Posted 23 days ago by Amanda Raye

With summer just around the corner, the last thing you need is a dull and boring home. You want a place that makes you stand out from the crowd and leaves your neighbors looking on in envy. However, the only means of achieving this is by picking up those paint brushes and giving your humble abode the much needed makeover it deserves.

Whether looking for a stylish duvet cover or a chic pair of curtains, we’re taking the advice of the experts to find that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ your home has been searching for.

History

One trend that’s popular this year is the idea of using history to influence current interior design plans. Think late nineteenth century decadence; a world filled with wealthy aristocrats enjoying the perks of a lavish lifestyle. Plush velvet sofas, floor to ceiling curtains and gold embellishments, oh how the other half live!

Well, if you’d like to recreate this sense of comfort, then what’s stopping you? Opt for royal and rich color schemes such as navy blue and burgundy and check out the affordable designer bedding from Look Again. You’ll be able to re-create the look in no time!

Edgy

Another style which interior enthusiasts love at the moment is spaces with a bit of character. Breaking the boundaries of convention, the experts are encouraging you to put your creative hat on and to really think outside the box; the more extravagant the better.

A popular choice for this type of eccentricity is animal print, so if you’re eager to establish a feeling of the exotic, these designs work wonderfully. Also don’t be afraid to experiment with different textures. From snakeskin rugs to zebra print cushions, you’ll certainly create that modern edge.

Green

Who says it isn’t easy being green? Well we don’t. Designers say that by ‘going green’ you will definitely add value to your home. So in addition to any other environmentally friendly tricks you have up your sleeve, be it double glazed windows or loft insulation, also try to incorporate other initiatives such as investing in attractive energy saving appliances or some trendy recycling bins; every little bit counts. Not only do we mean practically, but also literally. Emerald green is the shade to watch out for in 2013; the perfect color to give your home a new dynamic, whilst also remaining tasteful. What more could you ask for?

To play around with the color emerald on a budget, consider painting your chairs or old dresser. It’s a great way to add a pop of color with little expense on your end. If you don’t have an old dresser check out a few local thrift stores, they are constantly receiving furniture.

What’s your favorite decor trend? Let us know in the comments below!

*This post was presented by Look Again

Posted 29 days ago by Amanda Raye

When it comes to decor, sometimes the smallest changes can leave the biggest impact. Painting is messy, hanging up pictures can be a hassle and buying all new furniture is just plain expensive.

Believe it or not, a great way to update your bedroom or living room on a budget is to simply change your pillows.

We have recently been introduced to Pilloe, a company which makes trendy yet minimalist pillow cases that’ll make even the most blah room look interesting. Take a look at our favorites!

World Pilloe: $15 here

Wake Up Pilloe: $25 for pair here

Cuddle Pillow: $15 here

What’s your favorite pillow case from the Pilloe Company? Let us know in the comments below! For more clever and minimalist (yet affordable) designs, check out Universal Pixel.

Posted 79 days ago by Amanda Raye

Art can make any boring wall exciting. Unfortunately, when people hear the word art, they just think expensive. Below are 9 totally awesome, affordable posters and prints from Society6 that will make even the most drab room fabulous! Don’t worry…they’re all under $20!  

Inspirational Print: $15.00

Moonrise Kingdom: $20.00

Valentina Print: $18.00

Shapes of NYC: $20.00

Color Your Life: $18.00

Keep Calm: $15.00

 Christian Dior Lipstick: $15.00

Water Color Map: $18.00

Onward: $16.00

Which one of these prints are your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Posted 87 days ago by Amanda Raye

Meet Salt Lake City-based Sara Charlesworth, the voice behind lifestyle blog Chalk White Arrow. We at Broke & Chic are huge fans of her budget style, beautiful photos and great eye for decor.

Sara’s home has recently been nominated for best home design on Apartment Therapy. Way to go Sara!

Check out her amazing home as well as our Q&A where she dishes her decor secrets!

• Bed Frame: $60
• Dresser: $300 Ikea
• Clothing Rack: $20 Ikea
• Side Table: $150 at a local boutique
• Comforter: $90 West Elm
• Map Above Dresser: $39 Urban Outfitters
• Light Above Nightstand: $4 Urban Outfitters (She then tied the yarn on the edges)

Broke & Chic: How did you get your inspiration? 

