The Kid`s Rooms Always Come First

May 25, 2012 by Suzanne Lasky

A dynamic I come across frequently when designing family homes is that the kids rooms always take priority . As parents, we want our children to have wonderful rooms to call their own. After the kids rooms are completed, the common areas of the home are most often next in the priority list. And almost always, the parent’s bedroom comes in dead last. When I was asked if I would be interested in hosting this guest post about furnishing and designing children’s bedrooms, I asked that it be written with this dynamic in mind. S Interior Design added some comments which are show in green color font. Enjoy-

The Kid`s Rooms Always Come First

Decorating a kid`s bedroom is the perfect excuse to let your imagination run wild. The only problem, however, is keeping it all within budget. It can be all too easy to spend thousands of dollars creating the perfect kid`s play space, leaving very little with which to decorate the other rooms in the house. Don`t worry. There are all sorts of hints and tips you can use to create a magical kids bedroom without it costing a small fortune.(and have money left over to decorate your bedroom too!!)

This guide will help you create your kids dream room on a minimal budget. Get your kids involved.

One of the most important things to remember when you are decorating a kids room is it`s for them, not for you. If you have always dreamed of creating an underwater world but your child is more into spaceships or jungles, then they are never going to appreciate all the hard work that`s gone into creating their space. Getting your children involved in the design process is the best way to ensure that they are going to love the finished effect. The more they love it the less likely they are to grow out of it in a short space of time. Choose themes that will grow with your child . Centering your design around a specific theme is a great way to create an imaginative space which your child will want to spend time in. The only problem with themes is that if your child`s interests change over time, they may consider their room too “babyish” and will want to redecorate again in a shorter space of time.

If you choose bright colors that will compliment a range of different themes then you can easily swap accessories to reinvent the space as your child`s interest`s change. You also don`t need to worry about creating a totally finished room once you are done decorating. By leaving plenty of space for your child to add their own drawings and ideas over time, your child`s bedroom will be a constantly evolving work in progress. This will help them to feel that the space is totally their own. Get Inspired!

You don`t have to spend hours poring over interior design magazines which are full of gorgeous, but expensive, accessories to get your inspiration. Sites such as Pinterest (and HOUZZ) are a great way of getting design ideas for kid`s room on a budget. You can re-pin all your favorite ideas onto your own pin-boards which will provide you with plenty of inspiration for creating that perfect kids bedroom. It’s not just about pretty pictures either.

Every image on Pinterest links to a website and you will often find some amazing blogs and tutorials to help you recreate these ideas for just a few dollars. Using thrift stores to find interesting and unusual objects is another great way of keeping costs down. Many things can be re-purposed into new and original ideas and the fact that they cost very little money makes it much easier to try out all those creative ideas that you’ve found on the web. Choose good quality furniture Without a doubt, the most expensive thing in your child`s bedroom is the furniture. It is the one thing that`s really worth investing in as it will last a number of years. Even after they`ve left for college they`ll still want a decent bed to come home too.

Choosing good quality children’s bedroom furniture in bright colors will make the room fresh and inviting, yet they won`t grow out of it as the years go by. Good quality storage (check IKEA options) is another essential for any kid`s room. After all if they have got somewhere to put all their toys away, you shouldn’t find them cluttering up the rest of your house.

Master Bedroom Makeovers-A Short Video

May 20, 2012 by Suzanne Lasky

Master Bedroom Makeovers by S Interior Design- We all love a movie right? Short and sweet with some nice music to go along 🙂

Add a Bit of British Cool to Your Home or Apartment on this Side of the Pond!

March 13, 2012 by Suzanne Lasky

We love keeping in touch with and learning what’s going on globally with design, be it interiors, architecture, or products. This week’s guest blog brings a bit of the UK to our shores. So much is great design is happening over there now, so why not brighten up a living room, or a bedroom or even your kitchen with some great British inspired, British made products!

The hype around the Royal Wedding last year, the continuing popularity of Downtown Abbey, the Queen’s Jubilee and the Olympics later this year means that once again it is cool to be British and this has been reflected in this years’ hottest interior design trends.

Interior design in 2012 will see a return to traditional British design. We’ve already seen it on the fashion runway with the popularity of Jonathan Saunders and now interior furnishings are favoring British designs with iconic prints, pastel color blocks, floral designs and gingham fabrics being used to complement the clean and sleek furniture trends from 2011.

To achieve this look with the furnishing you already have, add some British flair with oversized pillows in floral prints and pastels or floor length curtains in bold, iconic prints. Liberty offers some great home accessories, like the Edenham Liberty print silk and velvet cushion, as well as some new season fabrics that have been inspired by English nostalgia as well as the upcoming Olympics. The best thing about this trend is that adding a bit of traditional British elegance is as easy as pulling out the sewing machine (think pillowcases!).

British patriotism is also a hot trend continuing on from 2011 with everything from Union Jack pillows to wall decor. The Shoreditch Union Jack Ottoman from The French Bedroom makes a great statement piece. The ottoman, in vibrant colors, makes a great coffee table with the added benefit of offering a storage space. Alternatively British furniture designer Jennifer Cooper’s Jack Upholstered Storage Box in muted tones is a great British made storage solution at a fraction of the cost.

If lavishing your home in Union Jack’s isn’t your thing try Graham and Brown’s Crown and Coronets wallpaper for a more subtle approach to cool Britannia. Crown and Coronets wallpaper can also be decorated with jewels, perfect for your very own little princess. Recreate the definitive British with Keep Calm and Carry On wall art; variations on the saying can be found everywhere, from Camden market to numerous online outlets.

