AfrikBoutik Blog

Decorating a Bachelor pad

Most home design publications are directed at women, but there are many men who want to decorate their homes too. These men are not looking for pastel walls or shelves full of miniatures.

They want to avoid floral color schemes but they want something interesting and exciting to add character to their homes. Decorating a masculine bachelor pad can actually be a lot of fun when you get creative.

If you want the perfect makeover for your masculine room, begin with searching online and even in magazines for ideas you want to try. Don’t choose a home design magazine which wouldn’t be anything you’d choose, but search through magazines you already subscribe to.

It doesn’t need to be a story in the magazine, look in the background of ads. You never really look closely to those pictures but there are many great room designs behind them. Make sure to mark down designs that you like and others that you dislike to make your options easier to choose when decorating elements come into play.

Take a close look at the current room you are looking to re-design. Check to see if you have features in the room that you can play up with the new design or any architectural elements which make the room unique.

Also are your floors covered with carpet or are they natural wood or stone? Pick one area in the room which will be the focal point and you can accent it well.

Men work different in designing a room; they will start at the bottom and work to the top. Start with an area rug that has something that shows your personality.

Pick something that is comfortable and soft to walk on. Choose a color that you like. It should be solid colors that will make the room feel more masculine. Make sure if you have a pet you buy a rug that won’t show dirt as well.

Now chose a color for the room. What paint you get will a room from girly to a more masculine look quickly. Pick a darker color that is more masculine, no pinks needless to say. Try green or a darker blue or a nice bold red will add some passion to a room too. Don’t use a whole bunch of color schemes in your decorating, and try and stay away from wallpaper too.

If you add some lighter shaded curtains they will help to make the bold colors a bit softer. A nice masculine color or something that has stripes is a good choice. Make sure that the curtains go with your flooring or rug if you’ve added it to the room.

Now that you’ve accomplished an over all look, add some things to the wall. You can make the room even more masculine with some great decor. Add framed prints that add to a sophisticated look to your decor.

If you must put up a poster, frame it before you put it up. When picking the photos out you should get something that you are interested in, this way your personality will be shown through your decorating.

African Safari Decor – 8 Ways To Turn A Room Into An African Jungle

Here’s a novel idea! For those who can’t make it to the wilds of Africa and experience a safari first hand, how about bringing the safari right to your home.

The popularity of African safari decor has been literally exploding in the past few years and has become a very popular form of decoration for children’s rooms. Parents are going online in droves looking for ideas to decorate their kid’s rooms but the truth is, you don’t need to spend a fortune doing it.

African Safari Decor Ideas

Yes, you could head to the nearest exotic shop and buy African safari decor but if you are on a budget, then this cost could become rather prohibitive.

Let’s take a look a few ideas to turn your son’s or daughter’s room into a safari setting. Remember, this can be an ongoing project so it doesn’t need to be done in a hurry.

– For the effect of vines, material such as braided twine is relatively inexpensive and by heading down to your nearest dollar store, you can pick up either green paper or garland and create a leafy look. Simply hang your vines from the ceiling.

– Also to create an effect of growing vines, wrap some of the twine along your curtain rods and around the outside of the door frame.

– For animal effect, head down to your nearest charity store and pick up toys which would match an African setting. Lions, monkeys giraffes – as long as they are native to Africa. There is no limit to the number of toys you could find. Yard sales are another great place to pick up old toys on the cheap.

– For greater effect, painting a mural on one or two of the walls with a jungle theme will add a real touch of the exotics to a room.

– Bamboo and palm plants are excellent for creating a more realistic jungle effect.

– Transform a layer of netting into a hummock and put it in a corner of the room.

– African ornaments such as drums, spears and shields may take a little finding at the right price but can only give the room more Africa-style flavor. This is true African safari decor and worth looking for.

– Cut out animal pictures from books and paste them around the room. Use animal covered wrapping paper to decorate further and use a safari hat and a pair of binoculars for further effect.

For a chance to Win African Art in our Afrik-Jungle Sweepstakes. Click here!

African Decor: Most Frequently Asked African Decor Questions

African decor continues to grow in popularity because of it’s timeless beauty and elegance. Many people still have doubts about how to choose quality pieces.

