5 Easy Interior Design Ideas For a Cool Home

I recently moved into a new flat. When I moved in the flat was bare, and any furnishings that were included were either dull, or, well,... dull! Despite this I saw great potential in the flat, and knew that I could breathe life into it if I just got a bit creative. By adding a few Canvas Prints, Lighting effects and some personal touches, it became the coolest flat I've ever had.

Below are some easy, cheap Interior Design Ideas that helped transform my bland-flat, into a stylish bachelor pad!

1. Choose a Colour Scheme

The first thing that needed to be sorted in my new flat was the colour scheme, or should I say, I needed to first introduce a colour scheme. I like my rock and metal music. I therefore like dark colours such as black, dark reds and blues. It is important when choosing a colour scheme that you choose colours one reflects your personality. In the end I went with black and dark purple.

2. Paint

Now that I had chosen my colour scheme it was time to get messy with paint. A good technique when painting the walls of a room, is to paint opposite walls the same colour, and the remaining two walls a different colour. In my case I painted two of my opposite facing walls dark purple, and the remaining two I left white. These white walls would be added to later with art and other such decoration, to give them more appeal.

3. Buy Nice Furnishings or Improve What You've Got

My flat came part furnished, it had a bed, sofa, old coffee table, wardrobes and a few storage cupboards. The sofa provided was a horrible murky brown colour, so I bought a nice big black sofa throw, which I used to cover the sofa. I bought a few dark purple cushions and "Hey Presto" a cool new sofa! I then bought some funky Dark Purple curtains that had a black swirly pattern, these matched my cushions and helped promote my colour scheme throughout the flat. As for the coffee table, wardrobes and cupboards, I simply painted them black using a paint designed for wood, then gave them a nice coat of varnish. By being a little creative you can pretty much transfer any old furnishings into wonderful new ones.

4. Decorate with Art and Personal Items

This part is fun, and again should reflect your hobbies and interests in life. As mentioned I am a huge fan of rock and metal music. To add more variation to the walls of my flat I decided to invest a little money in some Canvas Photo Prints. I chose a few of my favourite album covers, which included Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pantera. I had my local printing company transform these images into wonderful Canvas Prints. They look great on the walls and give the place a very personal touch. I also has a few old guitars, so instead of throwing them out, I mounted one of them on the wall using a guitar holder that I bought from a local music store. Personal touches like these really add character and individuality to a home, why not experiment with what you have?

5. Lighting

I didn't technically come up with this idea myself, it was provided by a friend who creates lighting for music concerts, but I'm so glad he did because it has elevated my flat to a whole new level of cool. I bought a few free standing tall spot lamps from a local high street store. I placed these in the corners of my room and using the directional lamp heads was able to direct the light in several angles around the room. These lamps also came with dimmer controls allowing me to adjust the level of brightness omitted by each lamp head. By experimenting I was able to come up with some very relaxing and tranquil lighting settings for my flat. Using another guitar on a stand, I wrapped a few fairy-lights around the body and up the neck. What resulted was one of the most talked about features of my flat! Lighting can dramatically effect the way in which a room feels so experiment with colour and brightness to find something that suits you.

Interior Designing Ideas & Colours That Decorate Your Room

Interior Decoration is quickly gaining prominence. Most socialites tend to have a knack for this profession, since this not only gets them quick and easy money, but provides them alliance to the most influential people in circle. Interior decoration on a general basis is tailor made for rich people who have a trend for life. Their lifestyles not only cater globally to people of similar tastes, but also set trends for people to follow them and their cause. Right from expensive banquets and lounges to hotels and malls every major architectural structure being put up is hiring the best interior designers to give an exotic look that would look appealing to people. Interior design ideas on a professional level require high level of innovativeness and creativity to make the space look peculiar and in the process create an ambiance that would suit the theme of the space.

Home decoration is the art of decorating a room so that it looks good, is easy to use and function wells with the existing architecture. The goal of home decoration is to provide certain "feel" for the room, it encompasses applying wallpaper, painting walls and other surfaces, choosing furniture and fittings and providing other decorations like artifacts and sculptures. There is a very thin line between designing and decoration. Interior decoration is generally focused more on finishes, such as wallpaper, paint, window covering and furnishings. Interior design leads to be more integrated with the architecture and might also be involved in room layout, cabinet designs, windows and door placement and so on.

Interior design colour is responsible for glow of your space which in turn reflects the mood and purpose of it's creation. Colour combination through various paint techniques provides the trick of giving every part of the space a different theme.