For something with a bit of an edge have a look at Tobyboo’s range of tea towels and cushions with iconic images of London in bright yellows and oranges. Or if you’re on a budget, add a splash of Olympic Blue (also known as Pantone 19-4056) against some clean contemporary lines to get into the Olympic fever.

Roomservice By CORT is a company that specializes in furniture rentals, furniture packages, and has a passion for all things interior design.

About Suzanne Lasky, Allied ASID
Suzanne Lasky, Allied ASID, is the owner and founder of S Interior Design, the exclusive provider of Pawprint Design Services™. Suzanne works with her clients to develop a winning combination of design elements that result in warm, comfortable and functional spaces that reflect each client’s personal style. Suzanne and her team specialize in residential, contract and hospitality interior design, from simple color selections, to office build outs, to restaurant, spa and hotel designs. Suzanne shares her years of expertise through the power of social media. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and at this blog. To speak to Suzanne about your interior design needs, please call 480-220-4659 or visit her website at www.sinteriordesign.com.

Does Your Child Have the Bedroom of Their Dreams?

March 6, 2012 by Suzanne Lasky

Here’s another great guest blog with some wonderful tips for designing a room for a child. This blog identifies the major areas of design and offers some interesting solutions. Give it a read and let us know if you agree with their creative ideas.

Designing a bedroom for your child can be one of the most fun home projects. You can really get creative and design something that your child will remember forever. So when you design your child’s bedroom, make sure that you have their personality and the things they love in mind. The most important part of your child’s bedroom is the walls. The walls cover a large area of the room and getting them right is critical for the overall design of the room.

Having a theme will help to direct your ideas and unify the room.
The best way to design a kids bedroom is with a theme in mind. Some theme ideas are medieval, cityscape, auto racing, dinosaurs, forest, the universe, and the old west. There are many more of course, but these should give you some ideas. Make sure to get your child’s input when deciding on a final theme. Searching the internet is also a good way of coming up with ideas or getting examples of ideas you have come up with.

Once you have come up with a theme, it is time to get designing. Decorating the walls is the most important because they will set the scene for the entire room. Wallpaper is the best way to decorate the walls in your child’s bedroom. It is easier to find intricate designs children like, it can be removed if they damage it, and it keeps the walls underneath in good shape.

Custom wallpaper is a great way to get just the look you are going for and allows you to be as creative as you want when designing your project.
While there are many great wallpaper designs for children’s rooms out there, you may want something a little more unique, or perhaps you’re not able to find exactly what you are looking for. The best thing to do in this situation is to have custom wallpaper made for your child’s bedroom.

When designing custom wallpaper, you can use any digital photo or digital image as the template for the walls. A single six megapixel photo can be blown up to the size of an entire wall. This means that any photo you have from family vacations, trips to the zoo, baseball games, or pictures of their favorite park can become decorations on your child’s wall.

You are not restricted to photographs either. You can use a graphic design program to design digital images to decorate your child’s walls as well. You could make a cartoon background, a stars and planets scene, or even an alien world.

Once you have designed the walls, it is time to move on to the rest of the room. Choose paint for furniture that matches your theme. Choose carpet that is darker and good at hiding stains. Your child’s bed is another element where you can let your imagination run wild. There are many premade child’s bed designs that are amazing. Of course, if you have the carpentry skills, know someone who does, or can afford to have a bed custom made; you can really get creative.

So, I hope this has given you some ideas on how to make your child’s wildest dreams come true when designing a bedroom for them.

Author Bio: Blake Pearson is a large format printing expert and online publisher for www.megaprint.com who writes on the topics of design and printing.

DIY On A Dime to Spruce up Your Home for Spring

March 1, 2012 by Suzanne Lasky

This guest blog makes us anticipate Spring even more. If you’re like us, Spring recalls fresh and bright colors, open and airy houses, and longer days of sunshine. Now is the time to start planning for your Spring DIY efforts. Give a read to this guest blog and maybe you can incorporate some of their great ideas!

Spring is right around the corner and for many of us, which means time to redecorate the house and breathe some new life into rooms that may seem tired and in need of a good refreshing. I recently took a tour of a few open houses and found some inspiration for budget-friendly DIY home décor projects. Whether you’re looking to add a small touch to a bare wall or looking to transform an entire room, you don’t have to break the bank.

Use Found Objects to Create Visual Interest
One of my favorite touches from the open house tour I recently took was an especially colorful clock. When I walked into the room my eye was immediately drawn to the clock on the wall. Its starburst appearance looked like something chic and modern you might find at Urban Outfitters. When I swooped in for a closer look, I realized that I was actually looking at a regular clock with a variety of paint chips arranged around it. I’m not sure if the homeowner came up with this or not, but I thought it was a brilliant idea. Find a clock that does not have a glass or plastic face on it, and fan the paint chips out from the center of the clock. If you’ve already redecorated a room in your house, you probably already have a tower of paint chips lying around. Why not put them to use?

One of the big trends of 2012 is going to be color.
Play with color as much as possible in your redecorated rooms. A very cheap way of doing this is to go thrifting for fun picture frames, cut construction paper to fit inside the frames and hang them on your wall. Contrast real loud colors like red and green with muted tones like white and grey. If your construction paper is lime green, try painting the picture frame white or black.

Redecorating your home doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. You can probably poke around in the attic in the boxes you haven’t touched in years and find the perfect raw material for your DIY project.

Author’s Bio: Lisa is a guest blogger who likes to write about everything from interior decorating to real estate.