Inexpensive beauty indoors and outdoors

You can achieve beautiful environments indoors and outdoors without a big budget by using pieces with character and charm. Natural materials, colors, and textures generally look good, and plants and foliage always add beauty. Be true to your taste. A place with a heart and soul is always pleasant and nothing can creates that warmth like pieces that are well-used, well-liked, and personally meaningful. Avoid status symbols. Because an environment that displays virtues; like resourcefulness, efficiency, creativity, honesty, and modesty is a cozy and an inspiring environment. A place that intends to display wealth and status cannot achieve the same.

^ It's not flawless craftsmanship, perfectly pruned plants, or luxury furniture that makes this area so cozy.

^ Inexpensive colored glass marbles and a little creativity and can turn a standard wooden fence to something lovely.

^ Sometimes it is not applying a fresh coat of paint that adds charm.

^ Lots of foliage can make any place beautiful and inviting.

^ A varied collection of unpretentious, simple, and honest items are more welcoming than matchy-matchy status symbols.

Sources: image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4,  image 5

Plants on Balconies, Terraces, and Rooftop Gardens

Whether they are placed indoors or outdoors; in yards, balconies, or rooftop gardens, plants have aesthetic, ecological, health, and psychological benefits. All of those benefits come together to create more livable and beautiful spaces. Especially when plants are used outdoors not only the occupants of those spaces but the whole surrounding area, the whole city, enjoys those benefits.

As usual, plants look their best and create more relaxing environments when their natural size and shapes are appreciated. Trimming them to specific shapes and fighting against your plants' nature to keep them at a certain size stresses them out, makes them more vulnerable, and creates a lot of extra work for you.

Sources: images 1 & 2, image 3, image 4, image 5

Live on porches and patios

I am a fan of life outdoors. Eating, sleeping, a coffee break, a conversation...etc, almost any activity can be improved by taking it outside, and covered porches/patios/balconies extend the time you can stay outdoors by protecting you from the sun when it's hot and from rain and snow when it's not. Front porches are especially great since they increase curb appeal. They also improve neighborhoods and bring neighbors closer together in my opinion. Plus it's fun to raise your glass as people go by!

Image sources: Top image, Image 2, Image 3, image 4, bottom image

Simple joys

Hi everyone, sorry it's been a while since my last post. It wasn't because my love for simple, natural, and unpretentious spaces (or things, or people) went away!

Images from breadandolives.tumblr.com