How To Lay Out A Wall

Nothing ratchets up the anxiety level quite like the finality of putting a hole in the wall.

This natural fear is frequently responsible for homes afflicted with Barren Wall Disease, a condition currently running rampant across the United States. Here are a couple quick guidelines with which you can nurse yourself back to health:

Of course, there is nothing wrong with a bare wall here and there (or everywhere, if that is your personal taste). In an effort to avoid BWD, many of us fall victim to the impulse to hang all of the things on all of the walls, leaving us with a very visually-stimulating space. If you're a person who likes to come home and relax, this may not be the environment in which you will function best. If you're like most people, make sure to leave enough white or negative space to allow the eye and mind to rest. This may leave a wall or two completely bare. Don't worry about it!

Anything can become wall art.
We often think of hanging pictures on walls, but don't forget the potential of sculptural creations, clocks, mirrors, lightweight items such as hats or jewelry...I've even seen wall arrangements made entirely of plants. Think even farther outside of the box and realize that anything blocking the wall should be taken into consideration when creating a layout. Configurations can be arranged to leave space for a lamp or plant on the table or floor that is backed up against a wall. This is a great way to add another dimension to a layout!

The general rule of thumb is that a piece of art should take up 2/3 of the wall.
The simplest way to achieve this would be to get one large piece that is the correct size and hang it, but many times residents are working with a grouping of smaller objects. The 2/3 measurement would be the size of the grouping as a whole. Gallery walls are all the rage right now; stay tuned for a=some tips and tricks on how to start one of your own!

How To Decorate A Coffee Table

Styling surfaces in your home can be the best part of interior design. After the heavy lifting of furniture placement is completed, the finishing touches elevate a space to where it needs to be. Because the all-important coffee table is a prime surface for expressing your taste, here are a few tips for making it look (and function) at its best:

1. Bring in colors from around the room.

 In Natalie's first episode of this series, she covers choosing colors for a space. Once your colors are chosen, it makes styling individual areas in the room easy!

2. Don't clutter the coffee table. 

Keep it simple! Negative space is important in a design, especially when adorning a piece of furniture that is expected to fulfill multiple purposes. If you eat on your coffee table, for example, you don't want to have to move a bunch of items to another surface every time.

3. Use low-profile objects. Books, low-profile bowls, trays

Much like rule number 2, good design incorporates function, and in most living room set-ups, the coffee table is either a centerpiece to a conversational area, or sits between a couch and a television. Table ornaments that are too high disrupt the function of both of these arrangements, as no one wants to look around a tall candlestick to converse with the person across from them.

What home decor questions do you want Natalie to answer next? Comment below, and we may cover it in a future video!

What's In Your Designer Toolkit?

This week's decor tip from interior designer Natalie Siegel: make sure you have the right tools in your designer toolkit. If you got here from the video, here is a handy-dandy list of the Definitive Dozen, AKA items Natalie can't do without. If you haven't seen the video, check it out!

1. Hammer

2. Powerdrill

3. Spackle 

4. Fabric Glue

5. Painters Tape - 2-inch

6. Laser Leveler

7. Staple Gun

8. Dry Wall Screws

9. Scissors

10. Fishing Line

11. Mollies

12. Scissors

So what topics do you want to see Natalie de-mystify next? Comment below!

The Importance of Community Involvement

Most businesses begin with one person believing that they can improve some facet of life in some way. If the product or service this person proposes adds enough value to a community, you are well on your way to success.

Striking partnerships with other organizations also following this formula is another way to add value. In our opinion, anyone not taking these opportunities is missing out.

For example, our partnership with preferred employers adds value to the communities we serve by addressing the relocation needs of those who are new to the area and in need of immediate housing while they settle in. This partnership  not only saves employees money on rent and application fees, but it also provides short- and long-term housing solutions that are often less expensive than lengthy hotel stays and third party corporate housing companies.

Redwood is currently pursing partnerships for our preferred employer programs with L Brands, Flagstar Bank, Brew Dog, Marco's Pizza, and General Motors.

