Lynn Cressy asked:


How do you add that “country touch” to a decorating style? Since the “country look” has evolved over the years and taken on a wider variety of characteristics, it can add a special touch to decorating from rural to contemporary. Here are a few ideas to give your home a “touch of country” and retain that feel of tradition.

Add a little extra luxury in your country home decorating such as pampering guests with a serene bedroom furnished with a high-quality mattress and specially-selected cotton sheets that feel good against the skin.

A layered look in fabrics gives a tranquil feel to a room. Country home decorating makes use of patterned fabrics, florals, and stripes as well as eyelet. They complement one another and provide a special touch in any room.

Another idea is to add blue and white checks on cushions and pillows to give that country appearance. Blue denim is also an icon of the country home decorating style. It is a traditional, timeless American classic that gives a relaxed, comfortable feel to a room.

Quilts, quilts, and quilts— what a wonderful way to add that country touch to your décor. There are countless patterns from which to choose that will harmonize with your country decorating idea.

Old and new photographs are an outstanding addition to your country home décor. The space above a staircase is a place to display your photos for your own enjoyment as well as for your family and guests. Make sure the staircase is out of the direct sunlight.

Take time from decorating to relax in a hammock for an hour or two—what a true country experience!

As you can see, these are just a small number of the unlimited ways to add a touch of country to your country home decorating ideas.

For ideas on keeping your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook “The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home”. Click here for your free download.

Madison Bree asked:


The decorations have come down after Christmas and the rooms are looking rather bare. Winter is often a drab time of year and, even though the promise of Spring is just around the corner, why not liven your January days up by investing in some home decorating. Home decorating ideas do not have to break the bank; there are plenty of ideas which can make an immediate impact on the interior of your home without spending too much money. At the other extreme, however, you could hire an interior decorator and go the whole hog! Whatever you choose, however, there are plenty of home decorating ideas around – from chic and sophisticated to ultra modern, or the contemporary cottage look with beams and home-crafted cushions. Home decorating ideas is really a matter of personal preference and depends on the kind of home you have and the lifestyle you live there.

To change the look on a shoestring, alter the positioning of the furniture. If, previously, it was against the walls, pull it all out and reposition it at angles. What about changing the dining room to the lounge and the lounge to the dining room for an immediate change? Even in the smallest houses, there is usually sufficient room to make this change. I did this one weekend a few years ago and it has become an almost annual alteration. My front room [the traditional lounge area] runs through into the traditional dining area with a large opened out area in the wall between. This ‘opened-out’ area was knocked through before I bought the house, and it is neither an open-plan nor an appropriate size to be closed off by double doors. It looks what it is – a big square gap in the wall, with a wood surround to finish it off! I have actually arranged with a local builder to have this altered to a brick-faced archway. It will certainly look a lot better!

If you are on a budget, even painting one wall as a focal point will look cleaner and brighter. There are plenty of inexpensive wall hangings you can buy from companies like IKEA, the Swedish company with many outlets in the UK. Plants will also liven up any home decorating ideas – they come in a multitude of styles and sizes and are readily available from garden centres which often have huge arrays on display. If, like me, you keep forgetting to water your plants, you would probably be better advised to place silk plants around your home. Their quality is extremely good and they look remarkably lifelike these days.

Home Decorating Ideas offers quick cheap tips on how to decorate your house. Includes tips on decorating the office, living room, bedroom, kitchen and more.

Lynn Cressy asked:

Even though small kitchens are a challenge to decorate, storage and display areas are of prime importance. Here are a few home decorating ideas for decorating a small kitchen to make it both beautiful and efficient.

Visually increase a small kitchen’s size with glass cabinet doors. Paint the insides of the cabinets the same color as the walls for a fashionable, well-designed update. Solid-door cabinets work well below the counter and to the ceiling above the eye-level glass-door cabinets.

Another home decorating idea and variation on kitchen storage is to use open shelves over the sink, the cabinets and as much of the wall space as desired. This is especially useful when you enjoy collectibles but are limited on space to display them.

Repetition of shapes plus a variety of textures such as found in baskets is a home decorating idea that adds appeal to any kitchen regardless of size.

Even a small kitchen can accommodate an island provided the area is at least 12 to 15 feet wide. This will provide additional storage as well as work space and will be convenient from anywhere in the kitchen. A chopping block or moveable carts with open shelving are examples of items that provide extra work areas and storage.

