How to Make Your Bedroom an Oasis

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It’s no secret: today’s world is often chaotic and stressful. Between work, family, and myriad other responsibilities, it can be difficult to find rest amid life’s busyness.

And what is one of the first things to suffer when we can’t relax? Our sleep. One of the easiest solutions to this problem is to ensure that your bedroom is an oasis of calm and quiet.

Here are our top 3 design tips for creating a space that supports healthy and rejuvenating sleep.

Invest in a quality mattress.

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it is the most important factor for good sleep: do not settle for a cheap or uncomfortable mattress. A piece of furniture that you use every day of your life is worth your investment — especially when it greatly impacts your quality of life. A bad mattress inhibits your sleep, leads to muscle and joint pain, and leaves you feeling worse in the morning than you felt when you first laid down at night.

Your mattress should stand the test of time and comfortably support your body all night. You should also test any mattress you are considering before purchasing it. Our store carries bench-made mattresses from Winndom, a Virginia-based company, which you can try for yourself right in our Roanoke showroom. Several of our staff members own one or more mattresses from Winndom, so we can recommend these beds personally. With several firmness and size options, we can find a perfect mattress for everyone in your family.

Use calm colors and soft lighting in your room.

Scientific studies have proven that color has an effect on our mood, appetite, and even some of our decisions. It’s no surprise that the colors of your bedroom also have an impact on your mental state when you are winding down for bed.

We recommend choosing muted colors that give you a sense of calm for your bedroom walls and décor. Warm neutrals, pastels, and earth tones are all great options for creating a calm color palette. Colors that are bright and bold, on the other hand, can be overly stimulating and reflect too much light for a healthy sleep environment. If you need help choosing the right colors for your space, our interior designers are wonderful at recommending paint options. Our store also carries full bedding sets for any style.

In addition to calming colors, make sure the light fixtures in your room are not overly bright. If you like to read or journal before bed, we recommend placing a small lamp on your nightstand. Our showroom carries several lamps that also have a night-light setting, which is particularly useful for nighttime reading.

Minimize clutter.

Creating a clean and organized space is our final tip for giving your bedroom a calming environment. When your room is cluttered, your mind is more likely to feel uneasy or anxious. We recommend incorporating storage elements in your bedroom furniture to ensure that all your belongings have a place. Perhaps you would benefit from a storage bed with drawers tucked neatly underneath your bedframe; or maybe a gentlemen’s chest or dresser could provide storage space for the things that don’t fit in your closet. Even a small, solid wood chest at the foot of your bed can help to minimize clutter an add to the beauty of the room. Once your bedroom is organized, we guarantee you will feel much more relaxed when your head hits the pillow.

We hope these tips will help you to start off the new year with better sleep. When you get quality rest, you are better equipped to enjoy life and handle any stressors that may come your way. If you need help finding the right furniture or design elements for your bedroom, we would love to help you. Come visit our Roanoke showroom or make an appointment at our Lynchburg Design Studio for personal assistance today!

5 Ways Design Services Can Bring Your Vision for Your Home to Life

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Have you ever walked into a furniture or home store and suddenly felt completely overwhelmed? Do you have a vision for how you want your space to look, but you don’t have the first clue about where to start?

Whether you are simply interested in sprucing up your living room, or gearing up for a total home makeover, working with a designer could save you a lot of time, money, and headaches. Here are five ways that a professional can help.

A designer can narrow down your options based on your style and needs.

Today’s home furnishings market is teeming with options … sometimes too many options. Who knew there were so many different types of sofas? Not to mention the numerous fabric and leather options, a wide range a of materials from wood to glass to metal … is your head spinning yet? A designer can sort through all these options with your vision in mind and present a manageable selection for you to pick from. Selecting pieces for your home doesn’t have to be stressful — in fact, it should be fun!

Picking colors can be more difficult than you think — but a professional will take out the guesswork.

Choosing colors for the pieces in your home can be harder than you expect. Did you know that there are a gazillion different tones of gray, and they each affect the overall feel of a space in unique ways? Well not to worry — a good designer has a broad knowledge of color science (yes, it is an actual science) and can help you determine what colors will work best in your home.

