Is your bathroom no more than a room where you shower or bathe? Do you not give much thought to its appearance or how it can really be used? Why not think of it instead as your own little private sanctuary—a place to escape to! What’s better after a hard day’s work than to relax the stress away and rejuvenate your spirits?

There aren’t many places in your home where you can actually escape the rest of the family. Often your young children follow along right on your heels and it’s difficult to get time to yourself. Everyone needs and deserves a little time now and then to unwind. Your bathroom provides the perfect spot to do this, but for it to be relaxing, you need to create the right atmosphere.

Get Rid of That Cold, Sterile Look
Sometimes bathrooms end up looking like, well, no more than just a bathroom. Is it decorated with nothing more than stainless-steel towel racks and toilet-paper holders—the works? Is everything in the room pretty basic and straightforward, with nothing too fancy? If this is the case, then here’s where you need to start.

The first step is to soften the look. This can be done by adding wrought-iron towel racks or white or pastel-colored wood. Lavender, sea foam, or another soft, relaxing shade is perfect for the walls. In terms of flooring, two great options are carpet and colorful ceramic tiles. If your linoleum is plain-looking and hardly noticeable, definitely consider updating your floors.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Look at your large bathroom mirror—does it look a little stark? Does your mirror just hang there with nothing around it? Then perhaps it’s time to make a change. As an alternative, hang a mirror trimmed with gold edges or place wallpaper border around it. Choose a border that contrasts with color of the walls. Another option is to completely change the shape. An oval mirror, for instance, adds a romantic touch.

Decorate the Tub
Spruce up that tub, especially if you’re lucky enough to have a garden tub or one with wide edges. For starters, set greenery around the edges. You can make the tub look really inviting with small ceramic pots filled with herbs and greenery. Include some votive candles in the arrangement, and you are ready to soak in a bubble-filled tubs, letting the delicious scents of the candles float your worries away. There’s nothing quite like filling the tub, lighting a few candles, and bathing in a warm candlelight glow.

Accents Pull It All Together
Pull your new bathroom together by adding a few accents. For the perfect touch, consider an oblong or square basket to hold a few bath towels. If you have room, add a small table, painting it a contrasting color and decorating it with stenciled flowers and greenery around the edges. Add some clear glass containers to hold cotton balls, Q-tips, and other items. If you have any attractive body splash and lotion bottles, you might display them as well. Of course, there’s always room for more plants and more candles. Just make the room your own.

It’s so much more relaxing to bathe in a room that’s both exquisitely beautiful and wonderfully smelling. Then there’s no need to jump in and out of the tub. Instead, you can to relax, unwind, and enjoy yourself. By taking along your favorite book or magazine and a glass of wine, you can make it the most peaceful part of your day! Who said bathroom décor needs to be boring?

For many, a small home, apartment, mobile home, or condo is home. Although an intimate feeling is nice, sometimes things can get too intimate. A room with too many things in it can start to close in on you so that you feel you’re always climbing over things to get where you are going.

If you’re looking for solutions for opening up those small spaces, fortunately there are tons of them. You can make your tiny room appear twice as big by simply following the tips below.

Create a Balance of Large and Small
A common mistake people make is believing that small accents and accessories belong in small rooms. Although some tiny decorating pieces aren’t a problem, if you use too many, it will just add to the small, cluttered look. The best approach to use here is to create a balance of large and small. This will eliminate that messy, cluttered look, all while helping to create interest in the décor.

Light Up the Room!
If your small room is also dark and dreary, then by all means light it up! If you have any heavy curtains or other window coverings in there that are blocking the light, then remove them. Venetian blinds or another style of window covering allow you to open up the window completely, so you always have the option of letting sunshine spill in and brightening the mood. Make sure your lamps are placed strategically around the room, and choose lampshades light in colors so you get the maximum amount of light in the evenings. If you like the look of curtains, choose something sheer.

