Our homes are our safe spaces. We love them and want to make them as cozy as possible. We also want our family and friends to feel just as comfortable in our homes as we do. Read on to find out how you can make your home more inviting with these interior design tips.

Welcome Them Before They Are Even Inside

The first thing anyone sees of our house is the front yard. Make this space so comfortable that your guests know they are always welcome. Have seating out front, a bright welcome mat, and beautiful flowers that exclaim "come join us!"

Hang Photos of Your Family Inside

There is nothing more cozy and inviting in a home than family pictures. You can have them spread throughout, or one big gallery wall. These pictures show others the adventures you have been on and all the fun you have together.

Have Comfy Furniture

Sinking into a cushy couch is one of the best feelings. Your family and friends will love hanging out and chatting all day long when you have comfortable furniture for them to sit in. They will always feel invited and ready to relax at your home.

Keep Things Warm

Oftentimes, warm colors can bring a sense of calm and peace to a home. Different hues of brown and beige can warm up your walls, furniture, and flooring. Alongside warm colors, you can have fuzzy, cozy blankets and pillows on your couches. The warmth will make your guests feel snug and welcomed into your home.

The main goal of making people feel invited into your home is to help them feel cozy there. Being cozy can help them relax and will keep them coming back for more time with you Invite your friends and family in and make them feel as relaxed and welcome as you feel in your home. 

Looking for more ways to make your home inviting? Get in touch with us!

When planning for back-to-school virtual learning, it is imperative to prepare the study area adequately. Here are tips for creating a study space that will make you productive in your studies.

Identify a Calm Study Room

Avoiding distractions is the best way to achieve your study goals. It is imperative to identify a calm area with little to no distractions. This puts you in a study mood and enables you to focus fully on your studies. Avoid noisy areas such as the TV room, video games area, and other places where other family members frequent. 

Declutter the Study Area

Arranging your study area will keep everything organized, making your studies flow seamlessly. Before you settle down, place each item within the study room in the right storage. No matter the number of materials and tools on your study table, you need to arrange each item well and place them in an open place for easy access. The best way to go about this is by dividing your study materials into essential and non-essential items for easy identification to avoid clutter. 

Install Proper Lighting

Lighting is an essential component that brightens up your study area and makes your studies effective and seamless. Even if the room has adequate artificial lighting, you'd also want to create space for natural lighting. This is because natural lighting can complement artificial lighting, making the room brighter and better. You can place your study table and chair near the window to get natural lighting. While on it, avoid installing too much bright light because it can affect your sight in the long run. 

Create Ideal Temperature

Your body needs favorable temperatures while studying. When setting up a room, it should be a favorable place where you will spend most of your time studying. The room shouldn't be too cold or too hot. The temperatures should be moderate to enable you to have a clear focus on your studies. 

The Bottom Line 

Once you create a comfortable study space, you’ll be better set up to achieve your goals. Take time to arrange the study space and put everything in place before you begin schooling. If you’re looking for more ways to enhance the interior design of your home, we’re always happy to help!

Dead flowers have a bad reputation indoors and outdoors. But it's silly and expensive to get a new bunch every day.  Thanks to a new flower trend, there's a flawless way of adding plants to decor with minimal effort.

With a feathery feel, a neutral tone, and being low maintenance, it makes perfect sense why dried pampas grass has become a prized part of interior decor.

It first became popular in 2019 and quickly won the hearts of flower fans.  For the modern home, there are many ways to adorn your decor with pampas grass. We'll show you just how.

Where to Place it

You can put the tall pampas grass plants on the floor, for instance, in a corner next to the sofa or the bedroom next to the wardrobe. Ensure the room is not filled with other artifacts to avoid cloaking its natural attractive appeal.

For shorter pampas grass (up to 40 centimeters) put it on surfaces like shelves or tables.  It adds texture and warmth to your space, which is especially important with concrete flooring.

Create a Rustic Charm

You need more than regular vases to make this work.  Fill a huge glass container with pecans to serve as a display for the dried pampas grass. You can put this display anywhere in the house, including the backyard.

Create a Boho Look

Pampas grass can act as a homey background for special relaxation spaces. To hack this design, pair the pampas with light brown shades and fleecy pillows. Spreading it against the wall adds just the right natural texture to complete this look.

Make Classy Door Wreaths

Wreaths are not just for the holidays. You can have them on your door always as a personal design style. Pampas grass wreaths pair up perfectly with white doors and are easy to make. You only need a thin, easy-to-bend metal rod. Remember to spray hairspray on them to keep the seeds off your front door floor.

