Making Your House A Home

Decorate your home without breaking the bank. Here are easy ways to personalize your home and tips I've learned from my team. 

1) Try throwing some color around. It allows your home to be more inviting and reflect your personal taste. Try not to get sucked into having your entire living room beige or white. By adding a dash of color like blue accents, colorful throw pillows, or some red decorative art, it allows the living room to become more inviting and personalized. You're the one living in your space. You want it to reflect what you love best about the room.

Remember: Mix, don't match! Is your favorite color green? Don't make all the throw pillows the same. Try different hues of green or pair it with blue to have some contrast. If you want your entire living room furniture to be white and black, paint one adjacent wall a deep red. This will add some variety to the space!

2) Go to new heights. Allow decorative accents, like vases to vary in size. Don't put them all in a straight line either. Sometimes it's okay to cluster them together. It allows it to be mroe appealing to the eye and offers more room on your fireplace mantle or sofa table.

3) Rearrance your furniture. This tends to the be the easiest, most cost effective way to make your house feel more like your home. Don't push all your furniture against the walls. Instead, rearrange the furniture into conversational groups to allow the room to become more inviting. If your sofa is in the middle of the living room and you don't want people to see the back of it, put a nice table behind it with a lamp. You'll be amazed at how different your space looks by simply moving a sofa, table, or dresser. It will allow the room to feel larger, fresher, and won't break the bank.

4) Freshen up the linens. This is the easiest way to feel more comfortable in your bedroom. Give curtains, sheets, pillows and bedding a new look by adding ribbons, borders, and pompoms. You can purchase in-expensive fabric at your local Joann’s or Michaels store, or any local fabric store. If you are looking for more elaborate designs, check out upholstery shops in your area, or your local Ethan Allen. (They also offer FREE Design Consultations with a purchase.)

5)  Mirrors are all the rage. Add oversized mirrors to your space, like above your fireplace. Mirrors open up your space and enhance the room’s natural lighting. You can’t go wrong with adding several mirrors either. Remember, odd numbers are important!

6) Pull out the photo albums. Dust off old photos and display them proudly in your home! Not only will you be able to reminisce, laugh a little, and allow your room to be more inviting and calming. Create a gallery by displaying photos on book shelves, book cases, tables, dresses, and desks. If you’re hanging them on a wall, create a fun cluster using different shapes and sizes of frames.

Your Local Real Estate Expert,

Feeling a Little Bit Country

We've been feeling a little country chic this week. 

If you like the look of patterns and light pastels, but have your entire home very modern, try adding a little country to your living room but adding light turquoise throw pillows to your living room sofa. Or add some fern potted plants next to that lamp or buffet in your dining room. You can always add a little country to your modern home. 

And if you're home is already country chic, try adding a little bit of France to your home. Add a white vanity to your bedroom, or vintage mirrors over your fireplace. 

What's hot right now in Country Chic? Robins Egg upholstery and case goods! 

Here's some great country home inspiration for you that we found on Pinterest. Tell us what you think! 

To see all of our Country Chic pins, check out http://www.pinterest.com/nissourealty/country-chic/

 Your Local Real Estate Expert,

Top Five Home Design Trends for 2014

Now that we've begun to establish ourselves into the new year, many begin re-decorating their homes with the latest trends. After doing days of research, I've come up with the top five predicted home design trends for 2014. 

1. KITCHEN DESIGN: In the last 25 years, kitchen designs have become a fundamental approach to the "open kitchen" concept. In the past, kitchens were put into one disconnected back room in your home. Today, kitchens are typically being built to open up into living spaces in your home, such as your living room, family room, or formal dining area. Walls are continuing to come down and allows focus on entertaining house guests and spaces that are maximizing your ability to gather and relax with family and friends.

 -- Here's a tip: Use different finishes to help blend your kitchen into the family and dining rooms. 

2. NEUTRAL vs. BRIGHT: Ten years ago, we would walk into homes and they would be bursting with bright and bold colors all over the place. Neutral palettes are beginning to dominate the home design trends for 2014. Although color has always been popular, 2014 trends are to paint walls white, beige, and gray. 

---Here's a tip: Allow bold colors to pop into small details, such as lighting, throw pillows, or decorative art. Or paint just one wall in a room a bright and bold color. 

Living Rooms from 1990s and Early 2000

2014 Predictions

3. CABINETS AND STORAGE: Drawer appliances have come little changes that people are incorporating into their homes to make them more accessible. Microwave drawers and warming drawers are being hidden away in cabinets, underneath counter tops, and aren't hanging above a stove. 

4. HONEY-TONED WOODS: A big 2014 trend that is predicted to pop up this year and make a statement are honey-toned woods, such as walnut, oak, and cherry. We used to see that dark wood always used to dominate homes, but honey-toned woods are making their appearance again, and we couldn't be happier!

5. TURQUOISE: It's everywhere. 2010-2013 was the beginning of seeing a culmination of blues and greens in every shade and hue. Now, turquoise is beginning to show up in upholstery, wall coverings, and on furniture. And we're not just talking pale and wimpy turquoise, but the beautiful deep and saturated turquoise.

2014 is the year of Turquoise

Let me know- Do you agree with the predictions? What is your favorite home design? Post a comment and let us know!

Your Local Real Estate Expert,