Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with decor

Appealing and clever name for a weekly home decor workshop for men

DarwinianDan — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 06:14:10 -0800

This is a group for single men who are moving into their first home of their own. We need a snappy name. Help please!

On the cheap and during the weekend...DIY home decor!

Kitteh — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:48:20 -0800

Aside from a few major professional-only renovations for our house, what we can do to make our home the way we would like? (Bonus points for simplicity!) Inspired by my copy of The Bust Guide to Life and things like this, I would like to find fairly simple but really cool ways to spruce up our house.

We've got some big renovations planned for the future--new front windows, renovated kitchen, new deck, renovated guest bathroom--but what is some neat things we can do now? My husband is pretty decent with woodworking and basic construction; I'm fairly eager to learn to how to make and do new things.

I'm specifically thinking in terms of decoration and storage. Our house is old and fairly cozy. (For example, we have a tiny bedroom and a tinier closet.)

What cool things have you done to your homes you would recommend?

Young Lamp Love

somanyamys — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 07:17:39 -0800

Anyone know where I might be able to purchase lamps similar to the bedside lamps featured [see 4th picture down] in this reader redesign feature on Young House Love a few years back? At the time, the owner said she found the lamps at HomeGoods. Of course, since we're now a few years past that, there's nothing like that at my local HomeGoods. Has anyone seen lamps like these online recently? I'd be willing to pay up to $200 for something similar in size and style. Thanks!

What kind of indoor plant do I want?

sweetkid — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:03:19 -0800

I have always been one of those "I have no green thumb" type people, but now I want an indoor plant for my NYC apartment. Specifics inside. I want plants (at least one) for my light filled (one wall of floor to ceiling windows) apartment in NYC. I've never been great with indoor plants or liked them much, but now I want one. I have pretty bad tree and grass pollen allergies, but my understanding is there are low allergen indoor trees, if trees are an option. I'm not super into flowers but could consider it.

I also have two super adorable very beloved cats who must not be made ill, dead, injured, annoyed, anxious, or otherwise bothered by the plant. This is very important.

I have overall a very minimal design aesthetic, but don't want the plant to look either too hippie-ish or too "officey."

Paint my kitchen!

1066 — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:20:46 -0800

Not literally. But I'm stuck on picking a color. Special snowflake details inside. (Possible triggers for mental health issues) Hello beautiful people of AskMefi. Thank you in advance for you help.

TL;DR BACKGROUND:
Due to a very contentious divorce, a beloved relative with a home business and large pets needed a place to live/work with no notice. I moved in with my parents, and let relative have my home for a year. (Not really a hardship, parents and I get along well. And they were very grateful that I was in a position to help.)

My relative fell into a major depression, culminating in a week of involuntary in-patient treatment, and my home turned into a place that could have starred on "Hoarders".

I had to throw out ninety percent of everything in my home and scrub it down ceiling to floor. I had to buy a new fridge and tear out all the kitchen cabinets. This was traumatic for me. I was redoing it step by step and only when I could afford to pay cash for it.

But it's all been worth it because the relative is doing very well now, is very appreciative of the help I gave and has been helping me fix my home back up.

So, the reason for my question. We've installed a new kitchen and I seem to be having a mental block about picking a paint color and backsplash for it. I'm usually pretty decisive, but cannot seem even narrow down ideas. Also budget is limited as I was still paying mortgage/bills for that year and relative's business has (understandably) not brought in recently what it has in past years. The total for paint and backsplash will hopefully be under $1000.

On to the kitchen:
My kitchen is a galley with a tall 34" wide window at one end and a door to a laundry closet at the end. It is just off the entry and has a pass-through to the dining/living over the stainless sink.
(Dining/living is painted a deep, deep gray with large white baseboards and maple laminate floors.)

The kitchen appliances are black.

The ceiling light looks like an old school light. This, but light gray:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95963793/ceiling-light-fixture-industrial-metal

The floor is a black faux-marble tile.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/591657167/natural_black_marble_tile.html

The base cabinets are Ikea Nexxus brown black with white Ikea counter top and stainless sink. (10th from top)

http://www.ikeakitcheninstalation.com/ikeakitchenpictures.asp

The top cabinets are the Ikea horizontal uppers with frosted glass fronts, also in the Nexxus brown black.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgsearls/223296806

The living room is dark for movie watching. I like things to look neutral, with minimal visual distractions, but not cold. I usually reserve colors for things that can be thrifty to change out, dishes, towels, etc.

