Tiles Are Not Just For Your Bathroom!
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: July 11, 2009
Going green can be hard in the home, there are hidden toxins in paint and the manufacturing process is often less than eco-friendly. Tiles are the exception to this, being both long lasting and environmentally sound to manufacture. Service magic has compiled some eco-friendly tile tips to help you reduce your carbon footprint as you tile your home.
You may wonder whether green tiling will really make a difference to the world, but every little step is a step forward! Follow this Green Tiling Guide and you can be safe in the knowledge that your tiles and tiling technique are not costing us the earth!
Tiles are a staple when decorating a bathroom or kitchen; wipe clean and waterproof they provide a practical solution as well as an appropriate aesthetic. The humble tile rarely ventures outside of its pigeon hole of splash backs and en suites but a revolution is occurring within interior design! Tiles are spilling out of the shower and into your living room!
Throughout the mid century, tiles were used to decorate a number of interiors and exteriors, to break up and enhance otherwise flat surfaces; they gave a stimulating visual landscape and brought formal wall spaces to life. This technique has lost out to our ‘quick fix’ attitude to the life and times and wallpaper sales are through the roof. Tiles are a great and undervalued alternative.
The leading company to push these boundaries and dispel the common preconceptions of tile decorating is Bisazza, Milan; a favourite of designer Tara Bernerd. The exquisite glass and ceramic tile artthey craft adorn the surfaces of homes, hotels and designer retail spaces. They also create beautiful furniture; organic tiled tables are some of the most striking in their collection.
Granted, these aren’t just any old tiles you can DIY with some grout, a spirit level and a tile cutting jig. This technique goes above and beyond conventional tiling, using glass mosaic tiles to cover walls, floors and ceilings in your home.
Although a Bisazza designed feature wall may not be in everyone’s budget we can all take inspiration from their tiling schemes. The texture of mosaic tiles can create a focal point or contrast in an existing room and is an inexpensive yet effective way to renew a tired living room. Tiles come in all kinds of finishes; gilt tiling for example can add a subtle nod the metallic trend and catch the light beautifully if lit correctly.
If tiles in your living room are too bold a step, consider their use in your current bathroom or kitchen. Who said tiles are just there to prevent mess? The kitchen is the he art of the home, make a feature of your walls whilst keeping them protected from spills and splashes!
Tiling really isn’t difficult to do on a budget and you can get the whole family involved. A children’s bathroom has real character if the tiled walls are sprinkled with personal touches. There are ‘paint a plate’ workshops for kids in most towns that have the equipment to produce glazed and fired tiles.
From tiled floors in your hall (keeps muddy shoes from the carpets!), tiles in your fireplace and mirrored tiles on your ceiling to… well, tiles in your swimming pool, there is no surface you can’t tile! Don’t let the constraints of thresholds hold you back!
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Furniture Wardrobes – Creating Space in Your Bedroom
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: July 9, 2009
Kitchenaid Artisan Coffee Maker, Red
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: June 29, 2009
Superb coffee maching (via Coffee Makers)
Kitchenaid Artisan Coffee Maker, Red
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: June 29, 2009
Superb coffee maching (via Coffee Makers)
Inspiration for the dining table – to dine or to decorate? Why not both!
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: June 24, 2009
Much like your key fashion staple – the Little Black Dress (LBD) – you should pick a long-lasting dining table to suit all dining occasions. There are styles and shapes to suit every room, but you must make sure the dining table fits the room in size.
If your dining table is too big, then your room will look small and cramped and this will not make for an enjoyable dining experience. If the dining table is too small then it will be lost in a bigger room, and you will be unlikely to make dining as a family or with friends a pivotal event in your week. The dining table is the centre of the home for numerous lifestyle activities – from birthday dinners, romantic anniversary and valentines’ dinners, the Christmas feast, Sunday roasts, and those occasions when it’s just nice to sit around the table as a family!
It is important to select a dining table that suits your needs and your budget. However, there is a dining table out there to suit everyone. Whether you want to feast like a King on a chunky solid wood banquet dining table or sip cosmopolitans with the girls on a minimalist space enhancing glass top surface – onlinediningtables.com will cater for every dining need.
The trick to this LBD for the dining room is to transform it by accessorising. Matching chairs or a unique eclectic mix of chairs with a history of their own – the choices we make as a self-professed interior designer will be the talk of the town. The one universal thing we all possess is our creative capabilities to decorate, and this needn’t cost the earth.
