Tag Archives: contemporary

How to Decorate a Laundry Room

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It seems to a shame to put such stylish functional objects as today’s super sleek contemporary washing machines in dirty little hovels and damp basement spaces. It is easy to turn a laundry room into a room that you will want to spend time in because it is so comfortable.

First of all paint the laundry so it looks fresh. Make sure that it is clean and free of lint and well ventilated. If there are windows buy sunny new curtains or blinds for the area. Get rid of any harsh fluorescent lighting or the single hanging light bulb and buy freestanding lighting that is bright enough so that you can see what you are doing but dim enough to make the place cozy.

A nice touch is to have a clothing rack so you can hang up stuff to dry, steam clean it with a steam iron or simply hang stuff right away as it comes out of the dryer. Be sure to add large hampers for storing the laundry in as well.

You can build yourself a workshop area by adding old desks or simply making one in the wall. You can put sewing machines, fabrics and anything you use to make crafts down here. You can add plants, mirrors, racks and all sorts of little touches to make the area easier to work in.

If you have an old exposed sink consider boxing it with shelving and cupboards so it looks more like a kitchen or bathroom sink. This often adds surface area for you to work in.

If you have areas in the room that are exposed that you would rather not look at then you can buy cheap curtains at Wal-Mart and hang them so things are not as exposed.

This is also a good room in which to hang photos, art or a cork board with ideas for art on it. Look around for interesting hooks as you always need places to hang things in the laundry. Even small hooks, like the ones you buy to hang key chains on, can be interesting.

So in conclusion there are four basic ways to improve a laundry room space. First of all add a bright color to make the room feel great. Then add some light to create more of an inviting atmosphere. Add flowers and greenery and don’t forget to personalize the area with art or personal photos.

Decorating With an Accent Wall

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An accent wall is a great way to transform the look of the room; all it happens to be is one wall in your space that is painted a specific color. You can easily do this yourself
with your chosen accent color paint, a roller and masking tape.
The idea behind the accent wall is that it is markedly more interesting than the other walls in the room. This makes this wall a focal point. Usually the wall is painted a darker, more intense color than the other walls. In fact it is usually the only colored wall in the room. However sometimes it is a wall that is merely darker than others – for instance it might be a dark purple wall in room where the other walls are painted a very light lilac. As it is the first wall to be seen before a room is entered it is also usually nicely decorated with art, mirrors, shelves, moldings or other types of visual interesting touches.

The other purpose of an accent wall is to anchor or define a separate area within a larger space. This can, for example, help define a small area of a room as a reading or sewing area or as an area for watching television or sewing. These types of walls also happen to be near areas of a room that are used a lot. They tend to be near a bed, fireplace, entertainment center or bookcase. Sometimes the accent wall is actually used to frame the television, which is like the contemporary hearth of the home complete with its high definition flickering light. Traditionally accent walls have been used to frame fireplaces with the color of choice being a deep crimson or tomato red. Dark red accented walls go well with touches of black or gold elsewhere in the room as well.

Paint is not the only tool used to make an accent wall. Sometimes they are made of tiles or mirrors. Still the trend in 2011 is to make an accent orange a bright burnt orange.
Other popular colors for accent walls are a burnt crimson, celadon, dark green, olive green and plum.

One nice idea is to reflect the color of the accent wall in other details of your décor. For instance if your accent wall is a bright orange then maybe have orange drapery ties or orange pillows to compliment the look and tie it all together.