Custom Pillow Designs make the perfect Home Accents

Accessorising allows us to easily inject colour, playfulness and personality into our home decor.  An easy and inexpensive way to switch up your look is by adding accent cushions to bedrooms, patio furniture or main living areas.  These soft furnishings are a must have for any space.

Monochromatic greens

For my ~Delicious Room Makeover~ contest on now, one of the divine prizes being offered with the Interior Decorating Package is a gift credit towards custom designed accent pillows.  More on that in a minute, but first imagine how blah these spaces would look if it weren't for the toss cushions:

 

Pottery Barn photographs never disappoint me

The bright yellow pops off this blue tufted sofa

The contrast here with soft purples and deep grays is stunning

My friend and Home Stager Jura Kybartas is from  'Making Fabulous', a home decor company specialising in custom designer pillows.  Jura offers a collection of designer fabrics that include, Kravet, Duralee, Robert Allen, Schumacher and many others.  Indoor pillows, outdoor pillows, traditional and lumbar cushions are all available in custom sizes - the options are endless!

Below are some examples of cushions she currently has for sale on her etsy website.


Jura is kindly donating a $65.00 shop credit to Making Fabulous, plus free shipping for the first place winner in my contest!!  This is a fantastic addition to the top prize of an Interior Decorating Package that also includes a $250 gift card to Homesense.  I think these pillows are gorgeous!

When adding cushions to a space they need to relate to the rooms' decor and tie in with or complement it's style. Placing a completely random pillow in an obscure colour or pattern will look as though no thought has gone into this key element of accessorising.  Jura happily sends small samples of fabrics for you to compare with other elements of your home furnishings for this purpose.




With the simple addition of toss cushions this room comes to life

The best part about neutral rooms such as the ones above and below is how easy it is to alter the mood of the space. Only the cushions and artwork over the fireplaces need to be replaced in order to instantly change the feel of the room.



This soft and pretty room design is speaking to me. Accent cushions pull the colours together nicely.

At the turn of the seasons consider alternate cushion covers or swapping out accent pillows to freshen up your look. This is a great way to change your decor without breaking the bank. 

Finding quality custom designer pillows at reasonable price points is no longer an impossible task.  Visit   Jura's website at www.etsy.com/shop/MakingFabulous to see how easy  it can be and all from the comfort of your own home!

And don't forget to enter my ~Delicious Room Makeover~ contest for your chance to win fabulous custom cushions and much more.  Click here for all the yummy details.

No subscribed to ~delicious decor~ yet?  See the box below to enter your e-mail address, that way you will never miss a post! 

 

How to create your own Gallery of Wall Art

A few weeks ago at the Ultimate Women's Show many people complimented me on the job I had done on the 'photo gallery' in my basement.   (Thank You!) A number of people I spoke to wanted to do something similar but were unsure about how to go about doing so.

So pretty with the soft blue-green back drop

I found that there really is no hard and fast rules to follow, rather, it is more of a personal preference to how you wish to place your collection.  However,there are some guidelines to loosely follow that will help you bring it all together and get just the right look that you are after.

This room is soooo romantic

The rule that guided me was to have a common theme that united the gallery.  Examples of how this can be done are by using the same colour or style of frames; black and white photography; or having the same print but in different colours or finishes. 

Andy Warhol is famous for art such as this where a photo is repeated in different colours

Measure your proposed arrangement first either on the wall with paper cut outs the same size of the frames or on the floor as I did in the picture below.  This will give you an idea of how your masterpiece will look once hung & save your wall from having too many nail holes due to mistakes.

Sorry for the angle, but you get the idea

For my own gallery I wanted a mix of old and new frames to incorporate older accessories that would help complement my upcycled large antique buffet.  Although the theme of our pictures shared a common thread in being photographs taken during our travels, I still wished for something more to tie them all together and provide a cohesive look.

Matt colour - CC512 - Marshlands - Benjamin Moore

To keep costs down I decided to simply use the large printed colour samples from Benjamin Moore as mats instead of having photographs framed and matted professionally.  It took a bit longer to measure it all out myself but I was pleased with the end result for the budget I had to work with. 

I purposely chose not to centre the main photo of 'Ayres Rock' in line with the buffet and made sure I had enough room to include accessories such as my lamp & Chris's Bali dolphins on the left side.

Source

Some galleries of wall art are uniformed as above and some are scattered with no formal lines or boundaries.  It all depends on how your home is styled and what you like best.

Here are some more examples to help you decide which style will work best for you.

No 'Negative' space happening here! Quite busy and eclectic, but that may just be the way you like it.

Contemporary, clean and casual.

Why not try something completely different?  Plates are making a return in home decor accessories.

I really like this.

Need help deciding on where and how to put together your gallery of photographs, art or accessories?  Please contact me and I will be happy to offer my professional opinion to get you started.  claire@creatingcontrastdesigns.com

Accessorising is Essential and Most Fun!

I recently attended the Canadian Gift & Tableware Association which is an event open to the trade only and is absolutely HUGE!  I was pleasantly surprised to see numerous suppliers with fantastic high end home decor accessories.  Pretty pieces are essential when putting together the final touches of a rooms' design, just like adding make up and jewellery to complete your perfect outfit. 

Calming spring accessories in soft spring hues from'Que'

With spring just around the corner (if you blinked you may of missed winter) many exhibitors displayed their newest collections for the season ahead.  There seemed to be no hard and fast rule in regards to colour with the exception that all featured colours worked beautifully with the now trendy Gray neutral.

More from 'Que' - Purple, green and Gray continues to be a popular colour combination

From soft pastels and muted purple tones to wild pops of colour - everything seems to be a go for 2012 depending on the look and mood you want to create for your space - inside and out.   

Red always seems to be in fashion, stirring up emotions of energy and passion

A tranquil setting for a backyard or an ideal feature for a wedding or shower

Torre & Tagus (above) specialises in clean, contemporary home décor and accessories from around the world.  Although it may seem early, it's a good time to start thinking about ideas you may have for your outdoor decor.  Once Valentines day has come and gone stores don't waste time turning their focus to spring.  Many shops already have spring home accents on display and like everything else, the best items go quickly.

Rustic furnishings from Muti & Co. Ltd located in Woodbridge Ontario

 From Rustic to Rustique, I take a break from all the walking to rest in this contemporary white leather modern rocker with a chrome frame.  It was actually very comfortable to sit in...hmmm where could I find a space for this in my house? 

Animal prints and accessories were also very popular.  I'm sure like many of you, my family and I are nature lovers so I will have to dedicate a post soley to the influence of these nature inspired items in order to give them the full attention they deserve.  This upcoming season there is something for everyone, regardless of your preferred taste and that's great news because afterall, variety is the spice of life!

If you would like some advice on how to put together the final touches that are so important to  completing a space beautifully, contact me and I can help you.  You can get all my contact details on my website at www.creatingcontrastdesigns.com.