Every day you come home and you pass by this small narrow hallway. Sometimes you will stop and just stare at the place and feel that you should do something about it. Then one day you just want to tear all the walls down and break free from that constriction. But before you do that consider these few simple tips on how to trick the eye and visually expand the space, adding interest to a narrow hallway and come home happy every time.
1. Mirror: The most classic and reliable way to expand your space is to place a mirror on the wall. This gives the illusion of a bigger space. The larger the mirrored surface, the more room space is reflected. To add visual interest, hang your favorite paintings or photos opposite the mirror, making sure not to incorporate large prints, as it will require a lot of viewing space.
2. Chair rail: Adding a chair rail would help make a hall appear wider. If you want to hang wallpaper below the rail, choose something with small patterns and with a light background, as this will make the wall appear receded. To add diagonal depth, replace your existing flooring with diagonally installed wood planks or tiles to create an illusion of width.
3. Paint the Ceiling: By painting the ceiling with a darker shade and adding a wallpaper border to the top portion of the wall, you will be able to visually reduce the height of the ceiling. The border will add horizontal emphasis and will help widen the look of your hallway.
4. Louvered Doors/Mini Blinds: If your hallway has a window, installing mini blinds will add some horizontal emphasis. For closet doors, you can replace the regular doors with louvers.
5. Picture Frames: To further widen the area, decorate the wall with small wide picture frames. These will usually draw the eyes outward, creating a widening visual effect.
6. Furniture: Adding a piece of furniture like a slim vertical chest or narrow vertical highboy at the end of the hall will make the room appear wider. The addition of some accessories, like a flower vase on top of the chest, will make this a focal point of the room.
7. Lighting: Subdued lighting can expand the feeling of space. A sconce placed in the wall of a narrow hallway with an up light projection will draw the eyes up and outward. Lastly, as a general rule, to make a room appear larger, always use lighter color for the walls and floors; when using wallpapers, use small and subtle patterns.
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I love to decorate for holidays---aaaahh, let's face it,
I've entered to win one because I thought they were so beautiful. I haven't been lucky enough to win, but RAMSIGN is offering one of you the opportunity to win a sign here at Joys of Home.
RAMSIGN is a small Danish company that specializes in manufacturing and selling classic enamel signs based upon original designs and techniques. 
They offer real old fashioned, hand stenciled signs, featuring original design, thick and glossy enamel, and a 30-year warranty.
All you need to do to win is go to their site and pick your favorite style, then come back here and leave a comment.
For an additional entry, link this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook page. 
The winner will receive one house number sign (not name signs or address plaques) in their choice of numbers from 1 digit and up to 5 digits, and in one of the five different styles. RAMSIGN ships worldwide so everyone can participate in the giveaway.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Cheap Living Room Facelift
The living room is the main room of your home. It is a place of refuge after a busy and exhausting day in the office. It is a place where you cuddle and bond with your children before retiring to your bedroom. And when it's a lazy day, it is a place where you consume a bag full of chips and cookies and be the potato couch that you are.
Over the years you have loved this special place in your home. This has seen a lot of better days, of family reunions and gatherings. Now is the time to give your living room a new life and give it the makeover it long deserved. You can create an exciting new living room makeover even with a limited budget.
Before getting excited shopping for new accessories, try to sit down and examine your living room. Sure you want changes, but how much money can you afford for what you want? Check your budget.
Here are some ways you can create changes to your living room without spending so much.
1. Play with colors and make material changes. Changing the color scheme of your living room will create a new look. The use of color is a creative way of brightening up a room and at the same time cost efficient. Try using fabrics with brilliant jewel tones such as sapphire, emerald and ruby. Change your curtains. Lengths of sheers are much more affordable than curtain panels made from decorator fabric and lining materials. These will create color sophistication to your neutral colored living room. Place a new area rug. Placing a new area rug will not only give a new look to your living room but it's much cheaper than changing the entire wall to wall carpeting.
2. Sometimes we get tired of our old worn-out sofa. We may have chosen the best fabric or the most beautiful color during the time we fell in love with It, but it has seen better days. Buying a new slipcover will revive its beauty at half the cost of sending it to the shop for re-upholstery. One added advantage is that slipcovers are removable and easy to clean. Add accessories to create interest and rejuvenate the room. Add pillows that will compliment the new slipcover. When you cannot afford a new sofa or other major items, a new lamp or coffee table can create that needed new look.
3. If your budget allows for a purchase of a major item, consider buying a new sofa. Center your changes on this new item. Your color palette should revolve around the colors of your new sofa. To make more changes, you can add a fresh coat of paint to your living room walls. If you can stretch your budget further, you can renew your entire living room by adding an attractive wall covering. These are the least costly ways to make a total transformation to your living room. You can add pillows and lampshades with patterns coordinating with the sofa fabric and wall covering. Paint the window frames and baseboards to further create a fresh feeling in your living room environment.
Lastly, if you really don't have the budget to spend but are kicking to make new changes, rearranging the furniture is by far the most effective way to achieve your goal. Move that furniture around, change picture frame positions and locations. You can perk up your living room without spending a penny, just your imagination and a lot of lifting and sweating.
Over the years you have loved this special place in your home. This has seen a lot of better days, of family reunions and gatherings. Now is the time to give your living room a new life and give it the makeover it long deserved. You can create an exciting new living room makeover even with a limited budget.
Before getting excited shopping for new accessories, try to sit down and examine your living room. Sure you want changes, but how much money can you afford for what you want? Check your budget.
Here are some ways you can create changes to your living room without spending so much.
