Fantastic budget home decorating tips


July 25th, 2008

Who doesn’t like beautifully decorated home with stylish paintings, ecstatic centre pieces, amazing lighting, elegant flowers and glamorous drapery. Well, all of us do. However, what makes most of us shirk away from our duties toward making the living space beautiful is lack of money. Most people are not aware of the art of decorating home in a stipulated budget that suits their pocket.

Fortunately there are some fantastic ways for decorating home without having to make a deep hole in your pocket.

Here is how you can make the most out of your home decorating budget.

Tip 1: Create a plan

Planning is very essential for any task to be accomplish as desired and successfully. If you don’t have a plan. You would end up wasting your hard earned money that you didn’t actually require or doesn’t fit into your house well. Prior to planning, just imagine your new room, the colors you want to paint it with, the accessories you want to use, the size of furniture that would be accurate and the kind of money you can easily spend on the whole set up. You may change your plan anytime you think that you are not comfortable with the whole thing.

Tip 2: Invest wisely

Here, it is not about investing money. This is about certain things inside your home that represent an investment. This indicates that spending more sometimes will certainly save you some money in the long run. Don’t purchase a carpet that you don’t approve of or is not of good quality just because it’s available at half the price. An expansive one will look beautiful and would last for more than about ten years.

Tip 3: Do it yourself

Some people are not good when it comes to accomplishing certain heavy tasks. However, these days, it’s getting very easy to get into certain remodeling projects at home. There are many useful resources that you can find on the World Wide Web and also in certain stores near your house. It would be a great idea to start with something small and you would be surprised to know what you can actually do.

Tip 4: Keep tabs on sales

Sometimes, you would find great products on sale at very reasonable prices. You must keep an eye on various sales that you come across. Make sure that you visit these sales regularly even if you don’t want to purchase anything. Even if you do, invest your money wisely.

Tip 5: Comparison shopping

If you want to shop for the best products for home decoration, visit more than one shop. Compare the products and late deals. This will let you purchase the best at the most affordable prices.

Ideas for kitchen decorating to blow your mind


July 17th, 2008

Kitchen is supposed to be the most used room in the house. There are several kitchen decorating ideas that you can come across, these days. These ideas were not present a few years ago.

When it comes to decorating the kitchen, it can be very difficult to decide on the kind of look that would be better for your kitchen that would prove to be the best. There are different options such as retro and the latest cookery space available on the market, these days.

The modern kitchen style decoration allows you to hide all your appliances behind different cabinets. The clean lines and smoothed out edges look great. You can also hide all your appliances into the walls or place them into countertops.

You can find latest appliances for your kitchen that can easily blend into the décor of your kitchen. It is possible to coat huge kitchen appliances such as ovens and refrigerators with facing similar to cabinets.

Here are some useful tips to decorate your kitchen in country style.

Colors
You must focus on using fresh, clean and warm colors to decorate your kitchen in country style. The ideal colors would be shades of whites, pinks, greens and yellows.

Accents
Try adding some accents to your kitchen such as flowers, vegetables, fruit and plants to give your kitchen the feel that you want to achieve.

Furniture
Try using lighter woods or wicker furniture to make your kitchen look beautiful. You need to upholster the kitchen in either floral or gingham patterns. You can save a lot of money via creating slip covers for your old furniture instead of purchasing new furniture.

Flooring
The flooring of your country style kitchen should be created from natural materials such as tile, wood or flagstones. Incase, these do not suit your budget, try using wall to wall carpeting or lamination. The color of the flooring should be given good importance. The lighter the shade, the betters. You can even use braded or hooked rugs. This will give an authentic look to your kitchen.

Accessories
Accessories would be the final thing to consider when decorating your kitchen design. Try looking for accessories that will work best and suit well. You may try putting your family pictures in wooden frames. A painted rustic scene would be a great idea.

Remember that you need to have an open mind when decorating the kitchen. This way, you would be able to follow some of the great ideas available for decorating kitchen in country style.

