How to Hang Artwork At the Right Height
One of the most common design mistakes out there, that I see all the time, is hanging artwork way too high on the wall. It's easy to do! I'd say the majority of the population is guilty of this (I have been, too!). Most homes in America are full of artwork that would look a lot better if it was rehung about 6-12 inches lower on the wall. Here are a few tips to help you make sure your art is hung at the right height....
1. Hang your artwork at eye level
This can usually easily be done, by measuring 55-60 inches from the floor, and having that spot be at the center of where your painting or gallery wall is hung. Resist the impulse to feel like you need to cover the entire wall. It's okay if there is empty space above the art up to the ceiling- that means you are probably hanging your art at the proper level.
2. Close the gap between your artwork and furniture
Instinct might tell you to put a couple of feet between the top of your sofa and the bottom of a painting, but don't trust it! If you are hanging a piece of art above a sofa or a console table, the bottom of the frame should only be 4-6 inches above the sofa. Closer together looks so much better!
via studio mcgee
via studio mcgee
Studio Mcgee via pinterest
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Green Dining Rooms
Have you ever considered painting your dining room green? To be honest, green isn’t a color I’m usually drawn to but when I saw some green dining rooms in action it changed my mind! I’ve been thinking about ways to incorporate more green into my home - especially my dining room. If you’ve ever thought about green dining rooms or just want to get some interior design inspiration, I’ve linked some pictures below.
Green Dining Rooms
via Black and Blooms
via Quintessence
via House Beautiful
via Design Sponge
Are you having trouble knowing where to start designing in your room or home? Did you recently move to a new place and your old decor just isn't working with the new space? Are you recently living with a new person and running into a design disaster? RC Willey's trained design consultants are here to help. We have an amazing staff of interior design consultants who will help you with anything from furniture layout, color therapy, accessories, or even a whole home makeover! You're only five simple steps away from having a home that reflects your personal style and incorporates those things you love the most. Click here to get started!
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Family Outings
With the change of the season and that perfect fall weather quickly approaching, it’s time to start planning some fun family outings! This is my all time favorite time of year because it’s so easy to get outside your house and find something to do. The heat of the summer is finally gone and it hasn’t gotten so cold you just want to curl up on your couch all night. So grab your family, pack some snacks, and check out some of these ideas to plan your next family outing.
Family Outings
- Bond while you and your family go apple picking!
- Find a local pumpkin patch and get into the spirit of fall. Pick out pumpkins to take home and carve or paint.
- Find a nearby hike and enjoy the fall weather.
- Put on your running shoes and sign up for a 5K.
- Go up the canyon, make a fire, and roast marshmallows.
- Take a drive to find colorful leaves.
- Get lost in a corn maze and reward yourself with some hot chocolate.
- On a colder day, visit a museum. Look for some local free museum days and take advantage of them!
- Make dinner and take it to a park for a picnic.
These are some of the things on my Fall Bucket List. What family outings are you planning? Let us know!
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Honey & Lemon Tea Recipe
We've been pounded at our house for the past week with a horrible cold. I'm blaming it on my kids being back in school! Every single person in the family has it. My kids and husband are still functioning semi-normally, but I'm 36 weeks pregnant and this viurs is KILLING me. I don't remember the last time I felt this awful! Aside from doing the normal things like drinking lots of water, loading up on vitamin C, and using essential oils, the thing that really seems to be saving me is my honey & lemon tea. I am basically drinking this stuff all day, every day. Growing up, my mom used to make this for us when we got sick. It's so simple to throw together, but it really does work wonders.....
Honey & Lemon Tea
1 cup hot water
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey
Heat up 1 cup water in the microwave and then add lemon juice (fresh is always better, but bottled works too), and honey. Stir to mix it all up, and then start sipping. It's like nectar to a sour throat!
via simply recipes
May the odds be ever in your favor and you remain healthy and happy all winter long, but if you come down with a nasty cold, make this drink and thank me later!