With so many copycat, fast buck merchants peddling fake, cheap and even phony African Decor (made in China), it’s important to have a buyer beware attitude when it comes to buying . Here’s the most frequently asked questions I received last month on African Decor.

– What does African Decor Include?

African decor includes a variety of a symbols from the continent. The more popular themes include statues, figurines, sculptures, beads, and masks. But the number of items is much too numerous to mention. But limiting African decor to a list of items is inaccurate. African decor not only includes individual items they include the colors, textures and tones of African. For example, the Mosaic array of colors of Morocco, the variety of sand tones of the Sahara or the hand carved wooden sculptures of Ghana.

– Why Gives African Style Decor It’s Longevity?

Unlike most manufactured decor, African handmade items have carved a long reputation for lasting beauty and elegance the world over. Because true African sculptures, artist and tradesmen look at trade as a Spiritual calling not just a job. We put our heart and soul into each piece until we are empty”, states one Ghana sculptor.

– What Materials are most African Theme Decor Made Of?

Most African theme decor comes from natural materials of the earth, this is what has made African decor eco-friendly long before the term became popular. They include materials such as bamboo and teak which are fast growing trees. Other materials used for African decor includes clay used in pottery, natural paints made from plants and of course colorful weaving materials and beads.

– How Can You Pick A Quality African Style Basket?

The best way to choose a quality African basket is to look at the loom. The best quality loom is the horizontal pedal loom. Any basket containing a horizontal loom will last longer because it requires more skill and time to make.

– What’s African Accessories Add Warmth To A Room?

The best way to add a feeling of warmth is to use rustic material. For example, materials like clay, stone, copper and other metals. Also a hand-carved wood piece can also help to add a touch of warm coziness to a cold impersonal space in your home of office.

Hopefully sharing these questions and answers with you helps give you a better understanding of the priceless treasure African decor offers. I encourage you to explore the adventure and excitement African decor can add to your life and environment.

The African Decor Influence: How African Decor Inspires Other Style Trends

African decor continues to fuel patterns, styles and designs of interior fashion throughout the world. Year after year the continent of African continues as one of the world’s largest resources of new home decor ideas.

The exotic design motifs has the benefit of complimenting almost any room atmosphere or environment. Multitudes of designers use it to create rooms of spice, excitement and pizzazz to a relaxing room filled with tranquility, peace and calm. The only limit to your mood? Your imagination.

You can confidently use it as the dominant theme for a room ,or as a bold accent piece to add excitement to a dull space. African home decor celebrates its appeal by adapting to large mansion-like rooms to a cramped single apartment. Whatever your bank account, there’s a unique accent piece just right for you.

For instance, In days gone by African art sat idly in stuffy museums throughout the world. Now more people find they can give a cultural lift to their home, office, or apartment – without adding a sense or feel of stuffiness.

The visual impact of Africa themed decor continues slowly impacting more home interiors each day. As a result, African home accessories continue growing toward more mainstream home designers and interior decorators. Many use the colors, textures, patterns and designs to create their own styles and moods.

You’ll often find the African inspired styles reflected in more contemporary design choices. More elements continue to expand and cross into other interior styles, cultures, and themes as a result. Whether it’s the fabrics, the materials, or the hand-made craftsmanship, African interior design tastefully mixes creativity with centuries of culture and history.

The quiet spiritual connection to the continent remains a popular theme of people who favor African decor more and more. “The style quietly grows on you “, said one converted shopper and collector. That’s the feeling of a growing number of people across the globe.

Most of the craftsmen and women who fashion African decor view their skills and talents one-way. They see it not just as a commercial endeavor or idle hobby of leisure, but as a spiritual endeavor and life’s mission or purpose. Because of this commitment they patiently work to fashion the wooden sculpture, the figurine, weave the colorful basket or any other piece to reflect their pride and mastery to the world.

The rich culture of Africa home accents comes from proud generations of people. These working people take the spirit of nature contained in the wood, clay, stone, metal and other natural materials. Next they give back by chiseling, crafting , and polishing beauty from the piece of wood, clay, stone, metal or other natural material they’ve taken.

It’s predicted more will grow to appreciate and use the exotic interior themes and elements to enhance a space or room in their home. More interior designers will continue to receive inspiration and adapt many of the patterns, designs and textures to the growing consumer demand of African decor.

