Category: Decorating Guides

Lighthouse DIY Centerpiece

Lighthouses inspire a sense of history, steadfastness and romance. Sightseers travel to America’s historical lighthouses, attracted by the beauty and majesty of the landmarks, and enthusiasts utilize lighthouse decor in their houses and gardens. To celebrate your own lighthouse enthusiasm, make a lighthouse centerpiece for everyday decor or a special gathering. Pick the construction process that matches your ability level, and refer to photos of historical lighthouses for inspiration.

Make It from Cardboard

With minimum crafting skills and supplies, it is easy to transform a cardboard mailing tube into a lighthouse centerpiece. Cut the tube to the desired height and hot-glue one end to a chipboard base. Paint the lighthouse white, add red or black horizontal stripes, doors, windows and other details. To make the lantern room, then glue a tiny black plastic plate, right side up, to the top of this lighthouse. Glue a clear plastic cup, base down, to the plate and place a battery-operated tea light inside. To make the cupola, secure an uncontested black plastic bowl in addition to the cup. Use a glue you can reposition, such as glue dots, so you can access the light.

Build It from Wood

A wooden lighthouse centerpiece includes a conventional, handmade texture. Begin with a cylindrical or square wood post — purchased, or pulled out of the lumber stash — and cut it to the height you like. If the post includes a turned end cap or finial, then allow the shape to serve as the lighthouse’s lantern room and cupola. Otherwise, use a wood finial or a post cap using a hammer or dome shape. A lighted post cap, available at home-improvement shops, will give the lighthouse an authentic glow. To construct the centerpiece, use wood glue and screws to attach the post base to your plywood base. Attach the lantern room and cupola pieces, and paint the lighthouse from the shade and pattern you like.

Assemble It from Clay Pots

A lighthouse constructed from clay flowerpots produces a charming centerpiece that can be used indoors or outside. Use three or four clay pots in graduated sizes. Give the pots a coat of primer, utilize outdoor acrylic paint to generate the body of their pots white as well as the rims red or black. To construct the lighthouse, put the greatest grass upside down and implement cement glue or a different weatherproof glue across the outer edge of the grass base. Place the next pot upside down on the very first grass, making sure the glue holds. Glue and stack the rest of the pots, maintaining the tower straight as you go. Paint doors, doors and other details about the lighthouse, and top it with a battery-powered lantern.

Finish It with Truth

Whether your lighthouse is created of cardboard, wood or clay pots, it will require some finishing touches before it is worthy of centerpiece status. Place the lighthouse at the center of the table and surround it with stones, shells or decorative fishnet to make a vignette. Enhance the tablescape with toy ships, buoys or other miniatures in case your home or party has a nautical theme. If the centerpiece is to get a birthday party or wedding, add flowers and table confetti from the centerpiece arrangement to unify it with the other party decor. To get a gathering of lighthouse buffs, make a centerpiece for every table. Paint every in the style of a different historic lighthouse.

See related

What Colour Tile Goes With a Black Leather Sofa?

A black leather sofa could be the most complex piece in your living room — or it could be Moby Dick’s dark twin, a leviathan that overlooks the space. Weave that lavish expanse of smooth black to your decor, beginning at floor level. A tile floor in the living room is unexpected and substantial enough to balance a very strong piece of furniture. Consider a few of the many alternatives before deciding which tile gets to share space with your trophy couch.

Flame and Shadow

Leather is a powerful natural material, and so is clay. Park that the showpiece sofa on a warm, vibrant, terra-cotta tile floor and enjoy the abundance of textures that include the contrasting colors. Terra cotta has myriad hues, from orange to a kind of faded-autumn-leaf-brown to your variegated swirl of oranges, yellows, blues, greens and other mineral shades. The tiles are big squares — the classic design — polygons, or smaller tiles set in patterns such as herringbone. Keep the floor design simple so you do not overwhelm the couch. And associate the two leather sofa and glazed floor using a silk accent cushion or an angora throw in pumpkin or burnt orange.

Skins and Fossils

The leather couch is dyed animal mask; the floor is slabs of mini embedded fossils, millions of years old. Limestone is lacy, chalky and lovely, studded with tiny shells and the shapes of whatever animals were compressed to an ancient seabed. Limestone is the lighting to black leather’s dark, but it requires more care than do other types of tile. The stone is comparatively delicate, so protect it from furniture legs, tracked in dirt and heavy traffic. Seal limestone tile, dry-mop it regularly and wipe up any spills immediately; even a sealed floor will absorb red wine. Harness the contrast in colors between sofa and tile using a black and limestone-white area rug under the sofa or a runner above the frequent footpath worn by the traffic pattern within the room.

