Category Archives: Home Improvement

Find Your Inspiration

We are starting a series on how to find inspiration for design. We can often feel beholden to current trends on social media or what’s available in the Target home goods section (don’t get me wrong, I’d happily use everything in that section, all of the time, everywhere, in my home!), but what if we learned to take something we truly love – a painting, our favorite blouse, a photo from our most memorable vacation – and bring it to life in our home? That’s our goal – functional design we love, that breeds life and love and warmth in our everyday.

With each post in the series, we will break down our inspiration into color palettes, materials, décor, and other elements of design and apply how they could be used in your home. We’d love to hear from you! Send us your inspiration – we’d love to use what you love to teach this series! Send pictures to katya@ahomerevival.com.

Let’s start with my favorite painting by Salvador Dali, “Girl at the Window.”

Source: Salvador-dali.org

What colors do you notice? What patterns do you see? How is light used in this photo? What elements catch your eye or hold your attention? How does the print make you feel?

For me, this painting is a reminder of the years I lived in Spain. It evokes a sense of slowness in me; calmness, the opportunity to rest and reflect. Iberian culture is built around gatherings and coffee and community – Spaniards are skilled at enjoying the moment and feeling accomplished if they succeed at completing even one to-do in a day. These are sentiments I’d love to cultivate in a kitchen – a calm, relaxing, beautiful place to gather with friends. So, let’s design a kitchen!

The Tile Shop

The cream colors and ocean waves inspire this Retro Lino Ceramic Subway Wall Tile by The Tile Shop.

Lowes

The blue hues of the girl’s skirt, as well as the ocean, provide inspiration for aqua, diamond cabinets on the lower half of the kitchen walls.

Lowes

To balance the blue cabinets, we’ll add matching cabinets, in Agreeable Gray, to the top half of the kitchen wall, and a brushed oak center island.

Décor Pad

For the walls and countertops, we’ll add bright, white elements. Its easy to miss, but there is the slightest sunray illuminating the left side of the window, adding movement and brightness to the painting. I want to replicate the same lightness in our kitchen.

I’ve selected Snowbound by Sherwin Williams for our wall color, and we’ll use a beautiful, warm, quartz for the countertops.

Sherwin Williams

Great Lakes Granite & Marble

The piece de resistance of the kitchen will be the Balboa Counter Stools with Surg Stripe Coastal Blue covers by Serena & Lily. The blue stripes, introduced by the girl’s skirt and the lines of the curtains, complete our design.

Serena & Lily

Other design elements taken by “Girl at a Window” can be added throughout the kitchen with coastal elements such as:

  • Rattan lighting
  • Sandy textured ceramics
  • Plants
  • A white, stucco stove hood
  • Iberian inspired dishware

Add a fancy, Illy, espresso machine, and perfect your array of tapas, and you have yourself your very own Spanish, communal, oasis!

Guest Blogger: Katya Larsen, Stager, A Home Revival

 

 

 

Small Refreshes to Enhance a Home

As we draw closer to the holiday season, you may be turning your attention toward hosting gatherings or decorating for the holidays.  Here are some small refresh ideas to change up your space and enhance your home for the season!

A Fresh Coat of Paint

Never underestimate a fresh coat of paint.  Even if it’s the same color as what you had previously, it will renew a space instantly.  If you’re looking for an updated paint color, think about the mood or feeling you want your space to exude and then go that direction with color.  If you’re needing the space to feel lighter and brighter, then a white or light greige is the way to go.  If you’re looking for a cozy, moody space, then it’s okay to go dark and rich in color.

One of our favorite light paint colors right now is Sherwin Williams Drift of Mist.  It has warm undertones, yet still falls in the light grey category.

Home Bunch

One of our favorite dark paint colors right now is Sherwin Williams Iron Ore.  It’s a soft black that won’t feel stark.  It has a depth to it with undertones of blue grey.

Sherwin Williams Blog

Updated Light Fixtures

This is our favorite update after painting.  If sellers have the time and budget within their target listing price, we recommend changing a few key light fixtures.  Similarly, if you’re moving into a new home, updating some light fixtures to fit your personality and style can go a long way into making the house feel like yours.  Again, this does not have to be expensive.  Start looking at a Home Depot or Amazon.  If you want more unique options and are willing to spend more, check out Serena & Lily or Pottery Barn.  Some local stores that can assist you in choosing lighting are Southern Lights and Muska Lighting.

Pottery Barn

New Hardware

Cabinet hardware can really set a time stamp on your home style-wise, just like lighting can.  Changing hardware is super easy to do and doesn’t have to be expensive.  Big box hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s carry numerous styles and finishes these days.  Then you can get really fancy with hardware from places like Rejuvenation or Restoration Hardware.  If you’re looking for the quickest yet easiest change, look for something the same size/shape as your previous hardware so you don’t have to fill any holes or make new ones.

Norfolk Kitchen and Bath

Move Your Furniture & Decor Around

Last but not least, try rearranging your furniture within a room or moving pieces to a different area of your house.  You’ll be surprised at how fresh your spaces feel – almost like you got new furniture.  One of our favorite tricks is to move living room pieces to a lower level family room and then you can focus on a few new items for the main level living room which is typically more used and important than the lower level area.  Throw pillows are a perfect example of this.  Move primary bedroom pillows to a kid or guest room and only refresh with new in the primary bedroom for a new feel everywhere.

Rooms With Style Staging

Happy Refreshing!

 

Using Wallpaper as a Design Element

Photo credit: Homesandgardens.com

Wallpaper is all over the place these days and there are so many fun fresh patterns.  Plus with peel-and-stick, you can easily apply it yourself and not be tied to it for years to come.  Wallpaper is a very easy way to add some personality to your space.

Great spaces to try wallpaper for the first time are:

Powder Bathrooms: A small, safe place to do something different or bold!  This paper is from Rifle Paper Co.

Photo credit: Stylecharade.com

Primary Bedroom or Kids Bedroom: Less visitors in these rooms, so you can design more specifically to you or your children’s taste.

Photo credit: Thespruce.com

Laundry Room: Add some spunk to an ordinarily not-so-fun room.  Maybe you’ll enjoy doing laundry more!

Photo credit: Bria Hammel Interiors

Anywhere with bookshelves or open shelves: Try it just inside some open shelving for a peek of color or texture.

Photo credit: Decorpad.com

Great places to look for wallpaper are:

Good price point — Amazon + Home Depot + Etsy

Some of the prettiest, unique designs — SpoonflowerWallshoppe + Chasing Paper

Happy papering!