January 24th, 2012

Create Your Perfect Home Office Space

Perhaps you have given up your job in the New Year to follow your dreams of starting up a freelance company. Whether you are a writer, an artist, a financial advisor or you are temporarily doing some administrative work until you can set yourself up properly, you will need a space in which to optimize your thinking process.

Remember that it is important to separate your living environment from your working environment – otherwise you may end up feeling like work is taking over your life. Additionally if you have children around you will not necessarily want them disturbing you while you are trying to concentrate.

Why not make that spare room you never use into a home office space? Transforming your home is an inspiring process but you will also need to think about practical elements such as insuring your property. MoneySupermarket is a great site where you can make price comparisons, ensuring that you get the best cover, particularly if you have expensive equipment such as a laptop.You may need to undertake renovation and decoration in order to achieve the right look – after all this is a space where you will be spending a lot of time.

Add some personal touches such as vintage furniture, many DIY stores offer generic furniture but in the long run this may not be the best option. Shop around and check the condition carefully, also making sure for example that a desk has the capability for running wires between a computer and the wall. Having enough storage is another consideration so that you can file untidy paperwork.

Another way to make your working environment more interesting is to have a focal wall with some heavily patterned wallpaper. On those long days when you feel utterly fed up you can stare dreamily at that wall and remember your creative side.  Ready-painted blinds can also spice things up with some colour or you can commission a decorator to spray-paint them for you.

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January 20th, 2012

Tips For successfully combining old and new decorating styles

For first-time homebuyers and the rest of us that are tight on cash, hand-me-downs shouldn’t get the cold shoulder. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for home dwellers to combine pieces they already own with furnishings they’ve inherited, borrowed or bought for next to nothing.   They’re also looking to add their own personalities and experiences to their rooms.  Sterile rooms that give no clue to the homeowner’s personality are out.

The resulting style is considered eclectic, but contrary to popular belief, it’s not a haphazard style.  By using some decorating guidelines, you can bring excitement and pizzazz to a room that combines traditional and contemporary style.

Eclectic decorating refers to a concept that mixes all kinds of decorating elements.  The age of the furnishings, their colors, textures and overall styles are combined, but there’s purpose behind the merger of the various pieces.  Truly artful eclectic decors highlight the best parts of each style.  Learning how to mix contrasting styles takes some time, but is worth the effort.

One of the key ways to seamlessly combine two different periods in a room’s decor is to use a common color throughout the room.   Shades of brown, for example, can tie together a low modern sofa and a traditional parquet floor.   Shape is another element that brings together a room’s furnishings.  Old-world pieces such as an antique globe can work well with contemporary bottles to pull together a room that features furnishings from different time periods.

It’s also a good idea to use furnishings with clean, simple lines that can successfully pull together old and new décor styles.  For example, Shaker and Mission furniture are prime examples, as well as oriental-inspired pieces.   The key is to find pieces that don’t jar the senses but instead work well within the existing decor of the room.

You may have been bequeathed a treasured piece of furniture such as a dining room table that belonged to a beloved grandmother.  You want to honor your relative by using the piece in your home, but it doesn’t match your style.  You can still make it an important part of your décor by complementing it with modern, geometrically inspired dinnerware.  The antique dining room chairs could be covered with imitation leather.  Alternatively, you could display vintage photos of the family in the dining area using chrome frames.

Successfully combining antique finds and new pieces in a room may seem to be a daunting task, but you can accomplish it when you strive to find pieces that complement each other’s strengths.  The resulting eclectic décor offers the added benefit of showcasing your personality in the room.

By: Erik Braunitzer and courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for NYC Apartments.

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January 19th, 2012

Tips to reduce your heating bill

In times of crisis and declining purchasing power, all the good tips to reduce the gas bill or electricity are good to take. And make energy saving is good for the planet! Here are some tips to optimize your heating.

1: Partitions for less heat
It’s simple and just think, reduce the volume to be heated, it also reduce heating bills. How? Nothing more simple, A curtain for example can help isolate a row without a door. If you have high ceilings and you have a mezzanine, you can also use this trick to “close” the open sides. Simple curtains can be fine. Installing a small gas fireplaces in the new space will become a small nest for long winter evenings.

2: Air quickly and efficiently
Ventilating a room is also essential in winter than in summer. But the low temperatures we often cool when it comes to do so. Here’s a tip, speed up the renewal of the air with a fan when you open your windows. The air in the room will certainly be a bit chilly but the walls themselves will not have time to cool. The room and ascend rapidly to temperature.

