Home Decorating Ideas – Shabby Chic or Simple Urban Decor..Which Would You Choose?

If you think about it, we all have a style of living that we enjoy and find both comforting and relaxing. When I’ve been away from home all day, as I’m driving back I can almost feel the atmosphere that I’ll be stepping into, and that’s a great feeling. At the end of the day what decor lifestyle beckons you? For this discussion we’ll compare two similar yet very contrasting decorating styles.

These two styles take different approaches to a vintage look. First is Shabby Chic, which most everyone is familiar with. Shabby Chic is similar to cottage style decor and is known for white, distressed painted furniture, soft floral colors in pale shades of pink, blue and green, vintage accessories and comfortable, slip-covered furniture.

You’ll probably find fresh cut flowers, antique lace tablecloths, scented candles and crystals hanging from the antique chandelier. Shabby Chic decor includes a mix and match of fabrics such as stripes, florals and checks, tea stained fabrics and flea market finds. All in all, you will be comfortable and at home with Shabby Chic if you enjoy a soft, floral, feminine style of decor.

Perhaps you enjoy some vintage decor but are looking for a more refined look with a contemporary flair. Your lifestyle decor choice might be Simple Urban.

Simple Urban decor is a combination of vintage and contemporary with natural fabrics, medium to dark toned woods, rich neutral colors and decor accents of iron and glass. And, the result is an uncluttered and spacious look. Antique pieces with clean lines (no Victorian here) and flea market finds are integrated into the decor as a counterpoint to the sleek urban style. Unique accent pieces, vintage or new, take the spotlight in this decorating style.

You’ll find a color palette comprised of shades of tan, gold, cream, brown and black, with bold accent colors to give drama and excitement to the area. As you decorate your space, you might find some great upholstery at a flea market or consignment shop, or purchase new. It doesn’t matter as long as you maintain the overall clean look and love the piece. The same applies to lighting, as you may install some track lighting in one area and find a great antique lamp for another.

What other design elements are found in Simple Urban decor? You’ll find wood or tile floors with area rugs, with the rugs comprised of a natural weave such as sisal, or you could take a different path and create a bold look with a very colorful rug. Case goods, whether they are new, vintage or flea market finds, will be a medium to dark wood tone. There may also be metal or glass accents. Creating a unique look with unmatched pieces will enhance your Simple Urban decor, so use your creativity to find some great end tables, bookcases, dining sets and the like. Window treatments can be a simple as a window shade for privacy with fabric side panels hung on iron rods. You may opt for wood blinds, shutters, verticals, or nothing at all to cover the windows. Use fabric sparingly, as you don’t want a treatment that is over dressed.

The final touches are what pulls everything together in your Simple Urban home. Accessories can be big, bold and colorful, vintage, reproduction or contemporary. As with your other selections, if you find a piece that you love, then use it. Be mindful of how much you put into your space and always avoid the cluttered, messy look. Each piece should have a presence of it’s own.

So where do you fall in these contrasting styles? If you love the soft, whitewashed, floral vintage look, Shabby Chic is right up your alley. For those who prefer a subtle vintage decor with contemporary flair, Simple Urban may reflect your taste. Whatever you choose, enjoy decorating your home and creating your unique abode.

Quick Front Porch Decorating Guide – The Key To Easy Decorating Ideas!

We get asked often the question “What can I do to decorate my porch without a lot of effort?” Or, “I’m not a great decorator, what easy decorating ideas do you have that looks great?” Front porch decorating is much like decorating any room of your home. Think four things: color, theme, focal point and purpose.

Color -  Choose Your Decorating Color Scheme

You can do an amazing decorating job just by using color. Don’t be afraid to use color. Not good with decorating color schemes? Neither am I though I’d like to think I am!  However, I can pick out at least one color I like. So how do you choose a color? Browse through decorating books, visit a department store home furnishings department or go to your paint store and pick out some paint strips that you like. Paint strips give you great ideas of complementary colors, too!