Designers can determine the best layout for the pieces in your space, so you can stop struggling with your tape measure.

So much of interior design is centered around creating a layout that functions spatially. There is nothing worse than a giant sectional that consumes an entire living room, or a dining room rug that isn’t big enough to fit all the chairs on it. A designer will know how to measure the space needed for each type of piece, so you don’t have to worry about how things will fit. You can just sit back, relax, and let the professional do all the math.

In today’s global marketplace, it can be difficult to determine if a piece is of good quality. But a designer has the knowledge to save you from substandard buys.

Not all furnishings are created equal. But unless you have studied furniture construction, it is difficult to distinguish between the good and the bad. For example, a piece could be described as being 100% leather, but unless you know how to identify the difference between split and top-grain leather, you could be in for big disappointment. Split leathers will crack and peel easily, but often times the marketing of the product will never warn you of that risk. Top-grain leathers, on the other hand, are durable, beautiful, and will last for years.

Don’t waste your hard-earned money on pieces that won’t be able to withstand the pets and kids. A designer knows how to recognize good construction and quality materials. Your investment will go a much longer way when you buy well-made pieces.

A fresh perspective from a professional could provide amazing ideas you haven’t even considered.

The world of home furnishings holds endless possibilities, but most folks have some idea of their personal style and are reluctant to consider new ideas. The beauty of working with a designer is that he or she can show you colors, patterns, and materials that you’ve never even thought of before. Many times, these suggestions become customers’ favorite elements of their home. A designer can inspire you to get creative with your home while still remaining true to your personality. Why settle for a space that is simply functional, when you could have a home that excites and inspires you?

Maybe you agree that working with a designer would help you, but there is still the issue of spending the money to hire a professional. Home improvements are already costly enough! At Reid’s Fine Furnishings, we believe that design services should be easily accessible to all our customers.

That is why working with our designers is complimentary with any purchase through our showroom or design studio. You heard that right — design fees are completely waived with any purchase. Simply give us a call or stop by our Roanoke showroom to meet with a designer and learn more. The home of your dreams is right at your fingertips!

Selecting the Right Size Rug for Your Space

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It’s not rocket science, but there is a bit of a science to picking the right size rug for your space.

Selecting the right size area rug can be the difference between bringing the elements of a room together or making it look like it was thrown together haphazardly. (Hint: You want to be in the former category.)

Choosing the appropriate size depends on two important factors: the dimensions of the room and the furniture paired with the rug.  

The rug can be positioned either entirely or partially under the furniture. It should never float alone inside the furniture grouping. This is particularly relevant for living rooms. Do you want the rug to be under all legs of the couch and chairs, or just the front legs? 

Lia Melder, interior designer for Reid’s Fine Furnishings’ Forest location, has rug-sizing philosophies for various rooms of the house. “For a living room, you want the rug to define the space and ground all of the furniture. What you do with one furniture piece should be done with all pieces, so if only the front legs of the sofa are on the rug, then only the front legs of any other sofas or chairs should be on,” she said. “If the entire piece is on the rug, all pieces should be entirely on the rug.”

Lia has some other considerations to make in other rooms of the house, as well. 

For safety and comfort’s sake, you don’t want the dining room chairs to be on uneven surfaces. That means opt for the larger rug.

“You want the rug large enough that when chairs are pulled back to get in and out they stay fully on the rug. Generally, that means the rug needs to be at least 2 feet larger than the table all the way around,” she said. 

“For a bedroom, you want the sides of the bed where your feet are going to hit the floor when you get up in the morning to be covered, and the area at the foot of the bed should be covered as well. This can be accomplished with one large rug, or a combination of smaller rugs, depending on what works best for the layout of the room.” 

There are always exceptions to these rules, however, so if you are still unsure of what size area rug you need, that’s okay! Visit our Roanoke or Forest showrooms today so one of our designers can help you find the perfect rug for your home.

Deck Your Home for the Holidays

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Does flipping through magazines gives you holiday decor envy?