Think creatively of every space in a small kitchen such as adding a pot rack, pegs, hooks, or wall-mounted baskets for additional storage. Also, don’t add a lot of non-kitchen décor to the room. If you choose good quality, stylish cookware, utensils and dishes, they will make perfect kitchen decorative items.

Canister sets make great home decorating ideas and are an example of trendy but practical accessories for your kitchen since they can easily become the focus of your kitchen decorating style.

Install new drawer pulls and cabinet door handles for another inexpensive way to update a kitchen.

Since the kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the house, it is important that the design allows for ease and efficiency. By putting the previously mentioned guidelines to work, you will create a beautiful and practical kitchen regardless of size.

For ideas on keeping your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook “The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home”. This ebook has many practical, easy-to-use tips to make home organization a reality. Click here for your free download.

calvdavid asked:


Tired of looking at the same bedroom, same dining room and same living room again and again? Then it’s time for a change. This time to not just change the furniture or the color of your home, rather go for a completely different look. Decorating your home in Moroccan style is the latest trend these days. Morocco is like a melting pot of different cultures and styles and so the Moroccan style décor will have some of the features of every culture and style. One can even see hints of Arabic style in it.

Moroccan home décor can be classified into two types – urban Moroccan decor and rural Moroccan decor. The urban décor involves the use of ceramics, metal, wood and leather. On the other hand, the rural décor has more of the Middle Eastern influence, with an emphasis on the use of rugs, fabrics and embroideries. The best feature of having a Moroccan style decoration is that the objects used in it are usually those that have use in practical life too. Given below are some tips that will help you in decorating your home in the Moroccan style.

Moroccan Style Decorating Ideas

Use of Bright Colors

When decorating your home Moroccan style, make sure to use bright natural colors. The colors like green and blue, found in the sea of the area, and the ones like gold and yellow, found in the surrounding desert, should be used as much as possible. You can combine other colors like vibrant red, orange or purple with blue or gold to create an effervescent ambience. Feel free to use of vibrant colors such as pink fuchsia, lavender, and orange while keeping the aesthetics in mind.

Bring Nature Home

For creating the tropical atmosphere seen in Morocco, you can make extensive use of plants. The more exotic the plants, the better look they will bring to your house. At the same time, they will also provide you with some greenery in the ‘concrete-jungle’ world of today. If it is feasible, you can also get textured walls.

Lighting

Lighting plays a very important role in adding that perfect Moroccan flavor look to your home décor. Moroccan light fixtures are totally different from those used in the other parts of the world. Moroccan light fixtures include Moroccan sconces, Moroccan chandeliers, Moroccan lanterns, Moroccan hanging pendants, and Moroccan lamps. A great source for quality handmade Moroccan light fixtures as well as Moorish lighting is a California company called Saint Tropez Boutique that design and handcrafts Moroccan light fixtures in Casablanca, Morocco and exclusively distributes them in the U.S.A. The reason why I like Saint Tropez Boutique because they are unique Moroccan light fixtures designs, plus they handcrafted from top quality Moroccan solid brass that has been carved into refined and intricate patterns. Addition to that Saint Tropez Boutique is the exclusive dealer in the U.S.A that has Moroccan light fixtures pre-wired for the UL-Standard (pre-wired for the U.S Standard wiring). To learn more about Moroccan lighting by Saint Tropez Boutique, please visit them online at:
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Web: http://memphisfoplodge35.com/finding-home-decorating-ideas/

Bercle George asked:


Do you need a simple and fun decorating style to use in your home? If that is so, you need first to gain some decorating idea on what is home decorating all about. Home decorating or designing has nothing to do with gender when you want to practice it- all of us desire to have a well-decorated home.

Working on home design can be on two major classification- the interior design and the exterior design. Interior, of course, refers to all design tasks done inside and for indoor usage. These include furnishing design, wall, floor, ceiling designs, etc. Exterior design can include gardening and landscaping, and other related tasks. Making a home design can not just be a good hobby, it is a potential hobby to make money. If you are good enough on this, you can make it as an additional source of income. You can start by providing service for your friends who need such a service.

We as today’s modern home owner today enjoy a great deal of joy and freedom when it comes to how we design the interiors of our homes and we continue to buy and read a great deal of material on home design, interior decorating and the many related topics that there are in existence. The philosophy of home design is very much in line with a postmodern world view where rules and regulations are thrown out the window in favor of an almost anything may go approach.

