Contemporary Home Decor Treats

Sleek, clean lines and bold, contrasty colors are what's on the plate for today's post. It's difficult to narrow it down, so search 'contemporary' at designtstyleguide.net and see what else catches your eye!

Sometimes, the proper accent makes the difference between blase and beautiful. Before you re-paint crisp, white kitchen cupboards or ditch the old chest of drawers, you may want to consider accenting them with these gorgeous fused dichroic glass handmade drawer pulls from Uneek Glass Fusions.






This 16x20 original landscape painting from Helen Janow Miqueo is titled "Twitter" and I suspect, hanging in a bedroom or in a sitting room, it could be a portal into another dimension, or at the very least, the basis for a series of lovely daydreams.









Simple, comfortable, functional. This sleek ottoman from Sooo Sweet Design embodies the essence of contemporary design, combining simple form and function with eye-popping retro upholstry in black, white and gray.








Fulfilling my chair fetish is this minimalist piece called "con moto" from Joshua David Gregory. I adore this chair, the supple ash, modern angles, simple design and sturdy joinery, are all beckoning to me loudly.














It's true that I'm ga-ga for glass and this contemporary periwinkle soap dish from BPR Designs, perhaps combined with a new set of towels, is one of those mega-accents that just might save you from redoing the entire bathroom!








Seriously, I could go on forever here, but I'm capping it here, with a delicious vinyl wall decal from Janey Mac. Contemporary decor doesn't get any easier or more modern than this: the Modern Dot Tree!

Bathrooms

I don’t know about you but I am always fascinated with other peoples’ bathrooms and especially hotel ones! It is a wonderful feeling when you enter a nice hotel room to have a quick peek at the ensuite facilities especially when you get the ‘wow’ factor as you switch on the illuminations.

Well the following might not be from hotels but they certainly rank high in the ‘wow’ stakes!

Very striking handmade pair of bath soap dishes from Page Pottery

The dishes are hand made and textured. The round feet on the bottom of the dish make it extra cute, especially with the textures on them!

Spring green linen hand towels by Decorative Instincts

These would be perfect for your guests!

Weigh In – set of 2 prints by F2Images

Could be a thoughtful reminder to step on the scales!

Shelf – D by Wood Goods by Don

Now this could be so useful for all those knick knacks or and even hang your hand towel.

Handmade green bath set by Page Pottery

This set includes a Tray, Melon Air Freshener, Lavender Bath Salts and Mint Julep Lip Balm

Under the Sea Tool by Tracey Garcia Designs

The Under the Sea stool would be great in a bath or kids room; anywhere where a step up is needed!

This would look amazing in the bathroom!

Cloud by Cove byArtimentary

An original mosaic by Antonia Lindsey

Thank you to the sellers of the amazing products that I found in the Interior Design Team on Etsy!!

What You Put On Your Table Matters

While perusing the Design Style Guide website, I came across these lovely functional pieces, all just begging to accent your dining table.

This recycled champagne bottle cheese tray from BPR Designs catches the eye with its simple functionality and the weightiness of glass combined with soft curves.









The Secret Life of Saxofrage hand painted canvas table runner from Bliss Art for Life is an elegant french-inspired accent or centerpiece.












A set of four gorgeous quilted and appliqued tulip placemats from Quilts By Design herald the coming of summer.






A lovely set of 2 organic cotton napkins with contemporary print from Flying Needle Gallery.








This stunning cutting board from GT Cutting Boards is made from wormy maple and exotic padauk wood and finished with mineral oil. And, I imagine that anything you cut on it will taste that much better!

Crunch Time!

In these dark economic times, isn't it nice to know there are still handmade home decor options out there that won't break the bank! Have a peak at these lovely items from Design Style Guide that are for sale for less than $20 a piece...

Add a little sweetness with this 4x6" original flower watercolor painting from Karen Faulkner Art - $15.



