Furniture is not only functional but it also serves as decoration for the rooms that you have in the house. For this reason, it is important to arrange your furniture to make your rooms look nicer, elegant and welcoming to people. Arranging your furniture can be a task that is both fun and difficult at the same time. To divide a big space into a number of smaller spaces is a good trick but there are challenging spaces that need more attention sometimes. It is important to have your furniture arranged so that the place will not look like a mess when you are expecting guests.

For starters, you need to draw a floor plan of the room that you want to decorate to make sure that you have an idea of what you want it to look like in the end. You also need to draw the large pieces of furniture including couches, chairs, table for dining and cabinets. Keep in mind that you need more than one floor plan to get the best setup for the space that you are going to be working on.

Plan Traffic Patterns

It is best to have some space in between furniture to make them look neat and well arranged. The ideal pathway should be two to three feet between furniture. However, this depends on the size of the people who live in your house. If you have bigger people living in your house, you need to a lot bigger pathways for them to move around instead of knocking over decorations because your pathways are too small.

Choose a Focal Point in the Room

Arrange your furniture into an area that is well suited for conversations by choosing a focal point such as a beautiful view or a fireplace. Do not try to push furniture to the wall but make it work by putting them in the center of the room.

Create Outlines Using Your Furniture

If you live in a small space, make it work by using your couch as a means to make a border between the living room and the dining area. It is best to always make sure that you define the different areas of your house so it will look organized.

Use Chandeliers for Your Dining Area

Use a chandelier to hang in the dining area above the dining table and chairs. This will be used to define the dining area and will also give it an elegant look. If you wish to make your living room more private, you can use screens to separate the different areas.

Use Rugs to Group Furniture

Lay a rug underneath the pieces of furniture that you want to group together. If you choose to do this, buy a rug that can fit all of the pieces of furniture in the group.

Create a Flow

Open the spaces between rooms for entertaining guests. If you have an lounge area that faces the kitchen, you will have a good flow of people walking that are not hindered by other type of furtniture.

From time to time, homeowners want to redecorate their living rooms. For those homeowners with small living rooms, they often have difficulty on how to begin redecorating it because of the limited space. If you are one of those homeowners who have problems with a small spaced living room, then continue reading this article to obtain useful tips on how you can make your small living room look bigger.

1. When people want to make a small living room appear larger, one of the first things to put in mind is the layout of the furniture. As much as possible use pieces of furniture which are multifunctional. This will not only save you space but at the same time effectively make the small room appear bigger.
2. Avoid putting heavy furniture pieces with closed shutters on a small space however if you have bigger furniture pieces, they should be positioned right against the wall. Doing this will make the center of the room less crowded or crammed which creates an illusion of a bigger living room.
3. If possible, do not place the furniture right beside the door. This will make access to the small room unhindered therefore making it appear bigger. When choosing pieces of furniture, the best recommendation for small spaces is sleek furniture pieces.
4. For the draperies, choose curtains that have light colors, design and texture. This will let more light into the room yet at the same time keep the glare from coming in due to the rays of the sun.
5. Placing a mirror on the wall is one of the best techniques to make a small living room look bigger. This will give an illusion of more light and space. Mirrors are best placed on the side of the wall that is opposite the entry way of the room.
6. If you are planning to repaint your living room, the color scheme that you will choose will play a significant role in either making the room look larger or make it even smaller and crammed. When choosing painting colors, choose those hues that blend with the color of the bigger pieces of furniture. This gives the optical illusion of the room having a big space.
7. Also, the colors that should be used in a small living room should have brighter hues because they make an extremely excellent conveyance and reflection of both artificial and natural light which can make the room appear bigger.

Apart from the 7 ways provided above, there are still plenty of decorating ideas that you can incorporate in your living room to create the illusion of a bigger space. Even if you have never decorated a small living room in the past, the given tips and ideas are very easy to follow. Add a touch of your creativity and you are on your way towards achieving a bigger looking living room with great décor. Invite guests or visitors over at your house and they will certainly envy the good decoration that you have incorporated into your small living room.