Ideas?

How weird is it for an office to lack a desk?

cessair — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:26:24 -0800

I would like to take the big, corner desk out of my office and instead have a couch, along with a laptop table that I can use as needed. Or maybe a small stand-up desk off to the side. I am wondering what the outside perception might be, as well as any potential problems I may not have considered. I am sufficiently senior that I'm not worried about being "allowed" to do this, or facing any repercussions career-wise, but I also don't want everyone to think I am incredibly bizarre.

Possibly relevant facts:

- I work in an academic type environment.

- My office is private.

- I only use my laptop.

- Meetings with external people only occur in a separate conference room, only my direct reports ever visit my office for meetings, and then for infrequent consultations - most internal meetings also occur in a conference room.

- I have sufficient space to have a couch, a 4 top conference table, a laptop desk or standing desk, a bookshelf, and a filing cabinet.

Would the couch seem less weird if there was also a standing desk as an option? Is an armchair with an ottoman better? I don't want to nap, I just want a comfortable place to sit when I have to do tedious computer tasks!

Do you have an unusual office configuration? Suggestions for the best set-up?

Practical yet Attractive Uses for narrow-necked glass bottles?

The Whelk — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:43:10 -0800

I have a few old glass bottles which I've cleaned, de-labeled, and given airtight cork tops. They're attractive bottles, about 750ml each with narrow tops, and I'd like a practical way to show them off ideally in the kitchen. I already used one to infuse olive oil and other to hold my dried dried beans rather than leaving them tied up in the pantry. What else can do with them?

Finding a pendant lamp that won't break my bank

soma lkzx — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 06:02:20 -0800

Where can I find an affordable, attractive, globe-ish pendant lamp? Like this one, but under a gazillion dollars. I'm looking to light a nice big space with a series of hanging pendants - about 20x50'. We've settled on orb-shaped pendants so we can get a little light bounce off of the ceiling, but can't seem to find ones that are what we're looking for.

Something like this globe would be great and in our price range, but we'd rather not go the exposed-bulb route - I think they're a little too harsh on everyone's eyes if going full blast, and we're primarily using the space at night.

None of the big lighting sites (Lamps Plus, etc) seem to have names for these types of lamps so I've been going through pages and pages of Applebees-style pendants and still coming up empty.

hey, wanna see this picture of me looking awesome doing fun things?

PuppetMcSockerson — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 10:36:14 -0800

Narcissism filter: I love looking at pictures of me and my loved ones. I'd like to have more photos of my family up in the house but there are some snowflakey, silly issues... I have always loved having and looking at photos of the things I have done with people. When I was in university an entire wall in my doorm room was completely covered with photos that sticky-tac'd up. I started every year with a core set of "these were awesome times" photos and then added more throughout the year as I did things and got more awesome pictures. By the end of each school year I had probably between 75-100 photos up. I loved that wall.

Now that I'm all grown up and adult and stuff, I'm almost worse because I have a fiance and a step son and I love every minute of it. I/we take a lot of photos of our family activities, from the mundane (lawn mowing, playing boardgames, random pictures of the stuff we do day to day) to the more special (trip to the beach, decorating gingerbread house, vacations, etc). I love to look through them and see them. My wallpapers on my computers (home and work), my phone wallpaper, my phone lock screen, etc. are all pictures of me with my fiance and step son.

Sidenote: I'm not one of those "so busy taking pictures that I forget to enjoy what I'm doing" type. I usually take a few of whatever is going on and then put it away unless something totally photo-worthy happens.

So here is the thing: I actually think having pictures up on the walls to be often tacky. When I see personal pictures up I always think of old grandmothers that have their mantles and walls plastered with photos of every family member and every person they know. That, or I think of Samantha from Sex and the City where she got a giangtic picture of herself naked that she put up in her apartment because she thought she was so sexy and attractive. (I think I have the Samantha/vanity association because I am a bit vain, I know that I am photogenic, and I like to see pictures of myself because I frankly think I look better in photos than I do in real life. On top of that, one of my sisters has made fun of me for how I look in photos because she thinks I'm doing this whole act and posing thing when really I'm just smiling. She happens to be pretty unphotogenic so to her it is my flaw for not being unphotogenic as well I guess... Anyway, this has led me to be a little hesitant to put up photos of myself where I look nice lest she make fun of me again.)

