Saturday, September 27, 2008

Interior Decoration

The best idea to visually enlarge your room is to use light and bright colors. Cool colors as green and blue tend to recede from the eye and therefore give a larger feel to a room. This effect can be enhanced by painting the trims, borders and moldings in a lighter color than the walls. This will make the walls appear further away and thus the room appears bigger. When choosing the colors, keep contrast levels down. Use colors that are in the same color family rather than contrasting colors. This will make the place cozier and less chaotic.

Another idea for creating visual effects by using color is to paint a single wall in a rich color and keep the other walls light. Because the stronger colors attract all the attention, the other walls seem to fall away. Besides this, the ceiling should always be painted in stark white, no matter the color of the walls. The white ceiling will maximize brightness in the room.

Decorating home interior can be rather simple and easy. Furniture for small rooms should be very carefully selected. There are many pieces of furniture that can be used for different functions. Try to find double-duty furniture. Chests can be used for storage as well as a coffee table or television stand. In small guest rooms you could use sofa beds that are easily convertible; some even convert into bunk beds.

In small rooms the furniture should always be slim and simple. Another idea would be to use only a few pieces of larger scale furniture, to reduce the clutter of many smaller ones. In a small space everything easily turns into a focal point. Keep the items simple. Arrange the furniture at an angle to lead the eye diagonally across the room and visually enlarge it.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Concrete Countertops

Designing with concrete today is nothing like one would imagine. What first shocked me was the versatility of concrete. I have a friend who is a mason. He started explaining to me about all the wonderful things you could create our of concrete. I kept blowing him off until he showed me his latest job. He had just installed custom concrete counter tops for a client.

The look on my face must have betrayed my feelings because he insisted that I go and take a look at them. I was quite skeptical still own the ride over. Once we entered the kitchen, I was floored. Not even something like granite could look the way these counter tops did. The concrete had a warmness I definitely was not expecting. It was the warmest kitchen I may have ever been in. The craftsmanship of these counters really stood out. Unlike any other building material concrete has amazing customization. Being that I live at the beach and a favorite Outer Banks pasttime is collecting seaglass on the beach, he suggested that I have him install custom concrete counter tops with a vein of polished seaglass. It sounds like a good idea to me.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Kitchen Interior Design - What to Consider

Changing the Cabinets:- One of the features that can improve the interior design of your kitchen is the way the cabinets are designed and also the way that they are used. If your cabinets are too small for adequate storage for your kitchen implements, causing pile-ups of pots and pans, then a redesign may be imminent. For instance, when planning the interior design of your kitchen, you may want to choose the use of deep drawers in which to store pots and pans. This allows for easy access as opposed to having to hunker down and peer inside those dark spaces of the cabinets.

Is The Lighting Adequate? - Do you enjoy cooking, but find yourself frustrated because you end up straining your eyes in the kitchen? Then the interior design of your kitchen should include a drastic change in the area of lighting. By identifying areas where your kitchen is too dim, you can then decide where to place task lighting to brighten your kitchen chores. A little light to shine on you will make a big difference in your mood while cooking a meal or even simply while cleaning up the dishes.

The Kitchen Layout:- For those who are especially motivated, you may want to review the interior design of your kitchen and launch into a total change of the layout. For instance, perhaps your galley-style kitchen may be space-efficient, but it's lacking in space if you want to have multiple cooks in the kitchen. In this case, changing the interior design of your kitchen might incorporate finding a way to increase the space in the room by upgrading to a more open area that will accommodate more people.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Paint Your Kitchen Cabinets in 4 Steps

Be sure the room is well ventilated because the primer and paint have a strong odor. You may need to use a fan placed close to a door or window in order to pull some of the fumes out of the house.

Step 1. Take off all of the cabinet hardware including all knobs, handles and pulls. Cover all counter tops and flooring using drop cloths or tarps. Leave the doors attached. Using painters tape, tape all the hinges on the doors.

Step 2. You will need to clean the cabinets using a cleaning solution such as TSP. This is a cleaning agent which is readily available at most hardware stores. Wash the exterior of all the cabinets that are to be painted using your cleaning solution. Allow the cabinets to fully dry and then sand them to a dull finish using a fine grit sandpaper.

Step 3. Prime cabinets using a good oil based primer such as BIN or Zinsser primer which you can also purchase at most hardware or paint stores. Apply a thin coat of primer using a short nap roller and a brush. Prime the front of the doors first then open and prime the backs of the doors. After priming the doors, prime the remainder of the exposed cabinets. After the primer is completely dry, take your fine grit sandpaper and lightly sand the cabinets.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Wood Flooring - Rooms to Avoid

Wood flooring is a wonderful investment into your home if you plan on staying in your residence for a considerable number of years. Wood flooring can be very durable and add tremendous charm and beauty to your family room, office or hallway. There are some rooms that you may want to avoid when thinking about installing wood flooring and that is what this article will focus on.

Many times people love the feel of wood flooring and the durability of it and thus still install it in their kitchen and regret it later. One of the most common things that happen in any kitchen is dropping cans or large bowls. If you drop a can and it hits just right it can cause a considerable amount of damage in the flooring surface.

Although your kitchen floor may become damaged it can be repaired relatively simply, however, if you do want to install wood floors in a kitchen. You really should invest in some good mats to cover up areas where you know, there's more prone for damage.

Wood Flooring - Rooms to Avoid

Wood flooring is a wonderful investment into your home if you plan on staying in your residence for a considerable number of years. Wood flooring can be very durable and add tremendous charm and beauty to your family room, office or hallway. There are some rooms that you may want to avoid when thinking about installing wood flooring and that is what this article will focus on.

Many times people love the feel of wood flooring and the durability of it and thus still install it in their kitchen and regret it later. One of the most common things that happen in any kitchen is dropping cans or large bowls. If you drop a can and it hits just right it can cause a considerable amount of damage in the flooring surface.

Although your kitchen floor may become damaged it can be repaired relatively simply, however, if you do want to install wood floors in a kitchen. You really should invest in some good mats to cover up areas where you know, there's more prone for damage.

Friday, July 11, 2008

How to Install a Breakfast Bar

In order to make your own breakfast bar, firstly you need to find a kitchen cabinet which has been taken out from a house. You can find these cabinets by contracting a person who does home remodeling like a local contractor, by looking in newspaper, and at garage sales. Second thing you need is the counter top. They are easily available at the local hardware stores (Lowe's, Home Depot). You can even search for them in a garage sale or look in classified section of newspaper, etc. It is always better to use a cabinet which have drawers and shelves in them. They add functionality and extra storage space to a breakfast bar.

It is very important to decide where to place the breakfast bar. In case you are planning to place a breakfast bar on an island, you will have to choose a backing such as a wallboard which can be placed behind the cabinet. Whereas if you placing the cabinet against a wall, you need not have any backing.

It is very important to buy some brackets (L shaped) from local hardware stores so as to allow you to attach the counter tops to the cabinets and even the breakfast bar to the floor.

If you have a plan to add an electrical point to the bar, then you should prefer to have it underside of the bar. By this way there will be less chance of electrical short circuits and functionality of the bar also increases. The last step to complete your breakfast bar is to buy some bar stools. You can easily get them from your hardware store, local wall mart etc.