Using Pinterest for your Home

At D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling, we want to help you use Pinterest effectively for your home so that when it comes time to complete a home project, you can easily check your pin boards for what you like and envision for that space. Here are some tips for using Pinterest for your home!

Be Specific: Have a board for every room in your home. From the living room and master suite down to the mud room and basement laundry room, store ideas for each room that you can easily pull up when you decide that’s the next project in your home.

Be Inspired: Maybe you see something that you like on the internet or on someone else’s pin boards, but aren’t sure where it would fit in the scheme of your home. Have a board for inspiration. It may turn into an eclectic mix of things, but if there is a piece of art, a vase, or a collectible that you are in love with, you may be able to use that as the starting point for an entire room.

Keep Helpful Hints: Pinterest has a plethora of tips for the home like how to make it smell wonderful for guests, tricks to clean tricky surfaces, and time saving ideas. Have a board of helpful home hints that will serve as a reference for your home needs!

Explore:  There are thousands upon thousands of Pinterest users. Ideas are readily available on the home page of Pinterest. You may find a new website that has exactly your style of home furnishing or a blog that suits your tastes. Or, find your own sources! Search the web and add your own ideas and interests to the Pinterest world!

Pin: As you look through Pinterest and other sites, save the things you like by pinning to the designated board. If it doesn’t fit into the categories you already have, it’s so simple to create a new board! 

Make Notes: This is key. On each photo, make a note in the caption area about what it is that you like about that pin so that when you come back, you can easily remember why you pinned it in the first place!

D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling has started to use Pinterest to store ideas that we like so that we can easily have a visual aid should we think one of our customers would want to imitate a feature of that idea in their home! Take a look at our Pinterest!

Home Theaters

Why it can be more than just watching a movie.

Home theaters can be as intricate or simple as you please, depending on your family's needs. D.J.'s Painting and Remodeling understands that you go through different stages in your life, so we have broken down some of the features a home theater can include. We’ll start with the basic and work our way down from there.

Roll-up Projector: If you have a smaller home where you would like to utilize your space in the most efficient manner, perhaps a roll-down projector appeals to you.

 The idea here is to keep this a multi-purpose room. During the day, it can be a gathering area that promotes socialization. When you want to enjoy a movie with the family or friends, simply pop the movie in and role the screen down and your gathering room is transformed into a home theater.  

Seating: What’s a home theater without the space for your friends and family? Make sure you optimize your family/gathering room for at least 6-10 people, if not more.

 If your space simply doesn't allow many chairs, throw in an ottoman or over-sized pillows on the floor. Kids are likely to gravitate to a comfy place on the floor with friends, while leaving the recliners to you!

Internet integration: Your home theater can essentially be a large media media player that allows you to access anything from your Netflix and YouTube accounts to iTunes and Internet Radio accounts.

No matter what your media needs are, D.J.'s Painting and Remodeling can find one that is right for you and your family!

Home Security Integration: Now you can lock doors, turn on/off lights, adjust the temperature and set the alarm in the comfort of your chair. In fact, wherever you have a smart phone or tablet, you can control your home security system. 

Bloomington, Normal and surrounding areas in Illinois has become more and more safety-oriented  with their family and home. The convenience of being able to lock and unlock your front door while at work offer a priceless piece of mind. 
 
We, at D.J.'s Painting & Remodeling, have experienced great success implementing Control 4 Security System in multiple homes. Every one of our customers who has had Control4 installed says they could never go back!!

To receive a free quote on how to add any of the above features in your home, feel free to call us at 309-452-9643! 

Making a Place for Grandchildren

A Space for Grandbaby

Whether it’s your first grandchild or you tenth, a new grandbaby is exciting! D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling feels that having a place for a grandkid at your house will help them look forward to spending time with grandma and grandpa.

Play Space

When little ones begin to join the family, you may have a stock of toys to put out for them, or, toys may begin to migrate to your home. Either way, you’ll need a place to keep them when the kids are back with mom and dad. If the kids spend a great deal of time with you, devoting a spare room, in part or whole, might be a good idea for you, but you may just have a small space to devote, but, either way, effective storage will be your game. A piece of furniture that matches the décor of your home and can hold the toys when they are not being played with will play a big part in making the space flexible.

Overnight Stays

How to accommodate overnight stays depends on how accommodating you, as grandparents, want to be. Maybe you have the space to give them a whole room for when they visit. Or, there are small pieces of furniture that can help you on the occasional sleepover. If you decide to purchase furniture, the best plan is to buy furniture that will grow with them. If they are growing fast, try to buy pieces that they will grow into-rather than out of. If it’s a slumber party in a living area, fun blankets just for them that have a character they like or a fun pattern will let them know they have a place in your heart and in your home.

