Category Archive

Decor & Decorating

Sometimes we need inspiration — or just escapism. Whatever you need these images are drool-worthy and these decorating tips are just what you need. Dive in!

A David Bowie and owl-themed bedroom for a kid named Bowie

When my husband and I first found out our second child was a girl we immediately said her name should be Bowie Irene. Of course her nursery should be decorated with pictures of the man himself.

A rainbow bedroom for an eight-year-old in Norway

You guys will have to bear with me — this kid’s bedroom is featured on his mom’s blog, which is written in Norwegian. LUCKILY the room itself is a fantastic mash-up of all things bright and cheery so I don’t need words to know that. Here are a few of my favorite spots — more at the source!

5 real-life design lessons I learned from The Sims

Years before I became a homeowner, way before I moved into my first apartment and took interest in decoration my living space, I played The Sims. My firsts design screw-ups, brilliant ideas, questionable color choices and architectural fantasies where all tested on my favorite video game. All in all, I had tons of fun, testing, creating and learning. And isn’t that what decoration should be about? Fun! Here are the five things that playing The Sims³ taught me about decorating in real life…

A life filled with relics of other people’s lives: My love of collecting vintage furniture

This is a story about the intrinsic value of material objects. Sometimes when I discuss my hobby with others, they comment that it would “weird them out” to have other people’s old stuff, but it’s never bothered me. I find something satisfying in knowing that my things arrived on this Earth long before I, and will likely remain long after, too. Here’s how I got into collecting vintage furniture…

How to hide the ugly: 5 cheap tricks for renters

My husband and I live in a rented flat in central London. It’s small. It’s a space that we can’t really personalise too much — we have no idea how long we’re going to be here (could be three months, could be a year). We’ve had to work with what we’ve got, and I’m happy to say that little by little over the past couple of months it’s really taken shape. How have we turned a dull, boxy flat with dirty walls into a space that we actually enjoy? A few cheap tricks…

Reader roundup: Let’s have a virtual backyard party this Fourth of July

Yup, it’s summer in the Northern hemisphere and that means we’re getting a flood of amazing backyard photos in our Offbeat Home Flickr pool. And since it’s the Fourth of July in America and we’re all hopefully enjoying the outdoors while we celebrate our Independence Day. Let’s celebrate YOUR outdoors by having a virtual backyard party via all your awesome Flickr pics…

Use an old bike wheel as a message board

Offbeat Homie Michelle uploaded this awesome photo of her repurposed bike wheel-turned-message board to our Flickr pool. How pretty is this!?

Our black and rainbow, music-inspired craft room

Despite the fact that it is a black room, our newly remodeled office/craft room is very bright and fun! I spend a lot of time in this room blogging and doing projects so I wanted it to be a fun place to hang, and I think it’s mission accomplished.