We Are Ana Maria Designs

From eclectic interiors to spectacular outdoors, there's always something you can do to revolutionize your home. Learn more about how we can help!

It looks like simple-classy has found its way into interior design. The fact is, it couldn't have come at a better time. We're spending more time indoors. The best we can do is to create an atmosphere of peak tranquility.

In Japanese, Zen relates to meditation and is oftentimes connected with minimalism and homeliness. Japandi style's philosophy is “less is more,” with emphasis on basic shapes, lighter colors, and natural components.

With a Zen and Japandi fusion, textbook interior design rules are taking a back seat. The result?  Balance, harmony, and relaxation.

Keep scrolling to find ways to incorporate this natural and inviting decor style into your home.

Focus on Natural Materials

Use natural wood for your walls, doors, screen grids, and frames to achieve the Japandi look. Use light woods like beech, ash, pine, and light oak to strike a light and color balance.

These light woods will also help you to achieve hygge-Scandinavian expression for coziness and satisfaction.

Wood also makes great company during winter. Add warmth and comfort by introducing natural fabrics -cotton and wool are the best - that you can use for curtains, couch blankets, carpets, and pillows.

Keep the Lines Clean and Elegant

Keep the lines in your furniture and decor clean and elegant. The space has to be functional and easy to use. Keep off clutter because it interferes with the whole point of Japandi design. Tone down the styling, too.  If you still want to add art pieces, keep them abstract. Any patterns should not be loud. Instead, go for fluid and repetitive patterns to avoid making a bold statement.

Choose a Neutral Color Base

Soft tones like whites, greys, shades of beige, or pink beige are ideal as a color base. You can always combine a dominant color with matching objects and textured textiles to introduce contour to a monochrome space, such as white with moleskin or beige with rosewood. Combine two complementary colors, or experiment with degrades of your favorite color to add variety.

Who We Are

At Ana Maria Designs, we believe that life is too short for boring décor. Contact us to add life to yours and we'll be glad to help. 

Arches are like jeans—they never go out of style. From detailed Moroccan doorways to long arched passageways, arches are always a refreshing break from monotonous square-shaped entryways.

Some are historical elements, used to connect rooms in homes, and others are man-made pieces intended to add charm and character to an otherwise dull space.

Romans and Greeks based an entire building's design on arches. In 2021, it seems like people can't get enough of them. You'd have to be living off-grid not to notice arches in everything from mirrors to fireplaces and even ceilings.

Read on to find out how arches are adorning homes in 2021.

1. Roman Arch Headboard

This arch shape is old, but it's found its way to the bedroom in an unusual yet charming way. Modern folks are going for headboards with roman arches to add fun to quiet bedrooms. It doesn't matter how bland the bed is—this headboard turns it into an absolute eye-catcher.

2. Syrian Arch Window

A Syrian arch spots a partial curve at the top with a slight rise in the center, making it semi-elliptical. It works well when used on big windows in large open spaces with large ceilings. To complete the look, make the same arch in the doorways.

3. Flattened Gothic Arch

This style encompasses more than just the typical Gothic arches seen in medieval cathedrals. They have a lower rise that makes them flattened. You can find them in modern middle-eastern interior designs, but it doesn't keep you from adopting them. When matched with soft glow lighting frames, they make a subtle statement of refinement to interior walls, bathroom mirrors, and kitchen backsplashes.

4. Custom-Made Arches

In this case, arches are made out of creativity rather than depending on older styles. For example, you can have doorways arched to match the floor tile pattern. The result is a cross between modern and classic arch styles. It creates uniqueness, too.

Find the Perfect Décor

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2020 was a challenging year that changed many people's perspectives. Many people started to create comfortable and stylish living rooms, thanks to the pandemic. In 2021, the same trend may go on, but we might see better design trends this time around. 

From sustainable materials to wood to tactile designs, there's plenty that the year has to offer to style enthusiasts. This guide discusses the top three patterned interior designs that have been trending this year.

1. Textured Walls

Large-scale artistic textured walls are now becoming popular than ever. Unlike the standard walls, the textured walls are visually appealing; they are easier to install, and maintain a cleaner look. 

Most importantly, they perfectly hide any cracks or flaws on the walls. The top textured wall styles that you can try are wood paneling, plastered walls, and grasscloth wallpapers.

2. Patterned Ceilings

Like the walls, the textured ceilings have become popular. Textured ceilings come with a busy look that perfectly hides all the blemishes, scratches, and imperfections. Besides, the textured ceiling is easy to repair and has fewer maintenance requirements. 