1. Play with colors and make material changes. Changing the color scheme of your living room will create a new look. The use of color is a creative way of brightening up a room and at the same time cost efficient. Try using fabrics with brilliant jewel tones such as sapphire, emerald and ruby. Change your curtains. Lengths of sheers are much more affordable than curtain panels made from decorator fabric and lining materials. These will create color sophistication to your neutral colored living room. Place a new area rug. Placing a new area rug will not only give a new look to your living room but it's much cheaper than changing the entire wall to wall carpeting.
2. Sometimes we get tired of our old worn-out sofa. We may have chosen the best fabric or the most beautiful color during the time we fell in love with It, but it has seen better days. Buying a new slipcover will revive its beauty at half the cost of sending it to the shop for re-upholstery. One added advantage is that slipcovers are removable and easy to clean. Add accessories to create interest and rejuvenate the room. Add pillows that will compliment the new slipcover. When you cannot afford a new sofa or other major items, a new lamp or coffee table can create that needed new look.
3. If your budget allows for a purchase of a major item, consider buying a new sofa. Center your changes on this new item. Your color palette should revolve around the colors of your new sofa. To make more changes, you can add a fresh coat of paint to your living room walls. If you can stretch your budget further, you can renew your entire living room by adding an attractive wall covering. These are the least costly ways to make a total transformation to your living room. You can add pillows and lampshades with patterns coordinating with the sofa fabric and wall covering. Paint the window frames and baseboards to further create a fresh feeling in your living room environment.
Lastly, if you really don't have the budget to spend but are kicking to make new changes, rearranging the furniture is by far the most effective way to achieve your goal. Move that furniture around, change picture frame positions and locations. You can perk up your living room without spending a penny, just your imagination and a lot of lifting and sweating.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Interior Design For New Homes
When decorating or making decorating decisions for new homes, it is important to remember that your major decisions could affect decorating choices for quite a long period of time. Commitment to bold or unusual color treatments before you have actually had the opportunity to consider how such changes will coordinate with your furniture placement is not very advisable in this type of situation. In any case, the best advice you could receive while planning interior design for new homes is to make mediocre, undramatic design choices to begin that you can alter at a later time if you choose to do so.
This may seem like very unusual advice concerning interior design for new homes especially coming from someone who is working within the design industrybut there is good explanation for this reasoning. A large, open space without viewing or visualizing any furniture content within that space is quite easy to get a little carried away with while making structural changes. Also, keep in mind that by using very bold or dramatic designer interior colors on the walls you might be closing off your future alternative color choices to those that will cover the bright color therefore eliminating any possibility of using neutral colors without major restructuring of wall surfaces.
Wallpaper is another such choice that you might reconsider using while building interior design for new homes. Again, removing wallpaper and resurfacing the surface is often times quite a headache that can be avoided by using other alternatives for creative wall finishing. A great alternative for wallpaper that adds a great texture to the wall surfaces would be a finishing technique such as faux finishing, sponging, or stenciling. These choices (and many more like them) offer you a variety of substitutes that are equally appealing and much easier to change then more permanent solutions such as wallpaper. If you absolutely must have wallpaper in any of the rooms, try using a border to achieve the look youre going for instead of covering the entire wall surface.
When painting walls, if you apply a few well known interior design tips and tricks to your method, you will be pleasantly surprised in the overall effects when complete. For example, brighten up small or dark rooms with light wall colors. Add character and direction to larger areas by defining them with contrasting colors and textures. Bold or stark color panels can
also provide a defining feature to an area that you can showcase wall pieces on when you are ready to accessorize.
Once the walls have been treated in your new home, the next item on the agenda while planning interior design for new homes would be dynamic placement of your hanging accessories such as mirrors, pictures, and art. Do not over clutter walls. Make good choices and place such items in key places by establishing focal points or presentation areas that will flatter the rest of your design.
Interior design for new homes can be a tricky process. There is a good possibility that the area pertained in your new home will be slightly larger or smaller then the space in your previous home. It is this reason that planning placement and theme of each space in your new home is so vitally important to successful interior design of new homes. Be sure to measure widths of furniture and doorways before moving day comes in order to avoid hassle while getting the furniture into your new living space. Take careful notice of any moving activity that occurs into and around your new home. Careless moving errors can disfigure floors and walls and create flaws in your new house before you have even begun living there.
Placement of furniture in new homes is one of the key aspects of unique interior design for new homes. The old philosophy of creating larger spaces (this is seen especially in living areas and rec rooms) by lining the furniture along the walls is true at times although at other times (again, especially in recreational-type rooms), dividing the room into two separate spaces by positioning furniture towards separate focal points therefore adding space and versatility to the area as well as enlarging it.
The most important matter of concern when designing or planning interior design for new homes is to build an environment that caters to the individuals living there. Creating a space that is accommodating to each persons lifestyles is the general principle of new home design.
About the Author:
Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - . Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design.
This may seem like very unusual advice concerning interior design for new homes especially coming from someone who is working within the design industrybut there is good explanation for this reasoning. A large, open space without viewing or visualizing any furniture content within that space is quite easy to get a little carried away with while making structural changes. Also, keep in mind that by using very bold or dramatic designer interior colors on the walls you might be closing off your future alternative color choices to those that will cover the bright color therefore eliminating any possibility of using neutral colors without major restructuring of wall surfaces.
Wallpaper is another such choice that you might reconsider using while building interior design for new homes. Again, removing wallpaper and resurfacing the surface is often times quite a headache that can be avoided by using other alternatives for creative wall finishing. A great alternative for wallpaper that adds a great texture to the wall surfaces would be a finishing technique such as faux finishing, sponging, or stenciling. These choices (and many more like them) offer you a variety of substitutes that are equally appealing and much easier to change then more permanent solutions such as wallpaper. If you absolutely must have wallpaper in any of the rooms, try using a border to achieve the look youre going for instead of covering the entire wall surface.
