Gerard Butler

A beautiful open loft in a converted manufacturing warehouse, in Manahattan’s Chealsea neighborhood, designed by architect Alexander Gorlin and film designer Elvis Resaino. The living space looks on the Empire State Building.

Patricia Heaton & David Hunt

Actress Patricia Heaton and her husband David Hunt share with their four sons a 192s house in Los Angeles’s Hancock Parrk area. House is being designed by Babe Johnson and Ellen Geerer.

Cher

Together with interior designer Martyn Lawrence-Bullard Cher created her apartment perched high above Los Angeles.

Sheryl & Rob Lowe

On the California coast, near Santa Barbara, Actor Rob Lowe and his wife with the help of architect Don Nulty built theri dream house.

Joshua Bell

Classical violinist Joshua Bell aparment not only is a linving speace but also a concert hall, this is the idea of the musician when he designed the apartment with the help of architect Charles Rose.

Jennifer Aniston

Located in Beverly Hills is the residence of actress Jennifer Aniston, designed by Stphen Shadley. The house was a 1970 creation of Harol W. Levitt.

Sir Elton John & David Furnish

Martyn Lawrence designed this apartment in L.A 70s style for Sir Elton John and his partner filmmaker David Furnish.

Kimberly & Dennis Quaid

Dennis Quaid shares with his wife and their twins a 15-room house in Los Angeles’s Rustic Canyon. The living room was designed by John and Krista Everage.

Demi Moore & Ashton Kutcher

Demi Moore and Ashton Lutcher renovated this 1950s canyonside house in Beverly Hills, interiors were designed by decorator Brad Dunning.

Anjelica Huston

Actress and Director Anjelica Huston decorated this this ranch in California’s Central Valley and she has furnished the living room with an assortment of pieces from movies locations and at swamp meets.

Diane Keaton

Actress, director and producer Diane Keaton’s Spanish Colonial Revival home in Beverly Hills was renovated by  designer Stephen Shadley. This house was built in the 1920s by architect Ralph Flewelling.

Sting & Trudie Styler

Lee F. Mindel, and restoration architect Anthony Close-Smith renovated this early 18th-century townhouse in London for Sting and his wife, actress and producer Trudie Styler.

Suggestions in the usage of graffiti when decorating could be in a studio flat, urban homes, a recreation room or a trendy home office. The gallery below will give you a little inspiration on the subject.

Image credits to hire-a-graffiti-artist.co.uk and deviantart

For a full explanation on the use of 3D renderings, check this article: What is 3D Rendering?

Below you will see a vast range of 3D rendering models for inspiration.

Image credits to Ristrutturazioni Roma

You can add all sorts of interesting aspects to the designing, building, refurbishing and decorating aspects of your home by bringing outdoor elements inside your home.

Window Light

Consider an empty room with a window. One approach is to fill it with some functional furniture, decorate the window with curtains and add some decor with a coordinated color scheme. Good. Now consider what this same room would be like if the window, or the element of light, became the focus. The following images from the web illustrate how featuring windows can change your home.

Other ways to work with the elements

While changing how light is featured makes the foremost difference in a home, there are other ways to incorporate outdoor elements into your interior decor.

Plants

Plant stand side table

Use a plant stand with an outdoorsy, rustic touch as a side table for your coffee and book.

Or as a stand for a collection of magazines. Plant stands are relatively inexpensive and can be re-purposed for many uses indoors.

Tree branch stand for jewelry and other hanging items

Paint a small tree branch, plant it in an indoor pot filled with a bed of rocks or pebbles, and use it as a jewelry stand or a place to hang keys in the entryway.

Tree branches on your walls

Water Elements

Fountains

The sound of water is known for its soothing effects. Adding a fountain is a simple way to incorporate the element of water into your interior, and they are available in all sizes to fit any room.

Just remember, you can always find a way to celebrate the aesthetic aspects of the outdoors by incorporating into your home- whether with light, plants and flowers, water or a combination of them all!

