These elegant rooms abound with design inspiration, even if you are not strictly sticking to one of our four color schemes.  Look around, mix and match, and create your own beautiful bedroom retreat.

Warm Earth Tones Color Scheme

This color scheme offers a variety of versatile combinations ranging from mossy greens to rustic reds and simple neutrals. Combined, these colors create an elegant space that is also warm, inviting, and comfortable.

In this bedroom, an earthy color scheme pairs with classical furniture, creating a look that beautifully merges old world luxury and cozy comfort.

Photo: Martha Stewart

The pure white of the trim and bedspread gives the room a crisp, clean touch, while the soft golds and rich dark woods beautifully complement the earthy paint color. The woven rug adds a nice element of texture without overwhelming the design.

We also love the simple sheer canopy above the bed. Replacing a fussy traditional canopy with sheer panels gives the room a more modern look and nicely echoes the rectangular shape of the windows and shelves.

Blue and Gray Color Scheme

Blue and gray are classic relaxing colors, perfect for transforming your bedroom into a calming retreat from the day’s chaos.

This bedroom pairs blue and gray tones with opulent design elements and refreshing, often whimsical details.

Photo: Elle Decor

The pearly gray walls provide a neutral backdrop for more dramatic design elements, such as the sky blue headboard and the rich white carpet. The tufting on the headboard is a nice touch and pairs well with the small bench at the foot of the bed.

The series of black and white photographs look slightly modern and keep the room from feeling too precious. The various plants break up the strict color scheme, while the chandelier offers romantic lighting with old-world flair.

Light and Bright Color Scheme

Lighten up with lots of white and a few bright accessories. White bedrooms are a great way to keep your space feeling open and airy, with a few colorful elements to brighten each day.

This bedroom focuses on open space, with lots of natural light complemented by soft white bedding and a few well-chosen, bright accessories.

Photo: Better Homes and Gardens

White curtain panels allow plenty of natural light but can also preserve privacy when necessary. The floral sheets and shams add cheery color to all of that white bedding, as does the orange throw pillow and blanket.

The dark wood and solid construction of the bed and bedside tables anchor the room and keep it from feeling too ethereal. Small touches of yellow in the flowers and the picture frame add another cheery color. These touches can be easily traded for different colors when inspiration strikes.

These 8 tips can be accomplished with fairly little cost, and fairly high benefits. Each one will help cut down on waste and beautify your home at the same time. Really, what do you have to lose?

In honor of Earth Day: 8 Easy Ways To Make Your Home More Eco-Friendly
Decorate with plants. Gathering flowers, bamboo or greenery in vases makes for a beautiful, low-cost accessory. Or, bring the outdoors in with live potted plants- they look beautiful and they also act as natural air filters and purifiers.

Photo: House Beautiful

Repurpose furniture. Instead of buying new furniture, look around your home for pieces that can be given a new look or a new function.
Invest in additional dishes, mugs, and cloth napkins. These will look pretty in your kitchen, and they will also cut down on paper and plastic waste.

Photo: House Beautiful

Shop for furniture locally. Buying your furniture and home accessories within your local community cuts out the shipping practices that can be costly to you and to the environment

Make it easy to open your windows. Avoid obstructing windows with furniture or ornate window dressings. Instead, look for simple, functional window treatments that will let you keep windows open in nice weather. Keeping windows open naturally cools your home and freshens the air.

Photo: Elle Decor

Invest in thicker curtains for the winter. Double-lined curtains and window treatments cut down on the amount of artificial heat needed to keep you warm.

Make recycling easy with pretty containers and baskets. Consider buying more permanent containers for recycling, such as woven baskets or wooden bins. These containers cut down on plastic waste and also look a lot prettier.

Use bamboo. Bamboo is one of the most durable “green” materials out there. It is beautiful and versatile- you can use it as flooring, as a countertop, or as furniture.

Photo: Martha Stewart

Innovation #1: A Refrigerator can double as a chalkboard

Chalkboard panels take refrigerator messages to a whole new level. Covering your refrigerator doors with chalkboard adds great design and great functionality. You can scribble your latest grocery list, leave yourself reminders, and encourage your children to draw, all without generating a lot of unattractive paper clutter.