Home decorating tips to modernize your bedroom


June 19th, 2008

Your bedroom is a personal space. It is a space where you would like to relax, indulge in private talk with your partner and soothe yourself after a hard day’s work. This space must have a cool color scheme, look bigger and relaxing. It should be free of any dirt or clutter and also the most comfortably decorated room of your house.

Here are some great tips to give your bedroom, a modern look. Follow these tips and give a new life you, your personal space.

Color theme
In the past, people use to consider pink, white, tones of yellow and shades of browns as the ideal color choices. However, the modern decor rules are different. You can spice up your bedroom with shades of black, red, orange, and even bright green. Try using dark and rich chocolate color for a dramatic effect.

Pattern
The rugs and patterns used these days in the bedroom decor are quite different from what they were used to be in the past. These days, you will not find fancy patterns. The emphasis is totally on geometric patterns.

Furniture
These days, the furniture are available with simple and clean lines. You need to use darker shades of wood for better effect. Don’t go for rounded lines. This will spoil the whole effect. Don’t go for anything fancy. All you require to do is to stick to straight lines and simple details. You may try to go for brushed metal. It looks great and provide simple hardware look.

Accessories
When it comes to decorating bedroom with a touch of modernization, the idea is to keep it less. Keep the accessories to a minimum. Go for long lined glass vases and single flowers. Don’t use ornate, intricate or frilly materials in your bedroom. You may add modern painting to your modern bedroom to complete the look. Also keep your room free of clutter.

Photos
Purchase some unique photo frames and stick yours, your family’s or your loved ones photo into the frame. The frame should not have any antique design or jewels. Keep it simple and clean. You may also stick your’s and your loved one’s photo as a couple for a romantic effect.

All the tips mentioned above will allow you to provide a modernized look to your bedroom.

Giving a modernized look to your bedroom is not difficult. All you require to do is to keep it simple and clean. Try using your niche creativity for enhanced effect. This will also provide you a creative satisfaction.

Happy home decorating!

Decorating your Home with African Art


May 26th, 2008

Being the second largest continent in the world, Africa is as beautiful as it is diverse and is constantly changing. Believed to be a name originated from the latin word ‘aprica’, which means sunny, Africa is home to a large number of ancient tribes. Due to this, the tradition, culture, art forms, music form and religious practices of each tribe varies from country to country. Scientists also believe that Africa is the original home of the human race and the foundation of today’s civilization.

This vast ocean of culture, tradition and art forms have captivated the attention of lot of people and African art has found its way into our daily lives, especially in the decoration of one’s home. The African theme is a very popular decorating art with its wide range of soothing color options and earthy fabrics and other art choices. Whether a person is looking to decorate a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, a baby’s room or even the whole house, using an African theme can change the look of the entire house into a faraway haven.

African artifacts include subtle animal prints, masks, statues and rich nature-based color tones. Using these tribal treasures, a room or even an entire home can be given a warm and wonderful ambiance. The most popular of African decor art is masks. African tribal masks are available in a variety of colors like bright red, green, orange, blue or dark wood shades. These masks can be placed in the living room coupled with African statues and smaller masks, teak furniture and several animal print rugs. The colors of these masks can be co-ordinated with the sofas in the living room. These masks also look great as the dining room decor with a beautiful nature inspired table linen cloth placed on a dark wood dining table along with an African mask on the wall. The master bedroom can be drastically altered by strategically placing a few ancient masks on the wall and draping the four poster bed with animal print bed linen. This decorating theme can be extended into the bathrooms also.

In case an individual is looking for African art on a budget then there are cheap options available in a large number of shops selling home decor items like antique stores, flea markets or thrift shops. Although, the items that an individual might get at these stores may not be genuine African art. In case an individual is particular about getting genuine African art forms, then the local auction house can help and at a relatively less expensive cost and also in good condition. Another option to ensure that the art is genuine African art is to consult an antique professional.

