Antique Chandeliers

Chandeliers conjure visions of royalty, grandeur and opulence. Though sleeker and slimmer versions have evolved, there’s still an aura of antiquity that surrounds a chandelier. So when one is striving for an antique look for his home, going in for turn-of-the-century furniture, a decadent looking fireplace and a chandelier are the first things on his mind.

Chandeliers conjure visions of royalty, grandeur and opulence. Though sleeker and slimmer versions have evolved, there’s still an aura of antiquity that surrounds a chandelier. So when one is striving for an antique look for his home, going in for turn-of-the-century furniture, a decadent looking fireplace and a chandelier are the first things on his mind.

If you are one of the lucky ones who possess an old chandelier handed down to you through generations, then you wouldn’t need to lift a finger. For the not so lucky ones, you would need to hunt for a piece that would look convincingly old. Shops selling antique pieces would definitely be your first stop. For nothing can really replicate that old look better than a piece actually made years back. But if they cannot satisfy you, you have no other choice but to get a ready-made variety and try to give it an old look.

First, steer clear of the slim-trim polished-steel chandeliers. These are especially designed for modern homes with clean-cut furniture and can never be passed off as old. Antique chandeliers are ornate pieces with very intricate carvings.

Candle chandeliers have an inherent archaic feel to them. An antique chandelier can be made of crystal, wrought iron, or brass or antlers, and they are never shiny in appearance. That is why you just cannot buy a wrought-iron or a brass type of chandelier and install it, hoping that it would impart an antique look to the environs. The chandelier must be worked upon so that there is an authentic antique feel to it. To replicate an old look, you need to apply an antiquing glaze on it. While the glaze is still wet, you need to rub off the shine from it with a soft cloth. The latter is done to achieve a worn-out look.

After working on the chandelier, it is also important o have the other furniture catered to the antique look. For a single antique or antique-looking chandelier cannot bring about an antique feel in the ambience. A chandelier will look antique only when there’s an antique atmosphere around it.

Alternative Home Designs - Atriums

Building a home for yourself is the American Dream. For some people, it is important to build something unique.

Alternative Home Designs

You’ve worked your rear end off and reached a financial status where you can do some dreaming. One dream is to buy some land and build a home on it. You’ve found the perfect plot, and now you’re wondering about different styles of homes. Here are some alternative designs to get the creative thoughts flowing.

A very unique home design is the atrium home. An atrium home is designed to emphasize an open middle area, not an exterior appearance. If you’ve been to Europe, you’ve seen this design in larger cities. You’ll be walking down a street lined with bland looking windows. You pop into one of the buildings to find a bathroom and it is like entering another world. The exterior of the building is no great shakes, but the interior is a slice of atrium heaven with an open area covered in a lattice or left wide open. The interior is a collection of sitting areas, plants and perhaps small pools for fish. Not a bad idea, eh?

Taking the design to its full scope, the home is designed…underground. The design can be done in a variety of ways, but it is built below ground to take advantage of geothermal concepts. The primary idea is to use the constant temperature of the ground to regulate the climate in the home. The top of the roof is flush with the level of the ground and everything else is below level. For practically purposes, picture an oasis in the desert, but dug into the ground.

In these modern times, the below ground design has some excellent energy options. You can put solar panels across the top of the roof to generate power and most people will be none the wiser. By being out of the wind, you also cut down on wasted energy.

Going below ground with your atrium home is a pool of creative opportunity. As long as you take care of drainage issues, the design parameters are pretty much wide open.

When space is at a premium or privacy is vital, atrium homes are often the answer. In a large city, an atrium design can help you create an oasis from the noise and madness of daily life.

Decorating Your Home in Style

Creating a cohesive interior design for you home isn’t that hard if you know some of the basics. In fact, decorating your home so that all the various elements combine to create the look you’ve always wanted can be a lot of fun.

Following are some proven tips to help you turn your house into a designer home:

Taking the first step

As they say, let’s start at the beginning. Chances are good that your home is a mish mash of furnishings, art, accents and accessories that have been collected over time. To create the perfect designer look, you want to first consider the purpose for each room, how you want it to look, your personal tastes, features that can and can’t be changed, and finally, the budget you have available.

