How to hang your Frames / Gallery Wall

Hanging frames may seem easy and simple, but there is a basic rule to follow to make the layout easy on the eyes.

One simple rule:

- AXIS. This will create order and harmony on your arrangement. This invisible line can be positioned in many ways.

 

Horizontal and in the middle.

 

On the bottom.

 

On the staircase you should have the same height each step upwards.

 

And for more symmetry, follow borders of the furniture below. In this case, the bed frame.

via Budgetwise Home

 

Many lines, but always following them and using them as a guide.

 

Here are some examples of layouts that may be helpful…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via Brenda Knight Photography

 

via Pinterest

 

Hope you enjoyed this tip and that it will be helpful! 

 

Extra tip:

Stick pieces of paper on the wall before making holes on it! What I did with my room (because I didn’t know about this trick) was make the layout on the floor, took a picture and then marked where the holes for the nails would go. It wasn’t so easy. I wish I had known about this before!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via Pinterest

For daily updates and a bit more of my daily life like me on Facebook!

Or you can follow me on Twitter @evesotomayor

 

*EVEDEKO ON FACEBOOK*

Decorating Your Bedroom on a Budget

Would you like to give your room a make-over but don’t have enough money? That was my case when I re-designed my bedroom. I wasn’t happy with how it looked like and didn’t feel like it was my “sanctuary”. You all know that your bedroom is the most important place at home… its where you start and end your day, and a place to recharge energy. So being comfortable in it is important! Remember to have in mind the BEDROOM BASICS!

All you’ll need is a bit of creativity, dedication, time and of course money… hopefully a small amount ;)

BED

You don’t really need to buy a new one to re-vamp your room. You may just use your imagination and have a DIY headboard and change your bedcovers. I like to focus a lot on the wall behind the bed, make it work as a frame (your bed will be the picture). In my case, I filled that wall with different picture frames.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WALLS

If you have a small room, the walls will be the place with more area to decorate. Here, you can use wallpapers, picture frames, mirrors and wall stickers, this will give a nice look to it. Try using contrasting colors. It will give life and dimension to the room. And, as I said, wall stickers can make a change without having to change the wall color.

 

FURNITURE

Rearrange it. You’ll see the huge difference it will make. It’s a great way to give a fresh and new look. The best thing: It’s FREE! ;)

 

PILLOWS & RUGS

Have many. It will give a cozier look and, as I mentioned in an older post, it’s a great and less-expensive way to splurge on designer items. Placing rugs on the floor will also help revamping the new look.

What do you think about it? I’d love to read your comments :)

*LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK*

Bedroom Organizing BASICS

The bedroom is where you start and end your day. Therefore, it should be a place free of stress and kind of a sanctuary :)

KEEP & GIVE:

Go through every drawer, shelf and box under your bed and choose what do you really want to keep and what you don’t really use anymore. You will be impressed with all the stuff you don’t really need. And, if you are like my husband and want to keep EVERYTHING (even a small stone he found as a kid), put the stuff away into boxes).

BED:

Use the areas below and behind to store things too. Maximize the space by placing plastic containers on wheels. If you don’t have a headboard yet, buy or build one with out-of-sight storage incorporated. Another idea for linen storage (if you don’t have one) is folding a set of clean sheets and putting them between your mattress and spring box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NIGHT TABLES:

Buy a table with at least ONE drawer and a bottom shelve. Personally, I think three-drawer tables are the best, you can have all of your things out-of-sight. You can even use one of them as a linen storage or room for extra clothes.

Keep the top clean and cutter-free. Have wall mounted lights.

DRESSER:

Great option for clothes storage besides the closet. It will also work as a decorative furniture in your room. But, remember to keep the top clutter-free.

Keep in shallow drawers your socks, tights and lingerie. As for ties, try to have them on a tie rack. Unless you don’t have space.

For deep drawers, use dividers to separate clothing and, in my case, accessories. I keep my jewelery/accessories IN the drawer on small black dividers I bought at IKEA. I have them organized and stored away :) But also, if you have space on top of your dresser, a large jewelery box will work fine as decoration.

