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Is Simple Home Decorating A Style For You?

admin — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:50:57 +0000

What does the term ‘Simple Home Decorating’ bring to mind? For many, it can mean a quick, easy and inexpensive decorating style. An uncluttered, understated and natural style can also define simple home decorating. In fact, all of these attributes can be incorporated into a simple home decor that will appeal to just about anyone, particularly those who are decorating on a budget but still want to create an appealing look for their home.

One very important starting point that is crucial in any home decor project is to de-clutter the area you are going to decorate, or in many situations, redecorate. Remove everything that you can physically carry out of the room, to give yourself a fresh start and the ability to really see what you are working with. This includes any accessories on shelves, throw rugs and wall decor – everything must go, at least for now. The only furnishings in the room should be large upholstery and casegoods that are too heavy to remove.

With the thought that simple home decorating evokes light, natural and easy to look upon, consider the floor and walls in this area. Do you need a fresh coat of neutral colored paint on the walls and ‘Ceiling White’ on the ceiling? How about the floor? If your budget can handle it, consider light carpeting, wood floors (natural or faux), or tile, all in lighter, natural finishes. If your budget will not allow for that expense, make sure the floors are sparkling clean. If your decorating style includes a more colorful approach for the walls, then use just one color and opt for a shade that is not overly bright.

Your next step is to carefully consider the upholstery in this room. Is the fabric dated, dark, stained, or generally not pleasant to view? A quick, easy and inexpensive solution is to discover the world of slipcovers. There are so many more choices, styles and fabrics now than there were five or ten years ago. You can find slipcovers for sofas, easy chairs, dining chairs, etc. They are made to fit particular styles of upholstery and look great. This is a wonderful way to create a different look in a room without spending a lot of money. If you choose this option, look for fabrics that fit your lifestyle as the first priority,then seek out lighter colors and patterns. These choices, along with the lighter colored walls, will keep your room looking fresh, open and uncluttered.

Now that you have addressed the ceiling, walls, floor and larger pieces in the room, it’s time to think about the smaller items and accessories. Bear in mind the goal is to look for natural, uncluttered, simple and inexpensive. First, do an inventory of all of the ‘stuff’ you have in your closets, kitchen cabinets and other storage areas. You are looking for something that you have never used in this room before, or perhaps never considered using as an accent or accessory. For example, you may have a lovely and unique piece that has been tucked away in a china cabinet for years. Or, you may come across a throw rug that was put away long ago and fogotten, and it may be perfect for this home decor project. If you come across a piece that is hand painted, hand woven or made from natural material, even better.

Bring each piece you have identified into your project room and try to find a place for it that will show the piece off to it’s best advantage, with a goal of minimal accessorizing. You want to avoid filling the walls with pictures just to take up space. Instead, try just one or two of your favorite pieces, a picture or mirror you just ‘discovered’ or an interesting combination of the two. By putting less on the walls and on display, each piece will gain more attention and dimension. For example, you may have placed an antique accent table against a wall in this room. You hung a beautiful oval picture above it, placed a hand painted pitcher on the table with an antique piece of lace as an underlayment, and as a finishing touch placed some natural type of organic such as Baby’s Breath in the pitcher (instead of the usual silk flowers). The particular style used as an example may not match your personal decorating taste, but the result would be the same; simple, understated, inexpensive and natural.

If your closets and cabinets are ‘bare’, try shopping at a discount home decor store and select one or two items that you love, to add to your decor project. Again, keep it simple and understated as you make your selections. When you add these pieces to your room, place them in a way that will emphasize their character and beauty (which is to say, if you purchased a new accent table, don’t put so much stuff on it and around it that you can’t see the table!)

Simple home decorating should be just that – simple. By incorporating these suggestions into your decorating project, you will create a room that is uncluttered and understated, and have accomplished this quickly, easily and inexpensively.

Is Simple Home Decorating A Style For You? is a post from: ThisCloud.net

The Interior Design Style you Like…is your Style!