Creative Decorating Ideas for Your Home


May 4th, 2008

Home decor has assumed such huge business proportions that there are companies and individual firms dealing with just decorating a house. Home decorating has become a specialized field with experts advising on the kind of home decor best suited to your home. However, you are the best judge of how to decorate your home as you are living there and understand best the kind of amenities and other needs.

Over the years families have become smaller and so have homes. While decorating a home you should always keep in mind the space available in your home, the storage space that you will need and the fact that the decoration you choose for your home does not affect its functionality. Another major aspect to consider while decorating your home is your budget. Home decoration need not be expensive and at the same time can be very effective. The only thing required is creativity to utilize the space to its maximum capacity. The motto while decorating your home should be ‘No available space should be unused or under used.’

One way of creating an illusion of space is to use glass. Glass in its various forms can add elegance to a home. Add a piece of stained glass on the living room wall or a small bedroom can be made to look big by adding a huge mirror glass to the opposite wall of the bed. If your taste bends towards the rustic look, you could use earthy colors on the walls and add furniture made out of hardwood that has a rough look about it. This will add a very country type of look to your home. A tasteful blend of various styles and textures added with accessories and furniture from different origins and period can give your home an eclectic look.

In case you are looking for a very Indian traditional type of decor, a low bed seating with dark earthy shades or even furniture made out of cane wood with light and earthy wall colors can do wonders for your home. However, if your personality is more outdoorsy and you like the sun and wind, you can use floral prints on your sofa covers and table linen, plump cushions in bright colors and soft furniture with pine and oak. A city person who loves the modern way of living can use clean lines and simple contour and bold colors. Uncomplicated furniture of either glass, slate and metal define the home decor of such a person.

These are a few decorating styles that you can work with as suits your personality. You can also add curtains in soft shades with any of these styles of decorating and make your home the reality of your dreams.

Innovative ideas for choosing color Schemes for your Home


April 30th, 2008

An expensive sofa set with high end products to spice up the interior look of an your home can all go to waste if the correct wall colors are not selected to offset the decorative look. Color co-ordination with the style of home, look of home, personality of the people who live in that home is necessary to achieve that picture perfect look for your home. Choosing a color scheme can be confusing what with all the different colors and the textures available in the market. It can be an imposing task to choose the right wall color that matches with the decor you have chosen for your home. A few but innovative ideas can help you choose the correct color scheme for your home.

In the event you are moving into a new home and have the option of decorating your home from scratch then, starting with choosing the style of your home can give you a good idea of which colors might best suit your decorating needs. Next, you can get on to choosing the fabrics to suit your sofa sets, table linen, bed linen etc. Out of these, fabric should serve as the anchor fabric. The background color of this fabric can be used as the wall color. The brightest color in the fabric can be used for accessories and the mid tone color in the fabric can be used to make large furniture pieces or even the flooring. However, a choice of 3 colors will suffice for the living room. To get the maximum effect for a brighter room, you should use the background light color in 60% of the space available including furniture and accessories, the mid-tone color in 30% of the space and the brightest color in only about 10% of the space.

Another way to decide the color scheme of your house would be to decide the geographical direction of each and every room, the amount of natural light allowed in the room during the day time and size and the utility of the room. For example mild or light colors can be used for a room facing north as this room receives the minimum of natural light while a west facing room can have a side wall with a bright color as the natural light in the room during the day would be the maximum. However, again if this room is the master bedroom or the guest bedroom a bright color might be too strong and create too much visual stimulation.

Also, if the size of the room or the house is small then using bright shades can make the room look even smaller. Use of lighter colors gives the illusion of space. The color of the furniture and accessories can then be decided to suit the color of the walls.

New Decorating Trends


April 23rd, 2008

As people’s lives get busier and busier, a home is not just another place to sleep at night. A home has become a place of peace, a place to relax and rejuvenate for another busy and stressful day. With this in mind, more and more people are looking to decorate their homes in a way where a home is simple, functional, low maintenance and yet elegant, warm and inviting.

