Thursday, March 31, 2011

Home Decorator Collection

Room Additions: The Great Room

Of all the room additions and alterations a homeowner can make, one that is enjoying a resurgence in popularity is the creation of a great room.

The recession has kept a lot of people at home and as a result many families found that, yes, they did actually enjoy spending time together.

The ideal great room ties a number of spaces - primarily eating, living, and recreational - together in a single area. Some newer homes are now designed along the great room concept but, if you want a great room in a more traditional house, it is very likely that some walls will need to come down.

Knocking out walls or demolishing columns that are in the way is a tricky business best left to the pros. You 
may think that you know which are the supporting walls in your home but it will be a little too late to say "whoops" if, upon demolition of that dining room wall, the ceiling comes crashing down as well.

It is often well worth working with an architect as well as a good general contractor when planning the creation of a new great room. A good great room is as efficient and functional as it is attractive and an architect is just the person to help you get it all right. Even if you only hire one for a brief consultation (many architects are willing to do that) it is almost always money very well spent in the long run.

Once all of the basic planning and major structural issues have been squared away, it is then time to think about the fine detail. It's well worth remembering that the idea behind this remodel is that you and your family will be spending a great deal of time in this room, so seemingly minor touches such as hardwood floors, some decorative crown molding, or built-in shelves can really make all the difference.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5412784

Modern Neutral Living Rooms

The way to get maximum impact from an area rug is to use it as the "soul of your room". The color scheme, furniture placement and accessories should all connect back to it. Uplighting with a dimmer can create mood when entertaining. We used a shag rug and black wood veneer wallpaper as a wainscot for a masculine and swanky look for a swingin' single guy in downtown Denver. Photo by Tim Murphy.

This room, though dramatic on the surface, is very simple and cost effective. The walls are painted in wide stripes, which quickly give the room a lot of interest. The furnishings are straight-lined, bordering on modern. The textured rug, highly coordinated accessories, glass desk and great chandelier add the finishing touches.

In the grand salon, the ceilings were improved with artful soffits to create soft curves, which are also reflected in the furnishings and rug. The walls were dressed with an unexpected horizontal staggered-line tile and wave panel resin material. A beautiful bar was design and built for entertaining. Two conversation areas were laid out in the grand salon. The sofas are a deep chocolate mohair and paired with classic egg chairs and a custom entertainment console dressed with oversized hardware and ostrich leather.Design Tip: Walls don’t have to be painted or papered. Think about tiles, even in a living room.

Earthy tones combine this open space as living room, dining room and kitchen, giving a cozy ambiance.

The ebonized floors and stark white walls provided the perfect backdrop for furnishings in a palette of warm earth tones and various types of wood. The room was divided into two seating areas, with the primary area containing the sofa, chaise and two club chairs surrounding the SPI LINE Blanco Coffee Table whose nickel-plated frame...

To enhance the 11-foot ceiling and the flood of natural light from the large windows in the living area, 8-inch oak molding that surrounded all of the windows was removed, as was the ornamental crown and base molding that existed throughout the apartment. SPI opted to divide the living area from the dining area with large cube towe...

The textural elements of the stone fireplace and shaggy rug, along with hints of apple green, keep this modern space from feeling too sterile.

A cozy family room was created by installing a central chandelier to bring down the height of the ceiling. Additionally, the designer added a sleek shelf around the room for the owner to display his own photographs. Custom iron floor lamps, dramatic drapery and woven shades add texture add warmth to the room. Even though

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Full Exposure/Part 3

Rebellious roots (© The Modern House)

Rebellious roots

This London house overlooks the Victorian-era Highgate Cemetery. Philosopher and economist Karl Marx and punk impresario Malcom McLaren are just two of the famous figures buried in the backyard. 
The windows are almost entirely frameless on the cemetery side, while the street side is a curtain wall of honed black granite, steel panels and opaque glass, for privacy. The house is listed for $7.97 million.

See-through courtyard (© The Modern House)

Talk about a skylight!!!!

See-through courtyard

Inside, you'll be dazzled by 4,225 square feet of living space with four bedrooms and bathrooms. The kitchen has a retractable skylight that transforms the space into an open-air courtyard.

Staying cool (© The Modern House)

Staying cool

Designed by architect Eldridge Smerin, the house replaced a 1970s structure by John Winter. The idea was to design a building with significantly lower energy consumption than the original but with a greater floor area. The home has a green sedum roof, and its temperature is moderated by its stone and glass construction.


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Home Interior Design Tips on Decorating Your Space With Wall Art

How to Decorate your Space with Wall Pictures

If a room in your house lacks character, by simply placing some fine art prints on the walls can actually make quite an impact. Wall pictures are a necessary accessory in your home and are great to tie in with the room's style and color accent. Before you go off to buy some new pictures for your walls there are a few things you need to plan and decide upon. Here is a home interior design guide on how to decorate your space with wall art.

