Archive for the ‘Interior Design’ Category

Designing An Effective Lighting Scheme To Suit Your Home Decor


2010
02.09

Author: Lauren Tyler

Tempting as it may be to browse online at the many lamp and lighting retailers and buy a vibrant and dazzling Tiffany lamp or antique floor lamp for your home, the most sensible approach is to take stock of your home decor first and then go out shopping after.

Unfortunately, the way many of us do our shopping is to make an instant purchase of something that catches our eye.  Then we take our purchase back home, and in the case of a lamp or lighting fixture, try to work out where best to put it.

The most sensible thing to do is to plan your lighting scheme first.  Take stock of the colors and textures you currently have in your home decor.  Note the characteristics and overall style of your room(s). Determine what uses the room will have – for example, is it for dining, for relaxation, for reading/studying?

It is important to determine whether this room will be used during the day as well as during the evening/night as this obviously has a bearing on the type of lighting that will be used here.

Only once these factors have been worked out can you then move onto the next stage which is to devise a suitable lighting strategy. Here you need to consider the various types of lighting such as task lighting (needed for focused eye work such as reading or sewing) or display lighting (for highlighting pictures, objects or a particular corner of the room), etc.

At this point it’s often a good idea to factor in any energy saving requirements you may have and to consider the size of the room as this all affects the types of light fittings you can purchase.

With regard to devising an effective lighting scheme, safety is one factor that is extremely important. Have a think about whether it is possible to use the existing wiring or whether it will need a complete overhaul. If it turns out that the wiring in your home does not meet the modern safety regulations, then
you have no choice but to get this sorted out before proceeding further.

Once the safety aspect of your lighting scheme has been determined and resolved, you need to consider the lighting plan. This is an action plan or guide that you formulate to give you an idea of where your light fittings are going to go and how you are going to control them i.e using dimmer switches, individual light switches.

This is quite easy to do – start by drawing an outline of the room on a sheet of paper, marking in where all the furniture is going to go. Only then can you determine where your light fittings, such as table lamps, floor lamps, reading lights, sconces, pendant lights, spotlights etc will go. Many manufacturers give you indications of “beam profiles” for lighting fixtures such as down lighters and spotlights and these profiles will enable you to decide whether it is viable to use that type of lighting in the spaces you have designated for lighting in your plan.

If you plan your lighting scheme at the same time as working out the colors, fabrics, finishes (as well as determining where your electrical sockets and light switches are going to go), this all makes for a cohesive and well coordinated home decor strategy that has catered for everything.

As a result, you are going to end up with a room that has been well designed and coordinated from start to finish, with all the colors and furnishings working together to give a beautiful, polished look instead of having a room that looks out of kilter because certain elements were thought of at the last minute and slapped on at the end.

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Try a New Home Look with Interior Design Software


2010
02.02

Author: Thomas Henricks

Wouldn’t it be great if you could totally redecorate your new home without having to buy any paint or materials while doing it? Using interior design software, you can try out unlimited designs, experimenting with colors, textures and more without and yet you won’t be required to make a single purchase.

Accomplished by using your computer, you won’t be required to leave the comfort of your home and you won’t need to visit any of the numerous home improvement stores in order to discover the perfect design plan.

How is That Possible
There are a number of ways in which computer aided interior design works and your required level of re-decorating your home will determine the application features you will utilize. For simple basic features, there are a variety of free websites which offer interior design based on a number of pre-made templates, materials, textures, designs, and colors.

You simply select the room template that most matches the conditions you will be working with. Many of these basic applications include limited capability to place doors and windows in a variety of locations. From there, you can experiment with furniture placement, lighting, wall colors, wallpaper, rugs, fixtures and more.

The free version of 3d interior design targets newcomers to interior decorating who are exploring various options and components before making any final decisions about the project they would like to undertake. Some online interior design programs require you to subscribe to the program for a fee. This will allow you to send them pictures of the rooms you would like to redecorate.

When they receive your photographs, they will convert them into digital images which you can then modify using their computer software. For many this is the preferred option as the physical representations in this interior design will be to the exact scale and location as the real life components they represent.

All real life conditions will be accurately displayed including precise placement of windows, doors, electrical outlets and even unique architectural elements such as cornice, bead boards and mouldings.

Benefits
There are several very attractive benefits to using a 3d interior design program to evaluate your interior design project requirements and end results. Obviously a wonderful asset, you are not spending hundreds to thousands of dollars purchasing materials, paint and furniture only to discover that this was not what you wanted after all.

The computer aided interior design software may well save you a lot of money in the long term. Using 3d interior design software is a lot of fun and will allow you the freedom to conduct some serious interior decorating without spending a dime.

Another wonderful benefit from home design software is that you can experiment with as many changes as you wish. Changes are easy and not permanent you are only limited by your imagination. trying out various designs will not cost you any money.

