And Lastly, Rule #6 - Harmony

Harmony comes when the previous 5 rules are followed. Harmony occurs when there is a
proper balance of proportion, patterns, color, textures, contrast and rhythm. Simple as that!



Photo from HGTV.com

Rule #5 - Rythm

Rythm is a friend of contrast. They have to go together! Just like contrast creates interest around the room, Rythm must also go hand in hand with it.

But how do you achieve Rythm?

By using a single color or pattern and repeating it throughout the space!

Photo from Becky Berg Design

Rule #4 - Color and Texture

I feel like I could go on and on about color and different palettes to use! So here goes...

Monochromatic: Contains one color but uses all different shades and tints of it.



Complimentary: Colors opposite each other, like red and green or blue and orange.



Neutral: Different shades of blacks, whites, grays, and browns. I like to use neutrals as the base of a room, and then add pops of accent colors.



Analogous: Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel. For example, an analogous color pallete could have greens, blues, and purples.



Warm and Cool: Colors provoke "feelings." I personally love warm colors because they feel more cozy. I learned this pretty quick when I had an icy blue color scheme in my family room and realized I wanted to warm it up. Warm colors include browns, reds, oranges, and yellows. Cool colors include blues, greens, and purples.





Color is a very personal choice. Choose colors that you love, and so when you surround yourself in them, they make you happy and comfortable.

Look for nice textures in fabrics and accessories because great use of texture provides a rich look, and provides interest in a room.

Rule #3 - Contrast

To create interest in a room, use contrast. Don't just think about color, but also shapes, patterns, sizes, textures, etc.

Just recently, each of my kids got new beds. Because the walls in their rooms are painted different colors, I decided to go with white bed coverlets for their beds. It provides a nice contrast. I felt a little crazy putting white bedding into their rooms when they are each as messy as can be, but all well. They definitely keep me on my cleaning toes!



Notice the contrasting things in this photo. The darker woods contrast against the lighter walls above. Also, while the color palette is similar between the vases and pillows, their shapes and patterns contrast against each other.

Photo by Sunset Magazine

Rule #2 - Balance

Just like not having the proper balance in our everyday lives causes chaos, poor balance in design causes visual chaos.

There must be a balance between the space with heights and the visual weight of objects. Think symmetry. If you were to take a room and draw a line down the middle of it, each of the sides are the same and mirror each other, like in the photo below...



If you slice the fireplace in half, the room looks pretty much the same on both sides. They both have identical curtains and chairs.

You can also find balance in assymetrical rooms. If there is a cluster of white candles on one side of the room, and the other side has a similar size cluster of white photo frames, it achieves assymetrical balance. Although the items are not the same, they maintain a proper balance because of their size and scale to the room.

It's also important to find balance in hanging things on the walls. Even though the general rule of thumb is to hang art at eye level, if there is art work hung at all different levels all around the room, it won't look right. Things need to balance each other out at the right heights.

Photo courtesy of HGTV

Interior Design Rule #1 - Proportion & Scale

Let's just call this week Interior Design Rules week! I am going to cover the 6 most important rules of Interior Design that anyone can incorporate into their spaces that surround them.

For today, I will touch on Proportion and Scale. Would it look right to stuff a king sized bed into a tiny bedroom? Or what about a large 6 person dining room table into a small dining nook? No, no! I understand that sometimes we are stuck with what we've got for now, like hand me down furniture, or garage sale finds. Heaven knows, I had a huge queen bed in my daughter's room for awhile that literally took up the whole room because that's what we had to work with! And when we were newlyweds, all my furniture was my mother's rejects that she was done with. But, when you start shopping and purchasing your own furniture, look for pieces that will be suitable for the space you've got.

Proportion and scale needs to be incorporated into walls too...

If you have a wall that is huge and shows lots of open space, don't hang tiny art there. Make it work by finding that properly sized piece (or create your own). And vice versa, don't hang a giant picture on a small wall. There are ways to manipulate art. For instance, I've purchased a print, chopped it up into equal parts of 8, and then framed the 8 pieces and hung them up on the wall in a grid. By framing it in pieces and spacing them out a little bit, it expanded the art and made it work better for the wall I needed it on.

Here is an example of poor Scale and Proportion...



I love this room! I think it is cute as can be, but there are two things that need to be changed that could make it look even better. Look at how small the lamps are, and how the rug is too small for the area it needs to cover. They don't fit in with this space.

