4 ways to instantly upgrade your interiors.

(BPT) - There's a simple reason for the recent boom in home improvement: Everyone's spending more time at home. Staying at home more makes it clearer what areas are lacking and reveals opportunities for upgrades. Fortunately, there are many ways to make a huge impact on the appearance of those rooms - instantly.

Here are four ways you can easily enhance and refresh your existing interiors.

1. Start with the foundation.

If your room feels uninspired, refreshing the flooring can instantly transform it. Recent design trends favor using consistent flooring throughout the home, or at least on each floor, for a more continuous feel - especially for homes with an open plan.

While hardwood flooring is still the top choice, many other quality products mimic the look of hardwood flooring, like vinyl, tile and porcelain flooring, often for a much lower price point.

Area rugs are also trending for use on any kind of floor. Rugs can add a pop of color or provide a focal point, while also helping to protect the floor underneath. For a quick and easy fix involving zero installation, a high-quality area rug instantly upgrades your space.

2. Light up your life.

Lighting is an often overlooked home improvement. While the light itself brightens the room, the lighting fixture can also add a striking visual accent or focal point.

In terms of utility, the impact of improved lighting is most strongly felt in the kitchen and bath.

"Decorative lighting has become a way to easily personalize a space," said Erin Hoover, director of design, Kohler Lighting. "Years ago, matching suites were very popular, but as bathrooms and kitchens reflect more individual personality, more design elements are being added. Lighting can help you update these spaces without a lot of investment and effort."

Here are two collections from KOHLER Lighting to instantly upgrade your kitchen or bathroom.

* Kitchen: The Hauksbee Collection reinterprets rustic lighting from industrial farms and factories of the 1920s and '30s. Smooth glass and cool metal combine with mixed metal finish options and vintage details, along with decorative elements like a domed metal shade with a cage detail and ribbed glass shade. The collection is available in a range of singular and mixed metal finish combinations.

* Bathroom: The Arendela Collection is inspired by 1960s designer Vistosi, and the exquisite glassworks rendered through the art of briolette gemstone cutting and spun glass rondelles. Arendela reflects sophisticated style with jewel-like, multifaceted and spun glass shades and cast metal works ranging from a strikingly singular sconce to show-stopping multi-light designs. The collection's timeless sophistication complements modern and traditional interiors. Complementing modern and traditional interiors, Arendela is available in polished chrome, polished nickel, brushed nickel and brushed brass finishes.

Thoughtfully choosing lighting fixtures to complement your current aesthetic can take your room from ho-hum to amazing. Visit Kohler.com to explore the possibilities for your home.

3. Color your world.

What is the color palette of the room? Is it an eclectic mix, reflecting years of adding elements that don't go with the walls? How recently was it painted?

Especially if you're not prepared to invest in new furniture, simply painting a room can make an enormous impact.

* Is the room on the small side, or doesn't get much light? Paint a shade or two lighter to brighten the space.

* Does the room seem cold or impersonal? Choose a warm color, from yellow through red, to make the space feel more welcoming.

* Prefer neutral colors like whites or grays? Consider one colorful accent wall to make a statement.

4. Adjust your window dressing.

Updated window treatments can boost the appearance of a room, while also providing more privacy and insulation. Consider not just the color and style as it affects the look of the room, but also the function. How much privacy and light is needed? Options for window treatments today are more numerous than ever. Blinds, shades, curtains or drapes all make distinct visual statements, while also potentially enhancing the room's livability.

Updating a space doesn't require a complete redesign, a lot of time or a lot of investment. Design elements like lighting, window treatments and color provide the perfect tools to transform any room into the home of your dreams.

Article shared from the website of the original publication : Brandpoint.(https://www.brandpointcontent.com)

Room redesign? Start with the floor.

5 trusty tips for a room redesign (Hint: Start with the floors).

(BPT) - To change the look of any room, start with the floor. A beautifully finished hardwood floor adds warmth and charm — and the range of options available for hardwood floors today can truly transform a room. With choices from soft natural to cool gray to dark charcoal you can find the perfect shade for your renovation. The floor sets the tone for the room's overall appearance.
Don't know where to start? Here are a few tips to inspire a stunning redesign.

Choose an overall look

To help with your design choices, consider the overall feel of the room. Every design element — the floor stain, finish, wall color, furnishings and accents — should work together to enhance the mood and aesthetic. Do you want a soft and floral look? Sleek and modern? Cool and airy? The color palette and sheen of your hardwood finish will become the foundation for the feeling you're trying to evoke.

Get inspired

There's no shortage of resources to inspire your room design. From art galleries and Pinterest to nature itself, look for key colors, textures or items to inspire the new room design.
Next, get inspired by flooring options. Consider the collection of five customized style options crafted with a full range of stains, sealers, treatments and finishes from Bona.

For example, the Nordic Shimmer collection combines soft, natural tones that work well with whites and blues for a peaceful, comforting environment. This look complements furnishings with simple, clean lines. The New Modern collection offers rich, vivid tones to create a sense of urban luxury, in colors from white or walnut to charcoal. This style goes well with dramatic textures like glass, stone or shiny metal, and complements colors like green, rich gray or dark plum.