When painting walls, if you apply a few well known interior design tips and tricks to your method, you will be pleasantly surprised in the overall effects when complete. For example, brighten up small or dark rooms with light wall colors. Add character and direction to larger areas by defining them with contrasting colors and textures. Bold or stark color panels can
also provide a defining feature to an area that you can showcase wall pieces on when you are ready to accessorize.
Once the walls have been treated in your new home, the next item on the agenda while planning interior design for new homes would be dynamic placement of your hanging accessories such as mirrors, pictures, and art. Do not over clutter walls. Make good choices and place such items in key places by establishing focal points or presentation areas that will flatter the rest of your design.
Interior design for new homes can be a tricky process. There is a good possibility that the area pertained in your new home will be slightly larger or smaller then the space in your previous home. It is this reason that planning placement and theme of each space in your new home is so vitally important to successful interior design of new homes. Be sure to measure widths of furniture and doorways before moving day comes in order to avoid hassle while getting the furniture into your new living space. Take careful notice of any moving activity that occurs into and around your new home. Careless moving errors can disfigure floors and walls and create flaws in your new house before you have even begun living there.
Placement of furniture in new homes is one of the key aspects of unique interior design for new homes. The old philosophy of creating larger spaces (this is seen especially in living areas and rec rooms) by lining the furniture along the walls is true at times although at other times (again, especially in recreational-type rooms), dividing the room into two separate spaces by positioning furniture towards separate focal points therefore adding space and versatility to the area as well as enlarging it.
The most important matter of concern when designing or planning interior design for new homes is to build an environment that caters to the individuals living there. Creating a space that is accommodating to each persons lifestyles is the general principle of new home design.
About the Author:
Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home dcor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary's Interior Design website for more articles and resources - . Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design.
Traditional Interior Design
Traditional interior design encompasses a great variety of elements in a home. From the ceilings to the floor; including the trim, the wall finishes--all the way to the window treatments and the furniture.
The careful designer must focus attention on each of these items in order to create the ideal design. Lighting, wall treatments, flooring, and furniture are all fundamental steps in creating a smooth design. Each of these elements should tie in carefully with the last, creating an interchanging staircase of design. Theme, color, texture, and placement are the tools with which you are to design this delicate stairway.
Themes of traditional interior design vary from traditional to modernistic, from eclectic to yes--even retro. The decision of theme should (in my opinion) be left entirely up to the individual homeowner or business owner. Each person has a message they would like to convey to the world through their space. It is your job, as the designer, to listen to their wants and needs and to develop a solution that suits them perfectly.
If the client is having difficulty in assessing his or her design needs, provide them catalogs or magazines to browse through. Traditional interior design is a concept that is simple and everyone should be able to understand. After browsing through magazines and determining what appeals to them visually, it would be a good idea to ask them about their lifestyle needs.
Most clients with children will definitely need to keep the cost modest of their furniture. If the person is active socially and plans on entertaining, you will want to be sure to organize any recreational spaces in a way that is ideal for that type of entertaining.
Once the basic theme has been decided upon, the next major set of choices will be what colors to base those themes on. I always advise clients that it is better to fit the color with the space than the person in this situation. Does that sound unfair?
Many clients will associate their first color selection with their favorite color. A favorite color and wall paint sometimes don’t mix very well. Traditional interior design motivates the color choices more towards colors that match the room’s needs. This is so because very often you will find that even if a client is less then enthusiastic about the color selection, after the room has been painted and they have had the chance to see it, they change their minds quickly.
Try to offer this type of solution to your client in an encouraging, helpful way rather then with a know-it-all attitude. If they are still not very enthusiastic, try to show them pictures of similar colors in catalogs to give them a better feel of how it will look. Catalogs and magazines are an endless resource for things like this because it offers people a little insight into how designs play out.
All right, you have a theme in mind and a palette of colors to work from. What’s next in traditional interior design?
It honestly depends on the magnitude and scope of the project. Choose your wall treatments and get those out of the way if you intend on making any flooring changes. Don’t become hasty and have new flooring installed or the existing flooring refinished only to paint over the top of it while applying your wall treatment. Once the walls have been complete and allowed time to properly dry, then is the time to make flooring changes.
Flooring! Traditional interior design offers so many choices for all types of flooring; it is best to base this choice upon the needs and lifestyle of your clients. If they have children, suggest that easily washable, flat surfaced flooring is used with the compliment of a large rug in any recreational room. These rooms will be the rooms that are used the most often and are danger areas for anyone with kids or children. Explain to them that the rug is easily replaced but carpeting is not!!!
When the ‘canvas’ is ready (the bare bones of the room), it is time for you to treat any windows before you begin moving furniture in and things get crowded. For small rooms, open them up by adding more light using sheer window coverings. The same idea with dark rooms that need a little extra light. Make ‘short’ rooms tall using window-to-floor curtains or draperies in contrast to short furniture.
Traditional interior design includes MANY alternatives to window coverings that will fit any home. Keep in mind while doing this the activity on the outside of the window as much as you do to the appearance on the inside of it. If it is a very open window and the setting of the home does not offer much privacy, they will probably want privacy window coverings. After your windows are complete, hang any wall accessories before proceeding to the next step.
Time to bring in the furniture! A few key rules to remember while positioning furniture in traditional interior design: first, create lines and continuity. Second, be sure to create adequate walking space. Third, don’t over clutter. And fourth, be creative.
Once your furniture is in place and has been ‘tested’, it is time to accessorize. Traditional interior design normally does this by placing a few instrumental accessories into place. Simplicity is elegant and too many accessories can lead to an uncomfortable room.
