5 Reasons For Interior Designers to Attend Trade Shows and Festivals

While on the Internet and discovered a festival and realization hit upon me that how important it is for interior designers to go out and fine new design. As an Interior Decorator, one of the important things for every designer or decorator to do is to go out and see new products and services that could be of interest to new or future clients. This can be done by attending as many trade shows or festivals as possible. It is one of the ways designers get refreshed and energized is seeing new products and talking to vendors at these trade shows, educational classes, and festivals.

Take advantage of going to all the seminars. Some may be fun but others may be boring and hopefully you can take something away that you haven't learned. Talk to the people who are in the seminars so you can go to lunch or dinner with these people.  The information you as the decorator gains from the seminars and the people attending them will make the whole experience more enjoyable.
Network! This is a great way to expand your network and future client base while keeping in your files up to date on products or services .
 Some of the design trade shows have specific niches, whether its kitchen, bedroom or bathroom ideas, and not going to see them is limiting designer's viewpoint. As interior decorator, look for things that may work in current or future projects such as basic interiors, bathroom ideas, and kitchen ideas
The role as interior decorators is to bring the latest in ideas, trends and colors to our clients. If only magazines are read, or attend required continuing education, the designer miss out in seeing the new products and services made by the vendors.  A magazine is great but seeing it in person gives a better you a better idea of its size, color, etc. 
Interior design ideas becomes larger because an effort has been made to gone out and seen possibilities that we did not know existed. 

http://www.ontheinsidedesign.com

http://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com, http://www.dwell.com

Top 5 Interior Decor Tips For How To Decorate A Large Living Space

In contrast to the smaller living rooms that many of us grew up with, great rooms are perhaps one of the most exciting innovations in modern home design. Their open floor plans not only offer flexibility, but also a more efficient use of space.

They also come with a few interior decorating challenges. Many great rooms, particularly those in larger homes, feel more like an empty warehouse than an alternative to the traditional living room.

While too much space is never a problem, filling that space can be a real challenge. The proportions of the room can be overwhelming and furnishings that look right at home in an apartment or smaller home can look minuscule in a great room.

Some clever decorating tricks can help you warm up these larger rooms. Here are the top 5 tips on how to decorate a larger living space.

1. Settle on what the room is for, and then create living spaces around this.

Doing this will help you create either one space, or a 'series' of spaces to allow the room to fulfill this role. For example, if the room is to entertain, you can to create one or a few furniture groupings so guests can choose which setting to be in. If on the other hand, your room is for more than one function, you may want to create a space for each purpose. For instance, you may want to add a sofa and armchair grouping around a large screen television on one area of the room use the other area for more intimate gatherings.

2. Use large wall art to create a sense of atmosphere.

Large pieces of art such as paintings or wall art tapestries, are a unique way of creating a presence in any room including that large room. You feel as if you have walked into another world when surrounded by great works of art, as the wall art gives a focal point for the room and draws you into the picture. The entire feel and atmosphere of a room can be influenced by the use of large wall art.

3. Use pieces of furniture that will enhance a large room.

Great rooms will often require larger pieces of furniture than smaller living rooms. Use larger or wider sofas and armchairs, and coffee tables to fill the space. You can also use other 'feature' pieces of furniture such as a chest of drawers to fill an area next to a wall that require decorating. See which space needs filling in and then see which piece of furniture would suit that particular space.

4. You can be bold in your decorating ideas and scale.

Great rooms can benefit from expanses of color to make the space appear more intimate. You can compliment these with patterned curtains and soft furnishings to create a visual connection. You can use larger pieces of artwork, pottery or furniture than you would be able to, in a smaller area.

5. Try different arrangements of furniture.

When you have the space, try to arrange the decor and furniture in different ways. For example, try keeping the furniture away from the walls to create an intimate space in the center. You can experiment and arrange furniture in different positions to achieve both coziness and the freedom of enough open space, at the same time.

So there you go.

You now know the top 5 interior decor tips when it comes to decorating a large living space. By following these simple guidelines, you can create a great room that has the right balance of intimacy and open space for you. Take your time and use your imagination, and you'll achieve the interior decor feel that you're looking for.

Tom Matherson writes for Worldwide Tapestries which offers a wide collection of Belgium tapestries and throws to enhance any home. See the latest range of wall decor including a wide range of large tapestries to transform any room or home setting.

