Interior Design Resolutions - 10 Simple Redesign Ideas to Redecorate and Refine Your Home

It's that time of the year again, when we resolve to make changes that will improve

our lives. Your home is a big part of your life and a comfortable, inviting space can

really make a difference in how you feel every day. It seems only fitting that we

should add some design resolutions to our yearly ritual.

So here's my top 10 take on the design resolutions that I believe can make a real

difference in your home.

1. Designate a space for clutter and resolve to keep it cluttered. Surprised? While

it's true most people would put getting rid of clutter at the top of their lists, I've

been in enough homes to understand that if clutter is part of your lifestyle, it will

just keep coming back. I do, however, believe that it's possible to control the

impact of clutter in your home - and it's simple. Choose a spot that's not visible

from the public areas of your home and designate a surface, chest or cabinet of

some sort for the paper and other things that usually end up in piles all over your

home. Give yourself permission to toss anything you don't want to deal with

immediately into your clutter area without even thinking about organizing, filing or

putting it away later.

Trust me, if you have no area for clutter you will spontaneously make one, and

another, and another. If you have a designated area, it will contain the clutter and

keep you from feeling overwhelmed by it. You'll have a much easier time with

everything in one spot when you do decide to sort it all out and, in the interim, at

least you will know where to find everything you can't find.

2. Try at least one new color in your home to break your "color habits". Be bold, do

something unexpected or something you've always wanted to try. If you are really

hesitant, put the color inside a closet door - somewhere where you can see and

react to it. The room which makes me smile in my home is one in which the painter

made a mistake and used a color that I never would have chosen for myself. As I

was awaiting his return visit for a repainting, I discovered that every time I walked

into the room it made me smile. The room has been repainted a few times over the

years, but always with what I call "my happy mistake."

3. Pick the room or area in your home in which you find it hard to relax and do three

things to make the room quieter. For example, think about replacing high contrast

colors with a monochromatic scheme or toning down the color with a more muted

version. Try simplifying the lines in the room and paring down accessories. Get

those bookcases in shape, with all books flush to the front of the shelves in size

order, and create some empty wall and tabletop space where the eye can rest.

4. Conversely, pick one room or area in your home that feels bland and the most

uninteresting and do three things to elevate the tempo and energize the room. Try

introducing higher contrast or bolder colors. Layer in accessories, some interesting

coordinated fabrics in the form of throws and pillows, and some new textures.

Replace large artwork with a grouping that will add motion to the room.

5. Make at least four changes in your home to freshen it up for the spring and

summer. Change or reduce the number of layers in your window treatment to let

more of the outside in. Do what your grandmother did - use lighter slipcovers on

upholstery and seasonal accessories such as bowls of fresh summer fruit and vases

of fresh flowers. Pick up those heavy rugs. Now is the time to send them out for

cleaning. Replace them with light floor cloths or leave the floors bare for a cooling

sensation underfoot.

6. Rethink the least used room or area in your home. It may be great to look at, but

if it isn't serving any function, you can do better. s its formality no longer

appropriate for your lifestyle? Are your college-aged kids really going to miss the

playroom? Should you have retired that home office when you retired?

7. Walk through your home room by room and consciously gauge its impact on

your senses by isolating various aspects of the experience. What do you see, hear,

smell? What can you touch? How does it make you feel? Make adjustments in each

room as needed so that the experience is always pleasant and inviting, and

appropriate for the room and its function.

8. Create a space just for you. It can be as simple as a chair in which you can

escape with a good book or an entire room. Surround your space in your favorite

colors and textures. Make it a place you can use for your most relaxing activities

and the best spot you can imagine for just sitting and doing nothing at all. Sit in you

personal space at least 10 minutes every day.

9. Approach the design and decoration of your home with joy. Whether it's a little

change or a major renovation, try to focus, not on the chores involved, but on the

vision you have and the progress you are making toward it. Appreciate the changes,

and appreciate yourself for making them.

