When it comes to home improvement projects, a kitchen remodel is one of the greatest ways to get a return on your investment, with an estimated 85 percent ROI, according to Angie’s List via Apartment Therapy.
Wondering how to get started?
Kickstart your kitchen remodel with materials from DirectBuy by following the steps outlined in the following checklist:
In addition to checking items off this checklist, be sure to browse our DirectBuy Kitchen Pinboard on Pinterest for some great inspiration, along with our products page to view our wide selection of the items mentioned in this checklist.
And for more information on kitchen remodeling, members should visit their local DirectBuy showroom, while non-members should visit directbuy.com to schedule an Open House visit today!
 New empty nesters can have a lot on their plates; they’re often battling strong emotions, adjusting to a quieter, less busy home, and figuring out how to reallocate their spare time. And on top of this, they’re often left with the task of making new use of rooms in their home that used to be a child’s bedroom.
One of the most obvious choices for empty nesters looking to repurpose their space: the guest room. While it takes some time and planning, it’s quite the natural transition in comparison to changing an old bedroom into a home gym or office.
Here are some tips on how to revamp a bedroom into a cozy guest room, once it’s been vacated and thoroughly cleaned:
First, evaluate any furniture and decor elements your child has left behind, and choose which aspects to replace and which ones to hold onto and/or repurpose.
During this process, think of both form and function, as well as infusing your own taste into a space that used to be your child’s. Ask yourself such questions as:
Continue reading How To Revamp Your Empty Nest With A New Guest Room
 The breezy, effortless-feeling design of a coastal-style home is a desirable aesthetic for West Coasters, East Coasters and landlocked home owners, alike. Thankfully, once homeowners learn the elements of coastal style, it is a fairly easy look to adopt.
Check out our tips for adopting coastal style below:
- Focus on colors. Brighten your space with a palette of whites, while incorporating sandy neutrals and ocean-inspired blues. In addition, don’t be afraid of bright pops of color; these brilliant hues will keep your space feeling summery all year long.
- Invest in clean, crisp linens. In a coastal home, you can’t go wrong with white or off-white linens. Other great choices include those in light neutrals or with nautical stripes.
- Add some greenery. Bring some life — literally — to your coastal style home by including a variety of houseplants into your design. Some styles to consider include aloe vera, ferns, bromeliads, jade plants, spider plants and herbs like rosemary, mint and thyme. Alternatively, consider adding fresh-cut flowers to tabletops and countertops throughout your home.
- Get cozy. Avoid excessively structured, overly formal styles; in coastal style, elegance emanates from comfortable furniture, furnishings and decor that can be lived in. Choose cozy furniture and flooring that would be a welcome sight after a long day on the beach — even if your home is in a Midwestern suburb. Choose materials like wicker and linen.
- Embrace nautical accessories. While there’s certainly no need to cover every square inch of your space with nautical stripes, oars, ships, nautical knots, lighthouses, anchors and sea shells, such items in tasteful moderation can definitely tie together the coastal style aesthetic.
 Share your coastal style upgrades with us on the DirectBuy Facebook page!
For DirectBuy members who are just getting started on their coastal style journey: Log in to the member site or visit your local showroom to find out how DirectBuy can help you get the coastal style upgrade of your dreams! And for non-members: Schedule an Open House visit at your local DirectBuy showroom for more information.
 Wedding ceremonies and receptions are rife with etiquette dos and don’ts.
The etiquette guidelines for wedding invitations, however, deserve special attention because missteps in this area are physical and permanent — forever printed in black and white.
Be sure to follow these three important wedding invitation etiquette tips:
Give yourself (and your guests) time. When it comes to wedding invitations, start early. Six to eight months ahead of time, send save-the-date cards to your guests. Two to three months before the ceremony, send out the formal invitations. To get everything done on schedule, note that your save-the-dates and invites will require a fair amount of lead time, which will vary depending on your order preferences. Take this into account when planning your timeline.
The invite is not the place for registry information. Tradition holds that gift registry information is not to be included on the wedding invitation. Break this etiquette rule, and the couple risks looking like the only interest is in receiving gifts. Instead, couples should list their registry information on their wedding website; including that web address on the invites is OK. Alternatively, couples can inform close friends and family of the registry information. Then, those family members and friends can spread the word to other guests.
Don’t forget to include postage on the reply envelope! When assembling and mailing out invites, some things can get lost in the shuffle. Often, the thing that gets overlooked is adding postage to reply cards. Make sure to add a stamp to your reply cards to save your guests trouble when responding.
Looking to order your wedding invitations? DirectBuy members should go to their local showroom to get started with the ordering process. DirectBuy non-members who are planning a wedding should schedule an Open House visit to find out all the ways DirectBuy can help to make your big day more beautiful.
 You don’t have to live in the mountains to enjoy the mountain style of home decor. Whether you live on the coast, in the desert or in the suburban Midwest, mountain style can add a rugged, earthy aesthetic — as well as the free and comforting feeling of the great wide open — to your home.
Incorporate elements of mountain style into your home with the following design principles:
-
Wood. Wood is the most common material associated with mountain style. From wood flooring to wood furniture to wood paneling to exposed wood ceilings and more, incorporating the material in your home’s design is the best way to capture the style.
-
Warmth. An important element of a mountain home’s design is warmth — both in the literal sense and aesthetically. Warm up your rooms — literally — with fireplaces, cushy rugs, throw blankets, towel warmers and heated floors. Boost the warm-and-cozy aesthetic with large, overstuffed furniture and toasty, glowing lighting.
