Category: Interior Design and Decorating

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

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

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

Springtime Decorating

During the summer months we clean because the kids (young and old alike) are constantly tracking dirt, mud, grass, and goodness knows what else into the house. Cleaning in these days is a chore and yet we still manage to bring out the patriotic colors and celebrate America in style. Goodness knows how with all the extra cleaning that is going on and the nearly double amounts of lemonade and iced tea being consumed daily. Still we manage to decorate and take great joy in doing so as if some right of passage has been achieved by our home decorating efforts.

Spring is the one time of year in which our cleaning efforts are nothing short of inspired. Yet it is also the spring that often eludes us when it comes to inspiration for decoration. Perhaps we are too tired from all our cleaning efforts to seek the inspiration to decorate. If this is the case with you, then my … Read the rest

Choose a Perfect Dressing Table

Choosing a Perfect Piece

Three things that come first while choosing such a table are: condition of your bedroom, your choice of design, and of course, your budget.

The Space

A dressing table generally finds its place in the bedroom of any general household, but some are installed in a separate dressing room. And the equation changes there; the type of furniture for an exclusive dressing room and a bedroom are somewhat different. Next comes space. Queen Victoria’s dressing table, though very elegant, you can’t place it to fit in a small space such as a modern apartment. Availability of space and the location is very important for choosing a dressing table. You have to look for the ones that are not very large in size or very elaborate, yet have good finish and functions.

The Condition

If you are going for a luxurious (and expensive) one, you should expect durability of the same. So, the choice of material is … Read the rest

Marrying Design Styles

start with the basics.

Before beginning to stress over nothing, begin with the basics. Start by readjusting your outlook. Rather than thinking of the merger as a daunting and painful process, regard it as the exciting, fun experience that it should be.

Have an open and honest discussion about how you want your new shared space to look and feel. Review and assess what you both have in terms of functionality, comfort, need, and scale.

Some pieces may be too large or small for the new space. If it won’t fit through the doors, or would look dwarfed or overpowering in the room, why even consider it? Remove it from the list of pieces to move with you.

It may be that your partner will surprise you and say one or more of her furniture pieces are beyond their useful life and should not be included in the move. Or that he wants to start fresh and eliminate the mismatched … Read the rest

Kitchen Storage

The ceilings are tall and the verandas are generous, allowing the doors and windows to be open to the trade winds while the interiors are cool and dry, protected from the frequent rains that keep the island so lush and green.

Many of the necessities of farm life in the mid-1860’s were incorporated into the home, and are still in use today. The kitchen, while modest by today’s standards, is efficient and serviceable. They still use the old wood burning stove, which keeps the kitchen quite warm, even in the summers! The kitchen has a composting bin, which is air-cooled to the outside, which keeps unpleasant odors from accumulating. It is handy to remove the waste to the outside compost pile. While composting is making a comeback today, having outside access might be a good thing, but probably less practical in today’s kitchen.

Dishtowels air dry under the sink while hanging on dowels that slide out for easy access. This … Read the rest

Unique Cubes Solve Clutter

Tackle Clutter with Cubes

One of the trendiest methods of getting organized is through stacking wire storage cubes. Available in several colors, wire cubes are perfect for both residential and commercial needs. Wooden cubes are also popular, but the high visibility that wire cubes offer can make them more desirable. Being able to see the objects stored enables you to quickly find what you are looking for.

Versatile and Convenient Organization

A wire cube storage system is the perfect solution to all of your storage needs. These cubes can literally be used in any setting, from the office to the home, few other products can compare to the versatility and simplicity that these stacking and expandable wire cubes offer. Even retailers find these metal cubes perfect for their needs. Wire cubes are easy to put together, they are lightweight, stackable, and can be used to create a storage system of any size.

Cube Storage Options

Though the wire cubes are … Read the rest

Dollhouse Decorating

Keep this in mind if you want your room box to feel airy and spacious, or as I like to put it, “think about the invisible.” Create as much unused space as possible in your miniature. This doesn’t necessarily mean less furniture, but being more selective in choices available, in whatever time period you are working.

For example instead of having a sofa that has a skirt all the way to the floor, have one that has the legs visible, so that you can see underneath. That’s the “invisible” part. You don’t see the bottom of the sofa. You only see the seat and back, but your mind knows there is probably empty space under there. Sure enough. Hold the box at eye level and you can see all the way to the wall. This gives the illusion of a small block of a space being used rather than a large block.

The same is true of tables, which should … Read the rest

Add Color To Space

There are many ways to combine colors to create a balanced and pleasing design. In general, it is best not to use more than three colors in a space. Plan to use one color primarily in the space, one color for more than half the remaining balance, and use the third just as an accent.

Wall color is an easy and inexpensive way to redecorate a room. Just changing the wall shade can dramatically alter the look of the space. Your choice of hue can make the room appear larger or smaller. For example, a small room can look larger if you use a white on the walls. Likewise, using a dark color such as chocolate brown on your walls can make a room seem smaller and cozier.

Before you jump in with a bold shade on your walls, try it out in smaller doses, such as with pillows or accent pieces, to make sure you like it, before you … Read the rest