Our options are endless – a swash of colour with a new table cloth creates a fun option for kids. A classic white shade with a vintage lace trim (the sort more suited to adult dining) creates a romantic mood. Or perhaps an exposed wood surface reliant on rotating patterned place mats to add personality and charm. This charm can actually be aided by the knocks and scratches your dining table picks up on its journey through home dining. The choice of table cloth will be the background colour that helps to ties everything together.
Needless to say, matching cutlery and plates will really help the overall consistent and attractive feel of your table decoration. Dining table centrepieces should be given special attention. A glass bowl filled with floating candles or pinecones, dried scattered leaves or petals, and even a garland around the base of the bowl can add a striking natural effect. A modern effect can be created by filling shot glasses with beads, pebbles or delicate flowers and lining the central length of the table. Flowers will always make a classic and inviting centrepiece – but it is important to remember they should be placed at a low level. A guest talking to a bouquet of roses across the dining table is never ideal.
Lastly, the atmosphere and mood is dependent on a combination of background music (depending on the occasion) and flowing conversation; a bottle of pinot grigio always makes the dining experience more enjoyable. By the end of its natural lifetime your dining table should have seen, heard and been part of a variety of dining events and occasions. And then it is time to plan for the next.
Contemporary Bedroom Furniture Has Many Options To Pick From
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: June 14, 2009
Synchronous bedroom furniture comes in umpteen contrasting styles. When production a style you can either let the name of the chamber set dictate the decoration for the way or you can cull a bedchamber set that fits in shaft with an existing ornamentation. Styles capableness from rattling ceremonious to really nonchalant and form use of materials that include actress, mixture, leather, and much.
If a choice of color is to be made for your new platform bed frame,you have to think of an appropriate bedroom.Bed frames are available in varying colours and you will naturally try to choose a color that goes well with the general color plan .There are two ways to do it. Either colour the room fittingly or purchase a suitable bed having the same color in mind
Your last stellar thoughtfulness you demand to piddle preceding to shopping for a bedchamber set has to do with filler. Beds come in more antithetical sizes and so your own preferences, budget, and dwell situation instrument humor into this choice. Time a enlarged papers bed challenger size is very prosperous and indulgent looking it may foregather out a small inhabit. Similarly you may requisite to forestall on value by getting a small bed but this may not succeed
When looking for bedroom furniture you have many choices available to you. One of the easiest ways to find a bedroom set is to consider both your own preferences as well as the interior decorating choices you have made in a room. A great bedroom set should complement the design of the room.
About the Author
When looking for contemporary bedroom furniture you have many available choices. You will need to consider a few factors when selecting your bedroom furniture. These factors include style, color, and size of bed.
North East design hub set to launch
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: February 24, 2009
Design Network North, a hub for innovative design in the North East, is to launch on 27 March. Funded by regional development agency One North East, Design Network North will assess innovative design projects, provide funding, and act as a broker for designers in the region. It is hoped that the network will eventually be housed in a £13m facility in Gateshead’s Baltic Business Centre. The initiative will be launched by designer Wayne Hemingway and more than 200 delegates from the design and business community. Design Network North will be co-ordinated by RTC North and supported by the universities of Newcastle, Northumbria and Teesside. An agreement with the Design Council is set to be signed, which will formalise close collaboration and enhance access for designers and companies to a number of Design Council initiatives in the region, such as Designing Demand and Public Services By Design. The North East hosted Design Council and One North East initiative Dott 07 two years ago. David Godber, deputy chief executive of the Design Council, says, ‘The North East is one of the most dynamic regions when it comes to strategically promoting design and its benefits in creating better businesses and more sustainable creative communities. ‘The Design Council is delighted to be a partner in Design Network North and we look forward to helping it grow and thrive.’ Design Network North project director Mike Dowson says, ‘Design Network North has been established to support innovative companies in the development of high-value world-class products, and the regional commitment through investment in a design centre for the North will be an excellent catalyst for the region.’ Malcolm Page, deputy chief executive of One North East, says, ‘The Design Centre North will be a flagship, state-of-the-art facility for business development focused on the use of design, innovation and product development. ‘We know that for this region to realise its full capabilities, businesses across all sectors must embrace design and the benefits it can bring.’
Article from http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/141379/North+East+design+hub+set+to+launch.html
Curtain Poles: The Unsung Heroes
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: February 10, 2009
Behind every pair of beautiful curtains there is a simple, steady, reliable workhorse putting in the hours for the sake of decoration and privacy. An ever present underground movement, hardly seen but without its dedication and commitment to the cause, our lives would be very different. Enter stage left…The Curtain pole!
