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If you’d love to have a light, airy look in your home, cottage-style décor is a perfect choice. You can easily create a budget-friendly, comfortable, beautiful home with this type of decorating. No matter the style of your home, your current look can easily be transformed into vintage for very little money. If you love the look of rooms that just seem to float on the breeze, you should try out this look, as you’re sure to love it.

Use Light Colors
An important key to creating this look is the use of light colors. Many people mistakenly believe that white is the only color used in this décor. But using soft pastel shades of blue, aqua, yellow, pink, and green combined with a healthy dose of white will make the room just as light and airy, while the color provides interest and depth.

Make Great Use of Paint!
Painting is an affordable and effective way to create a dramatic change in your home. Don’t be afraid to paint your walls in any of the pastel colors listed above. If you want to create a truly original look, only paint opposite walls, leaving the other walls white. Baseboards can then be trimmed in a contrasting shade.

For creating furniture that looks worn, paint is great as well. You can give an end table or coffee table that vintage, antique look by painting it white or a pastel color and sanding the edges lightly. Look for great bargains on small tables at flea markets and garage sales.

Surprising Floors
For most people, the types of flooring they consider are wood, tile, or carpet. Wood floors are preferable with a cottage décor. While light-colored wood planks are best, any type of wood will do. You can choose to leave them as they are or paint them a shade of your choosing.

You can stencil your own area rug or the perimeter of the floor for a truly unique and absolutely inspiring look. If you already have a carpet that’s light-colored, then that will work as well. All you need do is anchor your furnishings with vintage-looking rugs.

Create Interest with Furnishings
Your furnishings in this style can either be new or old. For new furniture, try to keep the wood light in color. You can make furniture particularly warm and inviting by upholstering it with small pastel floral prints. When you toss throw pillows on your sofa, mix and match the patterns. With this style, anything you like will work!

For your mission coffee tables, end tables and assembled bookcases, you can really put your imagination to work. Are you able to get your hands on an old door? Then get creative, whether you decide to cut it down, paint, sand, or stencil it. Then simply add legs, and you’ll have a completely unique coffee table.

Think Simple When You Accessorize
Accessorize with whatever you like. Just be sure you don’t overdo it and create rooms that are messy and cluttered. Just select a few simple pieces and display them around the room. A perfect touch here might be a simple white vase filled with wildflowers. This simply stack a couple of old books on an end table and place the vase on top. Another great accessory for this style is small lamps with beaded lampshades.

When you look at cottage décor, it really has no rhyme or reason to it. When you love all the furniture and accessories you choose, things will all come together. Remember to have fun and enjoy creating this beautiful, inexpensive, new look.

Sleeping comprises about one third of the average persons life, reports say.  But consider everything else done in the bedroom; that’s a lot of time!  Shouldn’t it, then, be a stylish and comfortable place to be?  Fortunately, thanks to modern materials and designs (not to mention what we sometimes don’t like to admit: good marketing), any style imaginable can be delivered.

Consider the opposite of current modern furniture styling – the beautiful American Colonial style.   Descended from the days when a four poster was a bed, not a set of large photos of rock bands on the walls, it is still a great choice. Headboards are elegantly carved from woods such as oak or maple and look spectacular. A cloth canopy with draperies is often added.

It is surprising that the post-Revolutionary style of ordinary merchants now is the style of the elegant and well-heeled bedroom of today.  Whether a chest that can be used to store a thick down comforter or a bureau that matches your American Colonial style, this style reflects our historical heritage.

Asian designs became popular around the turn of the 20th century and continued on to the present. The hallmarks of the style — efficiency and minimalism — are the epitome of modern elegance.  Additionally, designers can incorporate a wider color palette. The Asian color palette has gorgeous hues such as beautiful reds, vibrant greens, and the colors of the sun and sky.  Today we see Asian inspired designs like the noguchi table in the modern realm as well.

An armoire of slick black lacquer, inlaid with mother of pearl is one possibility.   Even the smallest accessories, such as a jade or ceramic bowl, will add an Asian touch to the room’s design. The result is both cool and hot, both sexy and stylish. By integrating the concept of yin and yang, Asian bedding and furniture brings both an exotic flair and cultural elegance associated with Asian culture.  A set of satin goose-down pillows in Mandarin red is sure to be both comfortable and visually stunning. Try spreading a stylish and functional area rugs with an Asian flair across the hardwood floor. That’s the Asian way.

In the 1950s Scandinavian, Swedish in particular, became all the rage. The popularity of the design hasn’t waned in the intervening years. And who would question why? Swedish design features clean lines and gorgeous yet simple elegance.

The hallmarks of Shaker style are reflected in this design, it’s main features simplicity and peace. In this tumultuous era of living, this style is appreciated and valued.  But it also is an echo of the high-tech look that dominates computers, stereo designs and much more today. That integrates the bedroom style perfectly with other parts of the house while it provides a place of rest and quiet. The best of all possible worlds!

Whatever style suits your taste, and it could even be an eclectic mixture of many, you’ll find modern bedding and bedroom furniture or accent designs available to match.   Considering that you spend about one third of your life in your bedroom, it makes sense to invest in beautiful furniture and accents.

Achieving an attractive great room that handles multiple activities with comfort and style is easier than it might first appear.   Great rooms often must balance a modern sofas and a dining table, coffee tables and a children’s play area. An advantage to most modern great rooms is that they are usually somewhat spacious, which makes planning out the design of a multifunctional room smoother. Measure the rooms to get the dimensions, so you have a place to start.

If you have a spacious great room, a perfect starting piece of furniture is a modern sectional.   Sectionals serve as a nice alternative to traditional sofas since they can seat more people.  Instead of getting multiple sofas, loveseats, and chairs, you can build your look around the sectional. 

Modern furniture often looks most stunning when it is arranged around a focal point. Rooms usually have some feature that can serve as a focal point, such as a fireplace or picture window.  Decorating an accent wall  is an option if you don’t have another viable focal point option.  Creative lighting arrangements provide attractive illumination to give life to the room.   An accent wall with modular components, artwork, and perfect lighting can be as beautiful as a mountain view.

Multiple room “zones” allow you to balance multiple needs in a room.  Great rooms are often composed of a kitchen, dining room, and living area without actual points of separation.  Consider separating dining and kitchen zones using an area rug.  Dining and living areas can be separated by a freestanding bookshelf, or even another area rug.   Thinking carefully about creating separations without obstruction will create a room with defined zones that function practically.

Functional design and furniture is perhaps the most important aspect of decorating a great room.   If children are in the home, choosing items that are stain-resistant and drink-proof can save you headaches in the long run.   Today’s advanced materials are designed to meet the needs of families, so select your furniture with kids in mind.

Tying a room together visually is vital as well, keeping base colors neutral and choosing accent fabrics that are complimentary.   Keep accessories simple, as overdoing it can lead to a cluttered look.

By planning deliberately and bearing in mind some simple style tips, your room will come together looking functional and beautiful.