The coolest message board in the house (pun intended). Photo: House Beautiful

Innovation #2: Add basket drawers for bread and produce

All too often, we settle for piling fruit and bread into baskets on our countertops. Though this certainly works for storage purposes, it can leave your counters feeling cluttered and can limit your kitchen workspace.

The solution? Basket drawers. Replacing a few of your regular draws with pullout baskets can reinvigorate your kitchen design and give you a handy place to store fruit and produce.

Photo: House Beautiful

Innovation #3: Magnetic Spice Racks

Wall-mounted magnetic spice racks keep all of your spices within easy reach. The process is pretty simple, and can even be entirely DIY. For maximum organization, use clear or clearly labeled jars. Magnetic spice racks can be unique design elements in your kitchen, or they can be more discretely set up a pantry or kitchen cabinet.

Photo: thekitchn.com

Innovation #4: Use hooks to keep mugs easily accessible

Grouping three or four hooks near your coffee maker or refrigerator is a great way to keep mugs on hand and ready to go, and it also looks pretty cute. You could group glasses by color, or you could go for a more eclectic look and use a variety of mugs.

Photo: www.gsheller.com

Innovation #5: Use desk file holders to organize cookie sheets and pans

Desk organizers don’t have to be stuck in the office. Filing stands can find a whole new purpose in the kitchen, separating cookie sheets and pans into easily accessible rows.

This simple switch cuts down on cabinet clutter and keeps your pans from getting beat up.

Photo: RealSimple

A well-designed bathroom should make you feel that relaxed every time you walk in the door. A bathroom should much more than where you get ready in the morning- it should be a retreat.

You can get started on creating that retreat right now

First, make sure that your bathroom has an efficient storage system. There is nothing less relaxing than a messy pile of beauty and hygiene products. Survey your bathroom, take stock of where the clutter piles up, and start thinking about what you can do to make that clutter go away.

• If you don’t have a linen closet, you can get creative with storing your extra towels. Wine racks, baskets, and magazine racks can be great options for neatly and prettily storing rolled-up towels
• Use mirrored trays or pretty jars to give your everyday products more visual appeal while still keeping them readily accessible
• Install a few hooks (either on the wall or over-the-door) to hold damp towels or robes and keep them from piling up on the floor.

Wire baskets keep towels nicely contained while collected jars add a pretty touch (Photo: house and home)

Next, find an accent color that makes you feel happy and relaxed. This color varies for everyone, so start thinking about what color puts you in a happy place. If you are unsure, blues or pale greens are generally considered relaxing, calming colors. Once you have your color in mind, try to incorporate it into your bathroom. This could be as drastic as a new coat of paint, or as simple as a few new towels.

Keep things relaxed with a beautiful seaside blue (Photo: martha stewart)

Finally, indulge in a splurge or two. Heated towel racks, plush bathrobes, and fluffy towels all add instantly luxury. Keep in mind that “splurging” does not always have to be expensive- it could be as simple as keeping your bathroom stocked with your favorite magazines or burning a favorite candle.

Simple luxury (Photo: House Beautiful)

To avoid getting stuck in a floral design rut, check out these Four Fresh Takes On Spring Florals.

Embrace the unexpected: Incorporate floral fabrics in unexpected places. We love the surprise floral panels on the back of the chairs, it’s such a fun and unexpected touch. Consider upholstering a bench or wingchair in floral fabric, or lining shelves with pretty floral prints.

Photo: apartmenttherapy.com

Go Big: Dainty flowers become more more contemporary when done on large scale. A simple white backdrop is perfect for large flower prints done in highly-saturated colors. We love how this pillow uses only one flower- it is refreshing departure from tiny, busy floral patterns.

Photo: etsy.com

Pair Florals With Geometric Prints: Sharp geometric prints and bright colors keep these floral pillows from feeling too fussy.

Photo: Effortless Style Blog

Put it in black and white: A black and white color scheme instantly refreshes any design. Here, floral fabric becomes chic and modern when done in this timeless color scheme.

