Kitchen Friendliness

For the kitchen, find old see-thru jars (if you don’t own any, definitely check out GoodWill!). Because peppers and all variety of spices is such a diverse part of the Spanish culture, throw them in the jar. How energetic that will look with all the bright yellows, greens, and reds. You can’t go wrong. If you have any open shelf space in the kitchen not used for appliances, place some yellow and red toned pottery. Spain is a big fan of black and white framed photos. So any entry way or above any major piece of furniture can go an oversized black and white photo! The Spanish also love food, and to feed others. So the kitchen is one of the most used rooms of the house. Make sure your kitchen has enough seating for the whole family and friends! This will ensure and conversational flow if everyone is comfortably seating and not leaning up or struggling to find a comfortable place in order to be included in the conversation. This also supports Rachel Zoe’s point in her book, that the living room should always have enough seating, away from the T.V. The kitchen (or dining room) is the perfect place for family and friends to get together, catch up, and enjoy a good time eating together. If you’ve created a low seating porch already, and have an appropriate outdoor gathering place, add on to it and create a warm setting by adding red tones, and even a fireplace. This will ensure that any visitors you have the option to stay later then the sunset. With other warm lighting fixtures lining the wall, you can create a genuine relaxed mood every time you step into this room.

Bohemian Spanish Flair

Some new styles that I run into in almost every decorating blog that I read is the global, bohemian, Spanish flair kind of look. So now I’m going to put together what I have gathered from researching around on how to try to add this ‘foreign’ look to your home. I’m also going to address how I think you can transform rooms in and outside your house that can bring friends and family even closer together. The main blog post that I received a lot of my favorite information from is http://www.sunset.com/home/decorating/spanish-decorating-ideas-00418000071936/

One reason I find the Spanish setting to be so popular is from their bright vibrant colors. One reason I absolutely go crazy for the color red is because it can make a room look stunningly modern, or it can bring a country home style feel as well. It all depends how you decorate and accessorize the room! One blog I checked out had some really great ideas of what color reds you should look at, Moroccan Red by Benjamin Moore, Dressage Red by Ralph Lauren Home, and Million Dollar Red by Benjamin Moore. Well I’m a lucky one because fortunately red is the unofficial color of Spain. My first tip for some Spanish flair is for any side sun room, covered porch or patio that you have the space for leisure activities on, throw some pillows and low seating. By low, I mean use these pillows to lie on, gather and chat on. Tone down the formality! This is so popular in so many cultures and yet Americans have no desire for it. So if you want to try something different, add vibrant patterned colored pillows and rugs and you’ll find yourself being in an even more relaxed in another stylishness setting.

Outdoor Gathering Spots

I think it’s pretty obvious that I LOVE outdoor gathering spots. I don’t care how small my house is, I always wanted a big closet and a big porch. So I finally found this great blog (listed in my links page) that give fantastic ideas on how to use candles to make your outdoors glow. One of my favorites was filling a water filled birdbath with tea candles making it look like a mini fire pit! So if you have one of those ugly old birdbaths just hanging out randomly in your yard you know how to make some glow and romance out of it! If you want to stay away from candles and prefer lamps, stick with low voltage ones that can still create that candlelight glow. One time on vacation my family rented a house on the water that had a large sized screened in porch. Crazy as it is, the lighting consisted of Christmas tree lights! Even though you may think this looks tacky, the low voltage tree lights gave it a great relaxing mood, even without the water side view. Another idea that my family does at home is wrap our tree trunk in the back yard with these white Christmas tree lights. Our tree is big enough where we can even place these lights throughout the branches (without it showing in the daylight). My family and friends always sit underneath this tree. As soon as it starts getting dark, we have the option to continue the conversation and turn the lights on! It such a nice setting.

No More Ugly Blinds, Just Curtains :)

I don't have the patience nor time to drill in holes, put up a curtain rod, and pick out curtains to transform almost five windows in my apartment. So I went the cheap route. I had a lot of extra fabric (from Wal-Mart) of course, so I literally took two push pins, hung up my fabric and cut it at the bottom where I wanted. So now I have long random cloth hanging from each window, not the best looking deal. So I picked up some lace ribbon from Wal-Mart for $3 and tide it around the middle of the curtain. I wanted to add some color so I found random pink and green ribbon in my apartment and doubled it up with the lace. My curtains are far from professional but it was just one other way to make my apartment come together. When people walk in, this is one of the first things they see and even before any other decorations were placed up on our walls, they always said it was well decorated. So like I always say, if you find a bold print of colored fabric, it can go a long long way! I also had an old closet/shower curtain from freshmen year. It was a cute black and white damask and chandelier printed piece of fabric that allowed a rod to go through it at the top. I apologize, this tip right here shows just how poor of a college student I really am, but I place two 3M hooks on each side of the window, place a cheap rod on them, and hung my curtain! After tying it back with my lace and colored ribbon, it definitely added so much more to my room and it only took less than two minutes!

Pillow Fight!

