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February 21, 2013

Snow Day Home Inspiration

Happy snow day from the Midwest! We’re pretty much buried out here. The Kansas City area saw 8 to 12 inches of snow or more today and it’s still coming down. As a home blogger, I have perhaps an out-of-the-ordinary love for being at home, but I think a snow day makes everyone appreciate home just a little bit more. There’s nothing quite like snuggling inside with a pile of blankets, a cup of something hot and a window with the curtains pulled open to reveal a snow-falling scene outside. My house is happy, warm and oh-so comfy right now. This is what makes me love home decorating. It’s about creating the same comfy, satisfied and simply happy feeling that you have for your home on a snow day—all the time. Everything I write about, every do-it-yourself project, decorating idea and thrift store find, is because it’s something that made my home feel just a little bit happier. And, I hope all of my ramblings give you some inspiration to make your home feel happier too. Well, that’s enough home philosophizing for one lazy snow day. What makes you inspired when it comes to your home? Apparently weather does...

January 30, 2013

Do It Yourself Hanging Collage

If you need an easy way to fill a blank wall, go for a simple hanging collage. It creates a lot of drama without much effort. It’s inexpensive. It’s completely customizable. And, it doesn’t require you to be handy with any tool more difficult to use than a hammer. Basically, you just string up a length of picture hanging wire supported by nails. Then, you use small binder clips to secure photos, magazine clippings and any other pretty papers you want to the wire. (Step-by-step instructions are at the end of the post.) When I first hung this collage in my living room, I had some decorating issues with it. See… Whoa. Way too much going on. It seems that I wanted to hang pretty much every postcard, photo and stray paper I had available on my collage. Don’t do this. It’s unorganized and cluttered. Instead, do this: Keep your papers and images evenly spaced. If you leave some room in between each paper, it creates a clean look. I also like the idea of picking a “theme” for your collage. That way it’s not too random. I chose travel. Thoughts of wandering and discovering new places inspire me. Plus, I already had a box full of various papers I accumulated...

January 1, 2013

Home Decorating Resolutions For 2013

Happy New Year! I’m not always a fan of resolutions, but I love the idea of a fresh start that comes with the New Year. When decorating your home, it’s always nice to take a fresh look at your space. What better time than the New Year to do just that? Often, you can rework what you already have to create a whole new look in your living room, kill the blahs in your bedroom, and even love your less-than-perfect kitchen (I’m talking about you renters). You may even realize that your dream home is the one you’re in right now. This idea goes along with the tagline of Red Leaf Style: Reimagine. Repurpose. Relove. I haven’t really taken the time before to explain Reimagine. Repurpose. Relove. So, I’m going to now in the form of home decorating resolutions. These resolutions are for any of you who want your home to be a place you love. When you reimagine… …you find new ways to look at your current home. Reimagining opens up far more possibilities to be happy in your current home than if you just focus on your bedroom being too small or the fact that you can’t...

December 10, 2012

DIY Hanging Collage: Christmas Style

When I decorate for Christmas, I like to use items I already own and just Christmas-ify them. Take this hanging collage. This project actually started quite a while ago as a way to fill the empty wall space between two windows in my living room. I was having a hard time arranging the random bits of paper and other items on the collage in a look that I liked. Nothing was working. Luckily, Christmas time came along. So, everything else came down, and Christmas décor went up. I shuffled through drawers and photo boxes and ended up with quite the pile of sort-of-related-to-Christmas items to hang on the collage. Magazine clippings. A book. Last year’s Christmas cards. (I plan to replace these as new ones come in.) Random snowflake ornaments. A piece of felt. Overall, I think it works. This hanging collage couldn’t be easier to create. Even for the not so handy do-it-yourselfers out there. Here’s how. What you need: Picture hanging wire Nails Hammer Tape measure Small binder clips Cute items to hang Directions: Using a tape measure, determine how long you want your hanging collage to be. Also, decide how many rows you want. (I went...

December 4, 2012

Decorating Your Fireplace For Fall: With What You Have

December is here, and I’m posting about fall decorating. I know, bad blogger. I’m behind on my posts, but I was too proud of my fall decorating to let it go unseen. Unfortunately, I don’t have a cute fall display on my fireplace mantel to show you, just a display in front of my fireplace. My Kansas City apartment is so tiny that my only option is to set my T.V. on my mantel, which doesn’t make for pretty decorating. Sigh. My apartment, which is an old house converted into two apartments, has the typical odd layout of an old home. Every single wall in the living room either has windows, radiators, or doors (sometimes more than one) taking up valuable space. This makes it extremely difficult to cram in a couch and to also find a spot for the T.V that’s isn’t directly in front of a window or a closet door. Even though it hurt my decorating heart to place a flat screen on my mantel, that’s where it had to go. With a quirky home, I had to work with what was available to decorate for fall. So, I decorated the area in front of my...

November 3, 2012

5 Ideas For Vintage-Inspired Headboards

With the right headboard to frame your bed, you can change the whole look of your bedroom. Whether your décor just feels blah or you love your current style but need a little extra drama, a “new” headboard can freshen up your bedroom. Create an eye- catching focal point in your bedroom with these five headboard ideas. They all use vintage or salvaged items to craft stunning headboards that are do-it-yourself easy. Rustic wooden planks image: House Tweaking Talk about a freebie headboard. Reclaim some old planks from a neighbor’s torn down fence, salvage yards, secondhand stores…wherever you can find them. Leave the boards in their weathered state or stain them in a hue you like. Then, simply nail them together in a pattern of your choosing above your bed. They’ll give off a rustic feel, and can look especially eye-catching with a simple message painted against the grain. An old door image: CAPow! This idea is a-door-able. (Yeah, I went there.) Simply flip an old door on its side and mount it to the wall directly above your bed. You can do whatever you want style-wise with this easy door headboard—paint it, leave it in the same shape you...

September 12, 2012

Get Cozy: Fall Home Decorating Inspiration

The weather may just dangle on the edge of autumn at the moment, still too hot to really be called the fall season, but I’m ready to start thinking about it. Fall usually goes far too quickly, anyway. Better to get started decorating now! I’m ready to fill my home with items that give off the fall feeling. This year I want to do it differently, though. No cheesy decorations. Maybe, less orange. I’m thinking more cozy neutrals. Nothing in my home is really giving off the feeling that I want at the moment. (That’s why I included a picture of the few fall-like items I currently own above.) Lacking in inspiration, I turned to good ol’ Pinterest. Check out what I’m looking at right now to find fall decorating inspiration for my home. Some images that are inspiring me: This year I want to incorporate items from nature into my home decorating. Maybe I’ll dress up my mantle with some pretty leaves. Or stick a few twigs in a skinny vase. Pretty and cheap! Photo courtesy Better Homes and Gardens. I never thought I’d see legwarmers on a stool, but I love it! The chunky knits against the rugged...

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