Not a single fashionable furniture brand will provide you with the feeling of warmth and comfort that furniture and decor of your own production create. True, only a successful handmade makes you happy, and for it to turn out successful, you need good instructions and advice.
We have selected 10 blogs in which you will find a huge number of interesting decorative items and homemade furniture, tips on organizing the space at home and using color in the interior. Simply put, these sites have everything you need to make your apartment or house the coziest place in the world and constantly add some cool things to the design. So, let's begin.
Features of the design of a house or apartment in the American style
The American-style interior is distinguished by its presentable appearance and neatness. It shows practicality and functionality in everything. Here, every meter is used wisely: mezzanines are placed under the ceilings, shelves are hung on free walls, chests of drawers and cabinets are placed.
The peculiarity of American interiors is:
- luxury and the use of expensive natural finishing materials;
- local and economical lighting;
- competent organization of free space.
Important! A feature of the American style is the absence of partitions and interior doors. To make the bathroom more comfortable and easy to use, a partition is removed between it and the bathroom.
Characteristic features of the style
A number of features can be noticed in the American classical style.
Open free space. A free layout without any partitions is important here. An apartment in this direction should be one whole space. You can only select a relaxation area and baths.
In other words, the American style is ideal for studio apartments. There is no place for doors and partitions.
Neutral shades. The main color in American style is white. But it can be diversified with pastel neutral shades: milky, peach, sand, light brown.
To add contrast, designers use green, burgundy, brown and terracotta colors in small quantities.
Natural wood. All furniture items must be made only from natural solid wood. Wood is also used for finishing walls and floors. There may be carvings and artistic paintings on the walls. Laminate can be used as flooring in the American classic style. Beams and moldings in the color of natural wood are constructed on the ceilings.
Combined lighting. In the American style, it is customary to use multi-arm chandeliers. They are hung in bedrooms, living rooms, and dining rooms. This will give the room elegance and solemnity. And in the remaining parts of the room, table lamps, floor lamps, and sconces are placed.
Massive wooden furniture. This is the basic rule when creating an American style in the interior of an apartment. Furniture made from other materials is inappropriate here.
Operation of individual zones. Americans tend to rationally use every meter of living space. They equip all free walls with niches, shelves, and chests of drawers. Storage rooms are installed under the stairs. If we are talking about a private house, then special attention is paid to the rational use of the attic and basement.
Discreet decor. In this direction there is no place for numerous figurines and other trinkets. The only thing allowed when decorating a room is to place a vase or pot with a flower, throw decorative pillows on the sofa, and put frames with photographs on the shelves.
Interior design: Top 50 English-language sites
The Internet can be an endless source of inspiration for interior designers (professionals and amateurs alike) - as long as you know the fishing spots.
For inspiration
1.Houzz.com
This “Wikipedia of Interiors” has ideas for everyone. The resource database contains more than a million photographs. Users can create “idea folders” and save the photos they like in them. If you don't find the most delicious cuisine here, you won't find it anywhere.
2. nttreasurehunt.wordpress.com
Beneath the dusty covers of Britain's National Heritage Trust lies a wonderful world. Major design projects are presented next to touching photographs of volunteers retouching textiles and restoring antique frames.
3.icreatived.com
A mysterious and very beautiful site dedicated to conceptual interiors. Ideas like “15 floating staircases in the interior” are especially respected here. The emphasis on the versatility of the proposed options (for example, a bookcase in the shape of a falling tear, which with a deft movement of the hand turns into an armchair) only adds to the eccentricity.
4. airbnb.co.uk
Here you can find out the value of your neighbor's house, and if it is for sale, you can spy on it - purely for the sake of design inspiration. Finding apartments and rooms to stay in for the night according to our taste is just a nice addition. Well, the “magpies” use it to spy on design ideas.
5.wowhaus.co.uk
Don't bother with a retro renovation before checking out the amazing 20th century properties for sale. There's even a Hampshire port radio room on stilts, straight out of the 60s. Prices range from affordable to absolutely fantastic.