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:36:22 +0000

In my interior designer practice, I’m often asked by my clients “What’s my style?” They’re having a hard time identifying their own style, and they turn to me as an expert. I always tell them, “The style you like is your style!”

What exactly does that mean? It simply means that, just as you are unique, so is your style. Your style is a reflection of your own taste, lifestyle, and history.

Your style will undoubtedly evolve as you mature. The style you like when you’re in your 50s will probably be different from the style you liked in your 20s. That’s normal. As we change, our tastes change too. We shouldn’t fight the changes, we should embrace them.

You might find that you like a combination of typical interior design styles, and that may seem confusing. But there’s nothing wrong with combining styles. We’re no longer locked into just one style or another. The most important thing is to relax, have fun and enjoy designing your home.

At one time, it was common to select either a traditional, modern, contemporary, art dÃ©cor or other defined style. But it’s not so cut-and-dried today, because of the many new styles, including eclectic and shabby chic.

In fact, eclectic and shabby chic styles are great examples of styles that were created without any of the old established boundaries. They were born out of the need for new individual looks â?? a buffet of different styles all mixed together to create new styles.

Of course, all of these styles can make selecting your style more confusing. And sometimes it’s just too difficult to choose just one style. That’s okay. You can break the rules and still achieve your design goals.

So, remember, choose your style wisely, and take time to decide. But never forget-it is YOUR style!

The Interior Design Style you Like…is your Style! is a post from: ThisCloud.net

How To Decide The Style Of Your Garden

admin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:33:24 +0000

All garden have styles, just as with furniture and interior decorating. Sometimes styles can be blended and sometimes not. Generally, you want your more intensive formal-looking areas, like roses and annual flower beds, closer to the house; then you can let the garden become more natural as you move farther away.
Adding a small perennial flower bed next to the garage works beautifully. But a yard starts to look funny if you have a Japanese cloud-pruned pine, an English perennial border, some natural-looking shrubs, and a fish pond all at one time. If you live in the woods, among towering forest trees, one sheared bush will look odd. Pollarded trees look good next to the chateaux in France, but they look silly as the only two treated that way out of a row of trees on the parking strip in front of your house. Pollarded trees are the ones pruned to look like 6-foot lollipops.
Below are seven examples of popular garden styles:
1. Formal English: Clipped hedges, roses, knot gardens
2. English Cottage: Lots of fruit trees and perennials rambling around in great profusion
3. Japanese: Highly trained and maintained pines and other trees with masses of low sheared shrubs, placed rocks, and sand seas
4. Early American: Forsythias, quince, peonies, bearded iris
5. Pacific Northwest: Rocks to look like mountain outcroppings, rhododendron, pines, heather, vine maples, Douglas firs
6. Woodland: Tall trees with understory plants and groundcovers
7. Prairie: Grasses and sun-loving wildflowers
You would not put an art deco table next to your French Provincial couch. Be equally careful to blend styles in your yard. A good exercise for you is to start looking at yards as you pass them. When you find one you like, try to put into words what it is that appeals to you. You should know that people go through stages of gardening taste the way they do tastes in clothes or cars. At first people are attracted to the ‘mixture of color’ yards packed with annuals and dahlias. They also like sheared shrubs. They graduate through various styles and stages.
Because people like flowers, horticulturists began to breed bigger and more spectacular flowers on plants and shrubs to dazzle us. These are called ‘hybrids.’ Often the plants have lost many interesting secondary characteristics like scent and interesting sizes, colors, and shapes of leaves. Hybrid rhododendrons look a lot alike most of the year, but species (those are ones existing naturally in the wild) vary greatly in size: some have giant leaves while others are tiny plants. Some species rhododendrons have blue felt called ‘indementum’ under the leaves while others have gold felt. Some smell interesting if you rub or prune them. Some have dangling trumpets for blooms. Species plants are more likely to bloom at a different season or smell good. They also look more ‘natural.
There is nothing wrong with any style of yard. You may be torn among several, but eventually your own style will assert itself. Many go full circle and come back to ‘gaudy’ dahlias; others remain true to their first love, perhaps the rose, Still others find new styles that are more suited to their personality. Take some time to look in books and magazines and visit gardens to see what type you identify with most closely.