Chandeliers are becoming popular decor for any room in the home, not just the dining room. Regardless of the style you choose, they are a decorative addition full of charm and drama. Finding one that fits your taste is an adventure through estate sales, local retail stores, and online shops to name a few, but when it happens, you won’t believe how it will give your home the flair it may be missing! You might prefer a more luxurious, ornate design to complete a romantic bedroom setting, or one with a whimsical style for a child’s room. Check out some of these images from the web to inspire your chandelier quest:

Dining Room:

Living Room:

Bedroom:

Children’s Room:

Powder Room:

Hallway/Entryway:

Kitchen:

Funky Ideas:

Try doing several chandeliers together for a more dramatic effect.

Or pick up some unusual shapes and styles for a more playful effect.

For more information on choosing the right size and bulb wattage for your home, click here.

Ideas

1. Take the drawers out of an old dresser and stack them as shelves. Or add wheels to old drawers as storage containers for kids toys or extra clothes. The handle from the drawer makes it easy to roll under the bed and out of the way.

2. Use the drawer knobs to make a coat rack by attaching them to a plank of wood (stained or painted in a color that fits your decor) and attaching the wood to the wall. It is easy to do and takes up a lot less space than a bulky coat stand.

3. A suitcase goes a long way, and not just when you take it your travels. A fun way to create stylish storage space is to take an old suitcase and attach wooden legs to it.

Or completely remove the top of the suitcase, fit the inside of the suitcase with a pillow and you have a raised bed for your beloved cat or dog.

Or stack several suitcases one atop another for a side table.

4. If too much visible clutter is making you consider switching out open bookshelves for a closed armoire, consider the much simpler alternative of hanging curtains with a tension rod to cover up the clutter.

5. Add casters to a heavier piece of furniture like a table so that it can be moved about for different purposes. For example, casters on a bedside table create a serving cart for the dining room, or a makeshift rolling table for holding drinks and snacks in the entertaining areas. When you want to sit on the couch and enjoy dinner while watching a movie, repurpose an old stool as a TV dinner stand by cutting the legs down and putting casters on so you can roll it to just the right spot. Or how about wheels on an old picnic basket which can double as a side table and extra storage.

6. If you have mismatched furniture and feel like the look just won’t come together in a room, try painting the pieces a similar or the same color for a more unified appearance. Though it might seem to be a glib approach, giving your old furniture a fresh paint of coat really changes the entire decor of the room. While this is more refinishing than repurposing, it’s still a way to upgrade old furniture.

7. A large old wooden door can be repurposed into a stunning dining room table, whether it’s perfect and rustic as-is, or you need to strip, sand and stain it. You can use sawhorses as the legs of the table.

8. Choose a wallpaper design you like, or a combination of several different designs, and cover the top of an old table for a new look. Then varnish with shellac for a glossy finish.

9. Get creative in decorating your garden. Old cooking pots, unused punch bowls or wine crates can be repurposed as creative flower pots in the garden.

10. How about the old shutter doors on windows that need refurbishing? Repurpose the shutter doors by touching up the paint and then using them as the pantry doors to shelves. Instead of trying to squeeze all your food into kitchen cupboards where you can’t see what you have, a freestanding pantry makes all your goods much more accessible.

Try also repurposing an old shutter as a wall organizer/letter rack where you can stash invitations, bills, photos or a message pad.

11. A old trunk chest can be repurposed in many ways. Add a glass top and you have a coffee table. Or add short legs or casters and a a long cushion and you have a bench/window seat. You could even create a mini home office by adding hanging file rails, organizing tray and vertical dividers. Or even more simply, fit the chest with two or three file boxes.

12. With the advent of flat screen televisions, armoires are sometimes excessive for storing home entertainment. They can be repurposed in many ways. To name a few, they work as storage for kids toys in the play area, a linen cabinet in a guest bedroom or hallway, or a home office center to store the printer, fax and other office supplies.

