Thursday, October 31, 2013

Modern Furniture - The Contemporary Way of Home Furnishing

We know how incomplete a home can be without furniture. Whether your home is old or new, furnishing it with elegant and modern furniture can be very pleasing to you as well those who come to your home. The right kind of furniture not only makes a house look beautiful but also reflects on great sense of aesthetics on your part. Whenever we visit someone else's house that has been tastefully adorned with well furnished modern furniture, we often feel that even we could have decorated our house in a better way. The whole idea of decorating the house can be quite enjoyable and there are many people who consider home furnishing as their hobby.

It is ideal to go for the furniture that will gel with the interior of your home. Nowadays, there is a very high demand for modern furniture because you get a broad variety of style to choose from. Modern furniture does not come for cheap and hence one must buy them from a good home décor shop. You should look for a convenient website that offers you to shop for some amazing home furniture online, at reasonable prices. Buying modern furniture online can be a good experience because you can get quality modern furniture at cost-effective rates.

Decorating your bedroom can be very interesting. Pamper it with modern bedroom furniture because this is a room that you will look for, if you want to relax or get cozy. Modern bedroom furniture also expresses the mindset of the person who uses the bedroom. When it comes to choosing furniture for your bedroom, you should look for beds that are well-designed and comfortable enough to relax. Bedroom furniture can include a wide range of furniture such as nightstands, dressing tables, cupboards, book shelf, etc. Compared to the other rooms of your home, this room can be lit with dim lights to create a pleasant ambiance.

Living room is a place where family members gather together and spend time together watching television or dining at the dining table. If you have children and love to keep pets, then you should have sturdy and modern living room furniture. Sofa-sets, coffee tables, TV stand, recliners, dinette area tables, decorative lightings, etc, are the furniture that increases the aesthetic appeal of your living room. Mix and match is the key for decorating your living room with modern furniture.

Every room reflects different mood. Hence, according home lighting work should be done. To maintain the coziness of your bedroom, dim lights are good option. The area where you study should be brightly lit. Your living room should be well illuminated so that it may be inviting and appealing to the guests who come to meet you. Area rugs are given a miss by many but many interior decorators suggests that every home should have area rugs. It is a very nice way to decorate your home and most of the contemporary area rugs are suitable for any type of room.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Beginning Your Seasonal Home Decor in Summer is a Brilliant Idea

Start your summer right, by adding seasonal home décor to your to-do list.

Utilizing seasonal home décor is a great way to add spice to your surroundings and a surefire way to garnish compliments from your regular houseguests. In fact, one of the most popular home decorating trends currently is seasonal decorating, as it takes a dedicated creative person to come up with enough home decorating ideas four times a year on an average of every three months.

If you are considering seasonal decorating, the summer is a wonderful time to start brainstorming home decorating ideas as summer signifies a break for your children who old or young can help you create perfect summer home decoration ambience within your house. Summer is bright, cheerful and a time for guilty free pleasure, so how some fun with your home as well! Summer colors that will brighten your house to match the summer sun The sun always seems to glow brighter in the sun, and your house should also. Therefore, you need to look at your current interior decoration and use it develop summer home decoration ideas. Bright colors are easy to come by, so when trying to create color scheme ideas for your home think bright and natural. Baby colors are a great place to start as they are traditionally light airy colors, but not so obnoxiously bright as too clash with your current furniture and home accessories as well as your current interior decoration. Summer lightness has no bounds, so you just need to pick colors that do not clash with each, and from there go wild with the colors you choose to use.

Adding your summer attitude to the interior decoration of your home Of course, you probably cannot afford to replace your furniture and home accessories every three months as the seasons change, but in keeping with the attitude of seasonal home décor, it may be possible to add a few pieces to your home's interior decoration. As the season changes, you can take these simple changes and store them for next summer either in your attic or if you are lucky enough to have one, your storage closet. For example, if your living room is white, you may consider replacing the traditional wooden mirror with a mirror encircled by the sun. This way you can bring the sun of summer right into your summer home decoration.