So how do people put up photos of their family and themselves without it looking 1) tacky and cluttered and 2) vain? My fiance and I just got some really beautiful, modern, classy enagement shots done, including some fantastic family shots with his son, and I would love to print some off and hang them up but I don't know how to do that. I considered an digital photo frame that I can load with a whack of pictures, but I actually find those really distracting, what with their being backlit and their constantly changing photos. I would love to have a framed photo on my desk at work but even that makes me feel really vain or prideful or something. I have no clue what the hell I'm going to do when we get married and get our wedding pictures. I/we purposefully opted for NO prints of our engagement/wedding photos (getting them exclusively electronically) because I'd feel weird about hanging them up.

Where to acquire Ethnic Wool Blankets...?

oneous — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:29:42 -0800

Apologies for the title; I'm in love with the style of patterned wool blankets that are typically marketed as "navajo", "indian", "afghani", "nepalese", "mongolian", "oaxacan", "peruvian", "bulgarian" etc etc etc. As far as I'm concerned they're all beautiful. But where can I find them for less than $100 per piece? I'm assuming if these are made by people in the aformentioned places, they don't sell them for US$100. Does one need to be rich and/or travel around the world just to get some pretty blankets?

Help me live in a Wes Anderson movie

aaanastasia — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 18:06:34 -0800

How can I decorate my room to look like a Wes Anderson movie? I moved a few months ago, and haven't gotten around to decorating yet. I need to fix this! I want to give my room the feel of a Wes Anderson movie (leaning more toward Life Aquatic / Darjeeling Limited / Moonrise Kingdom than others).

Things I have now: Nothing. (well ok, all of the walls are blank except for one thin panel of wall, which I put these mirrors on going all the way up). I have basic furniture (the IKEA birch colored bed & dresser & bookshelf) and am not interested in getting more.

Things I want: Color (lots of color!), a floor lamp (or wall lamps hanging OR possibly using these as lights and decoration in some way). Cool other details? Possibly more mirrors?

Constraints: My walls are white right now. Our landlord doesn't let us paint them. One of my walls is really cool & curves, but that makes it a bit hard to decorate. I've also never really decorated any room or apartment I've lived in before, so this is all new to me and I have no idea how to even begin to approach it. I would also like to stay under $300 total on this.

I live in DC, so anything that I can buy here (or get on Amazon Prime) is ideal!

Millwork painted upper floor(s), natural downstairs

Kazimirovna — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 12:48:04 -0800

Light color paint upstairs, natural wood downstairs in older homes and apartments. Why? What is the history of painting the upstairs apartment/floor millwork and leaving the downstairs natural with maybe stain only? Why was this done? Is it done in most of the U.S. or only the midwest (where I live)?
If it was just fashion, is there a reason?
Thanks!

Find me a clock

bq — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:51:05 -0800

I am looking for a neat-looking clock. We had this clock on our mantelpiece until it broke recently. Now I keep looking over there to find out what time it is.

Can you suggest a replacement? I prefer a retro or modern look, or at least something that is compatible with that aesthetic. We can't wall-mount it, it has to be sit-on-top and run on batteries. It should be ewasy to read from across the room - either digital or has to have numbers on the face, and large enough to see.

Budget: less than $200.

Thanks!

Is this a recipe for disaster?

yawper — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:01:15 -0800

Living with white decor - what is it really like? Is it as intimidating as it seems? Do you have tips for keeping things clean? Will all the white seem cold and boring after awhile? I've always decorated with warm, rich colours (think browns and reds). But I'll be moving soon, and I'm thinking of going with a cooler palette this time, with lots of white, maybe some cool blues and tans. In theory this appeals to me - it looks very spa-like - but I know it won't FEEL spa-like if it looks dirty or if I'm stressed about getting it dirty!

I'm considering going with light walls, bright white trim, light carpet, and white accent pieces.

I have two pretty clean kids (age 8 and 9), and two orange cats that don't shed too much. I am reasonably clean myself, but not a neat freak. Can I do this? Should I do this? Please tell me what it's like to live surrounded by white!

When home decor ideas hit a brick wall

harmless — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 17:01:16 -0800

Help me decorate to divert attention from a large expanse of exposed brick in a small bedroom. I need some help with this room (photo from inspection day before we bought the house).

Extra info: The plasterboard wall (not shown in photo) opposite the window has been repainted in a pale neutral eggshell colour. The other wall not shown in the pic is a full length built-in wardrobe and is the same pale eggshell colour. The floor is carpet in a smokey grey/beige shade. We've put a queen sized bed where the single bed is in the photo and small desk between the bed and the window. I've also replaced the short curtains with full-length beige drapes in a shade similar to the carpet.

