John Elliott Interiors Blog: September 2019

3 Simple Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Home Fresh This Fall

9/27/2019

Create an Inviting Guest Room with These 3 Design Concepts

9/19/2019

Is your guest room in need of a facelift? The design team at John Elliott Interiors know just how to create an inviting space for your friends and family to enjoy. Read on to learn how to put together a guest bedroom that will wow your visitors, and call today to inquire about our Lake of the Ozarks interior design expert services!

Cozy Essentials

To create a “home away from home” atmosphere, surround your guests with items that make them feel comfortable and relaxed.

Start with a crisp set of nice sheets, preferably 100% cotton with a high thread count. Include extra blankets in the room in case your visitors get chilly in the middle of the night. Use this element as an opportunity to add a pop of color or texture to the room. Pillows are a very personal choice for people – some like firm poly-fill pillows, while others like soft feather pillows. Allow your guests a choice by including a few different kinds of pillows. This extra dimension and visual interest will create an inviting place for your guests to rest.

Windows and the natural light they provide are an excellent feature. Accentuate them with a set of floor-to-ceiling curtains that compliment the design of the room. If possible, create two rows of curtains – one decorative set that enhances the room’s design and one behind the first that blocks light. Your guests will be able to choose the level of light and sleep in if they want to without sunlight arousing them too early.

Practical Items

A good way to think about what your guests might need is to imagine your favorite hotel and picture what items they have in the room.

Include a clock with an alarm. Most people do use their cell phones as their watch and alarm clock now but being able to glance at the nightstand to see the time and have a backup alarm are touches that can make your guests feel more comfortable.

Another item to include on the nightstand is a bedside lamp. If your guests choose to read, they won’t have to get back out of bed to turn the light off before they fall asleep.

A full-length mirror is great to include so your guests can do their make-up, put on jewelry, and check their outfits before heading out for the day’s activities.

Place a set of towels in the room so your guests don’t have to go searching through your cabinets first thing in the morning.

Thoughtful Additions

Small touches can make a big impact in a room and show your guests that you care for them.

Set up a tray with pretty mugs, a teapot, and bags of coffee or tea to wow your guests. Go the extra mile and include a cute, framed sign welcoming them to your home. (This is also a great place to write your WiFi name and password.)

Almost everyone forgets at least one thing when they travel. Help your guests by providing a few travel-sized items that frequently get left behind: toothpaste, mouthwash, a hairbrush, shampoo and conditioner, etc. Arrange these in the nightstand drawer or in an attractive display on the dresser. Your guests will thank you!

Up the luxury feel by providing your guests with plush robes, cold bottles of water, and a current magazine or quick-read book. A small vase of bright flowers can be the last, meaningful touch to polish off the room.

Feel at Home

To impress your guests, create a comfortable space for them to relax, provide necessities that make their stay easier, and add thoughtful items that make them feel welcome. For additional expert design advice, contact John Elliott Interiors, the best interior design company at Lake of the Ozarks. We look forward to helping you welcome guests to your home!

Let us help you create an interior for your life.

2265 Bagnell Dam Blvd.

Lake Ozark, MO 65049

573.365.7057

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home decor Lake of the Ozarks

4 Ways Light Fixtures Enhance Your Interior Design

9/12/2019

Light fixtures can make or break a design. But if you choose the right light, it will do wonders for the look and feel of your home.

Our experts in interior design at John Elliott Interiors know how to create beautiful spaces, and we are excited to share tips on how you can enhance your home with just the right lighting.

Define Design Spaces

Use the same kind of lighting in neighboring rooms to create a cohesive look between the spaces. If you want your dining room and kitchen to look like one space, choose light fixtures that have similar styles, or are made with the same materials. Look for lights from the same collection but in different sizes. Smaller fixtures lined up over the kitchen island is a great style choice and creates a lot of additional light. This can be paired with a large, chandelier version of the smaller lights over the dining room table to bring the rooms together.

If you have an open floor plan and want to separate the spaces, use the opposite technique. Hanging brass lights in a kitchen with brass fixtures ties the overall design together as an individual space. Choose a matte texture or natural element for the living room lights to add an extra degree of separation.

Show Off Your Style

Unique light fixtures are a great way to show guests your personal style. Choose a fun fixture that matches your outgoing personality or find a lamp with a creative base that shows off one of your hobbies.

Light fixtures are also a simple and relatively affordable way to personalize the look of rental space. Instead of keeping the bland, uniform lights installed across the entire apartment complex, switch yours out for something that makes the space feel more reflective of your individuality.

If you’re not sure where to start on a room’s design, the lighting can be a great element with which to begin. Walk through the section of light fixtures at John Elliott Interiors and see if anything speaks to you. If you find something you love, that can serve as great inspiration for the rest of the room.

Make the Most of Your Space

Vaulted ceilings make an incredible statement, but that space can be wasted if it’s not used properly. An interesting light fixture draws the eye up and accentuates this feature. Don’t be afraid to go with a bigger statement here – the extra space can handle it, and a small light may get swallowed up without being able to make an impact.

If you have low ceilings, a chandelier may not be the best choice. Hanging light fixtures can draw attention to the lack of height in a room. A great alternative is recessed lighting because these lights won’t take up headspace. Instead, they will make the ceiling appear brighter and give the illusion that they’re taller than they are.

Set the Atmosphere

When considering what kind of lighting to put in each room, consider the primary use of the space. Some spaces require bright lights, while others are better served by having options for varying levels of light. In your home office, it may be important to have bright, clean lighting to help you stay alert and focus. In the living room, bright lights will work well while you are entertaining guests for game night. But during the evening, you may want a softer lighting option while you unwind for the day and read a book until you’re ready to go to bed. Choose bright overhead lights to illuminate the whole space, then add lamps with soft lightbulbs for the times you want a softer option. Lights that have a dimmer function are also a great choice, as they save space by providing these options without requiring multiple light fixtures.

