Category: Home decor

home · Home decor · refreshment at home

Refresh Your Bedroom

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Your bedroom might not be a place you get to spend much time, but when you are in there, it should be a bit of a haven for you (and your spouse, if you’re married).   If your bedroom doesn’t necessarily refresh your heart when you walk inside, I have a challenge for you!

In the master bedroom of a Birmingham, Alabama, apartmentdecorated by Doug Davis and Hannon Kirk Doody, a pair of chairs by Lee Industries is covered in the company's Serengeti with leather piping. See more designer bedrooms. - HouseBeautiful.com

Today let me encourage you in a practical thing you can do to refresh yourself.  Walk into your bedroom and take look around.  Is it restful?  Is it inviting?  Or do you want to slam the door and turn and run because it’s become a cluttered nightmare instead of a peaceful getaway?  You can fix that – today.

 

aqua, green and white bedroom with throw pillows

  • Remove the clutter. 
  • Clear off tabletops and dressers. 
  • Pick up loose items and put them away. 
  • Hang clothes on their hangers. 
  • After you’ve de-cluttered, give your room a good cleaning.
    • Dust, vacuum, and polish, then make sure the bed is made each day – after all it takes up a good amount of space in the room.  If it’s unmade, the whole room will seem messy, even if the rest is sparkling!
  • Look at Pinterest or magazine pictures of beautiful bedrooms that you love and see what you can do to copy the photo. You will be amazed at the things you’ll find just by shopping in your own house, items to bring into your room to make it inviting and cozy.  It might be a lamp, a few wall hangings, a plant, a bedside table, or a rug.

Lime-green accents gave this bedroom a fresh look. More real-life colorful bedrooms: http://www.bhg.com/rooms/bedroom/color-scheme/real-life-colorful-bedrooms/?socsrc=bhgpin081112bedroomlimegreenaccents#page=12

You will sleep better in a bedroom that is clean and rid of clutter.  Your bedroom should be a place that feels like a bit of a retreat.  You will love spending time in there…and you’ll be refreshed!

If you don’t have time to tackle the whole room at one time, set the timer and work for 30 minutes on the spot that is the most bothersome.  Then tomorrow, add 30 more minutes effort!  By a few day’s time, you’ll have a place you love to return to!

Do you love or hate your bedroom space right now?

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home · Home decor · Refreshment · refreshment at home · seasonal decor · summertime

Refreshing Ideas for Summer

RefreshHer2 Comments

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My blog’s purpose is to refresh women in their hearts, homes, and lives.  This week I want to focus my posts on specific ways to refresh you and your home this summer!  Here are a list of ideas to get you started!

This wonderful warm weather and sunshine is a sweet reminder that summer is here!  Woo-hoo!  It’s time to add some summer charm to your home and your life.  Here are a few suggestions to refresh you this summer!

  • Gather all the old issues of magazines from the summer months.  Scour through them and get some fresh ideas for your yard, a summer wreath, refreshing and cool treats for the summer, and places to visit.
  • Plan to head to your Farmer’s market this weekend for fresh berries and see what other goodies they may have to offer!
  • Pick up some pieces of china at a yard sale.  Fill a basket with mismatched china, vintage tablecloth and napkins and have it ready for an impromptu picnic.
  • If you have a clothesline, hang your sheets outside.
  • Fix up your back deck or patio so it’s inviting for summer breakfast, lunch and/or dinners!  Set out some containers of flowers, add party lights, add pillows to your chairs and porch swing, add a blanket for an evening view of the summer sky!
  • Add some pretty ribbon or twine to your hand-held garden tools so you can hang them in a convenient place.
  • Put a cotton quilt on the grass in the shade and read to your children.  Enjoy lunch out there too!

I hope one or more of these ideas will refresh these summer days for you!  Which one spoke to you?

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home · Home decor · Home making · organization · refreshment at home

Kitchen Pantry Tour

RefreshHer6 Comments

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My pantry is a corner closet in my kitchen.  It holds all my cooking items, so that would mean ~

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  • Canned Goods
  • Baking ingredients
  • Dry Goods
    • Pastas
    • Rice
    • Flours
    • Grits
    • Oatmeal
    • Sugars
    • Dried Fruits
    • Nuts
  • Teas
  • Pudding/Jell-O
  • Cereal
  • Jams, Jellies, Honey

It also holds some paper products

  • Paper plates
  • Plastic cups
  • Plastic silverware
  • Straws
  • Holiday napkins and plates
  • Holiday bags
  • Extra Ziploc Bags

Some seldom used items are stored there.

  • Pressure Cooker
  • Pasta Pot
  • Thermos
  • Small Insulated cooler

So, as you can see, that pantry has lots in it AND I go in and out of there all day long. I tell you all that so you’ll understand why this “Before” picture looks so messy!  It had just gotten out of hand, even though I had a “system” I thought was working.

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I took a day and half last week and got it under control!