Black on Black

Black tile floor is as dramatic as the black leather sofa, but a room could be overly stark and dark with no relief. Layer several rugs between the sofa and the tile. Rugs highlight the rich absence of color in leather and tile and ground the room so that it does not look like endless space. In a minimalist living room, solid neutral-colored rugs — a dove grey to pull the conversation room with a more compact caramel apartment weave under the coffee table — leave a broad edge of tile floor as a frame that mirrors the black couch. Contemporary decor is organized on a cream, gray and charcoal abstract patterned rug, and an oriental rug adds heat to conventional accessories and furnishings.

Patchwork Floor Quilt

The sofa is a declaration piece so the tile floor can shout a bit, or a whole lot, to create an interesting tension in the room. Tile the floor like a crazy patchwork quilt using bright ceramics: square glazed tiles in primary and secondary colors with lots of white and black along with a mishmash of layouts juxtaposed. Geometric color shapes mixed with arbitrary yellow, red and green tiles, thick white diagonal stripes, and a kaleidoscope of overlapping angles, half-circles and wavy lines are so energetic that the sofa becomes an island of peaceful dot from the exuberant room. The crazy tile does look to be quite a contemporary patchwork quilt on the floor. Any area rugs layered above the tile needs to be meticulously tested in the space to guarantee a rug does not detract from the sober sofa or the crazy tile.

See related

DIY Window Stencil

Whether you create window embellishments with durable paints or temporary solutions like spray-on snow, a stencil ensures that the patterns turn out as you would like. Devise your own stencils instead of an alternative to run-of-the mill premade designs for custom creations like spooky scenes or holiday greetings. Both newspaper goods and stick-on craft supplies may be used to make reusable stencils. However you stencil the window, the perspective from inside and outside will be different; tailor it to the audience you’ve got in mind.

Preparing the Window

Whichever kind of stencils or paints you use, clean the glass to begin with to make sure your artwork sticks to the window without undermining dirt and dust from the plan. Mix equal amounts of water and white vinegar in a spray bottle; spritz the glass and rub it clean with a lint-free, soft fabric. Clean the whole window, rather than only 1 area. If possible, clean both the inside and outside of this window for a much better perspective.

Cut-Out Cardboard or Paper

Create a simple stencil with thin a sheet of scrap paper. Pull or print your design on the stencil stuff, and cut it out carefully using a craft knife. Put a sheet of corrugated cardboard beneath it so the knife doesn’t slice the work surface. Tape the stencil securely to the window using strips of painter’s tape, and make sure the stencil is totally flat against the glass before spraying or brushing a layout via the stencil.

Sticky Sheet Stencils

Contact paper or stick-on shelf newspaper functions as an perfect stencil stuff — it clings to glass, and because it is sticky, there’s no prospect of gaps between the stencil and window so long as the newspaper is smoothed into position. Create your layout on the backing fabric of this shelf or contact paper, keeping in mind it is in reverse when seen from the front. Carefully cut the design out using a craft knife, slicing through both the financing paper and contact newspaper. If this is too difficult, slice through the materials in a small section using the knife, then slide scissors through to cut the rest of the plan. For another choice, draw the design on the front of the contact paper with a marker, then slice through only the contact paper layer using the knife, peeling it off from the backing to smooth it onto the window. To soften the sticky stencil, stick it onto a sheet of wax paper until you’re ready to use it.

Create in Position with Painter’s Tape

Painter’s tape allows you to make a layout or scene of any size to your window apply 1 strip to the glass, followed by the other, slightly overlapping the first, until you’ve covered enough area to make the desired layout. Pull your design directly on the tape using a pencil or marker, then gently slice along the lines of the drawing using a craft knife. Peel off the tape from the designated cut-out areas to make an inexpensive single-use stencil. Should you prefer not to use the knife from your window, then apply the tape strips to a sheet of wax paper, and cut out the design using a sheet of cardboard beneath it to protect the table.

See related

What Color Wall Paint to Go With a Walnut Sofa?

The couch is a major consideration. You have to plan wall colours carefully to prevent a bland, dark or muddy vibe in the room when it’s brown. Brown can be light, earthy or rich as toast. Walls can go light or explode with color. Try samples to the wall nearest the couch to see what matches it day or night.

Cocoa and Cream

Milky cocoa linen couch upholstery may be dull against color that is a lot of, but it comes alive with vanilla cream walls — such as a foamy cappuccino or hot cocoa with whipped cream steaming in a cup. The combination of cloth that is medium brown and horizontal weave that is gentle looks even richer with walls that fill the space with light but are soft enough to blend with animal silhouetted lampshades polycarbonate end tables, an antique trunk coffee table and the couch. Keep trim the identical color as the walls but up the glow factor using a glossy finish. You could work with velveteen. An ivory and ivory rug is serene in this room.