10. Invite guests a least once a month. When we tidy up for guests, we reawaken

our consciousness of all the little things that we can do to make our home inviting

and comfortable, details that often get lost in the chaos of our daily lives. Your

guests will feel it, but more importantly, so will you.

Peggy Berk is an award-winning interior decorator and certified interior refiner who has worked with a wide variety of residential and commercial clients throughout the New York Metropolitan Tri-State Area and Florida. Her design firm, Area Aesthetics ( http://www.areaaesthetics.com), specializes in interior redesign, home staging and full service interior decorating. Peggy is the featured designer on the Home Decor Exchange where she answers readers' decorating questions and writes a column for "HDE Monthly." Author of many articles in her area of expertise, she also writes the monthly "Rental Redesign" column for Rental Decorating Digest.

To see before and after photos of her one-day room redesigns, read what New York's top real estate brokers have to say about her home staging services, or submit your decorating questions, visit her Web site at: http://www.AreaAesthetics.com

Damask Home Decor - The Do's and Do Not's of Decorating With Damask

The rules that govern the art of interior decorating are open to interpretation. Recently, damask has seen a resurgence in its popularity as a decorating material. This luxurious material is similar to silk in its texture, but the term may also refer to a style of weaving. Before an individual begins decorating with damask, he or she should sketch their floor plan, including the room dimensions, the window sizes and placement, and the location of special features, such as electrical outlets. Although damask is a highly versatile decorating material, it may behoove an individual to discover their own personal style by reading decorating magazines or attending floor shows.

When an individual is determining how to incorporate damask into the interior of their room, it is critical that the individual first identify the primary focal point of the room, such as a piece of furniture or a fireplace. It is also important that an individual define the style of the room in question. Most of these ideas are basic rules for interior decorating; however, these steps are also important when it comes to determining how to place the damask within the room.

The next step in learning how to successfully decorate with damask is for the decorator to choose a signature piece in the room to design their them around. Damask is usually incorporated into a room through drapes, table cloths, upholstery, and cloth wallpapering. Damask does come in a wide variety of color choices and patterns. Although damask may be incorporated into a room in multiple manners; however, it is important to ensure that the various checks, stripes, and other geometric patterns of the damask do not clash with one another within the interior of the room.

If a person chooses to incorporate a variety of colors and patterns of damask within the interior of a room, then the damask needs to be coordinated with one another by unifying elements, such as the trim color of wood, flooring, motifs, or other materials. A popular trick for decorating an interior with damask is engage the principle of repetition when planning shapes, colors, and patterns. Other elements of the room, such as the furniture being used or the lighting from various lighting fixtures, may play an influential role in how the damask is perceived in the room. It will also behoove an individual to purchase the highest quality of damask an individual can afford. The quality of the damask will determine the life of the fabric.

Impress your friends and family with the elegant, chic designs of damask decor and accessories. Shop our selection of Damask Home Decor today!

http://www.DamaskDecor.com

Thank you for visiting!

An Easy Living Room Interior Decorating Plan

When you are into redecorating and making your home look nice, you probably love to change your living room interior decorating theme often. To make this easier, it is important to have a simple plan to follow each time you feel like changing everything around. Here's some tips on how to build your décor so you can change it at any time, without having to spend a bundle of money.

Backdrop

If you want to change the look of your living room a lot then you need to start with a neutral palate. You don't have to keep all of the walls white and the couch cream colored, but you should keep everything pretty neutral. You can choose browns or greens if you want color, but avoid anything to bright or flashy. As long as you stay away from patterns however, you should be able to have several different choices for your décor.

If you keep the big things like furniture, walls and flooring in neutral tones, you'll be able to change out the theme of your living room interior décor by adding accessories like rugs, pillows and wall art in the colors that you want. Another great ideas for sofas and chairs is to buy slipcovers - you can actually buy furniture that is meant to be slip covered, then simply get new slipcovers to go with whatever decorating plan you have in mind for the season!

