Home Interior Decorating Ideas

If you are thinking of redecorating your home, you are probably searching around for some home interior decorating ideas. Redecorating presents a great chance to express yourself by displaying your style and interests. You do this by matching colours, textiles, styles and artwork. The combinations of possibilities in home interior decorating are really endless. No two houses ever have look the same by accident.

It would be easy to redecorate and adopt any home interior decorating styles if money were not a restraint. Therefore, the question for most people is how to redecorate the home within a budget. You can get home interior decorating ideas from the many interior design programmes on TV or by buying a couple of the home interior design magazines. The problem with the magazines, more so than with the TV programmes, is that they tend to show ideas that price thousands of dollars.

The Net is another source of realistic home interior decorating ideas that ordinary people can afford. The prices of the items used in the Internet displays are normally a lot more affordable too. The Net is also a good way of comparing the various broad-swathe styles. Styles such as country, modern, traditional, Mediterranean, Provencal, minimalist et cetera.

If you like the older styles such as country, primitive, Provencal or traditional, darker, warmer colours are the best. These colours go well with fabrics and old (style), wooden furniture. Wall hangings, paintings of country scenes, curtains and plenty of throw cushions are a feature of this style of interior design. Autumn colours go well together to produce a warm, friendly, cozy atmosphere.

Modern, minimalist and Mediterranean styles tend to use brighter colours whites and off-whites like magnolia are de rigeur. Home interior decorating ideas for these styles incorporate a lack of clutter and plenty of free space and light.

The walls ought to have one or two pieces of art rather than the six to ten of the older styles. Leather furniture fits in well here: white or black, with one contrasting throw cushion per seating place. A white cushion on a black sofa and visa-versa.

However, there is nothing wrong with you mixing these style. This often occurs anyway, especially if people give you furniture or you inherit it. If you strive to combine different pieces of furniture which obviously come from drastically different styles, you will have to have something to bridge the gap between them, so to speak. This can be done quite easily with materials such as throw cushions, wall hangings like tapestries, rugs and carpets.

The throw cushions do not all have to match. In fact, in the old days it was very unlikely that all the cushions or pillows in a room would all be the same, because cushions were often made from off-cuts of fabric from other projects. A range of different throw cushions can help you combine styles quite easily. Another home interior decorating idea, is to fill an old cabinet with more modern pieces of glass and china.

Simple Home Interior Design Tips For Everyone

The way our home looks says a lot about who we are and even more about our personalities, that's why the way in which we arrange our home interiors are very important in how we live our lives. We live in a fast moving world where we are bombarded with what we should wear, eat and put in our homes but rarely do we have the time to give thought to the facts that maybe how we arrange our rooms just might have an effect on or moods, creativity, energy levels and who knows what else. Maybe it's time to take a serious look at ourselves and our home interiors.

There are a few simple ways in which we can spruce up our home life and our home interior design by focusing on some points that are very important:

• Harmony - All the rooms in our home need to have a strong sense of harmony to them.

• Focus Points - Rooms that have a center focus point that draws your attention will flow better. Things like your art displays, an architectural wall piece or even figurines are good suggestions.

• Balance - This is successfully done by balancing the rooms' visual weight and subtly spreading it out to the other parts of the room.

• Color - This should be an obvious one. Using positive colors can shift energies around and make the world of difference. A candle or two can be used to dramatic effect.

• Proportion and Scale - Use only furniture and items that complement the total size of the room, not dwarf it or throw it out of proportion.

• Rhythm - Create the illusion of visual stimulation through movement by arranging your room in such a way that the viewer's eye keeps moving around from point to point. This should not be confused with scattering things all around.

Home interior decor and design is often a highly sensitive subject as many people feel that they really know what they are doing but the result is quite the contrary. Items that you already own like candles and figurines can be easily re-arranged and placed on shelves and corners to create impressive dramatic effects and also improve lighting in areas that are often neglected due to obstructions or whichever.

The correct use of lighting in the home has the potential to literally transform any old lounge or study into a vibrant and stimulating room, just try it and see. Experimentation is the key and you won't know if you don't try.

If you want to try and mimic popular styles then consider looking at some alternative ideas for home interiors inspiration. Some of the most popular home interior designs would include; Asian, Arty interior, Gothic, Traditional, Mediterranean, Tropical and of course Modern interior designs.

Why Read A Home Interiors Blog?

A home is a place where you should be able to relax, feel cozy, and comfortable more than anywhere else in the world. In order for this to be possible, you need to be in constant touch with a home interiors blog for getting new ideas. It does not matter whether your home is a mansion or a small apartment but it should be well-decorated with a vibrant mood throughout. It should also be aesthetically pleasing so that anyone coming in from outside will get a positive feeling. Although the decorations need not be very expensive, the home decor ideas should be effective and innovative.