When we bought the house we fully intended to paint all the exposed brick but after some experimentation we discovered that painting wasn't really a good option as the bricks are unsealed and heavily textured clay.

My plan now is to hang an abstract print or painted canvas above the bed and a new quilt cover on the bed to try to detract from the brick wall. I think it needs at least a splash of colour to lift the room from its beigeness but do I stick with plain solid colours or go for a pattern? Large pattern or small pattern? Would stripes or geometrics be too much or should I go with more organic shapes? Help! I need guidance!

(Also, we may soon be selling the house so I want the room to present as nicely as possible for that purpose)

paint chip paralysis

elizeh — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:59:18 -0800

Our new house has awful walls, so we're getting it painted. Help me identify best practices and rules of thumb for choosing interior paint colors. So, I know this much: Eggshell for the walls, gloss for the trim and cabinets. Same trim color throughout the house, if possible.

What about the kitchen? Should those walls be eggshell too, or glossy (and therefore easier to clean)?

I'm doing white trim throughout the house. If I want white walls, should it be the same white as the trim, or just a smidge off? Or a lot off? I'm trying to get away from the generic beige-wall/white-trim look.

Is there anything else I should think about? Please feel free to recommend design resources....

If it matters, it's a 60's ranch and our style leans towards the sort of casual/organic/modern. (We don't have an Ikea where we live, but we like a lot of the designs we see in the catalogue.)

How to decorate a new marketing department?

honkeoki — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:09:44 -0800

How can I create an amazing work environment for my employees? Moving to a new building and I have a blank slate for office layout, design and decor. I'm a senior at an online marketing company. My department is currently at 12; will grow to 45 in the next 2 years. Our corporate culture supports collaboration, free communication and open doors. Our unofficial motto is "We work hard and we play hard."

My company is moving to a new building and the owner has asked me to provide a floor plan, furnishings, etc.

My group handles all marketing including SEO, ad creation, advertising, copywriting, ecommerce optimization, etc. I want to create a fun, vibrant setting to stimulate communication and great ideas.

What's important to you? What stands out in your own workplaces, good and bad? I'm particularly interested in decorating and design, but other ideas like "A basket of toys in the conference room" are welcome too.

Bonus: tell me where to look for ideas?

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

Painting my way to Marrakesh.

Jairus — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:06:23 -0800

I love the walls in this photograph. Moroccan, textured, uneven. I'm moving into a new place soon. I don't know much about painting. What do I need to do to make my walls look like this?

Bright and modern.

zvs — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 09:01:02 -0800

I'm renovating my office, which is currently a monument to 80 years of bad decor. Help me modernize and brighten. Overview. Many details within. I'm brainstorming how to decorate my office, which is currently a nice-looking 1928 room that has been augmented with a fiberboard ceiling and ten layers of moldy wallpaper. The wallpaper (and probably the ceiling) are going away.

I have a few pieces of nice modern-y furniture that I like and want to center the room around: this sideboard, this desk (2), and this rug. I also have some black-and-white photo prints I'd like to keep. (All other pictured furniture is disposable.)

As for the rest, I'm at a loss. The room is currently very dim. It's about 16' deep, 12' wide, and lit only by these not-very-bright windows. It has original doors, baseboards, and crown molding (2) that I'd like to keep. I also have the lamp visible in that last photo, which I like but isn't very bright. Some previous inhabitant punched a hole in the wall so they could mount a plug-in feature and run the cord through the hole -- the darkness is a problem.

I'm thinking of painting the walls a tan color to complement the rug, but I'm worried it will be too dark. I also don't have much stuff in here (a couple guitars, somewhere for the stereo to sit, and maybe some lockers for computer equipment), so I'm looking for a way to make it less sparse. I'd like it to look modern without sacrificing the original elements, but I'm not sure how to do that.

Your suggestions appreciated as I muddle through the problem of being an inept designer. I'm willing to try most things.

Double, Double, Toile and Trouble...

erstwhile — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:05:21 -0800

InteriorDesignFilter: I have three 22x28" baroque frames that I need to fill. I'm not looking to fill the frames with pictures; I'm going more for a modern design aesthetic, heavily leaning towards a geometric, damask or toile pattern. Loose requirements: black/white/gray in color scheme, larger patterns to be more visually striking and distinguishable from a 10-15' distance, and preferably under $100 in total cost for all three 22x28" frames. Material is not too particular; I know how to mount paper or fabric. These requirements aren't dealbreakers and I'm interested in any suggestions.