Chocolate Box

Dark chocolate velvet or wool upholstery on chocolate enamel and the couch onto the walls turn the living room into a chocolate box of rich hues. Paint the fireplace surround, the coffered ceiling and the trim antique white, but insert a touch of color in a lilac raw silk chair; a tan, beige, vanilla and yellow contemporary abstract rug; bright yellow vases on the mantel; and a lilac throw onto the sofa. Shiny raw silk drapes in a lighter shade of chocolate pull back to allow light close to highlight its luscious extravagance and flood the space.

Tobacco Road

The distressed tobacco leather couch takes pride of place in the living room against walls faux painted in a rusty shade of apricot. Venetian or sueded plastered walls show their texture in altering light, as does the lavish finish of the leather. The paint picks up the orange tone from the tobacco-colored leather and also can manage touches of metallic cherry in graphic frames, chalk-white or palest gray trim, a gray-and-white tweed carpeting or ebony-stained plank floors, deep or black rose accents, acid green or natural sisal chair upholstery. The couch and the custom-painted walls are chameleons — but anything you put in the space will not compete for center point with them.

Cinnamon Toast

The couch is linen or brocade in a shade of brown or toast rice. It is light and easy to get along with, letting you go in any color direction for wall decor and paint. Try cinnamon or red cinnabar on the walls. Green the room with chartreuse or green paint that is acid. Try a blush or palest rose with heavy brown trim. Paint the walls sunflower yellow with wood trim. A brown couch is impartial enough to be minimalist with white or ghost-gray walls, varnished wood floors or a Berber rug and pewter and cork fittings.

See related

What Color Wood Floor Goes With Lighter Painted Walls?

Color does not involve rules — it wouldn’t be much fun when it did — but it does involve principles which deserve attention. The floor and walls provide most of the color in a room, and the way sets a tone that affects the selection of the atmosphere and furnishings. Hardwood flooring and walls usually work as long as you pay attention to a couple color guidelines.

The Hues Have It

Very few partitions are totally white; even though the colors may be subtle most are tinted. The way wall colours interact and in which the ground sets a theme for the room. If the wall color is warm, then you can produce the space easygoing by highlighting the warmth such as red oak. A wood with a tinge, on the other hand, could create a comparison which sets the stage like a large stone fireplace or a kitchen full of chrome appliances. A wall shade generates the situation: Mixing it with a color creates play and contrast.

The Earth Tones

Wood includes a set of colours, known to artists as the earth tones, and wood finishers utilize five pigments to combine them. These pigments have traditionally been produced with organic dyes. They comprise sienna, which is reddish brown; raw sienna, which is yellow to orange; burnt umber, which is a brown umber, which is a milder greenish-brown. A mix of these colours occurs in every wood species, and most wood flooring have warm colours because all but one are warm.

The Coolness of Raw Umber

The wood species are people with colours which tend toward umber, which is the color of youthful sapwood. For example, blonde woods like birch and aspen are yellowish, but the yellow is often tinged with a raw umber hue which may be accentuated by swirls of greenish-brown heartwood. When used with cool wall colours, these woods can turn an area cool to the point of being stark. Maple is just another wood with a shade that tends toward a raw umber hue. It is possible to accentuate the coolness of this substance by providing it a light coating of dark walnut stain or glaze. Dark walnut usually includes a large portion of raw umber pigment.

Picking a Shade

If your wall colours are warm and you also wish to accentuate the coziness with a wood floor that is hot, your choices are limitless; the determining factors include room decor, light and room dimensions and function. Some wood grains are more dramatic than the others, along with life can be added by a grain to a monochromatic color scheme. Bring home samples before picking a flooring material and try them out. Keep in mind which you can stain hardwood, which raises the color possibilities more, if you are having difficulty selecting the best one.

See related

Woodipedia: Walnut Wows in Traditional and Modern Settings

Walnut is a pick for architectural millwork and conventional furniture. However, it became the wood of midcentury designers, too. With the current resurgence of that fashion, walnut is again being selected to achieve a contemporary look in house interiors. It is a “smoking hot wood” nowadays, says Dave Paulsen, a salesman at Bohnhoff Lumber in Vernon, California.

Verner Architects

The Basics

While there are numerous types of pine trees, black walnut — juglans nigra — is the commercially harvested type for home-related uses. The majority of it comes in the fundamental U.S. states. The thickness of its brownish colour will change, and it may have a reddish, purple or grey cast. Black walnut typically includes a rather straight grain pattern and is famous for its reliable toughness.