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Beautiful Mudrooms
With school in session now, our mudroom is getting a lot more use than it had in the previous summer months. I'm on a mission to simplify things- I feel like if my mudroom is organized well, it will make life much smoother. Between backpacks, school papers, jackets, dance uniforms, shoes, and gym & music bags it's a packed space! How is your mudroom working for you? Is it helping you to feel organized, or is it making you feel like a crazy person? Here are some beautiful mudrooms to get some inspiration as you make adjustments to your own....
via pinterest
via laurel & wolf
via studio mcgee
via apartment therapy
via pinterest
via studio mcgee
via studio mcgee
via the happy housie
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7 Little Ways to Help You Feel Organized
I love the craziness of summer, but I'm always happy to fall into a routine once fall rolls around the corner. There is something about the start of a new school year that makes me start craving and yearning for more organization and structure in my life. What better place to start incorporating organization than in your home? Here are 7 simple things you can do around your home to help you feel more organized and put together on the regular...
1. Have a place to hang your keys
I would be LOST if I didn't have a hook for my keys. My keys were always floating around between my purse, the kitchen counter, my jacket, the sofa, etc. I can't even tell you how many minutes (maybe hours) of my life I started saving once we got a dedicated key hook by the door.
via pinterest
2. Get a bin/basket to hold your mail
Mail is one of the biggest culprits at my house for creating CLUTTER. It always ends up on the kitchen counter, the floor, the sofa (maybe mail and keys are more alike than I thought?), or on the mudroom bench. If it's the same for your family, get a dedicated mail bin to keep the mess at bay.
via pinterest3. Get storage for your bathroom toiletries
It's amazing how beautiful ordinary things like cotton balls, q tips, soap, and dental floss can look if it's tucked away nicely in pretty storage containers. It will also help you keep your bathroom clean!
via pinterest
4. Place baskets around your house that hold diapers/wipes
If you aren't in the diapers/wipes phase of life (parents or grandparents with littles around) you can go ahead and skip this tip. If you do have little ones, you know how frustrating it can be to have to walk up a long staircase in search of a diaper (I know, first world problems for sure). Solution? Make sure you have a well stocked diaper storage basket on every floor of the house so that you're prepared to clean up when accidents strike in no time!
via pinterest
5. Get baskets/bins to hold shoes by the door
Shoes are one of my worst nightmares when it comes to keeping a clean home. They are everywhere! All the time! If you don't have a dedicated home for them near the doorway, GAME OVER. In our family, each child has their own shoe basket, and it's made a world of a difference.
6. Find a large basket to hold blankets in the tv room
We are a family that loves to snuggle. When we have family movie nights, we have no less than about 12 blankets out! I love it, but it can be exhausting trying to keep our tv room from looking like a bomb went off. Solution? I have a HUGE basket that I literally throw all the blankets in (no folding required). Out of sight, out of mind!
via pinterest
7. Get containers to keep snacks organized in the pantry
Between making lunches to send to school, and hungry children and neighbors who are always looking for a snack, I've got a lot of food in my pantry. It's amazing how much better my pantry feels when everything is put away in pretty, clear containers- it makes it easy to see what I've got on the shelf at any given moment!
via bhgWhat little organization tips to do you have??
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Understanding Light Bulbs
Lighting- both natural & artificial, is everything when it comes to interior design! First and foremost, for the obvious reason of allowing us to see and appreciate color, patterns and discerning elements of design. In addition, lighting can also play a huge role in creating a certian ambiance or mood for a space. It's definitely not a factor you want to ignore!
Natural light, or light from the sun, is pretty self explanatory. But when it comes to artificial light, things get a tad more complicated. Nowdays, there are so many different kinds & types of light bulbs, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses. It can be confusing to remember all of it! Below are several awesome lighting guides to help you keep it all straight. You'll learn about lumens vs. watts, color temperature, and light bulb types. I actually couldn't believe how much I learned from these, and hope you will too!
via Angie's List
via pinterest
via Superior Lighting
via Chris Loves Julia
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Hot Breakfast Hack
Some people are morning people, but I am not one of those people. I've come to accept that fact, but the struggle is still definitely real when it comes to getting up to get a workout in, overseeing children getting ready and feeding them breakfast, packing lunches, and then sending them out the door on time for school! If you would have told me a few months ago that I'd somehow manage to feed my children homemade blueberry pancakes (their favorite) every morning before school this year I wouldn't have believed you for a second. But it's true! Here's the best hot breakfast hack I've ever found....
USE YOUR FREEZER!!!
This idea might not sound revolutionary to you, but it was to me when it came to breakfast! My son loves pancakes, but who has time to make homemade pancakes every morning? Not me! So I started making them ahead of time, and it was a total game changer.
Simply make a double or triple batch of your favorite pancakes, or waffles.