Try to purchase well-defined items that can even make great conversational pieces. If the homeowners are hands-on and involved, get them to add personal touches by creating an accessory themselves.
Traditional interior design is a catch-all that incorporates the workability and usability with the beauty of a room. Achieve the perfect balance by properly combining these items and you will be successful!
Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home décor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary`s Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://home-sweet-home01.blogspot.com/. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design."
Themes of traditional interior design vary from traditional to modernistic, from eclectic to yes--even retro. The decision of theme should (in my opinion) be left entirely up to the individual homeowner or business owner. Each person has a message they would like to convey to the world through their space. It is your job, as the designer, to listen to their wants and needs and to develop a solution that suits them perfectly.
If the client is having difficulty in assessing his or her design needs, provide them catalogs or magazines to browse through. Traditional interior design is a concept that is simple and everyone should be able to understand. After browsing through magazines and determining what appeals to them visually, it would be a good idea to ask them about their lifestyle needs.
Most clients with children will definitely need to keep the cost modest of their furniture. If the person is active socially and plans on entertaining, you will want to be sure to organize any recreational spaces in a way that is ideal for that type of entertaining.
Once the basic theme has been decided upon, the next major set of choices will be what colors to base those themes on. I always advise clients that it is better to fit the color with the space than the person in this situation. Does that sound unfair?
Many clients will associate their first color selection with their favorite color. A favorite color and wall paint sometimes don’t mix very well. Traditional interior design motivates the color choices more towards colors that match the room’s needs. This is so because very often you will find that even if a client is less then enthusiastic about the color selection, after the room has been painted and they have had the chance to see it, they change their minds quickly.
Try to offer this type of solution to your client in an encouraging, helpful way rather then with a know-it-all attitude. If they are still not very enthusiastic, try to show them pictures of similar colors in catalogs to give them a better feel of how it will look. Catalogs and magazines are an endless resource for things like this because it offers people a little insight into how designs play out.
All right, you have a theme in mind and a palette of colors to work from. What’s next in traditional interior design?
It honestly depends on the magnitude and scope of the project. Choose your wall treatments and get those out of the way if you intend on making any flooring changes. Don’t become hasty and have new flooring installed or the existing flooring refinished only to paint over the top of it while applying your wall treatment. Once the walls have been complete and allowed time to properly dry, then is the time to make flooring changes.
Flooring! Traditional interior design offers so many choices for all types of flooring; it is best to base this choice upon the needs and lifestyle of your clients. If they have children, suggest that easily washable, flat surfaced flooring is used with the compliment of a large rug in any recreational room. These rooms will be the rooms that are used the most often and are danger areas for anyone with kids or children. Explain to them that the rug is easily replaced but carpeting is not!!!
When the ‘canvas’ is ready (the bare bones of the room), it is time for you to treat any windows before you begin moving furniture in and things get crowded. For small rooms, open them up by adding more light using sheer window coverings. The same idea with dark rooms that need a little extra light. Make ‘short’ rooms tall using window-to-floor curtains or draperies in contrast to short furniture.
Traditional interior design includes MANY alternatives to window coverings that will fit any home. Keep in mind while doing this the activity on the outside of the window as much as you do to the appearance on the inside of it. If it is a very open window and the setting of the home does not offer much privacy, they will probably want privacy window coverings. After your windows are complete, hang any wall accessories before proceeding to the next step.
Time to bring in the furniture! A few key rules to remember while positioning furniture in traditional interior design: first, create lines and continuity. Second, be sure to create adequate walking space. Third, don’t over clutter. And fourth, be creative.
Once your furniture is in place and has been ‘tested’, it is time to accessorize. Traditional interior design normally does this by placing a few instrumental accessories into place. Simplicity is elegant and too many accessories can lead to an uncomfortable room.
Try to purchase well-defined items that can even make great conversational pieces. If the homeowners are hands-on and involved, get them to add personal touches by creating an accessory themselves.
Traditional interior design is a catch-all that incorporates the workability and usability with the beauty of a room. Achieve the perfect balance by properly combining these items and you will be successful!
Rosemary Leake is an Independent Consultant with Southern Living at Home. Inspired by Southern Living magazine, our exclusive home décor line brings warmth and style to every room of your home! Visit Rosemary`s Interior Design website for more articles and resources - http://home-sweet-home01.blogspot.com/. Also get your FREE Mini-Report: "A Complete Guide To Interior Design."
Sunday, July 24, 2011
In Appreciation
In Appreciation 
of all the men and women
who have and who now
Serve Our Country
and to their families. 
Thank You for Your
Dedication and Sacrifice.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.
of all the men and womenwho have and who now
Serve Our Country
and to their families. 
Thank You for YourDedication and Sacrifice.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend.
A Beautiful Carpet Sets The Mood Of Any Room
The first discovered carpet dates back to 1480 BC in the form of an Egyptian Fresco of handloom. Ever since, carpets have made their mark in most tastefully decorated hearths and homes. Carpets also provide an added measure of warmth and insulate against extreme heat or cold. And because a carpet is usually the foundation of decorating, covering a large quantity of the surface of our living spaces, it is an important consideration in the overall scheme of color and texture. It can provide simplicity, casualness, softness and livability; or it can provide pizzazz with vibrant color and heavier textures for making a decorating "statement." Using a carpet can be one of the easiest ways to personalize an environment - its color can be a neutral foundation "in the background," or it can be a vibrant focal point. Therefore, to find the right carpet lifestyle that fits your home, think about the way you live and the overall feel you want your home to have and you’ll invariably make the right choice.
It is rare these days to find a poor quality carpet.
