Posts Tagged ‘flooring’

Thinking of Re-decorating Your Bathroom or Kitchen?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

For the people who seem to have it all or for those who are bored with their lifestyle, there are a few things that one can do to spruce-up one’s life. Maybe one of the best ways however is to start redecorating one’s house. Some of the first places one should look at redecorating are your bathroom and kitchen.

These are often the most overlooked and most used rooms in the entire house. Think about it, have you redecorated at least even one of these rooms within the past few years? The answer is probably going to be no. In which case think back to the last time you even looked closely at your bathroom or kitchen other than to clean them.

Probably, if you noticed anything at all, you put the notion off until a future date when you would be able to devote more time to refurbishing your bathroom or kitchen, although at that time, the place probably didn’t look as old as it does now, after all, the years soon add up and even though you’ve been keeping it spotlessly clean you can’t stop the steady progress of time.

It is probably true that if you take a closer look now, you’d find that the curtains are looking a might shabby and ragged around the edges, as are the bathroom rugs. And do not even look at the toilet roll holder. It is quite true that they don’t make them like they used to, and with very good cause too!

Do yourself a favour and throw out all the unnecessary clutter in the room and get yourself some new stuff - you will be surprised at what you can find nowadays. Anyway, you’ve probably been admiring that lovely bathroom set you saw in the shop for some time now, so at the very least now you will have a good reason to go out and splash out on yourself.

And while you’re about it, don’t forget to buy that lovely new spice rack you saw last week for the kitchen and a few mats that can be used in either room. They should be resilient to such everyday occurrences like water, soap, oil grease, fat and all the other things that somehow seem to become ground into carpets.

But, if you’re looking for some new ideas about decorating your bathroom or your kitchen, there are a number of resources you can get your inspiration from. The best one I’ve found so far are the catalogues, which you can browse through until you find what you’re looking for.

With all these options, you can even substitute something that is less expensive for the items that you see in the catalogues. This then, is the best way to get your decorating projects started and to keep yourself busy for some time to come and to make your long suffering bathroom and kitchen areas spotlessly new and glitzy.

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Interior Design

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Redecorating your house really isn’t that simple and it only gets even less so when you become stuck for ideas. The only real way to get over this lack of interior design ideas, is to sit down, put your feet up and have some tea or coffee.

I’m not joking, there’s really no substitute for getting a new perspective on things, like taking a break from everything for example. In the first place, you become more relaxed, and in the second place a steaming cup of tea or coffee is always welcome.

Now that you’re resting comfortably and are suitably relaxed, close your eyes and get a mental picture of the room that you want to do up. Even if you are doing more than one room, it’s always a good idea to start with one room first, working your way logically through to the next one and then the next one.

Before you begin your travel through the land of interior design ideas, get yourself a notebook and pencil so that you can write down any inspirational ideas you have before they are forgotten

So, just lie back and picture the room in your mind. Try and see it as you want it to look. And if that’s too difficult, then first try to replace separate bits and pieces. This is always a good way to start. If you’ve still got a mental drought on interior design ideas, then leaf through some interior design catalogues beforehand so that you have at least a working idea of what you can do to redecorate the room.

The interior design catalogues need not be anything more grand than your free local department store catalogue, turned to the home furnishing pages. Then again, nowadays you also get specialist stores which deal solely with redecorating. If you have the time, a quick trip down to one of these might also help to end the lack of interior design ideas, and can probably get you started again.

These stores will have decorated sets of several designs, offering you a good impression of what your room can look like if you buy those materials. However, if you’re going to one of those shops, expect to spend some cash as no matter how hard you try to keep a tight hand on your pocket, you’ll always find something you want to buy.

This is not always a bad thing, but unless you watch out you could end up buying things you don’t really need and without a proper idea of what you want the room to look like, it can turn out disastrous. Don’t worry though, if you keep your goal in mind, you can go back home and make a start on redecorating your rooms the way you want to.