As with everything else, people’s demand sets the trend on decoration and some of the latest decorating trends ensure that a home gives maximum functionality, minimum maintenance and looks warm and creative without being loud and opulent. Hand crafted furniture and accessories like intricately carved statues and metal with detailed scroll work is in high demand this season. Leather furniture combined with different fabrics to create different textures is also in high demand.

Another trend that has caught on with homeowners are do-it-yourself projects like home made lamp shades, self woven curtains, hand made sofa throws and even hand knitted table cloths. A traditional decor which looks colorful and elegant is also in this season. Furniture pieces reflecting nature like bamboo flooring, and rattan furniture have also caught attention. Along side this, ethnic furniture from different countries, traditions and periods are in demand. Mild wall colors like beige and gold with warm browns and pumpkin spice or even shades of blues and greens offset in a neutral background are the choice of the season for their soothing feel.

As far as furniture is concerned, huge bulky furniture is out and multi-purpose and space saving furniture is in, which gives maximum storage. Narrower sofas, coffee tables doubling as dining tables or small dining tables with stool chairs are in to save space. Functional art like design lighting has become a popular option for small homes where different light sculptures serve the need of lighting as well as add a decorative piece of art to the room. Most of the home decor making a come back this season is artistic with curves rather than straight lines and clean cuts.

Another decorative and functional item making a big comeback this season is room divider screen. With homes getting smaller, making wooden doors can substantially reduce space. A room divider screen can be put into place when the need arises to separate two portions of a home and can be removed to enlarge the space and make it look like a big room. Another popular functional decor is the counter height bistro table which adds a casual touch to the dining atmosphere allowing the family to relax and have a quick meal.

With these new decorating trends, a home can be made multi-functional and multi-purpose while at the same time giving it a spacious and clutter free look.

Basic Ideas of Home Interior Decoration


March 18th, 2008

Decorating your home to make it look great, match your style, your choice and overall architecture of the home is Home Interior Decoration. The basic objective of home interior decoration is to have your home done in a way so as to reflect the best of your taste and personality along with giving it a unique dimension. A properly decorated home gives it a personalized feel.

Home interior decoration and interior design are distinctively different. The former focuses on finishing decoration using wallpapers, furnishing, paint, fixtures etc. Interior design, on the other hand, is more related to architecture integration involving spacing for cabinets, lofts, room layouts and other design parameters etc, in addition to home decoration activities.

Looking back at history, it can be seen that the concept of home interior decoration evolved in Paris and London in the late 18th century. The concept has refined over time and it has always been the quest of the industry to find most innovative and attractive home decoration solutions at most reasonable costs.

Professional Interior Designers/Decorators specialize in home interior decoration. Few Architects also practice this. Studies show that nearly 65% of home improvement cost is attributable to home interior decoration. Spending is fast expanding in new areas like modular kitchens, bath accessories and individual designer rooms and spaces for different purposes and for different members of the family.

Massage suites, spa areas, media space, craft rooms, wine cellars and home library areas are gaining popularity. Moving away from the earlier themes of luxury rooms, people are now shifting preferences for creating definition areas.

Earthly, natural and warm brown tones of colors are beginning to get preference over the vibrant and loud colors of the past. Blue and gray hues are more sought after today than the dull reds and dark blues of the past.

New highly placed career professionals and newly married couples are going for innovative home interior decoration ideas which not only cost less but also give the impression of an ornate design scheme to spruce up their homes.

Life-styling has come of age. It has given home interior decoration industry a tremendous boost. Eclectic decoration styles are on the rise. The High Tech and Shabby Chic is steadily replacing the good old Victorian or the Early American!

