REPURPOSING CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS FOR MARCH

Second post for today, and I'm pretty much excited. It's just a few hours to we get into the month of April, the month of the a-z blogging challenge and 5 days to Easter sunday. I realized that I was thinking of easter decorations, then it suddenly hit me that I hadn't written a post for the month of March! 

So, without wasting any more time, I’d let you in on my ideas for repurposing your Christmas décor for the month of March. March has almost no significant holiday except for the international Women’s day. So, I had a few ideas for the month of March. Here they are;

• A parade: a march pass, how about arranging your decorations like they are on a parade marching down the street.

• A second thought though almost irrelevant was arranging them in the shape of a “match stick” or a fish for "pisces".  It’s a hilarious thought but it’s all about being creative right?

• Last and final thought that came to mind was arranging your decorations like they were playing a football match. Better still, a football match pitching the feminine characters against the masculine characters of the decorations. This was my best. 

That’s all for this month, have to run, I have a challenge to prepare for tomorrow. Hoping to get the post for repurposing of Christmas decorations for the month of April out on time.

Cheers….

BLACK & WHITE BEDDINGS COLLECTION

Good morning everyone and welcome to a new week with exciting possibilities.  The A - Z blooging challenge kicks off in barely 2 days. It is my first time on the challenge , and Isincerely hope I pull it off! I hope you would also join me on this journey for a month. Over the course of the next one month, I'd be writing posts on 'medical drama' - my theme for the a - z blogging challenge. However, I'd occasionally write some unrelated articles (the regular stuff I usually write about - food, fashion, decor and whatever comes to mind). So, on some days, I'd write and publish twice. (Please bear with me).

Last week, I gave a little teaser on the beddings I've been working on, I also promised to be back with more. Today, I present to you, my black and white collection! A few of them have a pop of color - red. It was originally meant for my winter 2014 collection, but things didn’t pan out then. Glad it's all good now though. Here they are, have fun.

Let me know what think.

Cheers......

AWESOME NEW ARRIVALS

Hello everyone,

Been so busy with work and business, I neglected you for some time. For that I'm sorry. I can assure though that you would definitely forgive me once you see what I've been up to. Havecsome amazingly new beddings made, and more still in the making for my collection. That collection is a must see. For now however, feast your eyes with the new available beddings from kays fittings. 

That's all for now, promise to be back "asap" with more. Until then, stay tuned for post updates.

*P.S* the beddings are for sale

Cheers....

REPURPOSING YOUR CHRISTMAS DECOR FOR THE WHOLE YEAR

‎So, valentine's day have come and gone and I had lots of fun. Finally was able to give by hubby the gift he wanted most (thanks to you all who shared some gift ideas with me). I was chilling (can't remember where exactly) one hot evening, and was thinking that I hadn't posted anything on interior decor  in a very long time, so  I decided to check out the web for some inspiration. Of all the sites I visited, this one stood out to me - patiencebrewster.com. She is an artist and illustrator known for her unique Christmas ornaments, holiday decor and gifts.  ‎ Now this is totally new to me, but I always aspiring for something new was inspired by her to come up with creative ideas to repurpose Christmas decorations for use all year round, instead of packing them up till another Christmas. I have decided to do this for each month of the year, starting with this month, (though it's almost over).

For this month, the month of February, the month regarded by many if not all, as the of love. I have been brainstorming to come up with a creative idea for Valentine’s day. Redecorating in the shape of a HEART is what instantly comes to mind, but that one is already taken and a bit cliché. Going with a "V" seemed a little bit too obvious, even though a heart shape without the top part leaves us with a "V" too. I then thought about arranging the decorations in the alphabets that spell LOVE, making the V more pronounced to represent valentine. Finally, I decided to leave the proverbial "box" to think, guess what I came up with? 

I thought about synonyms, antonyms, homonyms and I came up with a homophone - Heart vs. Hat. You could redecorate in the shape of a Hat! What do you think of that? Crazy creative right? Well, if we weren't repurposing Christmas decorations, then you could use your hats (for those of us who have lots of hats) to decorate in the shape of a heart. As for what specific colours to use, that's easy. Valentine's day share some similarities in color with Christmas - red. Alright, that's all I could come up with for this month. Hope you love it.

Cheers

BOOK THEMED DECOR

Hello everyone, 

Today, I thought I should go back to my first love, the reason I even started blogging. I have neglected it for some time now,  in favour of fresher gist and I daresay, somewhat more interesting topics. I have felt like I've been cheating on my interior design readers. So today, I am here with a fresh themed decor idea. Do you love books so much, sometimes feel like being inside of the pages of the book your are reading? Well, guess what? today is your lucky day. I'll be writing about how to design your space to look like a book, a set of books or something out of a book. 