You never know it but your home accessories can be much more than you think. If they are combined with other accessories, then you would be able to get the most out of them. Here are tips on how you can mix and match your home accessories properly!

Pick a Color Scheme

When you have a color scheme, it would be easier for you to make your home accessories work together. You can have a section in your home, for example your living room, match a certain color theme.
You can tailor your furniture and your accessories after these. If you want more splash of colors, you can also add theme-appropriate paintings or artworks. Indoor plants and centerpieces will also be a design booster.

Offsetting But Still Maintaining Balance

You can offset pieces of your home accessories and make it work together with other pieces to create balance. For example, you can hang art pieces above your fire places and offset these pieces to the side. Then, you can balance the scheme by adding tall pieces like candle sticks or a vase with tall plants or flowers on the other side.

Accentuate!

You can add home access that do not necessarily match with your theme but it still compliments the whole room. Usually, these items can serve as your center piece. For example, you can have a modern, chic living room. You can add a classical piece, like a sculpture placed on your coffee table, to add flare and glamour to your place. Although this piece does not necessarily go with the whole theme, it serves as a compliment.

Group Things Together

You can group similar or complimentary things together. Once again, they do not have to match necessarily. They can supplement one another. You can even make your own trinkets. Also note that you do not have to group lots of things together. You can get just two things and make them work. When you group too many things together, this can result in a cluttered décor.

Recycle Things

You can recycle things and make wonderful decors out of them. For example, if you have a mirror that you no longer use, you can use it as a tray. Stick other items on it, and you already have a nice home accessory. You can combine this with the tip on grouping things together. When done things right, you could have one of a kind home decors that go well with each other.

Layer Your Accessories

Layering your home accessories can add depth and dimension to a room. You can put together things by height. When a visitor goes over your home, they will also be able to see your personal effects more effectively. It is easier to look things over and they look all the more pleasant when done right.

Mix and Match

There are many ways to add variety when you are designing your home. You can mix things by mixing solids and prints, for example. You can apply this on your throw pillows. Again, make sure that when you mix and match, your accessories don’t clash. Instead, they should supplement each other.

There are plenty of methods or techniques that you can use to improve the look of your home and one of these is adding an area rug. Putting an area rug in a room is an excellent way to complete its look. Area rugs come in various types which makes you wonder how you can pick the perfect area rug that will work best in the room and will make your home more beautiful. This article will give you suggestions on how you can choose the ideal area rug for your decorating needs:

• When picking an area rug, it is best if to know if the room where you intend to put the area rug is often passed by or filled with people. If there is always a constant people activity in the room where you are planning to place the area rug, it is best recommended to pick a type of rug that is durable and has a high quality. However, if the room has less traffic, then you can choose a rug that is based more on your taste and preferences instead of its durability features.
• If you have kids and pets at home, then you would consider buying an area rug that is resistant to stain as kids and pets tend to spill things or poop on rugs.
• If you want the area rug to be the central point of the room, then choose a rug that has an eye-catching pattern or design. Otherwise, choose a simpler and plain colored rug.
  
• When shopping, it is also very important that you put into consideration your allotted budget for the area rug. If you are on a strict budget, then you can pick a cheaper type of rug which is made of synthetic materials. But if you do not mind about spending too much on a rug, then you can go ahead and choose one that has excellent design as well as good quality.
• When it comes to choosing the size of the rug, it is also extremely necessary to consider the size of the room where you want to place the area rug. You have to ensure that there is enough space between the wall and the rug.

Generally, when picking an area rug, you would have to put in mind your personal preferences, room size and price. If you do not have enough time to shop at your local shops, your best choice would be to shop online because there are plenty of choices available there. Area rugs are a great investments therefore, carefully choose a rug that is not only great in design or complements the overall décor of the room but at the same time is made of high quality materials that are durable and can last for the many years to come. There are plenty of websites where you can shop for quality area rugs at a reasonable price. You can start shopping online now and get the ideal or perfect area rug for your home.

