A Hidden Jewel In Home Decorating, The Powder Room
October 31, 2007
Typically a small space consisting of just a sink and toilet, you most likely know them by a more common term "half-bath" or "guest bath.
Ever wonder where the term "powder room" came from? It’s derived from Victorian times, when women needed to "powder their noses".
Why consider them a jewel when it comes to decorating, also why bother decorating them, it is after all only a bathroom.
A bathroom is a room in your home, in fact depending on the number of baths you have it can become a public room, which means from time to time other people besides yourself will be passing through. So why not dress it up, even if guest only use it occasionally make it pretty for you.
Due to their size, a complete make over can be done in as little as a weekend and at little cost. This is also what makes them a jewel; being small you can really have fun decorating them, plus by not requiring a big budget you’re able to change the look more often.
The following are a few ideas to get started with. Start with the walls. Paint, wallpaper, stenciling what ever treatment you like. With the small size of the room, the cost will be a lot lower.
Electric Radiant Floor Heating
October 30, 2007
Electric radiant floor heating systems are heating systems designed for use under carpeting, area rugs, tile, stone, and laminate wood floors and have been used in Europe, South Africa, and Australia for over 20 years.
Radiant heat does away with the age-old problems of cold rooms by offering easy-to-install zone heating. You can choose to either have radiant heat installed by a professional installer or DIY with their plug-n-play portable system for under area rugs. Concentrating on the advantages of floor heating (heat rising), radiant heat offers comfort from the ground up, heating the room evenly from floor to ceiling.
The product is designed to solve zone heating problems one room at a time without adding the expense or mess of adding additional ductwork and/or baseboard heating units. The ultra thin heating mat that can be assembled and installed by floor installers or do-it-yourselfers, is perfect for whatever your situation. It appears that homeowners, flooring dealers, and builders agree, as sales have already started to expand, and the line has been taken on by several high-end flooring retailers and builders alike.
Why Hardwood Flooring is a Good Investment
October 29, 2007
Hardwood flooring has a timeless air of quality
Hardwood floors have decorated some of the most exclusive mansions and estates in history and still exude a feeling of permanence and classic quality compared to manufactured floors.
Hardwood floors are natural
Hardwood floors bring the natural outdoors inside, and do not contain man-made chemicals in the wood itself. Homeowners with exclusive design tastes will tend to gravitate towards the quality and natural feel of hardwood floors - there is just something about the feel and look of them that cannot be duplicated in a factory.
Hardwood flooring adds value to your home
Installing solid hardwood flooring in your home is a true investment that will retain its value. In many cases, installing hardwood floors with generate a return on investment that exceeds the initial cost of installation.
Real hardwood colors will never go out of style
There is a timeless quality about the natural color of hardwoods that will ensure your house never becomes outdated because of its flooring. Recent advancements in laminate flooring have allowed consumers to pick from a multitude of design styles and colors - unfortunately some of these may become outdated and fall out of favor.
Why Laminate Flooring is the Perfect Choice for Families
October 28, 2007
If you’ve ever had carpets or vinyl flooring you’ve probably had your share of stains, spills, and rips that no matter what you do, you can’t quite wash out. Or perhaps the family pet has scratched the carpet edging, or even worse - had a bathroom mishap on the children’s favorite playing area?
Your flooring nightmares can finally end! Laminate flooring was designed to stand up to the rigors and demands of a busy family household and when compared to other types of flooring solutions easily outperforms in almost every category. Here our our top reasons for selecting laminate flooring for a family household:
Laminate flooring is tough
Designed with a tough and durable wear layer, it is much stronger than most installed solid hardwood flooring, vinyl’s, and carpets. It stands up much better to dents and scratches that the softer surface of solid hardwood floors, and is a much better surface to install if you have heavy foot traffic, kids, or household pets. Best of all - it continues to look brand new even after years of wear and tear.
Stain, fade, and moisture resistant
Tips For Breaking Away From White Wall Paint
October 27, 2007
Paint is one of the most affordable and easiest ways to change a room. But choosing the right paint colors for your home can seem like an overwhelming task.
Paint, accessories, fabric, furniture, and flooring should all blend, so take a good look at the room you will be working on, preferably before you choose a paint color, and decide what will stay in the room, and what you may want to move out of the room.
The first thing you should do when choosing colors for your home, is look around at colors that make you feel good, happy, and relaxed.
These colors are probably already in your home. A few examples are the colors you love to look at in your flower garden, the colors in your jewelry, or pottery, or they can be found in the colors of the clothes in your closet.