Another easy way to spruce up the place is by adding summer flowers into all the flower vases around the home. Take out the fake plants, and add flowers picked from your home's landscaping such as daisies, lilacs, and roses. Although it will require more maintenance to keep up with real flowers than the fake ones, this is a great touch to add to your seasonal decorating efforts because you bring the pleasant smells of summer inside creating a wonderful ambiance to your home. Seasonal decorating should spark your house's physical needs As you change your seasonal home décor [://www.reflectionarticles.com/page_12.html] each season, this should remind you another three months have passed and that it may be time to address a few of your house's maintenance needs.

Beginning your summer home decoration should remind you that it is time to have window treatments completed on your windows, as they are an energy saving technique. With the bright, shiny colors and sunshine of your seasonal decorating, the real sun and hot temperatures is going to come meaning your air conditioner is going to start. Seal your windows and make sure you are locking not only the bright cheery summer in, but the cool air you are producing as well.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Antique Rugs - The Perfect Home Furnishing

When you are decorating your home and considering furnishings you need to think about more than just the way it looks. Although we all love a home that looks fantastic we have to consider the functionality of rooms and how they are going to be used. Of course the room you are looking at will make a big difference to the decor that you choose and the furnishings that you need. There are loads of decisions that need to be made so it is a matter of shopping around and making sure that what you buy is perfect for you.

We don't always have time or the budget to be able to redecorate a room completely which means we have to look at different options and ways to refresh a room without spending a fortune. One of the most popular ways of doing this is to introduce rugs to your room. If you are looking for something a little special then you can even look at antique rugs which can add something really fantastic to a room.

When you look at antique rugs you will see that they come in a whole range of different styles and colours which means that whatever you are looking for there will be something to suit you. Of course traditional antique rugs go on the floor to add something to the flooring in a room but actually they can be used to throw over different pieces of furniture and in different areas of a room to give everything a brand new look - and without having to spend a fortune redecorating the whole room!

If you are really looking for something special then you can even go to a dealer for their range of antique rugs. These sometimes look so different and fantastic then you can opt to have then framed and displayed on a wall which can create a really fantastic and unique centre point to your room - something which you won't see in many places.

If you do decide to buy antique rugs then it is essential that you look at how to maintain these and look after them properly. At the end of the day if you have spent your hard earned money on these then it stands to reason you will want to get the best value for money out of them and you can do this by looking after them and making sure that they last. Thankfully there are loads of places you can turn to for help and advice with this, so finding the best way to look after your antique rugs should not be too much of a struggle.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Affordable Home Decorating Begins With Good Design

Affordable home decorating allows for a creative mix of old with the new. Staying with the basics and a little imagination and you can have a stylish home on a budget.

Work Your Plan

Classic furniture and accessories are often copied because good design will always stay current. Mix in well designed but inexpensive copies of an expensive item with antiques and better quality pieces for effective and affordable home decorating.

Wicker furniture is an excellent example of good design, that is actually borrowed from the past, giving a new home character.

Wicker and rattan are stylish, lightweight and practical and can be mixed in any room. A wicker trunk can be a coffee table, an end table, at the foot of a bed or in the mud room. And the best part? Hidden storage.

If you don't have a lot of furniture, move what you do have away from the walls. This will create a more intimate room arrangement.
One large and impressive piece is better than several small pieces, and will make the room appear larger and less crowded.

Affordable home decorating allows for negative space in the design of an interior, so edit your belongings if your room is crowded.

The 3 R's: Recondition, Reuse, and Recycle

Recycle older pieces and use in a new and different manner than the way it was originally intended.

Reuse furniture. The drawers and doors of a piece can be outfitted for modern application, like turning a dining room buffet into a media center.

If a piece of furniture has nice lines and good bones, but is badly scratched or the finish is bad, it can be stripped and reconditioned, or altered with paint or even fabric, and it saves the piece from the landfill.

Visit estate auctions, yard sales and flea markets for undiscovered treasures.
Thrift stores and consignment shops are becoming more stylish and fun to peruse. You never know what you might find. Keep it in the community by visiting the stores in the neighborhood.

Color Your World

Changing the color of your rooms with paint is the most affordable home decorating "secret" and cost effective way to achieve a dramatic difference in the look of any space.

Consider doing the painting yourself with paint that is low in volatile organic compounds. (VOC's)

If your room is sparsely furnished, color will add visual interest.
Divide a wall horizontally with two colors to give the illusion of a chair rail.

Painting doesn't have to end with the walls. Paint the floor either solid or in a pattern to create drama to the room.