If you and your partner have different ideas, the interior design software allows you both to apply your own color schemes, wallpaper, furniture placement, rugs, and more until you come up with an acceptable design that you both find acceptable.

The advantage of using interior design software is that you have freedom to experiment knowing that ultimately the only thing you have invested to that point is your time.

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How To Get Great Home Interior Design Ideas


2010
02.02

Author: Jim Johnson

If you like the idea of coming up with your own home Interior design, you are not alone. Lots of folks these days are planning out and then executing their own interior designs. But how do you come up with great home interior design ideas? Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Probably one of the easiest ways to get home decoration ideas is to simply watch television these days. There are several shows that are dedicated to the subject of completely redesigning an entire house room by room. The biggest problem with watching these television shows is having something in front of you as documentation. So a couple of ideas that may help out is to have a pencil and paper available to take notes as you go, and also to record the program for viewing later on.

Even though you may get some great home interior design ideas from these television shows, ask yourself whether or not they will fit well in your particular home. Just because they look great on television in someone else’s home does not mean that it will fit in well in your home. So try to visualize the whole project from beginning to end in your house. And plan, plan, plan. By taking extra precaution in the planning stages, you can ensure a more problem free application.

However, television is not the only source for home decoration information and ideas on Interior design. There are several great books on the subject that are able to help designers of almost any background and experience level. The advantage of books is that the documentation is already done for you. It usually has a very well thought out plan for implementing any kind of home interior design on its pages. And usually you’ll be able to have more than enough photos and pictures to help get a good mental picture of the process as it goes.

Another way to get excellent ideas for interior design is to look through magazines on the subject. There is no shortage of magazines that are devoted to home decoration and interior design. Believe it or not, even many professional interior designers collect large quantities of magazine articles and pictures and store them in a way that will help them have a larger pool of ideas to draw from in the future. Not being a professional yourself, it may be a good idea to start your own scrapbook of home interior design articles and photos that you can separate according to a specific theme or room type. Sometimes, the best decoration ideas are a combination of things that are brought together from several different sources to form a unique, one-of-a-kind design.

As you become more comfortable with your own level of creativity, you will be able to combine aspects of one design with another more adeptly. However, as you start out it may be best to stick to the overall themes and suggestions given in the magazine for achieving the look that is desired.
If you begin right away to assemble this archive of home interior design ideas, it won’t take long for you to have a really sizable reference guide to help you come up with almost any idea that you could ever need.

So as you can see, gathering information and ideas from several different sources and compiling them all together in an easily researched form can be one of the best ways for you to get great home interior design ideas quickly and easily.

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Home Decorating Tips for Bare Walls


2010
02.02

Author: Kritthaphat  N.

We oftentimes have a wall section in our home that is bare. We end up simply staring at it while brainstorming of some ideas to spice it up without really deviating from your decoration theme.

To solve your worries, we have great ideas on how to dress up your bare wall without really costing you a fortune. These are really simple ideas but have an awing effect that will transform your bare wall. Apart from it is simple, it is also easy to install with much effort required.

You first option can be mirrors. These are great decorative items that will add life to your bare wall. Simply shop around some mirrors, no necessarily expensive, but unique and artistic designs. You may as well choose for mirrors with difference sizes and shape.  Apart our main requirement, you will also require a hammer and nails.This is really a great idea but because of its delicate characteristic, it is important to do it with extra cautious and care. It is important to look for mirrors with the color and somehow a light hue to complement the general theme of the house. However, if you happen to have already available mirrors at home but deviate from the general theme of your house, you may simply buy some spay paint with a color that matches your home. There are only two options in hanging a mirror home décor. You may decorate it in a horizontal or vertical way which ever suits best to your bare wall.

Another great and fantastic idea is the photo frames. We oftentimes love to showcase our family photos on top of the cupboards or stands. Why not give it a twist and hang it on the wall! The requirements are very simple. These include similar picture framers, hammer, nails, photos and rules. Just make sure that you choose picture frames that have common denominator which can be color, shape or size.

This idea is best for a smaller bare wall section of the hour. It is also recommended to measure the distance from each of the picture frames to keep it uniform and tidy. Again, you may keep horizontal or vertical lines in hanging your lovely picture frames.

For homeowners with such a creative sense, you may use the Geometric style. The requirements will include paint, paint brush, masking tape, ruler and small shelves. With the help of ruler and masking tape, you can create some different geometrical shapes on the wall. The best way to do this is to cover the wall with masking tape. Then design and cut the geometrical shapes on the masking tape. Once the shapes are cut, you may start painting the cut design and shapes. Just make sure that the masking tapes are adhesive enough so as to avoid any spill out on the edge. This will also ensure that you will have the perfect shape with a tidy edge.

These are simple ideas but are sure way to spice up your wall sections at home that are bare to look at.
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