Although remaining very much a behind the scenes worker, the curtain pole has wilted to peer pressure in recent years and has been forced to glamour up a little and “go public” in new and shiny ways.
Perhaps during yesteryear curtain poles were resigned to a couple of aisles or shelves in a large DIY outlet but now times have changed and there are many companies and retailers that specialize in curtain poles and the accessories that go hand in hand with them.
The bog standard, drab wooden curtain poles of yesteryear are a thing of the past as metal and brass (to name just a couple) have been jostling for attention and dragged all their many cousins (including dazzling new wooden cousins) kicking and screaming into the new millennium with them.
They say all that glitters isn’t gold, but you would be hard pressed to find fault with the role of the faithful curtain pole. In this modern designer world, curtain poles and tracks have been liberated, daring and bold, no longer satisfied with a back seat, no longer satisfied with a bit part, no longer waiting for a curtain call but stepping out into the limelight and taking centre stage, seizing their window of opportunity.
We salute you oh mighty curtain pole! You hold together and support the very fabric of our society, bringing us light and confidence. Ever silent yet unmoveable, spanning the vast chasms of darkness and our key to the world beyond. This is your time, a time for you to sparkle and enlighten. A time for mankind to sit up and take notice and to realise that without you our material would be just an untidy heap, a mess of silken pattern crumpled and broken, an area utterly “un-vacuum- able” and full of despair.
Draw back the curtains and enjoy a new dawn and a bright future. Draped in success, adorned in colour and splendour, the humble curtain pole is here and will remain a part of all of our lives, wherever we live, whatever we do. Long live the curtain pole!
Finito…..or should that read finial!
Decorating a Small Living Room
Posted by: interiordesignerer on: February 10, 2009
A living room is the most essential part of a home. It depicts the characters of the people living in the house as well as their flavors for life. From colours, fabrics and accessories that makes adds up in their living room can either make a small living room look dazzling or clammy like the monsoons.
Do you ever recall walking into a room with grey bolsters, larger settee, dusky counter and the ever fading light? Well, this living room appears to have space for all the furnishings, but not more than ten people can stand and breathe in this mounted area. Let me help you out with some pocket saver tips.
Delicate and Luminescence Colours
Walls are the key characteristic for making a room appear flowing and happening. A tiny living room can look bigger, if you try painting the walls or even ceilings with “terrific” colours like green or blue. Make sure the shades are darker as they appeal to integrity of the entire room. These colours have the ability to make your ceilings look larger in height.
Working with Window Treatments
For instance, if you have window treatments, you can give them an impression of extra height to the room. To give this impact, let your window colours move up towards the ceiling. Looks great! Trust Me.
Use Of Over Scaled Objects
Over scaled objects could be classified as partitions, large abstract, picture frames and decorations. These objects definitely make a room look larger.
Keep What You Need
Make sure you do not stack up your living room with mementos. The more space you leave, the more your living room will show freedom and clarity. Leaving space does not mean you empty the whole living room keeping nothing at all. Large leather couches are out of fashion and slimming down you portable furniture will not only give you space to move about in your living room, but also add a crisp feeling of comfort and a modern outlook to the room.
Flowing Curtains
Curtains need to be long and light in colours. White curtains sound like a little hard to maintain, but they add a charismatic effect on your living room. The great benefit of white curtains is that they allow the natural light to enter your room and add a smooth and cooling influence to your living room. The more your living room has natural light and air flowing in, the less chance your room will have to smell. Heavy curtains are a big NO!
Colour Coordination
The most important tip one must keep in mind while decorating their living room is to coordinate the colour of your furniture with the shades on your walls. If you need to add a little creative effect determine what will look good with which colour. For example, the lighter colours of green go very well with white. This turns out to be a bright and soothing combination.
Magical Reflective Surfaces
Reflective surfaces work wonders making a small living room grow into a size. If you have a large plain wall, you can hang a large mirror with some artificial light effects. This will give the richest and spacious layout for your living room.
Lighter the Fabrics, Larger the Room
For a long time, lighter fabrics are associated with the rich and the famous. However, with a little effort, you can afford them too. Lighter fabrics have the power to make your room look larger in size but at the same time, a lot more clean and crisp. Who doesn’t want a clean room, anyway?
All The Worlds Furniture
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