The lights you choose can also balance your décor. If your home has a lot of brick or metal in the design, a softer warm light can even out the look and make the space feel more inviting. If the room has a lot of softer textures and warm colors, use a brighter white light to create a fresh look in the space.

The Right Lights Make an Impact

The light fixtures you choose can make a big difference in how your overall design turns out. An airy, modern home would look confusing with a massive deer antler shed chandelier. But a piece like that would be perfect in a rustic log home.

When you choose the right lights, you can enhance the look of your home:

Define design spaces
Show off your style
Make the most of your space
Set the atmosphere

If you need assistance choosing design elements for your home, contact us at John Elliott Interiors to speak with our experts on interior design at Lake of the Ozarks.

Let us help you create an interior for your life.

2265 Bagnell Dam Blvd.

Lake Ozark, MO 65049

573.365.7057

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home selling tips

Staging Your Home to Sell

9/06/2019

Staging a home can sound like a daunting task, but there are several ways you can set yourself and your home up for success and appeal to homebuyers. The goal of staging is to show potential buyers the house’s potential so they fall in love and want to live there. Read on to learn a few simple tips on how to stage your home to sell. Don’t forget to come by John Elliott Interiors to consult our team of experts. We can advise you with design strategy, current trends that appeal to buyers, and suggestions for furniture and décor pieces to stage in your home.

Clean Spaces Inside and Out

Most importantly, make sure your home is clean. A clean home will feel fresh and inviting. Dusting, vacuuming, and sweeping are all important, but not the only things you should do.

Windows make a big impact on a buyer. If your windows are smudged with dog nose prints and cluttered with cobwebs, a buyer may be turned off as soon as they walk through the door. Bright, shining windows make your house feel fresh and open.

Outdoor space is something that often gets neglected by sellers. Make sure your lawn is well manicured – use the mower and weed eater. Check all flower beds and gardens to make sure they aren’t overgrown with weeds. An out-of-control garden will look less like a perk and more like a burdensome project for potential buyers.

If possible, use a power washer on your driveway and the siding of your house. Dirt and grime accumulate on siding and make houses look dingy. You wouldn’t believe what a big difference a clean slate will make!

Before you show the house, always do a smell test. You may not be able to recognize a smell you’re used to, so pay attention next time you walk in from outside. If an unpleasant or stale odor hits your prospective home buyers as soon as they walk in the door, they likely won’t have a good impression. If there is a problem, air out the house with open windows and fans, and use light air fresheners (not heavy room sprays).

Make a Big Impact with Small Updates

You don’t need to remodel your entire house to make a big impact.

If your wood floors look scratched and dull, get a quote on what it would take to refinish them. This will give your rooms a wow factor – buyers love to see clean, pristine flooring. If you can’t refinish the floors, use rugs in strategic places to cover the most worn areas in your home. Buyers’ eyes will be drawn to the design and other aspects of the room instead of the flaws in the floor.

In your kitchens and bathrooms, you can switch out the cabinet handles for a cost-effective update. New, shiny hardware is striking and can enhance the look of the whole room.

Buyers love storage! Walk through your house and make sure there are several locations where new homeowners would be able to store their belongings. Each room should have at least one place for storage. For bedrooms, this is typically a dresser. For bathrooms, making sure there is shelving for various toiletries, towels, etc. that buyers will want to store here.

Another way to make a big impact without spending a lot of cash is to update the front door. Everyone loves a beautiful entryway, and a great door is the most important element. Replace your old one with a sturdy, eye-catching door. If you have an old wooden door that's still in good shape, consider giving it a fresh coat of paint or stain to make it stand out and look new.

Appeal to More Buyers

When getting down to placing furniture in your home, think about the way most people would like to use each space. You may like having a fully furnished weight room in your second bedroom, but it may appeal more to buyers set up as a guestroom or an office.

Neutral and light, airy colors are excellent picks to appeal to as many potential buyers as possible. Red may be your favorite color, but a grey couch could be a better choice to go with any palette the buyer has in mind.

As you choose where to place your furniture, think about the flow of the space and make sure it’s easy to walk from room to room. Group pieces together for a cohesive space. Rather than backing everything up to the wall, “float” the furniture at least a few inches away from the walls.

Decorations in each space should be simple and appealing to a broad audience as well. Fresh flowers are always a great choice as they brighten up a room and make the space feel welcoming. Replace family photos with framed art to draw your buyer’s eye around the room. (We have great art at John Elliott Interiors, by the way!) If arranging items on a coffee or end table, keep in mind that items in threes are most appealing to the eye.

Remember, when staging a home, you want potential buyers to envision themselves in the space, not necessarily show off your own great style. Keep spaces clean, make small but impactful updates to worn areas, and stage décor and furniture in a way that appeals to a broad range of styles. For classic staging pieces (and for your own new furniture), come see us at the best luxury furniture store at theLake of the Ozarks, JohnElliott Interiors. We have just the thing!

Let us help you create an interior for your life.

2265 Bagnell Dam Blvd.

Lake Ozark, MO 65049

573.365.7057

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3 Simple Cleaning Tips to Keep Your Home Fresh This Fall

Let in the Fresh Air

Amp Up Your Regular Cleaning Routine

Don’t Neglect Your Soft Surfaces

Welcome Fall with a Fresh Home

Create an Inviting Guest Room with These 3 Design Concepts

Cozy Essentials

Practical Items

Thoughtful Additions

Feel at Home

4 Ways Light Fixtures Enhance Your Interior Design

Staging Your Home to Sell

Clean Spaces Inside and Out

Make a Big Impact with Small Updates

Appeal to More Buyers

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