Welcome to Cassiefairy's little lifestyle blog ~ pull up a chair & put the kettle on…

Tag Archives: interior design


by Leave a comment

Top tips for spring cleaning

In our part of the world winter tends to get too long and depressing. We can’t wait for spring to come, sun to shine and butterflies to start fluttering in our belly. Spring brings out the best in us, inspires us to dress up and to feel pretty. There’s another kind of “dressing up” we like to do when the gloomy winter days are over; spring cleaning – sounds familiar? Maybe not all of us really like it, but we definitely need to freshen up our home in the spring and start enjoying its sunnier version.

Tips and tricks on making spring cleaning fun

Now, why not have fun while de-cluttering, reorganizing and reviving your home? There are ways to make this activity truly entertaining but you’ll need to clean the house first. In order to get to the more cheerful activities faster, you can rope in your family members to help with cleaning, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, window-washing, etc.

spring cleaningImage

Reorganization and redecoration

1. What’s most obvious about spring are the vibrant colours. The flowers are in bloom, the sun is waking you up with its almost unbearably happy shine. Spring is a good time to refresh your walls and if you want to make a change, think about painting your walls yellow, light blue or vibrant green. Adding new colours might improve the look of your existing furniture and soft furnishings or you could easily makeover an old unit with a fresh coat of paint.

2. Treat yourself to one new piece of storage furniture such as a TV unit, electronic device or kitchen appliance. Something new can improve the overall appearance of your existing items, and you can set about recycling and repurposing the rest of your stuff.

3. Renovating old furniture doesn’t have to be about getting a perfect finish – you cane make a ‘shabby chic’ effect by painting old chairs and tables using several layers of spray paint, sanding the last layer off so that the previous (white) layer is visible. You can find tutorials on the Cassiefairy.com blog on how to do this and create a piece of furniture with a vintage look to it.

4. Get your whole family involved and organize a day of art with your kids/partner/friends, painting vases and photo frames to compliment your new decor.

spring flowersImage

5. Open up your home with new plants and flowers in your living room – here’s a blog post about how house plants can clean the air in your home. You don’t have to make a jungle out of your home, but the right amount of plants can make your home look fresh and elegant.

6. You might want to consider removing heavy curtains so that your home gets more light. You can also remove rugs (until next winter), because it will be easier to clean the floors and you’ll get a sense of living in a bigger space.

You don’t really need to spend any money on dressing up your home for Spring. It’s just important to come up with new ideas and to have the will to work on creating something pretty.  It’s amazing how little details can change the appearance of your home. Simply moving your furniture around can change the way your room looks. Putting up interesting photo frames and painting your walls an usual colour can be enough to visually improve your house.  Focus on details: pillows on sofas, small sculptures, lamps, flowers, wall stickers and posters, etc. Once you are done with this demanding job, you can sit back and enjoy your home’s new spring beauty.

Guest post by blogger Eva Stephen, author of fantastic interior decor articles for House to Home, DIY by Design and Mad About Pink.

About these ads


by 3 Comments

Colour Trend for 2013 – Emerald City

emerald pantone colour of the year 2013 green dress top bag belt accessories jewellery

The colour professionals Pantone have announced their colour forecast for 2013 and this year’s colour trend is emerald. The executive director of Pantone Colour Leatrice Eiseman explains that “The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other colour, this powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors.”

emerald pantone fashion trend 2013 kate middleton

This photo of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, (below) wearing a Mulberry dress in emerald back in October 2012 probably influenced the decision to name 2013 as the emerald year. And no doubt the colour won’t be limited to fashion – Pantone influences accessories, interior design, cosmetics and even graphics, so you can expect to see a tinge of green everywhere you look throughout the year.

emerald shoes pin up couture heels

This is one of my favourite colours and I’m delighted that there will be more of the rich green colours in the shops this year, but I’m worried that I’ll get sick of seeing it everywhere – I still can’t look at lilac after the mauve-overload at the turn of the century. Still, I like these emerald pieces that Marks & Spencer, Missguided and La Redoute have added to their spring/summer collections, and I’ll certainly whipping out my old favourite emerald eye shadow and sparkly Pin Up Couture high heels (above) to get into the spirit of 2013!

emerald marks and spencer top trousers bag 2013

emerald missguided dress gown skirt 2013

emerald la redoute jacket coat jumper bag 2013 fashion trend

Related articles


by 2 Comments

How the correct interior design can increase your well-being

When you think of interior design, does it evoke thoughts of spiritual health or improved decision-making? This is exactly what a peaceful home can provide. Applying the general principle of feng shui, you can invite positive energies into your life with the way that you arrange your living space, especially your bedroom. Here’s how.