Shop for Wall Art by Room

The kind of home you have and the mood, ambience and style of decor you create, should be perfectly designed to suit your lifestyle. Deciding on a style for your room should be determined by the lifestyle you choose and not by what's the latest home interior design trend.
Whichever room you are wanting to decorate, whether it be your bedroom, living area, kitchen or office space, you need to decide what you want to get out of that space. For example:
  • do you want to hold dinner parties or entertain?
  • do you want a quiet retreat to get away from the hustle and bustle?
  • Is this an area for the kids to play in?
  • Is this a room for your hobby?
Once you have decided what you want to use the room for, you can now choose a color theme to suit the function of the room. For example, mellow greens and neutrals for your 'quiet retreat room', lively yellow for the kids room, or pale tranquil blue for your office space.
So far we have established the function and color of the room in question, this then gives us the basis on choosing the right art prints for the area.

For example:
  •  bright colorful cartoon pictures for the kids room
  • mellow pastel floral pictures for your quiet retreat area, or
  • tranquil landscape and scenic pictures for your office space

Choose your Style

Like paint color, artwork can immediately establish or change a room's mood. Not only can it pull the room together, but you can use it to create a style uniquely your own.
  • traditional & classic
  • modern
  • contemporary
  • fun & entertaining
  • casual
  • romantic
The style of the room is totally dependent on your own personal taste and this is the time when you can inject your own personality into the room through artwork and textured accessories.

Suggested art picture styles:

Fun & Entertaining: Pictures can include bright colors both in the print and on the frame. Fun and entertaining pictures can include kittens and puppies, or comedian actors such as the Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy.
Modern: With the strong black accents in the framed iron-work and the tapestries, striking black and white photos are a natural choice for a modern and sophisticated look.

Calm Retreat: To reinforce the mood of a nestled, cozy retreat, use artwork with neutral, earthy colors and a horizontal landscape subject.

You can even mix and match different styles to create a unique style of your own. For example, frame traditional black and white photo prints in a modern black iron frame.

Arranging and Hanging your Pictures

In order to get the maximum effect of your wall pictures in terms of adding character and a focal point to the room, you need to decide where and how you want to hang them.

Here are some suggestions to help you decide how to get the best effects from your pictures:-
Modern Gallery Look: To create a modern art gallery feel, particularly nice in hallways, lobbies and stairwells, give each piece ample breathing room. Stand at the center of the first piece and take one swift, or two small steps along the wall. This is a good center for the next piece.

Above a Sofa: When placing art above furniture such as a sofa, you need to hang the picture about six to nine inches above the sofa, or at eye level.

Cluster Arrangements: Tightly group an even number of pictures together to give a statement or a focal point. This works on either large or small wall spaces, depending on the look you want.

In a row: By placing an odd number of pictures in a horizontal line to each other gives balance and the sense of space. This works well in hallways or stairwells.

By deciding where and how to hang your pictures, whether it be a tight cluster or a single print above a sofa, you can then determine the size and shape of the pictures you need to buy.

When you have decided on the room's function, color and style, you are in a much better position to go shopping for wall pictures that fit in with the overall theme.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1520

Monday, March 28, 2011

Remodeling Vs. Moving

Remodeling your current home may be a better option for you than finding a new home that fits your needs.  Yes, there are plenty of homes on the market, but consider these reasons why many are improving your existing home rather than thinking of packing up and relocating (according to the National Home Builders Association):

  • Remodeling allows you to customize your home to meet your needs and desires. The only similar, but much more costly alternative, is to design a new custom home and have it built to your specifications.
  • Remodeling means that you don't have to give up a familiar neighborhood and schools.
  • Remodeling is a more efficient use of your financial resources. According to the American Homeowner Foundation, selling your home and moving typically costs about 8-10% of the value of your current home. And much of this goes into moving expenses, closing costs, and broker commissions - items that have no direct impact on your home's quality.
  • Remodeling can be stressful, but few experiences are more stressful than moving.

While your home may have fit your living requirements over the years, remodeling it will make your home a more enjoyable place to live while adding resale value.  While remodeling may improve the resale value, though, remodeling projects vary greatly as far as investment vs. value.  According to the NAHB, “the general rule of thumb is that any remodeling project that brings your home up to the level of your neighbors' is a worthy investment. But it doesn't pay to be the most expensive house on the block - real estate experts recommend that a remodeling investment should not raise the value of your house to more than 10-15% above the median sales price in your neighborhood.”

Remodeling can all you to live comfortably for several more years in your home while you wait for the market to recover fully in your area.  Remember, though, that when you do sell, potential buyers will be comparing your home to newer homes.  The solution?  If possible, says the NAHB, you should look at the current design trends for new homes and incorporate popular features like “great rooms (open kitchen/family room arrangements), master bed and bath suites, and higher ceilings”.

Also, suggests the NAHB, read Remodeling magazine’s “Cost vs. Value” annual report, which assesses which projects give homeowners the greatest return on investment.  You can’t go wrong updating your kitchen and bathrooms, as these are the first things potential buyers consider in buying a new home.

Our tip?  Hire an architect for your home renovation project.  Read another blog on why it's beneficial at http://timberframeblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/home-renovations-hire-architect.html.

Dining Chairs from Reed Hansuld

Dining Chairs

Handmade furniture has qualities and characteristic that mass production just won’t match up with, and craftsman Reed Hansuld is quite gifted at the trade.

