Style on a Budget Decorating : House Tour from BHG

Take a cue from this home and see how easy it can be to rework remnants, castoffs, and closeouts into stylish, personality-filled home decor.

From the outside, this Colonial style home looks about like any other. But one step inside reveals a carefully accumulated collection of furniture and accessories purchased from yard sales, closeout sales, and antiques shops that have all been updated and brought to life with paint, upholstery, and other decorative touches.

Inspired by the bold pattern blue and white area rug, a navy blue accent wall adds dramatic appeal to the home?s living space. Hits of high contrast white, including the coffee table and fireplace surround, brighten the room. Simple white curtain panels make a window that lacks molding look finished. The homeowner hung the window draperies high and wide to make the window seem larger.

Look online to score deals. This pair of bookcases, an online score, was given new life with a coat of soft blue paint. Paired together, the units create a focal point along one wall of the living room and offer plenty of storage and display space. The backs of the bookcases were painted navy to help tie the units in with the area rug and accent wall.

Give a mismatched group of furniture a cohesive look with paint. Here, a thrift store cabinet, painted white to match other living room furniture, serves as a media console. The doors of the cabinet feature a motif similar to that of the area rug, which helps tie the piece in with the rest of the living room. Different size black and white images hung above the TV add height and make use of old frames the homeowner had on hand.

A variety of gold accessories scattered throughout the home?s living space lends glamorous appeal. Here, a dramatic gold mirror frame makes use of empty wall space. Use gold paint or gold leaf to give ordinary objects sparkle. A small half moon shape console table below the piece provides a bit of additional display space and visually grounds the mirror.

Mix and match furniture by relocating pieces from different spaces. In the casual breakfast nook, a hand-me-down table is paired with chairs that originally came with the dining room table. An outdated yard sale chest was painted black to match the chairs. Designer fabric snagged from a remnant bin was used to create the zippy curtains that add character to the neutral space.

With the dining room chairs relocated to the breakfast nook, a bench was introduced for seating in the formal dining room. Thrift-store chairs painted white and reupohlstered with fabric to match the drapes serve as additional seating. The final look is an eclectic, unpexpected alternative to the basic matching dining room set. A former TV console now serves as a handy buffet, topped with lamps that were updated with spray paint and new shades.

No guilt, no fuss is the feeling in the master bedroom, where simple white bedding and cool gray walls allow for easy redecorating for pocket change. The clean lined four poster draws the eye upward and toward the unique ceiling treatment. White painted dressers flanking the sides of the bed work overtime as both nightstands and clothing storage space.

2014 fresh house Designed by Martha O'Hara Interiors

The shared aim for design team on this specification home was to create a space that felt residential, while also encompassing a lakeside living lifestyle. goal, through the planning, building and staging processes, was to make selections that would highlight the home’s incredible lake views, while also focusing on functionality for daily, residential living while appealing to potential home buyers. Interior 

Design by : Martha O'Hara Interiors

2014 Best Ideas for Using Color in a House

An old Colonial Revival home gets a second life, thanks to an infusion of color. See how the homeowners paid homage to the home's roots while adding modern touches.

Old homes imbue a certain character and charm but don't require period decor to retain those qualities. This 1920s Colonial Revival was brought into the 21st century with a fresh color palette and a mix of antique and contemporary pieces. In the living room, peacock blue and golden green add spark to the classic furniture pieces. Hints of silver on the sleek lamp and stool and the animal print throw pillow also update the space.

To maintain a restrained yet colorful scheme, use a vibrant color for accents and a lighter, less intense version for paint on the walls. Turquoise vases add the pop to this living room, while a soft sky blue envelopes the room in calm sophistication. The turquoise also ties the fireside sitting area to the other arrangement of furniture with the peacock blue chair.

In a light filled room, softer colors will come off as warm, whereas vibrant colors might come off a bit harsh. The sunroom adopts a less intense version of the living room’s color scheme, which helps blend the two adjoining rooms. All of the colors in the sunroom originate in the floral patterned pillows on the sofa. Watery blue takes charge on both the striped sofa and the chair cushions, while muted citron plays a supporting role on accessories. Choosing one color to dominate ensures that the room doesn’t become too visually busy.

An entryway can be the optimal place to introduce the home’s color palette, as it is the first thing visitors see upon entering. Bathed in white, this formal foyer retains classic characteristics of the home's roots, such as the beaded board and the traditional stair spindles, but throw pillows on the bench and the striped rug give a hint of what’s to come in the home. Plus, these coordinating accessories can be used elsewhere in the home to give a room a new look.

A den across from the living room and on the other side of the entryway retains the brown used in the living room but introduces more hues to the home, creating a subtle yet united shift. Using a similar decorating philosophy throughout a home will also bring about unity. Here, the old with new strategy that was used in the living room plays out in the den in the form of a traditional sofa and elegant mirrors, with a contemporary lamp and animal prints as modern accents.

Giving classic pieces a boost of modern color is another smart way to fuse yesterday and today, as the simple white drapes trimmed in orange and the étagère in the same citrus hue do in the den. Bright colors help enliven a dim room without much natural light or a room painted a dark color.

Using white is a nod to both classic and contemporary. This neutral is a mainstay, especially for kitchens, for its crisp and clean look. In this home, the bright white kitchen is a change of pace from the adjacent chocolate brown den. The traditional cabinets and materials, such as the marble backsplash and wood countertops, are spruced up by accessories and blocks of color.

Color bookends the white kitchen, making the large space feel more cozy. In the breakfast nook, the orange hue from the den is used on the walls and chairs. The floral Roman shades marry the den to the living room by using the same shade of blue.

Blue acts as the bookend on the other end of this kitchen. The traditional breakfront is an updated focal point thanks to bright blue paint along the back, which matches the turquoise accessories in the living room.

The family room adjacent to the kitchen brings all of the colors and styles together. Chocolate brown, turquoise, and citron from the living room meet up with the coral orange used in the den and breakfast nook. All of the colors are used in small doses for balance. Modern furniture the L-shape sofa, geometric stools, tables, and chairs bring freshness to the room’s classic architecture.

The fireplace wall is comprised of modern necessities wrapped in traditional style. Bifold doors clad in beaded board open to reveal a recessed TV, and a storage unit beside the fireplace houses more media components. The flagstone fireplace is a nod to the home's historic roots as well.

Upstairs, the master bedroom transitions to another color palette but retains the lower level's chocolate brown and crisp white scheme. An introduction of soft gray imparts a calming effect and coordinates with the gray-blue background of the area rug, while the rich, deep brown velvet headboard grounds the space. The introduction of a new color, fuchsia, distinguishes the bedroom from the rest of the home.

The adjacent master bathroom is an oasis, thanks to a monochromatic color palette that takes its cue from the white built-ins and gray blue area rug in the bedroom. In a space filled with cool blues and grays and metallic finishes, a slightly off-white will warm up while still retaining a clean look.

Tour of the White House at Christmas 2013

Step inside America's first home during the holidays as designers and volunteers prep rooms from floor to ceiling with handmade crafts, one-of-a-kind art displays and decked-out Christmas trees.

By : Kayla Kitts

Welcome to a White House Christmas
Each year, first lady Michelle Obama chooses a theme for the home's holiday decor. This year's theme is "Gather Around," a celebration of coming together with loved ones during the holiday season. Each room in the White House will showcase this idea through handmade decorations and unique Christmas trees.