Reading Nook

If you’re already a bookworm, clearing a shelf to hold books they love will give them a place to look for their beloved children’s books as they grow up. Or, clear out a space for a reading nook where you can read to them when they are little and sit in when chapter books become their thing. D.J.’s Painting andRemodeling sees a lot of creative ideas for reading spaces and storage, so find one that will fit in your home and make it yours.

There are so many ways to do this whether you have a large space to devote to the munchkins or a small corner. D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling believes both big and small places can be an effective space for grandbaby.

Nursery Colors

Color Schemes for a Nursery

The color palette in the nursery changes the entire tone of the space. Figure out what mood you want to set in the baby’s room and pick a palette that will meet those expectations.Check out some schemes D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling thinks could create a wonderful atmosphere in your nursery!

Brights

Graphics are from Design Seeds

Make a nursery fun and bright by choosing a color palette that is full of lively colors. You can use a consistent hue like orange and change the intensity of the color. Or mix it up! Use a number of hues with the same intensity for a more eclectic look.

Whites, Neutrals, and Natural Tones

Graphics are from Design Seeds

If you’re looking for a low key environment in which to bring up baby, this may be the direction to head. These palettes can be very flexible. With white, more white accents give the room a whimsical feel. Neutrals lend themselves to sophistication and natural tones can create an earthy or rustic tone.

Primary

Graphics are from Design Seeds

Primary colors, much like the brights, liven the room. Making the room a fun place to be with a bright palette may make it easier to transfer the room into a kid’s bedroom or playroom later on. If you are not too keen on having primaries on your wall, make the walls white and choose colorful furniture and accessories.

Graphics are from Design Seeds

Pastels

Pastels are always a winner in a baby’s room. It gives the nursery color while retaining a soft look and feel. D.J.'s Painting and Remodeling wants to point our that pastels are much more flexible than just baby pink or baby blue. Mixing other pastels that have the same value give the room just a little extra flavor.

D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling thinks that color is one of the most important things in a room and can affect the look and theme of a room. Check out our article on themes and think about what you would do with the theme and colors in a nursery!

Trends in Nursery Themes

Popular Nursery Themes

When it’s time to plan for a baby, D.J.’s Painting and Remodeling believes an enormous part of preparing for a new baby is readying the room. Take a look at some of the most current and popular nursery themes as you plan to welcome your little blessing!

Bright & Modern

Make the nursery a happy place to be with bold colors and patterns. Pick a bright color palette and add accents and accessories that make the room a fun place to be!

Sweet Neutrals

A feel of soft sophistication can be achieved in the baby’s room by dialing the colors back and adding interest with textures.

Animal Interest

An animal theme is a fun way to add consistency to the design in the nursery. Pick one animal or a whole group of animals like woodland or safari creatures! 

Vintage Appeal

Have a love for the retro and vintage designs? It can fit into a baby’s room more easily than you think! You can choose an eclectic appeal that mixes the old and the new or go for a completely vintage feel.

All photos in this article are taken from ProjectNursery.com. Check out the hundreds of rooms they showcase for more ideas!

Making your home YOU!

When looking through those designer magazines, it’s easy to say “I wish my house looked like that!” But when we take a second look, you want your home to reflect YOU, not what a designer think looks great in front of a camera.  Take some (or all!) of these suggestions to turn your home into, well…. YOUR home!

·         Incorporate your favorite COLOR. 

      Don’t have one? David Juarez, president of D.J.’s Painting & Remodeling, says to “look at your favorite shirt.” What color is it? What color is prominent in your closet?  If your wardrobe is filled with blue, you got your favorite color. You can change the color of window treatments, create an accent wall, change your throw pillows or blankets, bring in some artwork, or even new furniture.

A word of warning: Don’t overdo it! In other words, you don’t want to walk into a completely blue room. Keep it simple, so there’s just the right balance.

·         Show off your collections. Antiques, sea shells, glass elephants, Chicago Bears collectables or whatever it may be you find personal interest in… SHOW IT OFF!  Placing these items in a glass armoire is an easy way to proclaim your treasures as well as keeping them safe.

·         Flaunt your family photos. Putting up a large portrait in a family or gathering room shows who’s important in your life. These don’t have to be professionally done or posed.

Go ahead and put some goofy, spontaneous photographs up with your loved ones.

 These are the ones that really make you smile, as they elicit the fun memories you had during that time.

·        Replace with Quality. The vanity cabinet in your master has taken a beating and is outdated. Replace it with a solid, quality wood that will last for years. The laminate floor in the kitchen is coming up and yellowing. Replace it with ceramic tile or hardwood!   The light fixtures and plumbing fixture are out of style and showing rust. Replace Replace Replace! 

The whole idea is to personalize the space in which you live. So whether you just moved or are sprucing up what you already own, put a little of yourself into the mix!