6. design-milk.com
Every little compromise, like an ugly doorknob or curtain rod finial, can drive a perfectionist to the knob—the very one. A resource for thoughtful living ideas, curated by New Jersey-based artist Jaime Derrinher, this site will help you put the finishing touches on it. Recent posts include a selection of the most interesting wine racks and umbrella stands - all bordering on works of art.
7. brightbazaarblog.com
Add some color to your interior! The brainchild of British interior designer Will Taylor, “a young guy who's obsessed with shade,” the site is a hotline for the season's palette, with plenty of ideas and decorating tips.
8. roomenvy.co.uk
Here you will find ready-made ideas for every taste: be it a country-style kitchen, a brutal loft or an Art Deco-style living room. Everything is very beautiful and stylish. There are also “devastating” posts where the authors publish photographs of particularly tasteless interiors.
9.homeshoppingspy.com
A roundup of the best homewares deals, stores and websites from Ideal Home magazine editor Alice Humphreys. She really knows a lot about stylish shopping. We look here before every shopping trip.
10.thepeakofchic.blogspot.co.uk
An excursion into history through the files of glossy magazines. This archive of documents demonstrates how tastes have changed and can inspire you to create a boudoir from the Swinging Sixties or an antique drawing room from the 19th century. It might also serve as a historical warning: it turns out that all the best New York apartments in the late seventies had brown-and-gray plaid bedspreads.
11. bibleofbritishtaste.com/category/houses/
This blog provides a glimpse into the homes of British aristocracy and bohemia. We particularly enjoyed the interiors of artist David Gentleman's North London home and Sir Jonathan Miller's four-storey townhouse in Camden.
12.ikeahackers.net
A fun blog that clearly demonstrates how to turn Ikea furniture into something more creative: a standard bookshelf into a cat house; kitchen slotted spoon into a soap dish. Each option includes instructions and inspiring before and after photos.
13.emmas.blogg.se
Interior design guru Emma Fexeus, a legendary blogger in her native Stockholm, takes photo after photo into the understated, functional interiors of designer homes with rustic features. A real treasure trove for fans of modern Scandinavian style.
14.designshuffle.com/blog
Photos of houses transformed by the world's leading architects and “interior” designers. Among the stars that the blog authors “spied” on are Philip Ho, founder of Studio 8 Design, and Canadian designer Mare Silver. Discreet texts and impeccable interiors.
15. witandwhistle.com/blog
With the help of Amanda Wright, an illustrator and part-time pottery master, this blog inspires you to start decorating. Here you can learn how to modernize clay pots or build a herringbone coffee table from old boards.
16. thishomesweethome.blogspot.co.uk
The blog is updated daily and focuses on things around the home, including interiors. Forty-year-old Jersey resident Samantha Stansbridge revels in the joy of a casually hung picture frame and knows how to incorporate a dusty film camera into her interior design.
17. designismine.blogspot.com
In her online diary, the thirty-year-old American, a pastry chef and needlewoman, publishes her handmade finds and vintage trophies, and also posts interiors she likes from other blogs.
18. thebeatthatmyheartskipped.co.uk
Everything that inspires interior designer Rohini Wahi every day. In between posting photos of delightful scented candles and waffle blankets the color of morning fog, the designer collects the most chic interiors from the big screen. Her tour of the typical fifties house used in Revolutionary Road is manna for mid-century modernists.
19. klausandheidi.wordpress.com
A refurbishment and interior design blog where professionals Klaus and Heidi chronicle the renovation of their four-storey Georgian house.
20.arowantree.blogspot.co.uk
Follow student Polly Rowan's textile adventures as she tries her hand at felting, weaving and embroidery when she's not making stunning potato stamp prints or painting watercolors and graphics.
21. talesfromahappyhouse.com
A blog about frugal chic living. Gillian turns routine housework into continuous creativity. She knits, sews, bakes and fools around. In one post, she upgrades a plain white cotton pillow. In another, she embroiders a rainbow on a baby blanket.
22. mylittleorangery.com
An irregular but lovely blog about family and home decor by Patricia McGinnis, a new mum from Belfast. She describes her unique vintage finds, like an Ercol sofa, a rare print of a Trechikov painting, and her favorite wood-burning stove.
