Enhance Your Home
Enhance Your Home By BatSheva Vaknin
Home furnishing can be difficult without the help of an
expensive interior designer. Choosing a style is hard enough,
but knowing how to create that style can be even harder! Use
these tips to create whichever look you want, furnishing your
home in the style that best suits you.
Step #1: Choose a Style Here are some ideas of different styles
you can use to decorate your whole house or just one room.
* Cottage: This home furnishing style calls to mind a cozy
cottage tucked away in the country or by the lake. Cottage style
means white couches and chairs, or white wicker furniture with
floral printed cushions. Pastel colors, soft lighting, and gauzy
curtains create the cottage look, as do antique accessories and
patchwork quilts. Complete the look with landscaping: nothing
says country cottage like a stone walkway and a garden full of
flowers and herbs. * Mediterranean: This home decorative style
conjures the Italian and French seaside. Think warm yellows and
earth tones, as well as simple patterns set off by blue and gold
accents. Chunky, natural wood tables fit right in, as do
patterns of sunflowers or ships. * Oriental: As the name
implies, this style invokes the simple and sleek lines of the
Orient. Less is more with this look, so choose pieces like teak
and lacquered tables, armoires and coffee tables sparingly.
Accessorize with Oriental rugs, silk prints and pictures of
dragons or Japanese seascapes. * Traditional: This classic home
furnishing style is elegant but not extravagant. Floral patterns
look great on your couches, chairs, curtains and pillows for the
traditional look, as do plaids and damasks. Heavy drapes and
mahogany dining room tables also work well with this look. Put
the final touch on your traditional home with accents like
china, crystal and framed landscapes. * Victorian: This style
will make your house look as beautiful and stately as the
mansions of Victorian England. Choose small but elegant couches
and wooden armchairs with silk covered cushions in striped or
simple floral patterns. Do not be shy with velvet and rich
brocades. Porcelain and dried flowers will also help you get
this look across nicely.
Step #2: Enhance Your Home Whatever style you choose, use these
elements wisely to achieve the maximum from your decorative
style.
* Lighting: Stay away from halogen and overhead lighting, both
of which can create harsh light and therefore harsh shadows.
Instead, choose lamps with bases that fit your
style and taste.
Track lighting and sconces also provide nice lighting solutions.
* Color: Color is one of the most basic and most effective ways
to create any style. When choosing paint, think about
practicality as well as dcor; bright colors energize and light
colors soothe. Creams, beiges and pastels create the illusion of
more space, whereas dark, rich reds and blues make a statement.
* Texture: Texture is an often overlooked element, yet it is
crucial when creating the style of your choice. Textured walls
evoke a natural, native, earthy feel. Smooth walls are more
elegant, traditional, and will reflect more light, creating a
brighter room. Be careful, though, because if a floor is
textured with tiles, stone, or wood flooring, it can make the
room look small. With a large enough room, however, texturing
your floor with tile, wood or stone is an excellent way to
instantly create a "look".
Choose the style and dcor that feels right for you. Even if
your budget doesn't allow you to renovate your entire house,
choose a few important furniture pieces (couches, tables) that
will set the tone for the whole room. Finally, accessorize along
the lines of the decorative style you have chosen, and your look
with be complete. Please find the original article and more
information about this subject at
http://www.homeandliving.com/DesignAdvice.aspx?Category=EnhanceYo
urHome When Yale graduate, BatSheva Vaknin is not writing
helpful and insightful articles like the one you just read for
www.homeandliving.com, she writes plays, screenplays and short
stories. In fact, she has just completed her first novel.
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great home furniture online at www.homeandliving.com...
About the author:
When Yale graduate, BatSheva Vaknin is not writing helpful and
insightful articles like the one you just read for
www.homeandliving.com, she writes plays, screenplays and short
stories. In fact, she has just completed her first novel.
Written by: BatSheva Vaknin
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