Do you like the look of wall paper but not ready for the expense or commitment? Stencils are an affordable home decorating detail of an ornate wall covering.

Black used as an accent will ground a room and bring out the best in other colors.

Cover Up

Rather, than re upholstering or buying new, replace tired upholstery with custom or ready-made slipcovers in an updated fabric.

Create a mixed fabric cottage look by recovering just the seats or change the look by replacing the separate cushions with one bench seat.

Look for upholstery grade fabric that has been discontinued or on the remnant tables.

Certain fabrics that are inexpensive never go out of style. Classic examples include muslin, white cotton duck, mattress ticking, and (some) chenille, which can be used as draperies, a bed canopy, slipcovers, or a covering for a skirted table.

Sisal as an alternative to expensive floor covering is a natural fiber and provides a neutral background to everything else in the room.

Express Yourself For Art's Sake

Personal expression doesn't need to be expensive to be beautiful.

  • A vase with fresh flowers of the same color is more impressive than a table filled with small nick knacks.
  • Group a collection of like items together on one table, like framed photographs.
  • Stack coffee table books on a small chair, table or the floor and use as an accent table.
  • All white china looks good no matter how inexpensive it is. Mix in mismatched china from the flea markets for interest and color, or it looks terrific displayed alone.
  • Borrow from your closet and use a shawl as a throw or purchase fabric in a chenille to make your own that you casually place on the arm or the back of a sofa.
  • One large poster on a wall can pack more punch than a group of little prints.
  • Frame a beautiful piece of fabric into wall art, a section of vintage wallpaper, greeting cards, pages from an illustrated art book or calendar.
  • Simple black frames used on different styles of art and photographs will unify the arrangements.
  • Display old chess and other game boards as an alternative to art for the walls, as well as architectural fragments from the salvage yards.
  • Hang trays, plates and platters with wire wall hangars purchased in hardware stores.
  • Hang a quilt above the bed for a headboard.
  • Search flea markets for inexpensive mirrors and frames for an intriguing arrangement on a wall. Vary the size and shape of the frames and paint in the same color for a uniform presentation.
  • Have particularly lovely and ornate frames? Hang just the frames by themselves.

Affordable home decorating is fun. You will be rewarded with your effort and gain a real sense of accomplishment when your home is styling and you did it on the cheap!

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Green Your Home With Sustainable Home Decor Online Products

Due to energy usage for temperature control purposes and the materials used in home furnishings, households can have considerable negative environmental impact. With the severity of global warming's effect on weather conditions, there is an urgent need for all to reduce their home's carbon footprint. It takes both dedication and awareness to create a green home, however, environmentally responsible consumers have only to visit home decor online stores to find the support they need with a wide selection of home decor items produced from sustainable natural materials.

Tips for sustainable home decoration

1. Salvaging, reusing, reclaiming and repurposing: Waste reduction is a green initiative to support a healthier environment and results in a decreased demand for goods which, in turn, reduces the amount of natural resources and energy manufacturers need to produce new items. Instead of being discarded in the trash bin, many old household items can be freshened up with a new coat of paint or find other uses after being repurposed. When items made from recycled materials are produced and purchased it also keeps trash out of landfills and reduces the consumer's carbon footprint.

2. Choose renewable and natural materials: Rapidly renewable materials such as bamboo, cork and wheat are the best resources for use in the home. With a daily growth rate of as much as 100 cm, once harvested, bamboo in particular has the ability to renew itself in less than a year. Although bamboo can last a very long time it can completely biodegrade once thrown away, unlike non-biodegradable plastics and other materials.

3. Materials produced and harvested locally: You can purchase locally crafted home decor products at many home decor online shops. Since these products that are cultivated and/or created nearby they require less fossil fuel usage and transportation to make it to consumers' homes.

4. Nontoxic materials: Although paint's mainly used to attractively finish many home decor items, it can be detrimental to the environment. Oil based types are particularly bad with the ability of their VOC and other chemical content to evaporate at room temperature. Other harmful substances used in the production of home accents are plasticisers used for soften plastic and adhesives. It's best to bypass plastic goods and purchase bamboo products and other natural materials instead.