23.saniapell.com/athomeblog
West London-based stylist and writer Sania Pell believes everything should be handmade, ideally homemade. In her blog, she reveals essential insider information on how to add personality to a room with simple items like glass flasks.
Photo galleries
24. printpattern.blogspot.co.uk
Crafters Orla Kiely and Emma Bridgewater collect the most interesting prints and designs on their blog, inspired by both online collections and regular shopping trips.
25. hotfurniturelooks.blogspot.co.uk Contenders for the title of “the world's finest contemporary design projects”, each available in excellent quality. Time flies by as you watch the parade of luxury apartments, impeccably stylish villas and prestigious hotel lobbies.
26. pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=pallet+furniture
The site is dedicated to the currently popular creative recycling. Pinterest shows how to make a stylish furniture set from wooden pallets, and turn wooden boxes into bookshelves or planters.
27.designspiration.net
A community of people who know a lot about design. Here users share with each other what inspires them: from interiors and architecture to typography and retro advertising.
28. tumblr.com/tagged/toile-de-jouy
A voluminous gallery dedicated to textiles in the Toile De Jouy style, which came into fashion in 18th-century France. Today, zhuyi is experiencing a surge in popularity in interior and fashion design. The site features a stunning hand-painted tea set, a Banksy-style pomegranate vase in blue juy, and, for starters, actor Ryan Gosling wrapped in a traditionally patterned fabric.
29. ardesiadesign.co.uk
A colorful, daily updated blog where interior designers explore the boundaries of creativity in design. See the results for yourself.
30. stephmodo.com
A smart blog from Seattle design mom Stephanie Brubaker. Firmly adhering to the rule “where it’s practical, it’s also pretty,” she gives a lot of tips on how to maintain a brand new home.
31. dishfunctionaldesigns.blogspot.co.uk
A daily dose of creative recycling, sometimes even with instructions for dummies. Ideas range from ridiculously simple (like making a candlestick out of an empty jar) to simply ridiculous (turning a bicycle into a hanger).
32.decor8blog.com
Holly Becker, an American design blogger based in Germany, offers over 1,000 super-duper interiors to browse, including pages from the latest design books and plenty of finds from other sites.
33.whatsinyourbedroom.blogspot.co.uk
"What's in your bedroom?" is an exciting photo project about the apartments of creative people. Let's take a look and take note.
34. @Benekejurgen
Set designer Jürgen Beneke whips up first-class furniture from simple plywood and a brush and silver paint.
35. @mid_century_mod
Seller of authentic 50's Art Nouveau furniture is posting some of his "lucky price" eBay listings here.
36. @rightmove
The real estate site's bloggers mainly follow celebrities and their real estate deals, as well as designer innovations such as the Swiss Army bathtub, all of whose parts rotate during use.
37. @racheljpowell
Surrey-based print and wallpaper designer tweets to be the first to know about the latest fabric designs, offset printing and Rachel's bathroom refurbishment process.
38. @housetohome
A treasure trove of useful links: how to restore an old conservatory, how to give your bedroom a shabby chic makeover, how to increase the value of your home. There are also links to current news. For example, a recent discovery: it turns out that the rate of new construction in Denmark is 80% higher than in the UK.
39. @moderndaymoms
A blog without unnecessary sentimentality, but full of advice on raising children and housekeeping. Fun and practical tips for parents who are always short on time.
40. @LavenderLinen
The Cotswolds company, which hires glass and china mainly for weddings, shows in its tweets how a touch of vintage can add fairy-tale chic to an interior. Photos from purchasing tours from Soho to Scotland are also published here.
41. @inhabitat
Offers useful information about modern eco-design and small space design. There are also references to articles about a New Yorker who grows vegetables on a fire escape, or how a missile bunker was converted into a luxury underground home.
42. @dezeen
Twitter of an influential magazine about architecture and design. It's good to know what's going on in the design world - even if you can't afford it.
