The days of boring monotone utensils and kitchen accessories are behind us. Today, many companies are offering a fresh look for these items. They come in various colors, styles and materials.

 

Decorate with Modern Utensils

Whether you use low-key modern placemats or fun, vibrant silicone placemats, they are a quick way to liven up your dinning room table.

Contemporary décor is clean and simple, but that doesn't mean it need to be boring. Need to spice up your modern home? Try adding a piece of abstract art to liven up your space.

What is Abstract Art?

Otherwise small or boring rooms come to life with the feng shui element of squares. Squares represent strength. They are stable, grounded, protected and balanced. Adding a square them to your modern home enhances its earthy tones.

The Defined Lines of Square Furniture

Most people dream of living on a lake or other body of water. They take vacations to stay near the ocean and build waterfalls in our yards to recreate the feeling that we get when we are close to a water. They enjoy the soothing sound of rushing water and the feelings of peace and serenity it gives.

Mirrors are often overlooked as a way to decorate a modern home. There are several ways, however, to use mirrors in a way that brightens the room and creates an illusion of more space. Mirrors can be used in any room of the house and no longer are restricted just to bathrooms. It's time to think outside of the box.

Decorating a contemporary home with wedding pictures can be tricky. You don't want to overdo it and flood your home with pictures from your big day, but you do want something to represent how special it was. It's important to find that balance. Get creative with your displays to indluce your taste and personality.

The Art of Modern Wedding Photography

Browsing through modern decorating photos or magazines, you don't see a lot of family photos around. While a traditional home is likely to be filled with picture frames of various sizes and colors, decorating shelves, counter tops and any open wall space, it isn't quite the same for a contemporary home.

Home bars are becoming more popular The days of big bulky wooden bars with attached leather chairs, crowded with sports memorabilia are gone, however. You can set up a modern home bar to reflect the natural look and feel of the rest of your contemporary home.

Where to Set Up a Home Bar

When you hear about recessed of flush-mounted items in the home, the first thing that probably comes to mind is lighting. Sure, having recessed lighting or light fixtures that are flush with the wall or ceiling helps reduce clutter in small spaces and creates a warm, inviting environment, but why stop there?

Flush-Mounted Décor: Beyond Recessed Lighting

If you have a unique view from your bedroom windows, whether its snow-covered mountains, a sandy beach or a deeply wooded area, you can use the scenery as part of your natural contemporary décor.

Creating a monochromatic modern dining room is easy with these simple tips.

Planning on redoing your dining room with a contemporary theme? Why not take it one step further and make it all one or two colors. Monochrome dining rooms are sleek, sophisticated, and elegant, yet simple.

How to Design a Monochrome Dining Room

Mixing traditional room groupings with modern décor can give a room a cozy, yet contemporary feel. Simple changes can bring antique or family owned pieces new life.

Traditional rooms are softened by your choice of décor, are not overstated, have simple lines, are orderly and include earthy tones. You can help traditional looks acquire a more modern feel with the following tips:

Primary colors lend themselves well to decorating kid's rooms. Gender-neutral colors like red, blue and yellow can be used to create a simple, clean and contemporary look. These colors blocks appeal to children because they are bright, cheerful and bold. Add a touch of color or big blocks of it to enlarge or minimize space.

One of the basic rules of contemporary décor is to creatively use light to change the look and feel of a room. Modern light fixtures not only add to the brightness or warmth of a room, depending on how they are used, but they also add to the decor, add a splash that picks up the accent color in the room or adds a unique piece that that catches the eye.

Adding a single item to a room can update the look, give it warmth or brighten it up, bring artistic value and define space and room groupings. What can do all of this? An area rug! The right decorative area rug can quickly transform an otherwise cold or boring room into a contemporary living space that has character and depth.

How to Modernize Your Home Using Area Rugs

Contemporary décor is perfect for those with limited space or who have limited experience with design.
Essentially, modern design is based on smaller pieces of furniture with a minimalist style, using unique pieces or decorations to complete a clean, polished look.

Are you wondering what’s going to be “in” for 2012? We have the inside scoop from the award-winning Beasley & Henley Interior Design firm in Winter Park Florida: Color – Grey is the hot color for the coming year. From the softest dove grey to the warmest charcoal, grey will be seen on everything from walls to upholstery, artwork to window treatments.