5. Minimalist theme: A soothing, calm home is usually a clutter free home. Limit the range of items in a room to a few furnishings and unique accents such as boldly printed cushions and elegant bamboo bowls. Dark wood, bamboo and similar natural materials are often used in this design concept. Bamboo lends an especially relaxing vibe as a simple but exotic luxury when used in the creation of accents and furnishings.

An eco-friendly home doesn't need to be bland, give it a stylish air by decorating its spaces with items produced from sustainable natural materials. Bamboo bowls can be used for display or as attractive fruit or salad bowls. Black or white bamboo trays can be used for serving tea and sandwiches, these and more items are available at Pitaya House decor online store.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Home Decor Lighting - Looking to Transform Your Homes Decor?

Choosing the right home decor lighting can go a long way toward determining whether your home conveys the atmosphere of a warm, inviting place for guests, or a dank, desolate dungeon-like abode to which nobody would make a return visit.

You can probably think of many homes you have been in where the lighting does little or nothing to accent the furnishings, or clashes with the decor package of a particular room. With just a little planning and creativity, the proper selection of lighting can enhance the appearance of a room in a big way.

One way to improve your home decor lighting is through the use of table lamps. For rooms that don't have much in the way of overhead lighting, a strategically-placed table lamp can brighten those dark corners of the room that normally would escape the notice of your visitor. And with so many decorative lampshades available these days, you can be sure to find one that fits the decor of your room.

You also need to take into account the brightness and type of light bulb you put in the lamps. If they are too bright, they can make the room seem less cozy, and too dim can make your guests wonder if you are trying to hide something, or if you haven't taken the time to clean lately.

Proper home decor lighting can also go a long way when it comes to bringing out certain features in a room. If you have a prized display that you want to show off, such as a photo collection or trophy case, the right amount of lighting can make it stand out without being too ostentatious.

When done correctly, the lighting will draw the attention of your guests to the display without them even being consciously aware of it. The placing of recesses lighting is an excellent choice for this purpose.

And when considering home decor lighting, you can't neglect the outdoor area of your home. This is especially true if you have an outdoor swimming pool, or if you frequently have friends over during the summer barbecue season.

This is important not only for decorating purposes, but also for the nighttime safety of your guests. Decorative outdoor lighting can also go a long way towards making your property stand out from the neighbors, which can be a big help if the time ever comes to sell . . .

Find out more by reading the full article which explains what you need to know about home decor lighting.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Staging Homes for Sale: Professional Advice for Home-Stagers and Agents

Because the real-estate market has slowed, real-estate agents and the sellers they represent are using every tool at their disposal to sell houses quickly and for top dollar. One of the tried-and-true tools used for selling is "staging," the process of removing or rearranging your belongings to get the best effect when showing your home.

"Home staging helps your home sell faster and for more money whether it is a slow or hot real estate market," says Cheryl Ward, President of Ivy Home Staging in California. "When a home is staged to appeal to a broader range of buyers, then you have a hot property which could incite a bidding war-imagine."

Who doesn't want that? Having the right furniture in a house can create a buzz for the listing and make for a faster sale. A cohesive look helps potential buyers imagine the possibilities of any given space.

Often sellers try to stage the house themselves, thinking it will save them money. The Wall Street Journal reports that "in a recent HomeGain survey of 500 real-estate agents, cleaning and de-cluttering, lightening and brightening rooms, and staging were among the top five low-cost, do-it-yourself home improvements suggested for people getting their homes ready to sell." Home sellers might clean out clutter and paint the walls a nice cream color, but often the attention of an expert in the field can bring the whole look together and help close the deal.

It's hard for a seller to turn an objective eye on his or her own living space. An experienced stager or realtor will know which furniture pieces need to be moved out and which wall decorations should come down. The space should offer buyers the chance to picture their own belongings in the house or apartment. Instead of focusing a negative eye on an ancient watercolor painting, it is better if a buyer sees a wall and thinks, I know just what I'll hang there.

Find the Best Pieces and Keep Them

Real-estate agents and professional home stagers provide furniture and artwork that is clean, attractive, and neutral so it appeals to many people. Their experience helps them match certain styles with any number of spaces.