Some of the most commonly used colour techniques used include colour washing, sponging & dry brushing. Colour plays an integral part of your decor. It has the ability to alter the perception of space in many ways - by enhancing a beautiful detail, by subduing an undesirable feature, by imposing scale or by simple compensating for the lack of architectural character. So it is important that you opt for the right combinations. Colours give the essential character to any space. Be it the living room or kitchen, bedroom or lounge. Some of the most commonly used decorative colour ideas include Glam Decor, Cool decor, Natural Decor & vibrant decor. Interior decoration is costly and only the rich seems to afford it. Hence if opted for it is important that you ensure that you get the right colours & paints that would suit your taste and last for a long time.

Home Improvement Ideas

The bedroom need not be just a place for sleeping. It can also be utilized for lounging and even as a makeshift home office with proper bedroom furniture items. While there can be many furniture pieces available in the market today, not all are ideal for the bedroom.

Only comfortable and versatile pieces should be added to make the space more functional and relaxing. Adding some chairs and a bedside table can transform the room into a more functional lounging area. There are many materials available and it can be quite difficult to choose what is best for your homes.

However, there are only a few things to consider when buying furniture items. They should match existing furniture to create an organized look. The materials should also be durable and long lasting.

Wood is a popular material for bedroom furniture due to its durability and finishes. There are many kinds of wood that can be used. Lighter wood material is ideal for overhead cabinets and shelves as they are light enough to be mounted on walls. Pine wood is also an attractive material for drawers.

They can be mixed with other materials to add a modern look. A wooden bedside table is also a great place for a lamp, bedtime items and a cool alarm clock. Wood can also be painted with different colors to match the existing theme of the room. They can also be treated with natural finishes to add a traditional touch to the bedroom space.

Organic materials such as seagrass, wicker and bamboo are also versatile materials for furniture pieces. They add a light and soft atmosphere to the room. They are also durable and attractive. Wicker is popular for drawers as they are light enough to be made into stackable furniture pieces.

This adds more storage space especially in small bedrooms. Bamboo is also an attractive material and can be woven into intricate designs. It is an eco-friendly material and a known renewable resource. Seagrass share the same qualities with wicker and bamboo as they are all easily woven into quality furniture items. They are especially charming as drawers, chairs and tables.

Investing on quality bedroom furniture pieces can be rewarding as they can last for years. They are available in most local home improvement shops. There are also websites that offer furniture items which are ideal for updating the look of the room or filling up empty room space. I hope this has given you some ideas to work with.

Great Home Crafty Ideas With Frames

This article is all about framing things in the home, and covers a lot of concepts discuss on my blog, a link for this blog can be found in my bio at the end of the article so be sure to check it out. There are so many different things that look good in a frame and so many things that get collected and then put in a drawer/ cupboard that could actually be on the wall making you smile. Clearly there are loads more ideas out there for frame inspiration- however I only have so many walls/ shelves/ radiator cabinets to display them all!

STAMPS
If you have a stamp collection then this could make an amazing looking display on your wall - it was something that was a long time coming for me and required patience but the finished picture was worth all the effort! The stamps came from my childhood stamp collection and are mounted on accurately measured foam pads.

FAMILY ART
My dad has recently taken up drawing in his retirement and has produced a lot of nice looking pictures, but these are simply collecting dust in a pad. My husband had been admiring my dad's sketches and drawings when we went to visit in the summer and this framed picture of the family home was one of his presents for Christmas. A lovely surprise and perfect for the mantelpiece and it really looks great with a frame around it. Try it yourself with a family drawing, maybe one of your kids art pieces would look great framed?

BIRTHDAY CARDS
We all love getting cards on our birthday, but a few days later what can you do with them. Yes, a lot may be a bit samey and probably end up in the recycling, but sometimes there are some pretty interesting pictures and patterns on these birthday cards. A bit of arty creativity and these cards can become great pictures when put inside a nice frame. I have done this with a few of the best designed birthday cards I got this year, and they look great hung in my hallway Another similar play on this is to use postcards and also magazine images. I have framed a few of these and they definitely look great. My particular favourite is a postcard of Prague and a orchid drawing that came from a natural history magazine. All things that would otherwise have ended up in a box somewhere or being recycled can now add to your home décor.

MAPS
Any map looks pretty cool as a piece of frames art on the wall, and it will always be a discussion point and something to gaze at when you walk past it. I particularly love vintage maps which show how cities and towns looked a hundred years ago or so. The one I have in my dining room is a frames map of Hull (where we live) from around 1900. I could stare at maps of places I know for hours, especially old ones. Knowing which places have always been around and which are new, finding out what was there before fulfils a deep curiosity in the past and my present surroundings. I would definitely recommend buying some old maps to study and display.

There are many more things that look great in frames if you just show a bit of imagination, such as samples of wall paper that you can pick up from DIY shops for free, but when framed they look great with really nice designs available. Or perhaps you can put together some items from a particular time in your life, such as a honeymoon. Arrange select items in a thick box frame and they could look really nice. I actually did this with my Italy honeymoon, and had ticket stubs, champagne cork, and other small items and they look great on my shelf in the front room.