People who can afford to spend money usually engage professional home interior designers to decorate their homes. Although they might do a good job, the decor might not represent the real personality and aspirations of the home owner. There are many people who plan and execute their own interior design ideas. It is not an easy job and it is always better to look around for ideas elsewhere.

Reading Online Home Interior Blogs

You can get the best ideas and suggestions by reading home interiors blog and such ideas are also available on some websites. They offer ideas regarding various aspects of home decoration such as selection of curtains and what color combinations to use on the walls. You will also get ideas about where to get the necessary materials such as made to measure curtains. The interior design ideas blog will also give you useful tips to decorate your home in such a way that your winter fuel bills are minimized and your home is more comfortable during the winter season.

Blogs are a great way of expressing your opinion and offer information on many topics. Similarly, reading other people's blogs will help you gather information about things that you might desire to know. You also get to read reviews regarding a product or a service and you can determine whether it will be wise to go in for it. A decorating ideas blog will give you great ideas on how to decorate your home beautifully and economically.

Other sources for Getting Decoration Ideas

The other source from where you can get great home decoration ideas is by watching television. You will find that several channels give valuable suggestions for redesigning or redecorating your home, room by room. The only way to gain from these shows is to either make notes at the time of the show or to record it for future viewing.

You can also consult some books for decorating your homes. The basic advantage of books is that you can find all the ideas properly documented in them. By looking at and studying the pictures or sketches, you can get a fair idea of what is being suggested.

Whether you read a home interiors blog or whether you get home decoration ideas from a television show or a book, it is important to assess whether the idea will match the existing interiors of your home. If a decoration idea looks nice on television or if it is recommended in a home interiors blog, it does not mean that it will go well with your home decor.

Consult A Patio Buying Guide Before You Buy A Commercial Patio Umbrella

You can put any type of outdoor umbrella in your commercial space, but if you ask experts, they will advise you to get only those umbrellas, which have least movable parts. A commercial patio umbrella looks just like an ordinary umbrella, but if you will look minutely, you will find that it is devoid of all the user-friendly mechanisms that make the others so very interesting. In short, a commercial patio umbrella should:

• Have solid pole without any coupling
• Not have cranks, tilts or pulleys
• Preferably have commercial grade fiberglass ribs
• Have thick and yet bright canopy

Umbrellas with couplings are convenient; they make transportation and storage easier, but at the same time, they make the umbrella more prone to breakage. You must admit that in public places, such umbrellas can be quite dangerous and so for the sake of public safety and reputation of your establishment, you should look for solid pole umbrellas only. Similarly, devices like cranks, tilts or pulleys can also compromise public safety and so you should avoid them too.

However, public safety is not the last word. The material used in the manufacture of the umbrella ribs has no effect on it. Here fiberglass ribs are recommended simply because such ribs last four to five times longer than those made from wood or aluminium do. That is because such fiberglass ribs do not fight the wind, but just bend to let it pass and once it does that, the ribs swing back to their original position. This makes the umbrellas last longer. You after all cannot pack your umbrella and go inside as soon as a strong wind starts blowing, if it is commercial space.

Pay attention to the canopy fabric too. Remember, your umbrella will be there to protect your clients as much from the ultra violet rays as from light precipitation round the year from morning until evening. This naturally will have tremendous adverse affect on the fabric. Make sure that the fabric is not only strong enough to withstand that, but also have the capability to resist fade and tear. Of course, better quality fabric may translate into higher price, but that you should not grudge.

Next, let us have a discussion on the shape and size of the umbrella. Earlier, such umbrellas had round canopies only. However, they now come in all shapes. For a rectangle table, you now can buy a rectangle umbrella. There are oval and square umbrellas as well. Just have a look at the table it is supposed to be covering before you pick it up.

Rectangle umbrellas have become more popular not only because patio tables are mostly rectangle, but also because such umbrellas provide more shade for your relaxing patrons. You can find such an umbrella in both the market umbrella as well as offset umbrella category. If you are not aware, the umbrellas that hold the canopy at the centre belong to the first category and those umbrellas that hold the umbrella canopy from the side with the help of an offset belong to the later group.

Well if I have been able to confuse you more, let me say it plainly, the traditional outdoor umbrellas that we have always seen erected at outdoor cafes, swimming and beaches are called market umbrella. That is probably because they originated in the market place not only to provide shade to the customers, but also as a vehicle for advertisement of products. It is only later that such umbrellas started being used in our porches, backyards or decks. They have their pole at the centre and balance the canopy around it from below. The offset umbrellas on the other hand has its pole at the side and it mostly holds the canopy from above with the help of an offset (and hence the name).

