Monday, March 15, 2010

The Georgian Style for Your Home Interior Design


In this article I am briefly describing Georgian Style of interior design. In this type of interior design, the walls are of great importance and people who decorated their home in this style paid special attention to their walls. The walls area is divided in three important sections. Wainscoting, base board and rail; mid-wall section which is also known as field and the top most section made of cornice. In early period, these panels were mostly built of oak with wax polish. Later on, the trend changed and with the evolution of soft woods, these panels were painted with the woods. Fabric walling was an important trend of that time.

This means that textiles were used to hang on walls in a fashionable way. This design was not followed in dining rooms because the food smells might get trapped. Fabrics like wool damask and silk were extensively used in the interior design to attach with walls. Costly wall papers were widely available in the market with varied patterns and designs of various themes for the interior design. A wall paper sheet was widely spread and was used to attach with canvas. Moreover, there was great ease and convenience with these papers. These could be removed after the owner had departed the house.

As far as the concept of flooring is concerned, in Georgian type style, wooden planks were simply scrubbed and waxed afterward. For alternative and more advanced covering, a varnished and painted floor cloth is incorporated into the whole scheme of interior design. Marble and stone flooring was specially adopted in gardens and halls of the house. These floorings are used with classical patterns and considered more appropriate choice for the homemakers. Moreover, soft furnishing is most often adopted by many people in interior design.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

How to Make a Small Room Looks Bigger


If you've got a small, cramped room in your house that people actually see or experience on a frequent basis, then you know how frustrating it can be to be inside a cave within your own how. We all love having large rooms to breathe in, but the fact is that sometimes the square footage just isn't there. Rather than complaining about what you have to work with, you can employ a few different techniques to maximize the openness of the space. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Light Wall Colors
Anytime you put a dark color on the wall like navy blue or a deep maroon, you make the walls around you heavy. While this bold look may work for a great room, all it does to a small space is make it feel even more like a cave. You need to stick with light, airy colors for your walls so that the room has a sense of relief, rather than weight. Light yellows, beiges, and blues all fair well in most homes, depending on the context, of course.

Stripes
If you don't know this, the simple addition of stripes in your clothing can make you look taller or wider, depending on if they are vertical or horizontal. You can get the same effect with stripes on your walls. Vertical stripe will make your walls look taller if you have an issue with height, and horizontal stripes will make a room look wider if that's the problem. Be careful here though. Too many stripes could make the room busy, and when you have a small space to work with, you want to eliminate as much clutter as possible. Keep it simple and maintain the light color choices throughout.

Light Ceilings
Make sure that your ceiling is a lighter shade than your walls because that will really help open the room up. White or slightly off white ceilings are usually the best and should pair well with anything you paint the walls. Also be leery of excessive texture on the ceiling. Try to keep things minimal so you don't add an extra layer of enclosure to an already tight space.

Mirrors
The addition of mirrors can vastly improve the feel in a small space because of the reflection. For one, more light is able to bounce around because of the mirrors, thereby making it feel lighter already. Mirrors also reflect additional space in the room, even if it doesn't exist. Your mind will feel like it's in a bigger space when it really isn't. If you can find a tasteful way to do a full wall of mirrors, that could be an excellent source of openness.

Minimalistic, Multi-Purpose Furniture
Clutter is a small space's worst enemy. Avoid that at all costs. You want to keep your furniture small, simple, and clutter free. Only put in what you need to, and if you can find ways to get multiple purposes out of one piece, you'll save a lot of room. For instance, you might have a padded, long chest that can act as a bench, a storage area, and a coffee table with the addition of a tray on top. One piece can do three different things. You can make a desk that folds up onto a wall and looks like a piece of artwork until you're ready to use it, or you could have a couch that pulls out into a bed for guests. Get creative with your furnishings and always keep maximum function in minimal space in mind.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

How to Choose the Suitable Wall Clock for Your Room

Like it or not, nearly everyone's lives are ruled by time. We need to know when and where, and no body can get by without a clock. Sure, there are clocks everywhere... on the microwave, the stove, the TV, but they don't exactly drip style!

