Author: Michael Rourky

Fabric For Upholstery Projects

  • Natural or synthetic

This is the first choice to make. There are natural fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, linen and rayon as well as synthetic fibers such as acrylic, polyester, nylon, polypropylene and olefin. You can also choose from a good collection of leather and artificial leather. Original leather is available in plain grains as well as embossed patterns. Synthetic fibers have a soft texture but are not as durable as the synthetic ones.

  • Durability 

Durability is an important aspect to consider if you do not want to repeat reupholstering projects within short periods of time. If you have pets and kids at home, you must go in for a material with higher thread count as they are dense and hold up well against rough and tough use. Leather and micro fiber fabrics offer the highest durability as upholstery fabrics.

  • Fabric types

There are different ways in which fabric is made. It is either woven or knitted. On a … Read the rest

Custom Rugs

The Purpose of Rugs

Adding practical and aesthetic value to a space, a rug’s purpose is wholly dependent on the use of the space and is predominantly two-fold. Primarily rugs serve to anchor the furnishings that fill a space and denote the parameters of the space itself, creating differentiation between the dining and living areas for example. Additionally, a rug can also enhance the decor of a room, adding visual intrigue, unifying the colour scheme and perhaps warming or softening hard surfaces such as hardwood or tiled flooring. Furthermore, rugs have the ability to absorb sound, providing the benefit of noise reduction within rooms that have hard flooring. Ranging in size, shape, colour, pattern, theme and style, rugs are multipurpose pieces that can add value to any and every room of the home.

How to Choose the Perfect Rug

When choosing or designing a rug, ensure that your lifestyle remains front of mind. Consider the piece in the context of … Read the rest

Buying Complete Curtain Sets

Curtain sets; serve many benefits apart from covering your windows. Many people prefer blinds over drapes and curtains but the real look is usually achieved with the help of curtains.

Some of the advantages of curtain sets include:

  • Curtains are able to keep a good level of light outside. Apart from functioning as appropriate insulation materials for windows, they add value to your ordinary windows. Since drapery is able to uplift the charm of windows, these are the best wall and windows enhancer, even to this date.
  • The aesthetic appeal in curtains is really great. If you compare curtains with blinds, you would learn that with curtains, you could actually play with patterns, colors with alignments (vertical, horizontal). The fabric of curtain sets is very much diverse, you can go for thicker ones or you can go for something that is as thin as the linen. The industry of drapery is very rich and mature in creativity today; hence, you
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Duvet Covers

A Snug Fit

Duvet covers should be roughly the size of your comforter. A very large cover creates unnecessary gaps and air bumps. The maximum you can allow is 2 inches more than the size of the comforter it is intended to cover. To make sure you get a comforter that is tailored to fit, measure the down comforter or duvet before you go shopping. When shopping online, you can find the product dimensions in the production description or check the size on the packaging if you choose to shop locally.

An Easy Changeover

You will have to change duvet comforters often as part of the regular cleaning process. They feature zippers, snaps, fabric ties and Velcro snaps. You should choose an option that is easy to fasten and unfasten.

The Fabric Choice

This includes the type as well as the style of fabric. The first tip is to choose a fabric style and color that matches the overall décor … Read the rest

Ground Pool Costs

That’s when they went to the pool store and that’s where they bought all their chemicals and all their replacement parts.

There was a time this was about the only place they could go, long before the internet. Every time the water in their pool was cloudy or green it was off to the store with the little sample bottle full of pool water to be tested by what looked like some pretty scientific equipment. It was pretty common, at that point, to leave with a large bag of chemicals.

One of my clients emailed me saying her husband just bought over a hundred dollars worth of chemicals after taking in a sample of their green pool water. My response was to take it all back and do as I tell you.

Above ground pool filters are not known to have to the life expectancy of the higher quality in ground units. Because of this parts are needed sooner and … Read the rest

Create Balanced Colour Scheme for Whole Home

Start with what you have

Although selecting a starting colour can seem intimidating, it doesn’t have to. The reason a colour from your friend’s house that looked fantastic over there can look horrific in your home is two-fold; the starting base and lighting.

Paint must be selected in the home with the natural light so you will see how it actually looks at different times of the day. (Depending on the undertones, it will take on many different shades at different times and you need to like all of them).

As well as the starting base, this is made up of the things in your home that are “static” or non-changing such as flooring, cabinets, tile etc. You may very well want to follow the trend and desire to paint grey walls in your house, yet all of your flooring is brown. If you choose the same grey paint that your girlfriend down the street used (but she happened to … Read the rest

About Curtain Track

Jazz up your windows and doors with carefully chosen combinations of sheers and heavy drapes. This not only adds color and dimension to your room, but also makes it look inviting and warm. However, if your drapes are long and heavy, conventional rods may not be able to bear their weight. Long rods result in either ugly sagging in the middle or unevenly hung drapes. If you’re spacing out larger numbers of short rods, the brackets and joints may come in the way of closing your curtains completely. Heavy-duty curtain rods are available, but they could look bulky and cumbersome and distract from the beauty of your curtains. The right option here would be curtain tracks.

They’re neat, discreet and hard-working. You can mount them on the ceiling or wall depending on the size of your windows/doors and the length of the curtains you’ve chosen. They allow your curtains to glide smoothly and evenly across while opening and closing the … Read the rest

Design for Nursery

Heating options

Conventional central heating may not be the best option for a newborn baby’s bedroom. That is because the ideal temperature for a newborn is 18oC.

If you have conventional central heating it is unlikely you will be able to achieve this temperature in the nursery, unless you have separate heating controls in each room.

Also, radiators and other heaters can be potentially dangerous as your child gets older, starts to walk and is naturally inquisitive.

An alternative option is electric underfloor heating.

Installing this in the nursery would give you complete control of the temperature, with the temperature variation caused by central heating.

Underfloor heating is also invisible, freeing up the space taken by the radiator for storage.

The colour scheme

Painting the room pink for a girl and blue for a boy is quite a cliché and, as scans to find out the sex are not 100% accurate, this could result in a hasty repainting project.

Instead, … Read the rest

Types of Flooring for Child’s Playroom

Cork

An exceptional type of flooring that hasn’t yet found its place within common interior design, cork is at present, an option for those with bigger budgets than most.

Cork looks absolutely stunning and is environmentally friendly because the tree it is taken from does not suffer any damage from losing its bark. It also has amazing properties that you don’t get from other flooring, such as it’s ability to repel insects and the fact it doesn’t absorb dust or other allergens like pollen.

Stone

It may not be the first surface that springs to mind, but it’s certainly one to consider long term. Investing in natural stone floor tiles is a great way to provide a beautiful surface for your child’s playroom, leaving you with a long lasting floor to use long after they have grown up. The surface is extremely durable and easy clean (when the correct sealants are used) and very cosy when used in combination with … Read the rest

Elements of a Candle

  • Wax – When it comes to manufacturing candles, there are typically several different types of wax that can be used. Depending on the type of wax that is used, the amount of soot produced by the candle can vary. Higher levels of soot have been shown to release carcinogenic soot into the air. The two most common types of these candles are paraffin and tallow. For a cleaner burning candle, it is recommended that you choose one that is made using soy, beeswax, or palm wax. These types of candles burn cleaner and cause no harmful soot to be released into the air inside your home.
  • Wick – The primary function of a candle wick is to provide fuel to the flame. When you light a wick, it works by drawing the wax up to the flame causing it to burn. The majority of wicks that are used in candles manufactured today are made from 100% cotton or a cotton-paper
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