Simple DIY furniture: Benches

Substantial solid wood benches look great, are easy to live with, and have a cozy appearance. Here are some examples that you could DIY relatively easily. (Lovegrowswild.com has good instructions on building the bench in first two images, and the rest are for inspiration.) I especially like ones that are a bit rough and rustic. Those age even better and the wear and tear you might cause just adds to their character.

Want more ideas for DIY benches? Check out this post or this one.

Sources: Images 1 & 2, image 3, image 4, bottom image

Natural materials & textures, cozy rooms

Imperfection soothes the soul, and so does nature. Incorporating natural materials, textures in forms that will age well and acquire character with use, go far in creating cozy rooms. Natural light and visual access to outdoors help, too, as seen in this eat-in kitchen. Those elements also help create timeless spaces which I always prefer over investing in trends that will soon seem dated.

^ Cool cozy kitchen. I like the Thonet chairs, the exposed brick, and the tile by the doors.

^ I love this mudroom with its unpretentious, practical shoe racks, and ample space to hang coats. The art work over the coat hooks seem a bit too repetitive and impersonal though.

^ Love the texture and the warm color of the paint job on the wall.

sources: image 1, images 2,3,4, image 5

Dine-in kitchen: Smart and efficient use of space

It is smart to use space efficiently. It is also more environment-friendly, demands less economically, and in this specific example; friendlier, and cosier. Dining and entertaining right in the kitchen makes sense. Gone are the days of separate dining areas for family vs guests. A kitchen/entertaining space like this is more intimate and homey and in today's world we could use more of that. (That steel beam table is a bit overkill but overall, this is a good-looking and a very practical set up.)

Image from bloodandchampagne.com

Casual bedding, casual dining, casual entry

Top two images from brendan-i-am.tumblr.com, bottom image from we-heart.com

Cozy & comfortable

Cozy& comfortable beats pretentious & high-maintenance any day. Relax, and find true beauty!

All images from loveandlanterns.tumblr.com

Casual indoor dining spaces

Be comfortable in your domain.  Let your space serve you well but keep you humble!

Top image from sueswink.tumblr.com, bottom image from pinterest.com/karamar

Casual dining

It's easy to be distracted by stuff (like dining furniture, silverware, glassware, etc) in pursuit of an enjoyable dining experience but what really matters most (and a lot harder to have) is good company. An unpretentious setting is not just OK but preferable so everyone can be themselves. Whether it's some flowers in a vase, a potted plant nearby, or a lush garden, let nature provide all the aesthetic touches.

Top image from desdemventana.blogspot.hu and the bottom one is from jellysundae.tumblr.com

Sophisticated casual

Casual decor does not have to be like a dorm room. When done right, casual is sophisticated and mirrors the elegance of modesty and natural beauty.

Images from johanfrancoise.blogspot.com

Live outdoors!

Combine the coziness and comfort of a living room type set-up with the charm of a pleasant landscape, and you get a very appealing outdoor space.

Image 1 (I had this image for sometime but don't recall where I got it from, if you know please let me know - I'd like to link to the source) - Image 2 from californiahomedesign.com, image 3 from flowerwildevents.blogspot.com, image 4 from gardendesign.com

Random inspiration

Let's make life comfortable, casual, and beautiful without being pretentious. Style does not have to cost a high price, or be exclusive, or come at the expense of impracticality or discomfort.

Image 1 from schoengeistig.tumblr.com , image 2 from likeneelyohara.tumblr.com, image 3 from bluepueblo.tumblr.com, image 4 from mossandmarsh.tumblr.com

Homey cozy

These are some great places in my opinion, and what's common between them is little touches of grace, natural materials, and well-kept but showing-some-wear items. I love those bright yellow dining chairs and the Thonet dining chairs.

Images from DesireToInspire.net

Cozy rooms from blissfulbblog.com

Bunch of really cool and inspiring shots of liveable and cozy looking spaces from the blissfulbblog.com. It's not all about decor, the blog also has fashion, recipes, etc. and it's all great looking!

All images from blissfulbblog.com

Outdoor dining area

This is how al fresco dining should be; with lots of casual foliage around.

Image from homelife.com.au

Casually mismatched dining

Cool looking walls and a nice casual table set up with a mismatched variety of chairs make a charming dining room.

Image from theseabarn.tumblr.com

Cozy & easy-going place

This place is really cool and set up with a lot of simple yet cozy details -and if you can believe it, the place is only 600sq ft! Living in a place like this would be like always being on vacation -not a bad thing at all. This is such an inspiration to me, reminding me that one can create a beautiful life with so much less and that money is better spent on experiences and not on stuff anyway. Go Brooke & Ian Hanson! (Hanson's are the owners and creators of this place.)

All images from CountryLiving.com but I saw them first on BirchAndBird.com