I've looked through some wallpaper websites and few fabric websites. Pretty much everything leads me back to Graham & Brown, which is fine. I'm just curious if my Google-Fu has me missing any interesting options. I love the Jeff Lewis wallpapers, but they're quite expensive and it doesn't even look like he's selling them on his website any longer.

I am also entertaining the idea of an interesting toile pattern. Apparently Waverly is the king of toile, and again, pretty much every website I've come across is using one of their patterns.

I'm curious if any of you with an eye for design have any other websites or stores you'd recommend? I'm getting bored with website after website bringing me back to the same wallpaper and fabric manufacturers.

Building pergola on a hill

merci420 — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 10:05:41 -0800

How do I build a pergola on a hill. I have graded a small area, but can't seem to get it level. Couldn't I just build a platform that is level, then raise the pergola above that?

Where can I purchase mathematical examples and models in the Eames/Mathematica style?

j.edwards — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:46:03 -0800

Where can I purchase physical mathematical examples and models in the Eames/Mathematica style? I'd like to purchase some neat mathematical models that aren't children's toys. The aesthetic of the Eames Mathematica exhibit (wikipedia, some photos I found on Flickr (not mine)) is sort of what I'm going for, but I know a lot of my professors had these kinds of objects in their offices/etc back in college.

Either no-one's selling or I can't figure out the right search terms. Things like "mathematical manipulatives" only give me scholastic toys.

DIY gone maybe a bit overboard?

gracedissolved — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:09:40 -0800

I have two wing chairs, unfortunately expensive taste in upholstery, and a desire for a long-term project. Can this work? The two wing chairs are probably actually antiques, but they are, uh, much-loved. My grandparents' cats shredded the upholstery long before they got given to my mother, and she had them for about eight years before they came to me. But I love them.

So, I have those. And I have an ongoing love affair with window shopping at Maine Cottage, mostly their stripes, although they've got a couple florals that are the only florals I have ever liked in my life. The furniture is mind-bendingly expensive, IMO. They sell the upholstery fabric! Well, it's merely obscenely expensive. The first part of the two-parter: Does anybody else sell upholstery fabric that is similarly awesome in terms of bright colors, contemporary patterns, etc, that is also relatively affordable? I.e., not $70 a yard.

Second part: Just how impractical is the notion of learning how to upholster these myself? My great-grandfather recovered these eons ago and because of that, I sort of like the idea of doing it myself. I don't really sew at the moment; I've seen some things online about just doing stuff with staples and glue, but nothing with very detailed instructions. And I'm okay with it being a big project, but there's a difference between big project and "this will devour your life", and I don't know anybody who's done this personally. So... any thoughts?

My usual method of slapping up a Chicago flag and a Queen poster seems somehow inadequate.

phunniemee — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 16:13:59 -0800

Help me decorate my office! I just started working at a small trading firm, surrounded by a bunch of broey dudes with little to no interest in decor, except to say "there should be some decor." I have been tasked with sourcing this decor.

The space is large, there are many rooms, and many blank walls.

I have been given almost no guidance (no cheesy trading floor photos, nothing motivational, nothing depressing, maybe some plants) and, for all intents and purposes, an unlimited budget.

We have an open floor plan. There is a ping pong table and a hockey foosball game thingy. It's a very casual office, but should at least try for a classy and professional look. Right now it just looks like a dorm common room. Something that skews young and nerdy (but not, like, geeky) would probably be good. We're in Chicago, so anything local would be awesome.

I'm looking for suggestions of paintings, pictures, design aesthetics, etc. I'm very utilitarian in my tastes, and don't know how to make things look "nice". I have no idea where to even start, and my boss would like things to start getting pretty this week. Help!

Help me "Wow!" Santa

vignettist — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 22:44:18 -0800

What are some good resources to learn how to decorate for Christmas? We always have a tree, and I have a few very eclectic Christmassy items. I have gathered these items slowly over the years, getting things that I thought were cute at the time. There is no cohesive theme whatsoever, and the overall effect is pretty underwhelming. I would like to create some wow factor.

I don't have a particular style or theme in mind (our regular decor is pretty minimal to begin with, so I can't build on our existing style). So that's where I would like to start, with some resources to help me define a (Christmas) style, and then learn how to implement it in our particular space.