Furthermore, now that you’ve been able to get a few interior design ideas of what you want your rooms to look like, your whole redecorating project ought to be that much easier and that much more enjoyable too.

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South-western Home Decor

Sunday, June 28th, 2009

So what exactly is southwestern home decor and how can you introduce it into your own home? Well, to begin with southwestern home decor reflects the southwest and all its best traits. Southwestern home decor involves colourful throw rugs, gorgeous wall hangings, and if you look hard enough, you can even unearth some useful kitchen accessories too.

If you’re considering bringing southwestern home decor into your residence, first of all, you have to check whether it will fit in with your existing decor or whether it will clash horribly. Almost all southwestern home decor involves bright, eye-catching colours and stunning designs and motifs.

So, if your existing furniture would clash with any of these lovely pieces, you can do one of two things. First up, you could always just throw out every single piece of unwanted furniture that you have and replace them with gorgeous pieces of southwestern home decor. Or you could just buy one or two pieces of the southwestern home dcor range and match them carefully with your existing knick-knacks.

Personally speaking, I would just love to replace everything I already have since there’s some wear and tear, but in the real world that’s just not possible. For one thing it would just be way over my budget, and for another I would rather not have to listen to a lecture from my mother about waste. I’ve found that you can get away from from your friends but not from your mother!

However, I’m also more than little happy that I didn’t give into my initial impulse and renovate everything in a southwestern home decor style. Granted that it does look really nice, but sometimes I also like the serenity that some of my other pieces of furniture bring to in me. Therefore, I have now come up with the perfect solution and have instead decided on buying one-off pieces that catch my attention and sprinkling my home with those instead.

And I must say that its made quite a difference to the look and feel of my whole home. Expensive pieces of the more traditional furniture now sit quite comfortably next to the more vibrant and stunning designs of my southwestern home decor. I’ve also bought a great rug for my bathroom floor and a gorgeous set of hand towels. My kitchen sports a new set of southwestern motifs, and my foyer has the most amazing lampshade and statuette in prominent view.

Though all of this might sound too much, I’ve found that this is the best way to bring the glories of southwestern home decor into my life, without going all out and replacing your entire house with southwestern decor and motifs.

After all, you only want to bring a little of southwestern decor to your home, not the whole sheebang. Oh, and did I forget to mention the gorgeous tapestry I bought the other day? It’s just perfect.

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Decorating Your Bathroom and Kitchen

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

For the person who seems to have it all or for the person who is bored with their lifestyle, there are a few things that you can do to jazz-up your life. Perhaps the best way though is to begin redecorating your home. Some of the first places you should look at redecorating are your bathroom and kitchen.

These are often the most overlooked and most used rooms in the entire house. Think about it, have you redecorated at least even one of these rooms within the past five years? The answer is probably going to be no. In which case think back to the last time you even looked closely at your bathroom or kitchen other than to clean them.

More than likely, if you noticed anything at all, you put the notion off until a future date when you could devote more time to refurbishing your bathroom or kitchen, although at that time, the place probably didn’t look as bad as it does now, after all, the years soon add up and even though you’ve been keeping it spotlessly clean you can’t stop the steady march of time.

It is probably true that if you took a closer inspection now, you’d find that the curtains are looking a might drab and ragged around the edges, as are the bathroom mats. And do not even talk about the soap dish. It is quite true that they don’t make things like they used to and for a very good reason too!

So, do yourself a favour and throw out all that unnecessary clutter in the bathroom and get yourself some new stuff - you will be astonished at what lovely things you can find nowadays. Anyway, you’ve probably been admiring that lovely bathroom set you saw in the shop for some time, so at the very least now you will have a good reason to go out and treat yourself.

And while you’re at it, you might as well buy that nice new spice rack you saw last week for the kitchen and a few mats that can be used in either room. They should be resistant to such commonplace accidents as water, soap, oil grease, fat and all the other things that somehow seem to become ground into carpets.