We all love our homes and the amount of money that we spend on them accounts for a large part of the overall money spent in the economy. Our bathrooms has evolved as a part of home decorating over the past decades from a strictly useful and functional room to one that is similar to a spa. And just because there aren’t thousands of dollars available for decorating doesn’t mean that a bath can’t be unique, dramatic and thoroughly satisfying. The amount of money spent on the place where we now luxuriate in water is growing in popularity as time goes by.

We as today’s modern home owners enjoy a great deal of joy and freedom when it comes to how we design the interiors of our homes and we continue to buy and read a great deal of material on home design, interior decorating and the many related topics that there are in existence. The philosophy of home design is very much in line with a postmodern world view where rules and regulations are thrown out the window in favor of an almost anything may go approach.

Lynn Cressy asked:


Decorating a small home or apartment can be a challenge but the outcome can be a great look combined with style and comfort. The key to a home decorating idea for small spaces is to plan carefully to make the most of the existing space without overwhelming the area.

Here are tips to consider before you get started with your home decorating ideas:

*Don’t make a small room seem smaller by filling it full of “stuff.” This means you might have to put away some of your knick-knacks and restrain yourself from buying additional decorative items. You will find an uncluttered home will provide more comfort and pleasure and make your home decorating idea a reality.

*Make your rooms multi-purpose. A child’s room can be a study or play room which will keep toys and activities in a confined space.

*Consider the creative use of room divider screens. They can be easily moved if you feel the need to open up the place once in a while. Another home decorating tip is to turn bookcases so they are at a right angle to the wall which will provide a private area for a computer desk. Placing a side table with a plant on top against the open back of the bookcase will make it look like a piece of furniture. Choosing a bookcase with a finished back will enhance the look.

*A fundamental home decorating idea for small homes is to choose furniture with space considerations at the forefront; such as, folding, rolling, nesting or anything else that easily condenses in size when not in use. Dining room tables with leaves are a “must” in a small home or apartment. Stacking end tables work well in the living room and a chest or trunk makes a great living room coffee table.

*Mirrors and light that create the illusion of space are basic components in a small area. Keeping your window coverings open during the day will help to eliminate dark corners which can make your home seem smaller. Adding a mirror to each room is a basic home decorating idea which adds openness as well as functionality and style to a room.

*Check out hotels and mobile homes to see how to maximize space but still be attractive. Mobile homes are especially well-designed and make the most of limited space. Consider the use of practical “built-ins” in your own small home or apartment.

With imagination and creativity you can make your home decorating ideas a reality even in a small home or apartment.

For ideas on keeping your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook “The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home”. This ebook has many practical, easy-to-use tips to make home organization a reality. Click here for your free download.

Bernard Emojevbe asked:


Is your house in need of improvements? Do you need ideas for redecorating your home? Do you need inspiration for decorating your home? Not to worry, help is already here. One great source of home decorating ideas and inspiration is home decorating magazines. These publications provide a look into the world of home decorating and offer suggestions and tips to help you decorate your home. Home decorating magazines provide pictures of homes and rooms that were remodelled which may inspire you to recreate that space in your very own home.

There are many home decorating magazines available. Most of these magazines not only provide pictures and ideas but also offers the customer an opportunity to buy directly from them items you like in their magazine. Many magazines are advertised on the Internet. With websites displaying their ideas and pictures, you can browse these sites in your search for a decorating style. These online magazines will likely offer you a chance to buy directly from them via the Internet.

Home decorating magazines are constantly in circulation. Some of the popular home decorating magazines are:

* Traditional Home – This magazine has its main focus on traditional décor and historical homes. Articles are written that allow you to visit historic places, gathering ideas and tips for decorating a traditional home. This home decorating magazine offers information on furniture, window treatments and colour schemes.

* Country Living – This magazine is published on a monthly basis and offers ideas about country décor, crafts, and antiques. It also provides tips for traditional cooking. This home decorating magazine provides details regarding furniture, window treatments, fireplaces and historic colours.

* Elle Décor – This home decorating magazine is published semi-monthly. It is a magazine dedicated to modern design with a French influence. Focus is on luxury living, furniture style and planning your room, this magazine intends to offer the average homeowner ideas and tips to achieve this terrific style for their homes.

* Better Homes & Gardens – This popular magazine provides the reader with information about various subjects relating to the homeowner and their family. This information includes ideas for home décor as well as garden decorating. Better Homes & Gardens also publishes a seasonal magazine which focuses on décor with a lot of information regarding specific projects.

* Metropolitan Home – Published six times a year, this home decorating magazine provides details about renovating and designing modern urban homes. This magazine focuses on contemporary design and current trends. It offers the reader information regarding transforming a traditional home or space into a modern, contemporary environment.

