Put Down the Paintbrush: 10 Ways to Add Color Without Painting

When painting is not an option, there's still ways to add some color to your living space. Check out "Put Down the Paintbrush: 10 Ways to Add Color Without Painting"'

1. Go for big, colorful art. An oversized piece (like the one in the bedroom above, from Okologi, or the living room pictured up top, from Sköna Hem, via Design Milk) instantly brightens a room.

2. Hang a colorful tapestry on the wall. 
Like this one from Beatrice & Ramsey's Cultured Echo Park Casa.

3. Use colorful pillows and throws. 
As seen in Christina's Comfortable, Collected Austin Abode.

4. Eschew neutrals and go for curtains in a crazy color.
Or two crazy colors, like these from vintage Domino via the Paris Apartment.

Or shades in a crazy color, like these malachite ones in a Belgian home spotted on Elle Decor.

5. Invest in a colorful couch. 
The red couch in Katie's Hillside Bungalow makes the room.

6. Or a colorful rug. 
Like the Turkish kilim in Natalie and Kevin's Perfect Parkdale Perch.

→ Real Room Inspiration: Adding Color With Rugs

7. Upholster a set of dining chairs in a vibrant rainbow of colors. 
Image from Nuevo Estilo, via Apartment Therapy.

Or just paint them, as in this interior by Ilse Crawford (via Lauren's Style Library).

→ Painted Furniture for When You Just Can't Paint Your Walls

8. Fill your home with plants. 
Like Adam and Ashley did. Green is a color.

9. Cover the back of your bookcases with colorful paper.
Sure, this isn't a traditional bookcase (it's a stack of IKEA boxes), but you get the idea. Photo from Marie Mersier.

10. Combine any of the above strategies for maximum color. 
Bonus points go to Alex and Alina for pairing a colorful rug and colorful art in different shades of blue.

Bonus points also go to the creators of this interior (photoraphed by Logan Photography for Period Living), who have combined colorful textiles and pillows and accessories and furniture into a room that, despite being white, is bursting with color.

(Image credits: Sköna Hem; Okologi; Pablo Enriquez; Adrienne Breaux; Domino; Elle Decor; Katie's Hillside Bungalow; Abby Cook; Nuevo Estilo; Ilse Crawford; Jaclyn Campanaro; Marie Mersier; Nicole Crowder; Period Living)

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A Simple Way to Clean Your Blender

If you're a big fan of smoothies, juices, or soups then you probably use your blender a lot. This probably leads to the occasionally gross and stained blender. Check out this easy way to get it sparkling again in "A Simple Way to Clean Your Blender"!

I diligently wash my blender after every smoothie, juice, and soup, yet recently I noticed it was still looking scummy. I mentioned this to my friend Angela, who recommended a super simple way to get my blender looking clean and clear. (Yes, these are the sorts of riveting conversations that occur between Vitamix cult members. The tip is totally applicable to all blenders, though!)

Angela pointed out that the stains on my blender container were probably the result of hard water build-up. The solution? A lemon!

I filled the blender halfway with warm water, a drop of dishwashing liquid, and a coarsely chopped lemon and ran the machine for about a minute. Voilà — my blender was sparkling again. One could also use white vinegar to cut through the scum, but I think a lemon smells better.

Do you have any tips for cleaning a Vitamix or other blenders?

(Image credits: Dzinnik Darius/Shutterstock)

Original Article Here: http://www.thekitchn.com/clean-your-blender-tips-from-the-kitchn-199583

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Redecorating on a Budget

Are you tired of the same look in your apartment? You do not need to redo every room in your house to get a fresh feel. A few adjustments with what you have can be the redecorating wish you are looking for. Apartment Therapy has more information about all of your redecorating questions.



Usually, when your space feels dull and boring, the first impulse is to buy something new. Stop! Before you plunk down for another throw pillow, try these tricks I often use when I'm styling someone's home and don't have the luxury of time to go out and buy the perfect little something.

Move the furniture: Moving the furniture can often solve problems in a room. Swap the position of the bed to a different wall (or try floating it to take advantage of a nice view), move the living room arrangement off the walls and into the center of the room. On a recent job, moving the rug just a bit so that the front legs of the couch rested on it made the room feel much more anchored and cozy.

Break up pairs: We've all been taught that the nightstands in a bedroom should match, that matching lamps should go on either side of the couch, that two matching chairs face a sofa. Yeah, yeah. Dull and boring. What if you broke up those pairs? Use one of those living room chairs in the bedroom, try one of those lamps in the kitchen, drag one of those nightstands to use as an entryway piece. Just because you bought two things together doesn't mean they have to, or even should, stay together.

Steal from another room: That throw pillow in the bedroom might be just what the living room needs to perk it up, that rug you've had in the dining room might work better by the front door, your living room console might work as a desk in your office. You can always put things back where you found them. While it might be challenging to move a couch from one room to another, accessories are easy things to swap in and out.

Regroup the accessories: Just because that vase has always had a place on the coffee table, doesn't mean it has to always be there. Move things around. Try grouping it with t two other vases you like (groups of three are particularly pleasing to the eye). Sometimes, something as simple as putting a nice pile of books on a coffee table with a plant on top of them, bringing in a bright throw, or remaking a bed, can perk up an entire room. Stumped for accessories? Think outside the box: a beautiful pair of shoes, like those bright pink heels you never wear but love, can be just as pleasing on a coffee table as on your feet; those mixing bowls from grandma might get more use on your credenza than they ever did in your kitchen; mismatched glasses can be used as vases and scattered around the house; a collection of neckties are interesting swung around a shelf bracket; a jar of earrings lets you enjoy them off your ears as well as on.

Edit: Most rooms have too much stuff in them. Try stripping them down to their basics (in the living room that would mean things like the sofa and the media center) and then layer things back in piece by piece. You may find that you prefer the room without a rug or that the lamp works better on the other side of the sofa. Taking pictures can help you get an objective viewpoint.

Swap rooms: Would your dining room work better as your living room? Maybe your office would make a better bedroom than your bedroom does. Living in a small space that only consists of one large room that has to multitask is no excuse. These spaces can still get stuck in a rut.

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4th of July

We'd like to wish everyone a happy 4th of July!

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