Unless you’re a self-proclaimed hoarder, no one likes feeling cluttered in their home. Open space eliminates the feeling of claustrophobia, promotes cleanliness and is overall more visually appealing.

If you’re looking to make a room or entire home more spacious, you can follow these few simple steps. To begin, start with the basic task of decluttering . Go through the room and remove anything that isn’t being avidly used. Old magazines from 2007- recycle ‘em. A scented candle that no longer has a surviving lightable wick- toss it. A pile of blankets that are rarely used- store them in the closet down the hall.  This already should make the room appear a bit more open. Continue Reading

Do you have one of those rooms that are just so dull, drab and boring? And now you want to put some life back in to it, and you don’t know where to start? Well, there’s a few things you can do to turn your living space from dark to dazzling.

First, you should completely empty the room as much as possible – whether that means throwing stuff out, or relocating the furniture down the hall for the meantime. Now it’s time to make the first step in brightening you room: paint. Choose a color for the walls that makes you happy, puts you in a good mood and is welcoming for guests. Colors like a magenta, celery green, cerulean, peach or daisy yellow create a happy aura and give vibrancy to the room. If it’s a more masculine setting, solid white or a deep blue would work.

Another cool paint option would be to chose one wall as the main focus and give it a very rich, bright color. Balance it out by painting the remaining walls a more neutral color with the same undertone.

After painting, you should already be able to notice a huge difference in the feel of the room.

If you decide to purchase new furniture, look for bright colors- like white or beige suede- or a Chicago leather couch that contrasts in color with the walls. Black always works. The severe contrast, or light color of the furniture will give the room a good energy. Also, try to choose coffee and end tables that match the furniture.

Here’s another chance again to brighten the room- wall and furniture decorations. Choose simple artwork that tie in the colors from another part of the room. White or lighter color matting can add significant brightness. Also, opt for uniquely shaped and colored pillows and blankets – more neutral if your walls a vibrant color or more vibrant if your walls are a more neutral color.

To finish turning your drab room into a bright space, add little decorations like picture frames and colorful vases with faux flowers. This will automatically give more color to the room and the flowers will brighten the mood. Find a stylish, modern lamp whose shade doesn’t trap the light. After all, you’re looking to brighten the room, so look for one that provides the most radiating lighting.

For all these furnishings and much more, visit one of the most popular furniture retailers Chicago, Walter E. Smithe, for the best Chicago furniture sales.

Everyone knows leather. Leather jackets, leather car interior, leather handbags, leather boots and of course, leather sofas. It’s frowned upon by groups like P.E.T.A while covers the runways, red carpets and nightlife scene across the world. And it’s occasionally viewed as a sign of wealth.

Microsuede on the other hand, not so much. We know suede- we know its soft and warm but can stain easily and we can’t really get it wet. But what exactly is microsuede and is it better than leather for your living space? Well, it depends. Continue Reading

I think there’s a true difference between a house and a home. To get from one to the other, it takes a little creativity and a sense of space, design, color, accommodation and possibility. You can get some ideas at any Chicago furniture dealer.

What I like to call “furniture accessories”- such as pillows, tablecloths, blankets and rugs- are what really pull a room together, and usually give it that “home-y” feel. Pillows and blankets give any couch, chair, or love seat that inviting feel, while tablecloths make the presentation more thoughtful and rugs simply synergize the room while drastically increasing the aesthetic appeal.

Living rooms tend to be those untouched spaces that look pretty for show, but they’re never used to their full potential. Maybe Monday you sit and chat for a few minutes with a friend stopping by and Thursday you take a load off mid-pace during an hour-long phone conversation. And that’s all the visits it has for that week. Change that.

The cohesion from adding an area rug to any living space, specifically a living room or TV room (for lack of a universal definitive term), does wonders turning a house into a home and an average living space into a “sophisticated luxury”.  The room matures once a rug enters, and new life’s been given to an otherwise dull, modern set-up.

Famous rug designer James Tufenkian said: “A rug can anchor a room; it can define space, as a focal point or a subtle backdrop. Unlike most furniture, a good rug is one of the only things you can use for

decades and it will still have value.”  Rugs can be that one clutch piece of versatile furniture. They can be swapped room to room, stored in the back of the basement for 10 years, be pulled out and still be classic. It’s pretty safe to say that rugs are one of the most traditional pieces of furniture.

Give your family’s TV room, or that barely visited living room, a new inviting aura. Create a comfortable ambiance with the perfect rug for your home. There are plenty types to choose from: Persian, Oriental, Tibetan, Southwestern, Tribal, shag, Flokati, contemporary, braided, or animal print rug. Or customize your own area rug. Visit Walter E. Smithe, one of the great places for Chicago furniture sales, to view their selection.

Every room will feel complete with an area rug, no matter how big or how small. It will not only warm up the hardwood or tiled floor, it’ll warm up your living space and make you feel right at home, and love it.

So this might come as a no-brainer to some, but to others the possibilities are endless.  How do I arrange my living room?  Homeowners are becoming more style saavy with the growing popularity of home design networks like HGTV and “Complete Home Makeover” shows and are finding more and more ways to fix the feng shui of your family room.  There are an endless number of ways to arrange your living space to meet the needs and comfort of you (and your family).  We thought who better to help you out than one of the top furniture dealers Chicago has to offer.

More detailed than what you need, but this is a good sketch.

So where do I start?  Well as silly as it may seem, the best way to make sure you’re arranging the room the way you’re imagining it is to grab an old-fashioned pad of paper and pencil (it doesn’t actually have to be old-fashioned, we just use that term because no one uses paper and pencil these days…)  Start out with a rough sketch of the room making sure to take into account doorway access (if the door opens in or out) as well as any other obstructions (fireplace, staircases, light switches, etc.)  You can make your sketch as detailed or as bare as you want, it’s basically just meant to give you an idea of the space to visualize the different elements and how they could fit in the room.  However the more detailed the sketch, the better off you will be when you actually start moving the elements around, so its a good idea to take some time with this.

Next, select a focal point to the room.  Whether it’s a fireplace or a 50″ big screen TV (if you’re not the talking type.)  Once this is selected, make sure that all of the elements open up to the focal point.  This may seem easy but it’s important to make sure the room flows well together (and that you don’t have a bookshelf sitting out the middle of the room because you forgot to give it a place.)  Also, it may seem logical to arrange of the elements in a rectangular shape because that’s naturally the way the room wants to form, but keep in mind that it is generally a good idea to move elements around the room in such a way where you aren’t always creating right angles.  Keeping the couch at an angle is a great way to add some depth to the room while still keeping it open and retaining the space.

Test out some different sketches and see what works best.  The main thing to keep in mind is that you should arrange the room however you feel most comfortable.  Something might look great on TV, but might not be something you want to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Of course, the most important part in making the room your own is getting the right furniture.  Make sure you look online at your Chicago Furniture Dealer to get the furniture set that works best for your space.