Have fun and get framing things.

Energy Saving Home Improvement Ideas

There are several circumstances that cause individuals to spend their time and money to upgrade the efficiency of their houses. These types of home improvement projects can range from minor details that take a very short amount of time to complete, to major structural modifications that involve several days or weeks of labor. Whether you take on the job yourself, or hire a professional, there are a lot of critical facets to consider before starting any home improvement project. The following article is filled with simple hints, tips, and advice to take you through the process from start to finish.

For an environmentally friendly way to improve the efficiency of your home, try adding weather-stripping to keep your doors and windows from leaking warm or cool air. Not only does making your home weatherproof benefit the environment, it also helps you conserve money by decreasing excess waste. Raise the energy-efficiency of your home by placing weather-stripping along the frames around your windows and doors. This very inexpensive fix from your neighborhood hardware store will seal out the hot or cold air and make your heating and cooling system much more effective. You will also find that you can cut down on the drafts that you feel on those chilly nights.

If you are in an area that is prone to floods or hurricanes, it is wise to invest in one or more sets of 'hurricane socks.' Each of these specially designed pieces of fabric has the ability to absorb up to a gallon of water. Simply follow the directions to easily attach them to entry points along windows and doors.

When you are deciding to install or replace window treatments, look into window tinting options that minimize the damaging effects of the sun, as well as shades that can keep your home insulated. This means that your home will retain warmth during the winter months and stay cool inside throughout the summers.

By replacing windows with new technology energy windows, homeowners can save themselves a lot of money while also getting a brand new look for their home. Energy-efficient windows keep in the cool or hot air being generated inside the house despite extreme climate changes. This home improvement project can be particularly rewarding for those who opt to undertake it.

Get double pane windows, or even triple pane windows fitted to your house. Because they are such great insulators, these window replacements can decrease your annual energy bills by several hundred dollars. They are also more difficult to shatter, so your home is less likely to be broken into. As such, they can significantly increase the value of your home.

Lastly, if you have tall ceilings, don't dwarf your windows by hanging drapes immediately above them or on the window frame itself. Hanging curtains or drapes about a foot above the top of the window can make them look much larger, and you will not have so much empty space above the windows.

Updating your home can be an expensive and lengthy process. However, if you are aware of the pros and cons inherent in any home improvement project, no matter how large or small, you can save a considerable amount of both time and money. By following the simple recommendations in this article, you can avoid common pitfalls and come out ahead with your investment.

Using Table Placemats to Make Interesting Wall Art - Room Design Ideas

Most people wouldn't think of using placemats anywhere else besides the dining table. However, the fact is that you can make some beautiful and inexpensive wall art using them. It only requires a few basic materials and little bit of your time. If you're interesting in learning how to create your own wall art from traditional placemats, keep reading.

While most people use paintings and pictures for wall art, you should try to think outside of the box. Decorating your home in the same way everyone else does creates a boring and stale environment. Instead, you should use your imagination and try to come up with unique, stylish art pieces. Using placemats is one of the easiest and most unique types of wall art you'll find. Besides, how many of your family members or friends use them as wall art?

To get started, you'll need to pick up a few basic supplies. First, do some shopping and find at least one placemat that looks like it will match the rest of the decor in whatever room you wish to decorate. I recommend picking up two or three so you'll have enough to fill some space on your walls. If you buy cool designer table placemats from a shop or webstore they usually come in sets of four. In addition, you'll also need to get a picture frame sized to fit the placemats.

When choosing your placemat, look for ones with a unique design and style that's easy to match. Avoid basic designs or colors which look like traditional placemats. Instead, experiment with some of the more stylish and innovative modern designs. Doing so will allow you to get the highest aesthetic value out of your new wall art.

The first thing you'll need to do is make sure the placemats are the right size for the picture frame. If they are too large, you can trim them down some using fabric scissors. Before you place them in the frame, make sure they are entirely clean and free of any lint or dust. You do this by running either a lint-roller or a piece of scotch tape over the surface of the placemat. Once you're done, go ahead and place it picture frame. Make sure that it's completely flattened out so there are no wrinkles and then place the cover back on the picture frame. Congratulations, you've just made your very own wall art using a placemat!

Once you're done framing the placemats, you can hang them up wherever you desire. Whether you want them in your living room, bedroom, dining room or hallway, there's no place off limits to use them.

Some of the coolest, most interesting, designer table place-mats I have seen are made by a boutique design company in Auckland New Zealand called Citta Design. They were previously only available in a few places around the World, but you can now get them on places like Amazon.com or on their US distributors site called Shoppingmoa.com. By the way, the Citta place-mats are also great on your table!