Before you can do anything else, you will want to start by removing all of the clutter from your home, which could help you feel like you have fewer obstacles in other areas of your life. It is often said that your mind is a reflection of the space that you inhabit, so having too many belongings in one place could impair your ability to think clearly and make sound judgments. This principle is also a chance to reinforce the fact that you need very few things to be happy, and most of them won’t be tangible objects.

feng shui bedroom scented candles relaxation sania pell

Calming candlelight ideas from Sania Pell’s blog

In addition, you should create a space that appeals to all of your senses. When people think of interior design, they most often associate it with a home that looks nice. While it is important to have a good visual presentation, you should also think of touch, sound and, perhaps most importantly, scent. You can improve your bedroom’s ability to put you at ease by adding soothing, natural scents such as warmed tea tree oil or lavender. When it comes to touch, you’ll want to put extra thought into choosing your bed linens. A plush mattress topper can provide your tired muscles with a respite after a long day, and sheets made from a high thread count or a blend that includes silk can help lead you into a deeper slumber. Add a fan to provide a little white noise to override outside noise such as traffic if you live in a busy city centre.

Digital StillCamera

Gorgeous bedroom makeover by Karenmills.net blog

You should also feel like your bedroom is a mirror image of your spirit, so incorporate the things that you love, such as old keepsakes or your favourite artwork. Being surrounded these pieces will increase your sense of well-being by reminding you of some of the most common sources of joy. Incorporating plant life can have the same effect.

Just as important as what you put in your room is what you don’t put in it. Forego stimuli such as a television, computer or digital tablet because the light and sound from these devices can make it harder for you to fall asleep. If you find yourself looking for a way to unwind before bed, try reading a book or writing in a journal instead. The latter activity is especially beneficial because transferring your thoughts from your mind to paper helps you rest with a clear your head, which is the ultimate goal of creating a more peaceful environment.

feng shui bedroom reading journal writing

Relaxing bedside table from Chelsea Hing.com.au blog

Related articles
retro 70s living room wallpaper striped orange yellow vintage


by 4 Comments

Inspirations for a retro living-room: Wall coverings

I hope you remember that, for most of last year, I have been working on the decor of my living-room of my new home, and although its taken ages (due to limited funds and time-consuming bargain hunting!), its nearing completion. Here’s the link to my mood board if you’d like to see what kind of style I’m aiming for. So with the furniture sorted, the soft furnishings in place and even artwork chosen, I am finally sorting out the walls.

Choosing a colour or pattern for your walls is the most significant decision in interior design, as it will be the first thing that you will notice about your room, either bringing all the elements together to complete your theme,or be completely wrong and make you want to move. So, even though a lick of paint is probably easier (and certainly simpler to change if it’s not right) my retro living room needs some garish patterned wallpaper as was traditional in the 60s and 70s era that I’m trying to replicate.

retro 70s living room wallpaper pattern samples orange brown avocado green

Throughout the process I’ve chosen bright oranges and browns and now is not the time to chicken out. So I’ve looked at some old 70s photos to get an idea of the (albeit kinda garish) patterns and colours of the decade, which will influence my choice of wallpaper for my living room.

retro 70s living room wallpaper striped orange yellow vintage

retro 70s living room wallpaper circle pattern brown orange yellow

retro 70s wall paper kitchen orange floral brown

From looking at these images, I realised that I don’t want an oversize pattern and I couldn’t cope with clashing combinations of bright orange, green and yellow. Nor would I like a dark, oppressive brown or striped pattern, both of which would make my already-small living room appear even tinier. Finally, a pet peeve of mine is anything floral (soooo noughties) so nothing too ‘pretty’. So I’ve picked out a few modern wallpapers that I can get my hands on that I quite like and spent sometime comparing samples and imagining what each would look like on one, two or more of the walls in my living room.

retro leaf orange pattern wallpaper living room

retro g plan living room orange-pattern-wallpaper

And I’m pleased to say that I have made my choice – this lovely Monroe wallpaper below from Next. It’s kind of shimmery so it reflects the light and doesn’t make the room appear smaller. Most of the circles are muted, neutral shades of beige and brown, apart from the juicy orange accent colour. I also really like the Orla Kiely-esque leaves in the background of the pattern. Luckily, when I went to Next to purchase the paper, it was in the January sale and so, at only £6 each, I bought every roll on the shelf ! So my next weekend challenge is to get the room empty and start papering – and in the meantime I’ll have to decide which walls to paper!

retro monroe orange vintage floral leaf pattern wallpaper from next

Related articles
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 2,266 other followers