Sara: I knew I wanted the house to reflect a definite style. I would find an item I knew I wanted to use in each room that I really liked; whether that was a piece of art, a light fixture, or even just a pillow, and then build from there.

Did you get any of your stuff from thrift shops?

Yes! We found both our coffee table and foot stool at thrift shops. A few of the wall hangings and light fixtures were thrifted, as well as a bunch of other decorative items. I love mixing new things with old pieces to give a well-rounded, eclectic, mid-century modern feel (if that makes any sense).

Moving is never fun. How long did it take you to get your new place the way you wanted it?

Seriously, so much longer than I excepted. Between painting all of the walls and ceilings white, organizing and finding all of our things, waiting for some new furniture and getting the whole place settled and put together, I would say it was a good 3-4 months before I finally felt like we had finished.

• Couch: $1,200 Restoration Hardware
• White Chair: $0 (she had it since she was a kid)
• Coffee Table: $90 thrifted
• Foot Stool: $45 thrifted
• Brown Chair: $150 Paisley Pomegranate
• Credenza: $1,400 Thrive Furniture
• Rug: $600 Dwell Studio
• Lamp: $30 Ikea
• Lights over Credenza: $90 for the pair at Paisley Pomegranate

In your picture frame collage, where are the photos and frames from?

Honestly, most of the frames are from Target and Ikea. The photos are randoms I have collected over the years. Some are from small Etsy stores, a lot of them are photos I have taken on my own (family photos and vacation spots) or inspirational quotes I liked and had printed.

• Dining Table: $200 Ikea
• Chairs: $240 for the set on Amazon
• Rug: $250 Ikea

We love the black paint and chalk board wall! Was it difficult to do?

No! It was really extremely simple and on our smallish walls it only took me (by myself) a few hours to complete. It goes on fairly easy and drys pretty quickly. The only difficult part was that it tended to splatter when rolling it on the wall. I would recommend using a good drop cloth and wearing grungy clothes.

• Desk: $100 Ikea
• Rug: $250 West Elm

What advice would you give someone who’s on a budget, but wants to re-decorate their home?

Shop around. Visit thrift shops first. Make places like Ikea and Target your friend, however, don’t purchase something just because it is inexpensive.

If there is a quality item (furniture, decor, etc) that you can see yourself using for years to come, I recommend taking more time saving up for that instead of settling for a less expensive piece you’ll replace a year later. We made this mistake so many times, and in the long run we ended up paying so much more than we would have if we had just purchased the item we loved in the first place.

What was your favorite room in Sara’s home? Let us know in the comments below!

 Read More:

• Budget Decor: Paul and Evi’s Modern Amsterdam Apartment
• 7 Design Tricks To Make A Small Room Appear Larger
• Budget Decor: 5 Friends, New City, One Amazing Apartment

Posted 91 days ago by Michelle Obrien

People are crafty and love to share their unique ideas and experiences. Whether you’re decorating your bedroom in your new home, or want to freshen up your current one, there’s nothing to spark your inspiration better than getting ideas from others. From rugs to lighting and blinds, a few small changes can create a completely different feel to any environment. No matter how much or how little space you’re working with, you can use these ideas to transform your space into a room that you enjoy being in. Here are three ideas to get you started:

1. Go Monochromatic

You probably know that wearing all of one color from head to toe gives you the appearance of looking slimmer; but did you also know a monochromatic color scheme is a great way to decorate your room? While you shouldn’t decorate your room completely in light aubergine (shades of purple), sticking to the same color family will do a lot for your room. The smaller pool of options will also make choosing items easier, especially if you’re a person who gets overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available.

2. Open the Room Up

If your room is on the small side, keeping it as free of furniture and clutter as possible is the easiest way to make the room look several square feet larger. A cluttered room makes for a cluttered mind, and your room should be a place of solace. Indiscriminately purge your room to get rid of all non-essentials. If you can’t bear to part with family heirloom furniture and sentimental items, look into the pricing of storage space units to keep non-essentials safe and out of the way.

To make your bedroom look larger and more inviting, DesignSense.com suggests putting the bed against the wall opposite of the door. If you can’t do that, then leave as large of a walkway as possible between the bed and the door to give the illusion that there’s more space than actually exists.