The idea of a book themed space first came to me when I saw a photo on pinterest, (the book staircase). I also realized that the theme has to be for book lovers or anyone who loves to read. Unlike the music themed decor, you may not be able to get the architectural design of the house to look like a book (no conclusive evidence of that), but you sure can get the inside of the house bookified!

Hmmm... where to begin? Well, if you want to decorate with books, everyone's first thought is turned to the library. However, from the photo above, we can see that there are much more creative ways to get to book theme into your home without going to the library or even owning one. Not everyone has the luxury of owning a library covered on every available space, floor to ceiling with bookshelves filled with books as seen in the animation movie 'beauty and the beast' and many other films. On the other hand, almost everyone can create the look while aspiring to own one. To get the look is pretty easy, use wallpapers. Two ways to go about this;

• either get an actual book wallpaper, or
• use newspapers in place of wallpaper. I'm not a fan of using actual book pages instead of wallpaper, for two reasons
• 1) it makes the design look tacky
• 2) it is a waste of the books we claim to love.

You can use book wallpapers when designing your library or study to give the illusion of a covered up floor to ceiling library. Endeavor though to have some real books in the space even if it's just one shelf. The newspaper print on the other hand is better when creating a feature wall.

When creating themed decors, one thing must be foremost in our minds "making a statement" (in a good way). Another way to incorporate the book theme into your home if you aren't up for the wallpaper is to create a unique bookshelf as shown in the photo above. Or you can have a unique arrangement for a regular shelf design. You can refer to this post to see another interesting design. 

Other ways to create this themed decor in an exquisite way is to wrap up objects with newspaper, or newsprint wallpaper and keep them in strategic locations as statement pieces. For example, you can wrap up you waste paper basket with newsprint (afterall, it's for paper). You can also create DIY vases using used bottles and beautiful colored papers. Fab up your kids room by creating paper toys for them. It is inexpensive. (Please do not wrap up lightings with paper. It might get heated and start a fire).

Let's get down to furniture, fabrics now also come in book prints. As shown in the photo above, it can be used as a bedspread. You can also use such fabrics to upholster a single sofa or an armchair, or to make a throw pillow or a curtain. So there you go, start turning your home into a book.

Get BOOKIFIED!!!...

Cheers...

Photo credit: pinterest

PHOTOGRAPHY THEMED DECOR

Hey Friends,

The last time I wrote on interior design, it was on a not so common themed decor. Today, I have another interesting and even more rare themed decor design to please your senses. Today, it is photography theme. Photography is an area I've always loved even though I know I could never be a professional at it. When you think of photography, what comes to mind? I know, it's easy, pictures. Well, if you thought that then you are probably correct. However, for the purpose of this discussion, I'll include videography to that. Many people now view them as separate entities, but I don't think they are entirely so different. Take for instance, the camera especially, the digital camera. It is used to both take pictures and record events (videos). Another example, these days, videos can be stored on compact discs, well, so can picture. Besides videos are also called motion pictures. So, I hope I am not mistaken in clumping the two together for this post. 

Unto more interesting things, how do you achieve this look? It must already seem daunting especially with this first photo. You would wonder if I'm implying you build a house. If you can, why not? Anyway, dear friends don't fret. It gets simpler. Achieving the photography theme is probably something we already practice but pay no attention to. These are very easy ways to achieve the photography themed decor.

• If you read my posts on interior design, you'll notice that I rarely write any without stressing the need to accessorize with picture frames and artwork. Well, this is the exact theme that requires you to take it all out. Back in the day, when I was in secondary school, students had this habit of pasting pictures of their family and friends on the wall (I did it too). A better way or should I say more sophisticated way to go about it now, is by creating a feature wall with frames photos even if of different shapes and sizes.

• Another way to incorporate this theme, I'm sorry to say would be more beneficial to collectors. Are you a camera or video tape collector? Well, today is your lucky day. All you have to do is created an eye-catching location for your collection in your space and voila! you have yourself a unique statement piece. Take a look below;

• A third way to achieve this look is by creating what looks like a dark room. A dark room is a room where pictures are developed. To achieve this, you can hang negative film and/or pictures on ropes using clips. How about designing your living room so it look like a movie or studio set? Action, set, go! Isn't that a great idea? Be careful with this style though so you don't end up with a tacky space instead of a gorgeous one.

• The final and easiest way to incorporate this theme is to get wallpaper or beddings with photographic designs on them. The designs could vary as list above.

So, what are you waiting for? Go out there and start your decoration plans!! Until I come your way again with another themed decor, (I hope soon)....