Keep In Mind

Remember that you can actually hang wall paper over nearly any surface, including brick or tile. It involves a few additional steps like applying a thick, blank layering called a bridging material, which smooths over uneven surfaces. Before you begin, ask yourself a few questions to help simplify the process: What end result are you going for? Are you planning to do all the walls, or feature only one? Covering stained walls may involve a different approach than going for a completely new color scheme. What size is the room you plan to wallpaper? Very small, detailed wallpaper can get lost in a large, spacious room. And  big, bold print can overwhelm a small room. What style is your home and your room’s furniture? If the room you want to wallpaper already has furniture from a distinct period style, like Victorian or Contemporary, you want the wallpaper to complement, not compete or confuse.

Inspirational Wallpaper Images

Bold Patterns

Mellow Patterns

Floral Patterns

Wild Prints

More Creative Design Ideas

The above is a watercolor wallpaper (see more diy ideas at Design*Sponge).

Other Uses for Wallpaper

For further reading, check out The Dos and Don’ts of Choosing Wallpaper.

The color blue is noted for its calming, peaceful effect (imagine a blue sky) and is a wonderful interior color choice for many different rooms in your home. As en entirely blue room can have a gloomy effect, depending on the space, sometimes all you need is a blue wall or sofa to create the desired effect. Use the following images of blue interiors compiled from the web for your design and decoration inspiration.

Blue Kitchens

Blue Bedrooms

Blue Living Rooms

Blue Bathrooms

More Blue Decor Ideas

The important rule in decorating for a holiday or special occasion is to avoid any permanent changes. Instead, accessorize for Valentine’s Day with items you can enjoy now (flowers and candles), give as a gift (jars of extra candy) or put away to use again next year (heart-shaped floor mats or pink dish towels). Another rule to remember is if you’re worried about walking the fine line between festive and cheesy, think less is more, as sometimes a few lovely touches are all you need. Here are some ideas for easy and tasteful Valentine’s Day decorating.

Charming your guests

Welcome your guests with flowers in the entryway:

After a few days, collect any fallen flower petals to scatter about your entertaining areas or around a couple bottles of red wine to make a quick table centerpiece. Other ways to give your dining table some Valentine’s Day color are with a red table runner and place mats…

…or bouquets of red and pink flowers, candy and candles:

Image credit to Between Naps on the Porch

Dishin’ up the love

Valentine’s Day is all about sweets for your sweetie. Use festive dish ware as decor or for serving goodies. To avoid overspending on heart plates that you may not use for another 364 days, check out your local thrift shop for bargains in the off-season, or if you are scrounging last minute, pick up some inexpensive pink and red dishes.  Who cares if they are mismatched… no one said love was perfect!

Tea time with a twist of cocoa

If you really don’t want to collect more dishware, another option are the floral tea cups you may already have in your pantry. Put out a tray with your tea set for some added pink and red on the table, and then surprise everyone by pouring a cup of rich, hot cocoa.

How do I love thee? With candy, of course!

Glass bowls and jars filled with red and pink candy are perfect Valentine’s-Day-decorations-turned-gifts:

Getting cozy

Adding throws or pillows in red or pink give any room a cozier Valentine’s Day ambiance (and some flower petals don’t hurt, either):

A final touch

There are so many easy ways to decorate for Valentine’s Day, even if it just means lighting a few votive candles, arranging a bouquet of flowers and putting out a dish of chocolates. Just as with any holiday, the most important rule is to have fun with it. So pour yourself a glass of champagne and spread the love around your home with some Valentine’s Day decor!

If you’re looking to decorate an Asian-inspired home, it’s important to remember that the Asian style draws from many regions, including China, Japan, and Thailand to name a few. For interior design purposes, Asian style usually refers to either Japanese or Chinese influences, as they are very different. Japanese style is more calming and minimal in terms of furniture and decorative elements, while the Chinese uses bright colors and more detailed, dramatic decor.

