The Nest.com

Living Room

You can dramatically change the look of your living room no matter how small your budget may be. A great place to start is by painting an accent wall a shade or two darker than your existing color. Another budget friendly option is to add new throw pillows in a variety of prints, colors, and textures. A new area rug or slipcovers on your existing furniture can make a big difference as well.

Bedroom

Does the look of your bedroom need waking up? Why not give it a fresh coat of paint? While you are at it, add some molding to give it a nice finished look. If you are not interested in painting the whole room, consider painting just the furniture. You could also try dressing up your bed by making a fabric slip cover for your headboard or by adding new pillows and linens.

Bathroom

Photo Credit: Real Simple

Who doesn’t like to go to the spa? You can give your drab bathroom a spa-like feel by painting the walls a soft, relaxing color. Instead of buying expensive artwork, try buying scrapbooking paper and framing it. Plants and aromatic candles are also affordable accessories that can change the appearance of any bathroom. For a real spa-like feel indulge in new towels. Setting a basket full of rolled towels near the bathtub can not only be stylish but also a storage solution.

Kitchen

Kitchen redesigns always improve the overall look of a home and don’t have to cost a fortune. Almost everything in your kitchen can be repainted, refinished, or renewed; you can repaint your walls, cabinets, or even your appliances. If painting sounds like too much work, updating your cabinetry hardware can be a refreshing change. Another economical choice would be to replace old rugs, dish rags, and towels with new ones. New curtains, updated plumbing fixtures, shiny counter top appliances, and a fresh bowl of fruit can also have impact when trying to give a kitchen a fresh look.

Photo Credit: Real Simple

Dining Room

Dining rooms tend to be forgotten about when doing home makeovers but there are many ways to refresh this room too. Everything in your dining room can be painted. If you don’t want to paint your table and chairs but want to give them a new look, try reupholstering your chairs. This is much easier than it sounds, all you need is about a 1/2 yard of fabric, a heavy duty stapler, and the ability to wrap a present. Other low-cost decorating options include a new mirror, wall hangings, window coverings, and a fresh and pretty centerpiece.

Guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for Area Rugs, a retail site that sells brand name area rugs.

                                          
You’ve spent months selecting the perfect solid hardwood baby crib by Amish craftsmen. You’re comforted in knowing you’ve bought the best for your newborn. This heirloom quality investment will last your child through many years, as it converts to their first big kid’s day bed, then later a single bed with designer head and footboards.

Whether the crib was an Amish traditional or contemporary design the crib mattress deserves to be given careful consideration, especially as the child grows and your Amish baby bed converts. Youngsters in their early development spend the majority of their days and nights lying in or playing in their baby crib. Since most crib mattresses are used for at least 2-4 years, growing bones need the best support you can afford.

The most common types of crib mattresses sold today are foam and innerspring. While a good quality foam mattress will last as long and give as much support as an innerspring crib mattress, the tie breaker is quality. Buy the best your budget can afford whether foam or innerspring.Today’s technology has developed a high grade of foam for mattresses. Foam’s resiliency is important and your mattress regaining its original shape quickly after weight is removed is essential. The next quality standard in selecting your child’s foundation is firmness and weight. With foam baby beds weight means density and the denser the better.

When considering any mattress the layers, and quality of layers, matter. The innerspring layer and the insulator pad layer and not the number of springs or coils is what makes the difference. The mattress border rods, or frame, are very important since they provide the edge support, where most children tend to stand and even bounce. A good mattress for your Amish crib should have a lower gauge of steel because it adds thickness. A good guide to buying an innerspring is:

150 coils. 

13.5 gauge carbon tempered steel coils.

 9.0 gauge steel border rods. 

A baby mattress should be covered in an easy to clean vinyl cover that is hospital grade and double or triple lamination. Remember to read the mattress label for specifications of the components. Better quality bedding will also include a warranty even if limited. Since you are buying a hand crafted heirloom from Amish craftsmen, buy a mattress that matches your valuable investment.

Traditional bedroom furniture is generally casual, comfortable, and consisting of fewer intricate details in the pieces. It goes well in any style home and is usually referred to as Neo-Classical or Colonial. Silk curtains and velvety bedspreads usually go well with this style.

Contemporary bedroom furniture has clean lines, little detailing, and usually comes in a strong, bold color. Contemporary design is simplistic and more focused on function rather than flair. Neutral earth tones and whites make a contemporary bedroom pop with high style.

Country style bedroom furniture is one of the most popular styles today because of its relaxing, understated, and comfortable feel. Usually consisting of lighter woods with a subtle outdoor atmosphere, the country bedroom is romantic, light, and airy. Bedroom linens of pastels and florals are common in the country style room.

Mission bedroom furniture is simple, elegant, and architectural in nature. It is always constructed of straight and simple lines with little detail. Vertical slats and oak are typically used in mission style. Dark, warm reds, oranges, or yellows go well with this style.

Rustic bedroom furniture gives you the feeling of being in a cozy cabin or ski lodge. Lighter, natural woods accentuating the grain are typical in rustic design. Thick and cozy comforters of purple, green, or brown add to the outdoorsy feeling of rustic bedroom design.

Every bedroom should be painted some sort of color. Leaving the bedroom white is stark and boring and can leave you feeling blah. Restful and calming colors of greens, blues, and lavenders are optimal. These should be painted in a monochromatic combination to give the room warmth and a subdued feel. Never paint a bedroom red, orange, or yellow because this can distract the mind and keep you from falling asleep or relaxing.

Make sure you choose the right sized furniture for the size of your bedroom. If you have a small bedroom you need to keep the size of the bed at a full or queen so it does not take over the room. You should keep other furniture at a minimum, incorporating only the most useful pieces, such as nightstands or dressers. There needs to be plenty of space to move freely throughout the room, particularly the path leading to the bathroom. If you have a larger bedroom you can get away with a king sized bed, large headboard, and more massively sized furniture pieces.

Oftentimes we overlook storage in our bedrooms. You can solve this problem by choosing nightstands that have drawers or shelving, a storage bench or cedar chest at the foot of the bed for extra bedding and pillows, or a large headboard that has storage built into it.