The Local Flea and Remoov blog copywriter and editor Tara M. Dickinson shares some of her favorite posts for home decor and other related tips collected over the past two years. Whether it's a practical or unusual home style guide or tips on quirky details from her west coast home, theme-styled decor never fails to bring further inspiration to her design world escapades. Here are some of our favorite picks that can assist anyone in creating the ideal oasis for their home, home office, children, and family.
Our Favorite Style Guides: Top Ten Editor's Picks (in alphabetical order)
- Graduate First Apartment Style Guide
- Industrial Style Guide
- Mountain Chalet Style Guide
- New Parents Home Decor Style Guide
- Presidential Home Decor Style Guide
- Reading Nook Style Guide
- Southern Charm Style Guide
- Summery Style Guide
- Techno Style Guide
- Water Inspired Decor
FAVORITE HOME DECOR GUIDE KEY TIPS
Graduate First Apartment Style Guide
This is a great guide for anyone moving into their first home or apartment. The outline removes intimidation about how to begin the decorating and setting up process. It’s actually a great opportunity to have a blank canvas and be able to start your design process from scratch.
- Even if ‘style’ is not your thing, look at this as an opportunity to express yourself.
- The main things you’re going to focus on are style, function, and budget.
- Making your new space look and feel good comes down to the color, layout, and decor.
The steps include:
- Picking a decor “theme”. This link will direct you to dozens of different decor theme guidelines to choose a favorite from.
- Choosing a focal point for the room. There is also a guide for that.
- Choosing how to stay organized.
- Lastly, how to pick the proper lighting for each area of the dwelling.
It’s the yin-yang of home decorating; a balancing act between masculine and feminine. The foundation of industrial decor is harnessed in the grit of utilitarian spaces, transforming factories and warehouses into simultaneously bold yet refined rooms.
- This is an excellent decor style to save on cost as well as maintain an environmentally conscious lifestyle by choosing to purchase gently used products versus new ones.
- Train your eye to find beauty in the obscure, rethinking how to use materials and well as open spaces and your industrial-decorated home will emerge in no time.
- It was a way of looking at the old and worn-out with fresh eyes; turning leftovers and salvaged materials into creative furnishing favorites.
- The star of the show in an industrial space is the architecture, the structure, and the bones of the building itself; meaning don’t let bright colors steal the scene.
- Industrial furniture places emphasis on structure and highlights imperfections. Common materials include steel, iron, aluminum, and reclaimed wood.
Our favorite chalets today are described as resort-like homes near beaches and lakes rather than only houses in the mountains, although this style still evokes the same sense of wilderness and adventure wherever it's located. These European-inspired homes of simplistic construction are common sights at ski resorts, around woodsy lakeside communities, and vacation spots where the main attraction is the wonder of the great outdoors.
- Each chalet-style home is unique and ultimately defined by its location.
- Let the location ground your home and your chalet look.
- To make it feel like a true chalet, you really must include a fireplace! These days the options are many if your home doesn't come with a built-in model. This welcoming feature brings life, warmth, and character to your chalet-style home.
- Faux fur- throw pillows, chair covers, rugs.
- Furniture- rustic with modern touches.
- Nature prints or art pieces of animals- horse, deer, elk, bears, buffalo, moose.
- Neutral color pallet- browns, grays, tans, whites, blacks.
- Rustic lighting (lighting elements made from found antlers give off the perfect mountain vibe).
- Statement pieces (antique wood skis are a good example).
- Textures- exposed wood beams, stone, wood anything.
New Parents Home Decor Style Guide
Having kids does not mean you have to toss personal decor style out the window. We’re here to reassure you that little ones don’t have to take over your home sanctuary and there are many ways to merge the various needs of the household creating a functional and beautiful result. Quality design and comfort can still exist with kids in the mix. The goal is to look at the overall design of your home and work on finding ways to optimize the space without it feeling overcrowded.
- First: Get Organized & Declutter- New baby means lots of new items will be entering the home. Also means things can get cluttered and messy much easier.
- Babyproof Your Home- Now it’s time to look at it from the little one’s height. Make sure every area in your home is safe by considering the baby’s point of view.
- Child-Friendly furniture that will appeal to your decor style can be a challenge but not impossible.
- The outline includes our favorite tips room-by-room, from an open space living room to the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, and so on.
- Pro Tip: Art - displaying art is definitely an adult endeavor and will make all the difference in a new parents' home when decorating in your preferred style.
Presidential Home Decor Style Guide
The favorite Presidential colors of red, white, blue, and gold seem to remain consistent in some sense through every change of the White House guard. The consistencies that make up a Presidential style can be summed up as:
- Classic, elegant, and polished.