Remember—Less Is More
If you have a small room, go with large, oversized furniture and large paintings for the walls. Remember, you want large pieces like an tv stand or entertainment center, just less of them. A large sofa and recliner, for instance, won’t overcrowd the room but will give you plenty of seating space. Go for a single large portrait or painting for the wall, rather than grouping together multiple smaller pictures. Then you’ll end up with a room that, although small, feels airy and spacious.

Make Good Use of What Space You Have to Work With
You’ll often see wood bookcases, lamps, and other items placed in the middle of the wall. If you can, use your corner space instead! By freeing up more area in the middle of the room, you’ll make it appear larger. Unless the layout just doesn’t work, use the corners. Another great accent for those corners is plants.

Mirrors Double the Size of a Room
Mirrors help create visually larger rooms—a trade secret that’s been known for decades. You might place mirrored tiles across an entire wall or use one large mirror on a wall instead to create a focal point. Basically, the reflection of the room in the mirror makes that space look double the size.

Don’t Forget Color
Color is an important part of making those tiny spaces look bigger. Don’t be afraid to go beyond white and use bright greens, blues, and peaches. As long as the shades are kept light, the added color will give the space more interest and depth. Another option is to paint a single wall a bright, vibrant shade that will either blend or contrast with colors in your furnishings and accents.

When it comes to a small space, it’s always important to remember that less is always more. So do away with those collections of small knick-knacks and use singe items instead in your décor. By mixing and matching a few small pieces with several large ones, your room will open up right before your eyes.

The Tuscan style of home décor invites the warm atmosphere and natural beauty of Italy into your home. Natural materials such as stone, wood, terra cotta, and marble are incorporated everywhere. In this style, the elements of nature are abundant. With the Tuscan style, there’s no pretense, only a natural, comfortable, and worn look that’s heightened by colors that reflect the glowing sun setting over the gorgeous mountains of Italy.

A Look That’s Completely Comfortable
This style of décor leaves homes feeling airy and open. Windows are often left completely bare, allowing natural lighting and other elements of nature to seep in. The cupboards are also often left bare, although some keep all the contents easily visible by using chicken wire for door fronts.

The Tuscan look feels relaxed, lived-in, and completely comfortable. Furniture might be made from local wood. Lines are kept simple, the wood rough hewn. Furniture made of pine or dark wood can even be distressed at the factory, giving it a well-used look.

Wall Accents Add to the Charm
Terra cotta, brick, burnished yellows, and greens are all used to create the Italian-inspired look. Walls are often gray or soft white, and you’ll often see them adorned with Tuscan accents such as rich tapestries. Tapestries are sometimes large enough to decorate the whole wall, adding texture and interest to the décor. With Italian-themed hangings, you can create an exquisite and colorful focal point for the room. Even better, they’re available in a variety of styles. Italian work is unmistakable, whether you choose a re-creation of a traditional tapestry or something entirely new.

Tuscan-Inspired Floors
A Tuscan-inspired style can be carried throughout the floors, walls, ceilings, and furniture in your home. Flooring options include timber boards, wide wooden planks, terra-cotta bricks, clay tiles, and rough stone. For an artistic touch that adds splashes of interest to the décor, scatter some gently worn and antique-looking rugs around the room. Particularly popular in the kitchen and dining areas are clay tiles.

Integrate Wrought Iron into Your Décor
Wrought iron is a popular look in Italian Tuscan décor. Hang wrought-iron pot racks from the ceiling and put a baker’s rack against one wall. Terra-cotta pots filled with herbs and greenery make a nice touch. Kitchen sinks should be made of natural stone or porcelain. All those ceramic touches work to add color and depth to the décor. A wrought-iron fireplace screen can add a touch of elegance to the living room. Other great additions that add to the ambiance include wrought-iron wall sconces and candleholders.

Warm and inviting, Tuscan décor is truly inspired by nature. The outdoors is brought in via all the natural textures used for the walls, floors, countertops, and other surfaces. You really get the feel of a charming Italian villa with all these earthy materials. Surrounded by exposed wood ceiling beams, plenty of natural light, and all the colors of nature, you can retreat to the comforts of a warm and inviting home after a hard day’s work.

Your home should be your refuge, a place to relax. Yet all too often people don’t feel comfortable in their own homes-why is this? Could it be the décor? Sometimes when we strive to make our homes as beautiful and stylish as possible, it all ends up looking a bit too contrived. So if you find that many of your home’s furnishings and accents are simply there for looks, you may want to consider a change.

Home Is About Making YOU Feel Good
Of course, you want your home to look attractive to others, but you need to ask yourself, at what price? If you can’t even stretch out and enjoy your own surroundings, then there’s a problem. Remember that this is your home and you should feel at home within it. Home is meant to be a place where families can relax, talk about the day’s activities, and enjoy life. In your home, you’re meant to feel totally at ease and happy in your surroundings.

You don’t have to necessarily use a certain style to decorate your home. Even if you favor cozy country accents and surroundings, that doesn’t mean you can’t include other items in the room, even if they don’t directly match the décor. All those quirky things placed here and there are what make your home uniquely individual and different.

Thus, by all means display any photos, tapestries, and other accents that are special to you. Sometimes rooms that are too refined look uncomfortable, Thus, eclectic décor is a great look. The goal is not to create a room where everything is perfect, as if nothing has ever been touched. Rather, you want the room to look lived in, to feel warm and inviting.

What About Color?
In décor and style, color plays a huge role. Everything you include in a décor is going to have color, where it’s a bold dramatic color like royal, red, or gold, or classic tan and beige. Soft pastels, botanicals, and other colors all have a real effect on your mood. Many people don’t realize just what an impact color can have. For instance, a bright, citrusy color will be refreshing and will lift your mood, whereas beige and tan hues are relaxing. With dramatic colors, you can really add elegance to the atmosphere.

Don’t be too hasty in deciding what colors to use in a room. Spend some time contemplating what effect different colors can have on you. When looking at a certain color, how does it make you feel? What are your favorite colors and why?

Then you can take some of those favorite colors and splash them on furnishings, walls, and accents around the room. Add some depth to a room by using several shades of the same color. Use a lighter shade to paint the walls, and then use deeper shades for doors, baseboards, and chair rails. It’s amazing how a simple change of color can make a room come alive.

It’s best to forget any rules when it comes to your home. In the end, what you want is a comfortable, relaxing space that you can look forward to coming home to at the end of a long day. So work to create a home that’s uniquely yours. Why go with a style or design that only mimics what your friends have?

Create an original style of your own. You will create a space you can feel at home in, and others will be impressed with your creative genius. After all, a home that’s just the way you like it is truly “home sweet home.”

When decorating a home, it can be difficult to find a style that you like and that will fit your home. It will often take people longer to come up with a decor style for a room than they will spend actually buying the items and decorating the room. Here are some great ideas that can help you find a fabulous style for you and your home.

Consider the Natural Style of Your Home
Some homes reflect a particular feel, which makes it easier to pick a style for the decor. If you live in an old country home, for instance, then you would go with a country or traditional style. On the other hand, a Southwestern theme would fit better with a home that’s built using Spanish-style architecture. Don’t feel that you absolutely have to follow these suggestions, but if you’re unsure about a decorating style, this is a great way to choose one.

Look Through Home Decorating Magazines and Books
You can find plenty of ideas for your home by heading to your local library and leafing through home decorating magazines and books. You want the style to be one you love and also one that fits the architectural style of your home. Keep in mind that you don’t need to settle on only one theme; rather, you can create a different style in each room of your home if you really want to. If you come across styles you like, jot down some notes. You might also make some photocopies for future reference.

Do Research on the Internet on Different Decorating Styles
A great way to research the different decorating styles you’re contemplating is to use the Internet. There should be lots of different decor pictures you can check out of all the various styles, and you’ll be able to find some articles and tips on decorating as well. This may help you narrow things down to one or two styles and then you can drop the rest of them.

Determine the Function of a Room Before Choosing a Decorating Style
You need to keep in mind that not every decorating style is going to match the purpose of a room. Modern decor, for instance, may not be appropriate for a family room where you’re looking for a comfortable space to relax, watch television, and play games. So think about what you really want from each room in the house before you start spending time and money on the project. It would be a shame to go through all the trouble of decorating and then realize in a few months that your decorating style doesn’t fit the function of the room. Then you’d have to start all over again.

Consider Who Is Living in the House
For those of you with pets or small children in your home, you may find that your options are somewhat limited. It’s important to consider who’s living in the home and who will be using the room before you decorate. Of course, the sky’s the limit if all you need to please is your spouse and yourself.

It may take some time and planning to choose a decorating style that fits your home and is something you will love, but it shouldn’t create stress. By using these guidelines, you can determine the best style for you. Then you will be able to enjoy spending time in your home day after day.

Even if you don’t live in the Southwest, that colorful and stylish décor is a great choice for any home. You can incorporate a Southwestern theme into just about any room in the house, from the family room to the bedroom. Here are some tips and ideas to get your creative juices flowing if you are considering a Southwestern theme for your home.

Colors to Consider
When you choose a color scheme for your Southwestern décor, it’s best to start with the colors of the desert. Start with colors such as tan, brown, red, and orange. Focus the color scheme on those colors and then add some more flavor with other colors like yellow, turquoise, and green. You can really liven up the room with these accent colors, giving it some flair. If you don’t want such dark colors in the room, you can always go with something like cream or tan and then use orange, brown, or red to accent things instead.

Southwestern Furniture Choices
If you’re going for a Southwestern look, you want to choose furniture made of wood, which will give the whole room an organic feel. A great wood selection, for instance, would be knotty pine. Furniture made from wooden poles that have been woven together is very typical in Southwestern furniture. Decorative carvings in the wood are another popular and very attractive feature in Southwestern décor.

Fabrics to Consider
A frequently used fabric in Southwestern décors is leather. Leather is used in artwork and accessories, in addition to couches and chairs. You might also add an attractive visual touch with an Indian print blanket or wall hanging, both which provide appeal and vibrancy. Sling these striped and patterned blankets on the back of couches or chairs, or even place them in wooden baskets. If you like, you can also opt to use a fringed blanket as an art piece, hanging it on a large wall. One thing’s for sure, these masterpieces provide a great way to bring color and interest to your Southwestern-themed room.

Other Accessories to Add
As you begin to fill in the décor with other accessories, look for items commonly found in Native American and Mexican cultures. You might also choose to recall the area’s natural features by mixing in pieces such as wrought-iron cacti and desert flowers. By placing these plants and flowers in terra-cotta pots and reed baskets can add a really authentic touch. Native American figurines and artwork, hand-painted vases, clay pots and plates, and wrought-iron candle holders also make great accessories for this type of décor.

You can have a ton of fun decorating with a Southwestern theme. It allows you to pay homage to some different cultures, plus you are given a lot of leeway in terms of incorporating unique pieces into your design. This theme is both rustic and elegant, so it’s important to take the time to be sure everything comes together smoothly. You will end up with a casual atmosphere that your guests won’t be able to stop talking about.

Although many homeowners don’t realize this, a staircase is just another area of your home that you can decorate to help create a more stylish look. Staircases are commonly overlooked when it comes to decorating, but if it’s the first thing people see when they walk in, the staircase may be more important than you think. Here are some great tips to help you get started decorating the staircase in your home.

Use Photographs to Decorate the Staircase
An easy décor option is to frame a few of your favorite photographs and hang them up along the staircase wall. These photographs might be ones of your family. Otherwise, choose ones of nature or other decorative objects. Hang the photographs so that they seem to be descending with the staircase. You want the frames you choose to complement to color of the wall. If your stairs are wood, try to match the color of the wood in the frames to the color of the stairs.

Paint a Mural or Design on the Staircase Wall
For a staircase that really stands out, paint a mural or design going up the staircase wall. If you want a simpler look, go with a leaf or flower pattern that follows the stairs. Or you might choose to create a larger and more intricate mural. Another option, if you’re not confident in your drawing and painting skills, is to find stencils that you can use for the design. Or you can always hire a professional painter to create the mural instead.

Add a Decorative Banister to the Staircase
If you have a plain banister, then see if you can find a more decorative one that matches the style of your décor. No matter the type of stairs you have, there should be plenty of banisters to choose from. One of the latest trends for stairs is the mixture of wood with wrought-iron. This look fits right in with a Spanish-style or even a modern-style décor. Look in home décor magazines or on the Internet for all of the different options.

Lay Down a Decorative Runner on the Stairs
Lay down a decorative carpet runner on your wooden stairs to add more style to the area. Choose carpet that is solid colored, or if you’re looking for a real attention grabber, it can be patterned and multi-colored. If your staircase is already carpeted or tiled, a runner will still work. You want your carpet runner to be slightly narrower than the width of the stairs. That way, the edges of the stairs show on the sides. A wide selection of runners is available, so you should have no problem finding one to suit your staircase and fit the style of the rest of the area.

Decorating those stairs become quite important if you have a staircase right in the entryway of your home. This way, you’ll be able to show off the staircase to its best advantage so it doesn’t look like an eyesore. To make things even more appealing, choose more than one of these decorating ideas and implement them together.

You don’t need to get rid of all your wedding memorabilia or store it away where you can’t even see it. You are going to be decorating your new home with your spouse, so why not reuse all your wedding mementos in the process. Here are some unique ways to incorporate your wedding items into your décor.

Decorate with Your Wedding Pictures
Decorate your home with items from your wedding the easy way: by framing your favorite wedding pictures and using them as decorations. You can either hang them up on the walls, or place them on a shelf, a table, or a fireplace mantle. Another option is to blow up your favorite portrait. Then you can hang it above the fireplace or on a wall in your bedroom. You might also create a collage out of a few different wedding shots along with pictures from your honeymoon.

Make a Shadow Box with Your Wedding Memorabilia
Create a unique addition to your décor by gathering your wedding items together and displaying them in a shadow box. Add things such as your invitation and/or program, any leftover favors, a piece of the wedding dress, and dried flowers. Assemble these items together however you like and then place the box on a shelf or hang it on the wall. This makes a great decoration piece for your bedroom and will remind you of your wedding every day.

Decorate with Your Wedding Flowers
You can always make potpourri from dried flower petals if you used real flowers for your wedding. Find a decorative basket or vase to place the dried flowers in and add essential oils, and you will have a sentimental decoration to add to any room in your home.

If your flowers at your wedding were fake, then you have many more decorating options. Leave them the way they are, placing them in a vase or basket, for an instant decoration for the home. Or you might choose instead to alter them a bit. You might combine a number of different bouquets from the wedding into one large flower arrangement or split them up into two slightly smaller ones. You can add instant color and brightness to just about any room of the house when you use these flowers in the décor. Best of all, every time you walk by, you will be reminded of your wonderful wedding day.

Make a Decorating from the Wedding Dress
If you’re not planning to reuse your wedding dress, you always have the option of making it into an easy and attractive home décor item. This works just as well with a bridesmaid’s dress—providing you have someone who’s willing to part with her dress after the wedding. Once you’ve taken a piece of fabric from the dress, wrap it tightly around a canvas or even a picture frame. Then secure the whole thing with a nail gun and, presto, you have a nice fabric décor item to hang on the wall. You can really add some style to a bedroom by hanging one of more of these pieces on the wall.

If you’re trying to decorate your home on a newlywed’s budget, it’s best to work with what you have. By reusing your wedding memorabilia, you can create unique decorations that have a lot of emotional impact.

When decorating your home, working with a budget can sometimes present trouble, especially if it’s a small one. However, budgets are necessary, no matter how hard they are to stick to. When decorating a home, no homeowner should have to go into debt. If you take the time to set a budget and follow these simple tips, then you will end up with a wonderfully decorated home that was still affordable.