Photo: target.com

Below, we have listed a few our favorite hues for this spring season. Each of these hues is a great option for bringing the freshness of spring into your home. To quickly incorporate these hues in your home, look for pillows, vases, and other accessories in these colors. Switching out towels and table linens is another easy way to bring fresh color into your decor. On a larger scale, you could reupholster a chair in a springy hue, invest in new bedspreads, repaint tables and chairs, or even repaint your walls.

Our Favorite Spring Hues…

Deep Pink

Pastel pink is a common spring hue, and it is certainly very pretty. However, this season, we are particularly taken with some of the deeper, richer pinks that we are seeing. These pinks pair well with white and lighter colors, but they are not too precious match up with darker neutrals as well.

Photo: House Beautiful

Pale Green

Pale or mint green instantly makes a room feel lighter and brighter. The fresh green contrasts nicely with darker woods or fabrics, a perfect way to enliven a neutral palette.

Photo: House Beautiful

Buttery Yellow

Steer away from fall’s mustard hues and look for a bright, creamy yellow that is perfect for spring. The right hue will mimic the glow of spring’s sunshine, adding instant cheer to any room.

Photo: House Beautiful

Pure White

White hues give a crisp, clean look to any room. Try slightly varying the shades of white you use, from stark, bright white, to creamier off-white or very light beige.

Photo: House Beautiful

The GoodWeave label, formerly known as RugMark, signifies that no child labor was used in the making of the rug. Unfortunately, child labor is a significant problem in parts of southern Asia where as many as 250,000 children are believed to have been kidnapped and trafficked into the industry where they work illegally in looms and factories making rugs for American homes. GoodWeave is on a mission to end this atrocity for good. By participating in the certification program, rug vendors adhere to a strict code that prohibits anyone under the age of 14 to work in their facilities. They are also susceptible to random inspections and must strive to pay fair wages.

Through their efforts and fundraising, GoodWeave has rescued 3,600 children to date and provided each child with educational opportunities specific to their needs, emphasizing math and literacy. Purchasing a GoodWeave certified rug lets everyone know that you are making a difference… and what could be more stylish than that!

Check out GoodWeave’s latest campaign video:

Top photo: The finest hand-knotted rugs from Nepal are made from wool found in Tibetan mountain regions. Those poms are used to identify wool colors for production.

All photography by U. Roberto Romano

This trend has been more and more prevalent and it is making a big statement in interiors in 2012.

This interior uses reclaimed pallets to create a cozy space to just relax and soak in the day I love this reclaimed wine barrel chandelier from Restoration Hardware.

We used it in a Stapleton Great Room we redesigned. Cheers to that!

This reclaimed coffee table from Pottery Barn, made of old wood doors, makes a great addition to any family room.

Finartco.com in Denver is creating amazing items out of salvaged products, like this desk made from old airplane wings.

Finartco.com in Denver is creating amazing items out of salvaged products, like this desk made from old airplane wings.

There is not limit to what you can reclaim and use to create the room of your dreams.

While metallics are typically found in vases, containers, and other accessories, you might want to check out these three unusual ways to use metallics.

1. Tableware. Metallic tableware brings instant glamour to even the most casual family dinner. For a more eclectic effect, layer different sheens and patterns.

Photo: Elle Decor

2. Curtains. Choose fabrics with a very subtle metallic sheen to add shimmer without overwhelming your room. Solid, neutral colors in simple shapes usually work best for this.

Photo: westelm.com

3. Produce Displays. Spray paint pumpkins, apples, pears, or other produce in rich metallic colors. The result is a fresh, dramatic take on typical centerpiece arrangements.

Photo: aholidayhaven.com

Love these New Year’s Eve Poppers featured on HGTV

Toast from Around the World with these Great Champagne Flutes from Zodax

In Spain it is Good Luck to eat a Dozen Grapes at Midnight, Why not add Some to Your Champagne with this Great Idea from MarthaStewart.com

My Mother being from the South we always had Black Eyed Peas for Good Luck on New Years. Try this recipe for “Hoppin’ John” From Emeril

 Happy New Year and Sante’ to a Fabulous 2012!

From All of Us at Q+E Design Source