Thursday, May 8, 2008

Matching Flower Arrangements

Whatever your home decor style is, flower arrangements can enhance it. There are various kinds of arrangements that can suit your interior decor, be it country, tropical, contemporary, english or oriental.

Let's look at how to match flower arrangements to your home interior design.

Contemporary

Contemporary design focuses on light and space. This is a good point to remember. To create contemporary design in your home, always emphasize on these two factors.

Balance between natural colours and bright colours are usually associated with this design. And, the shapes in a contemporary design is defined.

Flower arrangements to match this design is the easiest to work with. Apart from flowers, plants can be used to enhance the design, too.

English

English design accents are like printed floral fabrics and wooden flooring and furniture. When you enter an English-styled room, you can feel a sense of romance.

Which is why romantic flowers are suitable for this design. Flowers like roses, hydrangeas, gardenias, tulips are suitable for this design. On the other hand, I think greeneries or plants are not suitable.

Country

Decorating a country-styled home with flowers is rather easy. Country homes must be associated with wooden furniture and earthen colours.

For country homes, dried flowers wreaths and arrangements are best. In the kitchen, you can also decorate with fresh sunflowers or dried vegetables.

Arrangements in wicker baskets are also suitable for country style. The guide to decorating a country home is to use flower arrangement with 'fresh from the garden' look.

With that, you could not go wrong.

Tropical

Tropical inspired homes are very famous in the Asian region. Exotic wood and teak furniture are elements of a tropical home. Not much colours are involved and usually the home has an outdoor feeling and very airy.

To match this style, use tropical flowers like orchids, proteas, heliconias and birds of paradise. These flowers will certainly complete your tropical home with elegance.

Using plants and greeneries also help. Oil palm trees and ferns are good choices.

Oriental

Oriental homes are either Japanese or Chinese inspired. Japanese home accents are like tatami mats and bamboo sliding doors. Ikebana arrangements is most suitable for Japanese style homes.

For Chinese styled homes, there are usually heavy carvings in the furniture. Rosewood is most commonly used in their furniture. Bonsai plants will complete your Chinese styled homes.

Chinese Floral Prints

Finding suitable decorative art work for your wall can be a challenging task. There are just so many different styles of art you can choose from. Should you pick prints of scenery, portraits, or botanical art? How about vintage posters? Or maybe you should just try abstract art - even then, there are so many different styles of abstract art. Which should you choose? With such a wide variety of art to choose from, turning your house into a dream home can be a very time consuming process.

Have you ever considered having Asian styled art in your home, specifically Chinese floral prints? Chinese floral prints don't stand out so much and also lend an elegant and oriental charm to your home. An abstract picture of a lotus floating on a pond or perhaps a beautiful painting of a bamboo forest certainly is an interesting and pleasant addition to your decorative collection.

Most Chinese floral prints are pastel colored, so they won't make a bold and unsightly statement in your house. Pictures of Asian flowers also promote a sense of calm and relaxation when looked upon, and will be nice to look at as you relax on your sofa after a long day's work. Be brave to experiment. Your home doesn't have to be Asian themed before you can display Asian art. Chinese floral prints will match very well in decorative styles ranging from modern minimalist to the traditional classic. A little creativity and imagination can go a long way in blending Chinese floral prints into almost any kind of environment.

Asian flowers carry different symbolic meanings. For example, peach flowers blossoming in spring represent beauty in women. Lotus and orchid represent elegance and high virtues. Lilac represents modesty, which is one of the highest virtues valued by the Chinese. Having a little knowledge of the paintings will definitely give you something to talk about with your visitors. Impress your guests as you share your knowledge of the art work.

Accompany your Chinese floral prints with similarly themed decorative elements. Pick a few Asian antiques from your favorite art and craft shop and place them close to the art piece. This helps to create interest and balance, as well as help tell a story. Choice items you can use are small statues, candles, flowers, or wood carvings. Don't forget to bring attention to the art prints with the use of creative lighting.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

A quaint home in a country setting is the American dream of millions of people. While the country home image is dreamed of, not all of us have the opportunity of owning a country home. However, you can create a country style decor in a condo in the city, with comfortable country style furnishings reminiscent of the look you love.

