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Posts Tagged ‘decorate’

Old china plates don’t necessarily need to be thrown away. Consider using them to decorate different rooms in your house. By reusing items you already have, you can really save money on decorating your home. With just a little creativity, you can use old china plates to add to the décor of your home.

Make a Mosaic Table from Old China Plates
If you have old plates that are chipped or broken, don’t toss them in the garbage. Rather, break them up further so you can use them to make a mosaic table from all the broken pieces.

• First, break pieces of china into smaller pieces.
• Take all those pieces and arrange them on a table with a flat surface. You might choose a coffee table or a side table, for example.
• Make a mosaic pattern by gluing the pieces of the plates onto the surface of the table.
• Seal the pieces in place with grout, which will also give the table a finished appearance.
• You can arrange the pieces in whatever pattern you like, and you might even use color grout to give the table some additional character.

Display Old China Plates on a Shelf
If your old china plates have character, why not put them out on a shelf? China plates make a great décor item in rooms besides the dining room. Display these plates in the living room, the kitchen, or even the bedroom, as long as they fit the style of the room.

Try to find a shelf that will match the style of the plates. For instance, for old antique-looking plates, use a distressed wood shelf. You can really give the area a unique style by using all different sizes of the plates.

Hang Old China Plates on the Wall
Plate hangers that will easily hang any plate securely on the wall can be found at craft and home stores. Although this is perhaps the most popular way of decorating with china plates, you can create a unique look by putting all different types and sizes of plates together in a single area. To create a trendy décor space, you might want to look in consignment shops and flea markets for other plates to mix in with your old china.

Paint the Old China Plates
You can repaint your old plates to match the décor of your room if they are white or even a solid color. Be sure to use acrylic paint. You can either paint them all one color, or if you are creative, you can paint pictures or patterns on them. Once you paint the plates to suit the décor of your dining room or kitchen, then you can either hang them on the wall or place them on a shelf. This is a great way to use old china plates while getting a new look from your room. If you like, give your kids a couple of plates to paint and then hang up this cute art project in their bedroom.

So when it comes time again to buy new china plates, don’t just throw your old ones away. Rather, save yourself some money and use them to decorate your home.

About the Writer…
Leon Tuberman has been in the furniture and interior decorating industry for four decades. He owns and operates a popular furniture store in Los Angeles. They have a large inventory of handcrafted Amish built solid oak furniture for your bedroom, home office and living room. Whether you’re looking for a wooden end table for your family room or a oak dining table for your dining room then they have everything you need.

Your home is your castle and when it is time to decorate, or re-decorate it, you want the design to match your lifestyle and exemplify who you are.  Decorating with persian rugs is easy when you have the right rug and follow some decorating tips, because when selected properly these rugs can add just the right touch to any room in your house.  The very first thing you’ll notice when it comes to rugs are the various different styles you can choose from, so the most vital decorating tip would be to grasp your own style.  Does the room you’re decorating have a large amount of dark wood and antiques in it?  If so , then your style is more old world than contemporary.  

Traditional area rugs, such as Persian or Oriental, work very well with stately or standard furnishings.  If you attempt to use bold patterns, geometric designs or bright colors, it may clash with the overall design flow of the room.  Up to date rugs use these bold patterns to enhance modern furnishings, permitting them to come to life.  Foot traffic is another decorating tip that you need to think about so that you will know whether you need a rug with a darker pattern to mask any dirt, or a lighter pattern if the traffic isn’t that much.  

Websites: rug store

Size does matter, so you must be certain to get a rug that fits the space.  If you have got a large room, getting 2 smaller area rugs will most likely make the space look better than trying to get just one enormous rug.  Be sure that your measurements are correct so that you aren’t getting a rug that is’s too small or maybe too large for the space you want.  Remember that these rugs have three major uses : as accessories for the room, as a focal point for the room and for practical reasons.  After you establish the reason you want a rug in your room you will be able to better establish the feel and look you are attempting to achieve.  

Featured: oriental weavers rugs

When you have an area rug in your home, you’ll quickly realize what a great investment they are .  These rugs are simple to maintain, come in countless design chances and can be moved or re-arranged to go with your ever-changing decorating tastes.