How To Decide The Style Of Your Garden is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Design With your Style Feng Shui

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:11:46 +0000

Feng Shui, very flexible art that brings out the best in your design choices by improving the flow of energy, allows you ample room to express your own personality and flair. Although implementing the ancient principles of Feng Shui to create balance and harmony in your environment, you still can preserve your own taste and retain the integrity of a roomâ??s atmosphere. Moreover, Feng Shui techniques are rather easy to practice, and can help you improve your understanding and appreciation of the beauty already existing in your home by uncovering the potential for tranquility and harmony concealed within every space.

Feng Shui need not be considered separately as it works well within any other design scheme blending seamlessly into whatever type of atmosphere you are trying to create in your environment. This is only one reason why Feng Shui is appropriate in a wide variety of venue. Feng Shuiâ??s, unlike other aesthetic schools does not have a strict, dominant look. It can be streamline to suit any space from your work space to your bathroom to your bedroom without significantly altering the basic design scheme. For instance, it is viable to implement Feng Shui in a sleek contemporary office setting or in a Victorian-style or romantic bedroom. One reason – Feng Shui is not about appearances or the specifics of how things should look but about maximizing energy flow and visual harmony, to use in any room designed in any style.

Because you employ objects you already to create new, more harmonious arrangements, Feng Shui lets you create a new atmosphere for any area of your home without eliminating or subjugating your personal style. For example, consider the use of color. Feng Shui often suggests integrating certain colors, e.g. scarlet, in specific areas of a room, however, you can use almost any item colored accordingly to make the Feng Shui decorating system effective. This suggests all that is necessary if you to rummage around in your homeâ??s inventory for anything that has scarlet and reposition it in the right area. This could be anything: a vase, a pillow, a portrait or even an attractive hardcover book. From Feng Shui you learn to use what you currently have for better effect.

Since the process of Feng Shui lends extra influence to the design choices youâ??ve already made, it means Feng Shui is a skillful way to amplify how your setting reflects your taste. As a result, Feng Shui always reflects your personality during every step of the process from designing, to implementation to the final product. Feng Shui can help you draw out the best in your environment, and from within yourself. When you employ Feng Shui to charge your home, office or even car with positive energy, you will be ensuring that you and your unique style shine most brilliantly.

Design With your Style Feng Shui is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Add Style to Your Garden With Large Statuary

admin — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 18:18:56 +0000

Installing large statuary in your garden in one unique way of complementing your landscape and make your outdoor spaces look just as good as the interior of your home. These statuaries are also fountains and to make things easier for you, consider placing them as close to the water source as possible. You must provide a firm base for the large statues that you choose and use flexible hose to connect the pump to the fountain. The resting place for the statuary must be level.
If you want to have a fountain in the middle of the statuary, you need to mount it on a pedestal designed just for that purpose. The pedestal will have a hollowed out section in the center where there will be a type of pond. In order for the fountain to function, you must make sure you keep this area filled with water. In this case, you can install the garden statuary (http://www.garden-fountains.com/Detail.bok?no=1072) anywhere in the garden because the water source comes from within. You can also make your own pedestal with a pool with bricks or stone and mortar.
Large statuary will suit any garden theme or decor. Choose a Greek or Roman style statuary or one that looks like a large angel. However, such a statue may look somewhat out of place in a country style garden. You can have the statuary free standing or have it attached to a wall if you want to give it more support.
Most large statues are made of precast concrete, but you can also have them made from fibreglass so that they replicate the old-fashioned look you want to create. They also come in various colors and different surface finishes. One thing you have to think about is whether or not you want to have fish in the large fountain (http://www.garden-fountains.com/Detail.bok?no=2914) area of the statuary. If so, you have to stay away from lead because this is toxic for fish.
You also have to be aware of where you place the statuary in your garden. If you have it in a place where it is constantly in the sun, then you will have to be diligent in keeping it clean because the sun leads to a build up of algae. In a fountain where you do not have fish, adding chlorine bleach to the water on a regular basis will help keep it free of algae.
Large statuary outdoors is usually hard to take indoors during the cold weather of the winter. You must take care to weatherproof it to keep it looking good all the time. If it is made of concrete, you need to apply a concrete sealer to keep the moisture from seeping through tiny cracks in the concrete and causing cracks to appear, which will mar the look of the statue and eventually cause it to fall into a state of disrepair. The water in the cracks will freeze and this may even cause the statue to crack in half.
You do need to drain the water from the fountain in the fall of the year. If you can tip the base of the statuary, this is an easy task. If this is not possible, you have to pump the water it or siphon it out in some way. Cover the statue during the winter as well with sheets of plastic so that it won’t be exposed to the weather.