When you imagine that charming country home, with pies cooling on the windowsill, what does your mind's eye see on the windows? Country style curtains are certainly the window treatment of choice! Cheerfully checkered or plaid curtains are the epitome of country style curtains. Lace and patterned fabrics also convey a genteel country warmth. Fruits, flowers, and fishing motifs are closely associated with the country lifestyle, making good choices for patterned country style curtains.

For the warmer months of spring and summer, choose a fabric thin enough to flutter in the breeze, but not so transparent as to compromise your privacy. Muslin, all cotton and lace fabrics have a quality of down-home goodness. Fabrics in checkered or plaid patterns are the quintessential country style curtains, with their bright squares of color and cheerful, comfortable look in keeping with a country look. If choosing plain muslin, try trimming the hems with tassels or pompoms of a bright color.

During the cooler weather of fall and winter, you may want a change, using a heavier fabric, both for added insulation and colors more suited to the season. Having two sets of country style curtains also helps avoid becoming tired of the scheme, giving your rooms a fresh look.

Fruit motifs are popular, with apples and pears suited to most seasons. Darker floral patterns can give a cozy feeling to your cool season country style curtains. The farmhouse and barnyard motifs may lend just the look you want. Do you have a fisherman in the house? There are fabrics emblazoned with jumping fish and rod and reel designs.

Still other possibilities include fabrics printed in large panels of one complete scene per panel,much like a mural. These fabrics come in window-sized panels, creating the look of a wall hanging.

When choosing your fabrics for country style curtains, consider your furnishings. If your sofa and chairs have an elaborate pattern, go for a smaller pattern with a unifying background color that complements your furniture. For example, with sofa and chairs in a blue background with an ornate floral pattern, a simple, small pattern with a large background area of a coordinating color will produce a unified and uncluttered look.

In this scenario, plaid country style curtains are a good bet. Simply choose a plaid which picks up the colors in your furnishings with the dominating color which best coordinates to create a balanced mix of light and dark shades.

So if your dream is a country look, but your home is in the city, you can still have the country look, with just a trained eye for the mood.

Cheap christmas decoration

Cheap christmas decoration

Decorating for the holidays shouldn't cost a small fortune. In fact, it shouldn't cost very much at all. Everyone knows someone who always seems to go all out for Christmas - decorating their house on the inside and outside. I often times wonder what their electric bills are for the winter months with having to heat their homes and have all of those outside lights on. There are many ways that you can make a cheap Christmas decoration into something more elegant and impressive.

Finding a cheap Christmas decoration isn't as difficult as one might think. There are always discount stores that have strings of lights and ornaments. Buy some garland or other festive floral decorations. One thing to remember is that the more creative you can become, the better it will turn out and you may end up with an amazingly unique cheap Christmas decoration. Ornaments aren't just for hanging on the tree branches. Take some ornaments that perhaps aren't used yearly and place them around your house. One simple thing to do that always looks festive is to take several ornaments and place them on top of a hallway table or on the tops of cabinets. Get some of the cheap fake snow that discount stores sell and mix that in with the ornaments. Take a string of lights and wrap them around the ornaments. Not only does this collection of ornaments and fake snow look festive, it is also a very cheap Christmas decoration.

Christmas lights look very elegant wrapped with garland around stairways and banisters. You can purchase garland almost anywhere and it is not very expensive. Garland and lights makes another cheap Christmas decoration for both indoors and outdoors. If you have some colored candles around the house for everyday purposes, turn them into a cheap Christmas decoration. Wrap some garland around them and put them on your tables. If you have children, or are feeling childish - make some of those silly snowflakes from some white construction paper. Put the candles on top of some snowflakes or hang the snowflakes in the windows. Anything that a child makes is always unique and can be turned into a cheap Christmas decoration. Plus, think about how proud your child will be to see their artwork displayed for decoration purposes.

One of the favorite things to do for making a cheap Christmas decoration is to use holiday cards that you received from previous years. Cut out pictures of festive things - Santa, reindeer, flowers, stars, etc. A great cheap Christmas decoration idea is to use those cut-outs as ornaments or also for placing around the house as décor. Tape them to windows or doors. Not only do they make an excellent cheap Christmas decoration, but you can use them for name tags for putting on gifts as well.

