We love creating themed rooms! Whether it’s a sports team for a boy’s bedroom or a beach theme for a family game room, spaces that show your personality are charming and fun.

Most of our requests for themes are for kids’ rooms. We’ve done a San Jose Sharks hockey bedroom in the team’s black and teal colors with locker room-style furniture, framed jerseys and LED puck lights. We’ve also designed a playroom that feels like an outdoor garden with its wooden swing, tree-like bookshelf and two-story fort. A recent favorite was a young ballerina’s bedroom – in pink and lavender, of course.

A key component to a themed room is a hand-painted mural. We will share a full post just on our muralist Cammy Stenavich in a few weeks. But as you can see from our ballerina’s wall art below, these painted touches add a delightful, distinctive twist to a themed room.

When we design a themed room, we keep longevity in mind. While your toddler might be way into Thomas the Train now, he will set his sights on other interests a few years from now. So rather than spend thousands of dollars on permanent décor, we use accessories to bring the theme to life. Look at this sports room, which could easily be converted to a different theme on a whim:

Or this surfing room with its breezy coastal-style furniture:

Even our ballerina’s room above can be altered simply by removing the bar and painting over the flowers to reflect its occupant’s newest passions. And that’s what a themed room is all about – offering a glimpse of what brings you pleasure while maintaining a stylish, comfortable look.

Want to create a themed room in your home? Or perhaps you need advice on a remodel. Whatever your design needs, please contact us for a complimentary consultation.

Unused closet space can become a useful office that can be closed off when you have guests.

It’s not unusual to ask a room in your home to do double duty, whether that combo is office/guest bedroom, family room/play room or sunroom/craft room. Storage is always the biggest concern in a room that has two or more functions since you want to be able to “hide” the room’s dual identity. Here are some tips for how to maximize your storage, including one that might surprise you!

• Of course built-ins that close off clutter are the most obvious way to stash what you don’t want seen. But if custom cabinetry isn’t in your budget, look to simple organizational tools. For example, pretty baskets can be full of toys, scrapbooking supplies or other disparate items, but when they are lined up on a shelf all people see is a neat row of baskets.

Geometric baskets can be filled with toys or other items you want to hide.

• I mentioned hiding the room’s alternate use above — you can do that literally with a large piece of furniture. Toys can be stashed behind a console in your family room, for instance, where they are out of sight but still accessible. A coffee table or ottoman with storage also offers fast and easy ways to conceal lots of items quickly.

• Many of us transform our offices into bedrooms when friends and family come to visit. But it can be awkward to welcome guests into a space where your personal paperwork is available for all to see, resulting in a chaotic rather than restful appearance. Instead, consider repurposing the room’s closet as an office. Add bi-fold doors to allow for complete access to the closet space, and place your desk in the closet nook. Then when guests arrive you can simply close those doors to make the office disappear. Attach a couple of clothes hooks over the closet door for your guests’ hanging clothes.

Would you know this unit is home to a Murphy bed? I doubt it!

• Now, here is the surprise part. Remember those creaky old Murphy beds from years’ past? Well, those are gone. In their place are stylish, comfortable beds that still allow for space savings but not at the sacrifice of your back and arms. Today’s Murphy beds are so easy to pull down and replace that a child can do it. And you don’t need to make a hole in your wall — the sofa bed actually folds into what appears to be an armoire. When the bed is down, the bookshelves on either side serve as nightstands. We’ve also designed this piece as an office so when the bed is flat against the wall you can pull down a desk from it. The finished look is so unobtrusive that you could even install this unit in a formal living room. It isn’t an inexpensive option — perhaps $3000 compared to $1000 or less for a sofa bed — but because it stows away it truly offers you flexibility in a multi-purpose space.

A clever hollow "book" is a great place to store card games.

We are storage and redesign specialists at Style on a Shoestring. Please contact us if we can help you make better use of your multipurpose space.

Subtle touches can provide tropical flavor to your home.

Being in San Diego, a lot of our clients enjoy a coastal design look for their home, but some want a more tropical enhancement that reflects our sunny beach environment. The trick is to do it subtly so you get hints of this style without feeling like you are sitting at a Tiki bar in Polynesia.

Grasscloth wallpaper is a great way to introduce texture and that tropical feel to a room. We used this for a client recently in combination with wood paneling. The wood provided warmth while the grasscloth gave the space the relaxed “resort” vibe that the client wanted.

Some designers such as Tommy Bahama and Ralph Lauren incorporate entire furniture collections that fit with a tropical style. These are beautiful pieces but I suggest avoiding an entire room filled with them so you don’t feel like you’ve living in an ad. It also limits your flexibility in updating your décor as you move forward. Instead, select key items – perhaps a few carved wood pieces with the palm or pineapple motif – and fill in with less thematic selections.

You can also accomplish tropical flair through simple accessories. Fill an apothecary jar with seashells or sand dollars, for example, and place it in your foyer. Or position a piece of coral or driftwood on a stack of coffee table books in your living room. Side tables in woven wicker and durable sisal rugs are other ways to suggest the tropics without overdoing it.

Window treatments can also be designed to bring the tropics home. Gauzy white billowing drapes always make me think of beach living, for example. Shutters are another popular application – think Florida Keys and island plantation houses, and you can envision how these can supplement that tropical ambiance.

A simple addition like netting gives this bedroom a dramatic tropical feel.

And of course you will include plants in your tropical space! Rafus palms and Kentia palms are beautiful accents. If you bring in a large pot, underplant it with a cascading leaf such as pothos for more visual interest.

For the floor, wood is most traditional for tropical but you could also use a neutral tile as a palette for your distinctive furniture and accessories. Using that same theory, paint the walls a light tan or white, and do the same with the upholstery, allowing your tropical hints come through your furniture and accessories.

If we can help you transform your home into a tropical paradise – or with any of your design needs – please contact us.

You’ve probably heard a lot about man caves lately. It seems like every TV show about home searches or remodels includes a man cave – a place where the family patriarch can “get away” from his wife and kids.

It’s certainly possible to do a completely tricked-out man cave as we did recently for a client (see below). But you can make Dad happy on Father’s Day by creating a simple man cave for him – just spruce up your garage, den or other unused space with a few easy-to-find items.

• Start with an old sofa. (This is your chance to replace that worn-out sectional by donating it to your hubby’s man cave!) Add some comfy overstuffed pillows.

• Install a big TV and stereo system. Check eBay and Father’s Day sales for electronics that fit your budget.

• If your man cave will be in the garage, you might already have a second refrigerator there. If not, pick up an inexpensive dorm-size fridge and stock it with your guy’s favorite drinks and snacks.

• Decorating a man cave can be cheap and easy – use Dad’s favorite hobbies or sports teams. This is also a great place to display any sports memorabilia he might have. Think banners, pennants, equipment (bats, hockey sticks, ski poles), team player posters, signed items and trophies.

• If the man cave’s floor is a little too rustic, try attaching garage floor tiles in a checkerboard pattern or in his favorite team colors, such as Chargers’ blue and gold.

• A man cave doesn’t have to be a place where Dad is cut off from family. Include framed pictures of him doing activities with the kids, such as fishing, camping or playing sports. Although he will appreciate his new man cave, he’ll probably cherish those photographs the most.

Please contact us at Style on a Shoestring if we can help with any of your home design needs.