Start with the key elements

The success of a room’s design lies in the balance you create. The basics of good design are proportion, balance, contrast, rhythm, pattern/texture and harmony. Knowing how these elements work together will help you design your space so that it’s not only beautiful, but comfortable and functional as well.

Proportion

Scale is one of the most important things to consider when creating the look of a room. A room that is proportioned correctly will feel welcoming while an incorrectly portioned room will just feel crowded and unfriendly. The trick is to match pieces in terms of their scale. A large overstuffed sofa needs an equally large end table or coffee table; otherwise, these accents simply disappear as the sofa dwarfs them proportionally. When considering scale, look to the other rooms in your home for furniture that may be a better fit with the focal pieces you have in your room.

Balance

When creating balance, there’s two ways to go here. The first is symmetrical design, where everything is perfectly balanced. With symmetrical design, there’s roughly two of everything or items are mirrored in the room. For instance, one chair is placed exactly opposite another one just like it. While this creates balance, it can also make a room look static and lacking any visual interest or energy. Experienced designers use asymmetry to create this interest. Objects balance well because they are judged by their visual weight, not pairings. For instance, you may have a large sofa on one side of the room that is balanced by two large overstuffed chairs with an accent table in the middle and floor lamp behind. These pieces balance the sofa visually, even though they aren’t equal in size or shape. The design works because there is balance in the asymmetrical layout of the furniture.

Contrast

Imagine walking into a white room with white carpet and white furniture. Pretty boring, huh? Contrast helps draw the eye around a room through the intelligent use of color. Bold use of colors creates energy while the use of muted shades in complementary tones creates calm. The more contrast you create, the easier it is for the human eye to follow the intended design of the room, moving visually from one space to another, guided by the use of color and contrast.

Rhythm

While creating contrast with the use of light and dark tones can be effective, it can also create boredom. To keep the room connected, you want to use rhythm. This means reusing specific colors, patterns, textures or themes throughout the room. Pick a couple main colors and repeat them in different ways in your paint scheme, fabrics and accents.

Pattern & Texture

As the eye moves about a room, it picks up specific patterns. These are grouped together, so a blue wall is combined with a striped piece of fabric that has the same blue in it. Patterns that don’t fit create conflict in the mind, compromising the appearance of the space. Again, you want to pick one or two primary patterns or textures and vary them within the color palette you’ve already created for the room. Right alongside the elements of contrast and rhythm in home decorating is pattern/texture.

Harmony

If you’ve ever heard three singers sing different parts that sound amazing together, then you already know what harmony is. The same is true for the harmony in your home. Different colors, different designs and different proportions combine to create a new look that was never there before, just as new notes are created by singers singing three different parts. The room is suddenly complete. It has a look that if you remove just one element, won’t have that harmonic feel to it any longer. When you’ve achieved harmony, you’ve achieved your design goals.

Closet Organizer

Closet organizers are a great way to organize some of your closets. You can build units yourself or purchase pre-made organizers and just install them into your closet. Adding storage can be expensive so if you don’t have the money you may just need some tips on how to organize your closets. If you want to learn how to create more space for your closet, you may want to do these next few suggestions.

First step to organizing anything is de-cluttering. You will want to go through your closet and get rid of everything that you don’t use, don’t want, or don’t wear. This is a simple way to feel up some space in your closet rather it be in your bedroom or in your living room. If you don’t think you will ever need something ever again, throw it away.

You will feel better knowing that you have the space now, rather than being overwhelmed with junk. You don’t have to throw everything away, try either having a yard sale or donate the items to charity places like Goodwill. When you are organizing try to put everything in three piles; keep, dispose, or place somewhere else.

Next, look at all that you want to put back. Gather everything that is related into categories like belts, shirts, skirts, so on and then decide how you want to put them back into the closet. You may decide to get a pre-made organizer located at many hardware stores to put in your closet. This is one of the easiest ways to organize.

If you have a handyman as a boyfriend or husband, you may even want to ask him to built you may shelves or organize your closet space. You may also want to place things that aren’t in season in a storage bag or roll away storage containers under your bed so you can free up some space. You may also find that you want to have your rod pushed up so that your long dresses and such don’t touch the floor, by raising the rod, you will have more floor space.

