2007 December | Improve Your Lovely Home

December 18, 2007

Interior Designer as a Profession

Filed under: Interior Decoration, Tips — admin @ 7:40 pm

If you have always had a flair for interior design and help friends turn their homes into masterpieces, perhaps you should consider turning your natural talent into a career. The business of interior decorating can be very lucrative and rewarding for those that know what they’re doing.

If you have an eye for decorating and are very good at it, you will go far in the interior design world. Just like many other businesses though, you do have to be able to adapt to the styles each individual client will have. You will need to learn how to put your taste aside so that it doesn’t try to influence your client. Let their unique style show in their home or office so that your clients will come back to you for more.

To be an interior design professional, you don’t have to go to school but it is recommended. You will want to have a degree because it will make you look more reputable and knowledgeable about this chosen field. If you want to make a lot of money doing interior decorating, school will help you get there. People are more willing to trust decorators with a degree because they know they have the basic background and know-how to get the job done. So, check out your local colleges and see if they have a program that can get you a degree in interior design. It’s never too late to go back to school so don’t let your age stop you!

Once you’ve graduated, you can work at an interior design firm or you can start your own business. Most people start out working as an interior decorator for someone else’s company and then start their own business a little later down the road. You will need to have some money saved up to start a decorating business, so make sure you have a nest egg before you leave your current job.

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December 15, 2007

Home Interior Decoration

Filed under: Interior Decoration — admin @ 7:21 pm

Home Interior Decoration – The process of decorating a home in order to make it look good becomes easier to use and gels well with the architecture. Home interior decoration provides a certain “feel” to the home; it includes applying wallpaper, painting the walls, choosing of furniture and fittings such as light fixtures, and adding decorations such as paintings.

Home interior decoration is professionally done by interior designers/ decorators and also by a few architects. There is a distinctive difference between home interior decoration and interior design.

Home interior decoration is focused on finishing, such as wallpaper, window covering, furnishings and paint. Interior design is more integrated with the architecture, and in addition to home interior decoration involves cabinet making, room layout etc and host of other design parameters that go into making a home.

Although the concept of home interior decoration evolved in Paris and London in the late 18th century, modern home interior decoration began with Jeanselme in Paris, Lenygon and Morant in London and Ogden Codman from New York. This concept of home interior decoration has gone through many trends and discussions. The current trends of this industry is to discover innovative ways to decorate on a budget mostly shoe string.

The whole objective of home interior decoration is to functionally improve the home and make it reflect your tastes and personality at the same time rendering it unique. A big challenge, nevertheless, undertaken by artistic scientists.

Homeowners spent approximately $175 billion in the year 2003 to improve their homes. About 65% of this can be attributed to home interior decoration. The new trends indicate most spending on expanding kitchens and livening up bathrooms with new fittings. Current trends also indicate that emphasis is being given to creating specialty rooms and areas for individual members of the family. Growing in popularity are massage suites, spa areas, media space, craft rooms, wine cellars and home library areas. Even though luxury is a synonym for space, most small home owners are eagerly using home interior decoration to create definition areas for each individual.

Colors are also undergoing a new preference towards earthly, natural and warm brown tones from the vibrant and loud colors of the past. Blue and gray hues are preferred today over dull reds and dark blues of the past.

Innovative home interior decoration ideas, which cost less but at the same time giving the impression of an ornate design scheme are in vogue for new career professionals and newly married couples.

The new trend of Life-styling has given home interior decoration industry a boost. This has given rise to eclectic decorating styles which include High Tech and Shabby Chic replacing the good old Victorian or Early American.

Focus has changed to harmony and function compared to uniqueness and good looking. Rightly so, since uniqueness can never be 100% and neatness has always been good looking, which can be brought about by good functionality.

Home interior decoration has changed more drastically over the past 15 years or so than in its long history. Keeping track of new trends is almost as essential as for a computer professional keeping track of new software or hardware.

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December 10, 2007

Wall Decorations and Home Interior Design

Filed under: Interior Decoration — admin @ 7:38 pm

A big part of home interior decorating is determining what to use on your walls. You can mount pictures, posters, paintings or mirrors to bring out the decorative balance in your room. Whatever you decide to put up on your walls should complement you home interior decorating style. Choose your pieces carefully and mount then thoughtfully. Each piece you hang up should be fully appreciated.

Determining Location

When determining the height at which to hang your decoration, choose a height where the pictures or paintings are at the eye level for easy viewing. If you hang pictures to high or too low the image is distorted and will not be appreciated. Take into consideration the pieces relation to the furniture. A wall decoration can either make or break a piece of furniture. For example a huge mirror should not be hung over a small credenza.

Enhancing your Pictures

The right frame can play an important role in bringing out your pictures. A picture frame can easily be modified by painting its molding. Keep your picture and mirror frames clean. Illuminate your pictures with picture lights, increasing the desired impact. You can also use spot lighting for the same effect. Take also into consideration the paint color of your walls when choosing your wall decorations. Choose a paint color or wall decorations that complement your home interior decorating style.

