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How to decorate your rental

The Problem: Your Walls Are a Lively Shade of Blah

If you dream in paint chips and color wheels, but you're stuck with white or beige painted walls, you can incorporate color or pattern by painting the back of a bookshelf or a hutch—the taller, the better. Roll the color directly onto the furniture or use cardboard panels and paint or wrap them in fabric to insert in the back of the shelves. The upside of using cardboard is that it's temporary, so you can remove the inserts or create new ones to fit a different color scheme if, say, you don't renew the lease.

The Problem: Your Bedroom Has Boring Wall-to-Wall Carpeting

Dealing with unappealing carpeting can be difficult in a rental since the only foolproof solution is to get permission from your landlord to tear it up. Kyle Schuneman, the author of The First Apartment Book and writer of the Los Angeles Times column Apartment Life, suggests laying an area rug on top. You might be wary of this—think of the tripping potential—but the trick, Schuneman says, is "to make sure not to get [an area rug with] too thick of a pile because a chunky rug on carpeting can look really awkward." He suggests a reversible cotton rug or an indoor/outdoor rug, since they both have low piles. If there's a stain you want to cover, he suggests a cowhide because it's thin and has an organic shape that works with many décor styles.

The Problem: Your Bathroom Tile Is Not Your Cup of Tea

If you cannot stand your pastel green and pink tile, try Mibo Tile Tattoos. These temporary, moisture-resistant decals go on with water and hide the unattractive tile underneath. Plus, they come in over 60 different colors and patterns, so you can create that vintage-inspired or minimalist all-white bathroom you've always dreamed of.

The Problem: Your Living Room Echo-Echo-Echoes

While your 1890s apartment has beautiful hardwood floors and high ceilings, the echoes they create make your living space sound like the Grand Canyon. If a rug hasn't dampened the noise enough, try installing Schuneman's suggestion in The First Apartment Book for functional works of art: fabric-covered, padded panels. Once hung, they will absorb the reverb and look as pretty as an Ellsworth Kelly painting. To make the panels, cut fabric of your choice to fit a 36-by-48-inch foam-core board, leaving an extra 2-inch border. Next, cut a roll of batting to fit the board, leaving an extra 1-inch around the edges. Place the batting on top of the board, fold the extra batting over the edge and duct tape it down. Lay the board on the fabric square (batting side down) and wrap your fabric over, one side at a time, and duct tape the extra material to the back. Then simply hang the panels up with Sticky Back Velcro tape and firmly press the board to the wall.

The Problem: Your Walls Cannot Be Touched by a Hammer

If your heart's set on creating a photo gallery above your sofa, but your landlord's set on having absolutely nothing dinging/chipping/nailed into his walls, try Washi tape—the no-nails-required alternative to frames. Maxwell Tielman on Design*Sponge used different-colored tape in unique shapes to add dimension to a blank, flat wall. The Japanese masking tape is ideal for this project because it comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns and is extremely renter-friendly. Not only can it be moved around without losing its stickiness, it leaves absolutely no marks, unlike other adhesives that may tear off paint or leave residue.

The Problem: Your Ceiling Light Fixtures Are Stuck in the '80s

Changing light fixtures is one of the easiest ways to change up your space, but if you're nervous about messing with the electrical wiring—especially if it's an old home—Isabelle LaRue of Engineer Your Space shows how to create a quick (and inexpensive) drum shade. All it takes is embroidery hoops, poster board and wallpaper. Follow her step-by-step guide and you'll wind up with a custom shade for not a lot of cash.

Source: Pamela Masin

Cheap home makeovers

The Living Room

Try painting a piece of furniture in a bright color, suggests Atlanta-based interior designer Suzanne Kasler, author of Suzanne Kasler: Timeless Style. (She once lacquered a desk orange.) If you've got a mirror, hang it opposite a window. "Mirrors reflect light and make a space feel larger," Kasler says. "So when you place one across from a source of natural light, it adds even more impact—and sparkle." Finally, if you want to make the room look blessed with high ceilings, just reposition your curtain rods. "Hang them flush with the ceiling," Kasler says. "You'll cover that blank wall space above the window and create a tall, beautiful vertical line." 