How You Can Get The Sleek Look Of Contemporary Interior Design

You can refresh your living space with modern flair, using contemporary interior design. The sleek lines and smooth textures of this style create an inviting and interesting space. It's a mistake to think of this style as uncomfortable and spare. The new contemporary interior design is clean and smooth, but livable. Contemporary interior design can impart a modern feeling no matter what kind of living space you have.

Furniture for contemporary interior design is sleek and linear. Simply finished wood, steel, or other clean finishes are desirable. Old-fashioned or traditional pieces are out of place here. You can mix and match styles of furniture if you stay within the same tone and material range for all pieces, such as brushed steel. Wooden pieces tend to either be dark or very light to provide contrast.

Window treatments are generally clean and without frills. Blinds in wood or bamboo are popular, as are simple shades in lightly textured fabric. Using such materials as wool, slubbed silk, and linen provides a contrast to the many shiny surfaces common in contemporary interior design. Don't go overboard and use too many, or you'll risk spoiling the effect. Complicated patterns are also to be avoided, as they provide a cluttered look.

Splashes of color bring interest to the generally neutral palette in contemporary interior design. Bold tones can be incorporated in accessories and accents like lamps, artwork, and rugs. Paintings and sculpture should be chosen in styles that go with the rest of the themes. Abstracts or expressionistic work often go well. Pay attention to the colors in your artwork, so that they don't clash or interfere with what you plan to use elsewhere in the room. Accessories should generally be clean and without frills or excessive decoration. Naturalistic, organic forms provide excellent contrast to sharp edges and vice versa.

How you light your room can play a big part in how it is perceived. Track lighting, recessed lighting, and standalone lamps are popular. The old time ceiling light is less desirable. When locating fixtures for lighting your room, look for modern stylings and simple, bold finishes. Accent lamps can be bright, colorful affairs, but one or two colors in the piece is usually sufficient. You can also use simple wood or steel lamps with undecorated shades.

Contemporary interior design can be easily added to a room without breaking the bank. You can find items at sales or fix up second hand pieces. To achieve this look, you don't need very many items, too. With contemporary interior design, less is more. With only a little planning and effort, any home can be improved by contemporary interior design.

Lee Dobbins writes for Decor2Day - Decorating Tips 4 2day where you can get decorating ideas for many design styles and learn more about contemporary interior design.

Interior Design Decor - 4 Top Living Room Mistakes to Avoid

The biggest interior design decor mistakes do not come from buying the wrong color paint or even from misjudging the size of a piece of furniture by a few inches. Mistakes are easy to make so you want to try to keep them at a minimum. This is where planning becomes important. The more planning, the less mistakes. Here are some of the top mistakes to avoid:

? Don't allow your living room to revolve around your TV. Many people have state of the art TV's that they want to show off but doing so is a huge mistake. As a matter of fact, if it can be done, put your TV in an armoire or somewhere where it can be out of the way and concealed. Some TV's can even be mounted on a wall. The room will be much more attractive if the topic of conversation is not about your TV.

? Every living room needs a focal point, however they do not need two competing against each other. This can be a tough obstacle to tackle if you have a fireplace in your living room because the fireplace is an automatic focal point. The problem is that if there is also a TV in the room you are going to want your furniture and other seating to face the TV, creating a second focal point. If possible, set up seating so it is in the middle of the room to wash out one of the focal points. Ideally, you would want to create a situation where you could mount a TV above the fireplace, which would eliminate that second focal point entirely.

? Get rid of decorations that look cluttered. When it comes to decorations: less is more. If you have too many collectibles and want to display them a better idea is to do so but alternate them. It is better to just put out the best ones, and do so sparingly, so they look like they are presented attractively. The same is true for framed photos.

? Decorate according to your own styles and tastes rather than what the latest trend is. Remember that trends fade away and you are left with the aftermath of last year's trend. Don't try to mix your furniture with a different style of decorating. When changing your living room decor remember that contemporary stays with contemporary and so forth. Switch around the colors but leave the styles alone.

? Follow the rules when laying a rug in your living room. Never just throw a rug down in the center of a room. Always make sure that at least the front legs of all pieces of furniture are on top of the rug. This will show connection and that is important, especially in the living room. Tables and smaller chairs should be placed completely on top of the rug.

Interior design decor ideas do not have to be a hassle as long as you stop and remember that mistakes can happen but it is a lot easier if you could have avoided them in the first place.

And now that you understand the basic concepts of what not to do, I would like to share with you even more interior design decor elements & concepts here: Interior Design Decor. And don't forget to check out the latest interior design information here: http://www.interiordesignmadeeasy.net.