by admin on July 16, 2009
Many of you have been to Italy on holiday, and if not then we have all seen images of this beautiful country’s scenery and art on Television. This is why Italian decorating styles are being increasingly recreated in other countries, and go towards creating a wonderfully clean, stylish room.
The main colours that you will want to use include cream, white and red, although you might prefer them looking marbleised, or like leather; the faux style. If you want a more textured Italian look, then plastic and stucco go brilliantly.
On the ceiling, you will be fine having a plain white ceiling, and this is often better in a small room, but in a less cluttered room, a mural on the ceiling will look much better. With the floor, carpet is not the thing, for an authentic look you could go for a lavish mosaic, although simple marble often looks better. Sometimes you can even get away with having a wooden floor covered by a rug.
When it comes to furniture, antique furnishings and reproductions look brilliant in Italian rooms, but make sure you get the right sort. The ones that look best are those with curvy and gilt patterns. You may like to also buy silk curtains for the windows, and also some vibrant pillows for the sofa.
Italian rooms beg for accessories, so try getting some miniature pillars, and definitely a statue or two. To complete the decorative look, also try out a mirror, maybe a chandelier, and an Italian painting. Whatever you decide to buy, imagine it being in your room before you purchase and make sure that it fits in with the Italian theme – if you’re not sure then don’t buy, as it will probably look out of place.
Once you have fully accessorised, you will have the heart of Europe in your own house, and will no longer need to travel to experience the romantic style of Italy.
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by admin on July 10, 2009
The days are getting longer. The sun is shining brightly. The world feels good to itself. So, how come you should be giving thought to buying that new fireplace from the home decorating catalogs?
Well, in reality the spring or summer is actually the best time to buy a new fireplace or fireplace surround. The reason being that fireplaces can actually be a little trickier then they first appear. Let me explain.
In the old days it used to be the case that you had very little choice in fireplaces. Before the big DIY superstores if you wanted an original design that wasn’t simply brickwork, or a glorified chimney, you would often have to travel large distances to find very niche (and expensive) specialist shops that could hand design a great fireplace for you.
The good news is that those days are long gone, and that whilst the expensive ‘design it yourself’ route will always be open to anyone that fancies themselves as a budding fireplace designer. There really is no need. Instead you can go to a plethora of locations and you will be able to find a bewildering array of options.
Here in lies the first of our ‘problems’, and a good starting point as to why the summer is actually a great time to go shopping for a new fireplace.
All that choice is confusing and time consuming!
You could literally spend months camped out in your local DIY store (ok. maybe not months. But you get my point 
) and still not exhaust the array of choice they have.
So you really need to allocate a lot more time to your purchase from that standpoint then it may at first appear. You need to start by honing in on the style of fireplace that you are ideally looking for, as well as deciding on whether you want an electric, gas or natural fire. As deciding on each of these can make a fundamental difference in the options that you have available to you when it comes to choosing your fireplace from the home decorating catalogs.
The second reason why it is better to start earlier to shop for that fireplace is because getting it fitted may well take longer than you expect. You see, the job really is only half done when you choose exactly what type of fireplace you want. Then comes the technical part of actually getting it assembled and installed at your home.
Now, if you are really ‘handy’ you could do this yourself. But fires are dangerous, and things like gas leaks can kill you very quickly if you get it wrong. So you really need to get a trained professional to do it. Ok. Good so far. The only problem is that these guys (apologies to the ladies – but most of these folk are men!) are in high demand. So getting one to fit the fire may take several weeks or a month.
Now, that’s no problem in the summer. Because it’s warm. But try being without a fire in the winter for a month. And THEN see how good you feel by the time your fire fitter gets there.
Not very I would hasten to guess!
So, in conclusion, get it handled now. Take a leisurely pace. Sort out the style and type of fire you want, and take it from there whilst its still warm enough to make it a pleasant undertaking. (Oh yep… And because you can review the home decorating catalogs from the comfort of your living room. It really can be a pleasure!)
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