Our interior designers have a few tips that will help you decorate for the holidays like a pro.

Choose a Theme

Think about how you celebrate the holidays and choose a color scheme. If you’re the traditional type, a classic red, green, and gold color scheme is a good place to start. Like to host fancy-dress cocktail parties? A sophisticated metallic color pallette will set the right tone. Famous for your no-holds-barred New Year’s bash? You might like a funky riff on classic holiday colors like metallic magenta and electric green.

Having a loose theme and a color story for your holiday decorations in mind will help you focus when you’re thumbing through design magazines and searching the internet for inspiration. We’ve put together a few Pinterest boards to get you started. 

It’s Easy Being Green

If you get tired of seeing poinsettias everywhere during the holidays, you’re not alone. But plants are a simple and inexpensive element to add to your holiday décor, no matter what theme or color story you choose. Pine boughs look beautiful draped on a mantel or around doorways, and individually potted rosemary plants work well as centerpieces and side-table accents.

Don’t Over-Decorate

It’s easy to get carried away when decorating for the holidays, but resist the temptation to turn your entire home into a Christmas card. Plan your décor strategically, placing the most importance on the entryway and the focal points of the primary entertaining spaces. Add small flourishes to less-frequently visited rooms like the guest bath.

Let There Be Light

Lighting is an important design element that’s often overlooked. Kill the overhead lights and use an indirect light source. Uplights are great for highlight artwork and key décor vignettes, and they reflect off the walls to create a welcoming glow. You can also incorporate LED candles into your decorations on tables and shelves to create a cozy feeling in the space.

Creating a Comfortable Home Office

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It seems that more people than ever before now have a home office. But while many people focus on aesthetic style when designing their space, it’s also important to create an environment that’s comfortable and distraction-free.

Reid’s Fine Furnishings has a wide selection of home office furniture to fit your tastes and needs.

Here are some tips to help you create a functional, comfortable home office.

Choosing a Chair

The chair in your home office should be functional and comfortable since you will be spending several hours a day sitting. Lumbar support and height-adjustment features are essential, and a rotating base with wheels will allow you to move around easily.

Modern, minimalist designs are a top choice for most people buying home office furniture at Reid’s. To add warmth and sophistication, we suggest choosing a chair model made of wood, leather or other natural materials.

Picking the Right Desk

Remember size, form and function when choosing your desk. Choose a desk that’s the right height for your body and the right width and depth for your needs. The optimum distance from your eyes to your computer monitor is 16-30 inches.

Resist the urge to decorate with accessories clutter your work surface.

Working in the Sun

Natural light regulates circadian rhythm and has been proven to make people more productive. Position your desk in a place where you can get plenty of sunlight throughout the day.

One downside to natural light is the glare it causes on a computer screen, which can lead to eye strain. We suggest positioning your desk perpendicular to windows so you still enjoy the sunlight without a glare on your screen.

Like the rest of your home, your home office should be stylish and make you feel comfortable. The associates at Reid’s Fine Furnishings can help you choose office furniture that matches your tastes and fit your needs. Browse our online showroom or visit one of our showroom locations in Roanoke or Forest to see our selection of home office furniture.

Reid’s Fine Furnishings: More Than a Furniture Store

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When you’re thinking about buying a new sofa, dining table or bedroom furniture, we hope you think of Reid’s Fine Furnishings first.

Reid’s is more than a furniture store — we’re a lifestyle destination where great design, beautiful lighting, stunning art, and rare accessories come together to transform your house into a well-decorated home.

In our showrooms, located in Roanoke, VA and Forest, VA, our interior design specialists put their creative minds to work combining rugs, lighting, art, accessories — and, of course, furniture — to create inviting vignettes that allow you to see how these items can be displayed in your home.

We’ll work with you one-on-one, too, to learn your lifestyle and aesthetic preferences and carefully curate a selection of furnishings, art, lighting and accessories to outfit your home. We’ll even come out to your home for consultations and advise on room layouts, help with space planning, and choose décor elements such as paint, wall coverings and fixtures.

