Guest Post: How to Style Your Home Like an Interior Designer

Striking that perfect balance between different styles and making your home look modern may be quite tricky if you’re not an experienced interior designer. However, this doesn’t mean that you should just give up on the idea of styling your own home. Instead, make sure to follow the latest trends, see what goes best together and try to find your unique way to incorporate all of that into your own home design. In order to help you out with this, we’ve prepared a list of some useful advice and ideas. Take a look and let the redecoration begin!

Be careful with colors

Choosing the right colors for your home is probably the toughest part of the entire redecoration process since you can easily make some serious mistakes. First of all, you should remember that only because you love orange, for example, it doesn’t mean that you should paint the whole house in it. Instead, it’s wiser to go for a more neutral base and then add a pop of orange here and there. Furthermore, if your rooms are rather small, we would recommend opting for lighter hues like beige or grey, since they can create the optical illusion of spaciousness. 

Let the sunshine in

The presence of natural light is what the majority of world-famous designers consider essential in their projects. So, instead of installing dozens of light fixtures in your living room, opt for bigger windows and let the light in. Not only will this help you save on your electricity bills, but you’ll feel much better and healthier. After all, it’s well-known that natural light can improve our mood significantly and has a positive influence on our productivity and concentration as well.

Make your kitchen warm and inviting

You may have concentrated mostly on your living room, but your kitchen will require a lot of work as well. You can start by installing exquisite bamboo flooring which is very low-maintenance and can help create that unique warm feeling. Additionally, don’t forget to equip your kitchen with high-tech appliances, since they will definitely make your cooking much easier and more enjoyable. Even though choices are abundant, we advise you to opt for one quality brand and stick to it. This way, if you, let’s say, go for the amazingAEG appliances, you won’t have to waste time looking for different service numbers since you’ll immediately know whom to call. Finally, think about adding a nice hanging pot rack to your kitchen design as well. Not only is it extremely useful, but it serves as great decoration as well.

Go green

Going green is the home decor trend which has been present for quite some time and it seems that its popularity won’t fade away any time soon. So, if you want to consider yourself modern and environmentally-conscious, now it’s the perfect time for you to bring in some greenery into your living space. For instance, you can hang some artistic pots around your living room or go for those oversized ones which are perfect in case you like the idea of having a few tropical trees as that final touch which will tie the whole room together. However, aside from focusing only on the aesthetic appeal, it’s always wise to opt for some low-maintenance plants which won’t dry out that easily.

Personality is the key ingredient

Last but not least, great interior designers tend to add something unique and always strive to leave their mark. So, if you want your house to look absolutely special, don’t be afraid to show off your personality and express your creative side. Following trends is only the first step of the process which should serve you to get inspired and come up with some innovative solutions. Lastly, if you are an artist or have some hidden talents for painting or sculpturing, don’t hesitate to display your work and show everybody how rich your personality is.

As you can see, you don’t need to be a famous designer to be able to turn your average-looking house into a fabulous sanctuary. All it takes is a bit of creativity and ability to look at your space with fresh eyes. Good luck and enjoy your new home!

About the author:

Tracey Clayton is a mom of three girls. She’s passionate about fashion, home décor, and healthy living. Her motto is: “Live the life you love, love the life you live.”

4 Minimalist Ways to Wear Plaid This Spring

As a trend we usually relate to the ‘90s or the early 2000s, plaid is something we’re actually really excited about this season because it presents us with a challenge. Since we usually relate this print to grungy looks and fall fashion, how on earth do we make it work for springtime? Well, there’s nothing we love more than a challenge because it can really help your personal style grow, so let’s take a look at some fashion tips from the runways and enjoy the plaid craze for the season.

Cool as a cucumber

There are two easy ways you can wear a plaid button-down: old school grunge and rocker chic. This season calls more for that too-cool-for-you, edgy, rocker vibe, and you can pull it off by layering plaid and leather. A short leather jacket coupled with a longer, unbuttoned plaid shirt, and then a black tank top underneath will look cool as hell, and you can combine this with your skinniest jeans (or hey, leather pants), and a pair of ankle boots. Be careful with distressed denim here because it might end up making the outfit look too busy, so plain denim could be a better choice. You’re looking for those really slim, curve-hugging skinny pants that elongate your legs and feel dangerously sexy.