My husband tends to put his watch and bunch of coins on top of the dresser. To reduce clutter, but a gentelmen’s valet tray. I MUST BUY ONE! It will also avoind scratches on the surface ;)

 

Foyer / Przedpokój

First impressions, in my opinion, are the most important. It usually gives a glimpse about the person but not exactly telling all about them (never judge a book from its cover!). So, this being said, the same thing happens with your home/apartment. Your foyer (przedpokój) will be like the handshake and first impression of your home. So how you design it will set its personality and will give your guest a preview and what to expect of the rest! :)

Hope you all have an amazing day!

These are elements that are a MUST in my book:

1)       A chair. Or a bench. The size will depend on the space available. This will provide a place where your guest will be able to sit and take off or put on their shoes (in Poland its very typical, it avoids floor scratches and exterior dirt). It can also work as a place for ladies to put their purse down while putting on their coat, for example.

2)      A table. You might put some fresh or fake flowers. Also a tray for keys, mail, frames, phones or garage door remote. Who knows? Whatever you need.

3)      A lamp. Put it on a timer. Wouldn’t it be nice to come back home and have it lit specially for you? The light will also create a cozy scene for your guest.

4)      A mirror. Again, this will depend on your available area. First of all, it might make the place look bigger. Also, for sure it will come in handy to take a look at yourself once you open the door to your guests or before heading out. Your guest will thank you too, it will let them have a look at their outfit after taking off their coat and before leaving your home.

david jimenez

 

 thane studios

zen foyer decorpad.com

What do you think?

Bedroom BASICS

Dzień dobry!!! I'm feeling much better today :) I wasn't really feeling THAT bad.. but still.. its good! Here are some basic tips when decorating your bedroom. Hope they will be helpful! Have a great Monday! Although I'm sure most of you are like me: Nie Lubię Poniedziałku (it was on tv last night! but I didn't watch it.. is it good?)

decorpad.com

Here are some basic tips:

1)    The lightning. It should be soft. Remember that this is your intimate space, where you come to relax and recharge your energy, so the lightning here should create a restful and intimate atmosphere. Create a mood with candles.. this will also give a more romantic glow. Besides you normal lightning, always have two table lamps.. one on each side of the bed. Maybe have them ON the wall so you they don’t occupy space from the nightstand, therefore it will look more organized. You might want to add some fabric shades to diffuse the hardness of the light. In my case, my table lamps are made of frosted glass (you know... those blurry ones).

2)    Storage. Try to create storage everywhere. Under the bed, behind it, over the closet.. maybe even under a table (they sell those cute baskets everywhere.. the point is that you must hide your stuff). All your things must be tucked away. A nicely organized bedroom will contribute to the ambience of it.

I will definitely have a post dedicated exclusively to organizing the bedroom.

3)    Your bed. This is for sure the dominant piece of furniture in the room. In my opinion, the material doesn’t really matter. You can have a cheap bed (if you can invest on an expensive one.. great! But not everyone can... luckily my hubby had a great bed before I came :P ), but the trick is to make it look nice and attractive because this will add charm to the room. Well, and of course.. it MUST be comfortable (remember you recharge your energy here). An

4)    Pillows. Treat you bed by splurging on pillows, they add coziness to it, they add support when sitting and even work as an arm rest. Actually… I don’t use many pillows.. and I can even sleep without one, but I have like 4 on my bed (I would have more, but my tilted ceiling makes it impossible and uncomfortable to have them). As I said, they will add coziness and softness and they’re an excellent way to use expensive fabrics in small amounts ;)

5)    Bed linen. Splurge on them. It makes a HUGE difference when sleeping. Come on! They’re next to your skin! You will sleep much better… trust me. Avoid synthetic fabrics. Try to buy pure cotton, linen, wool or silk (although silk doesn’t let you breathe too much). Also, if you’re the type of person that likes how the bedcover goes down to the floor.. try not to have it. It will help circulate the air under the bed when having it raised well about the floor.