The carpet industry has finally come of age with professionals ruling the roost. You can have Empire Carpets service your proud possession. Or you can drool over the innumerable designs and textures offered by Shaw Carpets – the largest carpet manufacturer in the world! And if you are a do-it-yourself guy, help yourself to carpet tiles or carpet squares to give your room that personal touch. But if ever you find yourself on cloud nine, look again – you may well be on that Mohawk Carpet!
It is rare these days to find a poor quality carpet.
The carpet industry has finally come of age with professionals ruling the roost. You can have Empire Carpets service your proud possession. Or you can drool over the innumerable designs and textures offered by Shaw Carpets – the largest carpet manufacturer in the world! And if you are a do-it-yourself guy, help yourself to carpet tiles or carpet squares to give your room that personal touch. But if ever you find yourself on cloud nine, look again – you may well be on that Mohawk Carpet!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Getting The Classic French Style In Your Home
Are you looking to get the classic French style in your home, well don’t worry you don’t have to speak French to get the style. It’s not hard to get the style, just take a look at the following directions.
Used, worn, imperfect but beautifully architectural elements and accessories are what French country style is about. They don’t have to have sleek lines, fine china or grey, white, and black colors. They have chunky wood tables, flowers, brightly patterned couches, curtains and pillows styled after the look of Provence, which borders the Mediterranean Sea.
If you’re looking to grasp the French look, you should look for things like cracked wood beams, curved panels, hand-carved decorations and raw material flooring and walls, like stone or bricks. Uneven plaster walls or raw distressed wood can also give you the French Country atmosphere.
In the style having a spider crack in the paint or slight discoloration of the paint just adds character. So don’t fret about fixing all those imperfections.
Some architectural features are shutters for your windows, narrow deeply cut window sills, and striped fabric awnings over windows which prevents the heat from escaping.
But if you just want a little bit of French flare to your house without too much change to you’re walls and floors. You can look for rustic furniture, oversized rectangle or round wooding dining room tables with a dull waxed or natural finish. Dining room chairs have a ladderback style or vertical slats to it.
If you’re looking to get chairs or random tables you should look for curved or boast carved designs in the woodwork. Also, large armoires go well with the theme, giving you a place to store dishes, linens clothes or whatever you desire.
The next step would be to adorn your house with fabrics and accessories. You should use toile material, a gauzy linen or cotton, in white, cream or yellow with bright contrasting colors. You can choose themes like monkeys, eighteenth century courting scenes and Chinese patterns which are dominate French designs.
Also look for large, thickly woven baskets, chunky clay or old metal pitchers, iron garden shelving units, and Chinese pottery all fit in with the French theme. Which means you can get ceramic plates, tiles, tablecloths and curtains that have either roosters, sunflowers, lavender or beetles. You can save some money if you get these at flea markets and antique stores.
The final touches would be flowers. Fresh flowers would be ideal, flowers such as lavender, geraniums and sunflowers are great to give you the French country style you’re looking for.
You can put the flowers in copper pots, window boxes, glass vases or old pitchers. You should use a variety of colors and make the arrangements not too simple or stylized. Another country French look is natural grasses.
It doesn’t matter if you want to go all out or just change a few things in your house to achieve the French country look. You can use any of these idea to get a little of Provence country into you’re house.
Used, worn, imperfect but beautifully architectural elements and accessories are what French country style is about. They don’t have to have sleek lines, fine china or grey, white, and black colors. They have chunky wood tables, flowers, brightly patterned couches, curtains and pillows styled after the look of Provence, which borders the Mediterranean Sea.
If you’re looking to grasp the French look, you should look for things like cracked wood beams, curved panels, hand-carved decorations and raw material flooring and walls, like stone or bricks. Uneven plaster walls or raw distressed wood can also give you the French Country atmosphere.
In the style having a spider crack in the paint or slight discoloration of the paint just adds character. So don’t fret about fixing all those imperfections.
Some architectural features are shutters for your windows, narrow deeply cut window sills, and striped fabric awnings over windows which prevents the heat from escaping.
But if you just want a little bit of French flare to your house without too much change to you’re walls and floors. You can look for rustic furniture, oversized rectangle or round wooding dining room tables with a dull waxed or natural finish. Dining room chairs have a ladderback style or vertical slats to it.
If you’re looking to get chairs or random tables you should look for curved or boast carved designs in the woodwork. Also, large armoires go well with the theme, giving you a place to store dishes, linens clothes or whatever you desire.
The next step would be to adorn your house with fabrics and accessories. You should use toile material, a gauzy linen or cotton, in white, cream or yellow with bright contrasting colors. You can choose themes like monkeys, eighteenth century courting scenes and Chinese patterns which are dominate French designs.
Also look for large, thickly woven baskets, chunky clay or old metal pitchers, iron garden shelving units, and Chinese pottery all fit in with the French theme. Which means you can get ceramic plates, tiles, tablecloths and curtains that have either roosters, sunflowers, lavender or beetles. You can save some money if you get these at flea markets and antique stores.
The final touches would be flowers. Fresh flowers would be ideal, flowers such as lavender, geraniums and sunflowers are great to give you the French country style you’re looking for.
You can put the flowers in copper pots, window boxes, glass vases or old pitchers. You should use a variety of colors and make the arrangements not too simple or stylized. Another country French look is natural grasses.
It doesn’t matter if you want to go all out or just change a few things in your house to achieve the French country look. You can use any of these idea to get a little of Provence country into you’re house.
