Your place says a lot about you.
Walk into one dorm and everything is red, and there are posters of Husker football players on the walls. Walk into another and there's that famous picture of Bob Dylan in the studio presiding over scattered albums on vinyl. Walk into yet another and symmetrical abstract designs adorn each wall.
Who we are and what we like show up in interior decorating, whether it's in an apartment, house or dorm room.
The desire to express one's self and create a sense of home is important, and there is help ready at the local home decor stores. Unique by Design, located at 5022 Old Cheney Road, offers a modern solution with their online home decor. They accept pictures of the areas you want to update or completely redesign and suggest decor, furniture arrangements, themes and color schemes.
Cathy Collinsworth, the owner of Unique by Design, said this is a great way to achieve a one-of-a-kind room that doesn't just incorporate the recent decorating articles that circulate larger chain decor stores. The designs have ranged from dorm rooms to business offices, locally and nationwide.
"We offer a personalized service that you just can't get in the chain stores," Collinsworth said. "A lot of vendors that we carry deal with us exclusively."
Some of Unique by Design's trends have been mixing contemporary with tropical, teals, browns and seasonal colors. Customers can "go with the flow," use a tried and true method or go completely off the beaten path with a creative twist for something new.
Melissa Noonan, the owner of Sonata Decor and Gifts, at 48th Street and St. Paul Avenue, said she has been seeing a lot of interest in practical and aesthetic designing. Smaller dorm rooms and apartments can end up feeling too busy if they are over-decorated, so Sonata offers some practical, yet eye-pleasing organization and storage as one of their many facets of home decor.
One popular way of decorating dorm walls is to create your own personalized collage from the prints that Sonata carries, Noonan said, such as cards with quotes that convey something about your personality.
Using a lot of black and white with a splash of color is another trend Noonan has noticed become pretty popular here in Lincoln. A recent surge of "vintage" decorating is due partly to the growing awareness of recycling, when an old piece of furniture or decor can be used as the centerpiece in a room, Noonan said. The piece also tells a story, such as the time you found it at a flea market.
The key to making a residence feel like home is finding the niche that shows what you want the room to convey. This takes a little planning and looking around for articles that strike you as something you really want to use in your decorating.
"Home is an important thing. It's your sanctuary," she said. "It should reflect your style, taste and be a place you want to go."
anthonytroester@dailynebraskan.com
Be the first to comment on this article!