Accessories

When you have a neutral palate to work with, you can change the way your room looks just by replacing a few basic items. For instance, you should only need to change your curtains, pillows, and a few room accessories when you get the urge to switch things around. If you want your living room interior decorating to be a little lighter for spring, you can add sheer curtains, flowered pillows, and a vase of fresh flowers for a quick change.

For a warm winter look, bring in deep reds, golds and greens in heavy fabrics like velvets and chenille's. try some oriental rugs on the floor and oil paintings on the walls. Adding some candelabras and candleholders around the room will help to give it a cozy look.

Lighting

While track lighting and chandeliers can't be changed easily, you can change out your lighting to go with your living room interior decorating plan. You can buy all new lights, or use lights that have neutral bases and change the shades out depending on the look you are going for. Need a fresh look for spring? Use plain white shades. Going for a safari look? Get shades in an animal print. How about a romantic look? Try putting on shades that have a floral print with some dangly fringe. You'll be surprised how much changing the shades can transform a lamp.

If you love to keep your living room interior decorating plan flexible, you must be sure you never commit to something difficult to work with, such as a patterned couch or a bright chair. Don't be afraid of color, but add it to your room with accessories that can be replaced when you want something a little different. It really doesn't take a lot of money to get a new look, just a little creativity.

Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.decoratinghowto.com/ where you can learn more about decorating styles for every room. Visit their article pages to find out how to decorate your living room in many different styles.

Home Interior Decorating Ideas for Bargain Hunters

Hunting for home interior design bargains is actually pretty fashionable these days. Many homeowners are interested in making their money stretch as far as possible. And there are many ways to achieve this with home decorating. The big secret to success in home decoration bargain-hunting is to have patience and give it time. The more patient you are, and the longer you look for bargain items, the better bargains you will find for your home.

Some very good places to start when looking for pieces related to interior design are secondhand furniture stores and discount stores. If you are a careful shopper in these kind of stores, you can often come across items such as furniture, linens, accessories and much more at very low, bargain prices. Sometimes you can even come across great deals on household electronics such as televisions and stereo systems. Just be sure that whatever you buy in these stores is still in usable condition, and that the reason it is selling so cheaply is not because it is somehow broken.

Other great potential bargain-hunting spots include yard sales, flea markets, auctions, and even estate sales. You can expect to find plenty of competition at these spots for the very best deals, but it's still worth making the effort, as you can come across very high quality items at bargain basement prices that just can't be found anywhere else.

Whatever item or product that you are searching for, be sure to be smart and price savvy. This means that you don't want to buy items just because they seem like they are good deals. You only want to buy what you really can use in your home decoration projects. A very common trap for many people is getting carried away and buying way too many useless items simply because they were deemed to be a great deal, instead of actually being useful. Do your best to try to resist this kind of temptation.

In fact, establishing a set budget for your decoration projects is a great form of self discipline that can help keep you on track at all times. It will help you avoid buying items just for the sake of getting a good deal. Instead, it will keep the focus on the job at hand and the project you are currently working on.

Another aspect of getting home decorating bargains is the labor that can be involved with certain projects around the home. This can include painting, moving furniture, carpet cleaning, and so on. This can be tricky for some homeowners to figure out. It's true that you can usually hire someone very cheaply to do certain tasks around the home. However, there are some projects where workers who have more experience or better skills can actually get the job done faster and for less money. And a side benefit is that the work is often done much better with less costly mistakes being made. So before deciding on any labor that may be involved in any home decorating project, be sure to weigh both the skill level that is necessary for the project, and the cost of hiring both skilled and unskilled labor before you make your final decision.

Finally, good planning can save plenty of money on almost any home decoration project. Attention to detail is critical for many jobs around the home, so take the time to get a thorough understanding of the work that will be involved, then schedule it out carefully in advance, and budget it every step of the way. By following these simple suggestions, you should be able to find the best home decorating bargains and accomplish all of your home improvement projects at the very lowest cost possible.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find out more about home interior decoration and bedroom interior design by visiting our Home Improvement website.