These home decorating magazines are great sources of inspiration if you are having difficulty coming up with ideas and techniques for your home. Providing detailed information and vivid photos, these home decorating magazines offer you instructions and often step-by-step directions to achieve the desired look. Each of these magazines also offers you, the customer an opportunity to buy directly from them. This can make your job so much easier if you see a room or space in the magazine that you like. Buying directly from them, you have a chance to recreate that beautiful space in your home.

Madison Bree asked:


DIY home decorating ideas abound on the television program of today, having gained in popularity over the past twenty years or so, with many of us learning new skills from leaflets freely available in all the big DIY superstores. Government legislation in the UK has precluded many DIY-ers, especially in the realms of electrical and plumbing work and, following the introduction of the HIP Packs into UK Conveyancing, where documentation has to be provided for all and any alterations to your property, DIY at its greatest popularity has slipped down a notch or two. However, even after those disastrous MDF makeover programs lost favor, people are still enthusiastic about DIY and not paying out for expensive labor costs unless it is absolutely necessary.

One way that is bound to increase the value of your property is revamping your bathroom, with new bath, handbasin and toilet, together with separate shower if you have the room available. If you are on a budget, replacing taps and showerheads and putting some attractive cabinets in the bathroom will achieve a dramatic effect without too much outlay. With any DIY project, I would be inclined to go for the easiest first – take a look at whether your curtains, floors and other fabrics need to be replaced. They might be looking a little worn and, in replacing these, it may not be necessary to go to major expenses associated with a full redecoration project.

Try changing your tired old carpet with more modern hardwood or laminate flooring. If your hardwood is looking tired, sanding and re-staining should give it a new lease of life and, to brighten it up further, give is a few coats of varnish. There are many other flooring options such as textured rubber, vinyl or tiles – in fact, on one of my DIY shopping trips I found the most attractive textured floor tiles which, when laid, resembled hardwood flooring so closely that I could only tell the difference when I was just a few inches away from the tiles. They weren’t especially costly – but they certainly looked it!

Some people assume that decorating needs to incorporate only the most expensive looks but some of my friends’ homes actually look lived-in – they have achieved that ‘tatty’ look where everything looks almost chaos but, in fact, as one of my friends admitted, it took quite a bit of ingenuity to achieve the look without going too far. I can see her point – she has gone for stripped down doors which she bought from a junkyard, stripped bare wood shelves inset into her alcoves and the walls are all finished in an off-white Artex-type finish to give them the rustic look. Thankfully, she left the ceilings alone and did not go for the mock-antique beams. She has an old rocking chair which she bought from an antique shop and children’s toys on view on the shelves [these are for accent only]. She admitted to me that the toys are simply there as interior décor focal points and that all the children’s toys are actually put away in their own rooms upstairs.

As I said, it works and, if you are careful about not over-doing the décor and going too far, the effect is fantastic. Her home is warm and friendly, spotlessly clean, but has that dog-eared tired look which you can only achieve if you work hard at it. My family room is much the same – the dogs make sure of that! No matter how many times I clear up in a day, there is always chewed-up paper and card on the floor, with a few strategic slippers, elaborately chewed, strewn about the place. Who needs interior decorators when they have dogs?

Your choice of flooring is limited only by your taste and budget. Rip up the old carpet and replace it with contemporary hardwood flooring or laminate flooring. If you already have hardwood, simply sanding and re-staining it or giving it a clear finish may give your rooms the lift they need. Other flooring replacements that can transform a room include tile, vinyl, linoleum, or textured rubber.

(ARA) – So many of us find ourselves in the same decorating boat – a home filled with a few family heirlooms, flea market or tag sale finds, and maybe even one or two treasures from a successful dumpster dive. You love them all, but how do you combine high and low design pieces to create a unified and polished look for your home?

First says Marjorie Marcellus, an interior design instructor at The Art Institute of California – San Francisco, forget about the cost of a piece. “A successful interior is not determined by the cost of its components. For a space to work, it needs to have balance and harmony,” says Marcellus. Finishes and home furnishings should relate to each other as part of an overall design scheme, but “that doesn’t mean they have to match, be of the same era, same price or quality,” she explains.

For example, says Marcellus, “I placed an expensive slab of marble onto a salvage-yard industrial black metal stand and then added four black bargain stools from Pottery Barn.” The similar finishes of the materials made it work. The result? “A custom kitchen table for my client’s urban loft. Topped with a delicate antique vase, fresh wild flowers and colorful cloth napkins from IKEA, the outcome was unexpected and delightful,” says Marcellus.