So once you’ve chosen a color you like, what do you do with it? Try  painting the front door. The front door can serve as a focal point or it can be used to telegraph your decorating color scheme for the rest of the porch. So your first step is to go out on your porch or yard and determine a great color for your front door. Depending on the overall statement you want, that is, bold, trendy, subtle, or somewhere in between, choose a color that will complement that look. Then you might choose another complementary or contrasting color to go with that.

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Theme

Most of us have at least some type of look or style we’d like for our front porch: country, Victorian, Southern, contemporary, southwestern, Tuscan, eclectic or even a sports theme.  Or perhaps you want a seasonal look depending on the time of year – spring or fall decorating, for example.

Some prefer, especially those along the coast, a nautical look. Others, like in the southwest, might prefer a western theme. This will help determine the items you want to display on your porch. Look at garage sales, flea markets, your dollar store, or a thrift shop to find items like pictures for your wall, furniture, tables or other charming knick knacks to carry out your theme. Chances are you have some items in your home already that you can re-purpose for your porch.

Focal point

A focal point can be anything from the front door itself, a beautiful wreath on your front door or perhaps a wicker table, chairs, and colorful table cloth. Or, it could be beautiful hanging baskets, a work of art (painting or sculpture), or perhaps a favorite rocker or swing. Above all, make sure your “focal point” is obvious and it should be a great conversation starter.

Purpose

How will you use your porch the most? Will it be a gathering place for relaxing in the evening? Perhaps you want a place to listen to music or share an intimate glass of wine? Will you be entertaining on your porch? Do you want to create a private nook for reading or writing? Knowing how you will use your porch will help you select the right furniture and accessories.

From country decorating ideas to contemporary decorating, just follow these four concepts and you will be surprised at what you can do. Decorating on a dime is still possible today if you use your creativity and are resourceful in finding charming pieces for your porch at garage sales, flea markets or even your dollar store. Take your spouse, child or a friend and make it fun! See what you can create!

Interior Design: Decorating the Interior of your House

It’s time once again to look at decorating your home? Are you excited about this possibility or are you frustrated? It’s the idea to decorate your home, or you want to move the town or make you anxious and excited? You’ll find surely mixed feelings with regards to decorating their homes. Not everybody is creative or intelligent. A single may well assume that they’re incapable of furnishing. Some folks just don’t have any of these projects. Then you will discover people who can’t wait to roll up our sleeves and get the paint and plaster. You can find many help available for each individual, no matter what their feelings in relation to decorate your home.

If you hate the thought of decorating the interior of your home, an interior model professional can be the best merchandise for you. They will work with you to allow you to pick a decorative model including colors, flooring, furniture and accessories. It’s going to launch the plan, but will likely have to hire a painter or someone to install your floor. It’s a very good selection in case you can afford, but several men and women don’t have the money to buy a professional interior decorator, a painter and a flooring installer.

If you are an adventurous individual can decorate in your home is regarded as just one more exciting event. You don’t have issue finding details on decorating within your home. There are lots of magazines published each month which provides information and instructions to decorate inside your home. There are books, books do-it-yourself giving particular details, step by step to decorate inside your home. The internet is often a excellent resource for easy facts about the device. Hundreds of pages filled with intriguing details to assist you to plan your decorating and assist you to from your process. Television can be a excellent source of interior of the home. There are several fact TV programs that may educate you and give you ideas for your home decorating project.

When you decide to decorate within your home, make sure you first decide which piece or pieces you will change. Pick a theme will allow you to make decisions concerning color, furniture, fabrics and accessories. There are numerous themes to select from, for instance Victorian, Cottage, Modern, English, French Country, Traditional, Medieval, Moroccan, Art Deco, Southwestern, etc. When you decide on a theme, you can then select materials based around this interior design of the house.

Use the resources offered to decorate within your home, you need to be in a position to make a color palette that will improve your room, pick furniture fabric adds warmth, you consider comfortable selecting and accessories that complement and accent your space. Of the numerous resources available to you, numerous will offer ideas for decorating your home free, you should be able to decorate your home an interesting adventure with little or no stress and frustration.