5 Steps To Finding The Interior Designer Inside You
Since it's the easiest way of self-expression, there is an interior designer inside every person waiting to come out. We like our home to express "us" and it usually does. We connect with people and the world within the safety of our own space, expressing who we are and how we want to live our lives. We also make changes in our homes to express the change in our lives. We can make it more comfortable, more stylish or whatever we like. Here are the five steps to get to the interior designer inside you and to express yourself better:
1. Get rid of the things that you haven't used in the last year. There is no point in keeping these things, taking up space. Find them a new home where they will have a use. These can be clothes, books or even some unnecessary decorative things that have no other use than gathering dust.
2. Evaluate yourself and find your style. Are you into comfort and easy maintenance or are you a creative person who would like your home to reflect new projects, relationships or maybe careers? Whatever it is create a clear idea of yourself and determine the specific style that will make you feel comfortable. The key is being as specific as you can be. You can cut some pictures out of magazines or you can draw the picture in your mind. You must make a list of the qualities that you want to have in your home, find your inspiration.
3. Ask other people. Ask other people where they got their ideas, where they shop for those beautiful things in their homes. If you let them know that you admire their ability at interior designing, they will be happy to help you with your own. You can also ask for help; ask your friends to help you to clean out the garage and build your new studio or ask what they think about your new idea. Explain to them how you imagine your home in detail, show them the pictures you cut from the magazines and ask their opinions. They will get as excited as you and will be willing to help you with your dream home.
4. Be confident that you will be successful in this adventure. Realize that there is no way you can fail with it since you already have the concept inside you and you are just trying to get it out. There is no doubt that you will succeed and enjoy the results. Reconsider your ideas, compare them, look at the pictures and get rid of the ones you are not comfortable with and decide what you really want. You will feel it when you make the right decision.
5. Start applying your decisions. Once you decide what you really want, now it's time to realize it, take action. You don't have to do it all at once. Buy that sofa for example that you decided would look very good in your living room. Next month you can change the shades or buy that coffee table you have been wanting to have for ages but thought it wouldn't go with your furniture. Step by step you will reach your dream home that will express your style.
1. Get rid of the things that you haven't used in the last year. There is no point in keeping these things, taking up space. Find them a new home where they will have a use. These can be clothes, books or even some unnecessary decorative things that have no other use than gathering dust.
2. Evaluate yourself and find your style. Are you into comfort and easy maintenance or are you a creative person who would like your home to reflect new projects, relationships or maybe careers? Whatever it is create a clear idea of yourself and determine the specific style that will make you feel comfortable. The key is being as specific as you can be. You can cut some pictures out of magazines or you can draw the picture in your mind. You must make a list of the qualities that you want to have in your home, find your inspiration.
3. Ask other people. Ask other people where they got their ideas, where they shop for those beautiful things in their homes. If you let them know that you admire their ability at interior designing, they will be happy to help you with your own. You can also ask for help; ask your friends to help you to clean out the garage and build your new studio or ask what they think about your new idea. Explain to them how you imagine your home in detail, show them the pictures you cut from the magazines and ask their opinions. They will get as excited as you and will be willing to help you with your dream home.
4. Be confident that you will be successful in this adventure. Realize that there is no way you can fail with it since you already have the concept inside you and you are just trying to get it out. There is no doubt that you will succeed and enjoy the results. Reconsider your ideas, compare them, look at the pictures and get rid of the ones you are not comfortable with and decide what you really want. You will feel it when you make the right decision.
5. Start applying your decisions. Once you decide what you really want, now it's time to realize it, take action. You don't have to do it all at once. Buy that sofa for example that you decided would look very good in your living room. Next month you can change the shades or buy that coffee table you have been wanting to have for ages but thought it wouldn't go with your furniture. Step by step you will reach your dream home that will express your style.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Ideas For Decorating Your Home
Believe it or not but decoration your home can be very therapeutic. Everyone gets a bit fed up from time to time and we don’t always know why. Quite often, our stale and familiar surroundings can play a subconscious roll in our general mood. The great thing about decorating your home, or rooms in the home, is that it can lift our mood. Now that doesn’t necessarily have to mean a full blown face lift is needed to get that fresh new look. This is good news to many, as a full makeover can be a both a time consuming and costly exercise.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and I’m not just talking about impressing visitors to your home, I’m talking about impressing you impressing yourself. It is you that needs to be in love with your living spaces whether that’s a studio squat, or a stately mansion, it has to feel right for you. I’ve outlined a few tips below which I’ve picked up over the years, and most of these are quick and easy tasks which can make a huge difference to your living spaces. Okay, here goes:
Purchase a few cushions and throw them around the chairs and sofas. Have contrasting colors and sizes. Always have odd numbers though. A set of 3 or 5 across a sofa will work much better than 2 or 4. The instantaneous difference this makes will amaze you.
Try painting just one of your walls. It doesn’t even have to be the biggest or main wall, but it can be if you like. The different color that you add to just one wall can completely transform your room beyond all previous recognition. You can also attempt a specialist paint affect too. Dabbing a contrasting color on top of the base coat using a Mediterranean Sea sponge can give a real professional finish to any wall. What I usually do is paint the base color (say mid blue), then dab all over the wall with a sea sponge using a different color (say light blue) then dab over the mid color using the base color again to mute it. Absolutely beautiful effect that anyone can achieve with a little patience.
Break a large wall up with a big mirror or a painting of some sorts. Wall decorations, whatever you choose, can really smarten up the style of a room. I’ve always had a big mirror on at least one wall and a set of choice paintings or prints on another.
Place a rug on an otherwise barren floor space and it will also give your room a whole new look. If can be of any size at any angle, you will need to experiment a bit to find a look that appeals to you. My favorite is to place a rectangular run under a coffee table. I like the way the 2 items compliment each other.
Musical instruments make for great décor. Even if you don’t play an instrument, a guitar for example sitting neatly on its floor stand can look fantastic and either break a corner or cover up a unsightly pipe, plug, or damaged area.