But, if you’re looking for some new ideas on decorating your bathroom or your kitchen, there are a number of resources you can get your inspiration from. The best one I’ve found so far are the catalogues, which you can read until you find what you’re looking for.

With all these options, you could even substitute something that is less expensive for the items you want in the catalogues. This is the easiest method to get your decorating projects started and to keep yourself pleasantly busy for some while and to transform your long suffering bathroom and kitchen into brand new, glitzy areas.

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Country Home Decor

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Your house is finally spick and span and you sit down and put your feet up for a minute with a nice cup of coffee by the side of you and you pick away at your muffin. You are tired but it’s that good kind of weariness when you know you’ve done a good day’s work and you have no regrets about it. A feeling of contentment settles on you and you look around you with satisfaction.

A magazine lies in front of you appealingly within reach and you give in and pull it to you, intent on enjoying a well-earned rest. The top cover story springs out at you, entitled ‘Country Home Decor’. Naturally you flip through eagerly to that very section, you had only just read an article on some stylish country home decor about turning a house into a small country retreat in another magazine and it had greatly interested you.

There are pages and pages of the magazine filled with what can only be categorized as the most ideal examples of country home decor imaginable. You gaze longingly at the various styles and furnishings you see gracing the magazine’s pages. A quick glance up from your magazine reassures you that your own modest abode hasn’t changed somehow instantly into one of those lovely country homes you were just admiring.

A heavy sigh passes your lips at this disappointment and you go back to gazing at the magazine spread. You had never thought that you were a person who could stand the whole country home decor style but now upon reflection you think you just might be able to.

Without your even realising it you find yourself marking the pages that interest you the most, making small mental calculations on how best to achieve the same effect but on the smaller budget that you have at your disposal. After all, it wouldnt do to spring for that lovely dresser and have to go without your freshly ground whole bean coffee now, would it?

However, you could certainly go for that beautiful table runner without any problem. And if you donated all those modern chrome coffee mugs and dinner sets to charity you wouldn’t really be splashing out, would you, since you would’ve done your best for charity and given them all these things unselfishly?

And what about exchanging those flashy blinds for something that’s a bit more in the country home decor style. And while you’re going about it, perhaps you could even exchange that ugly lampshade you got as a Christmas gift for something a little more country.

The only thing that is left for you to do now is to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours and gaze with beaming pride upon your newly redecorated home. Furnished, naturally enough, in the best of country home decor style that you could cull from every source that you found, like that first magazine which spurred it all off.

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Black and White Ideas for Stylish Home Decor

Friday, May 29th, 2009

When people start thinking about living room decorating ideas and making changes to their residence, whether it be one or two rooms or even the complete house, the first thing that usually springs to mind is ‘what colour’. Usually, people choose colours that they like or those which match pieces of their existing furniture. When looking for living room decorating ideas, one idea which is perhaps too often overlooked is decorating with the two basic colours (or shades, to be accurate) ” black and white.

Black and white, when used in decorating demonstrates style and creates drama. Top decorators say that every room in the house could benefit from using a touch of black. Black is a colour which anchors and grounds a room. Adding sophistication, black is definitely a colour that demands attention. Living room decorating ideas for a home using black may include accessories such as light fixtures, trim or furniture. Black serves to bring definition to the focal points in a room. Black is just one of the colours that stands out, but it is definitely one of the most eye-catching!

Decorating with the shades of black and white in your living room decorating ideas, provides a clean, fresh, elegant atmosphere. This combination can be used in any room in a home making it a sophisticated space. Black and white are often used in contemporary interior design and frequently used to highlight other colours in the French Country style. It may be hard to visualize but there are many ideas for decorating a home using combinations of only these two basic colours.

The flooring is a great area to start when you’re having living room decorating ideas. Black and white vinyl tiles laid alternately make a beautiful chessboard pattern and gives a clean and elegant appearance. Black marble used on the floor, accented by wide white baseboards is another beautiful idea for decorating a room. Laying white ceramic tiles with a black border or simply painting the floor black or white and using pattern stencils of the opposite colour for decoration is also really stunning. These all are fantastic ideas for re-vamping a room.