Consider hanging your television on the wall, if it isn’t there already. This will allow you to remove the table or dresser on which it was sitting, adding more space to your room. You can easily put your clothing into the closet by using any one of the multiple shelving and storage space solutions that are available. If you don’t have closets, or they aren’t large enough, choose the tallest wardrobe or armoire that will fit in your room. This will make the ceiling seem higher than it is. Finally, use lights that mount on the walls, rather than floor lamps, as they don’t take up precious floor space.

3. Copy Luxe Hotels

A night at a posh hotel always seems to give a person a sense of peace, calmness and bliss. You probably wish that your budget would allow you to permanently move into one of those beautiful rooms. The good news is that you can copy their looks from photos of hotels that you see in magazines, online or booking a room.

One of the tricks that hotels use to give a crisp and clean look is to cover the bed with top-quality white linens. Opt for pima or Egyptian cotton and get a thread count that’s over 300. Place an abundance of pillows on your bed, adding a few in accent colors or patterns to spice up the mix. Add storage options so that your clothes and belongings can be kept out of sight, to give the room an airy, uncluttered look, suggests CasaSugar.com.

Egyptian cotton and 300-thread count sheets are expensive, but we at Broke & Chic believe we need to prioritize needs versus wants. We want ten new outfits from Forever 21, but we need a comfortable bed more. Why? Because you spend 8-9 hours a day in there. How you sleep at night can dictate the type of person you’ll be during the day. Definitely save on trendy clothing, and splurge on things such as nice bedding and comfortable shoes.

As you go about redoing your room, make sure that you absolutely love what you’re doing. It’s important that, above all else, you feel comfortable because that’s where you’ll spend most of your time relaxing and sleeping. You are the queen of your castle, so use these home decor ideas as inspiration to create your own designs.

Posted 118 days ago by Andrew Tucker

Great taste never goes out of style. It may be subjective, and trends may shift as fast as a pendulum, but great taste is adaptable no matter which trend-du-jour the wind blows in. Nothing screams style and intrigue like the living room. Your living room is the blood in the veins of your home and no corners should be cut! If your living room needs an update, use your unique great taste to capitalize on these poppy, enchanting furniture trends, and make yourself the talk of style town!

Never Be Afraid of Color

Gone are the days when suburbia was a drab factory line of white-on-white-on-beige. International, eye-popping chic is back with a vengeance. Let colors express who you are. Paint your wall bright orange or chartreuse, buy plum accent pillows to offset it.

If you’re very bold and adventurous, experiment with traditional wallpaper that features nature, color and eye-popping patterns. Retro is back in a big way. If you’re not quite ready to take that plunge and change entire walls, add some accent molding or wainscoting. Even bold picture frames and table-top dcor can make a huge difference. Bright colors show creativity, insight and daring. If you want your living room to have an energetic vibe, choose warm vibrant colors like reds, oranges and yellows. If you want your living room to be a relaxing sanctuary choose cool colors like deep blue, verdant green or soothing purple. Play with shades and tones until you find a blend that suits your family’s taste and style.

Furniture Additions

Furniture shouldn’t be so congruent that it gives a sterile vibe, nor should it be so loud that it drowns all people and accessories in the room. It’s important to incorporate accessory furniture in a way that draws the eye and helps focus attention where you want it to be.

If you want to be retro chic without breaking the bank, try finding a glass coffee table from a thrift store to accent and show off your favorite rug. Or you can buy footstools from visiondecor.com for charming color schemes. A glass coffee table coupled with an animal or floral print footstool makes for elegant-meets-trendy, and they don’t have to match perfectly.

 Complimenting furniture texture also makes for a delicious living room look. Play with leather, canvas, glass, wood and even faux fur to add stunning delight to the look of the room. Texture can be played with, but try and stick to similar color schemes if you’re going to play with wood with various textures.

Good Art Won’t Match Your Sofa

Art offers your guests a glimpse into your personality and definition of beauty. Whether you’ve spent your life saving for that Wassily Kandinsky painting, or couldn’t believe the luck you had finding the perfect garage sale frame, art is worth adorning your home with.

While no one can tell you what art is, and the sky is the limit when it comes to how outlandish, disturbing, or garish the art you choose is allowed to be. It’s, however, the cherry on the cake of the beautiful, most alive part of your home.

Submit a photo of your living room to hey@brokeandchic.com for a possible feature in the decor section!