Furniture

Streamlined, functional furniture fits the Japanese design style. The pieces are minimal both in terms of number as well as appearance. Designing a Japanese-inspired home involves adopting a mind-set of Zen principles, which strive for a calm, clear and open state of mind. How does that translate into interior design? Take away the clutter in a room, reduce the color palette (think water and earth tones) and clear the walls and floor areas (no brightly colored area rugs or paintings). Walls can be a rich color, such as a chocolate brown or natural green, as long as they maintain the room’s earthy feel.

Hardwood floors and Tatami mats (made of rice and covering large areas), serve as traditional Japanese flooring. Furniture and accessories that sit lower to the floor help maintain a spaciousness, as opposed to large, imposing tables and sofas. Pillows can even be used for seating.

Any space should feel as open as possible, so translucent partitions called Shoji screens are a popular way to divide a room or provide privacy.

Sunlight easily diffuses through a Shoji screen, and they work well in covering unsightly window views without dampening any natural lighting. Furniture with flexibility keeps the flow relaxed; futons change from sofa to bed, Shoji screens can be moved depending on their immediate use, and pillows rearrange easily for comfortable seating.

Chinese design is bold and dramatic, ideal for those who want vibrancy in their home. Several ornate pieces of carved furniture coated in a glossy black or red lacquer make the statement, often with some gold decoration and hand-painted oriental designs.

Filling a room with too many stylized, striking pieces can be overwhelming and uninviting (as with the below photo), so choose one or two, and then use plain, dark wood furniture as a complement.

Walls can be painted in rich colors as well as patterned with oriental-inspired wallpaper of Chinese lettering, or exotic flowers, fish and birds. In more traditional Chinese wall decor, entire murals celebrate a dynamic culture by depicting historical scenes and legendary mythological figures.

Although boldly colored and ornate, the Chinese design-inspired home is still comfortable and easy to live in.

Lighting

Natural lighting is key in Japanese design, so this style would be great for a room that already gets a lot of sunlight. Windows can be  curtained with sheer fabrics or earth-toned fiber window shades, or even left uncovered. Low wattage interior lighting maintains the soothing effect into the evening. Try a rice paper lamp shade or something similar with mild colors.

Chinese decor tends to be bolder and more colorful, specifically using bright reds (red is a color symbolic of good luck in China), blues and yellows. A lamp painted with mythical Chinese characters is a dramatic touch, or for a softer glow, hang Chinese paper lanterns.

Accents & Accessories

Overall, when you walk into a room that is a Japanese design-inspired, less is more and the effect should be a calming one. Neutral colors like the earth tones of gray, brown and green allow for visual flow without catching on a particular bright color. That doesn’t preclude the use of color, but keep it simple nonetheless. Frame an embroidered silk kimono of traditional Japanese design, or display a colorful porcelain tea set.  Otherwise, choose accessories that evoke nature; for example, use bamboo and stone materials, and decorate with bonsai plants and orchid flowers for more organic elements.

Chinese accents involve bright colors and rich, luxurious fabrics like silk embroidered in Chinese designs (often mystical beasts and animals like tigers, monkeys, dragons, as well as birds and flowers). Pillows and curtains in these opulent fabrics imbue the room with a vitality particular to Chinese design. Ceramics and pottery with the same motifs are beautiful accessories atop tables and dark wooden chests. Unusual Chinese antiques can be found in street and flea markets, as well as on the Internet.

Chinese rugs are key for floor accents, and come in all sizes and prices.

With such a wide range of accent pieces to choose from, it’s important to keep in mind that all it takes to create a Chinese design-inspired home is a striking piece of furnishing, a splash of color and a few choice accent pieces, from art to rugs to ceramic vases.

Finding YOURSELF somewhere in Asia

Remember, designing your home means considering the rules and then breaking a few if you choose. Modern Asian design is an example of how you can use traditional Japanese and Chinese styles and then infuse aspects of the two, or combine them with alternative design elements. How about painted black bamboo bunk beds, white walls with a bonsai tree mural and a giant red area rug? The point is, create the space that feels home to you, and incorporate as many or all of the Asian-inspired design aspects as you see fit!