Add Style to Your Garden With Large Statuary is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Make Your Asian Style Bedroom Unique With A Room Divider

admin — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:53:12 +0000

Folding room dividers are diverse decorative accessory which can be displayed in several diverse ways and can serve to add interest and appeal to your Asian style bedroom. There are many Asian style room dividers which are guaranteed to look wonderful in your interior decorating scheme no matter what the unique interpretation of your room is.
Some Asian bedrooms are bold and bright with color and room dividers decorated with bright reds and golds are sure to add a splash to these. Other rooms are more subtle with a Zen like feel and rice paper room dividers will add to the ambiance. Still others may be more traditional and mysterious and there are many room divider styles in black lacquer and with oriental scenes and geishas that will add to the decor of these bedroom styles.
A room divider adds unique appeal no matter how you use it. In addition to adding to your decorating style, folding room dividers can moreover have practical uses. One popular course to include a room divider in your bedroom is to divide the room into distinct spaces, such as a sleeping area and a sitting area. Even if you don’t have plans to section off a space, you might still take advantage of these unique appealing decorative accessories.
One method you can consider to add to your Asian style bedroom that could make a huge statement is to simply set the room divider right against the wall. This is a perfect idea if you have an apartment and are not allowed to change the color of the walls but like the look of a color that is a bit more pleasing than boring white. This is also a fabulous idea for smaller spaces which don’t need the divider to make two spaces. When displaying the room divider right against the wall like this, you want to ensure that it is stabile by either securing it to the wall or putting in some kind of a stabilizer at the bottom as you don’t wish for it to fall over and dropping flat in your bedroom.
Another placement for your folding room divider is too display it kitty cornered in a corner. This is a popular way to engage folding room dividers because it adds atmosphere to the area. To use the folding room divider in this manner, fold it about 1/4 of the way so it can stand up on it’s own. The bonus is that it supplies you with space between the folding screen and the corner for excess storage.
It makes no difference how you arrange your folding divider, it will make a more solid impact if you display things in front of it in place of using it as a blank piece by itself. Providing a plant or a couple of Asian or Oriental style chairs in front of your folding divider can help enhance your design Don’t be afraid to put a folding divider behind a fundamental decorative accessory like your bed and use it as a wonderful decorative headboard.
No matter how you decorate with your folding room divider in your Asian style bedroom, you want to be positive to purchase a folding divider that reflects the decor of the Asian room design. You can choose terrific brightly colored, traditional Asian, textured and black lacquer room dividers to go with your Asian style. No matter the you select, be sure to compliment the style and colors in your bedroom design and you’ll have a room that will be inspirational and decorative.

