Make That Small Room a "Lodge Look" Home OfficeWritten by Pat Stelzer
The most important thing to remember is that room is small, and keep furnishings on a par with room. In other words, no huge pieces, nothing that dwarfs room. Go for wood framed furniture in pine or maple with loose cushions, simple, plain and comfortable. Use clean lines, and give room that lodge feeling with wall hangings and curtains that carry out motif. Stay clear of frills, and use braid rugs, unless you have carpeting. The key is use of wood, rather than overstuffed pieces. Take a look at furniture catalogs like those put out by Ethan Allen or Yield House, both of which should have web sites. Also, T.David Smith in Ohio manufactures reproduction colonial furnishings, everything from deacon's benches to tables, to accent pieces. Bring lodge theme to it subtly, as I said, with signs, other wall hangings (mounted old pistols--usually replicas), pictures of wild life (keep them small), and use fabrics in both upholstry and curtains that have a small outdoorsy print or simple, small check.
| | Putting PASSION back into home decoratingWritten by Veronyka Lau
For most people, they can count times they redecorate their homes in a lifetime on one hand. It's a shame because this is not because they don't have great ideas about how they want their homes to be, but that thought of redecorating brings following obstacles to mind:• Where to put up if I am renovating? • I have accumulated a lot of furniture and household items, how in world can we integrate them with this ultra modern design I am interested in? • We have spent all that money doing up place when we moved in and now we have to do away with it? What a waste. • It's one big financial outlay! But our tastes change, moods change over time. New notions inspire us even after we completed our renovations. Is there a way to invest in our homes in a flexible, relaxing and manageable way? To be able to afford stylish home transformations year after year? Yes! This does call for a whole new way of looking at home renovations, not as a singular large-scale undertaking but modular projects that keeps design process fluid and fun. Modular transformations: Where to start? Amazing transformations can be achieved by changing colour and texture around house with a new coat of paint, new fabrics or overlays. A homeowner is taken by Asian resort-style at a holiday trip to Bali wanted to give his home that same feel in his home. What he did was to overlay wooden decking in a strategic section of his living room, added indoor landscaping and enhanced his lighting. The solution was effective and relatively cheap. To be able to enjoy many years of such surface transformations at a whim without major hacking and construction work, you will need good planning at start. A good home design is all about form and structure, storage planning and circulation of movement. These are important decisions that homeowners need to make and should not be based on preferences for style as these change over time, but on lifestyle, family timetables, day-to-day habits and future household needs.
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