Side Tables Which Double As Stools

Many side tables double as stools, and make for a stylishly efficient use of space. As opposed to bulky dresser-type side table, they can be moved around the room easily, and are perfect additions to any room. Slide them next to a sofa for a perfect beverage perch or extra seat for a guest. In a smaller room, a functional piece of furniture is always convenient.

A painted tree stump is an earth-friendly example of a such a side table:

Getting Creative

A side table that stands out doesn’t have to be pricey. This do-it-yourself project is made from a collection of books, belts, wood and paint. As it is made from re-purposed material, it is an earth-friendly example of how you can recycle the items you already have in your home. While it has the storage space of many ordinary side tables, this colorful stand also has artistic flair.

A creative way to have an inside garden is to situate an antique side table (maybe one on its last legs) near some windows, and fill it with your favorite greenery.

Function First

In this rustic interior, the steps from one room to another function as a perfect side table where there is enough room to place a beverage, a remote, or the book you’re reading while lounging on the sofa. A separate side table doesn’t fit, unless it were crowded awkwardly into some other part of the room, out of reach.

Side tables can also function as room partitions, as in this children’s room wherein the bed is creatively partitioned from the play area.

When another piece of furniture would only add clutter to the room, and yet the storage space is necessary, a wall-mount serves as a functional side table. It doesn’t consume any extra floor space and yet acts as a useful decorative detail.

A Final Angle

How important is a side table? Ask someone who has wandered around a sparse room looking for a spot to place their beverage or seat themselves (when the traditional chairs are occupied), and ended up standing awkwardly shifting their drink from hand to hand. They are important, and the good news is with such versatile options suited for any home, its fun to give them the attention they deserve!

Table lamps are ideal for filling a space with light. Depending on the brightness of the bulb and the color of the shade, you can moderate how much light fills the room. Try choosing a lampshade that generally mimics the shape of the base; for example, if you have a rectangular base, then choose a wide square or rectangular shade.

Lamps are also excellent decorative additions to any room, and can complement the home’s design style, whether its modern, romantic, traditional, etc.

Recessed lighting is great for a living room, placed above the couch or coffee table. With track lighting or recessed lighting, you can accent architectural details in your home, like the fireplace or a beautiful painting.

Wall sconces cast an indirect light on parts of the wall and are a lovely decorative choice for adding color and style to any room. They come in a wide selection of colors and an array of materials from metal to ceramic.

A reading lamp can be a floor or table lamp next to your bed or a chair in the living room. If you discover a lamp with a base you like but with the wrong lampshade color or style, consider getting it anyway, because you can easily replace the lampshade. Remember that a translucent lampshade will provide more light for reading, whereas an opaque shade is better for decorative, accent lighting.

A floor lamp can add height to the room, especially if the light aims upward toward the ceiling.

Light fixtures can be works of art, like an ornate chandelier over the dining room table, or a lamp made from an unusual material. An eclectic fixture on a table or shelf not only adds an interesting element to the room’s decor, but it can also light a dark corner. The below dining room has many different lighting sources, including a bicycle wheel chandelier!

Imagine the conversation pieces that the below chandeliers would make; they are made from cutlery, which would likely create intriguing patterns on the walls.

Candlelight is the ideal way to soften the atmosphere, or even set a romantic mood. You can add candles almost anywhere in a home, and with all the different styles and colors available, they are the easiest type of lighting to change frequently.

Another fun idea is to string white holiday lights or even a strand of lantern lights for some wonderful accent lighting in any room. Hope this article helped shine some light on different ways to brighten your home!

Below are some web images of colorful and creative living rooms, where the designers have fallen in love with a color and are celebrating it!

The red walls and furniture give the above living room a bold, rich feel. The painted floral wall design below are a creative way to add whimsy to an otherwise modern interior.

Orange is a color that tends to “pop” in a big way.  Just one large orange piece of furniture, like the over-sized couch or painted orange wall, is enough to animate the interior space with color.