Now I don't even own a sewing machine and have NEVER even threaded a needle before (I know, i'm one sad case), so I YouTubed how to do some basic sewing so I could get some cute ideas out of my head and onto fabric! I was lucky enough to get a great furnished apartment with nice black leather couches. With the plain white walls, brown carpet, and black couches, I had a lot of options to glam it up! So if you have a plain boring couch that needs a jazz up, take a close look. You can transform any couch if you pick your perfect and favorite pattern to create some pillows or a blanket throw over. My grandma is my go to person. She can turn almost any lost case into beauty. My mom and her brother and many before her have used the same couch for each of their apartments. Who would want to do that you ask? Well my grandma transformed all the cushions and pillows with a new fabric that transformed to fit its new user :) I was lucky enough to be the next one! I had to pick black solely so I was allowed to pick any accent color I wanted. Now my grandma knew I have this raging obsession with the print damask, i'd say it kind of looks like a modern version of paisley. Anyways, my grandma sewed these pillows together and they were a great match for the couch. Aren't they beautiful!! Black couches also scream for some bright bohemian colored blankets, or my other all time favorite that is really in style right now, ikat print. Super cute! If you don't have an awesome grandma like mine, pick out a fabric from Walmart that you like, and youtube how to sew an easy simple pillow for your bed. It's just two fabrics turned inside out and sewn together! Once you get started you won't be able to stop. I even got carried away and started crafting together fabric flowers to glue gun on them! The ideas are endless! Good Luck!

Vogue it Up with Beauty

Think you need to know a lot about art to put up a stunning attention getting piece on your wall? Nope! Just pick something you like that your eyes enjoy. Any old magazine covers or art from flea markets can all be thrown on a wall for such a cheap price! Old vintage magazine covers used to be paintings or drawings. Any Hobby Lobby collects hundreds of old vogue covers that can make you look like an art expert. Frame a couple pieces you found and make a statement! The photo I put up is an example of it in my role model, Rachel Zoe's, house. Even framing any poster of one of your favorite sexy stars is perfect for transforming your walls into art. I personally couldn't tell you one thing about flowers, but I know I love them! So I picked out some vibrant colored flowered posters at Hobby Lobby during their 50% off sale. Each poster is around $10 or $15! If you have white or beige colored walls, pick out bright colors! Refrain from the black and white photographs (as beautiful as they are) and save them for walls with bright or bold colors. Same with photos of family and friends, if you want them in black and white, either blow them up into a much bigger size, or save them for frames with color or patterns (remember you can always buy a $3 can of spray paint and paint those boring frames a bright red!) With these easy and cheap tips your walls can be looking like your a pro at decorating!

Frame Your Friends!

I always try to find creative unique ways to put pictures up on my wall. So once again, I went to Goodwill and found a huge black picture frame for $5! I couldn’t resist a deal like this. I figured I would find something to do with it! With some floral black and white fabric I have from previous projects, I placed into the frame behind the glass. It was a perfect black and white piece to go on my wall. I then cut out colored sheets of paper to go behind some pictures I have. After placing pictures randomly between the glass and the fabric, I had a huge picture frame filled with mini pictures for under $10! Most frames this size would cost over $30. So keep your eyes open at garage sales or second hand stores and you will come in luck! My second Idea to create a funky way for my pictures was with a clothespin line. I bought the thickest line of hemp at Wal-Mart and hung one side up in one corner of a wall and hung the other side to the opposite. I evenly displaced clothespins throughout the line and hung pictures from each one! It was a great way to do something different then just casually taping my pictures to the wall. Another idea is forming your pictures into words such as faith, hope, or love (I personally did a piece sign). If you have a big enough wall space that needs a little somethin’ somethin’, this is the perfect option to fill it up.

Tapestries and pictures

Tapestries are one of my absolute favorites for bringing boring walls some major excitement and character. Even though most are bohemian hippie looking tie dyed sheets, you rarely see the same ones. That’s why it’s perfect for almost anyone to either make or pick out one that matches your personality! I walked into H&M and found the cutest floral scarf. Later when I was at home trying it out, I realized it was much bigger than necessary and as I unfolded it, it was a perfect square and ideally fit perfectly in place right on my wall. My plain boring room came to life! Having a vintage floral pattern for my tapestry was an easy way to make my room look modern but with a classy and vintage look as well! After falling in love with my scarf – tapestry look, I bought another real one for $20 that was 83” X 60” and covered my whole wall! If you don’t want to spend this kind of money, you can easily buy a tie dye kit at Hobby Lobby for under $10 and use any plain old sheet from your home! Anything that brings your walls color is a great eye attention getter and gives your wall character, no matter what kind of tapestry look you have going on. If you do have any extra space on the sides, add some cute picture frames (which you can spray paint any color if you like) an extra poster, or some random printed off pictures you have! Sometimes more isn’t always better, so make sure if you like the cluttered filled wall look like I do, that the clutter catches your eyes more than the wall art does.