Home Interior Design Ideas For Children

Designing and decorating living space for children can be a very fun and exciting part of home Interior design. It's easy to let your imagination go because children are very creative and imaginative on their own. That's also why it's a good idea to include children in the planning stages of your design as they can often come up with great ideas on their own that you would never think of.

Probably one of the best places to start on designing a theme for a child's room is to start with their own favorite activity or interest. Of course, as children grow up their interests often change dramatically, so try to decorate in such a way that the accessories can be changed as a child gets older and gets more interested in other activities. But usually, children will get very excited if they know that their room will be decorated to reflect their favorite interests. Just be sure to go over it carefully with them in advance to get their input on what they really like. That way your Interior design will be sure to be a hit.

When designing and decorating for children, one of the advantages is that you can often choose color schemes and combinations that you do not often use in adult surroundings. In fact, you can often go much brighter and bolder with colors that you select for children. You can also arrange the room in a different way then you would normally with most adult rooms. For instance, a chalkboard or toy box may be the centerpiece of a child's room, and this would be far more appropriate than making a seating arrangement the focal point instead.

The accessories that you choose for a child's room will also be completely different than those that you choose for an adult. Toys and collectibles make great accessories for the room of a child. However, the child may want to play with these toys instead of just leave them on display. In this case, it may be advisable to buy duplicates of the toy accessories. One set can be used for display, and the other set can be used as an actual toy. It's also not best to use collectibles that are of high value in a child's room. Remember, children just want to have fun. And they aren't thinking about the price or cost of a collectible item. So whatever collectibles you choose to use as decorations in your child's room should not be so expensive that it would cause a problem if it became broken.

Another great way to spice up the appearance of a child's room is to use one of the millions of available bed treatments as a central theme that fits in with the overall design of the room. Usually these kind of bed treatments packages come as a full set that includes matching sheets, a comforter, dust ruffle, and window coverings. Altogether, these can quickly change the overall appearance of the child's room very fast. Once again, just make sure that you involve your child in the buying decision process to make sure that it is something that they will be happy with.

When changing the overall theme of a child's room, just keep in mind that most changes you make should not be considered to be permanent at this stage in their life. It's not uncommon to have to change the theme of a child's room every couple of years or so to stay up with their changing interests. And kids are very hard on their furniture as a general rule. So there is no need to be buying expensive furniture and accessories that may only last a short while or get ruined.

Finally and most importantly, the focus of all home interior design ideas for your children can be summed up in two words, have fun!

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including home improvement. You can find out more about home interior decoration and bedroom interior design by visiting our Home Improvement website.

Design and Decorate a Space

The interior designing and decoration of a space very often are a mirror reflection of the people who reside there. The profession of interior designing and decoration requires a lot of skill and imagination. Designing encompasses the physical layout and total organization of a house or any other area like a hospital, commercial building or warehouse. On the other hand, when we speak about decorating, this involves dealing with the smaller details and minute aspects of an area; it is much more personal in nature.. Although the beautification process can easily be done by the average person, laying out the structure of the entire home is usually better left to the specialists. Professional help is available if that is the desire of the individual homeowner.
Interior designing has architectural and environmental aspects to it. Good utilization of space is necessary; interior designing should be done in such a way that maximum space is provided. Windows should be placed in such a way that the room is airy and gets ample amount of sunlight. Different rooms are designed in a different way providing each room with all of the necessary elements. That is why many interior designers today are specializing in particular fields. A harmonizing pattern is always kept in mind while designing the interiors of a living space.
Interior decoration deals with all of the furniture, accessories, wall arts, color schemes and decorative pieces that can greatly enhance the anticipated appearance of any area that is involved. Through this process the home receives a very personal touch; thus making it more appealing. This procedure enhances a person's life style. It very often creates a healthier environment, which is also reflected in the attitude of the individuals that are involved.







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