Magazines Inspiration

                                     
                                                       http://www.elledecor.com/
Elle Decor is sort of chic and old fashioned at the same time. It has some of the most inspirational examples of interior decorating and also some good tips.

                                          
                                     http://www.magazine-agent.com/cottage-living/magazine
Cottage Living is just super cute!

                               
                                             http://www.homeanddesign.com/
This is one that i've never really looked at but just cae across it doing some research and it seemed pretty interesting to me.

                           
                             
                                                  http://www.traditionalhome.com/

                      
                                                    http://www.housebeautiful.com/

This furniture is very inspirational to me. It's all pretty simple and clean cut but still has a very modern design to it.



               

                                 

Career Spotlight

    I think what i really would like to do is commercial design. Combine the fields of art, business, and engineering to design the products people use every day such as restaurants, offices, retail stores and clubs. These designers are responsible for the style, function, quality, and safety of almost every manufactured good. Here are some pictures of some really nicely designed commercial spaces:

          

              

       

                              

           

                              

Inspirational Design

     Over the Thanksgiving holiday i went to a small town near South Padre to visit family and noticed there was an old church that was interesting to me. Many of the homes there have been lived in for a very long time but some of the nicer ones have an adobe style to them, much like the old church but with more of a modern twist. I thought they looked very nice! I don't have any actual pictures but here are some similar to what i saw :

                            



      
                                     

                      

  

Project Spotlight

     My house is pretty small so i've really become obsessed with the idea of making little spaces appear larger. So, that is my current personal project. My bathroom has no windows, my closet is extremely small, the kitchen barely has enough room for a dining table! Everything that i could use to open up a space has been limited. I'm not going to post any pictures of the rooms in my house because it's pretty much all under construction at the moment. But i do have some creative 'before and after' ideas that helped inspire me.


                                                                      BEFORE:
          

                                                                             AFTER:
           

                                                                     BEFORE:
            

                                                                     AFTER:
             
                        (white really helps open up a room!you don't want too many dark colors)

                                                                              BEFORE:
                                                

                                                                             AFTER:
                                            
                           (I love this! The blue gives it a cool effect and allows light to come in.)

A few other tips i've learned:
       - Mirrors make a room seem larger by reflecting any natural light.
       - Only keep the essentials. Anything you don't use is just taking up space.
       - Keep window covering sheer to allow more light to come in.
       - Use paint combinations that reflect light. Anything but dark colors.
       - Chose furniture that doubles as storage.
       - Make sure furniture is the proper scale for the space it is in.
       - Use vertical stripes on walls or cabinets for easy decorating.

Could have been better!

Take a look at this room... 


      

I think it really was going in the right direction but seemed to have taken a turn for the worst when choosing the color scheme. Yellow and purple...come on! Maybe as small accent colors, yes. Not big purple couchs and yellow chairs and lamps though. Ew. Also, the walls are too plain. The architecture is great in my opinion with lots of windows for natural light. But what's a nicely structured home without good interior to match?

My inspiration for the week

         My neices were my inspiration this week. I took them to a place called the art barn studio where you can paint ceramics and make lots of different types of crafts. My youngest neice who is 2 and had no idea what she was doing painted a cute little tooth shaped box for when the tooth fairy comes. She used soft colors like light blue, purple and pink. Much like these rooms:

                                                  

                

                                                         

(i love this room!)

My other neice who is 6 had a little bit better handle on her painting. She used a ceramic unicorn and painted it with different shades of blues, browns and some green. Sort of like these rooms: