Fresh Living Rooms Decorating Ideas 2011 for Summer

Whether your living room is the setting for party time, family time, or both, it deserves to be a showstopping space you love to be in.

Neutral Territory

A room outfitted in neutral gets a splash of spring hues. The small doses are just enough to liven up the space. Hanging the sheer curtains above the window, closer to the ceiling emphasizes the height of the room.

Color Punch

For an intimate gathering space, corral your furniture together away from the walls. Seating arranged in a circle creates a conversation area. The space here is made more inviting with the use of bright yellow and tangerine. Neutral accessories and walls with rich details, like the mantel and chandelier, add a hint of formality .

Seating a La Carte

If your space is too small for a couch, opt for several overstuffed chairs instead. The smaller pieces add comfy seating and take up less space. The chairs form a cozy conversation circle. This room is tied together with a bright shade of tangerine. The walls, pillows, and accessories on the shelves all boast the bright tropical color.

Constantly Changing

If you frequently like to refresh your decor, stick with neutral furniture and basics, like flooring and walls. The steadfast pieces make redecorating a snap and it's easy on the budget. In this living room, red is the color of the moment. Later, these accents can be switched out for another color and a whole new look.

Garden Cottage

Timeworn elements add instant character and charm to a space. An antique trunk serves both as a focal point and a functional piece. The trunk is storage disguised as a coffee table. In smaller rooms, make your furniture work by pulling double duty to conserve space.

Drawn In

To make a spacious room more intimate, arrange your chairs and sofas away from the wall. Include plenty of room for traffic flow in your plan. A central piece, like a coffee table and area rug, will help define the area, eliminating "floating" furniture .

Budget Trompe L'Oeil

Trompe l'oeil, an art term for "trick the eye," certainly applies to this space. The room has a high-end look, but was achieved on a budget. The trick behind the chic look? Furniture was purchase at a discount from warehouse stores and model home sales. Thrift store chairs got a new look with fresh upholstery .

White Out

All-white rooms need a dose of personality. Throw pillows bring in a pop of green, blue, and pink in cottage-inspired patterns. But the addition is small enough as not to disturb the ambience of the crisp, white room. Different textures, like the bowl of shells, starfish, and a sisal rug, add depth to the room .

Earn Your Stripes

Use striped fabrics as DIY inspiration. The stripe motif from the pillows is carried onto the floating shelves above the mantel, the bolster pillow, and other accessories. And the best part? They are projects you can make yourself. Watch our video to learn how to easily apply stripes to your accessories.

Sophisticated Princess

Bring pink out of the nursery and into the living room. Pink, usually thought of as pastel, takes a sophisticated turn in this space. A soft shade of pink coats the walls and strong chocolate brown accents add an edge. Furniture with modern, clean lines also maintains the sophistication. Accessories, like the tiered lamp and oversize wall art, add the final bold touch.

Dramatic Pastels

A palette of pastel hues paints this cozy sitting room. Mint green, sky blue, and lemon yellow are the main colors. Pops of bright orange and cotton candy pink accent the room. In a room with so many colors, introducing white, like on the furniture and French door, adds a visual break.

Go for the Gold

Used selectively, metallics add luxury and glamour to a space, but too much metal can overshadow the rest of the room. Add hints of glitz with metallic-sheen pillows and drapes, or metallic- rimmed accessories and coffee tables. Or keep a majority of the sparkle in one place, like on the gold scrollwork-inspired screen behind the couch .

Arranging Know-How

An oddball room shape can make furniture arranging a challenge. For a narrow space, try placing a sofa against a wall. Flank the left and right sides of the couch with chairs and a love seat. In this cozy space, accessories are kept sleek. Symmetrically placed floor lamps and a glass-top coffee table maintain a clean look.

Pocket-Size Space

Don't overlook the small spaces in your home. Lemon walls and raspberry furniture are vivid touches with a big impact. Neutral colors, antique accents, and crown molding add a posh feel. Combining bold features with more sedate elements can make the most of pint-size spaces.

Easy Formula

When starting to decorate, begin with the basics of comfy seating and tables. If your decor is undecided, keep your basics neutral in color and style. Then, be on the hunt for accessories that reflect you. In this space, red end tables, green throw pillows, and bouquets of flowers start to build a casual garden theme.

Paint the Town Green

Use your favorite color in different shades for a room that screams you. Shades of green color this living room. A muted green on the walls sets a backdrop for a celadon chair and pillows, a sage ottoman, and shamrock vases. Browns and pinks accent the space and rich fabrics, like velvet, add texture and depth.

Urban Comfort

In a city loft, architectural elements usually do the talking. But in this posh loft, the decor is in stride with the pillars and exposed duct work. Bright white furniture shines against charcoal gray walls. The long line of orange artwork emphasizes the length of the room. Pillows and a throw continue the orange theme for a consistent look.

Field of Violets

Violet -- a blend of purple and blue -- in several hues flows throughout this living room. Darker shades, like the piping on the sofa and chair cushions, ground the lighter colors. Touches of white add interest to a monochromatic color scheme.

The It Factor

An ordinary living room is brought to life with a strong color palette and new furniture arrangement. Kelly green and aqua accents give this space a wow-factor. Pair bright colors with strong neutrals for a balance look. An espresso brown sofa, white built-ins and trim, and steel gray accents do the trick. If your living room is spacious, arrange furniture diagonally for a new look.

Let In Some Light

The furniture in this living room is arranged to take full advantage of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Light floods the room, eliminating the need for lamps. Heavy drapes can be drawn to dim the room and recessed lights create mood lighting

Tweaking the Trend

The duo of blue and brown maintains a popular presence in decorating. To suit your taste, find shades of blue and brown that fit your style. If you prefer muted colors, try a creamy cappuccino brown and a dusty French blue. Opt for traditional furniture and introduce accents like pillows and wall art. These less expensive pieces can easily change with decorating trends.

Modern Cottage
Hardwood floors, a cozy fireplace, and a green-and-white color scheme are standard cottage decor features. Shake up the standard by adding your own modern touch. Here, a modern personality is added with the clean, crisp lines of the fireplace, chair, and coffee table. Keep your modern accents within a similar style for a unified look

Fresh Your Home With Easy Fabric Projects 2013 Ideas

Give your home decor a fresh look with this quick and easy fabric projects .
Get inspired by this ideas . I hope that you will find it useful for you ... Enjoy it !!

Breathe new life into a boring lampshade or cafe curtain with iron on transfers. Try a collage approach, as shown on the lampshade, or print the same pattern several times to create a repeat, as shown on the cafe curtain.

A collection of comfy pillows creates a tempting curl up-and relax spot. Re-create this ivory pillow by cutting a wool sweater or throw to the desired size and stitching it into a pillow cover. To prevent raveling, use a no-fray product on the edges after cutting the sweater. Insert a pillow form and hand-stitch the cover closed.

This cozy rug made from old T-shirts looks right at home in any room. Cut canvas backing into a circle. Fold edge of canvas circle under 1 inch.

With a heavy-duty needle in sewing machine and settings adjusted for heavyweight fabric, sew folded edge. Cut T-shirts into 2-inch-wide strips that are 6 inches long. Fold T-shirt strips in half lengthwise so each measures 1x6 inches. Place center of a 1x6-inch strip on canvas edge.

Sew across center of strip.

Without removing canvas from sewing machine, abut a second 1x6-inch strip against the first.

Sew across center of second strip. Continue adding and sewing strips to canvas edge until edge is covered. Continue sewing strips in concentric rings until canvas is covered. Shake rug and hand-brush strips outward.

Transport dinner guests to a coastal retreat with a table setting anchored by these pretty napkins. To get the look, combine fabric paint and water until the mixture achieves a watery consistency.

Use the paint mixture and a flat brush to paint stripes across white napkins. The color should bleed slightly to achieve a watercolor-like appearance once the paint mixture dries.

Transform an ordinary canvas slipcover with one (or more!) of these creative ideas. From a yard of colorful patterned fabric, you can fashion a seat cushion, a simple band to embellish the bottom of the slipcover, and a flower where the ties meet in the back of the chair.

To re-create the monogram, print out a letter in the font and size of your choice. Press the slipcover. Place slipcover on a work surface with a piece of cardboard between the layers. Position dressmaker's carbon paper on the slipcover according to manufacturer's instructions. Place the monogram on top of the carbon paper and use a pencil to trace it. Use a paint marker in the color of your choice to paint the monogram. Use the paint marker to embellish the perimeter of the monogram. Let dry.

The pretty petals adorning this lampshade add texture and dimension. To do it yourself, dip-dye bits of unbleached canvas drop cloth in the color(s) of your choice.

Cut 2- to 3-inch-diameter circles from the dyed cloth, fold the circles, and glue the folded circles to a lampshade. Give the shade an ombré effect by placing petals with the most saturated colors on the bottom and working your way up to the top of the shade with ever-lighter hues.

Showcase and store your favorite magazines in fabric pockets. For one fabric pocket, cover a piece of plywood with upholstery-weight linen fabric.

Fold a second piece of the same fabric and use a staple gun to secure it to the fabric-covered plywood for the pocket. Frame the piece with wood trim attached with wood glue and pin nails.

To embellish the piece, tuck ephemera, like this cute owl postcard, under the frame or clip pretty cards to the pocket edge.

Boost the style of plain glass vessels by slipping them into something more comfortable. Stretch a piece of felted sweater around the vessel, right side in. Pin for a snug fit, then remove and sew where pinned. Cut off the excess, then turn it right side out. Add embellishments, such as buttons and fabric florets, to provide texture and dimension.

A few scraps of fabric are all you need to create this three-dimensional effect. The grassy design is a fanciful layering of felt and cotton scraps that were cut into grass-blade shapes.

The first two layers are secured with fabric glue.

A single line of stitching down the middle of the top layer creates blades with a breezy texture.

When used as stamps, veggies such as celery, cabbage, and bok choy produce pretty floral shapes. Two celery stamps gave this once plain-Jane seat cover oodles of style.

To make a celery stamp, cut a celery bunch 2–3 inches from the end, then wrap tape around the end to hold the stalks together. Let the taped celery sit for 20 minutes.

Pour paint onto a paper plate.

Use a small paintbrush to paint the cut ends of the celery. To stamp, firmly press the painted ends onto the fabric seat cover, then remove them without sliding. Rpeat as needed to create your desired motif. Let dry.

Make use of old fabric scraps to create artwork that's reminiscent of a vintage quilt. Cut fabric into varying-size square or rectangular pieces. 

Lay out the pieces on a blank canvas. 

Cut and add additional squares and rectangles until you're happy with the design. 

Starting in a corner, lift a shape and apply decoupage medium to the canvas beneath it. 

Press the fabric firmly onto the canvas. Repeat for the remaining pieces. Let dry for at least 2 hours.

Fresh Christmas Colors 2012 Ideas from HGTV

Try something new this season! Decorate your home with haute holiday hues that are anything but conventional.

 By : Brian Patrick Flynn

Kelly Green + Baby Blue + White 

While kelly green is often paired with red for holiday flair, it works surprisingly well in a seasonal sense when paired with baby blue and white. The key to successfully using this color combination is the proper balance of white. With a strong white backdrop, such as a white tree or tablecloth, the color scheme often seen on beach blankets and sailboats can take on a wintry appearance.

Green + Brown 

Colors seen together in nature always work well in decorating, so don't be afraid to take a cue from Mother Nature. This is especially true when pairing brown and green, two of the most-popular earth tones used in home decor. For sophisticated simplicity, try decorating a green tree using only brown ornaments. Consider using several different shades of green for a layered, multi-toned look when decorating walls and hallways.

Violet + Brown + Bronze + White 

Make it masculine! A color combination of violet, brown, bronze and white is a great way to add manly appeal to your home this holiday season. For proper balance, stick with brown and bronze as the dominant colors, with sprinkles of violet for accent, and set it all against a white tree.

White + Brown 

White and brown is simple, elegant and gender neutral. This combination is also incredibly versatile; add a few accents of blue or red to make it masculine, or add pink for a feminine touch.

Hot Pink + Lime Green + White + Red 

During the past few years, hot pink has become a haute hue for modernist holiday decor and is often paired with silver or gold. To add a little more Yuletide pop, pair hot pink with lime green, red and white.

Turquoise + White + Parchment 

Beige as an accent color? Yep! While turquoise is often paired with jewel tones and metallics in holiday decor, pairing the jewel tone with a muted, neutral tone such as parchment is much less expected. 

This is an excellent way for colorphobes to introduce more saturated hues into their holiday decor without being overwhelmed.

White + Gold 

Since the days when frankincense and myrrh were acceptable holiday gifts, gold has been commonly paired with silver and/or violet. To put a contemporary spin on this classic color, consider pairing gold with white. The juxtaposition of gold's warm undertones and white's coolness strikes the perfect balance.

Bubblegum Pink + Purple 

Bubblegum can be used for something other than a dentist's worst nightmare of a stocking stuffer. 

Lovers of retro and kitsch can put a regal spin on the nostalgic 1950s tone by using bubblegum pink as the dominant color toned down with the dark richness of purple.