A well chosen clock should complement your space, and will be a pleasure to look at as well as being just functional.

Here are a few key pointers.

  1. Is it big enough? If you need to put your glasses on to read the time, maybe you should look for big bold characters. It can still be elegant, just look for a large wall clock with black on white numbers. Also look for solid easy to see hands that you can see across the room.
  2. Color. In my experience decorating, it is best to stick to traditional colors for traditional objects. Plain colors or natural tones are generally safe, or otherwise ensure that at least one color area of the clock matches one of the dominant colors in the room (i.e. white walls will blend smoothly with a white face, even if the clock surround is another color).
  3. The tick. No, I'm not being silly here. Does it tick? how loud? An amazing number of people have complained to me that they had to get rid of their new clock because the tick drove them mad! Have a careful listen, and actually tip the clock onto its side, the way it will hang on the wall. It sounds trivial but the weight of the hands and mechanism can make the tick a lot more pronounced when side loaded.
  4. Style. I make no apologies for being conservative... but I have yet to come across a room where a plain, conservative wall clock would be out of place, provided its color didn't clash with the room. If in doubt, simply stick to old fashioned round face with plain digits. Then again if you want to be adventurous here is the chance - do a quick search online and you will find hundreds of clocks to suit any theme from nautical to horror movie memorabilia.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Quilt Covers Blanket Styles


Quilt covers are used in the same way as blankets and consist of a flat soft bag that is filled with either feathers or down, or sometimes both.

Down feathers, originates from the Eider duck, and valued for their insulation properties were firstly used in Eastern Europe to fill the quilt covers. The use of these bed coverings simplify the making of a bed because it does not involve layers of blankets and sheets that are usually placed on the bed. It is single sheeting that is placed over the bed itself.

Quilt covers are not the same as a comforter, even though the placement of both on the bed is exactly the same. If you are considering buying such bedding for the coming winter nights, you will find a multitude of fabrics to choose from. There is such a large selection to choose from it can be quite bewildering.

What follows is a comparison of the fabrics available to you when deciding to purchase your quilt covers. To cater to the many tastes of people looking at fabrics, the furnishings manufacturers have created a vast collection of textiles to meet the market's demands. The market for home furnishings has a really enormous variation in fabrics that meets consumers every demand. We will look at the different fabrics to understand how they are each different and how their application varies.

The various fabrics used for quilt covers include, flannel, poly cotton, satin, silk and cotton. If you are thinking green then cotton, which is eco-friendly and organic may be the fabric to select. They provide incredible warmth and they are long lasting. When cotton is used for quilt covers, polywool sheeting and cotton are often inserted, held in place by stitching, to create much greater warmth and comfort.

An important note is that cotton is used widely for its durability and strength. Another natural fiber is silk, which created by the silk worm. As with cotton, it is an organic substance and eco-friendly to the environment. Bedding made of silk provides the same hypo allergic quality as cotton and are very warm. The shine of silk lasts forever and so does its durability. When silk is used, the bedding is smooth to the touch and will preserve its shape indefinitely. The one disadvantage of silk is that it is difficult to maintain. The only way to clean a silk quilt is to dry clean.

Another popular fabric for is satin. Care should be taken to only purchase satin quilt covers that have a cotton backing; otherwise the fabric is be quite slippery. This satin bedding is not generally used on an everyday basis, but rather for special occasions when style and elegance required. Or you may want to simply use it to compliment the decor, and not actually use it for sleeping.

Polycotton fabric is a combination of cotton and a synthetic fabric, sometimes polyester. The good thing about this fabric is its resistance to wrinkles. They dry rapidly after laundering.

So you can see the similarities and the differences between the different types of fabrics that quilt covers may be made from. From that you should be able to decide which fabric you will purchase based on your needs for the covers.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Make Your Own Bedding Likes the Hotel Bedding


It seems it could have been called something besides hotel style bedding, but it is what it is. Before it became the hit style for bedding of the year, back when most of us turned up our noses at the word "hotel" being used with bedding, most of us would frown at the idea of bringing anything that reminded us of a hotel into our homes.

