My husband knows what he likes, but doesn’t want to help pick anything out. He’s not a goodwill hunter, either. Our idea of ‘nice’ is to get solid oak stuff from a place like oak express/denver mattress and use the no payments/interest plan and pay it off before it’s due. Works nicely. We do have a 0% credit card, so that might work as well, but we don’t want to pay $1000/piece. What we need in general is paint colors/suggestions for art/things to put on the wall. So far we have rooms that are: bright orange and bright/dark blue upstairs and bright yellow and bright lavender downstairs. These rooms can all be closed off, but we need our main rooms painted and decorated. Comfy/useful and family friendly is our goal.
Kitchen inspiration
Okay, here goes. This is our kitchen counter/floor. I’d like to pull a little bit of inspiration from this little plaque. I don’t know how, though! We love orange. Our appliances are black and white, and we have a couple of Rachael Ray utensils that are orange and some spatulas that are green, but the rest of our stuff is black that’s ‘out’ in old crock jars/bean pot. Our cabinets and table/chairs are plain medium oak. The bench below, right, with laundry on it, is not always there, it was going to go in our laundry room, but we’re thinking of making built ins there, so it may go upstairs in the bathroom for books/magazines and a place to sit while waiting on bath time instead of the floor. I think the biggest thing is that we have plain white tile all underneath/between the cabinets except a tiny part by the window, the sofit (can anyone spell that, wordpress doesn’t know how!), so the kitchen itself doesn’t have much to ‘go’, but this is like the whole side of the house (laundry room on one end, and nursery on the other), but the rest is kitchen/dining and we need COLOR! We also have a tiny guest bath (door on the right) in the dining room area. I want to do something inspired by Ireland in there. Like a framed saying to hang on the side wall or over the toilet. We have some leftover light green paint that my parents had, and I’d like to just use it, since it’s free. But it needs color otherwise and some ‘stuff’ to make it look nice enough for guests. This is also our diaper spraying/everyday potty training area, so it’s got to be stuff that’s not on the floor or low to the floor because of.. well, you know..
Lengthwise Shot
the living room has a chocolate brown couch, a green rocker/footstool, and that’s basically it. We need some inspiration here, especially things that can be added to/taken away easily or made into a part of the room to add storage/seating. Like an ottoman that has storage, but can be put out for kids to color on, but put against the wall when we want to use the kinect thingy. The edge of the bookcase here is where there’s a closet, and there’s toys on the other side toward the tv, but they may be relocated. We may put the TV up on the wall/in the corner or something. How do we have guests if we can only seat 4 on our furniture? The right wall there is almost all window. It would be nice to find something to put under that for storage/seating or something, that is functional, but not ugly. Other things to drag out and put away are fine, as long as they fold up small or can hide in a closet. Help!
Living Room
This is our bedspread. It’s 10 years old. It’s a little tattered, but I can’t imagine getting another one right now. See all the little triangles? Lots of colors to choose from. Don’t need furniture just, paint! we have light oak furniture in there, and it’s basically wall to wall.
Bedroom inspiration
Any suggestions/links are helpful. Basically we need long/hard wearing stuff that we won’t be afraid to let the kids loose on. If you need other photos to help you decide, please let me know and I’ll try and get them for you!
I love color –
My recommendation is paint the walls something a little more neutral and then add big bold bright pictures – even a colorful quilt on the wall behind the couch. – Can you do a colored tile backsplash in the kitchen?
Also – if you do paint with color – try only painting one wall or two – in our living room, the walls are a deep wine color – but only 2 out of the 3. That way it doesn’t feel so closed in.
Kitchen:
I would clear the countertops and fridge as much as possible. It will help open up the room. Buy a few little utensil holders in bright splashes of color. Maybe even something like this-http://www.etsy.com/listing/89863732/orange-vintage-planters-vintage-kitchen?ref=sr_gallery_40&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=utensil+holder&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=vintage&ga_facet=vintage
Replace the table cloth with something a little brighter like this-http://www.etsy.com/listing/77605081/cotton-tablecloth-59×91-inches-made-up?ref=sr_gallery_30&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=tablecloth&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade it’s a little pricey, but you could probably find something similar for less or use it as your “splurge.”
I’d go thrifting for a couple fun prints for the wall, and maybe frame up some chalkboard paint for a menu board. Add in a few fun hand towels that are light and airy like this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/88391868/tea-towel-screen-printed-organic-cotton?ref=sr_gallery_24&sref=&ga_search_query=vintage+kitchen+prints&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=5&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade
Living Room: Add a loveseat opposite of the couch. Something like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20051611/
If you’re going to use the living room as a play area as well, I would proably move the bookcase to another room, and add in a storage shelf like this: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80153800/ slide in buckets will help keep toys organized and out of sight when they aren’t being used.
I would add in a rug. Something traditional and neutral like this: http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/united-weavers-queens/beige/14104038888-11003.html There are tons on this site to choose from, but a rug will help define the living space.
I would put a few prints or framed family photographs above the desk.
And finally, an ottoman like this: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Brown-Leather-Storage-Ottoman/dp/B002PNF7JY/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1325877938&sr=8-14
I would paint the walls a nice, soft color. Moonshine by Benjamin Moore is a lovely bluish/gray. Or a nice warm taupe like Glidden’s Sand White. If there is cash left over, add several light colored throw pillows to all the furniture. Keep them in the same color family, but they could be all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Bedroom: Check out Carolina Inn Club Aqua by Valspar. Super pretty robin’s egg blue without being overpowering.
Hope this helps a little! Take it all with a grain of salt 🙂
I’ve never commented before but love decorating my own home and have seen others lately that I love!
Since you like orange, how about a burnt orange color on the walls. I did a quick google search and came up with something like this- http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jilcTuE55ow/STLSVaQ9fkI/AAAAAAAAALE/nDjJSrogm6g/s400/DSCN1266.JPG
As for the living space, a neutral is always nice. Maybe a golden color to keep it brighter than the standard beige- http://www.housepaintingtutorials.com/images/my-den-painting-idea-what-do-you-think-21388980.jpg
A wall with a photo collage is always nice and you can change out the photos as the years pass by. You can start small and buy a couple of frames here and there to add to the collection. An ottoman with storage would be great too as you can store toys in it and use it for extra seating. Target had something similar not too long ago. A larger entertainment center would also help take up space on the otherwise empty wall.
Sally has some great tips and I agree that an area rug would look nice.
Check craigslist in your area- I have had great luck finding items on Craigslist for little money and even if they needed some work or paint, it is still much cheaper than buying brand new. And don’t be afraid to mix painted furniture with stained furniture!
Of course those are just my thoughts and you will have to decide what will make a house a HOME for YOU! Best of luck!