How To, Tips, & Advice | Home Design Find - Part 2

Home Design Find

Design Dilemma: Pillow Talk

Often underrated as a design vehicle, pillows can make a pretty dramatic difference in any room. A room with a neutral couch and rug can suddenly go from bland and boring to trendy and fresh, just by adding a few zappy pillows. And when you think about it, because pillows can be so easily changed [...]

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Design Dilemma: Oriental Rugs in Modern Design

We’ve always admired the look of an oriental rug paired with sleek modern furniture. It’s something about the contrast of the old and new, the traditional and the contemporary, that provides a jolt of visual interest that just wouldn’t exist in a sleek modern room with bare floors or a contemporary rug. Aside from the [...]

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Design Dilemma: Good Clutter vs. Bad Clutter

We’ve had it drummed into our heads in recent years that the key to happiness is to clear away the clutter. A spare, clean home provides a sense of peace and possibility. And there’s definitely something to it. But on the other hand, a little bit of what some would call “clutter” isn’t always a [...]

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Design Dilemma: Making Use of Vertical Space

Sometimes, the problem isn’t so much that we don’t have enough space. Rather it’s making good use of the space we already have. This is especially true for those of us with high ceilings but maybe not so much square footage. We forget to think vertically. And yet, just by considering the space overhead we [...]

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Design Dilemma: Chairs that Function as Art

Who says an arm chair has to be boring? Fantastical shapes, brilliant colors, interesting textures, can transform a purely utilitarian object into, well, a work of art. Suddenly, an extra seat for guests (used only occasionally) can function as a beautiful sculpture (seen and admired every day). So what kind of chairs are we talking [...]

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Design Dilemma: Open Shelving in the Kitchen

In the last few years, open shelving in kitchens has become a trendy way to distinguish your cooking digs from the same old boring kitchens (with cabinets) that most of us have. Open shelves are stylish, distinctive and confidently casual. But wait. Open shelving in kitchens, while uber-cool, also provides special challenges that you might [...]

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Design Dilemma: A Sectional or Not?

Sectional sofas are everywhere. Their popularity, we imagine, comes from the desire to stretch out with friends and family in one big long space. However, sectionals are pretty tricky beasts. For one thing, they are big, often larger than people imagine when they first see them on the showroom floor. For another thing, they are [...]

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Design Dilemma: Glossy or Matte Hardwood Floors?

Everyone loves hardwood floors. Or almost everyone. But when it comes to the exact finish of that hardwood floor, opinions differ dramatically. There are those of us who love our floors shiny, almost mirror-like. And there are those of us who prefer a refined matte look that doesn’t call attention to itself. Which would you [...]

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Design Dilemma: Hiding a Washer and/or Dryer

It’s a common problem for those of us who have no room dedicated especially to doing the laundry. How can we make a rather ugly appliance coexist peacefully in what would otherwise be a beautiful kitchen or bathroom? Here are a few ideas: 1) Cover up. Use decorative panels or screens to wall off appliances [...]

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Design Dilemma: To Paint or Not to Paint Wood Cabinets

There comes a time when just about anyone with standard builder’s kitchen cabinets from one of those ubiquitous big box stores starts to hear a little nagging voice in the head. “Should I paint those kitchen cabinets?” The arguments for painting are many: a fresh coat of paint has a way of hiding the standard-ness [...]

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