Cheers....

photo credits:
tumblr.photojojo.com
lovecreativerooms.blogspot.com
deadredeyes.com
hallifordfilmstudios.co.uk

MUSIC THEMED DECOR

Hey guys,

Happy sallah in arrears to you. Today, I thought I'd write something on decor. It's been a while! Don't you think? Anyway, you know, with my other discussions on themed decor, I always say go with the accessories, but with the musical themed decor, you can go all the way. From the architectural designs to wallpaper with musicians or music signs to decorating with real musical instruments.

Music pool

As always, we start with what colors to use for the space, type of lighting or furniture, however, in this case, there are no such restrictions. You can choose any color you love, any type of furniture or light fixtures. There are no rules that dictates a particular way to go. For this type of decor, I say "just go with it". 

Music house

A little advice though, the minimalist approach is preferable, especially when choosing your furniture. You could also do a "pop of colour" or "a feature wall" (refer to older posts on this blog). 

The main thing to take away from this post is that adding real musical instruments only adds to the design. It is only in this design that you should have a band in your bedroom, for instance. 

I'm feeling a bit sleepy right now, so I am off to bed. Nightie night guys. Cheers......

Photo credit: http://themerooms.blogspot.com/2012/12/music-bedroom-decorating-ideas-rock.html

ikibedroom.blogspot.com/2013/03/music-bedroom-decor.html

http://www.abned.com/cool-music-themed-bedroom-ideas/white-cover-music-bedroom-design/

DECORATING SMALL SPACES IN A GREAT WAY

Hey everyone!

So, I just moved in with my hubby and we both realized that the space was suddenly too small for both of us, since our apartment wasn't ready as at the time of the wedding. But we had to devise a way to fit both our stuff until a time that we can conclude our moving arrangements. This situation inspired me to write this topic. To help people living in small spaces manage it properly.

It can be quite difficult designing any space at all but designing, organizing and decorating a small space has to be done with even more effort.Thank goodness I'm an interior designer. A few weeks ago, I posted something on tips and tricks to organizing, you can check it out here. Today, I'll be focusing more on how to make your small space look adequate if not large. Some major items need to be taken into consideration and they include:

• Storage: This is very very essential. It can not be over-emphasized! Really!!... The only way to make your space not look cluttered and jam-packed is if you have everything in their own proper homes. You are lucky if you have an in-built closet in your room. (Most Nigerians apartment and even homes have this. They don't have a walk-in closet like the western world.) So, you got a in-built closet? great! half of the problem is solved, just make sure it's properly partitioned to store more things. So there's a separate area for shoes and clothes and accessories, even the bed linens and towels have their very own section. That's exactly what I did at my new home. 

• Furniture: Don't go getting huge furniture pieces, it could crowd up the space and make it look even smaller. Buy small furniture that's adequate for the space. For your bedroom, you may need just a bed with storage drawers underneath for storage. A small reading table with side drawers and/or bookshelf attached, may come in handy, and of course your wardrobe (armoire). The living room could have minimal furnishing, like a sofa and an armchair or two, depending on the size of the space. A coffee table and maybe a dining table. Just as long as it doesn't get crowded.

• Make use of the walls: This is also inclusive of storage but I started it with a different bullet to emphasize its need. Instead of hanging up artwork that are just for beauty, put up floating cabinets. It can also serve as a feature wall. Have a look here. A lot of designers believe in darker colors for the walls, but I believe quite the opposite. Bright colors like white or cream, even a lighter shade of any color like pink (baby pink), blue (sky blue), green (mint green) or yellow could go. For that darker shade, use it a one wall as a feature wall with a POP! of color. Infact, you can have the pop of color and floating cabinets together on one wall as your feature wall as shown below. Even better when the cabinets are done in white.

• Lighting and accessories: Most small spaces come with at most 2 windows, so you'd need as much light as you can get. Ensure that your blinds are light so as to let in natural light as much as possible. You can also accessorize with beautiful lamps and lighting fixtures. Thick curtains just make the space feel choked up. Another important thing to accessorize with are mirrors. They make the space look larger, maybe even twice as large.

• For kitchens, try to create space by taking everything up, even the plate racks and microwave. Keep the work surfaces free for cutting up and cooking.

So the next time you are on a budget and can only afford a small apartment but need much space, just take these tips and you are good to go. 

Cheers....

Photo Credit: photobucket.com & morguefile.com

SPRING 2014 BEDSHEETS COLLECTION

Hey there everyone! 

It feels so good to be back, and I want to say thank you for your warm welcome. I have so much to tell you but you'll have to wait. They'll come a bit at a time. Today's news is about my work. As most of you already know, I'm into interior design and one aspect I love most is designing beddings, which is how I started. Lately, I started considering producing the beddings in batches rather than randomly. Then I thought about releasing them in seasons just the way it's done on fashion runways. 