Suzanne Wilkins, an interior design instructor at The Art Institute of New York City, is another proponent of mixing both high and low design elements. A basic rule of thumb, says Wilkins, is to avoid having a less expensive item next to a more expensive similar item.

“Too many similarities invite comparison, and may make the less expensive things look cheap,” she says. Instead, pair precious things with inexpensive finds by following two rules of thumb: keep it simple and clean lined, or keep it funky. According to Wilkins, simple clean lines naturally look expensive, and we associate clean lines with a more modern and expensive look.

On the other hand, she says, funky items can often stand alone and speak for themselves. But use them sparingly. For example, a nice grouping of African masks can add a lot of texture and color and can be found inexpensively in flea markets. To make it work, don’t use more than three or four or in more than one location, says Wilkins.

Dan Noyes, chairman of the Interior Design department at The Art Institutes International, Minnesota, loves to combine modern pieces with weathered antiques, “to create a wonderful gypsy chic look.” Whether high end or low end, an antique’s patina and unique character flaws can set it apart from a great, modern piece of furniture, he says.

Furniture pieces themselves can combine the best of both high and low end design features says John Gambell, chairman of the Interior Design department of The Art Institute of New England. For a stylish-looking dining or end table, Gambell suggests taking a simple and inexpensive parsons-styled table (Ikea is a good source) and add a made-to-order stone top of either slate or marble. ” A small ‘reveal’ between the base and the top wood appear to make the top float,” says Gambell.

A few final words of wisdom about mixing high and low end design from the experts: When shopping at stores like Crate and Barrel or Pottery Barn, pick a few pieces from each instead of outfitting an entire room with one look. “Mix it up,” says Wilkins. And remember, be patient and shop around. What makes a room look rich and expensive, no matter what the budget, is time.

Home Decorating Ideas offers quick cheap tips on how to decorate your house. Includes tips on decorating the office, living room, bedroom, kitchen and more.

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


When you think about changes to your home interior, whether it is for a couple of rooms or for the entire house, your first thought is of color. As would everyone, you too would tend to choose your favorite colors generally, or colors which match your furniture pieces. However, a majority of people miss out on the most outstanding basic color combination – white and black – when looking for home decoration ideas.

These two colors, white and black, create a sensation in home decorating. White and black together create drama and pizzazz. A dash of black can beautify every room. This is an anchoring color and it grounds a room. It is eye-catching and speaks of a sophistication all its own. If you are using this color for enhancing your decor, you may like the idea of choosing accessories of this color such as furniture, trim or light fixtures. Black is the only color that creates a focus in a room, standing out boldly and making its own statement.

Use of white and black in home decoration makes an impact by creating a fresh, clean and elegant atmosphere. Any room in the house can benefit from this combination, creating a sophisticated space. Contemporary home decorating ideas often use this combination of white and black and in French Country Design, it is used to enliven other colors. Though it is difficult to imagine, there are a lot of wonderful ideas of home decoration with the use of only these two base colors.

Home decorating takes a great start if you focus on the flooring first, making a beautiful checkerboard pattern using white and black vinyl tiles alternatively laid. It really looks fantastic and elegant. Another wonderful idea is to use black marble flooring and accentuate it with wide white baseboards. Or you could paint the floor white or black and decorate it with stencils of the opposite color, or use black bordered white ceramic tiles to create a great effect.

Can you imagine anything more perfect than pure white walls? White walls or even an off-white color makes an ideal background for artworks framed in black. What a striking effect it would have! An aura of sophistication is created with elegant black treatments for windows or black shutters against a pure white wall. Perhaps black chairs lying around a glass-top black iron-trim table would complete the picture.

It would be lovely to decorate a bedroom using white and black. Iron bed-frame in white or black, covered with a comforter with white and black stripes; all white or all black pillow shames, with opposite colored cushions thrown in would be outstanding. The corner of the room could have a lovely white or black leather chair to accentuate it. For a contemporary feel, a piece of artwork elegantly framed in black handing on white walls would suffice. The pure white walls could provide a great background for the neat and tidy black furniture. The room could be jazzed up with silver candlesticks, pewter or vases and jugs. With a little color to enhance the beauty of the room, a bold colored cushion or throw in gold or red for the corner chair in the room would complete the picture.

There are numerous ideas to decorate a home. The trick is to find the one that suits you, even though it is great to do something radically new. After all, you must be able to really enjoy living in it day in and day out.