home decor

All of us live in houses but how many of us know how to make it a real ‘HOME’.

You may have a very small house with a few rooms: not much to boast about However, if you follow some very simple and practical steps you can make your house (big or small) a real homeand thus, a better place to live in

Read On:

1. A Place For Everything

Irrespective of the size of your house, make sure there is a place for everything. Organize your house - rooms, kitchen shelves, cupboards etc in such a way that there is a place for everything.

2. And Everything In It’s Place

Once you have allocated space for everything in the house, make it a habit to put everything back in its allocated space after use! This will ensure that your house remains organized and well kept. You would be surprised by how much time you save by keeping things in the right place.

3. Discard Unnecessary Items

Make it a point to throw away things you don’t need: There may be an old transistor lying around which no longer works and which no one cares aboutDispose it off - sell it, throw it, give it away. Do what you want with it but don’t let it lie around in the house to occupy space unnecessarily.

4. Keep It Clean

Make it a point to regularly clean the house. I’m not saying become a fanatic. Don’t get obsessed with cleanliness but do try and spring-clean the house once in a while!

5. Greenery

If you have a small balcony, garden or a little gardening space, try to keep it greenKeep potted plants and flowers and water them wellDecorate your living room with a vase of freshly picked flowers. it will brighten up your day and your room.

6. Open Those Windows Regularly

Let there be good ventilation in the house. Let the sunlight come in everyday. Use cheerful and bright colored home furnishings, though this would depend on personal tastes.

7. Rejuvenate With Music

Play some good relaxing music in the house everyday. something you enjoy listening to. This will refresh you as well as send good vibrations in the whole house.

Last but not the least always stay positive and happy. Enjoy and love where you live because after all ‘Home Sweet Home’ is ‘The Place To Be’!!!

About The Author

Akanksha Sinha - is a freelance Web Content Writer and Web designer.

http://www.mygoogly.com/akanksha.htm

aks_design@rediffmail.com

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We want to help you formulate a design that is not only beautiful but personal. Now that we have empowered you with a better understanding concerning the element of color and what an important part it plays in decorating.

We want to take you through the next basic step. What is the next basic step? The next basic element you need to decide on when embarking on your decorating project, is the proper use of patterns, textures and fabrics.

1. The first step in choosing your pattern is to find an inspiration pattern piece. It can be anything from a favorite piece of fabric, a painting, an heirloom throw, a quilt, or even a piece of clothing.

Your inspiration pattern piece will serve three specific purposes that will set the tone for your room…

A. The first purpose for your inspiration pattern is to find one of the palest shades, which will be best used on the walls.

B. The second purpose for your inspiration pattern is to pull some of the medium hues for use in your flooring, area rugs, draperies and other upholstery items.

C. The last, reference to your inspiration pattern is for the purpose of pulling the deepest hues. Which will be applied and distributed throughout the room. In the form of accessories, pillows, flowers, candles etc.

2. The second step is to decide on two or three different patterns, two being the minimum. Most designers believe that like accessories patterns too should be introduced in three’s.

All patterns must have the same core or background color. Keep in mind they can be a mix of floral’s, solids, stripes or any other pattern that appeals to you. The key is to make sure they all have the same core or background color for uniformity.

For example, you can combine a floral of six colors with a check pattern that incorporates three of those colors, and a jacquard fabric that’s just one of those colors. Be sure to mix and vary the scale, from the smallest pattern to the largest of the patterns for a balanced look.

3. The third step is to make sure that you are working with the same intensity of color. If you have decided on vibrant color palette, such as jeweled tones, stay away from muted color backgrounds.

4. The fourth step is to make sure that you create a balance in your room through the use of patterns. Distribute your patterns throughout the room for a smooth transition. Avoid placing all your pattern pieces together, this would throw the entire space off balance.

5. The next step is to consider your choice of fabrics. Fabrics can communicate formality or simplicity. For instance, if you have decided on the use of damask fabrics, the style that you are communicating is one of formality and elegance. Therefore it would be a mistake to incorporate fabrics that are considered casual or informal such as denim fabrics. Whatever fabric you choose keep it unified with complimentary fabrics and patterns.

I urge you to experiment with mixing paisleys with stripes and plaids with floral’s. If the thought of multiple patterns in a room, scares you, at least offset the solid fabrics with the use of color and texture.

Many people play it safe by having few patterns and mainly solids in a room. If you are sticking with solids, do not stay tone on tone. At least add a pop of color and some texture for visual interest.

For example:
Let’s say you are using a muted blue micro suede comforter on your bed, and prefer solids to patterns. Add layers of color and texture through the use of accent pillows. Add different size pillows using other complimentary colors. Such as silver, black, pink or any other favorite color you wish to incorporate.

Always keep in mind that any color you introduce must be spread throughout the room at least three times. Also choose complimentary fabrics such as satin, beaded or sequenced fabrics that will add more texture and coordinate well with the micro suede fabric being used on the bed.

It has never been easier to coordinate patterns, textures, and fabrics as it is today. Designers have made the mixing process easy for us. Walk into any home store or department store and you will find an abundance of choices Using two, three, even four patterns all designed to exist harmoniously together in one room. All you have to do is choose the color palette you like.

Tip: If it’s calm and peaceful atmosphere you desire, go for blue, lavender or green. Or use them all together, these colors all work well with one another.

Want to create the most beautiful home in your neighborhood without breaking the bank? Go to http://www.HomeDecoratingSource.com for resources to help you meet all your indoor and outdoor decorating needs.

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A well-decorated room can still lack personality. To give your room a personality, choose from among these basic design elements, modify them to suit your tastes and implement them in a way which is just right for you.

1. A Theme - A ‘themed’ room says something about you, the person who has done it, your family or the place where you live. A theme will also provide you a place to showcase your collections, prized possessions, arts and crafts.

There are endless possibilities for using themes, but once you decide upon one, it will give you focus, as it will eliminate many things which don’t fit into it. This results in great ease in shopping, planning, implementing etc. Some best decorated rooms have had themes like Water, Nature, Eighteenth Century England, Contemporary, Ethnic, Pastels etc.

2. Artifacts - A piece of artistic value will always give your room that special touch you have always wanted. It can add texture and depth to a room. Depending upon your theme, the artifact may be an an antique chair, a painted bookshelf, an original painting or even an original watercolor by your local artist.

3. Collections - It is the most effective way to display your collections in a special arrangement. Whether you collect shells, dolls or trinkets, arrange them tastefully instead of just lining things up in a row. Lining things looks even worse when objects are small in size. Instead, group them together to project variety within your collections. Lovely trays, glass cupboards, corner shelves etc. are some ideas for displaying your collections.

4. Color - Color does not get limited to painting the walls of your room. Use colors that make you feel good about them in fabrics, linen, pillows, shelves, curtains etc. Blend colors to suit your style.

Add fabrics to liven up your room with a print that contains the color of your upholstery. To maintain harmony in colors, use the same accent at least THRICE around the same room. For eg. pillows, tablecloths and curtains could have similar accents. For more on using colors, read my article ‘Using Colors in Your Room’.

Use of the above elements will still leave everything to your own imagination and creativity. These will only help you in drawing out a plan for your Home-Decorating exercise. The details of the plan are still left to you to fill up.

Happy Decorating!

About The Author

Lata Tokhi is the Founder/Editor of Dot Com Women, a premier women’s website and online community. Visit her at http://www.dotcomwomen.com.

lata@dotcomwomen.com

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