living room Archives - Darling Darleen | A Lifestyle Design Blog

Step into Fall this Year by Creating a Cozy Home

Embracing Fall and bringing the outdoors indoors doesn’t mean you have to place pumpkins everywhere around the house, or douse your house with orange and black decorations. In fact this year, I wanted a different look from the fall house decor look from last year and instead I wanted to create a cozy home. I also wanted to keep all the fall knick knacks to a minimal and instead use neutral pillows and candles for a simple yet warm and inviting space.

I love these beautiful Serena and Lily pillows that are embellished with tassels and embroidery. They are a new fall home item, and I am in love with their details and quality of linen. They are a beautiful focal point in my neutral living room. Serena and Lily are having their 20% off friends and family so make sure you take advantage of this once a year sale!

I always pull out my Mutze by Ashley handmade, thick yarn wool blanket around the cool months. It’s a natural beauty to behold, and I just love that it adds an element of warmth and cozy feels.

Fragrant candles of pumpkins and musk are my favorite to burn during the Fall months. I definitely stock up on candles and put one is almost every room–kitchen, living space, office and bathrooms!

Check out these other neutral fall items that will help you create a cozy home!

Stepping into Fall this year with home items to enjoy all through the Fall and Winter months ahead. These will help create a cozy home that is inviting and welcoming || Darling Darleen

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4 Tips for Refreshening your Bookshelf

I’m still on a spring cleaning kick over here. I’ve reorganized just about every closet and cupboard in the house, and oh boy, it sure feels good to open up those doors and see it cleaned and organized. It’s those little things, right?! Next up is refreshing my bookshelf built-ins in our family room. The bookshelves have been styled in the past, but they were looking a little disheveled, dusty and becoming a hodgepodge of random items. The shelves definitely needed to be cleaned up and refreshed up. You can add so much personality to styling your bookshelf or you can keep it more minimalist. Either way make your bookshelves as showcase-worthy storage for all your fave items and style your reading material to look design-savvy. But you don’t have to spend a fortune doing that, keep your budget tight and don’t stress. Here are 4 tips for refreshening your bookshelf on a budget while keeping your bookshelves Pinterest worthy.

4 Tips for Refreshening your Bookshelf on a Budget

Flip your Books Backward--Turn your book spines to the back so all your see if the whites of the pages. This trend is a way to keep the look of your shelves minimal and neutral while allowing for other design factors to pop out. This is definitely a controversial trend but one that people are becoming more inclined to follow because well, color-coordinated design books can be really expensive and more thought has to go into the design process. Flipping your books backward is easy and keeps it clean when styling your bookshelf. I like to display books forward and back ways to create a more electric assortment of style and pattern.
Add greenery –Plants give life to a bookshelf and are a great way to add height and depth to your display. I like to display succulents because they don’t have to watered as often. Plants also soften all the hard edges and add texture and life to your bookshelf. Choose a unique container for your greenery. Make sure though to keep your greenery to a minimum so it doesn’t become too overwhelmed with…well, greenery!
Frame Artwork–Freshening your bookshelf is about crafting an eye-crafting display. One of the easiest and simplest is to display artwork on your bookshelves, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. Pull out old design catalogs, gift bags, wallpaper, fabric, calendar prints…any cool print that you love, cut it down to size and frame it! This keeps your cost down to a minimum. One thing I like to do is have a tear sheet box of past cool prints. I hold on to any cool print that I love and put it in the box and then when I need artwork, I turn to that box first.
Head to the Flea Market for display pieces–You can find some great vintage pieces to decorate your bookshelf. You can completely update the look of your bookshelf by mixing in 10 vintage items into your reading collection. If you are shopping those vintage items right, you can find them for a small price. Decorative dishes, marble bookends, brass letter holder and even designer books are great vintage items to look for. I found the brass pineapple urns from a garage sale sight. The pair was only $25. Color modern glass vases are usually an easy find. Hit up estate sales, consignment shops, thrift stores and/or check your local Facebook garage sale groups or even the marketplace for flea market finds.