Modern Home Style 2013 Decorating Ideas : House Tours from BHG

Modern Home Style 2013 Decorating Ideas : House Tours from BHG

decorating house ideas Modern style Tours

California Cool

This Southern California homeowner created a design that's a liberation of color with plenty of space to breathe. The feel of the corner is removed by painting a section of wall vibrant orange, giving the illusion of greater space while also defining a nook without expensive architecture.

Magic Tricks

Paint floating shelves the same hue as your wall, then accessorize with accents in contrasting colors. For example, white shelves on a white wall nearly disappear and allow these colorful accessories to shine.

Bright Spots

Inspired by the '50s, this living area sets a white couch against the white living room wall as the canvas perfect for pops of color in pillows. Pillows are affordable and easy to re cover, so don't be afraid to mix it up and sport bright colors on throw pillows.

Twice as Nice

A combination living/dining room allows for an open feel. A mirror placed on the bold stripe on the wall further opens the room.

Strategic Stripe

Ending a stripe on the wall where the dining room ends instills a sense of definition between the two rooms.

Thoughtful Accessorizing

The timelessness of this late '60s buffet builds a foundation for eclectic accents. Layering white accessories against a white background reflects a design without clutter mantra.

Screen Saver

Here, a circle motif decorative screen separates the living area from the entryway. See through elements add architectural division without heavy construction or blocked views.

New Heights

The headboard is created from two closet doors mounted to the wall behind the bed, giving the room the illusion of greater height. A latte color stripe compliments the headboard and the wooden shelf.

Subdued Hues

The master bedroom has a mature, masculine look that departs from hot hues found elsewhere in the home. Using rich chocolate tones and muted blues creates sophistication. This mid century reading chair was just over $100 and gives a plain wall artistic flair thanks to its strong shape.

Block It Out

Throughout the condo, painted blocks of color in strategic places highlight groupings and collections. Here, an espresso brown is a rich backdrop for white accessories.

Practical Storage 2013 Decorating Ideas : House Tours from BHG

Practical Storage 2013 Decorating Ideas : House Tours from BHG

decorating house ideas Practical Storage Tours

After she lost most of her possessions in Hurricane Katrina, Amanda Catalanotto, professional organizer and homeowner, rebuilt her family's house with style and function in mind.

Pretty & Clutter-Free

The living room's calming palette of neutrals with gray-blue and green is used throughout the home. The soothing palette belies the hardworking storage strategies Amanda Catalanotto, professional organizer, uses in every nook and cranny to optimize storage space.

Fresh Way to Display
The round tray on this ottoman creates an extra surface to display mementos and fresh flowers.

Dining Storage
Wrapped in the gray blue and green palette, the dining room is stylish and storage packed. The buffet on the side wall provides plenty of space to store special occasion dinnerware and other necessities for entertaining.

Office Storage
This roomy storage unit combines lateral file drawers with open shelves for office supplies and equipment. Its low height allows space on top for decorative bins in easy reach.

Get The Look: Decorative baskets are an easy way to corral papers, photos, and other office essentials. Add labels for decoration and easy organization. To turn a deep drawer or wicker basket into file storage, insert an adjustable hanging file frame from any office supply store. They typically come in the standard legal and letter file size.

Bedroom Storage

The calming palette of neutrals with gray blue and green carries into the master bedroom. To add more storage beside the bed, professional organizer Amanda Catalanotto used a small scale chest of drawers in place of a smaller nightstand.

Organized Closet
This spacious walk in closet has a pre designated storage place for each item. Double rods for hanging clothes, drawers for folded clothes, and shoe rack shelves make it easy to keep the closet organized. The cute and convenient bins on the top shelves are a stylish way to store small, out of season items.

Hideaway Mirror
Mirrors are essential for getting dressed. Install a thin mirror to keep it from taking up valuable space in the closet. This mirror can be tucked away between the wall and hanging clothing for easy storage.

Laundry Room Storage
Brighten utilitarian spaces by adding attractive touches such as blooming plants and decorative boxes on a shelf to hold small or less frequently used items.

Organized Kid's Closet
Baskets for socks and jars for coins keep a kid's closet tidy. Dual rods maximize clothing storage and make it easy to separate play clothing from special occasion clothing.

Designer Tip: "Labels help kids stay organized," Amanda Catalanotto, professional organizer, says. Labeling kids' baskets and drawers makes it easy for them to see where things go when it's time to clean up.

