Tips & Tricks: Perky Pillows

One of our largest pet peeves is when your pillow does not fully fill out the pillow sham, particularly if it's a euro sham. You see them looking so perfect in the catalog and then they arrive and they literally flop instead of standing up straight. To cure this problem we have a simple trick that we use on all our beds. Make sure that your euro pillow is actually a few inches larger than the pillow. A standard euro sham is 26x26. We use a maximum of a 29x29 pillow insert. For us this is the perfect size, but you could also use a 28x28 pillow insert. Any smaller and you could run the risk of flopping. Also, ensure that you are not using a down pillow. The pillows tends to sag and lose their shape. We purchase all of our pillows off of Ebay from this seller

Bargain Bin: Contemporary Photo Gallery

There is no better way to personalize your home than with photos of family, friends and places that you love. One of the most popular ways of showcasing photos these days is through well laid out photo galleries. There are several approaches to this. You can get Pottery Barn shelves and line up frames or purchase a premade gallery from The Perfect Picture Wall Company. Or if you're on more of a budget you can take the more eclectic approach and collect various frames in a collection.

Another approach to the budget friendly Photo Gallery that we love is use acrylic frames and then layering them to create a contemporary, dimensional collection. These frames can be purchased for a few dollars each at your local Walgreens or Target

We found this idea at the Lakeside Collection. You can either buy the smaller scale collage or reproduce this look on a larger scale for a bigger space.

Feed This To That: Scarves to Throws

To kick off our spring cleaning we have decided that the closets will be our starting point. We will be the first to admit that we have a minor shopping problem. As a result there are multiples of several items. We found this great idea on Martha Stewart. We're going to be purging our scarf collection to create a colorful throw to use as a gift.

Tips & Tricks: Bring In Spring

With the weather getting warmer who doesn't want to surround themselves bright spring colors to lighten the winter blues. Here are our tips for simple ways to infuse color into your home for spring.

Starting with a neutral base is the easiest way to start. Neutral bones can be accentuated with any color palette. Share your tips and tricks in our comment section.

1. Change your towels - Change white for a pale blue or green
2. Switch out your pillows - If your room has a dark color palette use a neutral to lighten the mood a little
3. Flowers - hit your local farmers market, garden or grocery store and pick up some blooms for the kitchen table or nightstand
4. Spruce up your outdoor space - See spring from every window with bright pillows, lanterns, and lights
5. Change out your pictures - Surround yourself with photos of summer and spring memories to get ready for the season
5. Lighten up the bedding - Change a comforter, a throw, or the entire set to bring in the sunshine
6. Make your entryway say spring is here - Change the doormat and add some flowers to let guests know spring has arrived at your home
7. Clean up the flow - Fluff, sanitize and organize. They call it spring cleaning for a reason bring in the clean
8. Say it with accessories - Put the heavy silver away and bring out the glass. Glass vases, candlesticks and picture frames will bring an airy feel to any table or bookcase
9. Take in the view - Rearrange the furniture to focus on the outdoors rather than the cozy fireplace

Trend Feed: Faux Bois

Faux Bois isn't anything new, but it is something we love. So we wanted to show you the numerous ways this can be incorporated into your desing scheme. If you're bold we love to use this to cover furniture or as a rug that is a focal point of the room. If you love it, but don't want to commit you can easily insert this trend through towels or other natural wood pieces.

Feed This to That: Tin Ceilings

We love the classic look of a tin ceiling in a kitchen or laundry room. But the use of these does not have to be limited to a ceiling. We love how Candice Olson uses these classic tiles as a backsplash. To achieve this look she simply painted the tiles to match her color pallete. It brings texture and style into the heart of the home.

Tips & Tricks: The Perfect Bedskirt

Ever dream of the perfect bed skirt length like you see in every catalog? With a few simple tricks you can achieve that look without the custom made price. We've recently been having the problem that we find the perfect bed skirt, but it isn't the right length. The idea of spending the time and money to have it altered just seem absurd. We recently had this problem in our master bedroom. We have a little less than a 14 inch drop on our king bed. We found a beautiful DKNY bed skirt on Ebay that was a fraction of the $300 skirt we were eyeing from Ethan Allen. Unfortunately, this skirt had a 17 inch drop on it. To make our bargain skirt fit our bed we simply used straight pins to gather the fabric under the mattress and shorten the length.

This technique can be applied to bed skirts of all lengths. We shortened our king bed skirt by 3 inches and also our guest bedroom by an inch.