Home Decorating Catalogs

Lots owners use home decorating catalogs to order things to form improvements to their home or to induce home decorating ideas. Home decorating catalogs typically provide photos of complete rooms and the chance to get any or all of the things used to make the room. For individuals who don’t appear to be creative, these catalogs are nice resources for decorating tips for their home. If money isn’t a drawback, they could purchase everything featured in the house decorating catalog to form the precise same space in their own home.

Home decorating catalogs are normally made offered by major department stores, building centers and residential décor shops. These stores provide customers the option of visiting the shop to get merchandise, some will provide a delivery service or mail service and others have on-line home decorating catalogs obtainable to buy from. Home decorating catalogs are published for the advantage of the customer. These publications entice people to go to the stores hopefully with the intention to buy. Several stores send their home decorating catalogs to client through the mail. Providing data concerning location and telephone numbers, individuals will easily access their stores.

Folks can get a mental image of what their area could look like by wanting at the vivid pictures in home decorating catalogs. These books give hours of enjoyment for folks who are fascinated with new trends in home decorating. Providing examples of latest colors and new accessories, home decorating catalogs offer people an chance to remain in touch with fashion and even explore new prospects for their space.

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Home decorating is usually divided into completely different classes concerning style. A number of these designs or themes embrace country, French country, English country, trendy, ancient, Oriental, Victorian and old world. Every of these themes would have an individual section in home decorating catalogs. These individual sections concentrate on furniture, color, material and accessories which relate to the theme. If a homeowner was fascinated by changing the theme in their home from country to Oriental, browsing through home decorating catalogs would offer helpful data and an chance to buy items to help remodel their home.

On-line home decorating catalogs provide people a good higher chance to seem at on the market merchandise. The Web, with its capabilities is provided to supply enhanced images. With this in mind, a person would be able to induce a clearer image of the things in an on-line home decorating catalog. Not only would on-line home decorating catalogs give better images but they’re very convenient. On-line looking is quickly catching on in society today. More and a heap of folks are making the most of the convenience offered through shopping online. Without leaving the comfort of home, an individual will pay hours browsing on-line home decorating catalogs. If they notice an item or cluster of items they’d like to get, they can do thus online. With strategies of payment like credit card, Paypal or C.O.D., folks can order what they need or need from online home decorating catalogs. Home decorating catalogs, either on-line or a publication, offer people with access to everything they have to improve a space or their entire home.

Realize out tips on finding the best Venetian Blinds at our Awnings web site at Blind Factory.

How to Decorate your Cake Using Airbrush Cake Decorating Styles

Airbrush cake decorating is fun. An airbrush is a tool generally used for spraying ink. And a spray gun is a type of airbrush. The mechanism is simple to work out airbrush. Airbrush consists of a trigger. By simple pressing the trigger of airbrush, a blow of stream passes through it and color spreads on the surface of the item. Airbrush has techniques to spread more than one color at a time. While spreading the color, it automatically converts it into another color. Thus, airbrush is very useful in many activities like coloring the clothes, makeup, paintings, banners, hoardings, nail art, automotive, street artists etc.

Apart from these, airbrush compressor is also used to decorate cakes. Decorating is not so easy job. You can do it by hand. But if you want o decorate it in glamorous way, you have to use some tools available in market. Generally, for decorating cake compressors, airbrush or spray guns are used. Cake decorating airbrush is used to apply color schemes on cake or to cover background of cake with colors. The airbrush compressor includes a color cup. When the trigger is pressed, the air flow blows out and color spreads on the item which we wants to decorate. Some company provides airbrush compressors which does not need maintenance.

These are available in various range and colors. The smooth, soft cake can be prepared maintaining moisture. There are varieties of multiple amazing colors available for cake decorating. In market, decorative bags are also available. These bags are made up of paper, plastic or cloth and triangular in shape, packed with icing. These are used to draw pipes, borders, flowers on cake. With the help of the decorating tubes, you can draw roses, borders. These tubes are available in different shapes of the tip.

