Home Decor Tips

If you’ve been thinking about decorating your home for any length of time, you already know the tried and true basics. Rather than searching for expensive products to make the change, use these home décor tips to reinvent the way you think about the basics. Even common household items used in new and exciting ways can be exactly the accents you need.

Flowers

Flower arrangements are home décor staples in virtually any design scheme, making them common accents in any home. In order to use flowers in your home with pizzazz, it’s time to start thinking outside the vase and find new ways to display those blooms.

• Flatten flower petals. If you had a flower press as a child then you already know how stunning preserved petals look. You can still make your own if you don’t have a press by placing your petals between waxed paper and setting all your cookbooks on top for weight. Add your petals to picture frame mats or arrange them in between the wood base and glass top of your coffee table.
• Change your vase. Visit antique stores or garage sales to look for unusual holders for your buds. Metal milk jugs, antique teapots and perfume bottles are all home décor elements in their own right, but provide startling places for flowers.
• Fill your vase. Everyone has that one holder perfect for flowers. If you want a new way to use a clear vase, fill it with colored marbles in a contrasting shade from the flowers. You can also use miniature lemons or colorful cellophane. Just remember to use artificial flowers because adding anything to the water beyond flower food can diminish your flower’s lifespan.

Candles

By this point, you already know setting a few votives around your living room adds a depth of fragrance and homey warmth. What you need now is a change from the standard votive holder.

• Use long taper candles in shot glasses. You can also use a votive or tea light candles if it will fit, but taper candles add elegance usually reserved for romantic restaurants. Find shot glasses with interesting designs or patterns on the outside for the greatest impact. To keep the candle from toppling over, be sure to melt the wax to the bottom or fill the space around it with craft sand in your home décor colors.
• Add glowing candle balls to wall shelves. Even though the entire candle is made of wax, this home accent is made so that only the inner candle burns down while the flame casts an appealing glow through the decorated wax on the outside. Because the flame is within, you can burn this candle on your table or near a wall without too much concern.

The next time you want to redecorate your home, make a point to walk around and evaluate how you can reuse the common home décor elements in a new way. The results will surprise you!