Once the retail market began to show of the wonderful crisp linear style of hotel bedding, many of us were only faced with one question. What color scheme would we choose?

Hotel bedding is made of cotton, mostly fine Egyptian cotton with high thread counts. Thread counts vary between three hundred and a thousand, most often settling around the six hundred counts. Many of the finishes are labeled as sateen, not quite satin but a slickly polished finish that almost feels like satin.

The signature of the style is much more than the fabric or the finish. Easily identifiable by the linear patterns of stripes that complement or contrast the background color, the style is as clean in appearance as it can be.

The colors can either be subtle or bold. In some cases there is little difference in the shades of the background and the striped pattern that runs around the edges of the individual pieces. A good example of the monochromatic shading is a chocolate on taupe combination.

In other instances, there are bright and bold differences. For example, one of the most striking sets is a combination of black and white. Of course, there is just about every color combination imaginable including a lovely chocolate brown on baby blue.

The important element of the hotel bedding style and color patterns is that whether the selection is for the subdued or the bold, the bedding set seems to create a very neutral background. That is the beauty of the design style. It will work in any bedroom.

Monday, March 8, 2010

The Benefits of Pool Sunrooms


Protects you from heat in summer and keeps you warm in winter
The greatest benefit of pool sunrooms is that you it can protect you in summer from scorching heat. During the winter months the pool in the sunroom remains warmer and during summers it remains cooler. Since the pool is not exposed to dust, falling leaves etc. it remains clean for a longer period of time. Also pet animals as well as pesky animals can be kept away from the pool sunroom due to the restriction it provides.

One of the best parts is the availability of retractable roofing for pool sunrooms. There are a number of other interesting designs available out of which the retractable roof is one which provides greatest benefits. If it suddenly starts raining while you are swimming in the pool sunroom the roof can be simple close the retractable roof thus preventing the rain from spoiling your fun at the swimming pool.

Follow right installation procedures
Some of the pool sunrooms have a three inch insulated aluminum roof. The roofing which consists of a wide panel which is approximately four feet long and the insulated roof is available in rolls which can be used according to the length required. The windows and doors are made of screened glass or aluminum glass doors having screens. Tempered glass panels are installed in areas that do not have windows and doors. You may need to add an extra two feet in length and a foot in width to cover the roof overhang requirements.

Generally the concrete deck is rectangular or square in shape. Around the concrete deck a minimum area of around three feet should be left all around the sides of the pool. You may need to send a photo of the deck area of the swimming pool along with your contact number, your address as well as your name, if you are ordering a pool sunroom from a company.

The total cost need not be paid at the time of delivery of the pool sunroom. Half the amount can be paid on delivery and the rest at the time of installation. Before installing the pool sunroom you will have to first check with the building authorities and take necessary permission. If there are any compliances and clearance to be made then that should be done immediately.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Suitable Floor Mats for Your Home


A home is only managed well when we give good concentration and care to it. Otherwise, if we do not care about its cleanliness, its hygiene matters, and its decoration, it will become a place of garbage and disorder. So there are many precautions and caring tips which can make your home clean and tidy.

Among one of those things which can be little but functional in any home is Floor Mat. You can have questions in your mind about functionality and utility of mats for homes. So I will tell you how they are more functional for home and it's interior. We know that dust is the main thing which can make your home dirty. So if you place the Floor Mat in the entrance or in different areas where mostly the shoes can spread dirt, you can easily save your home from dirt.

When you place the Floor Mat in the entrance, any member of the family or guest will clear the shoes on the Mat while entering the home or room, and your carpets and floor of the inside house will remain clean. Children usually play in the clay and sand, and they do not pay attention to dirt attached with their shoes. You can advice them to clear their shoes on the mats when they enter the home.

Rubber floor mats are very good and effective for kitchen. Sometimes the area of the kitchen floor becomes slippery and you can slip on it. If the mat is placed at kitchen entrance, then it will remain stable and the chance of slipping on the floor will become minimized.

There are different types and kinds of floor mats available in the market. The cost of the Mat varies according to the size and quality of it. You can also find a lot of designs on internet, where many home product websites offer their stock lists with pictures and pricing.