Cake decorating mainly includes icing and decoration of cake. The decorative materials like cherries, candies, sugars, icing, and chocolate, fondants, gum paste are used to decorate the cake. In many ceremonies like wedding, anniversaries, birth day parties’ decorative cake is a vital item. It’s very difficult to anybody to just watch a yummy cake covered with glazy items.

There are so many styles of decorating a cake:

The most famous cake decorating style is European style. In this type of cake decorating, cake is covered with smooth icing of fondants.

Victorian style is a traditional style. It is used in wedding ceremonies in Europe. It is a ladder styled cake, having pillars of flowers. This ladder styled cake is decorated in each tier. Nowadays, many styles of cake decorating are available in the market. Like wedding cake is decorated with flowers and at the top bride and groom are placed which is made by plastic. Fondants give smooth look to cakes.

In Lambeth style, layers of icings are applied on the cake. The layers of icing are applied in such a way that the layers gets dimensional look. This old method, Lambeth originated from the countries like New Zealand, North America, South Africa, and Australia.

Australian style is same as Lambeth. In this style cake is fully covered with fondants. And, icing is applied in piping structure.

Wilton method uses icing of butter cream. And, flowers and decorated borders are applied on the cake so beautifully.

Some schools, institutes provide cake decorating techniques. Nowadays, media is also participating in cookery shows. So global public also gets knowledge of these things. You can easily learn it by sitting at home. In market, cake decorating books, DVDs are available. Some cake decorating professionals conducts classes, workshops of cake decorating techniques. Its easy now to prepare a beautiful, attractive, decorative cake for your celebrations.

Using Fabrics to Enhance Your Home Decorating Project

When you begin to start your home decorating project, you will realize the important role that fabric will play in the overall plan.  Fabrics are an essential part of creating the theme of the room.  The right fabrics can turn an otherwise bland room into a haven of comfort and it will become an inviting place to spend your time.

Choose a Theme

In choosing the theme for your room, keep in mind the use you have in mind for the room.  Will it be casual or formal?  Is it for personal use or will there be guests invited in?  There are many home decorating magazines from which you can get countless ideas.  Find your ideal room, or several that have areas that you like.  Notice the styles and colors of the fabrics used.  Cut out the areas you like; the colors, fabrics, furniture, rugs, etc. and make a notebook.  Take your notebook with you and go to a fabric store.  Look around and find similar fabrics, put samples in your notebook.

If you’ve chosen a Victorian style for your theme, you’ll find that burgundy, pink, blue and green are used in velvets and rich looking brocades.  These fabrics are used for drapes, upholstery, cushions, slip covers, even bedding.  Victorian home decorating style also shows numerous types of trim, such as lace and ribbons.

If you like an Italian style Tuscan look, damasks, woven textures in warm reds and golds, with terracotta and olive or sage green will impart a traditional look.  There are many different home decorating choices in this style.  Try some stripes, the old style look of florals and vegetable motifs to impart your own version of the décor.

Enhance your existing style

Even if you don’t want to change the style of your room, you can use many home decorating tricks to freshen it up.  A few new pictures, a lamp or two and throw pillows. Take pictures of the room with you into a fabric store and look around for something that calls out to you.  Choose easy care fabric if it’s a family style room.  Fabric such as cotton comes in all kind of thicknesses and weaves.  Try some exotic fabrics and use them in ways they were not originally intended.  Find a remnant of an especially expensive fabric and frame it.  Use light weight piece of carpet as a table or piano cover.  There are a myriad of ways to use fabrics in your home decorating that will impart a unique yet personal touch to the decor.