With some creativity and inexpensive supplies, or everyday household items and ideas, you can come up with some great cheap Christmas decoration ideas. Just remember to be creative.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Elegant Pew Wedding Floral Decorations

Brides, who choose church or chapel wedding, face dilemma of decorating pews whether to choose a traditional style or to go for a modern way of pew decorations. The traditional wedding pew decoration idea is a simple white bow at the end of the pews. But with creativity personal flair can be added to the common pew bow. Traditional bows can also be updated without losing its familiarity. Flowers are great way to modernize the wedding pew decorations. Wedding pew decorations can be simple and elegant or modern or creative depending on the taste of the bride and the groom.

Some innovative ideas to update traditional pew decorations:

1. Entire bouquet of the same flower or flowers of the same color can be attached to the pew bow hangers to give a very classic and a crisp look.

2. Smaller bouquets can be tied into the pews with satin ribbon for a garden look. Greenery is also an inexpensive way of liven up pew decorations.

3. Containers of flower petals can be attached to the end of each pew to be used by the couple exits ceremony for a special twist. This is especially beautiful at outdoor weddings.

4. Draping fabric over the pew is also one of the ways to change the look of the wedding and adds up that extra volume to the special day.

5. Florist ready wedding pew bows are one of the best church or chapel wedding pew decorations, as they can be utilized in different ways.

6. If floral decorations are to be used, hardy flowers should be used because sensitive flowers are lovely but will wither off quickly and will not last longer.

7. Instead of floral arrangement, fabric bows of different hues can be used in hand rails, church signs, doors, fences of gates, or cake tables, marking routes to reception and etc.

8. Tying balloons to the aisle ends of the pews will form a dramatic covering for a magical walk down the aisle.

9. Potted plants placed on the floor at the end of the pew rows will enrich the scene with natural beauty. It will add up the effect if green foliage and large flowering plants are used.

10. A tulle swag connecting all of the aisle pews creates a lined aisle for the passage of the bride and the groom. For more detailed decorations, balloons and flowers can be fastened.

11. For a more stunning look helium balloon arches can also be considered.

12. Pew wedding decoration adds a touch of elegance and excitement, as they lead the way to the ceremony.

Flower Decorations For Ultimate Christmas Party

Christmas party is the time to enjoy and socialize and when it happens in your home, you get to flaunt your creative skills too. Flower decorations at Christmas can be such area wherein you can invest your innovative ideas. Christmas decorations without flowers seem incomplete and dull. Even dry flowers can add to the vivacity of your surroundings if placed skillfully. So, let's try out something new in flower decoration ideas.

You can buy bunches of flowers in any color you want. But, get flowers that suit the color of the walls of your home. There are numerous options such as ivory white, red, yellow, blue lilacs, pink roses and others. If your house include white walls, then colorful flowers can add that special charm to them. Unique flower arrangements are made so as to be hung on the walls. Either you will get them ready made or you can choose the flowers to be included, bring them home and arrange them in your own style.

Place fresh flowers in vases and place them at different corners of your home. Do not forget to add water to them so as to keep them fresh all day long. Placing a floral centerpiece at your table with candles amidst will make the dining place all the more cozy. Dried flowers placed in order and little twinkling lights at the entrance of your house would surely catch everybody attention.

Wonder why flowers are such an important part of Christmas decorations? Well, they find their mention in the nativity story itself. It is believed that the child Christ received flowers as gift from the three wise men and the priest, who visited him on the auspicious night. They were white in color. Since then the tradition of using white flowers (which are anyway the symbol of purity) in flower decorations is followed by Christmas. With these exciting flower decoration ideas, you too can make the interiors as well as exteriors of your home look beautiful.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Curtains And Blinds For Better Home Decorations

Countless people give consideration to over window treatments as ultimate touches to the room's decor, and usually disburse little or no attention to this interior detail. Sometimes when you start improving your blinds or curtains, the budget often runs low. However, window treatments should never be neglected, as they play an important part in emphasizing the individual temperament of the rest.