Odhner & Odhner Fine Woodworking Inc..

Cost: While the price of hardwoods varies regionally, the same as the price of gas, walnut sells for about $5 a plank foot wholesale. Much like all hardwoods, the price of walnut plummeted for some time because of decreased domestic demand. Americans purchased furniture created and then the housing market crashed and, combined with it.

However, due to tremendous demand in China, and to a lesser extent Canada, the price of walnut is skyrocketing. According to a report printed by Bill Luppold, an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, a vast percentage of chosen walnut is exported to China as whole logs. What’s more, the Chinese aren’t returning the walnut back as finished furniture, since it is considered a standing wood there.

Since there are many people who want the appearance of walnut with no paying its high price, it is not uncommon for manufacturers to stain or dye other less expensive woods in walnut tones. The term “walnut finish” generally implies that it is not authentic walnut.

Simplicity of use: Woodworkers love walnut. “It is rather simple to use,” notes Josh Salsbury, who functions at actor Nick Offerman’s woodshop in Los Angeles and whose table is revealed here. “It machines easily, does not burn like maple and is secure. Plus it smells pretty great when you cut it.”

kbcdevelopments

Types of Walnut

You’ll sometimes hear about British walnut, but that species is grown primarily for commercial nut harvesting or within an ornamental yard tree.

Butternut, also known as white walnut, is an “incidental species,” says Jim Steen of Pike Lumber in Indiana. It is a lighter shade of brown but is no longer a “competitive species,” he says, since it has been beset with a fungal disease for the previous 20 years. Butternut is a very soft wood, on the purchase of poplar or alder, and isn’t considered commercially viable.

FRINGE STUDIO

Claro walnut is a beautiful multicolored walnut that comes chiefly from Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. After harvesting, it is ordinarily air-dried instead of kiln-dried, which averts the gorgeous range of color stripes found inside a single plank.

Ultra-tec Cable Railing From The Cable Connection

Not walnut: Ipe (pronounced EE-pay) is frequently referred to as Brazilian walnut, but it is out of a different genus and is therefore not a true walnut. Other woods that aren’t true walnuts are African, Caribbean and Patagonian “walnut”

Slabs

Thick, live-edge walnut slabs are very popular for countertops and tabletops and are rather easy to discover. Slabs work well in both modern settings atop a metal table base as well as in more rustic state chambers.

Signature Innovations LLC

Durability

The Janka score measures a wood’s resistance to dings and dents. The scale ranges in the softest wood (quipo, at 22) into the hardest (Australian bull walnut, at 5,060). Black walnut is rated 1,010 (lbs of power). That positions walnut as “somewhat hard,” a little below hard maple (1,450) and white pine (1,360).

TreHus Architects+Interior Designers+Builders

Finishing

Walnut is a fantasy to complete. It sands into a highly polished luster and takes any kind of sealing coat without difficulty. The biggest difficulty is addressing the problem of sapwood, which is the dramatically light-colored wood found in the outermost section of the tree. Some folks enjoy the natural variations between the light-colored sapwood and the darker-colored heartwood. If you discover the combination too active for your tastes, you can stain the wood to even it out.

If you’re likely to apply a paste wax to walnut, be sure to use a dark-colored wax. Should you use a neutral shade, the wax will dry into a milky color in cracks and crevices, whereas the dark-colored wax will blend in.

Lisa Ferguson Interior Design

UV Stability

While lots of woods — maple, such as — patinate over time, walnut gets lighter as it ages. “Walnut isn’t UV stable,” notes professional wood finisher Brian Miller, who has revived many Greene and Greene historic landmark homes in Los Angeles. “Despite a complete coat, it still lightens with age”

VERMONT WOODS STUDIOS

Sustainability

regardless of the current high need for black walnut and its comparative rarity in hardwood woods, walnut is still a sustainable resource. The majority of all timberland in this nation is independently owned, and professional foresters are generally hired to maintain the health of these properties. They follow best-practice guidelines and eliminate just dead, dying, diseased or damaged trees.

The American Hardwood Council says that the volume of hardwood in American woods is currently 90 percent larger than it had been 50 years back.

Matthew MacCaul Turner

A cautionary note. Forester Jim Steen says dying or dead walnut trees should not be hauled elsewhere in the place where they’re cut. This is because these trees may possess Thousand Cankers black walnut disease, which is spread mostly via the movement of raw wood to some other site.

More:
The Wonder of Walnut: A Love Story
Maple Is a Marvel Around the Home

See related

Falling for Colour: 9 Ways With Pumpkin Orange

With Halloween right around the corner I only had to catch the chance to provide some love to one of my favorite colors: pumpkin orange. The key to working with this extreme color would be to use it to get those areas or items in your home that you would like to listen to. Then be sure to select coordinating colors wisely.

