There are many reasons why you may wish to renovate and redecorate your house. It may be because your lifestyle has changed and you want your home to reflect that: perhaps you’ve gotten a big salary, your children have left home, you are widowed or divorced, or you just want to spice things a bit. No matter why, there are lots of ways on how to do it. But first, have a meeting and get every one’s opinions if you are not the only one living in the house. As much as possible, agree on the color schemes, furnishing and how much you are going to spend. List what you have and think about what to keep and what to give away. There is no end to the things you can do so have fun!
Save on payments to an interior designer; do the designing yourself! There are plenty of information and inspiration available to you: take a walk in the park, visit designer homes, go to museums or exhibits and take a look at pictures in the glossies. You could also browse online sites for tips and trivia. You could ask advice from people like those who work in paint stores, fabric shops, wallpaper outlets, picture framers and furniture makers. You could also seek pointers from artists, photographers, designers and others in the art business. Or interview those who build and design houses themselves. So what are you waiting for? Have fun exploring!
Want to make your house look like the ones they show on MTV? You can! If you have the knack of finding interesting items, an eye for color and design and a playful imagination, you would have your dream home in no time. Do your homework. Learn and apply the rules in decorating homes and be your own interior designer. Learn how to assess space. Discover the effects of color and lighting on areas of your house. Know how certain items and materials make certain effects. Shop around for materials that will suit the style in your mind. Don’t be afraid to explore, after all, it’s your home!
If you do it correctly, wall art or framed photographs can change the entire look of a room. As a general rule of thumb, pictures should be placed just above eye level, where “eye leve” is determined according to the use of the room. For instance, if you’re placing the picture in the living room where people are usually seated, eye level should be from a sitting position.
As to how the wall art should be arranged, decide on the area you want people to focus on. Placing a group of photos on a wall creates an interesting focal point in a room, but this requires more planning. Arrange the photos out on the floor before placing anything on the wall. This way you can decide on the arrangement without leaving any holes or marks on your wall.
DIY home decorating not only helps you cut costs drastically – it’s a very satisfying and fulfilling project. In order to get things efficiently and properly, you need to have the right tools for the job. Here are some of the basic tools that you will need for any decorating project you might undertake.
For hanging things, you will need thumb tacks, push pins, sewing machine needles, picture wire, and plastic anchors.
For attaching things, get a glue gun and glue sticks, rubber bands, a staple gun and staples, spray adhesive, starch, fabric glue, and needles and thread.
For cutting things, you need sharp fabric scissors, utility scissors, a box cutter, and a light handsaw if you want to do some woodwork.
For measuring things, invest in a tape measure, T-square, or yardstick.
Store your tools in a toolbox and consider getting a step tool and caddy to organize your materials better and make them easy to carry around.
Choosing and blending colors might be confusing for some, but here’s a quick way for you to decide on a color scheme for your home: pick, see, and LMD.
First, pick a pattern from any object that you have, such as a pillowcase or a piece of furniture. Use the pattern as the basis for the color palette you intend to use for the rest of the room.
Next, see three colors. Select a light, medium, and dark color (LMD) from your chosen pattern to serve as your foundation. To make the task easier, head over to the hardware store and ask for paint chips that will match your pattern that you can bring around when you shop for furniture.
Finally, the way you use light, medium, and dark colors affect the overall atmosphere and appearance of your room. A light background is the easiest to pull off since there are more colors that will match it. The medium color of furniture, curtains, and windows will blend easily with a light background. Finally, use dark colors on accessories. Since the eye is usually drawn to darker colors, arrange the accessories in such a way that they serve as the focal point of the room.
You spend a lot of hours in your bedroom, relaxing and rejuvenating in bed to prepare yourself for the next day’s activity. It makes perfect sense for you to make your bed as comfortable and pleasurable to be tucked in. It’s also a great plus if your bedsheets goes with the decorations, color scheme, and overall theme of your bedroom.
Size is the first factor you should consider when choosing your bedsheets. You can buy sheets in standard sizes like King, Queen and Full. However, some matress manufacturers add more features tot he mattress, like adding pillows on top. The extra material makes the mattress wider. If you’re using a mattress like that, make sure the sheets you get are a size bigger.
Thread count is another important factor. This is the number of threads per square inch in the bed sheet’s material. Generally speaking, a thread count of over 400 is a high-quality buy that is comfortable and will last for years.
Finally, consider the right kind of material. Cotton is the most popular because it’s soft and durable, but you might also want to experiment with satin, silks, and mixed fabrics.
If you’re sick of the way your room looks but are not sure how to go about redecorating it, here are some simple and inexpensive tricks you can try. Remember, home decorating is all about deciding what works and what doesn’t and being creative while doing it.
Rearranging the furniture is the quickest and least expensive way to add some more life in to a boring room. Try moving your desk to an opposite wall and placing your bed where your desk used to be. Have fun experimenting with different positions.
Paint a single wall and make it your room’s focal point. Hang posters or move an interesting piece of furniture in front of the wall. Make the wall’s color complement the room’s color scheme. You’d be surprised at how dramatic and artsy your room will look after.
Cover up your walls by hanging posters, mementos, or mirrors. For something bolder, you could try a geometric styled shelf. Draw an outline of a shape on the wall, then using a masking tape and ruler, paint in the shape. Then place a small hanging shelf between the shape. This will hardly take a day’s work.
Bathrooms may be the smallest rooms in any house, but the state of your bathroom determines how clean and stylish your home is. Even with a fixed budget, bathrooms aren’t difficult nor expensive to decorate.
Changing the lighting can achieve a dramatic effect on your bathroom, especially if they complement the existing color theme. Use unusual light fixtures or buy interesting bulb covers and shades.
You don’t have to buy new things when you can simply repackage what’s already there. If your bathroom has a large mirror, consider re-framing it. If you have ugly spots on your wall or worn doorknobs on your door, repaint your walls or replace them in a stylish package.
Bring life into the bathroom by adding plants or flowers. Plants will need light to thrive, so if your bathroom doesn’t have any windows consider getting silk plants – artificial plants that look incredibly realistic.
It’s important for a small room to have a good, pleasant smell. Use potpurri, scented candles, or aromatherapy oils to make your bathroom swell as sweet as it looks.
If you’re living in a small apartment or condo, you might find that storage space is often one of your major problems. But you’d be surprised at how much space you actually have to keep all your stuff. Here are some quick tips for you to maximize the space you have without making your apartment look like a cluttered mess.
Keep all your storage boxes and file cabinets under a table and hide them with a table cloth or table skirt.
Use a lowboy as your beside table where you can keep stationary, linens, or cosmetics.
Use a narrow cabinet instead of an open-leg sofa table to store DVD’s, game consoles, and even stereo components.
Get shallow rolling boxes for linens, sweaters, and other out-of-season clothes. This will fit perfectly underneath your bed.