Dining Chairs

Dining Chairs Design

Dining Chairs

Titta Paolini was the designer behind these wonderful dining chairs.

Dining Chairs

Antique Dining Chairs

Dining Chairs

chair feature an antique black finish.

Dining Chairs

Full Exposure/Part 2

Cameron's house (© Meladee Hughes/Sudler Sotheby's International Realty — Hancock Office)

I designed one house in the woods like this, it felt like the ultimate tree house! There is something soooo serene about looking into the sites of nature that bring  a true sense of calm and meditation to your life.

Cameron's house

Remember the Highland Park, Ill., house of Ferris Bueller's uptight buddy, Cameron Frye, in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off? Well, the iconic house is on the market for $1.65 million — crashed Ferrari not included.

The Ben Rose Home (© Meladee Hughes/Sudler Sotheby's International Realty — Hancock Office)

The Ben Rose Home

Cameron's house is known as the Ben Rose Home, after the noted photographer who owned it. It was designed by A. James Speyer and David Haid and built in 1953.

Into the woods (© Meladee Hughes/Sudler Sotheby's International Realty — Hancock Office)

Into the woods

The ultraswank house is dramatically cantilevered over a ravine. It's also set on more than an acre of gorgeous wooded property.

Star-worthy style (© Meladee Hughes/Sudler Sotheby's International Realty — Hancock Office)

Star-worthy style

Here, you'll find 5,400 square feet of living space, thanks to the enormous dining room, bedrooms and living rooms. Surrounded by glass, this exquisite home has Hollywood style to spare.

Mobile Home Moving - How Are Mobile Homes Moved?

Even though mobile homes were designed for transport, actually moving one is no easy task. There is a great deal of specialized equipment and information required during the trailer home moving process. Before you get quotes from mobile home moving companies, you should know a little bit about the process involved before you pay to have the job done.

The first step in the moving process is to remove all furniture and personal effects from the residence. This makes transport easier and safer, and helps protect your valuables from a potentially bumpy ride. Most mobile home moving companies will refuse to transport a trailer home if there are any items left inside.

After the contents of the home are removed, the transporter will make a detailed plan for the route. They need to make sure that roads are wide enough to accommodate the wide load, and there are no low clearance obstacles on the way to the destination. If the building is going from a flat area to a flat area with highways in between, route planning is easy. But if there are significant obstacles like mountainous terrain, unimproved roads, or hazardous weather, special precautions may need to be taken to make the job easier (and possibly more expensive).

Once the route planning is done, it's time to load the building on to a trailer. The mobile home mover will lift the building on to their trailer using hydraulic lifting gear or a crane. Single wide homes can be placed on one trailer, but if you have a double wide or larger building, two or more trailers may be required to get the job done. The transporter will also need to secure the load to the trailer, seal off any open areas with plastic sheeting or tarps, and check to make sure the load is not too heavy for the trailer. If the trailer is overloaded, the truck, trailer, or axles may be damaged, along with the mobile home.

When the trailer home is loaded and ready to go, moving can begin. Most mobile home moving companies utilize pilot vehicles to lead the way in front of the transport truck in order to check for potential obstacles. Mobile home transport trailers are also equipped with multiple lights to warn other drivers to keep clear from their path.

With a little planning and good information, the move should go smoothly. Once the building arrives at the destination, it is unloaded from the trailer onto supports. After a little work to get all of the utilities in order, the home will be ready to live in at its new location.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5779157

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Country Living Room Furniture

Living Room Furniture

Ideas for designing the living room decor

Living Room Furniture

Your Style Living Room

Living Room Furniture

İs important to cleaning the living room to present a lively look to the furniture is better to vacuum the , carpets and curtains at least once.

Living Room Furniture

Ideas to Arrange Modern Living Room

Living Room Furniture

To beautify our home with lots of modern living room furniture shows

Living Room Furniture

Livings Room Furniture

Living Room Furniture

Living Room Lighting Designs

Living Room Furniture

Home Office Desk: Campton Smart Technology Office Armoire


Overview:
Our artfully crafted armoire works well in rooms of all sizes. Deeply paneled doors wrap around to the sides to reveal a generous workspace.
  • 41.5" wide x 19.5" deep x 73" high
  • Handcrafted with a kiln-dried hardwood frame.
  • The space above has six reconfigurable slots and two cubbies with adjustable shelves.
  • A Smart™ strip in the main compartment provides a centralized plug-in point for laptops, cameras and more.
  • The cabinet below has a pullout keyboard tray; Adjustable shelves on the left can be removed to accommodate a CPU; on the right, there’s a pullout printer tray with a lateral file.
  • Hand finished in lacquer that is distressed and weathered for a timeworn patina.
  • Wood swatches, below, are available for $25 each. We will provide a merchandise refund for wood swatches if they're returned within 30 days.
  • Fitted with blackened ring pulls.
  • Tip resistant kit included.
  • Catalog / Internet only.
Source: potterybarn

Saturday, March 26, 2011

home decorators.com

Better Homes and Gardens Decorating

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