Home designing ideas
January 15, 2012 6:23 PM Subscribe
After buying a home we are stumped on how to design it and get ideas on living rooms, bath, etc.
We are looking to get ideas on designing our rooms (all of them) and need pointers on the following-
Good magazines we can subscribe to (or books)
Online sites on the above
Places to buy home items on a budget -online if possible
Storage ideas/organizing/creative ideas around the home
Also, thank you for all pointers on curtain making-one question I had was on pointers on cutting long fabrics so that it lines up right-any tools or such would be great (or youtube videos)
Thank you!
We are looking to get ideas on designing our rooms (all of them) and need pointers on the following-
Good magazines we can subscribe to (or books)
Online sites on the above
Places to buy home items on a budget -online if possible
Storage ideas/organizing/creative ideas around the home
Also, thank you for all pointers on curtain making-one question I had was on pointers on cutting long fabrics so that it lines up right-any tools or such would be great (or youtube videos)
Thank you!
One of the default answers to this around here is to take a look at Apartment Therapy, which despite its name actually also has a lot of advice/examples on houses, and of course much of it is universal anyway - it's really just biased toward apartments, with a general focus on smaller homes (eg, not 3000+ sq ft houses with multiple dining rooms.)
posted by Tomorrowful at 6:43 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by Tomorrowful at 6:43 PM on January 15, 2012
So much of this is personal taste. Dwell is an excellent resource if you like that design sensibility.
posted by meinvt at 7:27 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by meinvt at 7:27 PM on January 15, 2012
for maintaining and renovation get Fine Homebuilding and any of Taunton's (publisher of the magazine). They do a lot of built in furniture and some tool guides and how-tos. Definitely for the do it yourself-er though and not a lot on design/interior decorating.
posted by bartonlong at 7:39 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by bartonlong at 7:39 PM on January 15, 2012
If you can get your hands on copies of 'The Timeless Way Of Building,' 'A Pattern Language,' and 'The Oregon Experiment,' by Christopher Alexander et al., it will give you a lot to think about. 'A Pattern Language' will have the best ideas for spaces that already exist, and has helped me think a lot about the flow of movement through rooms, how to create and emphasize focal points, and what defines a space.
It helps yo have a clear conception of your needs, and what you plan on needing over the next years you plan to live in the home.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:23 PM on January 15, 2012
It helps yo have a clear conception of your needs, and what you plan on needing over the next years you plan to live in the home.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:23 PM on January 15, 2012
There are lots of magazines. You need to define what your style is, or what you want it to be. Ask yourself how you want your house, or any given room, to feel, and what you want it to say about you. It could be modern, country, antique, shabby chic, etc. Once you have some idea of a direction, you can surf the web - there are tons of home decorating blogs, and buy magazines that feature the look you want.
posted by theora55 at 10:06 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by theora55 at 10:06 PM on January 15, 2012
My most interior-decorating-savvy friend always sends me posts from Design Sponge.
posted by seriousmoonlight at 11:10 PM on January 15, 2012
posted by seriousmoonlight at 11:10 PM on January 15, 2012
Fabric cutting : first make sure your material isn't warped or skewed. I also prefer fabrics that allow you to rip rather than cut. (Sometimes you need to cut through the selvage first). When I worked at a fabric store this is how we did as many fabrics as possible. There has to be a grain in the weave - natural cottons work well while synthetics often don't. Ask at the fabric store if you're not sure.
Otherwise, I like an old cardboard thing I picked up years ago that has a grid printed on it's surface to help with cutting. I weight the material with cans or such to keep it from moving.
posted by mightshould at 3:33 AM on January 16, 2012
Otherwise, I like an old cardboard thing I picked up years ago that has a grid printed on it's surface to help with cutting. I weight the material with cans or such to keep it from moving.
posted by mightshould at 3:33 AM on January 16, 2012
I would nth Apartment Therapy & Design Spnge. I also recommend Canadian House & Home or Sunset magazines & websites... diverse styles and price points on each.
Re: curtains, you will have to hem the curtains after you cut the fabric, so the goal (in some ways) is to ensure you hem straight and so that the pattern more or less matches after hemming. Incidentally, In order to get a "full" look for curtains, plan for 3x the width of the window area for the horizontal length of the curtains. Your local library will likely have books on making these sorts of things & decorating generally. I recommend starting with free sources before buying lots of books - unless you really love the look.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 10:20 AM on January 16, 2012
Re: curtains, you will have to hem the curtains after you cut the fabric, so the goal (in some ways) is to ensure you hem straight and so that the pattern more or less matches after hemming. Incidentally, In order to get a "full" look for curtains, plan for 3x the width of the window area for the horizontal length of the curtains. Your local library will likely have books on making these sorts of things & decorating generally. I recommend starting with free sources before buying lots of books - unless you really love the look.
posted by Heart_on_Sleeve at 10:20 AM on January 16, 2012
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posted by pised at 6:41 PM on January 15, 2012 [3 favorites]