To keep the costs of staging in check, real-estate agents and professional stagers need to have clean and attractive furniture at the ready. But where can a busy professional keep enough furniture to stage three, four, or five houses? That's a lot of furniture! Some professional stagers rent furniture and pass the costs along to the seller. The risk in this practice is that rental furniture isn't always in the best condition. More savvy professionals make an investment in reliable, appealing furniture, and keep it on hand in a local storage unit for staging opportunities.

The professionals at all-about-home-staging.com note that "no one can afford to waste money in this type of economy." When renting furniture for staging, they "have found furnishings that are in 'okay' shape to 'excellent' condition." However, there's no way to know in advance if the pieces you need are available or in the condition you want for home staging. Knowing what pieces you have to work with-and what conditions those pieces are in-will save time and money.

Keeping a reserve of furniture makes sense if you are professional who needs to stage houses and apartments every month. Debra Gould of Six Elements Inc., a home-staging company, says, "We are not real-estate agents, and we are not interior designers. As home stagers, we do not believe in buying things for the sake of having what's 'in' this year."

If you can justify the expense, storing a timeless leather sofa and an appealing chest of drawers in a storage facility will keep the pieces clean and in good condition. And they will always be readily available so that agents will have more control over when and how often they can use the furniture.

"Finding the right staging supplies and furnishings is not easy and can be very time consuming," advises all-about-home-staging.com. "Select good furniture pieces that are at home in many different rooms, and you won't have wasted one dime." When home stagers are considering spending time and money to find good pieces, they should make sure they can use them again and again. The right chest of drawers has the potential to look custom-made for any bedroom, foyer, hallway, or den, depending on the space. The same goes for the right table, chair, or sofa; there is no reason these pieces shouldn't be repurposed for another project. When the pieces are not being used, a storage unit offers the ideal solution. Storage allows for security, flexibility, and long-term affordability.

Offering staging services to your clients can result in a better overall sale price and repeat, long term, business relationships. It may also give you an edge in securing new business when clients realize they can get a faster sale or higher price when taking advantage of your home staging service option.

Compliments of Uncle Bob's Self Storage.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Bathroom Furnishing and Decoration Tips

The bathroom is a place where you and your family members will spend a lot of time in. Many homeowners are starting to place a lot of emphasis on bathroom design. After all, they want to come home to a comfortable looking bathroom after a hard day at work. Besides, a home with a well designed bathroom is always worth more. Here are some furnishing and decoration tips to achieve your ideal bathroom design.

Tip 1: Getting measurements right.

Don't start off by browsing catalogs. There are tons of options to choose from. Always have your measurements ready so that you know, at the back of your mind, what designs can be fitted into your bathroom, and what can't.

Tip 2: Individual preferences matter.

If you are making decisions jointly with your spouse, try to spend some time browsing through existing designs to get a feel of what each other is looking for. For example, do you prefer a more traditional look? Does your partner prefer a more modern look? If both of you have got differing tastes, then you need to sit down with your spouse to come to some kind of middle ground. If you proceed without ironing out your differences, the process will surely be hindered by disagreements.

Tip 3: Settling on a preferred style.

Settling on a preferred style makes your decision much easier. For instance, if you have already decided on a traditional look, then you can start looking a traditional vanities such as the Carrara marble top or the granite top. Traditional designs are usually preferred by more mature homeowners.

However, if you prefer modern bathroom vanities, the wall mounted vanities may be just what you are looking for. Such vanities give the illusion that you have a bigger bathroom. That is because there are no supporting legs for the vanities and they seem to be floating in mid air! The designs are sleek and simple, and you can be sure that younger home owners will love the modern looks.

Glass vanities look extremely elegant and posh. They give a look of luxury and the designs are usually rather different. The entire look and feel of the bathroom will be different from the other vanity designs. Glass vanities can be ideal if you are looking for a resort look.

Sometimes, during the morning rush, everybody wants to use the bathroom. You can speed things up by having a double vanity in the bathroom. For instance, if you have two children both going to school at the same time, they can brush their teeth side by side instead of having to wait for one to finish. In other words, besides the looks, double vanities also serve a very practical purpose.

If there is a lady in the house, having a matching mirror is a must. Vanity mirrors are available in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Finally, you have to spend some time choosing matching floor and wall tiles. There are Travertine Tiles and Marble Tiles for flooring, and there are Marble Mosaics, Travertine Mosaics, and Glass Mosaics for the walls.