Home Improvement, Furniture, Interiors Design And Gardening

Archive for September, 2009

The holidays are just around the corner, which means lots of opportunities for entertaining. More than likely, you will have many family members and friends that you have not seen in years stop by to visit. As much as we all hate to admit it, people judge. Your guests will look around your home to see what has changed in the last several years since they last saw you-or the lack of change. Just like clothing, home interior decorating styles change over time too. It is important to keep your home up-to-date. With a few simple tricks, you can transform your beautiful 90′s house into a stunning 21st century home.

Nancy Schoen has been an interior designer in North Texas for the last 20 years. She has seen styles come, go and come back, and many styles come and go, but continue lingering in many homes. According to Schoen, there are a few tricks to making your home really pop and show that it belongs in 2009. First of all, the most important thing is to get rid of the old. There’s a reason the saying goes, “Out with the old, in with the new.” It doesn’t matter how much new stuff you have, if you have one silk ficus tree or eucalyptus plant, your home will automatically lose some of it’s visual appeal. “Kick the silks to the curb,” Schoen said.

The next most important thing, according to this designer, is to add on to what’s already there. For example if you have a light fixture that you’ve had several years, but you want to add a little pizzaz, get some stylish lamp shades. You do not have to upgrade and get an entirely new light fixture, just make the current one pop by adding a little flare. However, if you still have a brass light fixture or chandelier, you should definitely try to upgrade. Baker’s racks in kitchens are totally hot to play with too. Schoen said she loves to see homes that use their baker’s racks as a source for a display; put some cornucopia up there for fall, dangle some big Christmas ornaments from it in the winter, just play with it and add a little something special to make it stand out.

Lastly, if you really want to catch the attention of your guests and add value to your home, add some metal work and sconces. “Metals and earth tones are the hottest thing right now,” Schoen said. Adding ironwork mustaches and finials above doorframes is a great way to accent the entrance to a room. Sconces are also a great choice on either side of artwork or in the corner of a room because you can do so much with them. Use it as a plate or plaque display, put a dried flower arrangement on top of it, or fill an empty sconce with decorative balls. Use your imagination. And when it comes to actually accenting the walls themselves, stay away from white and basic contractor’s colors. Use the muted earth tones to add warmth. Using the sage greens, raw umber, and browner shades will add to a complimentary flow throughout your home. Just remember it is vital that in painting your home, whether just an accent wall or the entire room, to pay attention to the lines. Cut in the paint to the corners and especially the ceiling. Taping-off before hand is the best way to prevent accidentally rolling or stroking paint onto another wall. If a paint line is not straight, it will distract from the beauty of the room, and detract from the value of your home should you ever want to sell.

So just remember Nancy’s simple steps; Out with the old, make due with the used, and then in with the new. It is necessary to keep these steps in this order. And if applied properly, your home can go from drab to fab!

Why go and spend a fortune at the nursery on new tools, when there is probably a wealth of unused stuff tucked away unused in your own kitchen, or someone you knows kitchen that will more than adequately do the exact job you want, without having to spend a cent.

Just make sure that anything taken from the kitchen really is not wanted there. As well as the fact that such stuff is on a one way permanent trip out to the garden shed.

Here are just a few suggestions of stuff that are useful kitchen refugees,

Old dinner knife for digging weeds out from between concrete sections or pavers.

Old kitchen fork for light weeding in around tight places or where you do not want to disturb root systems that are close to the surface.

Good sharp kitchen knife or a pair of kitchen scissors are great fro dividing up clumps of plants, or for taking cuttings off of a branch.

Kitchen tongs can be used to pick up thorny cuttings or to help you repotting thorny plants like cacti.

Serving tray or placemats to keep things organised or for carrying produce, cuttings or even weeds.

Potato Masher for pushing past a thorny plant or rose.

BBQ or Carving Forks for digging out stubborn rooted weeds and root vegies.

Kitchen funnels for pouring various liquids into containers or for accurate pouring around plants. or to get seed or even small screws & nails into storage packets or bottles.