Decorating with Furniture Layout – Part Five – QC Design School

Interior decorating course tutorial: Looking at fabrics to use within a room and how to bring out the best colours within the space. QC Design School offers distance learning courses to help start your career as a decorating professional. Now that we’ve looked at all the fabrics in this room, I’d like to take them in the actual room and see them with the rug and come up with the ones that are going to work nicely in the room. Right away I see ones that I don’t like and ones that I love, this is why I think it’s helpful to bring everything back into the room and it’s OK for me to sit back in my office and pick colours according to my little picture of the carpet. It is actually when you get into the room with the lighting with the rug, then you’re going to see what is going to work or not work. I don’t know if you have any favourites at this point. Now right away that one I don’t like at all, it’s too strong it’s not really working, I thought it would be interesting to look at but that’s a goner. I love that, this carpet has a lot of red and I’m down playing the red and going more into the greens and the blues. In this case, this one works really beautifully, when you see the more muted tones of the greens and the blues. I wasn’t sure how well it would work until I got it in the room again and it does work quite nice, it really pulls in the softer versions of the greens and the blues. Has a little touch of the red in this one to make it interesting. This is a little bit …

Decorating Victorian Style Defined

by Nicole Maddox

The Victorian era was a period of prosperity, optimism and richness. Named due to Victoria occupying the throne during this time, England experienced a huge amount of growth and increase in wealth as did the surrounding areas. This richness inspired an elegant and ornamental decorating style that aimed to boast ones wealth. As Britain experienced the industrial revolution, Victorian style and decor became more accessible to the middle class.

If you’re looking to decorate your home or a room in the Victorian style or add a Victorian flourish or accent, but don’t know where to start, don’t fret…some helpful tips are listed below:

- Colors: Victorian colors can include light colors, however, most Victorian decor includes very rich colors, although subdued and warm.  Colors may include shades like forest greens, wine colors, rust, purples, browns and golds.

Start with a flooring that that represents the ornate look of the Victorian Era. If you opt for hardwood flooring, most traditional wood will work well (as long as you stick to darker or richer colors such as cherry) with the overall look once the room is complete, however, true Victorian style would dictate a hardwood pattern such as a checkerboard or diamond pattern. If you go with a carpet, stay away from really light colors and use a  cut pile carpet or dense, thick carpeting. Oriental carpets/rugs are perfect additions to your Victorian Flooring. A popular Victorian option for wet areas such as a kitchen or bathroom may include black and white tile patterns.
Hand-carved ornate dark wood furniture, such as cherry with fabrics such as velvets and embroidered materials are perfect for a Victorian room. Credenzas, side tables and coffee tables with marble tops or accents are also nice additions to this style of decor. Victorian Era furniture was/is often completed with details such as lace doilies, and embellished accent pillows.
Wall and window coverings are also very important elements of the Victorian Decor. If you are using paint, be sure to use a Victorian color, but also add a faux pattern or texture, as texture was a very important part of Victorian decor in general. If you decide on a wall paper, pick a floral pattern that also fits the Victorian color palette. A Victorian room should be finished with a crown molding. Window coverings can be fashioned from an embroidered fabric or velvet material. These fabrics may be too heavy depending on selected wall covering and furniture. If this is the case a lighter material such as silk or lace may be used. Braided rope, or embellished ribbon should be used as a tie back.
Accent pieces used to finish your Victorian Style Room may include artwork, such as oil paintings of the era (maidens, children, landscapes) framed in dark wood or gold, tapestries, and sculptures. Crystal pieces, ornate candles/candle holders and ambient lighting/lamps with beaded shades and Tiffany style or stained glass lamps will finish the room with an added richness completing your Victorian Look.

As an added word of caution, although the Victorian look is one that includes rich colors, texture and pattern, which creates a beautiful look, beware that you can easily overdo this look and end up with a room that is gaudy and overdone.

Use your own taste and instincts with what works together and you will have a room or house that will be enjoyed for years to come. Good luck and happy decorating!

101 Victorian Decorating Ideas

101 Victorian Decorating Ideas

When we think of Victorian Decorating, we think of ornate décor, rich cranberry colors, pinks, peaches and golds, lace and silverplated coffee sets. Tie that in with a little country charm, old country baskets and floral cloths, and you have a beautiful combination of luxury and simplicity.

Use these decorating ideas to get the feeling of old-fashioned living. Fresh air, views of the countryside………let’s go on the journey back in time.

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Home Decorating: Colorful homes, Decoration Inspiration…Ucinteriors.com

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