Design Tip of the Week ~ Stylish Stools

Whatever your function for stools in your home may be ~ be it extra seating, a footrest, to stack books on, or a record collection keeper ~ we found some very stylish stools that will complete a room:



{Capelli Stool from Herman Miller}





{The New Seagrass Stool from Pottery Barn}




{Becca Stool from Modern Bamboo}

Design Tip of the Week (1.24.11): Make Your BED!

With these amazing linens designers you can transform a dull bedroom into something spectacular. Make the bed the focal point by picking a look and color scheme that will bring some style and individuality to your bedroom. Two things to take note of when creating your dream bed. Layering and finishing touches take the look to the next level. Shams and a contrasting top coverlet alone will do wonders!

Here are some amazing designers to check out. Note that good linens are not cheap, but they can be mixed with some more reasonably priced pieces to lower the final cost. We threw some of those wallet friendly picks too!

A bed worth breaking the bank for....

Serena and Lily's Catalina Collection


Bella Notte's Seaglass Menagerie Bed (sold by Cottage Chic)


BlissLiving Home"s Shangri-la Collection


A bed that LOOKS like you broke the bank, but didn't...

Simply Vera by Vera Wang's Ombre Stripe Collection for Kohls


Marimekko Samovaari Surf Collection for Crate & Barrel

Design Tip of the Week (1.17.11) ~ Decorating Inspiration

{photo via Lonny Mag}
I love getting design and decorating inspiration online from various photography.

Lonny Mag has a GREAT slideshow section here full of photos to go through and pull inspiration from. They have a collection of photos for just about every room in your home, like the work space photo above.

This room really caught my eye because it's colorful, warm and personalized ~ it's somewhere I would love to work, be it on the computer, or painting or writing, it's a room I could see myself feeling inspired.

If you have a room that you have no idea how to decorate, this slideshow is great inspiration. But if you don't know where to start, check out our Primed4Design decorating services site here, we are here to help!

Design Tip of the Week (1.10.11): The Key to Decorating

I have been seeing keys lately incorporated into home decorating accessories and I must say that I love that they are so trendy right now. Vintage keys are so interesting both in their design and what they symbolize. A key means access to something to locked away, its so wonderfully intriguing! Here are some fun key designs that you can bring into your decorating. And be sure to check out Wednesday's post for a DIY project using vintage keys.

Decorate your table or dresser with them, like these Garden Key Plates from West Elm.


Use over sized keys as wall art, like these by John Richard from Lighting New York.


Find paintings with keys as the muse, such as Art Zodiac's Deep Blue Skeleton Key on Old Book Pages available through Etsy.


Stick it on your wall! Love the key wall decal from Grey Wolf Graphics on Etsy.

Design Tip of the Week (1.3.10): New Year's Resolution

Organizing is a biggie on the New Year's resolution list. There truly is nothing better than a good declutter to start the new year off right. So to get you inspired on ways to organize, here are some organizing tips for all those areas of your life that may be spilling over or could just use a little tidying up.

Label it! Get some mason jars or metal pails to organize your office supplies or crafts for the kids and use a fun label to pretty it up. Like these chalkboard labels from the Vinyl Chalkboard store on Etsy.


Mount it! Use extra wall space to organize. There are so many systems out there with many different components that you can use to customize your organization needs. Meet your home's new command center, the Daily System from Pottery Barn.


Hide it! Yes, I am not ashamed to hide things. Multipurpose furniture is a great way to hide things like blankets, magazines, pillows and so forth. We use stuff, its how we get comfy, so your house can look clutter free when you have company. Love this giraffe patterned storage ottoman from CSN.


Box it! It doesn't get anymore hidden than putting it in a box. Once that lid is on, nobody needs to know whats going on in there. I have all my office supplies in fun decorative photo boxes. They stack, they look cute, they keep the clutter contained. Try these fun boxes from the Container Store.


Match it! Taking things that you have semi organized and putting them into the same containers or books are a great way to make your things look coordinated. For example, I have many different photo albums and in 2011 I am reorganizing all these photos into matching photo albums so they can display nicely on a shelf in the living room. You can get the same effect with boxes (as mentioned above)or baskets. Here are some magazine files from See Jane Work that can clean up your favorite periodicals into a chic matching storing system.


