Room To Talk Blog

In college, I had a tiny balcony that I loved but never used. The idea of sitting outside in a cozy space sounds fun until you step out onto an ugly, cement balcony with dingy outdoor carpet on the floor. If you have a balcony, don’t settle for simply throwing up a camping chair! You can make your tiny balcony a haven. Check out how below! 

Tiny Balconies

via Homesthetics

You may not have room for a full table and chairs, but how about a bench? Cover the bench with cushions and pillows and you’ve got yourself somewhere you’ll want to relax.

via Historias de Casa

A hammock strung between the walls of your balcony is the perfect way to kick back and relax.

via Decoist

Fill your balcony with greenery and plants. You can even plant some vegetables and have a small garden right out your door.

via Balcony Garden Web

If your balcony gets a lot of sun and is too hot to sit comfortably, install an awning or bring in an umbrella to add a little shade.

via Home My Design

String twinkle lights to create ambiance and a place you would want to hang out.

via Medium

Hide unappealing flooring with an outdoor rug.

Do you have a tiny balcony? How have you decorated it?

Green is a color that evokes nature, tranquility, and peace. Surrounding yourself with the color green can be calming and help ease stress, so what better color to bring into your bedroom? If you’ve been itching to paint a wall or are simply looking for some green accessories to bring into your bedroom, now is the time to do it! I’ve gathered some different images of green bedrooms for inspirations below. 

Green Bedrooms

via Woman and Delice

via The Girl With the Green Sofa

via Decoholic

via Home4rt

via Juniper Home

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!

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and I have gathered some of my favorite RC Willey products that make the perfect gift for all of the amazing moms in your life!

Vases with faux greenery: Both of these options are simplistic and neutral- so you can rest easy knowing that it’ll mesh well with mom’s home aesthetic!  

• I love the way this Magnolia Home Furniture vase looks with a couple of these olive branches! Look how cute:

Image via our Instagram.

• These glass cellar bottles look beautiful filled with some cotton stems or a fig leaf stem.

Blanket ladder with throw: Blanket ladders are all the rage right now. They provided a practical way to store your blankets, while creating a cute and cozy display!

• I love these eucalyptus wood blanket ladders. Pair one of those ladders with this neutral throw blanket- and you're good to go!

Candle with matching matches: Who doesn’t love a cute matching set? These Magnolia Home Furniture tin candles are darling and they smell like a dream. What’s better? They have matching matches for each candle scent!

• "Bloom" candle and matches
• "Gather" candle and matches
• "Restore" candle and matches
• "Love" candle and matches
• "Dwell" candle and matches
• "Garden" candle and matches

Tiered tray:

Tiered trays have become increasingly popular because they are the perfect way to display some of your favorite decor items! Here is an example of one I styled for my home:

This wooden tiered tray and this distressed metal tiered tray are perfect options if you want to get the moms in your life a tiered tray of thier own!

Here are some pieces that would look great for decorating the tray!

• faux greenery
• small figurines (like this or this)
• decor orbs (like this or this) 
• desk clock
• small plants (like this, this, or this)

Hopefully this little gift guide gave you some ideas and inspiration! Have a wonderful Mother’s Day, friends!

It seems that no matter how hard you prepare in the fall, there is still so much to clean up when spring comes. If you haven’t had a chance to do your spring yard clean up, now is the time! Not only will you be ready for planting flower or vegetable gardens, but you’ll also be able to enjoy your clean yard when it’s warm enough to be outside! It may not be the most enjoyable job, but following this checklist will help make sure you get everything done! 

Spring Yard Clean Up

via Making Lemonade

1. Clean up any debris. No matter how much you raked in the fall, chances are there are leaves gathered in the corners of your yard or on your grass. Snow and wind will have knocked pinecones, sticks, or branches down. Trash may have blown in that you will need to remove. Throw away anything that can’t be composted.
2. Clean up your flower beds. Trim back your perennials and remove any annuals from last year.
3. Prune your bushes and trees as needed. Remove broken or dead branches to make room for healthy new growth.
4. Dewinterize your sprinklers and do a test run to make sure everything is in working condition. You’ll want to do the same with your lawnmower. Make sure everything is good to go!
5. Clean your patio and pathways. Sweep and/or power spray to remove any debris or stains. If you have gravel pathways, make sure you push the gravel back to where it should be and note whether or not you need to refill the path.
6. Check on your wooden fence and wooden outdoor furniture. It may need to be restained or sealed after a hard winter.

Now you’re ready to get your flower beds ready and start planting! Good luck!

I'm fairly confident when I say that Easter candy is the best holiday candy!  Am I right or what?  I could go through a whole bag of cadbury eggs in one sitting if I let myself.  Also, frozen peeps are much better than regular peeps.  Just sayin'.  With Easter just a little over a week away, check out these creative and fun Easter desserts!  

via coolmom eats

Amee's Savory Dish via pinterest

via today's creative life

via pinterest

lilluna via pinterest

via pinterest

via hungry happenings

via crafty morning

What is your favorite Easter dessert to make?

