Hi there (again)!
We are PorchLight Home Staging popping on to welcome you back to our blog. The way this blog thing works is that on the first Friday of every month, we will celebrate the much needed weekend by releasing our monthly blog. In these short but sweet articles, we will mesh the world of home staging (our forte) with current events and fashion trends. We wanted to focus this second blog on a very famous spot in the country filled with some of the most luxurious homes and trend setting designs: Los Angeles.
Architectural Digest (have you heard of her?)
The inspiration of Hollywood homes comes from the video creations of Architectural Digest. If you haven’t heard of this company or have heard of it but aren’t familiar with what they do… let me acquaint you. AD describes themselves as “a vibrant monthly celebration of international design talents, innovative homes and products, inspiring decorating ideas, culture, and travel.” In short, they started as a magazine and have now morphed into different sectors (sound familiar? Once only a staging company, now a blog too… hmmm). Anyways, I’m sure you’re wondering why I am spending a whole paragraph on this company. One of AD’s “sectors” that I briefly mentioned above is their Youtube channel titled “Open Door Video Series.” In these short but wonderful (under 20 minute) videos, viewers get inside looks into some of Hollywood’s most famous actor’s, writers’, director’s, or artist’s, (etc.) homes. You can pick apart each room of their house, and learn just how many unique styles there are when designing a home. So how does this connect to you? This whole article is about implementation. How can you take little ideas from all these beautiful homes and apply them to yours? What are some changes you can make in your house to make it more “Hollywood” while not having to give an arm and a leg for your desired look?
Living Room
First up, we will address the living room. Living rooms can be difficult because there is a fine line between too fancy that no one wants to put their feet up and too casual that it feels sloppy. One element that can either make a room cozy or snazz up the vibe is a bookshelf. You don’t even have to be a big reader to have a grand book collection, and people may think you’re smart too (go ahead and tell them you’ve read all of them while you’re at it). Book shelves naturally add loads of color and texture to a space and allow the room to pop.
Money $aving tip: Go to a “Half Priced Books” or thrift store to get some vintage books for a fraction of the price!
Dakota Johnson’s living room/office space picture courtesy of Architectural Digest
What’s Cooking?
Next, the heart of every house: the kitchen. Adam Levine even stated in his AD walk through that “no matter how nice your house is, everyone always ends up in the kitchen. So throw it all in the kitchen.” Even though this is a profound statement that we couldn’t agree more with, Adam Levine’s sleek, marble kitchen is not the one I will be writing about today. Rather, we are going to focus on new, eclectic way to style your kitchen. In come’s Kendall Jenner, one of the highest paid super models in the world, and she’s standing in her kitchen with green cabinets. Yes, you heard that right. Colored cabinets add warmth and a sense of coziness to a space. They also are a great form of stylistic flair if you are trying to set your house apart from the rest. If you’re not ready to risk painting all your cabinets (we get it), maybe look into painting your kitchen peninsula a different color such as navy or black.
Kenall Jenner’s kitchen picture courtesy of Architectural Digest
The Bedroom
Ahh your bedroom, maybe a room you spend the least amount of time in, but a very important room none the less. Almost all of the bedrooms that I saw in these videos had a flare to them that I thought was unexpected. All of the master bedrooms had some form of texture on their wall whether it be exposed brick, wallpaper, or a big painting that filled the wall. Not to mention, most of this texture was highlighted behind the bed. Why? Because the bed is the focal point. Wallpaper in any room adds so many new elements to the space. For example, columned or vertical striped wallpaper give the illusion of high ceilings and can make a room feel less compact. You can go exotic, modern, whatever you like. Just remember that adding wallpaper should make the space more fun and unique. Make people remember that room.
Money $aving tip: look to Target or Walmart for stick/peel off on Wallpaper!
NBA player, Kevin Love’s Master Bedroom picture courtesy of Architectural Digest
As you can see, all of these elements mentioned above are all ideas on how to make your home different and special to you. I loved browsing through the AD videos, because it really showed viewers that everyone has their own style and flare when designing a home. It’s important to mention that when decorating a room or home in general, you shouldn’t strive for just a “Hollywood feel,” but rather you should strive for your feel.