The second thing you should do is go to your local paint store and pick up a color wheel, and or sample cards, pick the sample cards that really catch your eye, and don’t be afraid to get as many as you want. Take these cards home and look at them at different times of the day and night, to see how the color will look when the sun shines in on them, or at night when you have lamps turned on, or candles burning. Study this for several days. Be patient when deciding which color feels best to you.
Seven Ways to Emphasize a Decor Style
October 27, 2007
After searching decorating books, using trial and error decorating, and growing up a little bit, you have finally found the style of decorating that you really love. Your style could be Arts & Crafts, French Country, Asian, or Metro Hip. If you are still searching for your style or want a second opinion on what your general home style really is, try taking the fun style quiz on www.thehomestylist.com.
Now that you have identified a décor style, the challenging part may now be to implement that style and make it substantial enough so others will notice. There are seven simple elements that will really help you emphasize this great look.
1. Choose a focal point that will reflect your décor style.
This signature piece is usually the most dominate item you see and sets the tone of the room. If this piece is not your specific style, the room will not look its best. An example could be a beautiful Queen Anne armoire for a Classic Traditional style or a large rustic log mantel for the Mountain Lodge look.
2. Use colors that are common to that specific style.
Are Your Ducts Making You Sick?
October 26, 2007
If you have a heating or cooling systems that uses air ducts, you could have a problem.
There are many duct systems that are poorly designed and installed that have the ability to bring pollutants into your home.
Some are ducts are located in wet or damp crawl spaces and basements.
I’ve seen some of these areas and some look like an open sewer.
Having ducts that are not properly sealed or insulated in these locations can draw moisture, mold, bacteria and even carbon monoxide into the building.
Unsealed ducts have the same effect as opening a hatch to these ares, the only difference is that you don’t see it and the fan from the heating or cooling appliance will force more of the pollutants into the living space at a much higher rate.
Ducts located in attics can bring in cold dry air in winter, and hot, humid air in summer, dust, dirt and fibers from the fiberglass insulation that is there to keep your house warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
How to Paint Your Own Artwork - And Save Money
October 25, 2007
Everyone wants to save money. Don’t you? Well, painting your own, color matched art can be a lot easier than you might think!
Usually the picture that you want for your room will have an outrageous price. Or maybe you just can’t find anything that matches your new color scheme?
There is a simple way to paint your own pictures and save a fortune. Not only will you save money but you can exactly match your décor as well. Use this easy method and you can make your own unique pictures.
First decide what size of picture you want and buy a suitable stretched canvas. It needs to be suitable for acrylic paints which are water based. Some canvases are only suitable for oil based paints, and will not work for this project.
It will be easiest to choose an abstract theme. Abstract art will look good in most rooms. You can include shapes from any of the patterns in the furnishings. Use a basic shape rather than trying to copy the shape in detail. For example, just use a simple leaf outline rather than showing every vein in the leaf as it is depicted in the curtains.
Reuse Works for the Workshop
October 24, 2007
The workshop is a great place for reusing items formally destined for the landfill. Even if you do not have a shop or craft area you can always donate the items mentioned in the following paragraphs to friends, schools, shops, youth centers? The concept of reusing is as limitless as your imagination.
Screws, bolts, picture hooks, plant hangers, curtain hooks, and hinges are common hardware items used in most homes. Although not overly costly when purchased a few pieces at a time, they can add up over the years. Salvage any reusable hardware and parts from old cabinets, furniture or mechanical items before discarding. These can easily be organized and stored in plastic containers of different sizes. Shop with this in mind and purchase items like peanut butter or mayonnaise in clear plastic containers.
These are our favorite as they are recyclable, sturdy and you can easily determine the jar’s contents at a glance. When buying screws and bolts avoid the small plastic packages and try to find a store that sells these items out of bulk bins. You save money and packaging too.
How to Decorate Ethnic
October 23, 2007
FIVE EASY STEPS TO DECORATING ETHNIC
NEW YORK, NY - With all that is happening in the world today - the threat of war, falling stock prices, a recession (in spite of what economists say) - more and more of us are nesting. That is, we are spending more time at home.
While it is hard to control what happens in the outside world, home is where you decide the who, what, where, when and why. Ethnic decor is filled with endless options to spice up your living space. However, you may wonder, what is ethnic decor.
“Ethnic decor is more a feeling than a science,” says Marcelo Velez of the interior design firm Velez Hayes in New York City. “When you say modern, country, French, et cetera, an instant picture comes to mind. Ethnic decor is different. Many cannot define it, but know it when they see it.”
This open-ended approach is what makes ethnic decorating fun. It’s eclectic, inclusive, colorful and most of all, unique. It allows you to fill in blanks for yourself, using an internal palette to satisfy decorating needs.
Here are five handy ideas to get you started:
