Saturday, March 28, 2009

Seven Deadly sins of designs

You can improve the look of any room just by eliminating these common decorating mistakes.
1. High art:
We're not talking about art that is unusually thought-provoking. We mean art that's literally floating out in that empty space somewhere high above the sofa. Art should relate to the furniture below it. A rule of thumb is to separate artwork and furniture by no more than 10 inches.
2. Matchy-matchy decor:
When everything matches, the room becomes so safe that it's boring. Buying a suite of furniture of the same design went out decades ago. And although many fabric and wallpaper manufacturers offer coordinated patterns to simplify design for the do-it-yourselfer, use those coordinates as a background for something old, something personal, something that makes the room your own.
3. Armchair covers:
Armchair covers are dinosaurs -- they're like leaving cellophane on lampshades. Today, fabrics can be treated for durability and stain resistance. Whip the covers off and take them along to remind you of the color and pattern when shopping for other fabrics and accessories for the room. And don't dare put them back when you're done.
4.Wimpy houseplants:
Just don't scatter too many small houseplants around the room. They'll have much more effect if you bank three to five small plants together, or buy one large-scale plant that makes a bold statement (and doesn't have to be watered as often).
5. Silk flowers:
Silk flowers can surely be beautiful, but they may also become dust traps. And if the arrangement never changes, eventually you reach the point where you don't even see it anymore. Either update your silk designs regularly, or make your own simple arrangements with inexpensive fresh flowers or greenery from the backyard.
6. Unedited accessories:
We are all natural-born collectors. The trick is realizing that every object, gift, or family treasure need not be displayed at once. Organize accessories by grouping collections together on a table or shelf. Use similar objects and colors together, and remember that using odd numbers of items looks better to the eye.
7.Family portraits in the living room:
Contemporary paintings of the family can lend an imposing, limited air to the room where you most often receive guests. Save portraits for the bedroom or spaces that are reserved for family.

Room Arrangements

PLACE THE LARGEST PIECES FIRST:
In furnishing any room the major piece for the primary activity of the room must be considered first - the sofa in the living room, the bed in the bedroom, the desk in the office. This piece in most cases should face the central point of the room. The central point can be a view window, fireplace or, as is often the case, the television. Large pieces should be evenly distributed so as not to put the room off balance. Leave room around them for the best affect. In selecting these pieces, keep the architectural shapes in the room in mind.
NEXT PLACE THOSE PIECES RELATING TO THE MAIN PIECE:
The arrangement must make your activity comfortable and convenient. Think about the use of the room as you place the furniture. If you typically eat or drink there, is there a place to set your cup or plate down? Is there enough storage for books or CDs? If the room is used for socializing, is there enough seating and is it appropriately arranged? Wherever possible keep pieces of similar scale together. A small occasional chair would look better next to an table or floor lamp than next to a large overstuffed sofa. Try to balance pieces opposite one another. A pair of beautiful looking chairs is visually more balanced across from a sofa than a pair of small scale occasional chairs. Mix hard and soft surfaces by adding carpets or fabric covered tables to a room otherwise filled with wood, metal and stone.
ADD ACCENT PIECES FOR SECONDARY ACTIVITIES
Creating an area for a secondary use adds function to a room. A reading corner in a bedroom or a game area in a family room can be created with a minimum of space. A long empty wall can be made into a focal point by grouping pictures over a long narrow table. Place a desk under a window to take advantage of the natural light and view. Place a curved item in a corner to soften the angle. A corner cupboard or cabinet is a wonderfully functional piece that adds character to the room while displaying your favorite collection.
PLACE YOUR FURNITURE WHERE IT LOOKS BEST
Be aware of the light in the room when selecting and placing your furniture. A dark cabinet may disappear in a dimly lighted niche. Bright pieces may seem impressive under a picture window. Break up the horizontal lines of the room by mixing in taller items. A bookcase against the wall, a high back chair next to the sofa or a pair of lamps on a cabinet will give the eye some variety and improve the view. A sofa may be placed diagonally in front of a corner that has been softened by a plant or screen.
BE AWARE OF TRAFFIC PATTERNS
You can direct the flow of traffic through a room with the placement of your furniture. Leave a minimum of two and a half feet for walkways and avoid flowing traffic through a conversational grouping if possible. Guide the traffic around the room's perimeter to create a less disruptive environment. Be aware of the usage of adjacent rooms in laying out your floor plan and flow colors from one adjacent room to the next when they are visible from one another.
LET YOUR PERSONALITY SHINE THROUGH
Ultimately, your home is an expression of who you are. Design your rooms so that you are comfortable, with a realistic eye on your own taste and habits rather than relying on a picture from a magazine. After all, you're going to be living there.

Create a mood

In spite of the actual size of your room, there are many techniques available to you in helping to create a sense of largeness or relaxation- depending on your personal style.
You want your room to look large...
You love the wide open spaces and want to bring the outside in. You may prefer modern up to date designs and think of your personal decorating style as "light and fresh looking". Here are some tips on achieving that sense of largeness in your rooms.
Lighting:

To create a feeling of largeness in your room, you will want to eliminate the shadows that tend to slice a room up into smaller spaces. Work on lighting the room with a soft, even light. Avoid ceiling lights as they tend to make the ceiling feel lower. Soft and tender lighting will tend to enlarge the room.
Color:

Soft colors and one color schemes. Use cream, beige, gray or cool light, soft,watery colors on your walls and floors. The ceiling should always be the lightest color in the room.
Textures:

Keep your surfaces free of heavy textures. Smoother surfaces tend to reflect more light and make the room feel larger. Avoid heavy textured flooring. Choose tile over patterned or textured carpeting. Reflective and shiny surfaces such as mirror and chrome also can be used effectively.
Patterns:

Limit the use of patterns in the room to create a more fresh feeling. The idea is not to stop the eye as it travels across the room. Decorating with pillows and/or accessories might be a good choice.
Furniture:

Selection and placement of furniture in a room is crucial in defining the space. Keep the largest pieces against the walls whenever possible. Choose furniture colors that are the same or similar to those selected for the walls and floors. Select pieces that stand off the floor on legs and are made of materials that reflect or let light through. And above all, use as few furniture pieces as possible in the room to avoid over crowding.
You want your room giving a feel of relaxation...
Your room, your nest. You want to be enveloped by it. Surrounded by its warmth and comforted by its inviting spaces. Here are some things to consider when creating a more friendly space.
Lighting:

Create spaces through the use of directed light. The shadows that will result will help visually eliminate those areas. Lighting from the ceiling will seem to lower it. A reading lamp or down-shaded lamp will cast light only in its relative area. Use bright and shinning lamps for a warmer glow.
Color:

Choose strong colors for your walls and floor. They will tend to bring them in closer towards one another. A dark floor with walls of brown or deep red, blue or green tones will help create the feeling of a smaller, cozier space.
Textures:

Heavy, soft textures add warmth to a space. Faux fur or hand knitted throws on a sofa, smart carpeting and long curtains are all textural elements to consider. Use rougher textures for the hard elements in the room; iron instead of chrome, brick instead of glazed tiles.
Patterns:

The use of pattern in a room can also lend a sense of relaxation to the space. smart looking carpets and printed wallpapers used alone or in combinations; the more patterns in a room, the smaller it will feel. The subject of mixing patterns in a room will be covered at some future time.
Furniture:
Choose dark finishes and fabrics to create a sense of the piece being larger than it actually is. Heavy textured fabrics and large patterns will add a cozy feeling to a sofa or chair. Place pieces away from the wall and use tall pieces to divide and define smaller spaces within a room for greater friendly and warm environment.

Choosing the right color for different rooms

Choosing the right color for the right room is a difficult task to focus on when designing the the theme of any particular room. These are few ideas which you should consider while choosing the color scheme.
1. Warm colours which jump out at you like reds, oranges and yellows tend to close a space, while receding colours such as blue, green and violet tend to make a room look larger. Although, just to confuse things, the darkest shades of these receding colours, such as navy blue can diminish a room.
2. White or a light neutral coloured walls are generally the best for making a room seem bigger.
3. Paint your skirting boards and mouldings a lighter colour than the walls to make your room look bigger.
4. To create the illusion of higher ceilings and a more open space, paint ceilings white or off-white. Medium to dark colours will make ceiling seem lower - handy for cosying a very high room up.
5. If the colour you've painted on your walls is too much of a shock to the system, you can tone them down by slapping on a lighter or more muted colour over the original using techniques such as rag rolling, sponging, or colour washing.
6. Use warm colours on North facing rooms which don't get a huge amount of sunlight and cool colours on brighter South facing rooms.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Interior Designing Ideas

Are you looking for interior designing ideas and home decorating tips to start or even finish your home design project? then these are some interior designing ideas with which you can create more attractive and beautiful rooms within your home.
Space:
1. Strategically place a large mirror near a window so the outdoors can be reflected. This will make the room look brighter and bigger.
2. Choose furnishings in scale with the rooms - slim rockers, open-back chairs or a simple sofa are better for small rooms rather than overpowering furnishings which swallow your space.
3. Place your large furniture at angles with the wall to break up the room and fool the eye that the room is more spacious than it is.
4. In a long but narrow room, paint the two, shorter end walls slightly darker than the others to make the room seem squarer.
5. A room will appear wider if you paint the floor and ceiling a similar colour, then paint the walls in a lighter shade.
6. To make a room seem smaller use a dark colour on the walls below picture rail height, and a lighter colour above the rail and covering the ceiling.
7. Use vertical stripes to give walls more height and make the ceiling look higher.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

How to make your home more beautifull then you would have ever think of?

Building your own little home is a dream for many. The interior designing for your home would have started long back in your own mind and before actually completion of construction of your home sweet home, every individual has a certain perception and vision for what his home must ultimately look and feel like. But designing the interior of your home is a lot more than just owning a piece of land and then handing the construction process.Real thing starts when the construction of your home is finished and interior designing of your home is about to start. At every step you must take care that you get what you want- ultimately it’s you who’s going to live inside those walls.So, from the wall paint color till the interior decoration of the whole house you have to be aware of everything what color scheme you want to have in rooms,tv lounge,drawing room,dining room etc etc.
As the fashion trend of interior designing is growing day by day people are taking more interest in making there home more beautifull.Every individual wants to make his/her home more beautifull than others. In this blog you will get the latest ways of interior designing of your home sweet home.