Chopsticks make great little pot stakes (metal and wooden skewers work too), or construction sets even for some jobs.

I’ve seen bamboo placemats and chopsticks cut down to make scenery pieces for bonsai planters, along with old aquarium ornaments.

Set of measuring cups and measuring spoons are great as scoops for fertilizers and potting mixes.

Icecream or soup scoops for measuring and scooping potting mix in around new potplants.

Egg rings and biscuit cutters for shaping growing fruit just for fun, or as a simple handheld hoe for light weeding in around plants.

So theres a few things which can obtain a second life out in the gardenshed and garden, nstead of being stored for years in a drawer, or being thrown out or passed on to a charity store.

Whether you are moving into a new house, apartment or office and need new furniture, are simply looking to spice up your environment with a quality makeover or are looking to finally purchase that special furniture you have always wanted, you should first consider the value and beauty of high quality furniture, hand crafted from hardwood.

At Residence Fine Furniture beautiful high quality hardwood furniture is our passion. We offer a very wide range of beautifully designed hand crafted and finished hardwood furniture that is sure to appeal to those buyers looking for high quality indoor furniture. In addition our purchasers of furniture can choose from our very extensive range of beautiful quality fabrics and Italian leather with which to upholster their furniture and give it their very personal touch.

Our very extensive furniture range covers all indoor areas of the home and in addition to our own extensive range we are able to custom make furniture to meet your special needs. The range of furniture includes individual special pieces such as console tables, entertainment units, coffee tables, mirrors and easy chairs as well as complete suites of matching furniture for dining room, bedroom, lounge and office.

We are sure that our ranges of classic, contemporary, formal and casual designs in French, English, Italian, American and Asian styles will delight all who appreciate the value of furniture beautifully handcrafted from the finest hardwoods and hand finished to the highest standards. Our range of French styles includes Louis, Provincial and Colonial or Indochine.

Residence will custom make your furniture to order from our fine selection of quality woods including Rosewood, mahogany, teak, walnut, cherry, oak, ash and beech.

Furniture from Residence will give its owners years of pleasurable use and bring special warmth to your home. Whether luxuriating in the bedroom, dining with your loved ones, relaxing in the lounge room or working in your office, your furniture from Residence will always give you the satisfaction that comes with buying high quality and value furniture that will be a part of your life forever. No one ever regrets buying quality.

Do not hesitate in contacting Residence when next you are considering purchasing high quality wood furniture for your home or office.

A recent survey shows that an increasing number of professionals are using home based offices. This is because a home based office not only allows one to save time in commuting but at the same time enables one to reduce work hours as well; thus getting to spend more time with the family. However, home based offices come with some innate problems like lack of living space as well as privacy. For professionals facing such a dilemma, therefore a garden office is the best solution.

In recent times, many employers too prefer professionals who work from home as they not only show improved productivity but at the same time allow the company to save on the cost of infrastructure. However, what worries the employer is the lack of peaceful ambience in an employee’s home that would let him complete his work peacefully. Garden lodges products are designed mainly to be used as garden offices and are the best solution in such a case. After conducting a careful detailed site survey of your garden, you can choose a garden office that will best suit your needs. When you are working from home there are many options. You can work from anywhere – right from your kitchen table to the loft. Whatever be the option for a home based office, a garden office still remains the best solution as it offers you an independent working space separate from your home. Most importantly you can have the much-needed privacy that a garden studio offers for carrying out your work more effectively and efficiently.

The best thing about a garden studio is that it combines functionality with aesthetics. If you do design your garden appropriately you can create an office that not only has convenient electrics and lighting but will also provide you with a professional environment. Being a separate construction that has been designed specifically for office work, it will provide the right ambience for your work all the year round in comfort and security.

Gardenlodges.co.uk will provide you with the best solution to your home working dilemma. The traditional garden lodges are priced at around £12,995 and use modern construction techniques that result in an elegant blending of functionality with aesthetics. The garden offices provided by gardenlodges.co.uk complement any property. What sets the company apart from its competitors is that it allows you to personalize your garden office and create your own unique design best suited for your exact requirements.