Quarantine it! This is the mother of all organizers a full sized cubby hole piece of furniture. Several types of these are out there from Ikea to Pottery Barn, just begging to store all your stuff (whether its books, baskets, or bins). If you have the space, you could probably store all your clutter in this piece alone. Here is the Cubby Organizer from Pottery Barn.

Design Tip of the Week (12.13.10): Love French Style? Oui!

Whether your seeking the opulence of traditional French decor or a more quaint comfort of French provincial living, here are some ideas on how to bring Paris or the French countryside to your doorstep.


{Image from French Country Decor Guide}


{Image from In-house Designs}


{Image from Interior Blogsite}


{Image from New House of Art}


{Image from Interior Design Reviews}

Here are some French inspired accents from Ballard Designs to get you started.
Antionette Bench

Bergere Chair and Ottoman

Avignon Table Set

The Camille Toile Bedding

Preserved Boxed Topiaries

Paris Places Print

Design Tip of the Week (12.6.10): Red means STOP

Stop to stare! Red is red hot this season in the home. Here are some ideas of how to use red as your dominant hue and how to just add a splash!

Inspiration to take the full plunge...



{Images from Country Living}


{Image from Home Interior Design Themes}

Or just stick a toe in...


{Images from Live Your Style}


{Image from Twolia}

Design Tip of the Week (11.22.10): Creating a Welcoming Guest Bedroom

With the holidays coming this week many of us will be opening our house to guests. Here are some ideas on how to make your guest accommodations warm and welcoming.

Have somewhere to store their luggage. Provide your guests with a luggage rack to keep the room free of clutter and give them easy access to their belongings. The best part for you is that they fold up and are easy to store.




Have a supply of toiletries set aside in their room. Make sure to also have towels laid out as well. I collect toiletries from my travels and have a large glass jar in my guest bedroom for guests to select what they need. This is a cost effective way to offer your guest single serving amenities.




If you have the space, put a chair in the bedroom offer guests a place to sit beyond the bed. This allows your guest to have some time to themselves in their room beyond just sleeping. A nice added touch is to have some books and magazines available with a nice throw blanket to relax and read.




It's all in the details. Fresh flowers are a beautiful and simple statement to make your guests feel welcome. Another thoughtful courtesy is an alarm clock so they can set their own sleeping schedule.


{Photos from Country Living}

Design Tip of the Week (11.15.10): Create your dream closet!

Creating a dream closet is not an easy task. First, you have to work with the space you have or have a design to create more. Then you need to decide how to best organize it based on what your needs are. Finally, if you have the need, you will have to create a look to fit into your room (this is particularly necessary for an exposed closet or if you have the luxury of a full dressing room!). Here are some closet designs to inspire you regardless of the size of your space.

No predetermined closet, no problem! This design creates a closet with freestanding closet organizers.

{Image from Turners Dream Closets}

A dressing room you can lounge around in. Pretty and functional, the goal of any female's dressing room.

{Photo from Elle Decor}

An open closet design with a masculine feel. Why hide your closet when it looks so nice?!

{Photo from Julian Interior}

There are so many design options if you don't want to custom design something, you just need to look around. My personal favorite for shoe and bag storage...The Sarah Storage Tower from Ballard Designs

Design Tip of the Week (10.25.10): Orange you glad you picked orange?

ORANGE. It brings to the mind fall and pumpkins, perfect for an October topic. While a comforting color, it can be tricky to use, especially as a predominant hue in a room. How do you do that tastefully you ask? Here are some tips when using orange and inspiration to get you started.

Some tips when decorating with orange...
*Use shade variations of orange in one room

*Start with an accent wall, tie a matching or complimentary shade of orange in the curtain fabric, upholstery, or accent pieces.

*Good complementary colors to add to your orange room are teal, purple, brown, and pinks (as shown below - orange and fuchsia are a very striking combination!)

{Photo from BHG}


If your just not ready to paint with orange, accent with it!

{Image from BHG}


But if your ready to take the plunge, here are some ways to dive in.

{Photo from Apartment Therapy}


{Photo from Southernliving}


{Photo from Martha Stewart}


{Photo from Growers and Nomads}




For more great orange ideas see BHG's decorating with orange slideshow