One Organized Family
"It's important to feel wonderful in a room, because that will inspire you to keep it organized," Amanda Catalanotto, professional organizer, says.

creative Home With Handmade Touches 2013 Decorating Ideas :House Tours from BHG

creative Home With Handmade Touches 2013 Decorating Ideas :House Tours from BHG

Creative decorating Handmade house ideas Touches Tours

This homeowner gets creative with fabric leftovers, paper scraps, and bits of everyday ephemera to craft a designer look for less.

Casual & Colorful

The homeowner hired a couple of carpenter friends to fashion built in bookshelves (an expenditure she could afford thanks to her thrifty accessories and DIY ottoman). The inexpensive lamp base is topped with an old drum shade recovered in scrap fabric.

DIY Tip: Crown molding stained a rich dark brown frames a door size mirror that leans against the wall.

Make a Ruffle Pillow

A cinch to stitch in an hour, this pretty pillow requires less than a yard of fabric.

Gather materials: 1/2 yard of solid-color cotton quilting fabric (44 inches wide), 1/4 yard quilting cotton in four different fabrics (for ruffles), sewing machine, thread to match fabrics, pins, 16-inch pillow form.

1. Cut the solid-color fabric into three pieces: a 17x17-inch front and two 10x17-inch back pieces. Cut the four ruffle fabrics into 2½x35-inch strips. You need nine of these.

2. Turn the 10x17-inch pieces wrong side up. Fold one of the 17-inch edges over 1/4 inch, then again 1/2 inch. Iron folds. Do this with one side of each piece. (This will be your finished edge and the opening to slip your pillow form into the sham.)

3. On each fabric strip, sew a gather stitch 1/4 inch from one long edge. Gather to be 17 inches long. Pin a gather strip onto the right side of the front piece, positioning it 5/8 inch up from the bottom. Sew, following the line of the gather stitch. Continue pinning and sewing on strips to within 3/8 inch of the top of the front piece.

4. Finish sewing the pillow sham. Lay the front piece ruffle side up and the back pieces right side down so they overlap slightly. Pin the outer edges and sew the pillow together with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Turn right side out, iron, and stuff the pillow form into the sham. Finish by hand-stitching the opening closed.

Wall Art That Wows
In the living room, inexpensive frames around scraps of wallpaper embellish the mantel.
DIY Tip: Try fabric, wrapping paper, or even linens for another twist on this budget friendly artwork.

TV Time
To combat the cold, electronic look of her TV, the homeowner found an ornate frame that fit the room's feel. After applying molding to the back of the frame to add depth, she nestled her TV inside the frame, bringing together the entire aesthetic of the room.

Bowled Over
This papier-mache bowl cost pennies to create and provides the perfect catchall for living room stuff. Under the bowl, a piece of scrap wallpaper lines a simple retail tray.

Make It: Papier Mache Bowl

1. Cut or tear strips of magazine, newspaper, wallpaper, etc. Old blueprints were used here.

2. Make papier mache mixture: Stir together 1 part white glue with 1 part water.

3. Coat paper strips in the glue mixture and form over a bowl covered in plastic wrap. Apply two to four layers of paper. Let dry.

4. Remove plastic wrap and bowl. Use fine grit sandpaper to smooth the edges for a finished look.

The homeowner replaced dated, '80s era green marble around the fireplace with an affordable glass mosaic tile from modwalls.com. The green marble found a new home as a walkway in her garden.

DIY Tip: A downed sycamore in the homeowner's neighborhood became fireplace art. Corral cut logs with colorful fabric strips and you have an instant art piece.

Too Cute Kitchen
The homeowner stapled fabric scraps to canvas stretchers from the crafts store to fashion wall art. To protect her plaster walls, she used 3M Command mounting strips to hang each piece. Below the art display is the dining room table she and her mom repainted. A close look reveals lingering bits of blue paint. Fabric scraps make colorful coasters or an abstract table runner (see next slide for how to make your own).

Make a Rag Rug Doily
A basic coiling technique is all it takes to turn skinny strips of fabric into a striking take on a doily.

1. Cut or tear scrap fabric into thin strips. Roll them up bandana-style and coil into tight circles. Pin, then loosely stitch the coils together.
2. Customize! One circle works as a coaster. A few stitched together make a sweet centerpiece.

You'd never guess this handsome buffet was once a baby's changing table. The homeowner whipped out her old standby  a can of matte black spray paint and updated its icky yellow color to something much more mod. Replacing the hardware completed the look. The purple-tone art above is a wallpaper sample wrapped around scrap board. A blooming bouquet of paper flowers creates dinner party ambiance and never wilts .

Be Our Guest

The homeowner uses leftover and remnant wallpaper to add fresh personality and seasonality to her guest bedroom. She cuts three equal size lengths of wallpaper, then simply hands them from bulldog clips. The bedside chair has been recycled countless times with spray paint and fabric scraps.