In the case of international relocation services, we also partner with PaySmart USA to provide one-stop shop for bundling utility bills, and CORT Furniture to provide furnished housing. Of course, furnished housing is available to any of our residents, some of whom elect this perk because they are with us for short-term stays, are just embarking on life after college or recent life change, or any circumstances where they see a benefit.

Partnerships also afford the opportunity for community involvement more directly, such as our sponsorship of the General Motors/ UAW 2209 kickball tournament, and our anticipated participation in L Brands with their cancer fighting charity initiatives.

It is true: teamwork makes the dream work, folks.

If you would like to partner up with Redwood Living, let us know by sending an email to Amy Litten at ALitten@byRedwood.com

*Post written by Sharae Terrell, Digital Marketing Associate for Redwood Living 

How To Make Your Bed

How do department stores get a bed to look so comfortable?

Not only is your bed the centerpiece of the room, it can also be the hardest-working piece of furniture in your home. It is so important, in fact, that we have a completely separate post dedicated to headboards.

Whether you're trying to create a guestroom with that My-home-always-looks-perfect vibe, or treating yourself to an inviting oasis at the end of the day, Natalie shows you how with her thought process in this week's episode of our YouTube series:

Subscribe to Redwood Living TV on YouTube to be notified when next week's episode is released!

Now that your bed is holding up its end of the deal, check out our post on bedrooms here!

How To Choose a Color Scheme

This week, interior designer Natalie Siegel kicks off a weekly design series on our YouTube channel. This week: choosing a color scheme! You can scroll to the bottom of this post to check out her tutorial, but before we get to the professional advice...

Behold the color wheel.

Did you behold it? Good. Now, there are countless shades of colors, but your basic 6 are your primaries: red, yellow, and blue, and your secondaries: orange, green, and violet. For the purposes of keeping this post shorter than the Bible, these are the 6 colors I will offer my thoughts on below.

1. Red

Everybody knows that red is a passionate color, and can make a big impact even in small doses. It screams 'stop and look at me!' like no other hue. Little known fact about Red's cousin Pink: in the early 20th century, Pink was seen as a masculine color due to its membership in the Red family, while blue was associated with softness and heavenliness, a supposed feminine quality. Early Disney princesses (Snow White, Cinderella) wore blue dresses due in part to this logic, and only during the mid-to-late-century did pink and blue switch places to match up with the genders we commonly associate them with today.

2.Orange

Did you know that orange is least likely to be chosen as a person's favorite color? Cheer up, orange, I love you anyway. Being the only color that is both on the warm side of the color wheel and a secondary color, orange avoids the harsh primary qualities of red and yellow by (almost literally) combining the happiness of yellow with the pizazz of red. Being the opposite of Blue, the most popular color, means that frequently the two will be paired.

3. Yellow

The color of smiley faces, sunny days, and cereal boxes; whenever you want to convey 'happy', yellow is your first stop. Red, orange, and yellow make up the warm side of the color wheel, and are specifically recommended when dealing with low-light spaces that need a little pep added to their step.

4. Green

Money, growth, positivity, and health. Green has long been used in the advertising industry to convey nature and good fortune; you'll find it on 'healthy' product packaging at the grocery store, and on the cover of many books featuring financial advice.

5. Blue

Blue is the world's favorite color. If you're not sure what will be a crowd -pleaser, this is a safe bet. It commands a presence in logos across the world. A calming color, it does well in bedrooms. Blue is used frequently in commercials for cleaning products, as it is seen as pure and trustworthy. Speaking of trustworthy, lets play a game: count how many blue ties you'll find at the next Presidential debate.

6. Violet

Violet rounds out the 3 cool colors of the color wheel. This color is commonly associated with royalty, and its deep hues are a staple in the jewel-tone family. Richness and abundance is a hallmark of this color that has just enough blue to not be considered 'too feminine' by the American mainstream.


I am a firm believer in the idea that there is no such thing as an ugly color; there are just colors that work better in some places than others. If a color speaks to you, use it!

Don't forget to subscribe to Redwood's YouTube channel to be updated when the next video in Natalie's series is published!