Continue reading Regional Design: Mountain Style
 The old rules of thumb dictate that a man hoping to pop the question to the special lady in his life should save up several months’ paychecks — up to three — to buy a sparkling engagement ring.
While many couples today are taking a more budget-conscious approach to engagement jewelry, the average amount spent on an engagement ring is still $5,200, with more than 10 percent of couples choosing a ring that carries a price tag of $8,000 or more, according to finance.yahoo.com.
As an engagement ring can be quite the investment, it’s important for buyers to seek out the best value possible. For example, those looking to purchase an engagement ring can do the following to stretch the value of each dollar:
Continue reading Engagement Rings: The Dollars & Cents
 Different regions across our country and continent offer incredible variety in terms of distinctive home design styles. The Southwestern Style is rooted in the beautiful states of Arizona and New Mexico, but can be enjoyed anywhere by incorporating the right design principles. For those looking to add a little Southwestern flair to their homes, take a peek at the design elements of Southwestern Style below:
- Colors. Southwestern Style is not for the color-averse home dweller. When it comes to Southwestern Style, think colors that are bright, rich, bold and sunny. Consider bold reds, turquoise, greens, blues, golden yellows, oranges and rich browns for your color palette.
- Materials. Incorporate unfinished or distressed woods and metals into your design. The rough-hewn looks of these materials can add great texture to your space.
- Patterns. Add visual interest to your home by incorporating Southwestern patterns chock full of color and inspired by the beauty of the desert. Find great examples of these patterns in the Southwest Collection carried by DirectBuy.
- Greenery. Bring some life to your space with desert-dwelling house plants, such as cacti and succulents. To add a nice pop of color, look for flowering cacti to add to your indoor garden.
- Accessories. Accessorize your Southwestern Style home with pottery within your color palette, terra cotta tableware, woven baskets, intricate wrought iron items, patterned rugs and paintings featuring the natural beauty of Southwestern landscapes.
Need more help getting started with your Southwestern Style design? DirectBuy members: Visit your local showroom to set up an appointment with your expert in-house home design specialist. For those yet to become DirectBuy members: Set up an appointment for an Open House at your local showroom today, and take the first step toward making the Southwestern Style home design of your dreams become a reality!
 “Greenness” and sustainability in the home is more than just a passing trend.
It’s a movement grounded in environmental friendliness, energy conservation, recycling and waste reduction, and cost savings for consumers and businesses, alike.
With all the benefits, why not go green?
To get started on the path to bringing the sustainability trend to your own home, consider the following tips:
- Invest in high-efficiency appliances. High-efficiency appliances are tailor-made to use less water, less energy and less detergent — all with the same squeaky-clean results delivered by regular appliances. And they look cool, too! Consider this upgrade next time you’re looking to replace your washer, dryer, water heater or dish washer.
- Upgrade with green materials. When making upgrades to your home, consider using eco-friendly, green materials. For example, bamboo flooring is a trendy, easy-to-maintain flooring option that is popular among many homeowners — and it comes from a highly renewable resource, as bamboo grows so incredibly quickly compared to other woods. Other green building materials include fast-growth hardwoods, reclaimed wood and other recycled substances, along with long-lasting materials that require replacement less often (and therefore, create less waste).
- Embrace reusable products. Cut down on the waste of disposable products like coffee cups and bottled water by toting around your own homemade coffee and filtered water in reusable cups. In addition, nix the paper towels, paper napkins and paper plates in favor of high-quality, reusable products.
How will you bring the green movement into your own home? Let us know on our DirectBuy Facebook page!
In addition, DirectBuy members should log in to the member site or drop by their local showroom to get a taste of all our green offerings; non-members should set up an Open House appointment at their local showroom to learn more.
 Modern industrial design has gained in popularity over the past few years, and has increasingly found its way into hotels, shops, restaurants and more. Homeowners, too, are embracing the aesthetic, which brings together a lovely mixture of wood, leather and metals all in one earthy, neutral style.
For those re-modelers who are looking to take a page from the modern industrial book, consider the following three tips when outfitting your space:
Embrace rustic, utilitarian pieces. With industrial modern design, it’s all about eliminating excessive ornamental items and instead focusing on the beauty of rustic pieces with a purpose. For example, add visual interest to the kitchen by investing in an eye-catching copper sink, rather than decorative knick-knacks. Add flair to the living room — and stash away that distracting clutter — with a large storage trunk that doubles as a coffee table. And add light, warmth and ambiance to the family room with a new fireplace, rather than devoting your decorative budget to things like excessive wall art or sculptures.
Combine textures and let the rough edges shine through. Other elements of modern industrial design include mixed textures and raw materials. Bring these to the forefront in your home by pairing an exposed brick wall with a cozy leather couch or by showcasing a beautiful industrial metal ceiling fan alongside exposed ceiling beams, for example.
Continue reading Outfitting A Modern Industrial Remodel, From Top To Bottom
 Perhaps you’ve just started getting back into working out and want to dedicate space in your home to your new endeavor. Maybe you find your current gym’s hours inconvenient. Or perhaps, you would prefer not to have to wait for your turn on the elliptical on busy days at your workout facility.
No matter the reason for adding one to your house, a home gym is a great way to get you motivated to exercise and to help you meet your fitness goals. But where do you begin when planning to add one?
Here are three tips to help get you started:
Pick your space. When choosing a room for your home gym, it’s best to choose a space that is out of the way, with plenty of room to store your equipment and to move around as you’re exercising. In addition, it’s helpful if this room is on a lower level, so that any noise from your workouts won’t reverberate through the home.
Continue reading Three Pointers For Creating A Home Gym
|
|
