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Posts Tagged ‘home designs’

David Artsmith  -  The home is a place where we spend most of our time. Each evening, we retire to our residences not only to rest but appreciate its beauty and glamor. It is therefore important that we put in a lot of effort into making it beautiful and elegant. Using suitable home decor items is one way to accomplish this. These accessories will give the home a nice appearance but for a homeowner to get the best in home decor, he needs to attach great importance to decorative planning. Here are tips to let you get the most of your home, especially if you are moving in for the first time.

Rule number one is to shop for your home decor before you decide on what color to paint your room. The furniture and its accessories must be in concordance with the wall and not vice versa. Again, the purpose of the room will determine what color to give it. Bedrooms can have either darker colors, which will make the space more relaxed and subdued, or lighter colors, which will make it more vigorous, and easier to get motivated in the morning. It will be out of place and inconvenient for the sleepers to have a bedroom with brightly colored walls. They are too bright and will make sleeping uncomfortable. A childs space can be decorated with lighter tones, and frivolous images, in order to simulate the look of a playground.

You must also remember during your decorative planning that every room has something called a focal point. This is referring to the focal point of the space, the one item which tends to draw attention and attract the view of people within any particular space. If you are dealing with a den or family room, then the focal point will be the room divider, the fireplace, or the coffee table.

For home decor to be effective you need to buy similar furniture. Do not buy different styles or designs. One example is a person who purchases an upscale dining room table for a dining room that is dressed rather casually. Or mix upholstery dining tables with rustic sofas.

home designs

Home interior designing for residential properties is such a personal thing that it is difficult to generalize. For instance, many professional designers actually prefer neutral-tone houses, since they are dealing with a bombardment of colors everyday at work. Some clients love bold accent colors, such as dark blues, wine reds and mustard yellows, while others prefer comforting pastel blues, terra cotta, pinks and greens. Some like glamorous, vintage-Hollywood furniture and rich tapestries, while others prefer to keep their designs more subdued, minimalist and airy. Even so, there are some prevailing concepts that builders say are early hits for 2009 interior design trends.

Homes from the 1800s to early 1900s were special in that the home designs of large family estates were internally divided to create distinct environments. For instance, home owners had practical servant’s quarters on the lower level floors near the kitchen, whereas the family’s bedrooms were all situated upstairs. A powder room was often found downstairs and an en-suite bathroom was just off the parent’s master bath. The children often lived down a hallway and in their own separate quarter of the house, so the parents could have a bit of privacy and reprieve.

In some instances, a carriage house held the in laws or guests. This is a home interior trend that’s coming back for 2009, with second or third bedroom suites and added bathrooms increasing in popularity. “Buyers are saying, let’s put kids over here to one side to keep things quiet for parents or in-laws who will be moving in with them,” explains Kyle Lindsey, owner of Kyle Lindsey Custom Homes. These secondary suites are typically 300-400 square-feet with full bathrooms and occasional sitting rooms in an isolated section of the house, Lindsey adds.

Family spaces are likely to continue in popularity throughout 2009, say home interior experts. “‘Rear living, with the family room and kitchen to the back of the house, makes is so that while mom is cooking, she can see the kids playing in the living room or entertain guests without leaving the kitchen,” details Michelle Uhrig, director of the KB Home Studio. She adds that many of their modern designs include fewer walls in common rooms and more of an “open concept” feel. Half-walls conjoining kitchens, dining rooms and den areas are preferable. Additionally, the European concept of outdoor living rooms have finally come to America, with exterior kitchens, pizza ovens, fire pits, chandeliers, artwork and comfortable furniture under a covered overhang are big.

In terms of furniture, people are looking for functionality out of their home interior selections. The Murphy bed is making a comeback when it comes to bedroom design, some say, because it allows comfortable meditation space, storage space and add-on seating options. Built-in bookshelves, storage nooks and closet organizers are helping a number of Americans pack away their messes. Traditional “media rooms” are turning into more central gathering points, as families add bars and snack centers, libraries and desk space into these communal locales.

interior design news

Whether you are looking for contemporary designs, commercial interior design ideas, modern furniture or historic relics for your home, design news can offer practical ideas. Many people like to know what they are looking for prior to calling the professional interior designer, so they won’t get talked into anything they may not want. Generally, the interior designer will be a good listener and communicator, knowledgeable in everything from interior design furniture and lighting to building regulations and kitchen storage space. So what does the moment hold for interior design?

Green building materials, furniture and interior design services are making design headlines all around the world, but particularly in America, in places like Seattle, Portland, New York and Austin. Last year, green building technology found a friend in the money-conscious consumer who was looking to save on his or her energy costs. Traditionally, sustainable design had been seen as “pricey” and “hardly worth it,” but now prices have dropped and consumers are beginning to see where pennies can be pinched. The LEED standard became the predominant licensing agency and Energy Star appliances became mandatory for government buildings in many states. More than 14% of all US cities have some kind of “green real estate” program in place and insurers agree to protect sustainable houses. These breakthroughs are clearing the way for a more responsible and environmentally-friendly society.

Customization is the way of the future they say, which is why Spoonflower is making design news. At www.spoonflower.com, consumers can design custom fabrics for table cloths, curtains, sofa cushions, pillows, comforters or any other textile around the house. Once the design is made by consumers, they send their finished product to the printers in North Carolina, where they are churning out 40-60 yards of fabric each day. Custom fabric costs consumers $18/yard and is presently available in combed cotton, although upholstery-weight canvas is coming soon.

Young interior decorators bring their own distinctive visions to the table, according to the latest Baltimore interior design news. For instance, 30-year-old Annie Zemarel Werden, who comes from a background in Italian fashion and landscaping, adores historic items in her professional interior design. “I like to use things that have a sense of history [like an antique mirror], things you find when traveling or antiquing. I like the charm of an old house,” she explains. Ex-history teacher Charlene Lester says that her style isn’t flashy but is rather practical in her home designs. She adds, “Given the choice of getting something green that costs a couple of hundred dollars more, most of our clients go green.” Italian Expat Fabrizio Fiorini uses “transitional” designs that aren’t exactly contemporary but aren’t traditional either. He goes for “refreshing, upgrading and renovating,” using bold colors and contrasting cold and warm shades.