Even people who don’t think they’re all that edgy can pull this look off because it requires some fairly simple details. Another thing that might cross your mind is studded details such as belts and collars, but we recommend that you be careful with that as well. It could push the outfit from cool and stylish into something outdated and give you that trying-too-hard vibe. We’re really trying to retain a measure of polish here, so we recommend some more elegant accessories: slim chain necklaces, wristwatches, and headbands to complement everything.

Quirky vs. high-fashion polish

Let’s talk about plaid suits, something that’s really popular this season. A plaid suit can be tough to pull off because it tends to make you look like a school librarian. And you know what; we recommend that you embrace it. Grey, beige, and light brown suits paired with ruffled shirts, Oxford shoes, and cat-rimmed glasses are cute, stylish, but they are something that’s a lot easier to pull off if your style naturally leans toward quirky and vintage. 

If you want to avoid that and look more polished, then don’t worry, you can definitely make a plaid suit look really high-fashion. For this to work, we recommend jewel tones and darker plaid, a big belt to cinch in your blazer, and some really, really good heels. Also? Try wearing a tie if you want that androgynous, runway vibe, and top it all off with red lipstick.

Clever dressing with accessories

Do these details feel a little too overwhelming? Don’t worry, you can just stick to plaid accessories! In fact, plaid is such a cool thing to spice up the outfit that it’s bound to make you stand out. Hair clips, scarves, headbands, tote bags, belts, and little plaid bows can take your everyday casual to something fully stylish, and we recommend that you push it further and experiment with evening wear as well.

Large, silky cover-up scarves combined with black, elegant evening dresses can give you that straight-from-the-cover-of-Vogue look. Pick a simple, unfussy cut, and then style it up with plaid accessories to really stand out from the crowd. 

Gingham bombshell

We know, we know, gingham isn’t technically plaid. However, how many people know or care about that? It’s a cute print that’s also popular this season, and it’s good for those who are a little scared of plaid. Gingham dresses with off-the-shoulder sleeves are just really damn sexy and cute for spring, or you could go for a high-waisted A-line skirt, a crop top, and a denim jacket. If you’re really set on plaid, we recommend a button-down plaid dress that hugs your waist, some black pumps, and gorgeously messy, curled hair.

It’s time to take plaid out of the “oversized and grunge” box and start experimenting again. Take this print and have fun with it! It can be cool, it can be sexy, it can be anything you want if you style it right, so play around and enjoy this spring. 

*Guest Post written by Sophia Smith

Sophia Smith is an Australia-based beauty and style blogger and a DIY enthusiast. She is very passionate about the latest fashion trends and graphic design projects. Sophia writes mostly about fashion-related topics in her articles. She has contributed to a number of publications including Viva Glam Magazine, Whytt Magazine, How to Simplify, Carousel and Mostly Sugar. 
You can find out more about her writing by following her on Facebook  Twitter  

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New Video: Re-Creating Outfits from Instagram

Today it's time for a new video!! I came across this video idea thanks to one of my friends Florencia, who is one of my biggest supporters because I remember one day I was sharing some outfits from my favorite bloggers with her, telling her I would love to dress like that and she replied: You can totally re-create that outfit!

So I decided to accept that challenge and tried to re-create 3 different outfits from some of my favorite bloggers: @tamara, @inthefrow, and @modeison_ with items I already have in my wardrobe.

I had a lot of fun filming this video and going through my clothes in order to replicate these looks as similar as possible! The idea is that some of our favorite outfits are based on basic pieces that we can already find in our own closet. So the trick is identifying the key pieces on each look and try to look for those characteristics in your clothes. 

So, let's see how this worked! ;)

Get the look:

Get the Look:

Get the Look:

I really hope you liked the video and this kind of post! I had a lot of fun doing it as I said! Don't forget to check out my Youtube channel if you haven't already and please let me know which outfit was your favorite?  :)