For more information about the whole-home interior design services Reid’s offer, make an appointment with one of our interior design specialists.

Interior Design 101

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Do you flip through the pages of Architectural Digest, swoon over the stunning rooms, and resign yourself to the notion that your home will never look that good?

You’re not alone.

We’ll be the first to tell you that there are thousands of hours, great lighting, and clever staging that go into designing an interior for a magazine shoot. Those setups aren’t necessarily well-suited for day-to-day living, either.

But your home can look beautifully put-together, and accommodate your lifestyle, with a little help from an interior designer. We know, it sounds like a huge undertaking befitting an HGTV show, but interior design is not as complicated (or expensive) as television can make it seem.

Before we get into the specifics of designing your dream interior, let’s go through a few questions so we can get to know you and your space.

1. What type of surroundings make you happy?
2. Do you respond to neat and organized or lots of accessories?
3. Which is your favorite room in the house (or your least favorite)?
4. Where do you feel most at home — in the city, the suburbs, the country, at the lake, or up in the mountains?
5. How much time, energy, and money are you willing to spend right now on the style you want to achieve?
6. How do the people who inspire you live — simply and quietly, surrounded by family, or traveling the world?
7. Do you have a favorite piece of furniture or art or collectible that you can’t live without?
8. If you could change one thing about the furnishings in your home, what would it be?
9. Where would you take a dream vacation? Would you create a similar atmosphere at home?
10. Does your decorating dream correspond to your lifestyle?

The way you answer these questions will help us get a sense of your personal style and your interior design preferences. You don’t have to write down your answers, but we encourage it!

When you’ve had a chance to think about what you want your home to look and feel like, contact us to arrange a consultation with our interior designers, and we’ll get started!

Set the Perfect Thanksgiving Table

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Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving for the first time, or your house is the holiday hot spot every year, these tips will help you set the perfect table for your feast.

Choose a theme.

A theme will help you focus on elements that will enhance your table without taking away from the experience you’re trying to create. For example, if your theme is “shine,” you might opt for metallic accents sprinkled throughout the tablescape, such as gold or silver napkin holders or spray-painted gourd clusters for centerpieces.

Add elegant touches.

Chargers are special oversized plates that sit beneath dining plates. As each course is cleared, the charger remains on the table awaiting the next dish. Chargers also serve as protection for your table cloth, and can be used with or without placemats. Another elegant touch is a specially folded napkin. You don’t need a fancy swan, simply fold your napkins into a pocket shape where you can place utensils or a menu.

Create height, without obstructing the view.

Tall candle holders or glass vases with metallic branches are an ideal way to add height to your Thanksgiving table, just make sure the placement doesn’t interfere with your guests’ conversations.

Don’t forget the kids!

If you have enough children in your family to have a kids table, make it a fun place for them to be. Include trivia place cards or small games they can entertain themselves with.

Our Thanksgiving Table Pinterest Board features some beautiful, creative ideas for your family table and the kids’ table, too!

Follow the Reid’s Fine Furnishings Thanksgiving Table board on Pinterest.

What Hue Are You?

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Color is the decorating glue that holds your home together. A beautiful color scheme can make your whole house seem well planned and organized.

Even though color plays an important role in the way your home looks and feels, there are no hard and fast rules about finding the right palette. Color choices are personal. Start with what you love.

Deciding on a scheme doesn’t have to be overwhelming. There are ways to find colors that please you, make you happy or energize you. Just about anything can serve as inspiration.

Where to start? Look at a piece of fabric or rug that you’ve always wanted to use. Choose your primary color with that in mind.

Paint is an inexpensive and simple way to change the whole atmosphere of your home. Ask yourself: what’s your favorite color? How do you react to color? How do you want this space to feel? How much light is there in the space?

Color cues can come from just about anywhere. With all of this in mind, don’t be afraid of color!

What’s Your Style?

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When choosing a style, look for inspiration anywhere and everywhere.

Grab a notebook so you can collect your design ideas and jot down your decorating dreams. Try to divide them into projects that can be accomplished in a day or a week or a month and those that may take a long-term commitment.