A throw over the settee (sofa) can transform a whole space and add a real cozy feel to the room in general
My favorite room décor has to be house plants. 1 or 2 big plants of varying sizes placed strategically around a room and a few smaller potted plants added to compliment them, can really bring a room into its own. For me personally, there is no single transformation that impresses me more than bringing the outdoors indoors.
I could go on forever but I hope if nothing else this short piece has given you a few ideas on how to decorate your home without really having to decorate. Good luck!
About the author:
Roger Wilson is a proficient writer and webmaster for SituationHome dot com where he writes on such issues as The Home Security System and The Home Improvement Loan. He also has many other house & home related pieces on the site.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and I’m not just talking about impressing visitors to your home, I’m talking about impressing you impressing yourself. It is you that needs to be in love with your living spaces whether that’s a studio squat, or a stately mansion, it has to feel right for you. I’ve outlined a few tips below which I’ve picked up over the years, and most of these are quick and easy tasks which can make a huge difference to your living spaces. Okay, here goes:
Purchase a few cushions and throw them around the chairs and sofas. Have contrasting colors and sizes. Always have odd numbers though. A set of 3 or 5 across a sofa will work much better than 2 or 4. The instantaneous difference this makes will amaze you.
Try painting just one of your walls. It doesn’t even have to be the biggest or main wall, but it can be if you like. The different color that you add to just one wall can completely transform your room beyond all previous recognition. You can also attempt a specialist paint affect too. Dabbing a contrasting color on top of the base coat using a Mediterranean Sea sponge can give a real professional finish to any wall. What I usually do is paint the base color (say mid blue), then dab all over the wall with a sea sponge using a different color (say light blue) then dab over the mid color using the base color again to mute it. Absolutely beautiful effect that anyone can achieve with a little patience.
Break a large wall up with a big mirror or a painting of some sorts. Wall decorations, whatever you choose, can really smarten up the style of a room. I’ve always had a big mirror on at least one wall and a set of choice paintings or prints on another.
Place a rug on an otherwise barren floor space and it will also give your room a whole new look. If can be of any size at any angle, you will need to experiment a bit to find a look that appeals to you. My favorite is to place a rectangular run under a coffee table. I like the way the 2 items compliment each other.
Musical instruments make for great décor. Even if you don’t play an instrument, a guitar for example sitting neatly on its floor stand can look fantastic and either break a corner or cover up a unsightly pipe, plug, or damaged area.
A throw over the settee (sofa) can transform a whole space and add a real cozy feel to the room in general
My favorite room décor has to be house plants. 1 or 2 big plants of varying sizes placed strategically around a room and a few smaller potted plants added to compliment them, can really bring a room into its own. For me personally, there is no single transformation that impresses me more than bringing the outdoors indoors.
I could go on forever but I hope if nothing else this short piece has given you a few ideas on how to decorate your home without really having to decorate. Good luck!
About the author:
Roger Wilson is a proficient writer and webmaster for SituationHome dot com where he writes on such issues as The Home Security System and The Home Improvement Loan. He also has many other house & home related pieces on the site.
Decorate a Table for a Dinner Party
This is a nice video on how to decorate a table for a dinner party. The suggestions are all cheap and easy. So, if you don't have a really nice table and need to know how to decorate yours so it looks nice this is a good video for you.
This blog is brought to you by dialysis nursing jobs.
This blog is brought to you by dialysis nursing jobs.
More For the Fourth
I love to decorate for holidays---aaaahh, let's face it,I just love to decorate!
Here's a few more 4th of July decorations.
Here's a few more 4th of July decorations.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
A Flag in the Window
I'm enjoying my latest flag project and thought I'd complete just one more before the big holiday. Kari and Kijsa's flag flying parade gave me a deadline and this project gave me the inspiration.
I bought an inexpensive flag. I pulled an old window out of the the pile in the garage, (I really should just call that area my "project supply unit" because it houses my creative junk and my cars have to sit outside). I made a template approximately the size of each window pane.
Then I used the template to cut the flag into pieces that would fit inside each pane. I felt a little strange about cutting the flag, but I'm still honoring the flag with the finished project. My son asked if I was committing treason. My husband said he hoped I wouldn't have bad luck for cutting a flag. I think he mixed up cutting the flag with breaking a mirror.
I sprayed adhesive on each pane and adhered each flag piece.
I bought an inexpensive flag. I pulled an old window out of the the pile in the garage, (I really should just call that area my "project supply unit" because it houses my creative junk and my cars have to sit outside). I made a template approximately the size of each window pane.
Then I used the template to cut the flag into pieces that would fit inside each pane. I felt a little strange about cutting the flag, but I'm still honoring the flag with the finished project. My son asked if I was committing treason. My husband said he hoped I wouldn't have bad luck for cutting a flag. I think he mixed up cutting the flag with breaking a mirror.
I sprayed adhesive on each pane and adhered each flag piece.
I love the finished project! It shows my patriotism.
I hope I don't get arrested for treason,
or have a streak of bad luck now.
I hope I don't get arrested for treason,
or have a streak of bad luck now.
Bouquets of Gladness
Once or twice a month I like to buy a bouquet of flowers.
Fresh flowers have such a way of gladdening my heart and home. I don't feel the need to buy flowers from a florist when I can get beautiful budget bouquets at the grocery store.
This week I splurged and brought home two bouquets. There was such a wonderful assortment of flowers that I couldn't pick just one!
The first bunch that caught my eye were these
lovely gladiolas.
Their size alone makes a great design statement. I chose to add some sea glass to help anchor the arrangement.