Coordinating colors similar to orange — colors of brown, reddish or yellow — can create your palette colorful yet harmonious. Colors of blue (the match(reverse of orange on the colour wheel) will make a dynamic, high-energy vibe. The more colour shy one of you might want to put this extreme orange entirely with neutrals.

You may use it to warm a mostly white or gray contemporary interior, to keep the space from feeling overly crude. Or you can use it to add some vibrancy to a traditional space that’s possibly heavy on dark neutrals or deep wood tones. I’ve gathered nine examples which illustrate precisely how gorgeous and versatile this color could be in a home, along with six of my preferred pumpkin-inspired paint colors.

Stedila Design

Jennifer Ott Design

1. Accent Wall

Sure, they are a clear way to use a bold colour in a space, however I remain a loyal fan of accent partitions. An eye-popping colour such as this on all four partitions may feel overwhelming, especially if the space lacks plenty of natural lighting. I therefore tend to advise homeowners to utilize it on only a couple of walls. Or on the ceiling.

Get a similar look with Pumpkin Patch from Behr.

jones | haydu

Jennifer Ott Design

2. Kitchen Backsplash

I like to utilize neutral colors for items that I do not wish to change out for many, many decades, like flooring and kitchen countertops and cabinets. But it does not have to have a huge quantity of work or a huge cost to update a backsplash farther down the road if you grow tired of the colour, especially if your backsplash area is quite small. So why not go for a orange colour? When paired with rich and white forests, as in the case shown here, it creates a look that is clean and contemporary, yet warm and inviting.

Get a similar look with Pumpkin from Valspar.

RisherMartin Fine Homes

Jennifer Ott Design

3. Accent Stripe

A little pumpkin orange goes a long way, so if a full accent wall is too much shade for you, think about having a mere stripe of the colour. This is a cool style for a child’s or teen’s room. And since it’s such a little bit of colour, you may allow the child select the hue.

Get a similar look with Pumpkin Pie from Benjamin Moore.

Moore Design Group

4. Furniture

Should you favor walls, ceilings and flooring in neutral colors, think about adding a fun orange shade in your own decor. Furniture can get expensive, so you should make certain to love this colour and would like to keep it around for a while, but the nice thing about using furniture or decorative accessories to get a jolt of color in a space is they are rather simple to update.

David Howell Design

5. Lighting

One of my favored, and more unexpected, ways to bring bold colour into an area is through light fixtures. Lighting now comes in all sizes, shapes and colors, and I love making a bold-hued ceiling fixture the centerpiece of a space. It draws up the eye and can make the space look larger.

Iba Design Associates

6. Cabinet Interior

Give your prized possessions the attention they deserve by painting the trunk or interior of your pajamas or screen cabinet a feisty colour of orange. You might also add a splash of colour to the interior of a built-in niche. Pick up the colour in small pieces throughout the space to help move the eye around the space.

Watch more ideas for vivid cabinet interiors

Jennifer Ott Design

Get a similar look with Harvest Pumpkin from Behr.

Juliette Byrne

7. Nondecorative Accessories

Consider a fun colour for even the most utilitarian items in a space. I love the option of orange to the storage containers and binders here. It offers the office a joyful, fun vibe.

Atkinson Pontifex

8. Outdoor Wall

Take bold orange outside with an exterior accent wall. This is a great colour for outside spaces in a chilly or moist climate, since it can provide a warm glow during the cold autumn evenings.

Jennifer Ott Design

Get a similar look with Pumpkin Cream from Benjamin Moore.

BAR Architects

9. Front Door

regardless of the style of your home, you can not fail with a pumpkin-orange front door. But if you opt for this hue for the door, I recommend sticking with much more neutral colors for the siding and trim, unless your home is minimalist and modern in style. That is because the more clean and easy the traces of the home, the easier it is to pull off a bold color palette without the whole thing’s appearing overly busy.

Check out more tips about painting your front door orange

Jennifer Ott Design

Get a similar look with Fall Gala from Valspar.

Read more about picking colors for your home

Inform us : Are you a fan of bold pumpkin colors? How have you used them in your home? Post your pictures from the Comments section below.

See related

The '70s Are Back. Can Ya Dig It?

I know the idea of a lot of 1970s design makes us shudder, but the age did have some severe swagger. The song of this summer this year, Daft Punk’s ’70s-inspired “Get Lucky,” has us rewatching old episodes of Soul Train to understand the way to groove to it (just ask Steven Colbert); iconic muscle cars from the era have been rereleased; Amanda Seyfried is playing Linda Lovelace; Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and American Hustle will premiere in the end of this year. Even though no one is predicting harvest-gold appliances will be must-have kitchen items again anytime soon (or ever again), there are lots of elements to subtract from your age and consider in a new way.