Is there anything more perfect than white walls? Painting the walls white or even an off-white makes a perfect background for accessories such as paintings framed in black. Imagine that - stylish home decor! Elegant black window treatments or black shutters against a clean, crisp white wall would certainly create an air of sophistication. Perhaps a glass-topped table with black iron rim and black chairs? These are terrific ideas for decorating a home using only black and white.

Just imagine a bedroom decorated using only black and white - that would be quite beautiful stylish home decor too. A black or white iron bed-frame with a striped black and white duvet or eiderdown on top. The pillow cases could be either all black or all white too and you could add throw cushions or / and a bolster in the other colour.

A chunky leather black or white armchair or sofa in the corner would certainly accent the living room decorating ideas. Then you could have the white walls with a elegant piece of artwork, framed in black, hanging on it. That would surely add to the modern feel of your living room decorating ideas. Black furniture against the crisp white walls would definitely look really neat and tidy and you could jazz it all up with accessories like pewter or silver candlesticks, jugs or vases.

If you think the living room decorating ideas need a bit more colour to complete the effect, perhaps a throw or a cushion in a bold colour such as red or gold for the chair in the corner of the room would be enough to accent the room. There are many ways to decorate a home. However, discovering the one that suits you and those who live with you is very important. It’s nice to do something extreme and off-the-wall but remember you must be able to live with it for quite a while.

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Kitchen Decorating

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

It’s a Saturday morning and you’re sitting there waiting for your coffee machine to stop its various gurgles and noises, so you can have that all important early morning cup of coffee. Idly, you glance about your kitchen and notice a fleck of paint missing from the corner of the door. It had happened years ago but you never really took any notice of it until now.

You continue to allow your gaze to wander and your eye spots a patch of mildew growing under the sink, then you notice the ugly brown colour your ceiling has turned right above where the cooker stands.

The paint is faintly off colour, and the lone wall-papered wall is beginning to look outdated and faded. You take a fortifying sip of your now-ready coffee and decide that a little bit of kitchen decorating is called for.

Where do you start though? And how soon can you get into it? Now that you’ve finally noticed all the little signs of decay that you had been quite successfully ignoring up until that day, you can’t wait to begin modest kitchen decorating plans.

That however is where the crunch comes. Just how modest do you want to keep your kitchen decorating project? Can you get away with slapping a fresh coat of paint on everything or will you need to go to the lengths of removing the wallpaper off the wall, and finding out where that mildew stain might be headed.

Naturally enough, it all depends on you and your budget, but if you can spare the time, energy and money, you’ll probably do better, in the long run. to get rid of all your kitchen decorating problems at once. That would include stripping the wallpaper, replacing any carpeting or rugs that you might have, and perhaps even sanding down your wooden floors if you have them. If you’re going to do a complete job of kitchen decorating however then you’ll also need that all important final coat of fresh paint to smarten up your kitchen.

You might also want to think about replacing those old lace curtains as they’re also probably looking distinctly old by now. So, go ahead and splurge on your kitchen decorating project and replace the curtains and while you’re about it, you might want to think of buying a new set of tea towels as well. It doesn’t hurt to go the whole hog when you can.

And when you’ve eventually finished, you will be able to sit back and enjoy your new kitchen and remember that weekend morning that started it all off. You’ll have absolutely no regrets whatsoever, since your kitchen decorating project has landed you with a far better kitchen than you had ever expected.

A feeling of content engulfs you as you lift your new coffee mug to your lips. Life just doesn’t get any better than when youre enjoying the fruits of your effort.

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Office Decor

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

It’s been at least a year now since you came to your new work place and officially took over your new office. At first, you were busy coping with a new home and learning a new job, but now that you’re settled in you start noticing again the same things that you noticed when you first took over your office.