Moroccan decorating ideas

When decorating your home Moroccan style, make sure to use bright natural colors. The colors like green and blue, found in the sea of the area, and the ones like gold and yellow, found in the surrounding desert, should be used as much as possible. You can combine other colors like vibrant red, orange or purple with blue or gold to create an effervescent ambience. Feel free to use of vibrant colors such as pink fuchsia, lavender, and orange while keeping the aesthetics in mind.

Bring Nature Home

For creating the tropical atmosphere seen in Morocco, you can make extensive use of plants. The more exotic the plants, the better look they will bring to your house like you were on holiday in Morocco. At the same time, they will also provide you with some greenery in the concrete-jungle world of today. If it is feasible, you can also get textured walls.

Moroccan Lighting

Lighting plays a very important role in adding that perfect Moroccan flavor look to your home decor. Moroccan light fixtures are totally different from those used in the other parts of the world. Moroccan light fixtures include Moroccan sconces, Moroccan chandeliers, Moroccan lanterns, Moroccan hanging pendants, and Moroccan lamps.

Extensive Use of Textures

Moroccans love extensive use of textures in their home. So, if you want to have a Moroccan style look, rule out too much use of smooth and sleek materials. In fact, the fusion of multiple textures and shapes will be best. You can have darkened wood plank floors, which can be covered with natural fiber rugs of sand-ish color. This will not only add texture to the room, but also provide you with some comfort under the feet. You can also try draping fabric from the ceiling.

Some Other Tips

Colorful mosaic tables not only give a Moroccan feel to your place, but also help to brighten up a dull room.
Use of handmade Moroccan tiles will go a long way in creating a Moroccan decor.

Use of Moroccan tent as a Moroccan lounge getaway in your own backyard.

Use of Moroccan wood lattice screens also known as Jali Screens in your windows doors, kitchen and bath cabinet doors, or even as a room divider wall

Last but not the least, you can buy silk bed covers or cushion covers, in jewel tones, to create that perfect Moroccan style look.

Painting Tile Floors – Cheap Interior Decorating

Paint for home decorating is not just limited to the walls. You can do so with your tile floors. This is a cheap alternative for replacing the tiles. Paint can make your floor look new and not much effort comes with this easy to do task.

If you have dark, dingy tiles, painting them is the inexpensive solution that will allow you to give your entire room a new look. After you have painted the tile floors, you can throw down an area rug or area rugs to even give it more color and pizzazz.

You should make sure that you either use an enamel paint to paint the tile floors or use a gloss overcoat to enable you to keep the floors clean and the paint on the tile.

There are basically two types of paint that you can use when you are painting tile floors. These are latex or enamel paints. Latex paints are less harmful when it comes to fumes and are water soluble.

Enamel paints contain more toxic fumes and need to be cleaned up with paint thinner or alcohol. Enamel paints will not be as quick to come up off of the floor as will latex paints and have a tendency to wear better.

Latex paints will come up with wear and need a gloss overcoat. If you use a gloss enamel paint, you can get the entire project done quicker.

Another method of painting is by using a spray paint. It is quick, effective and cheap. Just make certain that the room is not enclosed when spray painting. Have proper ventilation and let the floor dry before placing area rugs.

If your tile floor is in the kitchen or bathroom, you will want to be sure to choose area rugs that are heavy enough not to slip, but can easily be thrown in the washing machine. You can find some heavy rag rugs that fall into this category. You want to be sure that the rugs will not slip out from under you when you are walking on them.

Rug guards are sold so that they can secure the rug to the tile or floor underneath and are an excellent option when it comes to using area rugs in the home and preventing accidents.

Rugs for the bathroom should be easy to wash. Rubber supported rugs are ideal to resist slips from the wet floor. Many accidents occur in the bathroom because of slippery floor during or after showers. Don’t underestimate a simple fall. It can be very dangerous. You want to make sure your bathroom rugs are proper enough to avoid such mishaps.

Author: Jonas Marks

Decorating for Pets: Adapt your Interior to Accommodate Pets

Pets are important parts of our lives, no matter what type of pet you own. Home owners and decorators alike are taking this into consideration and building and decorating homes around pets. With the following pet decorating tips you can make your home friendlier for your pets while keeping your style integrity and comfort in mind.

