Style Up with Sincere Home Decor
Its no secret I am a wood guy more than interior designer. Nevertheless, there are many ways to think natural in creative ideas for home styling that will greatly impact your well being.
Always think natural in the elements that will enrich life an health mentally and physically.
Home styling can drive one mad but it doesn’t have to. A cute house and simple designs can be had at an affordable cost to truly benefit you. There is no need for a groundbreaking design which cost a fortune. Think natural and let the creative ideas flow. I will help you get started here.
Styling is usually more than decor for a single room. Rather it can be considered a theme for a part of a home. In many cases it can be the home theme. Hardwood floors is a great example of this. Not every room will have hardwood flooring but it is a home theme as so to speak. Now that you have the idea lets style up the concept.
Thinking Natural is about Emotional and Mental Well Being
The visual impact of “ home decor “ is obvious as it is beautiful. But lets get serious for a moment. What if you could have natural air filtration for health?
Also what is often overlooked is the mental well being which the flow of the home will bring. While I am not trying to promote Feng Shui here at all, studies show how being in nature helps our mental health including children and teenagers . Utilizing natural elements to surround ourselves with in our home brings these advantages to us.
The problem with our low budget cookie cutter world is that we have begun to cut off these natural aspects to our lives. The most expensive homes still have this same cookie cutter feel, just on a larger more customized scale. It seems everything we touch is processed in some way including our food.
As a wood artist I chose my path for my love of the art. I chose the medium for what it brings to me. In turn because of this I can put myself into the art. It is a cycle that flows and continues fueling the creative ideas. I learned that natural elements have a way of just doing this to us.
I am not trying to sound mystic. Yet for thousands of years in recorded history mankind lived in a more natural state. Only recently have we traded wood and stone for steel and concrete. We are missing something and often interior stylists rarely recognize.
As you move forward in this journey you will begin to explore natural elements in its many forms. There are many elements such as natural art and each brings its own feel and a certain appeal.
You will begin to shrug off the HGTV of home renovation and decor then gravitate towards meaning and purpose. Suddenly looking pretty is not enough.
Another study has shown how those who exercise in green environments reap benefits. Imagine your workout room at home with these natural elements. The study found
Every green environment improved both self-esteem and mood; the presence of water generated greater effects. Both men and women had similar improvements in self-esteem
ACS Publications
Surrounding ourselves with the cookie cutter world does not allow us a space to exhale as so to speak. We all need that recharge time to let the stress out. The environment we surround ourselves with definitely sets the atmosphere of what is enjoyable and peaceful even if one does not buy into Feng Shui.
Now lets look at the most cost efficient natural ways to bring life back into your home space. Keep an open mind. My ideas are a mere starting point. Your home is your canvas to bring to life. As it comes to life you may decide other aspects such as a wall color change may help achieve your goals.
Wood Burning Trim
The easiest natural way to style up that one could do within a home is the trim work. Yes it will require a little work but the payoff is exponential when combined with other natural elements.
You can take your home from cookie cutter spec house to classy and unique with this simple change. Many people have heard of wood burning for art otherwise known as pyrography. Not as many people have heard of wood burning trim.
There are two methods that allow trim to move from ordinary to exceptional and beautiful. The first is a simple burn. The second requires more work but is worth the effort. It is called Shou-sugi-ban. A simple burn allows for lighter colored wood while the second gives a darker rich and rustic tone.
Simple Wood Trim Burn
The simple method requires a hand propane torch of some variety. You will also need stain grade wood trim or planks. This trim does not need to be an expensive species of wood. Pine would work fine on the cheap compared to others.
To burn the trim properly the trick is to keep the torch moving. Do not hold it in one place for too long. You will see the grain of the trim begin to darken from the burn while the deeper grains remain lighter in color.
Once completed all you need to do is sand with 220 grit or higher paper then seal with your choice of wood sealer. It is that easy.
This methods works great for when you want a lighter color trim accent with the room. The color of paint on the walls may impact this. If you have hardwood floors I would let this be the determining factor of how far to take the burn. When you have darker hardwood floors the next method may be what you want.
Shou-sugi-ban Wood Burn
This method may startle you for the first time making you wonder if you took the burn too far. There are videos on YouTube to help show you what it should look like. Build Dad Build is an excellent place to start for learning. Nevertheless the basic concept in its simple method is still very easy.
You begin the same way as the simple burn following those above steps in burning. Yet do not sand and seal the wood. You need to burn it a second time.
On the second pass with the propane torch you are burning the lighter grain areas while the previous burn from the first step will char. Yes at first the wood will look completely torched like it came out of a campfire but do not worry!
Once this step is complete take a wire brush, preferably a stiff nylon but steel or a brass brush may be needed. Be careful not to brush too deeply or hard into the wood. Begin to brush the wood removing the excessive char and burnt carbon.
