2013 Home Decor: Spruce up that Front Door

While we often make many resolutions when the New Year comes around that we hope will positively affect our personal lives and relationships, we may not always think of home decor resolutions. At Bel Furniture, we're always coming up with new ways to make the spaces in our homes reflect our unique personalities, while fulfilling the practical needs of day-to-day living at the same time.

An often overlooked part of our homes is the front door. We're determined to give this space (including the entire porch if it applies to you) a face lift that will make knocking on the door or ringing the door bell an adventure for families, friends, and visitors, letting them know who you are and what you're about right away. Below, we've compiled a few do-it-yourself ideas that can be easily implemented. You can even involved the whole family!

1. Old School Chalk Board

Hang a mini chalk board from your front door and you may just come home to surprising messages left by friends and family. "Mom, we need more cookies!" Or, "Stopped by to drop off tomato seeds. Call me! - Anne." This can easily be made out of a small piece of slate, available at many home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot, a sturdy piece of twine, and chalk. To cut the hole in the piece of slate, you may need to bake a drill-owning friend some cookies.

2. Don't Eat our Front Porch Garden

Ideal for homes that get a lot of porch sunlight, this second DIY tip is green-friendly and totally edible. Customize your front porch for 2013 by planting herbs and other greens that you can literally transfer from porch to table. It's been proven that having plants around is calming! In case you forget which plant is which, you can easily make labels out of old wine corks. Shop for your front porch plants at local farmer's markets, home improvement stores, and local garden shops.

3. A Door Mat you can be Proud of

Adding a door mat to your porch or in front of your apartment door is an added touch that certainly won't go unnoticed by guests - especially when it rains. While it has been admittedly much dryer in Houston the past couple years, it does still rain. With that rain comes great cleaning responsibility and mud. Give your guests something fun to wipe their feet on by customizing a wooden door mat. The kids can definitely help with this project by giving each segment of the mat a paint job.

4. Wonderful Wreaths

At Bel Furniture, we love a huge welcome, and what better way to welcome your guests than a beautiful wreath hanging on your front door? The option we found above even includes the address number of the house, fresh flowers, and a decorative bow. To start off, we recommend buying a plain wreath made of sticks and then customizing it yourself. If you decide to go with the fresh flowers look, you'll have to be sure to replace them when they wilt. Fake flower arrangements, however, are a good option, too.

Check back here for more DIY tips for the home. We'd love for you to give us ideas for more 2013 home inspiration below or by commenting on our Facebook page.

Our Bright Idea

Now that you have the perfect furniture that exemplifies your family’s style while also fulfilling functional needs, it’s time to turn your attention towards the light. By light, we mean the table lamps, floor lamps, and other lighting fixtures that populate your home. People often complain that despite the fact that they have many fixtures, they have little actual light in the rooms of their home. We’re hoping to help you solve this conundrum with a few bright ideas.

Tip 1 – When considering the lighting for a room, it’s smart to ask which kind will serve the room best and what tools will be needed to perform its function. And by tools, we mean things like adjustable settings, mobility, etc.

Tip 2 – If there are built-in fixtures that you absolutely cannot get rid of, consider repainting the room or a portion of the room. Flat wall paint works well to diffuse light.

Tip 3 – Display lighting can be effectively around, above, or beneath any artwork you wish to highlight in your home. This can be great for family portraits or college diplomas, too.

Tip 4 – Proper task lighting is incredibly important. This type of lighting is used to brighten areas where you spend large amounts of time, like at your work desk or the kitchen counter. In particular, we recommend using lights in these areas that are directional, meaning that the light can be aimed at specific places in the room.

Tip 5 – It’s not all about functionality. Some lighting can function as pieces of art. Choose more decorative overhead lighting for the bedroom and the dining room. Additionally, creating layers of light by using multiple light sources in a single room can be quite beautiful.

We hope these tips will help you on the path towards efficient and stylish lighting. The key, of course, is to be able to see what you’re doing in a manner that is unobtrusive. A variety of lighting that allows for different options is the best way to go.

How to Clean Your Microfiber Furniture

Microfiber makes a great fabric for furniture upholstery. Made with tightly woven fibers, it naturally repels water and stains and is super durable. However, it’s not stain-proof; if stains are allowed to soak in, they can really take a toll on the look of your furniture. Here’s a quick and easy guide on how to keep your microfiber looking fresh and clean!

Before You Start, Check the Tag!

Always read the tag on your furniture or the care manual that came with the piece. These things will guide you towards the right cleaner for your furniture. You really need to see if your particular microfiber piece should be cleaned with water, because, if it shouldn’t and you use water, you can create some pretty big stains.

If in doubt, call the furniture store or manufacturer and check. Also, before you start, test a small part of the furniture first to check results.

How to Clean Water Safe Microfiber

Step 1: Vacuum the furniture with a soft brush attachment.

Step 2: Mix a small amount of soap with cold water.

Step 3: Dip a sponge or towel into the liquid mix and wring it out.

Step 4: Gently wash the surface of the furniture without saturating it.

Step 5: Dry the furniture, using a hair dryer placed on the lowest, coolest setting.

Step 6: After the furniture dries, brush lightly with a nail brush for the right look and texture.

How to Clean Non-Water Safe Microfiber

Step 1: Vacuum the furniture with a soft brush attachment.

Step 2: Sprinkle a small amount of dry detergent over the furniture. Use something gentle, like Dreft.

Step 3: Brush the detergent gently into the fabric with a soft-bristle brush.

Step 4: Vacuum the entire area being cleaned.

Step 5: If you aren’t happy with the results, try a dry cleaning product. When performing this step, follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Get the Home of Your (Childhood) Dreams

Anyone who uses Pinterest, no matter how fleetingly, has undoubtedly seen the deluge of “secret door” and “secret room” pins. Most people remember their childhood dream of a house full of hidden entryways and secret compartments. Pinterest, a digital world of aspirations and inspirations, is the perfect place to keep those dreams alive, “pinning” photos and links to how-tos for all these things and more.

Well, I think it’s time to jump from the home décor board to the home improvement store. This project is surprisingly easy (and cheap!), even for the DIY amateur, if you don’t mind doing a little work. All you need is a cheap bookshelf and some common hardware and tools, and, voilà, hidden passageway!

1.  Measure the space that you have to create the passageway. The dimensions will dictate what size bookshelf you need to use.
2. Find or cut a piece of pressed board, sometimes known as particle board, to fix to the bottom of the bookshelf. This board will function as a “skateboard,” to help the door swing and keep the weight of a full bookshelf from stressing the hinges.
3. Attach five casters (wheels with brackets for attachment), one in the center, and two on either side. The two wheels on one side should be angled to allow for the door to swing. The “skateboard” should hold the bookshelf 1/8” from the ground, to keep it from scraping the floor.
4. Attach the bookshelf by hinges to another bookshelf or anchoring device, using three hinges. An L-bracket should also be used to attach everything to the ceiling, for added stability.

And that’s it! Here is the original link for pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thereisnophoto/tags/bookcasedoor/. If you’re feeling really crafty, there are more complex ways to accomplish this project, including adding a latch activated by pulling on a book…how Sherlock Holmes!

Happy Crafting!