Choose the Right Fabrics

One of the most important decisions you can make when you have pets in the house is what type of fabrics you’ll be bringing into your home. Velvet works as a hair magnet and should be avoided at all costs, so should expensive materials like silk or chintz that are delicate and difficult to wash. You want something that is both stain resistant and doesn’t attract fur. Some pet friendly fabrics include crypton, leather and ultra suede. You should also keep your pet’s fur color in mind when selecting fabric colors. A solid white couch in a home with three black puppies is a bad idea.

Use Washable Bedding

You’re not the only one that thinks your bed is a cozy place for a nap, pets often head to the bedroom for a mid day snooze so you’ll either want to train your pets not to sleep on the bed or get washable bedding to eliminate fur build up and clean up accidents. You will also want to put a mattress pad down between your mattress and sheets in case there is an accident of sorts, you want to keep your mattress free of stains and odors.

Consider the Flooring

Shag carpeting with pets is a bad idea. In fact, if you can avoid carpeting altogether you’ll do a better job of keeping the floors clean and hair free. But if you do want to the comfort of carpeting, consider only using a low pile carpet with a single woven loop. This will protect it from nail snags and make it easier to clean.
Create a Pet-Friendly Entrance

If your pet goes outside then its ideal if you can have an entrance and exit for your pet that is designed to deal with the muddy paws and other dirt they bring in after exploring outside. Select flooring that is easy to wipe clean and have storage in the area where you can keep leashes, toys, and cleaning products for quick and easy access.

Look for Attractive Pet Accessories

It’s a multimillion dollar business that has been ignored in the past but savvy designers are finally getting in on the scene and creating pet accessories that are both fun for pets and attractive in your home. They may cost a bit more but combining functionality and appearance is worth it.

Keep it Clean

Keep your interiors looking their best by keeping them as clean as possible with frequent vacuuming, wiping down surfaces and furniture, and sweeping. Even the best decorated home looks a bit shabby when it’s covered in fur and smells of pets.

Author: Kristin Abraham

Cheap Decorations: Decorating Ideas for those low on Cash

Do it yourself decorations are perfect for this time of economic down trend. However, your home’s aesthetic appeal should not be neglected just because of the credit crunch. Do it your self and find cheap or even free materials. DIY is especially a great idea to try out during the Christmas or the fall winter season. Before you cancel your decorating plans, read these cool and easy tips to complete the beauty and sanctity of your lovely home.

If you think you aren’t good at doing it yourself (DIY), then consider this the best time for you to learn and master these skills to use for the rest of your years. Think of all the money you’ll save and all of the cool stuff or essentials you’ll finally be able to buy for yourself. Woodworks, sewing, painting, and cutting are quite easy to learn. All you need to do is want to learn. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can do these things. If you don’t have anyone to teach you and you do not want to spend some money on a book, then look no further because all the easy instructions you need are right here on the internet. Aside from the obvious benefit of saving money, you will also find that DIY decorating or creation of decorations is a very therapeutic project. Loosing yourself in the pursuit of your knowledge of perfection will be very fun.

* Paint your wall.

Look at your house and see which base wall you would like to paint. Painting a single wall is very easy to do, however the effect it has on the entire room would be quite big. For one thing, the shade and the tint in the room are permanently altered by the colored wall. It will reflect its color into the entire room.

* Keep an eye out for bargains.

This might be a little harder to master. You need a well-educated taste in furniture before being a master at buying the best decorations. Decorating your house with other people’s stuff might be an idea that takes some getting used to for some individuals. Also, you need to know which items would blend in harmoniously with everything that already exists in your house.

* Rearrange your furniture

You have probably thought of doing this thing for years. It is never too late to start now. Take out a useless ottoman, push everything to the right, change one long seat for another, and remove unnecessary stuff. You will be surprised at how new your house would feel like once you simply move a few things. The effect of this would be to freshen up the place once instead of buying new decorations or decorating by using home based materials.

Feng Shui Decorating

Feng Shui, you have heard it mentioned but still are unsure what it really is. Well let’s find out the true meaning of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement and stands for wind and water.