Do you know what recyclable materials can go in your curbside recycling bin and which ones can’t? Did you know that there are specific things that can and cannot go into your recycling bin and if your recycling bin is contaminated with food, unrecyclable materials, etc. the entire bin is trashed? Take a little time reading up on what can and cannot go in your recycling bin and get ready to recycle! 

Recyclable Materials

YES!

• Rigid plastics/bottles
• Paper and cardboard
• Metals
• Glass

via EcoScraps

NO!

• Loose plastic bags
• Styrofoam cups or containers
• Soiled food containers
• Broken glass

via EcoScraps

This blog entry from EcoScraps explains in detail what you can and cannot recycle. Just remember that each city may have different things you can and cannot put in your curbside recycling bin. In Salt Lake City, for example, you are not allowed to put any glass or shredded paper in your recycling bin.

Check out your city's requirements and start making a difference!

Whether you want to go all out and paint all your cabinets red, or you just want a pop of color here or there, red is a bold color that will make a big statement in your kitchen! In fact, it’s such a bold color that it can sometimes be a little intimidating to think of decorating a room with it. Don’t be afraid though! If you love red and want to have a red kitchen, you can make it happen! I’ve gathered some different red kitchen pictures for inspiration.

Red Kitchens

via Elle Decor

via Kathy Marshall Design

via House Beautiful

via HGTV

via House Beautiful

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!

As much as I would love to say that I have beautiful, live, thriving plants in every room of my home....... I can't, because it would be a big lie.  I mean, it's a lot of work for me to keep four children alive, let alone greenery!  I can handle a couple of low maintenance plants, but taking on any more would be a bit too abitious for me at this point in my life.  I love the look and feel of greenery and plants in a home though, and so recently I've started embracing mixing faux trees and plants in with the real ones.  It turns out, there acutually some great and realistic looking faux plants out there!  Here are three ways to fool your visitors into thinking your faux plants are real......

via house of jade interiors

1. Be selective
When purchasing faux plants, make sure you do so with a discerning eye, because not all faux plants and trees are created equally!  Plastic is usually more realistic looking than silk these days.  The goal is to find something that looks natural (stay away from super glossy, fake dew on the branches, etc).  Compare faux greenery with photos of the real thing when shopping for additional help.

2. "Plant" it in a natural setting
Doing little things when it comes to display will go a long way in helping your plant look real. For starters, take it out of the pot that it came in, and pop it in a beautiful, expensive looking pot or basket.  Then, cover the whole thing with real soil or garden rocks.  If it looks like it's sprouting from real dirt, people will probably assume it's a living plant!  Also, cutting and bending stems to varying lengths is always a good idea.  

3. Place it in a sunny spot in your home
Try to think realistically here.  If you don't want people to know your plant is fake, dont' put it in a dark bathroom or corner of the house that never sees sunlight!  Place faux plants where live plants would actually thrive in your home.  Also, make sure you keep it clean!  Faux plants love collecting dust, so be vigilent about using a feather duster every couple of weeks or so.  

Do you have a little one who is always asking to do an art project? Start the Easter of making your own decorations with your kids! Kids crafts don’t have to be complicated or overwhelming to set up. Just a few items for inspiration and your kids can spend the afternoon creating. Check out some Easter crafts for kids below. 

Easter Crafts for Kids

via Kids Craft Room

via The Best Ideas For Kids

via She Knows

via Simple As That

via Practically Functional

Are you going to do some Easter crafts with your kids this year? 

Did you know that in most places do not accept Styrofoam in your curbside recycling bins? Expanded polystyrene, or Styrofoam, seems everywhere but it’s a product that can’t be recycled. This can be a huge problem because not only can you not recycle Styrofoam, it isn’t biodegradable so all those cups, packing peanuts, and take out carriers we interact with every day just end up sitting in the landfill. While most food containers can’t be reused, there are ways to reuse packing peanuts and block foam packing.

Styrofoam Recycling

1. Look for a Styrofoam drop-off site in your area. A quick search on the internet will help you find somewhere nearby that you can drop off your Styrofoam trash. Just make sure you’ve taken off all tape, other garbage, etc. so that it’s just the Styrofoam you’re recycling. Otherwise it’ll most likely end up in the landfill.  
2. Take advantage of Mail Back services. If the drop-off location is far from your house, or your community doesn’t have one at all, there is a Mail Back program that you can use.
3. Rather than purchasing new packing supplies, reuse packing peanut or foam for packages that you send out.
4. Drop off packing peanuts to your nearby UPS store. You may want to call to make sure they accept used packing peanuts, but many stores will gladly reuse your old packing supplies.

With Earth Day coming up take the time to think about how you will reduce, reuse, and recycle this year!