Patterned ceilings also have excellent soundproofing capabilities because a smoother surface can easily allow sound to pass through. Should you decide to install a patterned ceiling, you should get the best quality material for the best results.

3. Textured Tiles

The patterned tiles have grown their popularity over the years, thanks to their multiple benefits. The patterns add style to the room, draw attention to the right areas, and add unique features. Also, the patterned tiles are more affordable than the plain ones, hence the popularity in 2021. 

The above are just a few of the many patterned interior designs in 2021. If you plan to add a fresh touch to your home, consider the best style that fits your style.

If you need help using these patterns in your home decor, please contact us and we'll be more than willing to assist.

Your home should reflect your style and personality. The furniture, the walls, and every finishing detail should make you safe and comfy. That's why it's important to gather your ideas well when styling your house so that you can get what you exactly want. 

But where do you get design inspiration from? Ideally, you should be opening yourself up to diverse influences to get the best style ideas. In this guide, we will look at four ways to get style inspiration from your city. Check them out:

1. Check the City Magazines

Every city supplies multiple magazines to the residents. Most of the magazines contain handy tips for interior designs that you can choose. And even if the designs are not there, you can still get to view beautiful houses pictured in there, videos, and so on. 

For the best results, you can consider the magazines which have a unique section for interior designing so that you can get the right inspiration.

2. Check Your Friends’ and Neighbors’ Homes

You can get many design ideas by simply checking at your neighbors' or friends’ homes. Next time when passing by or just having coffee at your friend's house, look around for any design ideas that impress you.

3. Check the Hotels

Have you ever entered a hotel and admired its interior designs? Well, you can adopt that style in your home. Next time you see an exciting style in your hotel, don't hesitate to take a picture or copy the idea.

4. Check Outside

Nature is beautiful. You don't always have to be indoors to get design and style ideas for your home. You can visit the parks and other reserves within your city to learn a few things about color mixing and so on. Your garden can also be a beautiful source of inspirational ideas.

You need design inspiration so that you can realize what you exactly want. So get out, walk around your city, and follow the above tips to guide you. When you’re looking for more ways to freshen up your interior design, we're here to help.

2021 is well underway and so are the top interior design trends of the year. As with every new year, there are a million fresh ideas to choose from. While this can be overwhelming, the good news is that most of these trends fit into larger categories that leave room for you to exercise your creative expression. Here are the top four design trends that capture the heart of interior design in 2021.

Interest

The popular theme of adding interest has created unique ways to express beauty and variety in design. This year, patterns, colors, and shapes have set new eye-catching trends in 2021.  With this fad, intricately textured pillows or comforting bursts of sky blue have made their way into living rooms across the country. Bright pops of color and attractively shaped accent pieces such as vases or furniture are also ways to make a space feel more interesting. 

Comfort

The "Grandmillennial" style is all the rage in 2021. Longing for comfort and a sense of nostalgia lies at the heart of this design trend. Many are choosing to incorporate this style through patterned wallpaper, antique furniture, or ruffled linens. This unique trend blends the classic and vintage designs that our grandparents enjoyed with the unique spice of modern style. 

Adventure

2021 is continuing to see a rise in décor that hints at distant lands. Since travel has become challenging, trends this year are seeing designs that bring the world into the home more than ever. Whether you choose to express your love of travel and exotic places through bold, ethnic patterns, an interior jungle of plants, or with wall maps and globes, this year is a great opportunity to unleash your inner explorer through design.

Functionality

Zoom calls from a messy kitchen aren't ideal. The reality is that 2021 has seen the rise of the "home office." This calls for functionality in your living space. The balance that so many are attempting to achieve is the perfect mix of homey, aesthetically pleasing, and practical (for those last-minute online work meetings). From a well-organized desk to the right kind of lighting, from a comfortable seat to a secluded study space, there is so much potential for this design trend in 2021.

Despite the challenges of living and working at home with very little possibility for travel, interior design trends this year are truly exciting. The road ahead may look long, but 2021 is presenting us all with a new lease on life and interior design. We’d love to help you bring these design trends into your home — contact us when you’re ready to get started!

Interior design aesthetics are always evolving. The industrial chic of the early 2000s has given way to eclectic styles like "Granny chic" or "CottageCore", but there are themes that run through every design style. How you interpret the trends ultimately depends on your personal taste. 

Color

After years of muted neutrals, color is coming back. Pantone has chosen two colors for 2021: Ultimate Gray, and Illuminating Yellow. Benjamin Moore has chosen Aegean Teal, a color that's anything from blue to green to gray. Farrow and Ball has a palette of colors for the year, mostly warm, organic colors with a reddish undertone. 