Photo from AB Interiors

Applique

Sorry I've been MIA this whole week! I'm in charge of these activities for the ladies at my church that take place once a quarter, and last night was one of them...which has kept me pretty occupied this week. Usually the few days leading up to these activities have me running around town picking up things and preparing for them. So, please forgive me for the lack of posting!

Something I've always wanted to try is applique. I love that you can take a plain old shirt and turn it into something cute. I think you could make some cute baby onesies or kids' shirts by doing some applique. You could also use applique on throw pillows, tea towels, or blankets. If you can trace, use scissors, and do a basic stitch on a sewing machine, you can applique!

Here are some examples of some applique projects:

Helping Little Hands made this little tractor shirt for her son...



Pin and Paper made these cute sweatshirts...



Don't Look Now spruced up this blanket with some flower applique...



And here are some free applique websites that have printable templates you can use 'til your hearts content:

Free Applique.com




Make Your Own Baby Stuff.com has stuff especially for baby clothes or nursery decor...



Isn't this whale the cutest?

Hope you have a nice day! I'm heading to the river to lounge in the sun!

Furniture Before & Afters

Over at Skinny LaMinx, there are a few of these chair transformations. It just goes to show that any hideous chair can be transformed. This gal has got some talent when it comes to chair makeovers!





Hannah over at Hannah Stanton did this incredible reupholstery job. This chair was seriosuly in bad shape. What an amazing after!




And this one is my favorite because Lori over at Lori Danielle took two of those wooden palletes and created a toddler bed! That is one of the most creative, thrifty, and coolest design transformations I've ever seen!





People never cease to amaze me when it comes to their creativity with design!

Cookie Monster Themed Birthday Party

I have this super talented friend named Ruby who never ceases to amaze me with what she can do and whip up! This past weekend, we went to her 2 year old daughter's birthday party, and it had a Cookie Monster theme. I was blown away with all the handmade decorations, the cake, and all the thought and effort that went into everything. It all looked SO amazing. Here are some photos from the fantastic party...



Isn't that cake the coolest?



Ruby made her daughter Hune that blue tutu!



Ruby and Hune



There were so many other cool things there that Ruby made, like chocolate cookie monster pops, and mints scattered on the table with stickers of her daughter's face on them. That girl has got some talent!

And this is another cake that Ruby made for her sister in law. Isn't she great? And by golly, super talented!

Framed Photo Confetti

This is such a great idea for any loved one! I could see it as a gift for grandparents with all different photos of their grandkids, or for your significant other with photos of the two of you. It is a super classy way to display a whole bunch of photos, and makes a bold design statement. This is definitely on my to-make list!



This is The Blackberry Vine's version.

She was inspired by this Martha Stewart version.



I was trying to think of ways that you could cut out perfect circles if you don't have a circle cutter. One easy way that I thought of is to cut a circle template out on your computer, and then trace it to the photo and cut out with a xacto knife.

Use a ruler to line up with rows and columns of pictures perfectly, and glue onto cardstock paper. Then it can be framed! Super easy and such a special customized project!

Happy 4th of July!

Amy over at Positively Splendid made these super duper cool outdoor throw pillows. They are not as easy to make, but I absolutely LOVE them!



And then look at what Fireflies and Jellybeans came up with! These would make cute invitations or placecards. And they are FREE! Just go down and get some paint cards from the hardware store!



Anneliese over at Aesthetic Nest made these Patriotic Pillow Case Dresses for her daughters. These are on my list to make for my girls. They are not too hard to make, and you can make them out of any fabric.

P.S. In case you didn't know, if you click on the Blog name under each project, it will lead you to these tutorials. For some reason, the hyperlinks don't appear in a different color (I'm still learning a lot about Blogger).

I'm back with some pretty fabrics!

Santa Cruz was a BLAST! It was such a nice getaway, and very much needed. I actually lived there for 3 months while my husband was at his training academy for work, and I have always loved the vibe that is there. It's got this casual, laid-back, organic vibe. I could live there in a heartbeat.

Since the only place to buy fabrics in this small town that I live is Wal-Mart, I was excited to go fabric shopping down there. I hit the jackpot at this craft store called Beverly's where I found tons of Amy Butler and Michael Miller fabrics. I was mainly focused on finding fabrics for the goods I'm going to sell at the local Farmer's Market here, so I found the following fabrics...

For my Jewelry Organizers:







And some for the throw pillows:




This one I plan to use in my family room because it is the perfect colors for the room!

And to my friend Kim: Pick out which fabric you'd like for your jewelry organizer :)