Robin's-Egg Blue + Red + White 

Midcentury modernists can add vintage flair this holiday season with a color scheme of robin's-egg blue, red and white. In the 1950s, decorators paired robin's-egg blue with olive green and/or red orange. 

By pairing the hue with red and white, the beloved color takes on an entirely new identity as a contemporary holiday classic.

Teal + Red + White 

Thanks in part to candy canes and Kriss Kringle's wardrobe, red and white is one of the most iconic holiday color combinations; depending on how you pair it, though, the classic combo can be totally fresh and fun. Consider using teal as your dominant color this holiday season, with traces of red and white as accents.

Parchment + White 

Neutrals are a safe bet in interior design, and they can work just as well for holiday decorating. 

For understated elegance, consider pairing white with parchment. 

This less is more approach is timeless and easily adaptable.

Parchment + White 

Design tip: For greater dimension, throw a metallic into the mix whether it's silver, gold or bronze. 

The introduction of the metallic will help break up the tone on tone appeal and add layered depth to the overall color scheme.

Fresh Christmas Colors 2013 Ideas from HGTV

Try something new this season! Decorate your home with haute holiday hues that are anything but conventional.

 By : Brian Patrick Flynn

Kelly Green + Baby Blue + White 

While kelly green is often paired with red for holiday flair, it works surprisingly well in a seasonal sense when paired with baby blue and white. The key to successfully using this color combination is the proper balance of white. With a strong white backdrop, such as a white tree or tablecloth, the color scheme often seen on beach blankets and sailboats can take on a wintry appearance.

Green + Brown 

Colors seen together in nature always work well in decorating, so don't be afraid to take a cue from Mother Nature. This is especially true when pairing brown and green, two of the most-popular earth tones used in home decor. For sophisticated simplicity, try decorating a green tree using only brown ornaments. Consider using several different shades of green for a layered, multi-toned look when decorating walls and hallways.

Violet + Brown + Bronze + White 

Make it masculine! A color combination of violet, brown, bronze and white is a great way to add manly appeal to your home this holiday season. For proper balance, stick with brown and bronze as the dominant colors, with sprinkles of violet for accent, and set it all against a white tree.

White + Brown 

White and brown is simple, elegant and gender neutral. This combination is also incredibly versatile; add a few accents of blue or red to make it masculine, or add pink for a feminine touch.

Hot Pink + Lime Green + White + Red 

During the past few years, hot pink has become a haute hue for modernist holiday decor and is often paired with silver or gold. To add a little more Yuletide pop, pair hot pink with lime green, red and white.

Turquoise + White + Parchment 

Beige as an accent color? Yep! While turquoise is often paired with jewel tones and metallics in holiday decor, pairing the jewel tone with a muted, neutral tone such as parchment is much less expected. 

This is an excellent way for colorphobes to introduce more saturated hues into their holiday decor without being overwhelmed.

White + Gold 

Since the days when frankincense and myrrh were acceptable holiday gifts, gold has been commonly paired with silver and/or violet. To put a contemporary spin on this classic color, consider pairing gold with white. The juxtaposition of gold's warm undertones and white's coolness strikes the perfect balance.

Bubblegum Pink + Purple 

Bubblegum can be used for something other than a dentist's worst nightmare of a stocking stuffer. 

Lovers of retro and kitsch can put a regal spin on the nostalgic 1950s tone by using bubblegum pink as the dominant color toned down with the dark richness of purple.

Robin's-Egg Blue + Red + White 

Midcentury modernists can add vintage flair this holiday season with a color scheme of robin's-egg blue, red and white. In the 1950s, decorators paired robin's-egg blue with olive green and/or red orange. 

By pairing the hue with red and white, the beloved color takes on an entirely new identity as a contemporary holiday classic.

Teal + Red + White 

Thanks in part to candy canes and Kriss Kringle's wardrobe, red and white is one of the most iconic holiday color combinations; depending on how you pair it, though, the classic combo can be totally fresh and fun. Consider using teal as your dominant color this holiday season, with traces of red and white as accents.

Parchment + White 

Neutrals are a safe bet in interior design, and they can work just as well for holiday decorating. 

For understated elegance, consider pairing white with parchment. 

This less is more approach is timeless and easily adaptable.

Parchment + White 

Design tip: For greater dimension, throw a metallic into the mix whether it's silver, gold or bronze. 

The introduction of the metallic will help break up the tone on tone appeal and add layered depth to the overall color scheme.