Cozy Comfort

The hard edges and exposed wood of the Mad Men mid-century look are rounding and softening, leading to more cushioned upholstery and lots of pillows and throws. Now is the time to bring back all the accessories and personal items you stowed away during the "no clutter" years. The trick is to curate your collections so they look thoughtful and polished. 

Sustainability

Green design is trending across the board, from architecture and construction to interiors. Wicker (made from woven willow twigs) and rattan furniture (woven palm stems) are gaining in popularity. Natural fibers—linen, cotton, silk, and velvet—are covering furniture, while cotton, jute, seagrass, and wool rugs are covering floors.  Marble end tables, wood furniture, and pottery are just some of the natural elements that add warmth to your rooms. Houseplants have moved into the spotlight, too. Live plants are good for acting as purifying air filters, but there are some wonderful faux options if allergies are an issue. 

Think of design trends as suggestions for freshening up your home. If you love the mid-century look, just add some throw pillows or poufs, or maybe paint a brighter color and put down a wool rug in a geometric pattern.  Minimalist fans can bring in houseplants that warm up your space without compromising the less-is-more aesthetic. Ultimately, trends should only serve to make you happy in your home. 

If you need help incorporating these design trends into your home, be sure to contact us.

Plants breathe life into our homes. Humans are biologically drawn to the natural world. By integrating greenery into our lives, we are improving our mental and physical wellbeing as well as the aesthetics of our space. A large floor plant, tabletop bonsai tree, or fresh cut flowers are all simple and eye-catching ways to incorporate plants, but let’s get creative. Up your plant game and surround yourself in greenery one room at a time. 

Take It To The Walls

Vertical gardens and wall planters come in an array of sizes, shapes, and styles to fit any decor and home size. They offer an unexpected and intriguing way to turn plants into artwork. A floor to ceiling succulent garden or moss wall would be stunning. If you are short on wall space, fill a single wall planter with a draping pothos for a simple yet dramatic statement. 

Hang From The Ceiling

Free up coveted table space and hang bushy or cascading plants, like the maidenhair fern or string of pearls, from the ceiling. Hang a glass terrarium with air plants for a modern look or use macrame plant hangers for a more casual bohemian vibe. Try creating a live room divider by arranging them in a row separating spaces for an impressive partition. 

Display Your Collections

Collecting and caring for plants is a therapeutic hobby that also happens to beautify our space. Find interesting ways to display them that will showcase their beauty and your hard work. Position plants along a picture ledge, fill a bar cart top to bottom with greenery, or turn a long bench into a plant stand for unique ways to feature them.

Grow What You Love To Eat

Put your plants to work—turn your kitchen into your very own indoor garden. A sunny window sill is perfect for a few loved herbs or create that vertical garden filled with greens, vegetables, or small fruits. Snip the herbs and hang them to dry for another visually interesting way to display and use them later. Do you put avocado on everything or lemons in your water? Grow your own tree!

Greenery enriches our lives. Plants provide so much more than just beautiful decor, so go wild! Use these ideas for inspiration and bring plants into your home one room at a time. If you need help, you can always reach out to us.

From prehistoric rock art to the great Pablo Picasso, face line art has been here since the beginning of time. Millennials have embraced this ever-evolving art form, leading to its explosion all over the online world, and for good reason. This simple yet powerful source of artistic expression can fit into any design style. Integrating it into your home is simple—here are few ideas to get you started.

Wallpaper

For a bold statement—pick a wallpaper! The designs come in a wide range of colors, facial sizes, and styles that contribute to its overall feel. A soft dusty green, filling the empty space, will feel subtle and calm. A contrasting black and white design will be much louder. The right utilization of furniture will elevate the room and balance out the print. This will create a unique and interesting space that is fun to look at.

Artwork

From a single continuous line to a collection of faces, these prints come in an array of styles.  Some prints feel very modern and abstract, while others can feel quite soft and feminine. They are typically black and white, but not always. Pops of color can be a refreshing alternative and work wonderfully packed into a gallery wall or as a stand-alone feature.   

Decor

Home accessories are buzzing with these prints. From shower curtains to throw pillows to ceramics, you name it, and it's probably there. The key is picking one that speaks to you and rolling with it. This is not a trend you want repeating throughout the entirety of your home. Utilized modestly, you will have an interesting statement piece that can run the gamut of fun and quirky to a conveyor of strong emotion.

Face line art can be found in many mediums and can create a lot of power with a single line. There are tons of possibilities with this style – we'll always be here to help if you're stuck!