David O. Russell’s latest movie, American Hustle, will premiere in December. I love Amy Adams’ tight curls, but I love Bradley Cooper’s more. In the Led Zeppelin–soundtracked trailer, this look likes it’s going to be very slick.

Now, on to the way to catch those exciting parts of seventies design without going full-on Brady Bunch.

ericofon.com

Western Electric Sculptura Phone – $50

Doughnut telephones. While Blondie didn’t release “Call Me” before 1980, I wonder whether she wrote it while contemplating one of Western Electric’s doughnut phones. They’re so much better looking than any cutting edge cordless out there (true confession: I’ve got two).

Browse more vintage phones

AIA, Mark English Architects

Strong curves. From the ’70s round dialog pits, circular curved and rugs sectionals were the grooviest, and upgraded to a modern scale and balanced, and they have still got it.

Works Photography Inc..

Large abstract paintings. These brought in bold colors in the ’70s, frequently too much bold color. Here using these vivid colors is controlled, picking up on the painting’s palette although not overwhelming the room.

Terrat Elms Interior Design

Gingham. This plaid pattern emerged in more traditional rooms back in the afternoon, but today designers are mixing large-scale ginghams into contemporary and modern spaces.

Chronicle Books

Groovy L.A. looks. Somehow Los Angeles managed to do the ’70s well, then and now. Trellis and lattice patterns, large curled coffee tables and bright yellow are plucked right from the age.

Stelle Lomont Rouhani Architects

Malibu surfer chic. Also coming from California is the laid-back type of old surf-shacky Malibu. My favorite description of Malibu in the 1970s was written by Rob Lowe in his memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. He paints a picture therefore markedly distinct from movie moguls’ blocking off beach access with their megamansions.

Moroccan rugs and live-edge wood in an all-white room are exotic and natural upgrades on surfer and hippy style.

Melanie Coddington

Brown and orange. This was a go-to color combo in the ’70s, but it frequently made rooms dark and depressing. On an accent wall balanced by mild neutrals, this daring floral background from Osborne & Little elicits a far-out feeling.

Annie Santulli Designs

Grass fabric. This wall covering has been found largely in tan and other brown hues back in the daytime, but now it’s available in a wide range of colors. Designers love the rich texture it attracts.

Atmosphere Interior Design Inc..

The glint of chrome. Metal furniture and accents were a part of Jetsons-inspired futuristic ’70s design.

Studio Marler

Brass. This metal finish was perceived as gaudy by the time we’d all seen enough of it throughout the ’70s and ’80s, but now it’s being used in complex ways in houses from traditional to modern.

Heather ODonovan Interior Design

Foil wallpaper. Happenin’ rooms from the age also embraced the metallic look in wall coverings. Today we appreciate how these coverings reflect the light and add glamour.

Andrea May Hunter/Gatherer

Lucite. The ’70s offered lots of new ways to work with Lucite. Today’s designers appreciate the glamour of this material as well as how its apparent views make a space feel larger and airier.

GO LOGIC

Solar panels. The Carter administration made a significant push for utilizing solar energy, even installing solar panels on the White House in 1979. Unfortunately, we burned through a great deal of oil while the thought gradually caught on and the technology improved. (The panels have been removed during the Reagan administration in 1986.) But solar panels returned to the house in 2002, and more are being installed this month.

See more structure with solar panels

JMJ Studios

VW buses. While it’s uncommon to see one on the street nowadays, some homeowners are embracing the magic bus in distinctive ways.

Pal + Smith

Bold florals. Florals at the ’70s were large, proud and loud, in certain color combinations which were downright obnoxious, brazenly expressed in daring geometries. Here a more subdued floral mixes having an op-art-like floor in an eclectic combination.

The Office of Charles de Lisle

Pops of joyful florals. This clean, modern space does not take itself too seriously; it’s punctuated by pop up floral prints atop the bar stools.

Re:contemporary Design

Organic architecture. A design that has been popular during the age is enjoying new life, with architects upgrading the buildings, retrofitting them for contemporary life and adding on to them in ways that improve the original structure.

Jodie Rosen Design

Shag carpeting. From the ’70s the thicker a carpet was, the better, and it was frequently used wall to wall. Today thickness comes in smaller area rugs or rugs which don’t reach the walls for a more chic look.

Macramé. This knotted craft, therefore average of the ’70s, is making a comeback in new colors, in simpler layouts and in larger scales.