The walls are a boring, drab colour and are looking decidedly depressing. The sun streaming in through the industrial quality blinds is barely enough to light a mouse hole and the furniture is just about as grotty and plain as it can get. You figure that an acceptable amount of time has passed for you to start redecorating your office.

Naturally, before you commence it’s always a good idea to make certain that those in charge won’t have a problem with your stylish redecorating plans. And remember that it is only an office and so you should treat your plans to redecorate as such.

Painting the walls a snazzy red colour possibly might not work. However, you could brighten things up a bit by repainting the walls a bright and airy colour that won’t be an eyesore to anyone, least of all you. Then you could always take down those ancient blinds that have been hanging there since the early 1980’s and replace them with something more pleasing and modern.

On the other hand, if the whole of the office is decorated in the same style with the same blinds hanging on each window, your a la mode changes might not go down too well with your co-workers. So, think twice before making drastic changes that alter the whole style and atmosphere of the entire office.

There are, however, easier ways you can carry out your office decorating project without too much hassle on your part and which doesn’t necessarily need to be thought over too much. You could brighten up any room by placing a pot or two of flowering plants here and there around your office.

However, if you’re like me and you don’t have green fingers or if you enforce suicide on any plants near you, then maybe you shouldn’t bother with plants. You could however bring in some bright pictures and hang them up on your walls. Or perhaps you have children and they have painted some lovely pictures for you.

These also work well, and will show your colleagues another side of you. Don’t get stressed out over anything though. You really don’t need a simple redecorating job to add to the rest of your worries and besides an office decorating project should be fun and stress free.

Remember, your office decorating project need not entail your turning the whole office, or yourself, on its head. It should be something that you can live with on a daily basis.

After all, you spend a lot of the day at your office, it should be a place where you can be just as at ease as you are in your own home.

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Great Country Decorating Ideas

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

For those of us who live in the country decorating ideas are not hard to come by. Personally speaking, I think that a great deal of my inspiration comes from the environment around me. When I say that, I don’t mean to imply that I take the most obvious aspects of the country around me, only that if you look carefully enough you’ll always find a subtle blend of country decorating ideas that you will be able to incorporate into your own stylish home decor.

Doing your home up with country decorating ideas is great but if you don’t make it blend in naturally with its surroundings your house will stick out like a sore thumb like an invader upon the glory of nature. Surely, you have looked at a house in the country and thought to yourself: how beautiful and serene it was, and how much you’d really love to live there?

Have you ever wondered why this was so? Undoubtedly, it was for the house’s simplicity and elegance, along with the fact that it melded in so well with its surroundings. If you spend a lot of time in the country, without doubt you’re not sure what I’m prattling on about and you are wondering why I ‘m going on about it.

Perhaps you’ve lived in the country most of your life and you really don’t see what is so special about the old country decorating ideas and houses that blend in with nature. After all, a country house is just like any other house that you’d find anywhere else. Or so you would imagine.

Well, you’d be wrong on that count! Country houses are a pure joy for the person who has been living in a concrete jungle. So, if you’re fortunate enough to live in the country savour the fact.

When you live in the country decorating ideas ought to be flooding into your head nineteen to the dozen and with only a little planning, you can make your everyday country home into a very comfortable country residence.

The only negative aspect I’ve noticed with this so far is the number of ideas I get from my surroundings. That might not sound like a bad thing, but trust me, there’s nothing worse than having country decorating ideas pouring out of your fertile mind with almost no pause and not being able to implement them all.

However, when this flow starts to happen, I just lie back and let it take over me. I’ve always found that there is no use fighting against the inevitable, although a little dreaming never hurt anyone. If the ideas I’ve had are really good and grab my attention, I take down detailed notes about what I’d like to do.

So, no matter whether you want to alter your home into a country residence, or whether you just want to redecorate the house you already have with country decorating ideas, the inspiration should be easy to come by and just as easy to put into place. A country home is the right place to be to relax from your stressful workday day.

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