All Entries in the "EDITORIALS" Category

Balancing The Affordable And Expensive For Home Décor

While watching so many movies and surfing the web, on the look out for the latest trends in home decorations, we have to admit that getting the house of our dreams seems mighty expensive.

Still if you put you mind to it, you may take on the challenge of decorating smart and because of the small budget you may be surprised to notice that, with a bit of planning some items can be very valuable for a long time but also not very expensive.

For example, one of the best methods I’ve tried while creating a pleasant inhabitable space without being completely broke in the end was to combine the expensive items with some more trendy but not exactly pricy things.

First thing first, for such a task you need to evaluate the room and the future positions of the items pushing forward certain pieces and hiding others in the background.

The secret is to focus on the chic elements that can really make a difference.

Take an old couch or armchair for example. No matter if is second hand furniture such an item can be refreshed and made outstanding if you “dress it” up in an exquisite fabric making it shine in a color that would complement the interior room paint.

The Green And The Functional – The Right Choice For Countertops

Few years back, any kind of go-green product was looked upon as a futile attempt. I guess this reaction was mainly because of lack of awareness and a solid proof about its sustainability.

Now, the trend has changed. People have come to realize the value behind eco-friendly products and are opting out to them as a better option. I am seeing that a plethora of products are turning green these days.

A latest trend that is catching up fast is the infusion of eco-friendliness inside home must haves. Putting up eco-friendly floor, carpet, and counter tops is becoming popular and we are all witnessing a great hike in the sale of such products for the past few months.

I have no doubt that flooring is one of the most essential elements in setting up a beautiful house. This might probably be the reason why people pay great attention to flooring in particular.

Eco-friendly products are the popular choices for flooring. I notice that customers specifically ask for reclaimed wood flooring and carpets that are recyclable. These carpets come in different colors, patterns and designs. The choice is endless.

The Hunt For The Perfect Furniture

When somebody buys a house the very first thing they do is to start investing. All of us are consuming creatures not approving of anything others have done with a place so it is only natural that everything needs to be replaced.

I saw so many people going crazy over a type of tile or a certain curtain and I could not understand what in the world was wrong with them. This was before I was in their position and I started hunting for the perfect furniture to fit my new bought house.

You can imagine that finding the perfect piece to fit a certain spot was not very easy to do and the hunt took a while. When, by the time I was pretty much sick of it and ready to give up, I came across a friend who was doing the same thing with the difference that he had already picked the right stuff I told myself it is doable.

Well…this certainly lifted my spirit and taught me a thing or two about which was the way to go.

10 Plus 1 Things You Shouldn’t Do While Decorating

Did you notice that all the house decorating magazines always give us advice about what and how should we do to get a agreeable and functional residence?

But there are so many things that one should not do when decorating a house and those you cannot find anywhere.

That is why after experiencing them at one point or another I feel compelled to share them.

1. Do not let anyone decide for you. I did the same mistake and got as a result a pink kitchen because my mother in law was crazy about pink. You have to remember that the house is your own space. You are allowed to ask for advice and opinions but do not let them take the decision.

2. Do not hurry with choosing the wall paint. I got stuck with blue walls and brown furniture because I bought the furniture after painting the walls. The better way is to do it upside down because it’s easier to match the walls with the furniture when the furniture is already bought.

Decorating A House Takes Attitude And Adventure

When I told my girlfriends I am determined to think and design the interior of country house on my own, they all told me I was crazy.

Considering the prices the decorators have nowadays, the economical crisis and my spirit of adventure, I told myself I will show them …and started to work.

The fist smart move was that I made my contractors raise the level of the foundation because the house was in a swamp area and the risk of flooding was very high during abrupt summer and autumn rains.

After that, I decided all of a sudden that the space I had was insufficient and I made them turn one of the two garages into a kitchen.

The living was rather small so since I love to accommodate guests and see all my family gathering in large number every Sunday, I decided to unite the living with the ex-kitchen and get a large and comfortable place to gather friends and family.

Since I am conservationist by nature I thought of decorating it classically so I raved inside many antique shops and I bought Altdeutsch chairs and living room sofa. I also found a Biedermeier bedroom which I had to hunt in two different antique houses.

I Have The Best Kitchen In The World

People like doing stuff in their free time. Everyone has some kind of a hobby or an activity that will put his mind at ease after a hard day’s work.

There are many collectors of all different kinds of things, some like to exercise or do some collective sport activity. Others just want to watch their favorite show on TV.

As I am concerned, there is nothing that I like doing more than cooking. It is my passion ever since I was a little girl. I guess that watching my mother enjoying it, and the tasteful smell that was spreading around the house when she cooked, had made a big impression on me.

That is why I love it so much and that is why I have the best kitchen[modern kitchen designs]  in the world. Let me tell you about it.

First of all I love a large kitchen. And it is not only that I love it, I also need it. Everyone who spends enough time in the kitchen knows that when it comes to kitchen space, less is not more.

Don’t Let Colors Rule Your Life

They say home is where the heart is, so very often, without knowing, we change our home accordingly with the changes that happen in our lives.

What we change is the color of the walls[wall painting] and furniture. Sometimes it is conscious, sometimes it is not, but it happens without a doubt.

And when it does we usually chose the colors by the way we feel.

There are a lot of theories about color and mood. Some are similar some completely different.

But what they all have in common is the general fact that we prefer certain colors at a certain time just because of our emotions. On the other hand, colors have an impact on our mood, some positive, some negative. Do we really want our feelings to be influenced by the colors in our home?

The way we act about it, is often regarded as a mistake. We often let colors rule our lives.

I think that the most common mistake that you can do is choosing furniture in a specific color and then paint the walls with the same one to match it. You probably wonder what is wrong with that.

How Do We Take Care Of Our Antique Treasures?

Neither you nor I are ever thinking that taking care of our precious antiques can damage their value or even destroy them.

So many of us make expensive mistakes handling our antiques and we do not realize that until it is too late.

An improper care can and will damage the antiques and the effect will be visible only when you are about to sell the collection.

After watching a person almost destroying a Stradivarius, trying to clean it with oil instead of wax only to see it shine, I had to look into the advice my own grandma used to give while she was cleaning her precious treasures.

I will have to say that cleaning an antique is not an easy job and for sure is not a job for anyone. A very good example is the one I have seen at my friend’s house where a very hardworking maid was eagerly cleaning with a cloth full of …cleaning solutions nothing else than a Roycroft brass lamp, almost erasing the specific time pattern.

I must say that the fault did not belong to the very well intentioned maid but to my unknowing friend that in the hurry to have a crystal clear house forgot about the delicacy of his antiques.