Make Your Asian Style Bedroom Unique With A Room Divider is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Tuscan – Home Decorating Old World Style

admin — Wed, 26 May 2010 19:17:58 +0000

Are you having difficulty deciding on a home decorating theme?…How about Tuscan?
It’s rich cultural heritage and simple elegance are what draw so many to this beautiful style. Because it combines a unique antique flavor and ‘livability’ more and more homeowners are opting for this Italian masterpiece.
Using a palette of earth tones, tuscan (which is an Italian country design) brings the outdoors inside. This design uses distinct materials to help accomplish it’s magic. The Tuscan style is unique as well as beautiful.
When deciding on a tuscan theme, you’ll be using textures, such as stone and tile for the flooring and furnishings. This helps to create a natural atmosphere. Plaster is suggested for the walls, again, to add texture and a natural feel. This would provide an opportunity for you to use your creativity and even have some fun.
Tables are often made of stone and Tile mosaics are another possibility for in the tuscan themed home.
“What are four walls, anyway? They are what they contain. The house protects the dreamer. Unthinkably good things can happen… ” From Frances in Under A Tuscan Sun
No decorating theme that centers around nature would be complete without wood. It’s exquisite textures and intricate details make wood a perfect compliment to the Old World style and Tuscan makes great use of this natural resource. One example of this is the exposed framework. The large wooden beams create a comfortable, rustic look. Another is in the construction of furniture. The goal here is to make it look aged and antique. By staining and ‘aging’ the wood, you can create an antique feel while maintaining rugged endurance.
Tuscan is based on a cultural heritage. By using accessories this heritage can be highlighted and celebrated. Accessories that are homemade are common for this genre. Ceramics are big in tuscan decorating too! Silver, copper, iron are all common in tuscan design. Themes that include olives, grapes, wine and pottery, scrolled ironwork, stone, marble and handcrafted tiles in an old world style and many other possibilities. Terra cotta is also popular when using the tuscan theme so a vase for fresh cut flowers on the tiled mosaic table in the center of the room under the cast iron chandelier would make a fabulous entryway into your home.
Tuscan fabric is unequalled in it’s simple beauty. Savannah and tobacco cloth, burlap, abaca, fibers from the banana and coconut trees are all used to create a natural lived-in space. These materials are very versatile and your only limitation is your imagination. They can be used for just about anything from curtains and drapes, blinds, wall decorations, room and space dividers, privacy screens, elegant table placemats or conversation pieces on your coffee table, entryway rugs and foor coverings can all be created simply by using some of these various tuscan fabrics because of their weight, density and flexibility allow for many applications.
Tuscan also uses colors such as yellow and red. These colors can be used in decorations for tables, a chair cover, tie-backs to accentuate and complement curtains and drapes. Use of yellow and red ribbon and ties to decorate candlesticks is not uncommon. Any material or color that reminds us of the ocean, the earth, the beautiful blue sky or the deep rich forest, will bring a warm and inviting feel to tuscan home. The color, texture, fabric and accessories will create a warm and inviting feeling in any space in your home.
This warm and inviting theme of simplicity and nature is a great home decorating idea.

Tuscan – Home Decorating Old World Style is a post from: ThisCloud.net

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Living Room Furniture New York – Reflects Your Choice and Style

admin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:54:21 +0000

A true reflection for your style and class is smartly reflected by your home. A well decorated and well furnished home speaks out class where as standard is something for which furniture takes up the major responsibility. Living Room Furniture New York has come up as a major provider of high quality living room furniture that enlightens the sense of your style and grandeur in oneâ??s interior.

Living Room Furniture New York offers a dynamic range of furniture items that beautifies and enhances the appearance of your living room. A stylish range of living room furniture adds beauty to every moment you spend here with your family, guests and colleagues.

Living Room Furniture New York enables you to place home some elegant and stylish decorative furniture items that work as decorative as well useful accessories. The dual benefit of comfort and beauty is served by every item displayed for sale in the by Living Room Furniture New York.

Letâ??s check out as to what all Living Room Furniture New York has to offer us:

The modern designs available in Living Room Furniture New York have made it a renowned name globally.