The Chinese used this system to balance out the energy patterns of their physical environment with spiritual forces. Their ultimate goal was to achieve harmony, comfort, and balance, first within their environment and then within their lives. In the Chinese culture the gentle wind and the clear waters have always been linkedwith good health and a good harvest. So from this good Feng Shui means good livelihood and good fortune. On the other had bad Feng Shui means misfortune and hardship. So Feng Shui is a very important part of the Chinese lifestyle.

Feng Shui is based around Taoist and their vision and an understanding of nature. This focuses specifically on the belief that land is a living being and is filled with Chi. The ancient Chinese felt that the land’s energy could either help the kingdom prosper or cause it to fail and fall apart.

There are three principles behind Feng Shui. They involve design, placement, and proportion throughout the space. Without these three principles everything would become unbalanced and interfere with a person’ health and happiness within their environment. The main tools that are used during the Feng Shui analysis is the Ba-Gua which is an octagonal grid that contains the acient symbols of the great I Ching and the compass.

The I Ching is an ancient oracle which is what Feng Shui is based around. Knowing the Bagua for both your home and also your work space will be a great help to you to completely understand how the connection of certain specific Feng Shui in certain areas of both your home and work space can be linked to certain areas and parts of your overall life.

Now we move on to putting the Feng Shui into your home. Generally a consultant would come into your home and look at the five elements wood, fire, earth, metal, water (xuan kong flying star (north star), color, positioning of all the furnishings, and offer out cures for the problem areas).

The colors associated with Feng Shui are: wood is blue and green, fire is red and some of the items for this would be a tea light or a tamp lamp with a red shade, earth is beige and yellow and the items for this would be a terra cotta pot with soil and a rock statue, water is blue and black and the items here could be a fountain or aquarium, and metal is an accent color made up of silver, gold, copper, and bronze.

When it comes to the positioning of your furniture you should always face it in the direction of all the action such as the front door or street. This will give you the perfect flow of Feng Shui. Yang is considered to be the most active energy. It is usually lively and busy such as a public place or a flowing river. This is generally the most windowed side of your home. It should contain a nice view and it is usually a living or family room.

Ying is considered the least energy. This is usually found in the sitting direction of an alley or backyard. Shade trees highlight this area making it quiet and relaxing. This can be the side of the property and you would find the bedrooms in this area.

Decorating Your Dining Room With Glamour And Style

For some an Italian Kitchen decorating theme will put some old world charm into their kitchen and make it a place where the family will be willing to sit in. One such Italian design is the Tuscan style which incorporates warm earth tones along with natural materials and architectural accents that will give any kitchen a time worn look. But you do not need to buy any priceless antiques in order to achieve the Tuscan look for your kitchen. Below are a number of things that will need to be included when designing and decorating your kitchen in an Italian style.

Color
The colors you use should mimic the colors of the Tuscan landscape such as rich golds, earth tones and sometimes even tones relating to the sea will provide you with the look you are after. If you are able to purchase some Majolica pottery (new or old) and use the colours on this to influence the colours of your walls and floors. It is important that you use natural materials like stone, slate, granite or terracotta for the flooring and countertops as this will only help to enhance the Italian look that you are trying to create.

Lighting
When looking for lighting for your Italian themed kitchen then think old world and steer well clear of any new or modern styles. Why not see if you can get lights that are made from antique wrought iron. But you can include recessed lighting for use as task lighting. It is important to get the right look for an Italian kitchen that you stay away from lights that have a shiny look, instead stick with those that have muted metal finish.

Accessories
It is very easy to buy accessories for your Italian kitchen theme brand new today, but why not take time and scour your local antique stores for some real antiques instead. If you can look for old pottery bowls and pitchers as well as wooden bowls that have been painted or antiques. As a nice addition to your Italian style kitchen include some Majolica ware. Why not buy a whole set of this pottery to be have for everyday use. It is vital that you include lots of decorative jars in your design that have either peppers and ropes of garlic on them or peppers and grape vines on them. Then to soften the look up use lots of greenery (herbs in pots are a good idea).

Above we have provided you with a few ideas for your Italian kitchen decorating scheme and it can be easily achieved with either the purchase of new accessories or by looking around your local antique shops. But what ever way you decide to do it you will soon have a kitchen that is charming and full of character.

Author: Lee Dobbins