Spice Up Your Coffee Table For Under $10

We all have those plain coffee tables, that are used for clutter, those random papers, food wrappers, and empty pop cans. Here’s a little way to keep your coffee table looking cute and put together at all times. It’s not an organizer, but a way that can make any clutter, magazines, or TV remote look in its right place. I found a old vintage picture frame for $10 at Goodwill that had a very classic style looking frame. I replaced the photo with a bright green fabric. The vibrant color of green fabric accented well against the vintage white gold colored frame. Placing this on any coffee table provides the perfect place to keep TV remotes, keys, or wallets! While at Goodwill my mom came across three candle stick holders in some pretty bad shape, but for $1 each! After buying a black can of spray paint for $3, we painted the three candle stick holders completely transforming them into looking brand new! I can always find low priced candles at Goodwill, but if you prefer matching or complimenting colored ones, you can always find decent candle sales going on at Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart. You can place these candles on the picture frame or on any counter, desk, or dresser! It can make your place look welcoming, homey, and warm. You can even change up the color of the candles for each season making it an easy way to change up your decorations. Candles are the perfect way for friends to walk in and right away feel like they are at a home away from home. So with a combination of the perfect coffee table items and warm candles, your living room will be designed like a professional did it!

Perk Up Your Bathroom

To continue decorating my bathroom, I took flowered wall decals and stuck them on my shower door, making it a major vocal point when you walk in. It's a new idea that many are not used to and it's super easy! Because most showers and/or baths have their own light, the flowers stick out and complete the bathroom. If you have a shower curtain instead of glass doors make sure to pick up a bold print or pattern and leave the solid colors for your rugs and towels. Personally, I picked out all black towels, and then picked a nice turquoise and pink color for my hand towels and rugs. I also picked out in the same color a couple cheap flower vases and containers. This way, if I ever want to switch up the color I can without having to buy a whole new set of towels! Replacing a hand towel or tiny rug is much cheaper. You can buy fake flowers from the dollar store and find any vase for fewer than three dollars at Goodwill. You can also add other bold colored mini vases or candle holders that can be placed above any cabinets or shelves in the bathroom. I’m a big fan of baskets. Usually your mom or grandma has little baskets floating around the house that you can easily place a piece of fabric into and throw some extra makeup in or nail polish! It’s a great way to store items not used everyday into a cute basket that isn’t some plastic container. And the fabric will bring out some great color! At any fabric store or Wal-Mart you can find remnants (extra fabric that was leftover and cut off from previous users) that are sold for super cheap! Remnants are also perfect to be a little table runner for your toilet! The back water tank of the toilet is a great place to add other fun items, so throw on some cheap fabric and some mini colored tealight candles!

Give Your Jewelry Some Attention!

Let us start off with bathrooms, one of the easiest rooms to transform in my opinion. If you’re in a dorm room, you are out of luck, but here are some cute little tips that can help make a big difference in your doomed for failure bathroom of yours… Besides picking colorful towels and rugs, you can add jewelry to the walls for a touch of glamour that every girl needs. Here I picked two pieces of corkboards, covered it with material I found at Wal-Mart, and pinned down blue ribbon that makes it look like those picture holders on walls. To switch it up, I nailed the thin cork board to the wall, added push pins and started hanging jewelry all over! The bracelets are easily hung on the ribbon spaces that make it easily accessible. If you have any headbands, they can simply hang on the corners or if you own those cute little clip on hair flowers, they add a lot of touch and color by clipping them on the ribbon! Instead of searching all over my room for my necklaces, and then trying to untangle them, I hang them off the pins making them tangle free! It’s a perfect world if you ask me… Rings can also be hung on the push pins as well. So next time you’re running late getting ready, think about putting up an easy accessible jewelry holder that adds so much to your bathroom and can make your time getting ready so much faster!

"Ugly Duckling" to "Beautiful Swan"

Let’s face it, dorm rooms and college apartments can be nauseating. We all know the feeling of walking into a dorm room for the first time and feeling overwhelmed by how horrendously ugly the walls are, the awkward stench in the hallway, and the old-school drawers in your closet from the 1800’s….Your first apartment might be a step up, but with animal hair infested couches, and the ugliest throw up green carpet color imaginable, it’s not much better. I’m no money makin’ Martha Stewart. I’m a 21 year old with let’s just say, a limited budget. So I try to scavenge around for ways that could turn my hopeless case of my scary lookin’ room into a fun, enjoyable and relaxing place to live in. Feeling discouraged? You bet. I thought great, there’s a poster sale on the quad that can transform my limited wall space into a typical half naked girl holding a beer, or my all time favorite, the famous cliché “make-out sesh” poster’s of the perfect romantic scene every girl gushes over. Only problem is every college student on your campus has the same idea. So there goes that so called “creative” idea. If you’re going to buy a poster, make sure it’s a band that you actually own the album to, or a movie you’ve seen more than just a whopping two times. This is just one of many basic tips I have for you, and after I share some other cheap and creative ideas on this blog, hopefully your room can go from a small, hopeless, empty room into a cute and comfortable atmosphere for a low price and effort!