An array of “old” looking lighting has been sweeping the design blogs lately.  What’s old seems new again, and this particular style of lighting – an extremely sparse antique look, which I’m not 100% sure how to describe – has been popping up everywhere.

Do you like this style of home lighting, or do you thin it looks too “rustic”.

(Restoration Hardware)

(Rejuvenation Lighting)

(Anthropologie)

(Remodelista)

Is your guest bedroom getting to be a burden? You’re probably not the first one to think that.  Whether it has started to become wasted space or on the flip side: overwhelmed by the odd conglomeration of stuff that seems to appear in there, the clutter has to go to if you want your guests to actually have a place to sleep. 

A lot of the problems seem to stem from not knowing how to have a guest room that can multi task in a happy medium.  You don’t want the room to be restricted only to house guests, since most people aren’t going to be having visitors with enough frequency to warrant such sole-purpose dedication.  So naturally, we want these spaces to be at least a little bit multi-purpose.  Whether they house our personal libraries or double as home offices, most of us don’t have enough space for the guest room to be only that. 

Good Ideas to Get Your Guest Room Going

A good way to squeeze some extra use into your extra room is to start with furniture that has a fairly open design style, enough so that you can see the floor through a pane of  glass or other portion of the furniture.  Using this type of furniture works to make the room feel bigger, which is a great attribute when you need it to be multi-functional.  Even in the smallest of spaces if you use this approach, you can keep the feel of the room more open. 

The guest bed is another good place to look when you’re after space saving, multi-purpose solutions for your guest bedroom.  A single bed can double as a couch; think a much more updated variant of the daybed.  For some reason I see ruffles when I heard the word daybed.  I like the idea to ditch the frame altogether to cut down on clutter, and cover the bed in simple floor length fabric and finish it with oversized pillows to make the back of your new ‘couch.’  That way, you’ve got a good space to curl up with a magazine as well as a comfy place to host your nephew from the midwest next week.  No ruffles, no problems.

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I live with someone who is very organized.  If you can relate, it’s no secret that this can be a somewhat stressful endeavor.  The benefits of living around such individuals though is that it provides a constant drive to find more easy ways to get and keep your home orderly. 

And have we ever. 

The season provides great inspiration to get organized as well, with kids setting off for school and schedules filling up, making the aspects of your home more streamlined will add up to more leisure moments during a time of year where play is generally at a premium. 

I’m personally a big fan of hooks because they can be handy in any room in the house:

Use them next to your front door to house keys, pet leashes, hats, and coats.  Mount them in your closet to organize belts, necklaces, ties, scarves, hats, or ribbons.  In the kitchen, hang dishtowels, measuring cups, and large utensils. For the bathroom, mount them on the wall or behind the door for more places to tuck drying towels, robes, brushes and scrubbers. 

  Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Pegboard is another way to create more unique storage and order in your home.  Frame it for a more sophisticated look, and get started placing organizer boxes and bins, note pads and pens.  This element is particularly useful and appropriate for a laundry room or garage entry space. 

Get your home office buzzing with efficiency using magnetic strips to hold ‘to-do’ items, reminders, and calendars.  Also, never underestimate the power of new shelving.  If you’re running low on space, shelves can be mounted higher walls to add an interesting visual element, as well as an out of way place to store less frequently used items.

Do you have one of those rooms in your house that you just can’t seem to do anything with?  Maybe it’s a guest bedroom, a den, or the mudroom-it happens to the best of houses.  Sometimes rooms or spaces just get a little left behind. 

We found a quick, inspiring way to upgrade the spaces you’re stuck on really easily:  Pick your favorite color, or select other members of your home to nominate their favorite hues, and just like that, you’ve got somewhere to start.  Once you’ve settled on a color, let it lead how you reinvent your room:

Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

Go Blue:

            Go Yellow:

While we think it’s good to be as creative as possible when combining your colors, you might want to give a little thought to the type of room or space you’re coloring before you break open the paint or head out to buy draperies.  Colors can be a powerful presence in your home, so give some thought to the shade of color as well as the area where it will be displayed.  Do the primary activities of the space mesh with the color or hue you’re looking at?  If the answer is not necessarily yes, try moving up and down the spectrum of your desired color, or, if your heart isn’t set on that particular color, try a different one altogether.  Almost no matter what color you choose, there are ideas out there to help you get started: 

         Go Purple:

Go Green:

Even Black… or Red:

For even more ideas: check out more ways to get your color on

I’m someone who loves color. Especially in home design. Using all types of color, everywhere, all the time, has always been my preference.

When I was younger my mom went through a phase where she painted all of the rooms in our home bone white. I couldn’t stand it, and I developed a phobia of white wall color that I still haven’t outgrown. I swore that when I grew up and had my own home, none of my walls would be white.

But, I may have been too rash with my ban on white. Designers and home remodelers are now using white for wall color, carpet, countertops and other home features to create a clean, fresh, modern look that can be heightened with the right small addition of color.

According to the New York Times, not only is white an interesting design choice, if you’re considering future marketability of your home, white may also be the smartest choice you can make. Using color for design is a highly personal matter, and if you use unique color choices in your home for hard to replace items such as countertops, cabinetry and tiles, you may have a hard time selling your home to potential buyers who will have to deal with replacing areas they find less than attractive.

So, maybe white isn’t so bad afterall…

White In Real Life

A small kitchen looks brighter and more airy with all white elements leading into a living area. Add a bowl of your weekly produce, a red toaster, or colorful dish towels as a way to break up the white, and create a flash of color.

Photo Credit: The New York Times

A black and white photograph adds a truly modern touch to this sleek bathroom.

Photo Credit: The New York Times

A white bedroom is relaxing and clean with a few dashes of color added with throw pillows and easily changeable wall prints.

Photo Credit: Inhabit

People often give me quizzical looks when I tell them about one of my all time favorite design options: wallpaper.

Don’t roll your eyes! This isn’t your grandmother’s stuffy, floral wallpaper. We’re talking great design, great colors, and a whole lot of style. Wallpaper has become an artistic statement, with designers, artists, and printmakers getting into the game making wonderful pieces for homeowners to choose from. 

Don’t believe me? Just look at these beautiful wallpapers: 

Photo Credit: Graham & Brown

Photo Credit: Nama Rococo Wallpaper Studio