In up-to-the-minute apartments, especially in loft and penthouses with large windows, window treatments should be given a lot of attention, at the earliest possible design stage. Choosing the right color and style of window treatments will make the room not only welcoming and comfortable, but will also highlight its size and ambience, giving perspective to the place. Cotton and cotton mix curtains are good 'neutral' fabrics for curtains. They blend into most rooms and well-made cotton curtains will often hang in a way that gives the impression that they are of a higher grade. Cotton is a good alternative if you want more curtains for your dollar. There are a variety of style choices within the Cotton mix. A couple of examples would be Corduroy and Denim fabrics. Being a heavier fabric, Cotton and Cotton Mix finished are very practical for rooms that get a lot of sun.

Silk curtains, although on the higher end of the price spectrum make a statement when hung in a room. Silk curtains are elegant and rich and aesthetically pleasing. This being said, it is important to remember that silk is a fabric that is harder to clean than some of the more practical fabrics.

While choosing the color of your window blinds or curtains, imagine a propos what light is your apartment getting from outside. The light in apartments changes throughout the day and through seasons as well. In a single apartment, when choosing window blinds or curtains, thought should be given to the orientation of rooms and the warmth of light that will enter them. Rooms that receive light early in the day, or not at all, usually need some warming up with color. Rooms that benefit from the afternoon or sunset sun will receive reddish light and therefore need less artificial warmth. The new finishes on blinds, such as brushed aluminum, produce a nice cool consequence on windows that need cool light from the faint. Denser window treatments, such as Venetian blinds, curtains and vertically striped fabrics can improve the look of the room with low ceiling. Roman and Venetian blinds can create a tepid comfortable impression.

Home Decorating With Arts And Crafts

Wouldn't it be awesome to do some Halloween arts and crafts to transform your home into one of the scariest haunted houses in town? Your kids will absolutely love this idea. All you need is a theme, some accessories, appropriate lighting and sound effects.

Cemetery Halloween Arts and Crafts Theme

Coffins, bones, stone hedges, and dead bodies are appropriate for a cemetery theme.

You can use a cardboard box in making a scary coffin. Also get a large-size cardboard piece and cut out the shape of a coffin for the opening/cover. Paint a red or white cross over the top of the coffin.

You can imitate the sound of stepping over a mass of bones by drying bread in the oven and placing them under an area rug.

Cut out stone hedges out of Styrofoam, paint them gray, and write R.I.P. over them with a marker. You can also write your names or guest's names for that spooky feeling.

Make body parts by stuffing rubber/latex gloves with cotton and painting the opening red for that bloody effect.

For a realistic touch to your home decor, you can fill goblets with blood and display them in hallways and your dining area! This will enhance that vampire-in-coffin feel. You can purchase clear plastic goblets and have fun mixing red food coloring. Make the blood thicker by adding cornstarch to the mixture.

A Pumpkin Yard Halloween Arts And Crafts Theme

You don't always have to use real pumpkins in a Halloween arts and crafts pumpkin them. You can use other items such as green bell peppers and mandarins and place tea candles in them to create scary faces.

For an old, creepy, deserted look you can spread dried leaves along the hallway and on tables. Hang sticks in your porch. Place plastic spiders, rats and eyeballs within the mass of dead leaves and sticks.

A scary scarecrow would be another Halloween arts and crafts idea you can add to your pumpkin yard. Hang an old, dusty shirt over a clothes hanger. Staple the bottom part of the shirt and stuff it with hay or dead grass. Use dead branches for the arms. Then, use a witch's hat for the covered scarecrow head. Punch a hole in the hat where the hook of the hanger can go through. Hang the body over windows, doors or cabinet handles.

For cobwebs, you can use cottons which you can spread all over the place. Cotton cobwebs is great for any theme you may have in mind. You can also use washable paint on your windows-you can either use spooking green all over or apply splashes of red for "blood".

Replace your white bulbs with black, orange or red ones bulbs for an eerie lighting effect. You can also cover lamps with colored cloth or netting for eerie shadows.

Scary sounds can be easily downloaded online. Choose sounds of creaking doors, howling wolves, screaming, and ghosts.

Decorating your home with Halloween arts and crafts is as easy as choosing a theme, adding basic Halloween props, altering your lighting and downloading music over the Internet. Just try to be creative and have fun while decorating!