Make the Decorating Budget Firm
You don’t want to set a decorating budget and then forget about it when you actually start shopping. Keep in mind that you are setting a budget for a reason. It’s not necessary to do all your decorating at once. It might be better to do some of the decorating now, and then once you save some more money, revisit the room to add more items later. It’s best to stick to your budget firmly, no matter what comes up.

You Will Have to Give a Little to Get a Little
Sticking to a firm budget requires you to be flexible and willing to compromise in some areas. You’ll have to go the cheaper route for certain less crucial items, if you want any more expensive pieces that you just have to have. For instance, you might have to spend less on the window treatments or picture frames if you’ve fallen in love with a coffee table or lamp that takes up a third or so of your budget.

Don’t Worry What Other People May Think
It’s so easy to get caught up in what other people will think and say. However, if you spot the perfect figurine for your décor, who cares if it’s at the local discount store? Unless you say something, no one’s going to know what you paid for items in your home. You need to keep in mind that not everything in your room needs to be of the highest quality. So don’t worry about what others may or may not say. If you like something and it’s inexpensive and it fits in your budget, then go ahead and buy it. Many people find that their least expensive item will garner the most positive attention in a room.

Invest in Quality for the Big Items in the Room
When creating your budget, you need to be sure that you’re allocating the majority of the money toward the larger items like a wood bed in a master bedroom or a dining room table. This way, you’ll be able to afford quality that will last. Window treatments or other décor just don’t need as much money put into them as items such as wood furniture, flooring, and artwork. You will ensure that those larger items will last longer and look better when you invest in quality products. In the end, you might have a high end sofa with inexpensive decorative pillows on it, but as long as you have kept to your final budget, then that will be just fine.

It’s usually very tempting to want to go over your decorating budget, completely forgetting about what you can afford. Unfortunately, when you do that, then every time you walk into your redecorated home or room, you are going to have negative thoughts about that debt. In the end, negative thought might lead to you not being able to enjoy being in the space. If that becomes the case, then what was the point of spending all that money? By sticking to your budget, not only will you save money, but you will retain your peace of mind.

Oftentimes people believe that in order to change the look of a room, they have to do a drastic redecorating project. However, this is not true at all. Here are some simple and easy steps you can take to create an instant makeover in just about any room in your home.

Paint the Walls of the Room
One of the most popular way to give a room an instant facelift is to paint the walls a completely different color. The color that’s on the walls of a room basically styles the whole room. If you paint a blue room tan, for instance, that color change will alter the light in the room. This, in turn, affects the way all the other objects in the room appear. The great thing about painting is that it’s not hard to do. That fact that it’s a do-it-yourself project makes it quite inexpensive. Make this a weekend project. By Monday morning, you will have a whole new look in that room.

Use Slipcovers on the Furniture
If you love your furniture but are tired of the fabric, slipcover may be just the solution for an instant makeover. When you add a slipcover to a piece of furniture, you can dramatically change the décor. Some of the most dominant objects in any room tends to be the furnishing, and thus when you change the pieces, it will be very noticeable. Even better, it only takes about ten minutes to install slipcovers. Slipcovers come in a range of prices, but for the nicer ones, you may have to spend a little bit more money.

Hang a Piece of Art on the Wall
If you have a large bare wall in the room or one you don’t like very much, you can change the look by hanging a large piece of art there. By adding a large piece of artwork, you can really change the entire focus and style of the room. The piece of art can actually become your new focal point. The art will also cover much of the color on that wall, which can also work to change the look of the room. Just be sure you don’t waste your money on any old piece. Be sure you invest in something you really like and want to have around for a while.

Rearrange the Furniture
When you simply rearrange the furniture in a room, changing the layout, you can give that room an instant makeover. Begin by looking for a new focal point in the room and working from there. You can completely change the dynamic of the room by changing the focal point from the entertainment center to the window or fireplace. You’ll be much happier with the results if you take the time to sketch out on paper what you want before you go moving furniture and heavy objects around.

All of these are simple and easy ways to give any room in your home an instant makeover. If you’re looking for a totally different look, you might even try putting two or three of these suggestions together.