Then, take the time to wrap them individually (you don't want them to get freezer burn) with tin foil.
Place those babies in a couple gallon size ziplock bags, and throw them in your freezer.
Every morning when you grab a pancake or two out of the freezer, you can pat yourself on the back for being such an awesome person and providing a hot breakfast for your kids, your spouse, or just yourself!
To heat up, take off the tin foil, place on a microwave-safe plate, and DEFROST for about 2-3 minutes, followed by about 20 seconds normal cooking in the microwave. And there you have it..... a hot breakfast every morning with about ZERO effort. The end.
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Homemade Play Dough
Is there anything better to kids than playdough? I submit to you that there is not. As a parent, I have a love/hate relationship with it. I don't make it available all the time for my kids to play with, but when I pull it out all of the squeals of excitement make the mess totally worth it. While playdough is super inexpensive to buy, I think it's even more fun to involve your children and make it! It's a great, interactive way to get your kids involved in the kitchen, and then the bonus is they get to play with what they created for months and months!
Here is a great homemade playdough recipe...
Homemade Playdough via I heart Naptime
Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tarter
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (coconut oil works too)
- Food coloring, optional
- Quart sized bags
Stir together the flour, salt and cream of tarter in a large pot. Next add the water and oil. If you’re only making one color, add in the the color now as well. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball. Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon sized bag or onto wax paper. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth. If you’re adding colors after, divide the dough into balls (for how many colors you want) and then add the dough into the quart sized bags. Start with about 5 drops of color and add more to brighten it. Knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain your hands. Once it’s all mixed together you’re ready to PLAY.
Store the play dough inside the bags once done to keep soft. Keeps for up to 3 months.
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Tips to Help You Dust Your House
Beautiful, quality furniture is a great investment that can often times be handed down from generation to generation. When you spend a good amount of money on, or are given valuable furniture pieces, you want to make sure that you are taking care of them properly, so that they last for years to come. How are you doing when it comes to caring for your furniture?
Today, we are tackling the topic of dusting. Not only do you want to dust your furniture on the regular to keep it in great shape, but it's actually also good for your health! Studies have shown that it can even reduce allergies! As most of you know, keeping your house dust free is easier said than done sometimes. Here are some tips to help you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to dusting your home.....
1. Start at the top, and move to the bottom
In order to actually get rid of the dust in a room, you've got to start at the top. First, dust ceiling fans, crown molding, etc, and work your way down to dusting the furniture. The dust you're removing will settle in the lower areas of the room as you clean. Make sure to vacuum very last so that you get everything!
2. Use a good furniture cleaner, and a microfiber cloth
Using the right kind of cloth will make all the difference. While it might be more convenient to use an old towel, pick yourself up a microfiber electrostatic cloth. They are so much more effective than other towels because they pick up dust particles and actually remove them from most surfaces instead of simply spreading the dust around. Spray the cleaner onto the furniture, and rub in circular motions with a clean, slightly damp microfiber cloth. You can then wipe down with a dry cloth afterwards.
3. Use an ostrich feather duster
For difficult to reach places like ceilings and high corners, chandeliers, high window sills, etc. use an ostrich feather duster. They develop a static charge and hold onto dust rather than spreading it around like traditional feather dusters.
4. Wipe Things Down
Take the time to wipe down walls, paintings, blinds, light fixtures and other frequently used items. They aren't always the obvious culprit when it comes to collecting dust, but wiping them down regularly will make a big difference in the overall dust situation in your home.
5. Wash your bedding and pillow cases
I am a firm believer in washing all of the bedding in my home WEEKLY in HOT water on the sanitation cycle (this kills dust mites) with a good, heavy detergent. Not only does it feel nice to sleep in clean sheets, but it also keeps your bed relatively dust-free.
6. Clean your air ducts and change your furnace and air filters regularly
Dust and debris collect in a home's air system, and then they are blown right back back into your house when you turn on the air conditioning or heat. Cleaning your air ducts every year or so will help! Also, don't forget about those furnace and air filters! I can actually tell a huge difference when my air filters are changed out regularly (preferably every few months)- it's amazing how much better I can breathe! Pick one that has a high MERV (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) rating.
7. Try to Keep a Clean House-
This is pretty self-explanatory, but the more 'stuff' you have lying around, the more dust you'll accumulate! Make sure everything has a place, and try to keep items put away in their homes as much as possible.
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