After this is completed sand with 220 grit or higher paper. You will find that deeper rich tone in the wood that is beautiful. Seal with your choice of wood sealer and it is done. No stains are needed in the process for the heat is what will give the wood its color.
Where to use in Home Styling
The best compliment for wood burned trim is hardwood floored rooms. This is not a prerequisite. If your home has shiplap it is a classy accent for those walls. Any rustic themed home would look great with this trim. The right home decor can allow the trim to be used with carpet and still give the home style. Wood art panels would make a beautiful match for accents.
How is this style of trim best complimented when you do not have hardwood floors? Tile and carpet can work great with this but often the complimentary accent will be the furniture in the rooms.
If you like wood furniture that is the best accent. While other structural components may be sheetrock with a more standard carpet floor what you place within the room will define it.
Wooden abstract art is also a great way to use this style. It adds accent and beauty in simple ways. Additionally it can provide function for daily life.
Wall colors are easy enough to change to aid in accenting the decor and burned trim. The nice thing about wood burning is that to add more accent all you must do is add more items of a like kind.
Additional Accent Elements in Wood Burning
Think for a moment about a fireplace mantle. If you want something easier then wood shelves is the way to go. Another unique idea is wood planks which are burned then nailed to the studs in a ceiling. In a renovation using a wood burn on cabinets would be stunning.
Leave the sheetrock painted white in between the studs and burned boards. This gives an accent to the ceiling mixing the old world with the modern.
These items are simple and very inexpensive in terms of a light remodel. More importantly you can control the cost based on how far you decide to take the project.
Later you can continue the theme throughout other portions of the house. The greatest benefit of this kind of remodel is that when done by room it does not leave the home looking unfinished.
Years ago great homes of that day often would carry a theme for each room. A ladies room would have its own accent while the mens cigar room would be strictly for men. In our modern world this has been completely lost due to cost. To keep cost low builders use basic plain themes which carry throughout the entire home.
Often the greatest accent to any home would be a single wall within a room that is painted a different color. Today people believe they are adding class to a home by having sconce lighting.
Real class has been lost to history. Needless to say not every home will be the Biltmore Estate yet it doesn’t have to be.
Live Plants : Let Your Home Style Stand Out
As you look around your home questioning whether or not this wood burning is a good idea keep reading. There is a way to bring it all together in sincere home decor. Wood being a natural material the elements which go with it and benefit the style the most will also be natural.
What begins to set off this home style allowing it to stand out will be live plants. Okay maybe you do not have a green thumb so fake plants may be your thing.
Nevertheless living accents are the best with the added benefit of a natural air filter. Yes the right plants will filter your air naturally. Believe it or not here are plants NASA scientists recommend for the home.
Visually these live plants will be the greatest accent to your new wood burned trim. In nature the two go together seamlessly. You are simply bringing these natural elements into your home in a controlled style theme. You accomplish multiple tasks for your families benefit and well being in this arrangement.
Think Natural in Home Styling
Walk into any store and you are bombarded with prefab or composite this or that. What is so sad is many of our “higher end” stores still have the same or similar products.
I have come to hate the cookie cutter world but unfortunately cost for quality is our reality. We may have more in our world than in history yet genuine craftsmanship has suffered as a result and real quality went out the door with it.
Not all is lost though. The great part of this Think Natural concept is that it can be done piece by piece and room by room, and yes even wall by wall with dedicated purpose. In this way not only do you control cost but you can also tailor a theme if you so desire as you go. Forget all the ridiculous copy and paste interior design garbage floated by networks or blogs. Think natural but also like an artist.
Your home is your space for your cool ideas. It is your canvas. The more natural elements you bring into that space the more you benefit. Health and mental well being as well as visual appeal would be enough for many. By following these simple concepts you have almost accidentally done something that has not been done for many years.
A real home transformation takes place when you walk in and a room gives you something. Each room should give you something. In fact individual rooms should have their own gift to give you, it has a purpose. Relaxation should come from more than sitting down.
Motivation to work out should come from more than forcing yourself to climb onto a machine. Cooking should have its own small garden of herbs to choose from.
Life has meaning. So should how you live within your home. You were not meant to be a cog in a corporate wheel no matter where that cog may seem to be.
Real Meaning Within Your Home
If we begin to replace the prefab and composite materials from our plastic society with the natural world it would shock you in how you feel. Home would mean something different to you. People today want to talk about safe spaces yet they ignore the most important space of all, their home.
Your life was not meant to be an interchangeable brick within a wall. Nevertheless today so many wonder why we have some of the problems that we do when we allow a system to treat us as a number.
While we cannot fix our societal issues with home styling or art yet we can define our home and life. In truth that is where our personal well being and our ability to be well begins. Thinking natural is a way of life reconnecting us to a forgotten past. The old ways may not be the new catchy fad to write about but I know they work.