Using posters instead of Pictures

Posters are affordable options for a wall decoration project. Purchase posters that match your home interior decorating style. Once you have decided on your posters, you need to first smooth the poster. Use a cool iron, this allows the corners to stop curling up. The poster can then be attached directly to the wall by using wall paper adhesive. To finish off your poster wall decoration consider painting over it with matte vanish. A poster can also be attached to a poster board or framed and mounted as your picture would.

Using Mirrors

Mirrors in home interior decorating add a feeling of larger space. Choosing the right mirrors is crucial. Mirrors are an inexpensive way to give a room a new look. Mirrors dramatically change the appearance of a room. A mirror brightens a room by reflecting the limited light and also gives the illusion of increased size of the room. Mirrors can be hung over an ugly spot on the wall or can even be used as a table top. Hanging a mirror requires the same hardware used to hang pictures. If hanging a large mirror drill in the nails. Use nails or screws that can support the weight of the mirror. When tightening the screws, use a thin piece of cardboard to determine how tight the screw is.

If you are seeking a new look for a room, change the location of your wall decorations. This will give your room a new look without having to spend money on new pictures or paint for the walls.

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December 3, 2007

How Using Ceramic Bath Accessories Can Leave Your Bathroom Looking Fresh

Filed under: Bathroom Decorations, Bathroom Design — admin @ 7:55 pm

Do you have a favorite room in your home? This is different for everyone, for some it’s the living room with feet propped up watching TV, for others it’s their bedroom and still others may prefer the kitchen, particularly teenagers! For many though, the bathroom is their favorite, especially for ladies, I have a theory that this the reason all the newer homes being built in my area are including large bathrooms. For many people the bathroom is a place of solitude and meditation that they can’t get anywhere else in the home. For so many people, they treat the bathroom as their fortress and want it to be clean, comfortable, and cozy which had a lot to do with the colors and bathroom accessories that you choose.

If you truly want your bathroom to be high quality and make it as nice as possible you must use the best quality products and blend the design, colors, and styles with the theme you have in mind for your room.

Ceramic bath accessories make for very high quality bathroom accessories that present a luxurious appearance. You can choose from such items as soap dishes, a lotion dispenser, toothbrush holder, waste basket, tumbler, and many other ceramic bathroom accessories.

For superior bathroom accessories, choosing to use ceramic bath accessories can give your bathroom a clean and elegant appearance. Let your bathroom be a reflection of your personality, if you are the type that has a personality that appreciates finer things, I’m sure your bathroom reflects that aspect.

Choosing ceramic bathroom accessories can change the entire look of your bathroom and endow your lavatories and shower areas with a fresh, clean new look. The many home accessories sites online have all the diverse ceramic bath accessories that you can look through and choose to make your bathroom as elegant as you want. In addition, they have many small items you may not have even thought of that you need for little extras for you bathroom needs.

The majority of the sites feature bathroom accessories produced by ceramic manufacturers who are known for their quality products. Their collective concern is to really give you the best choices for the quality and comfort you deserve when improving your bathroom.

The feeling of being fresh, contentment, serenity, and privacy that only your bathroom can provide is difficult to match. You will begin spending more time taking bubble baths and long soaking baths to make the most of the moments you enjoy having in your newly improved bathroom.

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December 2, 2007

An Italian Style Interior Decorating Idea For Your Kitchen

Filed under: Kitchen Decorating — admin @ 7:39 pm

When looking at interior decorating ideas for the kitchen most are based on us choosing the right colours and paying close attention to the little details. However, it is important to remember that the kitchen is like the heart of the home and is where normally the family gathers and guests will come and sit with you. Thus when looking to redecorate the interior of your kitchen it should be carried out so that it is comfortable, friendly and yet practical.

One of the more popular kinds of interior kitchen decorating is the Italian style, which combines both modern and traditional elements, so not only do you have the grace and elegance of a more modern kitchen but it sits easily with the charm and comfort of a Italian kitchen. Such a room is a place where people will gather not only to prepare and eat food, but just to be together.

As with any kitchen trend the first thing you will need to concentrate on is color. With an Italian kitchen theme you will need to create a warm feel to the kitchen with the colors being used (white simply will not achieve this). By using such colors as warm orange, yellow, red or green you will soon find that the starkness has been removed and a warm comfortable inviting feeling has replaced it.

Also if you really are keen to use the Italian theme then why not make it more authentic by adding Italian style pictures and pottery in to the room in colors which accentuate the rest of the space. You can buy inexpensive Italian pieces in any home decor store. If you are really strapped for money, try shopping at yard sales and consignment stores – sometimes you can get a real nice piece for a couple of bucks!

As with any interior kitchen decoration you will need to look at the space you have available and remember that not every piece of available space in the room has to be filled. Certainly with a kitchen based on the Italian style of kitchen it is okay to leave some spaces untouched (empty), but it should still looked live in and not like a show house.

But at the end of the day it does not matter which kind of interior decorating style you go for in your kitchen the whole idea should be to ensure that the kitchen space available works for you whilst still managing to look great.

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