3: Keep your coil
If you are in electric heating, remember to remove dust. Clean interior and exterior energy efficient and even heating, your bill will be (slightly) lower. Attention! remember to shut off the heaters before you start cleaning their.

4: Isolate!
Keep fresh air from entering by caulking the bottom of your doors and checking the insulation of windows. Another tip is also effective: even close the shutters at night. is additional insulation.Warning: caulking does not mean blocking the vents! These are essential to your health and your safety.

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January 19th, 2012

Top renovating tips for a teen’s room

teen room renovation

Teens are tricky customers – they know what they like and, when it comes to decorating their rooms, they are likely to want to make their own mark. While some teenagers may have a natural flair for interior décor, it’s sensible to offer up some of your own ideas if you want to make sure your home can be sold easily in the future.

The teen years are when kids get passionate about their interests and heroes, whether your youngster is male or female, they may want posters to make up part of the decorating scheme. Pins and Blu-Tack can be awful news for painted or papered walls, so compromise and provide a big pin board for posters.

If you want to choose a theme for the room, you might want to take some inspiration from the posters or prints they choose. For example, a teenage girl may like a themed room based on a classic Hollywood film, such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, using a photo still from the film as a starting point. The walls can be painted in a Tiffany-esque blue and a vintage style single bed can be adorned with a luxury bed spread. When deciding on an appropriate bed it is important to keep in mind the size of the room. For most situations a single bed will be adequate for teenagers. The children’s single bed range from Time4Sleep will provide some useful ideas to get you started. To complete the look add a stand-alone dressing table and retro accessories, like an old telephone or luggage cases. Speak to your youngster about any ideas they may have to see if you can incorporate them to at least some degree, as they are more likely to keep a room tidy and take pride in it if they feel like it’s a product of their own efforts.

As well as considering a theme, you will need to ponder practicality. By their teenage years children tend to come complete with a certain amount of ’stuff’ and this stuff needs storing. If you are limited for space, you may want to consider incorporating multi-function furniture into the room, such as a storage bed or even a bed and desk combo. As well as providing places to tuck away books, DVDs and game consoles, this clever use of furniture can also free up valuable floor space, which can be a key consideration in smaller rooms or in those where clothes and shoes can frequently adorn the carpets!

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January 6th, 2012

Add warmth to your home this new year

Interior design 2012

If you’re looking to change things up a bit this New Year, consider making some changes to your home. A new decorating scheme can add flair and warmth to your house, making it a space that relatives and friends can’t wait to spend time in. A few touches here and there will transform a home with little effort, letting you kick back and relax in your new space.

A warm and cosy home is an ideal way to make your living space inviting for both family and friends, particularly in the cold winter months following the New Year. You can add warmth to your home in a number of ways, from new accessories to appliances designed to insulate and heat.

For accessories, choose textiles in warm colours. Drapes are an instant way to give a room a face lift, and curtains in fabrics like velvet or faux suede add depth and a comfy feeling. Rugs, throw pillows and a soft blanket on the back of a sofa will add warmth without costing too much. Make sure to pay attention to the colours you choose, however. Look for reds, browns and deep purples. These shades are modern and stylish and create a warm vibe instantly.

For even more heat, choose appliances that bring a bit of summer climates indoors. Electric heating systems used to be archaic pieces that stood out when placed in a room. This isn’t the case today, though. Electric heating systems come in a variety of chic designs that are meant to work with your décor and blend into a space. You can find these appliances in modern styles, traditional styles or contemporary styles. Make sure to describe to your local shop what you’re looking for to ensure you get the piece that’s right for your home.

When combining warming accessories and appliances, make sure to spread the design throughout the home. Living rooms, bedrooms, even kitchens and bathrooms can all benefit from these tips. Start by layering elements throughout the home, like a pop of colour here and there that you want to incorporate. By working a little at a time, you can transform the entire house without putting forward too much time or effort.

Don’t forget lighting to add a soft touch to any space. Table lamps, chandeliers and other overhead lighting create an inviting feeling throughout the day, creating bright light in the morning and a dim glow in the evening. You can add small table lamps to any spot to warm it up, like on a console table or a countertop in a hall bathroom.

Whatever your design plan, make sure your home reflects your personal tastes and style. A home should show off your personality and be a welcoming place for you to come back to. With a bit of forethought and planning, you can use some simple tips to create a warm and inviting glow in your home. It’s the perfect way to kick off the New Year with a bit of design flair.

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December 20th, 2011

5 Tips for Creating Space in Your New Home

space in home

Moving house is meant to be an opportunity to ‘clear out’ – in most every guide you’ll read, it advises to take a good look at all your stuff and chuck out what you don’t use or won’t fit in your new digs before you pack up your belongings.

For most people, it rarely works out this way: rather than having a full-on clear out, your finalising your change of address and sorting checking home insurance rates. What you end up with is five or so boxes filled with an eclectic mix of junk that you couldn’t class.

So what do you do once you’re at the other end of a move? You’re shacked up and starting to unpack – and your house is getting just as cluttered and as full as your old house. How do you make space, or an illusion of space?

If it doesn’t go, throw it
It’s easier to get rid of things now you’ve moved in; you can see things don’t fit and won’t ever fit, so throw them out and don’t look back. Don’t bother finding a place for it if that’s where it’s going to stay forever, unused and unlooked at.

Removing Walls
Have you thought about expanding the space you have? There may be a few walls you can get rid of to give you more space to work with. Most new build houses have kitchens that open into dining rooms – look into what walls are important to the structural integrity of your building and then see what you can knock down. Open plan rooms aren’t just more spacious, they let in light and brighten what space you do have.

Simple, Clean Colours
Clinical white is overused in decorating – while it can give the illusion of more space, it can also be glaringly overwhelming. Look into soft light greens and pale yellows for warm, but reflective, walls that make a room seem brighter, bigger and fresher.

Building in Storage
This is a dangerous route to take, as you might just end up hiding your clutter away to gather dust. Built in storage can be anything from walk-in closets to roof space, though; think about how you can best utilise the small nooks and crannies of your house to hide your junk. Is there room for a shelf over your toilet, or in the corners of your kitchen? Is there room for a bookcase under your stairs?

Reflective Surfaces
This is trick often used in restaurants and commercial establishments: a mirror can give the impression that the space is double its actual size. Think about putting a mirrored front on closet doors or having a floor length mirror in your hallway – just make sure you’ve used the tip above so what it’s reflecting is a clean, neat home!

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December 11th, 2011

Take advantage of the space under the stairs

Space under the stairs

While housing prices continue to climb, and that it is difficult to find space to fit all his belongings, what a shame if you are not able to maximize every square foot of your home. But there are many ideas to maximize every corner, as the place beneath the stairs. Precisely, here are 3 ideas for development dedicated to this space often lost.

Develop a library
One way to use space under the stairs is to make a small library. For this, we can choose a rack-shaped boxes of stairs so you can slide it under the steps or decide to create a library yourself by layering different colored boxes that are screwed or that one glue them available once selected. And here’s an extra space dedicated to storage of books.

Set up a home office
Find a place to set up his office is not always obvious when lack of space in the room. If you have stairs, so it’s time to think! Under the steps, we easily suspend two or three shelves for books and workbooks available. Just below, place the office neither seen nor known. Planning to win the key (see the picture against)!

Install storage
Finally, the available space under the stairs can be converted into storage, be it shoes, household items, clothing. Among the ideas to remember, there’s boxes on wheels, custom closets or shelves on which there are boxes and baskets.

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November 24th, 2011

Wardrobes for the whole home

Beautiful Wardrobes designs

Generally we think of wardrobes as just a place to hang clothing, but if you think about the more sophisticated wardrobes from Italy they really are just one or a series of very tall cupboards in a huge choice of colours and textures, with either hinged or sliding doors and a choice of fittings that can be set up in virtually any configuration. So there’s no reason that wardrobes need to be confined to the bedroom and we are now seeing wardrobes being used all through the home for a number of different reasons.  The doors are often very attractive plus sliding doors save room as they don’t need to be opened out. The cupboards can come in a huge variety of sizes, which can also be altered at the factory or by your wardrobe fitter. Their height works well too, since they are usually at least 2 metres tall they are a very efficient use of floor space.

A few of the ways bedroom wardrobes can be used in the rest of the home is as under stair cupboards (the doors can be cut at angles for an exact fit & the wardrobes are a perfect depth), as hall cupboards either to provide a large amount of extra storage or to provide a cloakroom cupboard for coats, umbrellas and wellington boots.

Wardrobes also make excellent wall/media units & some can incorporate open shelving or even a home office desk. Sliding doors allow you to quickly & effortlessly hide the TV & then uncover it for watching, whilst still looking as good (no messy opened hinged doors).  Fitted wardrobes also make surprisingly good laundry cupboards, the size is just right to fit a washing machine &/or dryer (wardrobe cabinets are usually the same depth as kitchen cabinets) and good quality Italian wardrobes have shelves strong enough to hold a dryer.

