How to Choose the Right Frame for Your Art
May 8th
There aren't many things, legal ones anyway, that can be incorporated into our everyday lives to simply take us away from the troubles of the world around us. If there's one thing that has historically been able to do so, however, it's artwork. A person's specific taste in art, and there are many, doesn't matter as much as the feeling that comes over them when they experience it. What many people don't realize, however, is that choosing the right frame for a work of art is almost as important as the artwork itself. Read the rest of this entry »
Tips to Elevating the Mood of Your Home
Jun 7th
Every personal living space is prime real estate for creating a personal oasis. Tips to elevating the mood of your home can start with makeover plan basics.
Physical Space Inventory
The physical space of a home includes room layouts, room contents, room functions and room personalities. The home as a whole may or may not have an overall personality, including over-aching themes or moods.
Draw a simple diagram depicting each room’s layout. Jot down on a pad or use software to inventory the general contents of each room. Consider taking one or more photos of each room. For each room, besides inventorying its contents, characterize the room itself, its personality. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 – A New Year for Interior Design
Dec 20th
With 2011 just around the corner it seems like the perfect time to be thinking about which new trends the New Year will bring. A new year always heralds a new vogue, so what will these trends turn out to be over the next coming months? For those of you too impatient to wait, below are what the experts are saying will be key styles throughout the next year. Read the rest of this entry »
Bold Designer Cookware to Heat up Your Kitchen
Jul 16th
Looking for a way to add a little personality and style to your kitchen? If you’re tired of cooking with the same, dreary old cookware, consider doing a pots and pans makeover. A lot of people stick with the same old kitchen essentials until they wear out. You wouldn’t drive the same car for 10 years, so why stick with the frying pans and broilers you’ve had since your first apartment. There are some dazzling new choices in cookware that are stylish and functional. Read the rest of this entry »
Serving up a Stylish Dinner – Japanese Style
Jul 16th
There’s nothing like good sushi. You undoubtedly have your favourite sushi restaurant that prepares everything just right. You might even be a bit of a budding sushi chef yourself and like to entertain your friends with a taste of Eastern cuisine. Whatever your situation is, having the right dishes is a must if you plan on entertaining your guests in style. A great way to make your next meal a memorable one is to serve sushi up on genuine sushi plates and dishes. For a relatively low price you can get an entire set that adds a certain element of charm to any dinner party. Read the rest of this entry »
Skip on Fancy Restaurants – Eating at Home in Style
Jul 16th
With the topsy-turvy state of the financial world, people are looking to make every dollar count. It has suddenly become very fashionable to take a frugal approach to dinner by serving lovely meals at home. Cooking television shows have become all the rage and more people are becoming amateur chefs. Just because you decide to save some money by cooking at home, it doesn’t mean you have to skimp on style. Choosing elegant modern dinnerware can make your at-home meals an experience to remember. Read the rest of this entry »
Give Your Walls The Royal Treatment With Crown Molding
Apr 29th
If you’re curious about a way to add some elegance and style to any room, crown molding is a choice that is very popular. Crown molding is trim that transitions the wall to the ceiling. If you’ve seen this applied to any room, you know the beauty and richness that this decorative trim can add. In addition to being beautiful, it can also cover up flaws in walls and ceilings. If you want an instant transformation that makes a bold statement, crown molding is definitely the way to get there. Be forewarned that it does take some work and is not a super-cheap project to undertake. However, the look it provides to your home’s style is well worth the effort and the cost. Here are a few things to be aware of when installing crown molding.
Crown Molding Cutting
If you’re not a handyman or woman, you may want to get one for this project. There are some precision cuts that need to be made. It is very easy to mess up the angle of crown molding cuts. You don’t want to waste money by making the wrong kind of cut for your style of crown molding because different types of this trim require different degrees of angles to be cut. Cutting is typically done with a miter saw. Many hardware stores allow you to come in with your wall and ceiling measurements and they will make the cuts for you. If you are not sure, get some help. Even seasoned carpenters have expressed dismay at cutting crown molding correctly, leave this part to the pros.
Materials To Choose From
There are a wide variety of styles and materials to choose from for your crown molding project. Many people choose wood. Wood molding is beautiful, but considerably heavier than the plastic polymer alternatives, which can be equally attractive, but much lighter. You should not be installing this by yourself, you will need a partner. Just know that wood molding is considerably heavier, and that can make the installation a bit tougher because the molding will have to be held up on a ladder while the installation takes place. Get helpers, lots of helpers, this is one design project you don’t want to fly solo on.
Crown molding will add some dimension and interest to boring, flat walls. It provides a beautiful transition between walls and ceilings. You will be very pleased when this project is complete because crown molding definitely brings out the best in any room. Remember, if you don’t mind paying the extra cash to have a pro do the whole job, it might be a way to make the whole concept of crown molding installation a lot easier to deal with. But if you don’t mind learning something new, taking the matter into your own hands can be a fun, though humbling learning experience.
Area Rugs – A Quick Way To Liven Up Any Room
Apr 14th
Home decorating can sometimes seem laborious. There are times when the inspiration is just not there and you may not know what to do to give a room the spark it needs. If you ever find yourself in this predicament – don’t fret! There is a secret weapon that every decorator should keep in their personal decorating artillery – the area rug.
An Easy Way to Add Colour
If you have a boring area that just needs a little something, but you’re not sure what, head out to the store and find a nice area rug to fire up some inspiration. You might want to grab a few while you’re there. Once you see how dramatic a difference a small rug can make to any space, you are going to want to use them more often.
Some rooms or areas of the house just seem drab. The space may not be large enough to warrant a total overhaul, but you still want to give it some new life. An area rug, commonly known as a throw rug, can be just what you’ve been looking for. Try a few different contrasting, but complementary colours and textures to see what works best.
Perfect For Smaller Areas
Area rugs are typically small in size and perfect for cramped quarters that are hard to work with. If you’ve got a small space in your home that needs a little pizazz, put one of these small rugs down and see what a change it makes.
Throw rugs can add colour, texture and interest to any room that you are decorating. From boring rooms, to rooms that just need a little change; you can’t go wrong with area rugs. Many rooms just need something to draw the eyes away from the monotony; throw rugs are the perfect choice for these design challenges. Every style-conscious designer should have these useful little rugs on hand to help with those design projects that are just stalling out. You’ll be surprised by the big difference these little rugs make.