The Kitchen

Your countertop has probably become a catchall for mail, rubber bands, and that rice cooker you use twice a year; start by clearing it off, save for the appliances you need every day. Now you have space to create a focal point. Kasler favors a cluster of three objects: "I love a cake plate, a vase of flowers, and a glass bowl," she says. Whatever you choose, the number is what's important. "Odd-numbered groupings look more appealing," Kasler says. 

The Bedroom

Use empty frames to display a gallery of memorabilia. "I call it the random collection," says Kasler. "In my daughter's apartment, we framed and hung pieces of art she bought on the streets of New York, old postcards, and a gorgeous vintage map. And in my own home, I framed invitations from Paris fashion shows I attended and hung them up." Aim for a mix of pieces; you can also include prints or photographs. "When something is totally unique to your taste," says Kasler, "it makes you so much happier than an impersonal work of art ever could—and it's a lot less expensive to put together." 

Source: Emma Haak

How to decorate like the chicest hotels

Focus on the Finishes

New to the market are modern, sculptural bathtubs that complement contemporary spaces as well as retro-inspired silhouettes that work with classic rooms. The range of materials and finishes is staggering: stone, wood, marble, copper, bright paint. 

Roman & Williams revamped the nineteenth-century Pearl Brewery to create the Hotel Emma in San Antonio, Texas. The combination of claw foot tubs, brass fixtures, fig trees, and blue and white tile is simple and elegant.

Put a Fresh Twist on Tile

White subway tile is a default choice for bathrooms because everyone assumes it's easy and inexpensive. Boutique hotels offer some interesting alternatives, and most won't actually cost more—all that's needed is to think creatively. In the Hotel Bachaumont in Paris, designer Dorothée Meilichzon cleverly used sheets of penny tiles, usually relegated to floors, on walls. The inexpensive tile sheets look chic when trimmed with a gold border and coordinating paint on the walls.

Add a Graphic Design Statement

Many bathrooms are often smallish spaces, so it really only takes one bold design statement to make an impact. It also sounds counterintuitive, but a small room allows you to get away with using a really strong pattern in a way that would overwhelm a larger space. A simple way to add pattern to a bathroom is to turn to wallpaper—nothing dictates mood quite as well. Florals can bring in an English country house demeanor while an explosion of graphic patterns can add edginess. At the Tides Beach Club in Kennebunkport, Maine, designer Jonathan Adler covered the bathroom walls in a metallic graphic print of blue and silver. Matching a playful wallpaper with a classic sink design makes the space look fresh.

Update Your Basic Whites

White is the safe, obvious and timeless choice for bathrooms. But how do you keep an all-white bathroom from feeling unoriginal? A cement tile floor with a mosaic pattern and a coordinating sage-green tub and cabinet add muted color and pattern to a bathroom with white tile and walls at the Vidago Palace in Portugal.

Choose Elements with Drama

It can be hard to define exactly what makes a space look masculine. The obvious criteria are an absence of flourish and frill and an emphasis on profile and solid-feeling materials. Small, square mosaic tiles with a stripe of color at the Viceroy Central Park in New York have a more urban sensibility, especially when paired with a console sink. Perhaps it is the trend of the moment, but brass fittings also seem to turn up frequently in bathrooms that would be at home in the most James Bond-worthy bachelor pads.

Source: Sarah Bliss

Hooray for April

April is a great time to update your home for Spring and Summer.

What plans are you making for decorating or updating your accessories?

Do you have a colour scheme in mind?

Need an update?

Does a chest of drawers need a quick fix?

An easy fix is to tie ribbon bows on the handles.

You could change the colour depending on the seasons or for a child's room add a different colour ribbon on each handle. Get even more creative and add a small toy onto each bow.