- Sturdy wood furniture.
- Neutral and subtly rich colors.
- Americana antique art.
- Accent molding.
Room Example- For the largest room in your home, the family room or the living room, following along in the presidential style means a decor look of elegance, one that welcomes guests, and invites conversation and introspection.
- Colors: Smoky browns, greens, golds, and blues.
- Furniture: Comfortable sitting pieces can be a mixture of upholstered and leather materials. Use both solid colors and subtle floral patterns.
- Art: Images of nature, particularly of American scenes, adds to the overall presidential decor look.
- Accents: Can be gold, brass, or copper-toned metals. Fresh flowers and candelabras.
Nooks are cozy comfort relaxation spots deliberately set in alcoves and corners created for the sole purpose of unwinding, escaping, and catching up on personal self-care time. Inside, outside, or on the floor in the corner of a room, reading nooks come in all shapes and sizes and are wonderful ways to get comfortable in your home. And they are so easy to create you will have no excuse to not assemble one in your home this very weekend!
The essential components:
- Chair and footrest.
- Side table.
- Statement lighting that catches the eye through shape or size, or a touch of whimsy.
- Area rug to ground the nook as a space unto itself, place a throw rug.
- Accessories: artwork, candles, plants.
Open hospitality, welcome comfort, and a slow-paced lifestyle all reflect the heart of southern style. Creating this kind of environment is about combining the elegance of romantic style with the simplicity of a traditional, country-style look. You can easily recognize a traditional southern home by:
- An inviting front porch, which is most likely in a wrap-around style, is adorned with an abundance of potted flowers, comfortable sitting areas, and a tray filled with cool glasses of refreshments.
- Large backyards with more planted greenery, gardens, stone pathways, and additional shaded sitting areas are also part of the exterior charm of a southern-style home.
- Fresh flowers and houseplants are essential.
- A bit of a Shabby Chic vibe with whitewashed accents here and there.
- Strong wooden furniture with soft seating and floral throws; antiques, pottery, chandeliers, cushioning lighting elements.
Tropical paradises, cool breezes, water, sand, and sun. Welcome to summer, the season of relaxation, laid-back hangouts, outside barbecues, and picnics. Summer decor style centers around bright cheerful colors, looks, and pieces that easily flow from inside to outside and back again.
- Summer decor is full of bright colors, lightweight, flowing fabrics, and of course beach-inspired accents.
- Exchanging heavy draperies, bedding, and smaller accents or pieces of art with lighter, brighter options that speak of summer sun and fun.
- Rounded furniture is the name of this game. Curved couches, round tables, and circular outside sitting areas are all invitations to kick back and relax.
- Using raw materials. Raw woods, warm stones, wicker, simple glass, and recycled materials create that relaxed, less structured feel.
- Flowers everywhere, especially used on accent walls. The new designs in floral wallpapers can instantly bring the tropics to life in your home.
Techno style is clean-cut, minimal style with little embellishment, and an abundance of technology-infused features is still a highly sought-after decor choice. It’s a combination of streamlined practicality while harnessing the rules of extreme precision but not denying whimsy and fun. This decor style removes chaos and creates a sense of comfort through simplicity. Techno is close to the heart of ‘constructivism’ lovers by bringing functional high-tech room decorating ideas to modern homes. Techno elements in modern design include:
- Cold metal and glass surfaces.
- Very few textiles or fabrics.
- Industrial style walls: brick, stone, raw materials.
- Color is mostly black and white with blue, grey, and brown second.
- Accent art comes in prints of technology images or abstract canvases.
- A concentration of reflective elements.
- Geometric outlines with perfect clarity.
- Abundant lighting, including ceiling, wall, and floor sources.
After wood, water is the second most popular organic element to be welcomed into home decor. Water is a calming decor feature that imparts a sense of peace and makes people feel welcome. Its fluidity is connected to intuition and wisdom. These features will impart a water vibe when used in home decor:
- Cool hues.
- Darker tones (blue and black).
- Flowing qualities, gentle properties, and rounded features.
- Wavy, curvy, undulating, and abstract shapes.
In your furnishings, look for soft, gentle shapes with rounded edges. Think about using impressions of water in your home decor as well. This can look like room dividers in wavy, watery shapes, and colors; or resin panels that mimic the curves and colors of moving water.
- Delicate accents of colored glass, such as the blue antique variety.
- Coffee tables with a glass top.
- Glass vases of flowers.
- Mirrors are another perfect accent that bounces and reflects light; great if you have outside water elements that can be reflected indoors.
- Fill glass bowls with water and float flowers on the surface.
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