Uniqueness, good looks, functionality, harmony are the new buzz words in the home decoration industry. Trends are rapidly evolving as man continues their unending quest to present a more personalized statement of his lifestyle. The industry is highly dynamic, constantly fine tuning and positioning it with the emerging requirements. The trend has a firm footing and is expected to stay. Tracking the changes and keeping abreast with the developments hold the key to success.

Decorating with African Art Creates Soulful Environments


March 15th, 2008

Decorating with African art brings a unique look to your home or office. A number of options are available and you can feature one interesting piece or showcase an entire room in this style.

Choosing a Single Piece When Decorating with African Art

When you are planning your room, you may want to start with a single piece of art. Decorating with African art doesn’t have to be elaborate. You can start with a colorful batik wall hanging in bright colors, a hand-painted Korhogo cloth, or a Gabon mask. If you prefer not to display the art on your walls, you still have a number of options for decorating with African art. Since the piece you choose can represent your unique inner spirit; the options are highly individual and virtually endless.

Small pieces can add interest to your decor as well. Good choices include a hand-carved kisii stone elephant, a decoupage vase, or a carved chess set featuring animal pieces. Ebony bowls are available at reasonable prices and a “talking drum” displayed in your room will be certain to get conversations going.

Kisii Stone Plate Centers a Room

Another striking choice when decorating with African art is a kisii stone plate. This material is also known as soapstone. A multicolored effect is created by applying natural dyes to the surface of the stone. The stone absorbs the colors, making a kisii stone plate a wonderful option for decorating with African art. The piece can be hung on a wall or displayed on a table or a shelf using a stand.

Supporting African Artists

Another great reason for decorating with African art is that by buying these pieces, you are supporting the talented artisans who created them. Artists put their heart and soul into the items they draw, paint, weave, or fashion; and we give them a wonderful acknowledgment for their efforts by buying these items. The artist also benefits from the financial support we provide to them by buying their artwork.

Any decorative element you choose speaks loudly about your inner spirit, tastes, and style. Decorating with African Art gives you the chance to express your flair, passions, or social commentary without uttering a single word.

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Recharge Your Home With Your Own Decorating Ideas


February 25th, 2008

A tastefully decorated home speaks volumes about your personality. It reflects your aesthetic sense and creative spirit. Decorating a home to match your personal aura may not always be a very expensive proposition. Your ideas and your ability to use small things to decorate your home can even work wonders.

The first point about home decoration begins with adopting a holistic approach. Consider your home in its entirety and not in segments. Whatever theme you choose should preferably be applicable for the entire room. Mixing of themes in one room generally does not go well. If you belong to the classical old school, go for gothic furniture, subtle colors and ornate decor. If you are absolutely modern in style, then you must be looking for new generation furniture in wrought iron or steel, dark and bold shades of color, lots of gadgets and contemporary decor to spruce up your room.

Small things like vases, murals, wall hangings, lamp shades, antique items, pictures, wall papers, mirrors and show items carry lot of importance in giving your home decor the right dimension. Vases with ornate or floral designs have unique appeal. If you have a particular theme for a room, your murals, wall papers, wall hangings and pictures must match that theme. Say, you are doing a room on an African Safari theme. Use Savannah wall papers, African masks, jungle decor, animal pictures and knick knacks, rugs looking like animal skins on the floor and lots of bamboo items here and there to create a lively jungle ambience in your room. Lamp shades always create special effects with their light and shade. If you are having a party, you can switch on to bright lights and twinkling LEDs, but when you are planning to listen to some music in a pensive mood, corner lamp stands with their mystic shades are always the perfect choice.

In order to prevent your home from getting a stale look, you must always change the room decor periodically. Rearranging the furniture, changing the cushion covers, hanging a new set of curtains, bringing in some new plants, changing the showcase artifacts and decor items and laying a new area rug are some good ideas. Removing clutter always creates additional space and breathes life into your home. This must be done regularly. Ideas are all that create the best decorated homes. The best tip in home decorating, therefore, is to continuously refurbish your idea bank and experiment on new things.