43. @diydoctor
Are you having problems during construction? Tweet the experts and get free DIY building advice.
44. @Moregeous
Helpful tips and design thoughts from art restorer and TV presenter Sian Astley. Always intensely specific, Astley offers a fresh northern take on Kevin McCloud's refined southern sensibility.
45. @busyhousehold
Twitter offers budget-friendly home tips (how to spring clean with apple cider vinegar), interior design ideas, and parenting tips.
And finally... humor
46. diydisasters.co.uk
Scary stories in the spirit of “honey, I fixed everything.” Here they revel in the failures of others: buying a new sofa that turned out to be too big for the front door or the story of how a construction gun misfired.
47. aprilwinchell.com
Oh those bad purchases. Baked potato bean bag chair, funky wallpaper, Barry Manilow pillow. A dump of catastrophic decor mistakes.
48. @PaintQualityIns
Funny Twitter. The “color expert” reflects on the fashionable shades of the season (“I love yellow!”), but warns that “tone-on-tone interiors are bad manners.” Imagine what it would be like if Alan Partridge worked for an interiors magazine.
49. pintester.com
Pintester puts 'simple' home tips and instructions to the test - all with varying degrees of failure. Warning: sometimes the author uses obscene language.
50. pinterestyouaredrunk.com
A more creative approach to failure—and further proof that not everything can be improved.
Varieties of style
Modern American style in the interior can be different.
American neoclassical
It combines sophistication and simplicity. A fireplace must be installed in this direction. If it is impossible to install it in the room, then an imitation is made in the form of a false panel. This direction contains both classical and modern notes. For example, the equipment chosen is innovative, and the decoration of the room is classic.
Modern American
It has a classic way of arranging furniture. But the furniture items themselves are selected modern. Particular attention is paid to local lighting with loft lamps. Exotic figurines, vases, and paintings are used as decoration.
American country style
This is the basis of rustic American style. It is characterized by the use of wooden windows and doors. Wood is also used for finishing surfaces.
The ceilings must have beams. All wooden surfaces are varnished or painted white.
Important! The main attribute in this direction is the presence of a fireplace in the living room.
The Design Confidential
Home page of The Design Confidental
Thanks to this site you will learn how to make beautiful shelves, decorate the space in front of the fireplace, make a bright modern lamp, original pillowcases and much more.
Projects from The Design Confidental website
Also on this site you can find instructions for creating creative furniture and decorative items.
Cot
The description of homemade furniture is very detailed, with tools, materials and drawings.
Traditional color scheme of style
The color scheme of typical interiors consists of coffee, beige, sand, and white shades.
Along with such calm colors, the following combination is allowed:
- red – brown – white;
- blue-ocher-white;
- blue-red-white.
Advice! When decorating the interior of a small apartment, light rather than saturated colors are used.
An interesting color palette is a combination of smoky blurred shades: purple-golden, blue-green, gray-blue, bluish-violet.
Selection of finishing materials
Materials for finishing country houses or city apartments are chosen to be natural, practical and durable.
Walls
Walls in this direction are usually painted. That is, they are puttied so that their surface is perfectly smooth and without defects. The color for painting is matte and plain.
Sometimes the use of textile and embossed wallpaper is allowed. But the design on them can only be small and neutral. Wooden wall panels are also a good choice.
In modern trends, it is allowed to use an imitation brick wall in the hallway and living room.
Advice! Wallpaper with large prints will disrupt the harmony and comfort of the American style.
Floor
American style floors are made of wood and dark. You can choose from:
- laminate;
- parquet;
- ceramic tiles;
- concrete;
- artificial stone.
In living rooms, such as a living room, bedroom or children's room, it is recommended to lay a plain carpet on the floor.
Ceiling
The ceiling is either whitewashed or painted. It may contain stucco. If we are talking about the ceiling surface in the kitchen or living room, wooden beams are made here.
The color of the ceiling is matched to light natural wood. This will visually make the room larger. The ceiling plinth should be chosen from gypsum and wide.
Hunted Interior
Home Hunter Interior
This site was founded in 2011 by designer and blogger Christine Jackson. Here you will learn how to create a cool interior even on the most modest budget.