You need to have a look at the bistro tables to decide on the size too. In general, the shade length should be four to five feet larger than the area to be shaded. While a 30" bistro table must have 6' umbrella shade a 6' rectangle table must have 11' umbrella shade. Also, to make the umbrella stable, make sure that the umbrella stand is suitable for the shade length. In fact, buying an outdoor umbrella is not very easy process. Consult the umbrella-buying guides available free of cost on many websites before you buy the umbrella. That way, you are sure to get the best your money could buy.

Home Interiors - Clients Guide No1 - Interior Designer / Interior Decorator - What's the Difference?

"Do you do Curtains & Cushions?" As a professional Interior Designer that's the phone call we dread to receive!

It happens more than you may think; I then have to go on to explain (without sounding patronising) what this person really needs is an Interior Decorator, this will then no doubt follow-on with me having to further explain what the differences are between the two disciplines and try to steer them in an appropriate direction.

I don't blame these people for getting the two mixed up; the general public have been feed hours and hour of TV "instant" make-over programmes and continuous glossy magazine features all under the misleading label of Interior Design. Also this has prompted those in the Interior Decoration and Soft Furnishing business to elevate their tile to Interior Designers; again I don't blame them for doing this, it makes good business sense to up sell yourself. But the lines have become blurred as to what these two very different services offer - there is a market for the two approaches, but where confusion resides with the customer this has to be a bad thing!

So here with this Home Interiors - Client's Guide - series of articles I will address the key aspects for client's that have a Interior Design project in mind as to how they should go about searching for a Designer, what to look for, how they work and charge, how to get the best out of them and how a project gets off the ground to become a finished built reality.

ABOUT HOME INTERIOR DESIGN

Home Interior Design is not to be confused with Home Interior Decoration, as this tends to be only a skin-deep treatment to give a style change or "make-over" to a property. Home/Residential/Domestic Interior Design (whatever one may call it) is a much more fundamental approach to the way you live in a property and how a building can be made to work for the individual owners needs. This will not be just a coat of paint (some new curtains and cushions) it is likely to start with a in-depth rethink at how the property is planned and may involve some considerable changes put in place before one even thinks of decorations.

Interior Designers who specialize in Home Design can be viewed as Interior Architects, and their abilities should cover all aspects of building and architectural work to a property included minor/major structural alterations and building extensions etc. They will go on to cover all the "decoration" elements such as colours, finishes and furnishings, but this is not necessarily the starting point for a project. Kitchens, Bathrooms, Staircases etc are some of the core planning elements that can structurally and technically change a buildings layout; the flow and shape of a property can change dramatically when approaching these areas.

All the technical services that make up an Interior Design project will be undertaken by the Designer; Electrics, Lighting, Plumbing, Heating and Ventilation etc, all are fundamental that need to be design-in at the early stages of a scheme, even if it is just the principles of how these may work. It is becoming even more important these days with the opportunity for client to add-in to their project energy efficiency solutions for the whole building.

Many Clients only have a very basic idea or framework of what they wish from a project; it is however the Designers role to gain that information and drawer out of the Client the full details of their requirements, this then forming the project brief. This can be a very personal experience with the Designer asking questions on how you live now and changes you wish to make to your life style. Be as open as you can as this forms an important foundation for any new design, remember that the Designer is designing for you and not for them, so they need to know how YOU tick!

For most Clients they really enjoy this consultation, as this may be the first time that they have truly thought about their life style and what they really need from the project, apart from a floor, walls and ceiling. A good Designer will have the talents of a "pick pocket", you will not know that so much information has been taken from you until you see the first concept design, and then you will realise that the smallest details have been included that reflects you and your life style.

HOW DO YOU FIND A GOOD DESIGNER

Personal recommendations are always good, but remember, the Designer has designed for the person who gave you the recommendation, so even if their project is not to your taste this does not necessarily mean that the Designer cannot design to your taste. If they were satisfied that the Designer produced a sound creative solution that matched their brief, then this Designer would more than likely be able to satisfy your project requirements.

Web Sites are a good way of looking at a Designers portfolio of work without making direct contact. Use the search engines and directories to track Designers that are within the broad area to where you live. It is no good having a Designer from Scotland if you live in London, and vice a verse, so aim relatively local of around a 50 mile search radius! Also be aware of companies that call themselves Interior Designers, but are really Home Furnishing companies and they are only really interested in selling from their shop or showroom. Offers of "free design service" will always have a sales agenda behind it. A true Design Consultant will be totally independent of any affiliated retail business and will use the global market to source what is right for your project, no commission or incentives involved.

Professional Bodies such as The Chartered Society of Designers have registers of designers in your area and can be contacted for a list. They also have a web site at you could visit. The Chartered Society of Designers is a body that vets individual designers to make sure they meet a professional standard, it starts with a student quantification "Diploma Member" and then "Member" (MCSD), and the highest level is "Fellow" (FCSD) and you should look for these qualifications or similar from your Designer.