This is my strategy for this year, let's see how it goes. For my part spring collection, the inspiration came from an outfit "Jessica" wore in the season 3 of  "suits". The design looked like a bud was forming, growing into the other part of the top. Immediately, my mind related it to budding in flowers during spring hence - the spring collection. However, I couldn't well come out with only one design and call it a collection. Next, I took a good look at the design again and it looked like a semi circle. Then, I thought, I could have this in any shape, it just had to be a semi of the shape and it had to be budding. The theme for my 2014 spring collection is therefore THE SEMI-SHAPE BUDDING DESIGNS. 

Here's what they look like. Let me know what you think of it.

More patterns will be added as soon as they are made. 

Cheers.......

RECEPTION AREAS

Hey friends, while going through my posts some days back, I realized that I haven't actually written a blog post about the reception area. Whether it is a corporate office, a bookshop, school, or a church as long as it is a workplace, the reception area is the first point of contact. Just like the family physicians, they offer first contact care. The impression a client gets of your reception area is lasting and can determine a lot of outcome. For instance, if the potential client will continue to visit and become an actual client and the level of respect you attract to your person and company.

Depending on the type of organization, the reception might be just a point of inquiries as seen in many corporate offices, hotels and banks. There usually is no provision for seating unless the waiting area is incorporated into the reception as have become the current trend in reception designing. Any design theme can be used to design your reception area. However, the most commonly used type of theme is the modern or contemporary style with clean lines.

As with designing any space, we think of the following;

• Colour: The colours required for a reception need to be bright but not shouting. (If you get the drift). The tendency is always to go safe with colours like white or cream. Don't forget that you can pull it off with a feature wall. The colours in this case may be a bit toned down. Sharp, shouting colours can be brought into the space with the furniture, lighting and accessories. 
• Furniture: Most reception areas these days come with a waiting area attached to it. Care should be taken when picking out furniture for this space. Remember it is a public place. Different categories of people will come in and pass through. Also remember, an idle mind is the devil's workshop. People carry out a lot of antics while waiting. Which is why you can see tears on some reception chairs and writings on the coffee table. Leather or metal chairs are your best bet. They are also both durable and comfy (especially leather ones). The coffee table could be marble, metal or glass. (Avoid glass tables if children are involved). The chair for the receptionist should be comfy. (She/he will be spending lots of time in that space, you don't want them developing back pain because of a bad chair).  The desk should serve both the purpose of desk and security barrier without appearing so. 
• Lighting: This needs to be bright and subtle at the same time. You don't want lights blinding people that step into your corporation. Lighting systems can be achieved through the use of chandeliers or multiple single bulbs placed in strategic locations to give the necessary illumination. 
• Ventilation: This is an aspect of design I have never really bothered with in my former posts.  Guess I just left it to the architects in my subconscious mind. Ventilation is very essential to any space. If the original architecture of the space doesn't give you much, you can add air conditioning and regulate the temperature to suit your needs. Besides you don't want to have clients sweating or freezing while they wait. Something else of utmost importance is odour control. If possible add air fresheners to the space. (Not on display though). 
• Accessories: These are not the typical accessories found in the home. For your reception area, you can have a neatly arranged rack for recent magazines and newspapers to keep your clients occupied while they wait. (Mind you, it also helps prevent unnecessary damage to your furniture).  A flower vase can be used to decorate your receptionist desk. If you opt for a sofa, then you can add a few throw pillows. Artworks or paintings would do if you have a free wall space and it won't overcrowd the area. 

So have fun redecorating guys.

Cheers......

Photo reference: posturepeople.co.uk; http://www.fusionofficedesign.co.uk; 

COLOR-CODED THEME

The color-coded theme is the easiest way to create a themed décor. It also has a way of becoming tacky when you make the mistake of overdoing it. Basically, the color-coded theme is all about decorating your space, whether it's your bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, or living area with one particular color or in the case of a "black and white theme", - two colors. It is decorating a space in different shades of a color. 

Black and White theme

Decorating a space in different shades of a color makes it look like you actually used more than one color. Which is indeed the truth in actual fact. Take for example, the color we all refer to as purple. It has many shades and those shades in turn have their own names like violet, lilac and lavender. However the most prominent color that comes to mind when describing them is purple. This is because the others can be referred to as light purple, bluish purple e.t.c. Same goes for blue, green, pink and so on.

Purple Room

In decorating a color-coded themed space, you don't always have to make it different shades of a color. You can use only one shade of the color and break it up with neutral colors like brown and white, or even black. These neutral colors can be used in the furniture, accessories and lighting. Another good thing about the color-coded theme is that any of the other  themes like the Victorian, French or Asian themes can be incorporated into it. You can do almost anything with it.

Have fun decorating with this theme. you'd love it.

Cheers....