This wonderfully bright sunflower-inspired trivet from Annie K Designs can be used as a table runner, comes with 2 matching potholders - the set can be yours for just $12.99 - delicious!

Contemporary handmade salt and pepper shakers from Pat Parker's Stoneware Pottery are glazed in Pat's brand new espresso sunrise themed colors and fit perfectly in your hand at just $16 for the set.

It's a magical, gravity-defying wine rest made from stunning red heart wood from jn3 Hand Crafted Woodworks - a beautiful and functional accent piece at $16!


Gorgeous 16" square black and silver pillow cushion from TheHomeCentric, whose motto is: "Right Design with Right Quality at Right Price." At $16.80, I agree!

DSG Dressed In Fall Colors

Autumn evokes so many warm feelings of abundance and the rich colors of changing leaves are an obvious choice for decorating home and hearth. Here is a sampling of how Design Style Guide artists catch the fleeting essence of autumn's leaves in their art and designs.


Let's begin our tour with this lovely photographic print from Ara133 Photography. I chose this particular photograph (out of a whole host of beautiful fall photographs) for its simplicity and starkness. The white background gives the illusion of a painting instead of a photograph, but with the depth and detail characteristic of photography!



This gorgeous table runner from Cranberry is a case in point, right down to the maple leave beaded fringe. But it doesn't stop at leaves, as her table decor selection covers every season and holiday.

This delightful original painting by Debra Linker, entitled Yellow Leaf, captures the color change up close and seems to possess the power of illumination.


I absolutely love this pillow cover from Umber Dove. It is aptly named The Tree Hugger and I love the play of tree trunk and tree ring and leaf design and, though the color is a bit more subtle than some of my other choices, I couldn't resist giving it a spotlight!

I must admit I have a thing for coasters of all kinds right now and these lovelies from Teresa's Ceramics struck my fancy. I love how the leaves are in mid-change and how they seem to be "fossilized" in the irregular-shaped ceramic squares.


Finally, I discovered this brilliant pair of etched copper maple leaf wall tiles from Copper Leaf Studios and decided that no parade of autumn leaf decor would be complete without a touch of shimmery, rich, warm copper!

Design Style Guide in Texas

The following products are handcrafted by Texans, still reeling from the after affects of Hurricane Ike:

Handmade Woodcarving by glassnwood.
Tiger Maple Pencil Post Bed by ShakaStudios.

Mandella by leathersculpture.

Mixing it Up by rhradcliffdesigns.

Curly Maple Candle Holder by jneale3.

Pillow Fight!

Nobody's really fighting here, but it does sound like fun, doesn't it? Really, we are a selection of stunningly beautiful, high quality, decorative, handmade pillows. We're the missing link, the accent that ties a room together, the pillow hunter's guide to a successful finish. Behold!

These lovely floral designs from lindylou are made from retro designer fabrics. The square pillow covers measure 20" x 20" and the neckroll measures 6" x 20".

These gorgeous silk pillows from PK Fairaday are handpainted, one-of-a-kind fiber art at its finest. They measure 18" x 18".




These hand-stitched, hand-embroidered beauties from pillowhappy are made on a base of white muslin with fleece designs. Each one measures 14" x 14".



The designer colors and fabrics (linen/cotton mix) used by decorative instincts for these contemporary pillows, delight and inspire, adding a touch of old world style (dogs and celtic-like designs) to the most modern room.




These fabulous pillows from Jillian Rene Decor stand out with their unique center button design. Each one measures 16" x 16".



Exquisite "cathedral windows" quilted designs from warmnfuzzies defy any genre of home decor style. I think these gems would be beautiful with almost any aesthetic! Each pillow cover measures 18" x 18".



And just when I thought I was going to wrap it up, I found these luscious designs from Umber Dove! They are made from combinations of cotton and linen with designs overlapping and interlacing with each other. Each pillow cover measures 11.5" x 17.5".