Other design collections include Garden Atmosphere, Malibu Dreams and Touch of Grace. Each option provides a suggested color palette and recommendations for furnishings.

Understand the process

Research the best tools and products for refinishing your hardwood floor. The process can be seamless and pleasant, or you can be left with a dusty, smelly mess. The first stage in refinishing a hardwood floor is sanding off the old finish with very light abrasion to reveal the natural wood underneath. This requires just the right grit level of abrasive, and typically takes more than one pass, using increasingly finer grit. It’s important that the wood is not over-sanded, to avoid damage. Look for a hardwood flooring professional that offers dustless sanding. Reducing the wood dust in your home not only makes clean-up a breeze, it's also healthier for your home.

Next comes the stain (color) and possibly sealer, depending on the look you're trying to achieve. Know that you can create custom colors, so take enough time to pick your perfect shade. The stain process may take a day or two as the stain sets and dries.

Finally, pick your finish. Today's hardwood floor finishes come in a wide range of sheens and durability levels. You can choose from a flat, natural matte finish to a shiny semi-gloss, and several sheens in between. Choose a waterborne finish to keep the home healthy.

Get creative

In addition to mixing stain colors for a custom blend, you can also get creative with how you treat the floors. Consider a wire brush technique to bring out the soft grain in the wood, or a distressed or scraped process for a more rustic charm.

Let the pros do it for you

The process of refinishing hardwood floors takes a high level of skill and experience — in many ways it's an art form. To make sure it’s done well, many homeowners choose Bona Certified Craftsmen — professionals who will help you choose from a range of products designed to protect and maintain your hardwood floors. The right professional will guide you to the best stain, finish or sealer to suit your hardwood species and create the desired look. They will also take into account the room's lighting and type of finish that is optimal for your room's level of foot traffic.

Let your floor be the guide for creating a beautiful new look for one room or your entire home. With a wide array of colors and textures, the possibilities are infinite.


Article shared from the website of the original publication : Brandpoint.(https://www.brandpointcontent.com)

5 ways to create an inviting room using tile.

(BPT) - Today’s tile trends extend so far beyond their traditional use as a staple of bathroom design that you may not recognize them. While once the most attractive and innovative tiles had to be imported, contemporary handcrafted tile and stone products for home design are now being made right here in the United States.

Homeowners and interior designers alike are always seeking distinctive visual touches to make each home special. Here are five ways tile design can enhance a room.

Elevate small spaces. Use tiles interchangeably to create a unique design. The Ann Sacks Radius Collection by designer Barbara Barry has five distinct modular designs that can be used independently, or combined to create patterns to delight the eye. Creative use of a variety of tile shapes like these can easily elevate small spaces such as baseboards, fireplace surrounds or backsplash areas in a kitchen.

Make a color statement. Whether you choose a single color or mix colors to create a pattern, the choices can overwhelm. “I enjoy the soft juxtaposition of watery blue tones, soft green tones and the neutral colors of gravel,” explained Barry. While Barry is known for her love of soft colors, you may choose colors that best complement elements already in the room. If you’re not working with a designer, consider traditional complementary color pairs when making decor choices, such as red-green, blue-orange or yellow-purple.

Create a calm mood. The latest trends in interior design reflect the desire for homes to be sanctuaries. Inspired by the clean lines, appropriate scale and exacting proportion prevalent in Midcentury Modern architectural design, Barry describes her collection as “soft modern, defined by a curved edge for a sensual feel.” Barry adds, “In this busy world, I want to come home to calm rooms and quiet spaces.” Choosing colors, lines, shapes and scale with simplicity in mind can help contribute to a feeling of calm.

Personalize your space. Find what appeals to you, and work with a designer or manufacturer who can meet your requests. In her collection, Barry provides tools for consumers or designers to customize patterns. Designed to spark the imagination, five distinct patterns in varying scales punctuate interiors with personality. Smaller manufacturers can personalize your project with their flexibility, customizing color choices and resurrecting a retired pattern or color, or even by recreating tiles present in a home refurbishing or renovating project. Make your space your own.

Create visual interest. Choose different textures through materials like wood, glass or tile to break up an otherwise ordinary surface in a room. Radius is available in all Made by Ann Sacks matte and gloss colorways, which can be installed as a singular color statement or mixed to evoke a unique, personalized design, whether to create a captivating statement-making wall or to cover an entire floor. The choice of tile adds a textural element to a room that can’t be duplicated by any other material.
Ann Sacks fell in love with tile while on a family vacation to Mexico when she was 13, and later used that passion to create a business inspired by those Mexican tiles. She hired gifted artisans to grow her business into a true American success story. Ann Sacks, founded in 1981 in Portland, Oregon, draws talented craftspeople to create inspiring designs in tile, stone, plumbing, lighting and accessories. These creations are traditional in terms of craft, but aligned with contemporary design trends. Today, the company includes the work of 15 designers.

Whether you choose to use tile in a more traditional way in your bath or kitchen, or to elevate another space inside a home with a more innovative style, use a customized design and select colors to create a unique environment anyone would want to call home.




Article shared from the website of the original publication : Brandpoint.(https://www.brandpointcontent.com)