6)    Flowers? I don’t know if its only me, but Im not that much into flowers (unless hubby buys them for me :P ). But I have the impression, that here in Poland, women go crazy over them.. In this case, add flowers and plants to the room. They will help balance the flow of energy. Tip: for a more romantic mood, have round leaf plants. 

7)   Color psychology! Don't ignore it! I will explain more about this in the future :)

 atmosphere interior design

 caldwell flake

lindsey coral harper

sally wheat

Tricks and Tips for HIGHER CEILINGS

Have you realized that in old buildings or houses the ceilings where higher? Here in poznan’s city center, old buildings apartments are bigger and have beautiful high ceilings! I’d love to live there. But lets face it. Im already married.. soon will have kids, and I would like them to have a place where to go out and play and stuff like that, and new developers aren’t making that kind of buildings anymore. Of course they’re nice and modern, but roofs are lower.

So, how to make them seem higher?

Here are some tips:

1)      Always keep the ceiling color lighter than the walls. You might be thinking: duh.. of course. But hey, some people don’t know this and some like having crazy colored ones. This will draw you eye upward. You can also paint the first 5-10cm of the ceiling, the same color as the walls and it will give the illusion of them being taller.

Another tip is to use a glossy paint (or semi-glossy), this will reflect light and make it seem higher. (I’m not really a fan of it, but it’s a tip).

2)      Dark floor with a light ceiling will also make the room look higher.

3)      Don’t hang anything from the ceiling. A chandelier will only draw attention to the ceiling and make it seem even lower. No ceiling fans, moldings or overhead lighting either.

4)      Hang your curtains from floor to ceiling, it will look soooo nice and wont break up your wall.

5)      Avoid chair rails and other horizontal stuff. This will make them feel lower because it will be breaking up the wall. Its like in fashion: using a belt will not make you look taller or ligher. But ok.. IF YOU WANT IT, usually its supposed to be located about 1/3 up the wall.. but put it lower, this will trick the eye.

6)      Avoid thick basebords (that piece of wook that boarders the whole room at the very bottom).

7)      Use vertical patterns. Vertical sripes. This will help draw the eye upward.

8)      Hang paintings and picture frames up high. It will help if they are  vertical ones or with some strong vertical lines in them.

9)      Wall lightning instead or overhead ones.

10)    Mirrors. It will reflect natural and artificial light, whick will brighten up the room.

Was this helpful? :)

Amazing how something so simple can change a room, huh???

vertical elements

floor to ceiling curtains (I love this way of hanging them)

squared frames (above) vs vertical ones (below).

see the difference???

 decorpad.com

Living room BASICS

Probably this is the most occupied room from the house/apartment. It’s where you will receive your guests, chill out, watch tv maybe? Have a cup of coffee with your loved one, maybe even work. This means that planning a good layout and nice atmosphere is vital! Remember that “We shape our homes and then our homes shape us.” – Winston Churchill.

So.. going back to the design talk..  this is what you should do:

First, think about the function of your living room.  If it will work as an entertainment area you’ll need a good seating arrangement, a place for the tv and some storage for other electronics (also DVDs, CDs, etc). Maybe you want to also use it as a work area? there are many furniture designs that will allow you to incorporate a hidden desk area for example.  

Then you must recognize your room shape. Is it a long and narrow room? Yes? So why not divide it into two areas? When I used to live in Lima, my sis and I lived in an apartment which had a narrow living room.. we divided it, made a living room next to the balcony, and of course, a place to eat (dining room) next to the kitchen.. Maybe, your room has an “L” shape.. so why not take the shorter part and make it an office/studio and have the longer one your social area. Take this tip: grab a squared paper and draw the room shape and play around with layouts until you find yours.

Furniture. Spend some time moving it around (but be careful with your floors... you don’t want to scratch them) until you find the best arrangement for whatever you need. Sometimes the least obvious layout works better ;)

Do you also think this is the hardest place at home to design?

www.decorpad.com McGill Design Group Max & Co. Belmont Design Group