If you are organizing your home or fixing your home up for selling, many people look for the closet space in a home. You will also want to go through the same steps to other closets. When people organize their closets, they end up finding valuables that are worth much more how they are treated. Organizing your closest are not just great for function, but can also be a moneymaking situation. Do you know what’s in your closest. Plan to get a closet organizer or just organize your closets to find out. You never know what you’ll find your closets.

3 Steps To Arranging Home Decor Accessories

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

5 Things to Do Before Starting A Kitchen Design Project

In deciding on what to do in hiring a kitchen designer a well thought out plan is necessary for any kitchen design project to be successful.

A good kitchen designer should be able to work with you to create the design that will both fit your desires and needs and that squares with your budget.

1. How Much Are You Willing To Spend?

Level with the designer just how much you will be willing to spend on your kitchen design project.

Let the designer know just what you would feel comfortable spending. This way you can insure that the designer and contractor will have a clear direction on where to go with the project and not go overboard. They will have a good idea of the limits when drawing up plans and selecting materials.

2. How Much Time Are You Willing To Devote?

You need to consider what your personal needs are and if you will be able to work around the necessary construction in your kitchen. By consulting with an experienced kitchen designer you can get a good idea of how long your kitchen design project will take by providing a timeline that your family can plan around.

3. What Style Are You Planning For Your Kitchen Design Project?

You want to give the kitchen designer as much information as possible. You need to do as much research as possible before your meeting with a kitchen designer.

First you should consult with design magazines and catalogs to get an idea of what style and design elements you would like to see for your kitchen. To compile more ideas visit kitchen design showrooms, check out products and design on the internet and take notes. What are your likes and dislikes regarding color and styles. Make a scrapbook with clips from the magazines and catalogs, as well as examples of materials and design elements you would like to see in the kitchen. Use these to show the kitchen designer what your vision is for the new kitchen. Also bring a list of questions for your kitchen designer.

4. How Do You Use Your Kitchen?

You need to be prepared for questions that a kitchen designer will ask you when you first meet with him. Among the questions that you need to ask yourself before talking to your kitchen designer are:

Will you be doing a lot of entertaining with family and friends? Is your family busy during the week with lots of activities? You should also fine out what other family members have in the way of ideas.

5. How To Prepare For Your Kitchen Design Project?

You will need to prepare for the disruption that will be caused by your kitchen design project. But with the right planning you can make the project run as smoothly and a quickly as possible.

You need to make sure that the kitchen design project area and the living area are separate for both safety reasons and to stay out of the way of the contractor and his crew. You might have to set up a temporary kitchen in another room of the house. What time of the year you schedule a kitchen design project can make it easier on everyone since in the warmer months it is possible to eat and cook outdoors.

A Guide To Bedroom Decorating

When decorating a bedroom, keep in mind that the end result should produce a disitnct and memorable impression. Colors, space and decorations all set a bedroom's mood, and when put together well, can create a definite, pleasurable look.

When it comes to the arrangement of items in a bedroom, symmetry is the most important factor. The bedroom is your personal space and should not be cluttered with too many objects creating a claustrophobic effect. For a room to seem personal, special touches should be added that reflect your special loves and interests. This includes your favorite colors, books, photographs, etc. Make sure colors are balanced in subtle shades reflecting your lifestyle and interests. The older generation seems to prefer more subdued shades than the younger generation, who opt for bright, textured colors. To maintain balance, the color of a chair placed at one end of the room can be repeated on throw, pillows or carpet. Furniture in the bedroom is of utmost importance. Don't over do it with too many pieces making your bedroom look overdressed and cluttered. The size of the bed should be in proportion to the size of the bedroom. What matters the most is comfort. Therefore, a bed should offer quality, comfort and a feeling of elegance. Nightstands or side tables should be on either side of the bed for books, medications and telephone. A dressing table comes in handy for women, and dressers with lots of storage space are ideal. Ample closet space is important, as are mirrors and wall decor. Mirrors help to give a room a larger look and also help to reflect light. Lighting should be gentle and relaxing. Valence lighting is ideal for bedrooms, and colored lights can be used for added effects. Subtle light gives a romantic feeling to the room, and focused light is good for detail work like reading without disturbing someone sleeping in the room.

Finally, a bedroom should be well-ventilated, designed for comfort and always stocked with a vase of flowers for a fresh feeling.