Even better the higher end Italian factories have realised this and are now producing accessories especially for these ‘non wardrobe wardrobes’. More attractive in a contemporary home than traditional built in fitted cupboards and offer incredibly versatile and space efficient storage for the entire home.

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November 9th, 2011

Four Ways to Freshen Up an Old Frame

Before you discard frames in a box destined for the thrift store, look at them in a new way. Maybe you don’t like the shiny brass finish, or the plain molding looks too- plain. Whether the frame is made of wood, metal, ceramic, or plastic, it can be repainted to look like an entirely different creature. Consider these ideas to revive old frames so they’ll find a home in your current motif.

1. A Pop of Color

What better way to pull in your accent col or than from a frame or two in a room. This is a great choice for plastic frames, especially with Krylon’s new line of Fusion paints for plastic (in spray form to make it super-easy). Kids and teens might like a collection of brightly colored frames for artwork, posters, and fave photos.

2. Metallic

Whether your home has splashes of rubbed bronze, brushed silver or burnished gold in light fixtures and faucets, you can carry on the theme in your frames from a can of spray paint. The techniques may differ, depending on the type of finish you’d like or if you want to achieve a faux patina. As with most paint finishes suggested in this article, you’ll want to start with a primer base:  Brown for bronze, gray for silver, and white for gold.

3. Unify a Grouping

A collection of a single color of frames can look stunning together, even if their sizes and moldings differ. Use them to frame black and white photos, floral prints, mirrors, or remove the glass and let their ornate beauty shine.

4. Make New Look

While some like making the old look new, others prefer the old no matter what. Distressing and antiquing are two paint techniques that can be used to instill a bit of the vintage on recently-made frames

CategoryArchitecture, Bedroom, Decoration & Accessories, Door & Window, Exclusive, Interior Decoration, Windows & Walls | CommentNo Comments »

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October 22nd, 2011

DIY decoration for walls

Do you want to add some excitement to your dreary walls? Tired of looking at the same old decor day in and day out? Want to brighten up your living room or den, liven up a bedroom or bath? How about adding some flair to your kitchen or office? You can do all of this and more with some simple do-it-yourself (DIY) wall treatments using easy-to-learn techniques.

DIY walls allow you to spend money you might normally spend on a decorator on tools and supplies to create great wall finishes instead. Rather than hiring a laborer, learn a few simple DIY techniques to help you dress up your walls. As anyone who chooses a DIY  project instead of hiring a professional knows, the delight you feel from seeing your completed project is immeasurable.  Knowing you did it yourself will fill you with satisfaction every time you walk in the room. And DIY walls are one of the easiest places to begin revamping your home decor.

Consider your options

Paint: There are so many colors available and so many painting techniques that your choices are virtually unlimited. Paint the whole room, one wall, or even a diagonal half of a wall. Use  pastels, brights or anything any between.  And if you can’t find what you want, have your colors custom mixed. The sky is the limit!

Wallpaper: Again, you have many options to choose from including a top border around the whole room, or only on one or two walls; a border mid-way around the entire room, or every wall fully covered.  Use your imagination and make the room uniquely yours.

Wainscoting: This DIY option is a bit more challenging, but very doable. You’ll need some low-tech carpentry skills, but you  can find dozens of books to help you learn how to create and install wainscoting. And your friends will be so impressed when you’ve done!

Faux Finishes What about a faux finish such as paint bamboo, brick, or paneling? There are unlimited options here as well. You’ll need some patience, and it may take some trial and error, but your walls will look like you hired an expensive decorator… when you did it all yourself!

Fabric: Ever thought of upholstering your walls? You can! Upholstery fabrics work best for this, but any durable fabric will work including denim, canvas, suede or leather. You’ll probably want to limit this technique to only one wall or  partial wall, but some people have used it for entire rooms with interesting results.

Vinyl Wall Art: This is a trendy technique of creating vinyl appliques out of ConTact paper that you attach to the wall. Create a variety of impressions, including a feeling of the outdoors, contemporary geographical designs, a more traditional effect, or even a bit of romance depending on the colors and shapes you select.

Silhouettes: Another trendy, though not necessarily new DIY wall technique is to fill one wall with silhouettes such as busts of Victorian women, or for a more country look, Amish figures Done with tape, labels and black paint, this creates a dramatic point of interest in your room.

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