Living Room Furniture New York – Reflects Your Choice and Style is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Perspective Freehand Style of Home Design in Japan II — — Purified, Abstract Design Style

admin — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:31:12 +0000

Japan is a modern country as well as a traditional country, as the No. 2 economy great power in the world, Japan has created a economy miracle, who has a lofty level of modernization, while whose land area is just as small as one of Chinese provinces…

In recent years throughout Japan there raised a hot trend of home reconstruction, which is in the ascendant still.In order to pursue a more comfortable and convenient living environment, in virtue of home design, Japanese try to take full advantages of spaces and setting modern appliances, furniture in their current narrow residential space.In past time the demand rank of life in most Japan families was arranged according to food, clothing, transportation and living, now that has shifted to a new order as living first, transportation next, then clothing, and food last, which put the improvement of home living conditions to the first place.Now in Japan, the space features and design ideas they pursued has following specific performances. ..

1. Purified, Abstract Design Style

— to make the decoration style attain to a beauty purification realmFamous post-modern architect Hans Hollein had been engaged in a lot of architectural designs and interior design works, whose work has broken traditional frame and very different from modernist architectural designs. His designs mainly used symbols, metaphor techniques, and applied to modern technique materials and combined with special colors and patterns, thus to create a purified particular ideal environment.Hans Hollein’s design has put a considerable influence on the world, as extended to his design idea, many Japanese designers follows a step forward, they applied with implied functions and the same time emphasis on the simplicity and abstractness of design, they applied with geometric form elements and managed interlaced arrays of simple lines and surfaces to avoid pop out of objects and shapes, and try best to eliminate all excessive marks; they also adopted the restrained method of removing detailed decorations to embody the essence of space, and make the room space take on concise and lively modern effect.

Nordic think design is an integral part of their lives, Americans keep it as a money-making means, while Japanese believe that design is a important way for national survival….

Perspective Freehand Style of Home Design in Japan II — — Purified, Abstract Design Style is a post from: ThisCloud.net

Spanish Style Home Decorating

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:05:26 +0000

Spanish style home decorating is a great way to get a rustic but colorful look in your home. This style, popular in the south, is really suitable for any area and can add a unique touch to any home.

When you want to decorate your home in a Spanish style, you will have a lot of fun. The Spanish style is very interesting with vibrant colors and textures used within it. You can bet that no matter how the home is decorated, you will need to incorporate the sense of family and community into the design. Take a look at how you can easily incorporate the Spanish style into your home. It can be really easy and fun!

Photos

One easy way to incorporate Spanish style into your home is with the use of family photos. You can use photos that you have taken yourself to get the task done. Simply choose various types of photo frames and put out your favorite pictures of family and friends. You should add them to each room to give the home a really comforting feeling.

Colors

When it comes to Spanish colors, you should think about using bright colors like red, yellow, orange, and blue. You will be able to bring out the Spanish dÃ©cor elements with these bold colors. Be sure to add a beige or white to the mix as well to give the colors a nice background.

Furniture

Although it really doesn’t matter what type of furniture you use when you are using Spanish style home decorating, it should be comfortable and casual. Unless you are decorating a formal dining or living room, Spanish styled furniture is not overly formal. So be sure it is comfortable and big enough for everyone in the family to lounge on. Spanish style uses a lot of dark woods – worm wood in particular is nice.

Accessories

Use Spanish accessories to add an authentic touch to your dÃ©cor. Grill grates and other accessories that use wrought iron can add a great touch, especially if they are vintage. Spanish pottery is another item that can be displayed in any room – on shelves or hang plates on scrolly plate hangers to give a unique homey feel.

Flooring

A Spanish style looks great with rustic tile flooring. Not the shiny porcelain stuff but the big reddish tiles with dark grout. Also, hardwood floors can go wonderful with this style. To soften up the room accent it with Spanish style rugs.

When you choose to decorate your home with Spanish style home decorating you can bring the elements in without spending a lot of money. You can simply add photos of your family, bright colors and comfortable furniture to get the look you want.

Spanish Style Home Decorating is a post from: ThisCloud.net