For example, how to turn a boring rug into a bright interior feature, care for carpets so that they look great despite their age, and how to carefully and securely fasten them in place.
Projects with Hunter Interior
Like any designer, Christine has an eye for detail, so on her blog you will find many different little things like homemade tassels that can be used to decorate a chest of drawers, decorations for bed linen and other details that create coziness in the home.
Lighting
An interior style such as American classics implies an abundance of light. In addition to natural lighting, which is achieved through large windows decorated with light curtains, emphasis is also placed on artificial lighting.
Low ceiling chandeliers are hung in the kitchen space. They are also suitable for decorating bedrooms and living rooms. The composition is complemented by elegant sconces, luxurious floor lamps, and spotlights. Chandeliers here are used with a nickel, bronze base, complemented by linen, silk and parchment lampshades.
Furniture: selection and arrangement
Furniture in the American direction is chosen to be wooden. A set of upholstered furniture is installed in the living room, consisting of a sofa, armchairs and ottomans.
A bedroom is incomplete without a bed. It must have a high headboard. Bedside tables, a chest of drawers, and a dressing table are placed nearby.
When arranging furniture, the following rules are taken into account:
- The main piece of furniture is placed in the center of the room. It could be: a sofa, an armchair, a coffee table. The remaining items are placed around the main one;
- cabinets, chests of drawers, shelves are placed along the walls;
- all furniture is selected in the same color and style;
- in the living room the main emphasis is on the fireplace. The necessary furniture is placed around it;
- When arranging a kitchen space, preference is given to a kitchen unit - an island. When arranging furniture in the kitchen, all items are placed around the perimeter, and the work area is made in the middle.
Textile
When decorating an interior in the American style, you cannot do without properly selected textiles. Curtains on the windows are hung in plain colors from natural materials. Their cut is loose and simple.
It is inappropriate to use ruffles, lambrequins, or fringe here. Better yet, hang blinds, Roman or Japanese blinds on the windows.
Important! Textiles in this direction play a more important role than decor and various accessories.
Other textiles include decorative pillows, carpets in living spaces, and bedspreads.
Accessories and decor
Of the main accessories in the American direction, the emphasis is on the fireplace. After all, it is always associated with warmth, comfort and coziness. When decorating a country mansion, you should place a real fireplace in the center of the living room. When arranging a small city apartment, an electric fireplace or its imitation is suitable.
At the same time, you can use the following as decoration:
- mirrors;
- Natural flowers;
- paintings and posters;
- books on the shelves.
In the American style, all decor is selected in groups.
Design Sponge
Design Sponge Home Page
This site has been in existence for over 10 years and has an audience of over 75 thousand users around the world.
An endless source of inspiration for interior design. You can set filters by style, country, popularity and use different features in the design of your apartment.
Ability to filter results
A large section is dedicated to homemade decor, furniture and decoration - from a smartphone case to the complete decoration of any part of the house or a homemade carpet.
Examples and tips for decorating different rooms in an apartment
When looking at photos of interesting ideas for decorating rooms in the American style, it is worth emphasizing: the presence of large free space, an abundance of natural and artificial lighting, beautiful and natural textiles, a small amount of decor that is assembled in interesting compositions.
On a note! Designers recommend using an interweaving of classics and modernity when arranging their houses and apartments. And if you add a little exoticism, the interior will turn out stylish and original.
To summarize, it is worth noting that the American style is in demand due to its versatility, luxury, and sophistication. It is suitable for decorating both huge country mansions and small city apartments.
rather suitable for users who actively use it in everyday life. And they have been eyeing beautiful interiors for a long time. Most often, our customers subscribe to accounts that are dedicated to interior design, and save the interiors they like using screenshots. By the way, here is our account: Instagram.com/pechenyi
You can also search using tags. For example, you can enter the tag #kitchendesign into the search bar. Personally, I don’t really like this option, since many users completely thoughtlessly write tags under their pictures. And to find a nice interior, you have to dig through a ton of Instagram trash.