The above living room is very modern and a vibrant florescent yellow wall fits in perfectly with the chic interior design.

The above florescent green flows from the walls to the couch to the retro patterned swirl rug. Although wild retro design sometimes make a living room feel garish, in this case, the bright green combines with high ceilings, white columns and molding, and bookshelves to create a more elegant and stylish appeal.

On the other end of the spectrum are these rooms where the color, although prominent on the walls and furniture, actually softens the room.

In both of these living rooms, the violet and magenta hues are offset with very modern and simplistic black and white furniture. The color is able to stand out aesthetically as the focal color without competing visually with other colors and designs.

Randomly mixing several bright colors into the walls, furniture and decor is a bold move. Creativity can give way to chaotic or kitschy, and therefore make your living space uncomfortable for those who enter. However, when the multi-color schemes are chosen purposefully, as in the below examples, then the space is original and inviting.

Bottom line is there is nothing wrong with celebrating your love for color and living brightly!

The above is an example of a loft conversion into a no-frills spare bedroom. The white walls and linens combined with wooden floors and furniture create a neutral space. Choosing a streamlined interior design instantly makes converting your attic more affordable while maintaining a clean aesthetic.

This luxurious loft conversion feels extremely spacious by virtue of the ceiling-to-floor windows and french doors. Large amounts of light flood in and reflect against light wooden floors, giving the room an airy quality. Installing windows is the most effective way to incorporate the natural world into your home, and because many loft spaces are small, large windows and glass doors immediately expand the room.

The bright orange color scheme and large skylights make the above loft conversion feel vibrant and inviting. A plush area rug, numerous pillows and a large plant give the spacious room a cozier feel. The loft almost has a “retreat” feel, where you could comfortably gather with friends for a movie, or simply to curl up and a take a nap.

Reclaiming your attic as an office is another useful loft conversion idea, and can give working from home a whole new appeal. The attic is isolated enough from distraction to allow you to focus on the tasks at hand, while still providing the comfort of being in your own home. In the above office loft conversions, the use of skylights and light interior color brighten the room.

Converting your loft into a kitchen/dining room is a more involved project than the more common bedroom/living room option. However, if all building code regulations are met, it is a delightful idea for creating an alternative entertaining area.

Often a large percentage of a property’s potential space is in the attic, and converting it into a wide variety of usable living quarters can add significant value to your home.

You can separate the room into sections. For example, create a reading nook with an oversized chair and colorful floor lamp. Or set up a “cozy corner” with a small table for your morning coffee which transitions into a game table for an evening with friends. Maybe you would like to keep an eye on your kids while still getting your own work done; try a dual work/art space by setting up your desk and a small craft table  nearby for the kids. To minimize any potential clutter of toys, get an inexpensive storage cart with wheels that holds all the crafts, and can be tucked under the table.

Darker wall colors tend to absorb light, and can therefore tighten the dimensions of the room, making it feel cozier. Also, you can visually lower high ceilings by painting them.

Empty walls will make a room feel more open, and larger. To make the space cozy, add large-scale wall art, like colorful wallpaper, a tapestry or a sizable painting.

Accessorize the room with larger objects, like plants or shelves, to make it feel cozy. You can decorate the shelves with your favorite books, large framed photographs, and collectibles like vases or other larger items. Avoid decorating with many small knick-knacks, which will only serve to clutter the room, and emphasize the room’s great size.

Area rugs soften the room, especially if you choose a plusher material, and they can add a relaxing focal point to a collection of furniture. Add some comfy throws and pillows to your sofa and chairs for a cozier feel. If you have a fireplace, place the furniture around it so you have a warm place to relax.

Lighting plays a big part in making a room feel cozy. Flourescent and halogen lights are harsh (think office or hospital), so choose incandescent lights which are warmer and softer. Candles placed throughout the room create a romantic or calming ambience; depending on the time of day and the occasion, try lighting your favorite scented candle.

No matter what, you can take any space and make it feel more cozy.