems rather modestly decorated but the mood certainly resonates with the design scheme of the property. ...
10 Tips For Buying Art Prints
Museum-grade digital art prints are a classy way to buy art on a budget. Master digital printmaker and founder of Printism.com.au, Roger Saddington, offers his top tips for using art prints in your home. 1. Put the cart before the horse If possible, wait until you’ve bought your art before painting the walls. It’s much easier to paint the wall later than to find the perfect art piece in exactly the right colour. 2. Don’t worry about who the artist is The world is brimming with truly excellent artists who simply can’t be accommodated in the overcrowded upper echelons of the art world. Unless you’ve got huge amounts of money to spend on a ‘name’, concentrate on the ‘great unknowns’ that catch your eye. 3. Buy for love Buying art for investment is a risky, long-term enterprise, with no guarantees. Concentrate on affordable art that will give you pleasure over the next decade and save your real money for blue-chip shares, a much safer investment. 4. Meaningful looks Search for art with authentic detail or a meaningful subject. These are far more important than the colour palate. The symbolism or intricacy of a carefully made work will give you years of pleasure long after the joy of matching your existing curtain colour has faded. 5. Develop a theory If you buy a beautiful print, your family and friends are sure to comment. Think about what attracted you to this image. Perhaps the subject has personal meaning or the light reminds you of a favourite place. What do you think the artist was trying to achieve? Put your thoughts forward in conversation to really get people talking about and admiring your art (and your taste). 6. Size does matter Don’t try to fill a big wall with two, three or four smaller pieces. If you have a large wall in your home, rejoice in the opportunity to make a stunning statement. High quality ‘large format’ print material is now coming onto the market at prices that were unthinkable ten years ago. The right subject, presented at the proper scale, can make you whole home sing. 7. Look for painterly art Clichéd photographs of international tourist destinations are multiplying like rabbits within the department stores of the world. Look for prints with an effect you’ve not seen before. Images that feature a ‘hand-made’ technique will age much better than straight photography. 8. Beware of wallpaper art Likewise, the production line art studios of China have spawned a plethora of ‘oil on canvas’ paintings often found in suburban framing galleries and market stalls. Many of these are simply patches of colour with...
Graffiti for Your Home
What do you imagine when you hear the word graffiti? Even though street art has become an acknowledged type of art. Most people still associate it with vandalism. One artist has taken it upon him to ‘take the grit out of graffiti art’. Having built himself a reputation of a world-renowned artist with displays in Berlin, LA, Costa Rica and his hometown Toronto, Nicholas Sinclair aka Dudeman stuns with his artistic use of colour and shapes. Ever since his first art show “Colour Therapy” he has made the bold use of vivid shades and hues his trademark. He took ordinary pieces of furniture only to re-design them into fabulous graffiti-covered masterpieces. Vintage cupboards and dressers shine in the most amazing vibrant colours making even the dullest of settings intriguing. With unrivalled skills and an eye for detail Dudeman combines shades and hues, lines and dots to captivate the observer’s eye. Home-owners with a taste for urban design and funky style will truly appreciate the intricate and dazzling pieces of art. With their slight hippie-chic look and bold statement, these items are perfect for kids, teenagers, college students and artistic adults alike. Don’t know about you but I certainly would love to add one of these unique pieces of furniture in my...
DIY Apartment Decoration
You keep reading that how you decorate your apartment will tell any visitor more about you and your character than anything else. However, it is very difficult to cope with the sky-rocketing property prices (even for rentals they have reached new heights) and create your dream décor. This is where I get to swoop in and rescue you from the grim thoughts. With some imagination or Internet access to sites like Etsy. Pinterest and Hometalk, you can “come up” with great ideas for DIY apartment decorations. After all, even interior designers swear DIY is all the rage right now. Eccentric Wine Glasses Home Wet Bar offers these amazing redneck wine glasses for only $12,95 a piece. I know this isn’t the first budget-friendly suggestion you might have expected. However, with a couple of mason jars and glass candlestick holders, you can DIY your way to the most amazing wine set ever. Just don’t forget that you need strong waterproof adhesive to glue the jar to the candlestick. Tea Light Décor Tea lights are a perfect decoration. They are inexpensive and you can buy them in bulk. Naturally, on their own they don’t look like much but when combined with an intricate candle holder, they turn into fascinating accessories. You can make a lovely centrepiece and scent the air in your apartment if you combine tea lights with raw coffee beans. Pick out your favourite bowl and fill it with the beans. Then simply place the candle in the middle and voilà, you have a wonderful decoration. Even better, when you light the tea lights, their warmth will enhance the lovely smell of coffee. Mail Organiser If you have room-mates or a big family, you must be familiar with the lost mail paradigm. In case you want to put an end to the problem for once and for all, you can get a bit creative. All you need are some sandpaper, paint and an old window shutter. Not only will you put an end to the problem with mail getting lost but you will also get an amazing accessory for your hallway. The best thing about these inexpensive DIY apartment decorations are that you don’t need to hang on to them should your lease end. When you conduct vacate cleaning of your Melbourne rental, you can always throw them away. Since you have invested close to nothing in making them, you can afford to leave them behind, donate them or even toss them in the bin. For your next apartment or even a house, you can come up with even better ideas how to make the rental a cosy...
Decorating Myths – Let’s Bust Them
Just like fashion, interior design constantly changes, evolves (if you like the expression better). If you want to stay in stride with the latest trends, you have to be ready to experiment. In the vast world of home décor, there are two main lines of thoughts when it comes to the rules of decorating: 1. Every rule was only created to be broken by a brilliant stylist! 2. There are no rules! The only limits are those of your imagination and creativity! Even by just writing this, I feel inspired already! However, there are some myths which have been repeated so many times, they have become fundamental guides, imprinted in our subconsciousness. Rules we wouldn’t dare to break… or would we? Well, let’s bust some of these decorating myths that keep us from arranging the most astonishing displays we are capable of: 1. Patterns and Prints Shouldn’t be Mixed Said who? What better way to add colour than to boldly mix stripes with plaids, florals or checks. As long as you don’t go wild with the colours, you can arrange a harmonious display featuring all of the above. The prints, textures and patterns can be combined in numerous ways as long as you stick to one colour scheme. Depending on the style you are looking for, you can have monochromatic, analogous, complimentary, split complimentary and etc. scemes. If you want to learn more about them, check out the great post at Let’s Clean Up. 2. One Style Per Room That is if you haven’t set it in your mind that your entire dwelling should be decorated only in one specific style. To show you how ridiculous this “rule” is, let me ask you something – open your closet and answer this question: Are all of your clothes in one style only? Nope, you have chosen them to complement your personal fashion taste but you still have sports wear, business suits and etc. The same applies to your home, you can’t make it one-dimensional – you are not that either! Imagine you live in a trendy contemporary apartment in the hottest neighbourhood in town, yet you have a passion for antiques. Would you give up your collection just because it “doesn’t fit in”? Nope, you would blend the styles, make room for both and end up with a flat that reflects your personality and fashion sense. 3. Dining Room Furniture & Upholstery Must Match From the dawn of times… OK, ever since I was little, my mum used to buy everything in sets. Whenever something broke, it was a disaster as the set became incomplete. Nowadays, we live in an era...
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