Knot Again: Macramé is rear

Divine Design+Build

Bright countertops. These were likely to be Formica in the ’70s; today recycled glass and custom-colored concrete (seen here) bring large color to counters.

Mindi Freng Designs

Brightly colored cabinets. Turquoise, taxicab yellow, kelly green — not all was avocado or harvest gold throughout the age. After a lot of years of natural wood stains or white, colorful cabinets come in equally high gloss and matte.

Tell us ers, for those who lived through it, which pieces of ’70s style would you look back to fondly?Which ones give you nightmares worse than a leaky waterbed?

More: Take a Tour of Popular Colors Throughout the Decades

See related

Outfit a Beach House From Deck into Drawer Knobs

Whether you are in the process of fixing up a beach home or dream of owning one, this ideabook is chock full of ideas for fixing up your escape. Here you will find products, ideas and color schemes, from outside showers and whirlpool decks to paint colors inspired from the sea and sand.

Butler Armsden Architects

The ideal beach houses exude a simple outdoor-living vibe, and that implies decks, and tons of them. If you are renovating a shore home, surrounding it with decking is a must.

Go with walnut for a classic look that will weather to a faded grey with time, or choose hard-wearing composite decking.

Design Within Reach

Deck Light | Design Within Reach – $425

Classic nautical-style outdoor light fixtures look at home on shore houses of all kinds. This one from Design Within Reach is magnificent and would work equally well indoors.

Etsy

Copper Steel Outdoor Lighting – $39.99

This cute copper outdoor light provides plenty of shore chic for less than $40.

Siemasko + Verbridge

Think flexible, open and simple. If your existing installation has many small rooms, then consider working with a pro to rip down a couple of walls and open up the space.

FLOR

Side by Side Carpet Tile – $13.99

With sand, salt and damp towels, the floors of a shore home take a serious beating. Avoid wall-to-wall carpeting, which will just drive you nuts — instead, consider carpet tiles in which you desire a little bit of color and softness. They are stain resistant, and also you are able to replace every one as needed.

Ceiling Fan Universe

Emerson Electric CF765 60-Inch Loft Ceiling Fan – $249

A great fan (or two or longer) is essential in a sultry climate. Swap wobbly, noisy old ceiling fans for glossy new versions similar to this stunning and exceptionally powerful version from Emerson Electric.

IKEA

Maskros Pendant Lamp – $49.99

An announcement light fixture is a fun signature, especially in a great area with high ceilings. This pendant light from Ikea is a designer preferred yet costs just 50 bucks.

Sherwin-Williams

Sea Salt SW6204 Paint

When it comes to picking paint colors, allow the landscape outside your windows inspire you. Sea Salt from Sherwin-Williams is a beautiful pale blue-gray reminiscent of morning light in the shore.

Benjamin Moore

Camouflage 2143-40 Paint

A classic sandy impartial like Camouflage from Benjamin Moore won’t steer you wrong.

Rethink Design Studio

Crisp white walls and ceilings create the perfect background for colorful art collections, and a tiled floor feels superbly cool on sexy feet.

Candelabra

Regina Andrew Apple, Saucer and Cigar Jute Pendants

Woven materials and natural fibers are an ideal match with beachfront houses. Jute, sisal and sea grass rugs are a very inexpensive and always-welcome signature, but I especially love these jute pendant lights. Hang a cluster over the table.

Contemporary Floor Tiles

These slate tiles really are practical and stunning. Put them in the entry, in the kitchen throughout the whole living area.

Plato Woodwork, Inc..

A beach home is a natural draw for weekend guests, and it is inevitable that everyone ends up in the kitchen. Keep yours open with easy-access open shelves and glass-front closets, and add an ample island.

ShelfGenie National

If it seems there is never enough pantry space whenever you are feeding a crowd, consider devoting an extra corner of your kitchen to storage. Pullout pantry shelves like those shown here keep all tidy and accessible.

Fixture Universe

Kohler Brockway Wash Utility Sink

A triple sink similar to this one from Kohler would be just the thing to keep little ones from tramping through the home without washing up.

Island Stone

Muir Beach Shower

You can not fail with glass tile in Caribbean blue paired with an easy glass shower in the bath. Just remember that if little ones are frequent guests, you may wish to also have a bathtub in one of the guest baths — otherwise they’re bound to wind up utilizing the master bathtub.

Anthropologie

Eight-Arms Hook – $48

This octopus hook from Anthropologie is on the pricey side, but it would add a good deal of bang for your buck in a little bathroom.

The Home Depot

Solistone Anatolia Honed Agate Natural Stone Pebble Mosaic – $13

This textured pebble mosaic tile might look amazing in the master bath.