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Beach Living -

With their house hunt over, Robin and Jason were anxious to hunt again – this time to find a Toronto Interior Designer to decorate their new Beaches-area home. “We knew what colours and style we liked, but we needed help pulling things together,” says Robin.  An internet search led her to Liz Watkinson and Susan Pollock’s company, 5th Business Associates. “we all met and hit it off,” says Robyn, who loved the comfy yet classy feel of their work. The hunt was over, but the adventure was just the beginning. Here’s what Liz and Susan did to give Jason and Robyn a personalized, polished space.

A charming stained glass window was the jumping-off point for the palette. Liz and Sue pulled the paint colours - blues, greens and golds - directly from the stained glass colors.Painting the original wood panelling might be controversial for some, but even while house hunting, the homeowners knew a coat of white on the wainscotting would brighten up the dark house.  Two tufted chairs were custom made to fit the cosy bay window nook in the living area. Low arms keep sightlines clear, while neutral colour upholstery maintains a light look.

New built-ins transformed the small space. To the left of the fireplace, screened doors mask electronic equipment yet allow the signals from the remotes to be transmitted. To the right a big-screen TV is concealed behind identical doors. By converting the wood burning fireplace to gas, the couple can up the comfort factor at the touch of a button.

The dining room embodies the transitional spirit that both the designers and the homeowners were striving for – definitely more traditional than Robyn and Jason’s old place and respectful of the Arts and Crafts pedigree of the architecture but also of today. Robyn and Jason love the tiny, bright sunroom off the kitchen. “We have a bird feeder right outside the the window, so on weekends we have long breakfasts, read the paper and watch birds” says Robyn. Her collection of yellowware bowls made the move from the old house. they fit well with the golden colour scheme and look great behind glass doors on the side of the kitchen. On the sink wall, the upper cabinets were purposely left off. “It really opens up the space.” says Liz.

Liz and Susan’s 5 tricks for living large in a small space.
1) Incorporate storage: built ins reduce the number of separate pieces of furniture you need and multi-purpose items save space.
2) Use monochromatic colour to some degree or at least use soft shades.
3) Carefully select accessories: you need only a few
4) Install good lighting to eliminate dark corners and ensure there’s a wash of light on the walls, use dimmers everywhere.
5)Simplify window treatments, keep them plain and light, like sheers; forgo them altogether were privacy isn’t an issue.

5th Business Associates has been providing interior design services in Toronto since 1997.

Is your family home or workspace screaming for a little colour or a facelift but your spending money is modest or limited? Often some  plant color is a beautiful choice. Together with colourful flowers as well as  strikingly lovely looking greenery, silk plants will often provide a dramatic new look at a very low cost comparable to many other possibilities such as a home make-over, painting or new furniture pieces.  locating near a window to capture sunlight or by using spot lighting to explode in a riot of colours and dramatic looks will bring rave reviews. Trailing vines and exotic trees along with ground covering silk plants will often create an incredible tropical appeal.

As any gardener will tell you real plants can be a pain and a constant source of labor. They need constant watering, are often highly responsive to adverse changes in temperature. Live plants only bloom for limited periods and just when you figure you have those challenges under control along come the bugs. Most of them just as at home in your indoor plants as they would be outside. Have I brought up fertilizer and frequent re-potting as their root systems grow. Well you really have to enjoy plants to do all that work. And if it’s your office you’re changing is that really your reason in being there? Don’t believe anyone who tells you that real plants are not that expensive? A good size “real” tree may cost in the thousands of dollars. Thousands of dollars that you’ll have to pay if moving it or if other factors kill it. This is one of the reasons so many employers and residential homes have moved to redecorate with silk plants.

If you’re thinking you would like to redecorate your household or work space it pays to shop for silk plants. With little upkeep other than the intervals between dusting and an amazing variety of bewilderingly beautiful colours, shapes, sizes and designs it is easy to enhance any room. Whether it is for a residential room or a high end work space environment silk plants can give a gorgeous view capable of impressing the most jaded of palates.