Fresh flowers have such a way of gladdening my heart and home. I don't feel the need to buy flowers from a florist when I can get beautiful budget bouquets at the grocery store.
This week I splurged and brought home two bouquets. There was such a wonderful assortment of flowers that I couldn't pick just one!
The first bunch that caught my eye were these
lovely gladiolas.
Their size alone makes a great design statement. I chose to add some sea glass to help anchor the arrangement.You can see why I had to buy these flowers. 
I've never seen anything like them before. They have a stem similar to a carnation but their heads look like a combination of grass and a moss ball.
I just couldn't resist!
I've never seen anything like them before. They have a stem similar to a carnation but their heads look like a combination of grass and a moss ball.
I just couldn't resist!I cut them short and placed them into a vintage pottery piece designed to look like bamboo. 
I'm excited to see how long they last.
Do you buy grocery store bouquets to
I'm excited to see how long they last.
Do you buy grocery store bouquets to Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Ramsign Winner
Random generator picked your comment, #24, to be the winner of the Ramsign giveaway. Please email me with your contact info so you can get your sign.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
How Does My Garden Grow
We live in a zone 5 growing area. It's important to know your zones if you want to grow a nice garden. 
Being in a zone 5 means we need to wait until May to plant. If you plant your garden any sooner you risk the chance of a freeze that will mean you have to start over with your garden.
The last few years my garden hasn't been planted until June which makes for a short growing season. But this year, because I left town at the end of May I made sure to get my garden in early. And now I am reaping the benefits!
Being in a zone 5 means we need to wait until May to plant. If you plant your garden any sooner you risk the chance of a freeze that will mean you have to start over with your garden.The last few years my garden hasn't been planted until June which makes for a short growing season. But this year, because I left town at the end of May I made sure to get my garden in early. And now I am reaping the benefits!
Green and Yellow Zucchini
Crook Neck Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Eggplant
Cucumbers
The tomatoes should be ripening in a couple of weeks.
I can't wait for BLT's. YUM!
There's even a watermelon.
Crook Neck Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Eggplant
Cucumbers
The tomatoes should be ripening in a couple of weeks.
I can't wait for BLT's. YUM!There's even a watermelon.
And hopefully, come fall,
there will be many pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.
Did you notice my secret to success?
I line my garden with black plastic before planting.
It helps to keep the plants warm and their roots moist.
It also cuts down significantly on weeds and garden critters.
there will be many pumpkins in the pumpkin patch.
Did you notice my secret to success?I line my garden with black plastic before planting.
It helps to keep the plants warm and their roots moist.
It also cuts down significantly on weeds and garden critters.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Be The Designer
This lovely home belongs to my client and friend Tristan.
I've been lucky enough to work with her for a few years. We met when her home was being built and I've had the great pleasure of laughing with her and designing for her. I've showed you a part of her beautiful home already when I designed this wall that her talented husband built.
This week she asked me to help solve a few design dilemmas she has with her kitchen.
She's feeling that her kitchen needs a little pizzazz and that there's a little too much bright white.
Here's a hint of the colors she'd like to use.
Her main concerns are the pantry door and her white table and chairs.
I gave her my ideas and, since she knows that I write a blog, we thought it might be fun for my creative readers to give her some suggestions too.
So. . . here's your chance to
I've been lucky enough to work with her for a few years. We met when her home was being built and I've had the great pleasure of laughing with her and designing for her. I've showed you a part of her beautiful home already when I designed this wall that her talented husband built.
This week she asked me to help solve a few design dilemmas she has with her kitchen.
She's feeling that her kitchen needs a little pizzazz and that there's a little too much bright white.Here's a hint of the colors she'd like to use.
Her main concerns are the pantry door and her white table and chairs.
I gave her my ideas and, since she knows that I write a blog, we thought it might be fun for my creative readers to give her some suggestions too.
So. . . here's your chance tobe the designer!
What suggestions do you have for Tristan's kitchen?
****Don't forget to enter the Ramsign giveaway****
What suggestions do you have for Tristan's kitchen?
****Don't forget to enter the Ramsign giveaway****Wednesday, July 13, 2011
RAMSIGN Giveaway
***The giveaway is closed***
Perhaps you may have already seen a RAMSIGN giveaway on other blogs in blogland. 
I've entered to win one because I thought they were so beautiful. I haven't been lucky enough to win, but RAMSIGN is offering one of you the opportunity to win a sign here at Joys of Home.
RAMSIGN is a small Danish company that specializes in manufacturing and selling classic enamel signs based upon original designs and techniques. 
They offer real old fashioned, hand stenciled signs, featuring original design, thick and glossy enamel, and a 30-year warranty.
All you need to do to win is go to their site and pick your favorite style, then come back here and leave a comment.
For an additional entry, link this giveaway on your blog, twitter, or facebook page. 
The winner will receive one house number sign (not name signs or address plaques) in their choice of numbers from 1 digit and up to 5 digits, and in one of the five different styles. RAMSIGN ships worldwide so everyone can participate in the giveaway. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!
The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, July 19th, 2011 at Midnight MT.
The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 20th.
The winner will be announced Wednesday, July 20th.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Living Room Vignettes
These are the vignettes in my living room
in the middle of the summer months.
Brass birds and oil paintings collected from thrift stores.
That's a real, live orchid that I've managed to keep living
and blooming for several months now.
I just purchased this orchid hoping to be able to keep it blooming too.
I love that it has twice the blooms. 
The ceramic shell came from a Goodwill in Virginia,
the lotus flower from a thrift store in my hometown.
I love the reflective and airy look of the silver and glass
on the glass end table I found on clearance last summer. 
I don't love having to clean kitty prints and dust off every week.
A little summer scene using a vintage lithograph of birds
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