Andra Birkerts Design

Painted floors feel fresh and calming in the bedrooms. They’re also a great cost-saving tip for covering imperfect wood floors.

Wickes

Matte Aqua Paint

This light colored would look amazing on the floor of a beach home bedroom with white walls and airy white curtains.

Rethink Design Studio

A great budget tip for carving out extra sleeping space is hanging curtains. They provide each guest solitude but keep a fun, carefree camp setting. Fantastic for hosting a large clan.

Colors of Light

Deck Stripe Shade Pendant Light – $159

A good classic striped pendant light such as this is simply the thing in a guest room or child’s space.

Mythic Paint

Sunny Side Up Paint – $6.99

As vivid as the sun shining outside, this warm yellow paint would cheer up a tiny guest room or room.

Etsy

Jute Rope Knot Knob by Kris Krafting – $7.50

Swap out dull old knobs with these jute rope knots for a fast update that may modify the appearance of an whole room.

Shannon Malone

A proper outdoor shower is a shore house essential. In case you have the room, a whole walk-in shower with hot and cold water is a luxury worth.

The Orvis Company

Outdoor Shower – $325

A great budget option is a freestanding exterior shower like the one shown here — simply hook it up to a hose and move.

Frank Shirley Architects

At any time you have the option, add additional ways to get outside — doors and sliding glass doors from every bedroom leading to the deck really are a beautiful touch.

Don Duffy Architecture

Inform us : Do you have a beach home or dream of owning you?

Guides and homes: Find your own coastal style

See related

Moiré Patterns Ripple Through Elegant Homes

The moiré pattern is a timeless, elegant addition to any decor. It can be produced with any ribbed or corded fabric, which can be moistened and machine wrapped in a high temperature, which makes a gentle cascading watermark. This ancient process has survived the test of time, changing to suit every age without losing its allure. The subtle elegance of the delicate design functions on furniture, fabric and background — moiré never goes out of fashion for long.

DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami

A brief history. Moiré is a blueprint, not a cloth. The term derives from the Arabic word “mukhayyar,” literally translated as “goat hair fabric.” It was a fine, woven fabric produced by angora goats in Turkish villages, particularly Ankara.

Historical references as far back as the 14th century mention Ankara’s rising fiber industry. Mukhayyar came to be called mohair and then moiré. This wool was judged to be even finer than silk. It took washers, dyers and pressers in addition to weavers to produce it. Although versions of the titles moiré and mouarie changed between England and France for centuries, the literal interpretation of “moiré” is “watered mohair.”

From the 18th century, some cloth with a natural flat rib can be folded lengthwise and pressed through heated rollers. The ribs that didn’t align were flattened, resulting in the watermark on both sides of the cloth.

Cotton and taffeta were the hottest and complex materials during the 18th century, and ball gowns made from moiré proved highly desired by queens and the gentry. By 1600 to 1750, during the baroque age, moiré cloth became the go-to selection for drapery and cushions.

This white high-gloss room delights in the strong color of the moiré cushion sitting gently on the old-Hollywood-inspired seat.

Nicole Benveniste Interior Design

Historical moiré. Writings in the 1600s reveal that moiré watermarking (also called waving) began from the dyeing process. A large pot was set over a piping-hot fire. The coloured dyes were added, then the bud was half filled with water. A layer of fabric was added, then a layer of wood planks, with layers added until the top was reached.

The impression and weight of the wood would render gentle waves of color that filtered through the fabric. It was believed that the pieces of fabric that got the biggest waves in constant, perfect lines were the best pick, and Turkish elders received these as a indication of respect. Ankara was the exclusive exporter of mohair fabric to Europe before the 1800s.

DKOR Interiors Inc.- Interior Designers Miami, FL

Modern moiré. The machines that produce moiré finishes now use a technique called calendering. The woven cloth is brushed and moistened, and pliers with engraving or ribs are conducted across the fabric. This is accomplished at a very high temperature.

The pressure from the rollers generates the waves by beating the fabric threads or setting the color. The same tried and true techniques in the 18th century still employ but now use 21st-century automation.

The background in this toilet is a professionally crafted illustration of the moiré pattern and provides the space a gorgeous silvery glamour.

Harte Brownlee & Associates Interior Design

Maintenance of moiré. Moiré is considered mainly as a silk cloth, but these days cotton, rayon and wool are just as popular. Provided that the fabric is ribbed or corded, it may take the moiré therapy.

Moiré fabrics require particular attention. Silk or rayon ought to be dry cleaned. Water can cause your product to loose its luster, therefore check the label or manufacturer’s directions before cleaning it. Ironing or steaming moiré is generally not recommended; folding can retain the creases.

See related