Announcing the Winners of the Ugliest Home Office Contest!

Here they are! It was a tough choice, there were so many that could have used our help. Thanks to all who entered!

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

1st RUNNER UP

2ND RUNNER UP

The Grand Prize Winner won a FREE SPACESplan Start-up Package (a $395 value! - visit our website for more details). Both runner's up will receive a FREE 1-hour consultation. We'll be heading out to the homes in the upcoming weeks and will share their progress/photos with you!

Stay tuned for future contests!

Tips for decorating your first apartment:

1. Furniture. Check out places like Ikea, Urban Outfitters, local furniture store clearance centers (Copenhagen here in Phoenix has an awesome outlet for contemporary furniture on the west side) and even Overstock.com for staple pieces, such as a sofa, dining table & chairs, nightstands, and bookcases. Since you’re probably stuck with a relatively small space, try finding items that can serve double-duty, like storage ottomans or a low bookcase that can serve as an entertainment center as well as storage for all those books you’ll most likely accumulate. Your desk can serve double-duty as a nightstand. And utilize wall space as much as you can in order to keep the floor space clutter-free. Wall shelves make the perfect spot for books, photos, and accessories.

2. Artwork on the cheap. Purchase several canvases from the local art store (like Michael’s or Joann) and wrap them with inexpensive fabric remnants. Easily changeable depending on your mood! Or try a wall collage of you favorite items to add impact to blank, white walls. Things like hats, musical instruments, or even record album covers will add a nice punch of color and texture.


3. Accessory items. Most of the time, these are a luxury. But you don’t need many to make an impact. A few well placed, key pieces (like an interesting glass vase) will go much farther than numerous unnecessary items that will just add to a cluttered feeling. Places like Pier 1 and Cost Plus are meccas for inexpensive, cool ethnic (and contemporary) accents. Colorful toss pillows on a neutral sofa will add instant impact, and brighten up your space.

And finally, don't forget to ask your friends and family to "donate" any items that they don't need, you'll be surprised at what you actually get!

Check out our post from 6.29.09 for some great decorating ideas for under $20!

Yay! Back to school time!

Since it's back to school time, we thought a couple of posts on decorating dorm rooms and first apartments might come in handy. Come back tomorrow for Tips on decorating your first apartment!

Tips for making your dorm room reflect YOUR personality:

You’re pretty limited on what you can do in a dorm room typically. They’ll usually supply you with the basic necessities, such as a bed, desk, nightstand, dresser, etc. And you really can’t change them, they are what they are. But there are a few things you can do in order to give your new space some personal expression (and make it feel a little more like home).

1. Great bedding is the easiest way to add some much needed color to a bland dorm room. There are options in every color, pattern, texture, and price point. Add a few colorful accent pillows for drama - and so you can prop yourself up against the wall for study time.

2. Artwork is always a challenge since you’re not usually able to place any holes in the walls. Especially if the rooms are made of concrete block! Posters are the common choice, but if you want your space to stand out, why not place a collage of colorful record album covers on one wall (use the same thick poster tape to hang them). Or better yet, take one of your favorite photos and blow it up to poster size, playing with the layout or cropping it to make it a little more abstract. This might be especially nice if it’s your first time away from home - you can use a photo that reminds you of home, but no one will have to know! They’ll just think it’s a great piece of unique art.

3. Colorful plastic storage bins placed around the room will add pops of color as well as much needed storage for clothing, books, etc. They can also be used for impromptu seating when necessary!

4. A patterned area rug will also help liven up the space, and add warmth under your feet. Choose a couple of the colors from the bedding as your cue when selecting the perfect one.

Feature in the AZ Business Journal!

Contemporary Nursery - on a budget!

A few months back I posted about my pregnancy and some ideas I had for the nursery. Since then, we've found out it's a girl! I decided I still wanted to do something more gender neutral - and here is the (almost) finished project...

I blocked out some contemporary trees and decided to make the ends of the "branches" out of fabric circles (in all different colors and patterns) to give some added color and texture. The Wallcandy owls that started it all are sitting at the top of one tree and I hand-painted the remaining animals onto the walls using acrylic paints.

















All of the colors in the trees and animals came from the bedding I found (on clearance) at Target.


We already owned the dresser, simply freshened it up with a few coats of an awesome lime green paint called Lemon Grass from Behr (the same color that I used for the tops of the trees). Makes the perfect changing table after adding a pad!



Bookshelf is from Ikea, along with the adorable little pendant lamp, and the colorful round area rugs.


Only a couple of animals left to paint on the tree and we're ready for her arrival in November! I'm pretty happy with the way everything has turned out - I hope she loves it as much as I do!