Let me give you a tour of the “After.”  It still has LOTS in it, but it’s labeled better and spread out in a way that doesn’t overwhelm me when I walk inside.

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I’ll show you each shelf:

Up above ~

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I added a little decor inside the pantry.  I hung my “Denise’s Kitchen” sign and my Rooster picture above the shelves.

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I hung my two dust pans on a wall in here.  The small one is only for sweeping crumbs off the tablecloth.  The large one is for the floor.  I was constantly going to the coat closet down the hall to sweep around the trash can and counters.  This makes life easier!

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All the holiday paper napkins are in Ziploc bags and labeled.

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A little vignette on the floor!

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While my pantry might not be the most beautiful with glass jars and empty shelves, it works for me and I enjoy stepping inside now.  My items are accessible and it makes me smile to open the door!  Mission accomplished!

If you didn’t see this post, you can see how I used vinyl chalkboard to cover the door of my pantry!

Do you have an area in your house that makes you grimace?  I hope this inspires you to do something to that space so you’ll smile instead!

Refresh those spaces!

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accessories · home · Home decor · Home making

Creating Vignettes in Your Home

RefreshHer2 Comments

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Last weekend when my daughter was here visiting, she took a picture of a vignette in my kitchen and posted it on Instagram.  As I looked at that photo, I realized that those little areas are really some of my favorite places in my home. Vignettes are  cozy little groupings that help tell my story, as I mentioned here.

Today I thought I’d walk you through my home and share some of those vignettes with you and then tell you how I go about creating those “visual stories.”

vignette 1

Using an odd number of items in a grouping is suggested by the experts (of which I am NOT!).  I just play with it until I like the way it looks.  Often that means doing and re-doing it!  You should also use items that are similar.  In this grouping, they are all items that are kitchen related – apples, tea pot, platter.

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Different textures should be present – shiny candle holder, rough wood, silk leaves.

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Pictures of family are part of my story that I like to include in my groupings.  When you look at the vignette above, you realize that without the fabric inside the tray, it would be all the same texture.  The cloth napkin softens it, as does the greenery.

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Each part of my mantle has little vignettes that all work together.  They should be the same “theme” so they flow.

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This is a shelf over the guest bed.  The setting for a grouping doesn’t just have to be a tabletop.  The top of the fridge, a bookshelf, or even a window ledge are all places where you can create a grouping.  Vary the height of the objects you use, as well as the depth.  Lining up everything in a row on that shelf wouldn’t have the same affect.

I love to change those vignettes all year long, but I try to keep in mind those key elements:

  • Use an odd number
  • Carry the theme
  • Vary texture
  • Vary Height and depth
  • Tell my story

I hope that inspires you to create some little areas in your home that create  homeyness and tell your story!

Denise Signature 150 px

 

 

Christian Life · Crafting · home · Home decor

Creating Meaningful, Inexpensive Wall Decor

RefreshHer6 Comments

IAMaI had the fun recently of attending a decorating class focused on home accessories.  The designer said,

Your home should tell your story.

That really got me to thinking.  I asked myself, “What is my story? It’s the Gospel!  That is the whole purpose of my life! How can my home share that by the decor?”  Well, it doesn’t necessarily have to have Bible verses plastered everywhere, but beautiful art that shares the Scriptures is indeed one great way to tell the story of my Savior.

I had a space on a wall in my living room that needed a picture and I had searched everywhere looking for the right size and design, all to no avail.  Then one day when I was working on a Bible study book I’m doing I noticed these “I Am” cards in the back of the book.  They were beautifully done and there were five of them.  It was then that the idea popped into my head that I could frame those and make a grouping for that needy living room wall.  Not only would the help tell our story, it would be an inexpensive way to fill that space perfectly.  So I had the picture part, now for frames…

Instead of going to the store to buy a frame, I went to a stash that I purchased at the Goodwill store last year.  There was a stack of frames – all sizes and styles marked down – way down!  I got all of them for less than $5 and I had a huge pile!!  The one below was .52 and it was perfect for holding three of my five cards.

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I didn’t like the dark frame, so I painted it white.  Here it is, on its side while the paint dries…

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My encouragement to anyone needing a picture or two on their wall is, don’t limit yourself to just purchased art, which can be really expensive.  Look for smaller things you can frame, like cards that are themed and would help tell your story.  They could be note cards, cards you receive in the mail, postcards, etc.

Then look for frames at yard sales and Goodwill.  They may be scratched or the wrong color, but a little paint will cover that!

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The John 14:6 sign was purchased several years ago, but I didn’t have it hanging up anywhere. I realized it would be perfect to add to this grouping.  I still need one more something to hang on the right side so it will be balanced with the other side of the fireplace.  I’ll show you the finished look when that part gets completed.

In the meantime, I hope this inspires you to seek to tell your story, then be creative with how you do it.  Decorating can be done frugally with a little creativity!

If someone asked you, what would you say is the story you would want your home to convey?

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