Decorating a very small apartment is a great challenge because of the lack of space. If you are living in a small apartment, this will also mean that you are on a tight budget. The advantage of having a small space is that it will cost you less to decorate it compared to a bigger one. If you already have an idea of the budget that you have for your apartment, then read on for some tips that can help you with your decorations.

Prioritize

You should know what you are using the space for to effectively decorate it. If you are more focused on entertaining guests over the weekend, then you need to decorate your apartment accordingly. However, if you only plan to have some alone time, then you need to focus on comfort and privacy.

Look for Inspiration

Check magazines or websites to see if there is something that you like. You can also download or print the pages from website if anything interests you. This will help you get a good grasp of what style you are aiming for.

Choose a color scheme

Choose a color scheme that you like for your apartment and work with it. Light colored walls are good for smaller spaces. You can also choose a color scheme that blends well with your furniture. Remember to ask your landlord first if you are planning to repaint the walls. If it is not allowed, use fabric to add a variety of colors to the walls.

Go Shopping for Furniture

You can go to flea markets, garage sales and thrift shops to check out furniture if you are on a budget. When choosing a dining table, make sure that it has a drop leaf so it can take up less space in your apartment. You can also choose a sofa bed to use it as a futon and a sofa.

Treat Your Windows

Use drapery to treat your windows and make the lighting in the room much better. You can visit outlet stores to choose the color and fabric that you want.

Stay away from Big Furniture

Select furniture that will fit your tiny apartment and make sure that you will still have some space for other stuff that you need. A big sofa is not a very good piece of furniture to start with so make sure that you know how much space you need to make it work.

Use Everything as an Accessory

For example, put green apples in a glass bowl to display it on the center table. If your scheme does not go well with green, choose another type of fruit with a color that will fit. Use glass vases and fill them up with candy for your shelves. This can brighten up your apartment and is cheap so you can make a lot of them for different places in the apartment. If you do not want to use candy, use pebbles or seashells or any kind of material that has vibrant and multiple colors.

Sculptures are a great addition to any home. Lots of people like to put it in their gardens or use it as a centerpiece in their driveways to add a flare and a sense of class. There are many places where you can put it, of course, and they are sure to bring more splendor. However, you should still remember to always keep it clean. Anything, no matter how beautiful it is, will not look shine as much as it is when it is sparkly clean. You would be able to maximize the beauty – and the use – of your sculpture when it is not dirty. Also, this will add to the aesthetics of the place. Also, cleaning will help in the maintenance of the sculpture. It prevents corrosion, rusting, and other kinds of damages. Sculptures can be made of various materials. They can be made of marble, bronze, or concrete among others. And not one cleaning style can be a good fit for all. That is why you must also know the proper cleaning techniques for sculptures.

How To Clean A Bronze Sculpture

When you have a bronze sculpture, you need to clean and wax it at least twice every year. Clean off the dirt with soft cloth dipped in water with diluted soap. Let it dry. Then, gently apply natural beeswax from top to bottom. Do this by dabbing – not rubbing – the beeswax with a soft cloth. Let the wax dry. After this, you can polish the statue with a soft cloth. Buff the sculpture by using circular movements.

How To Clean A Marble Sculpture

To clean a marble sculpture, you need to wipe it with soft cloth dampened with a hot water and soap mixture. The mixture should comprise of a gallon of hot water to a half tablespoon of liquid dishwashing soap. You can use more mixture as need be, but keep the ration. If the mix is too soapy, you could leave streaks on the sculpture. After you have wiped the statue, hose it down to remove the residues of the soap. Then, wipe it down again with a dry cloth.

How To Clean A Concrete Sculpture

For a concrete sculpture, you need to hose the sculpture down first. Then you need to clean it with a scrub brush and a mixture of hot water and sodium carbonate. You can also use a washing soda as an alternative to the sodium carbonate. The ratio for the mixture is two ounces of sodium carbonate to one gallon of hot water. Remember to stir the mixture properly. After you have scrubbed it, hose it down again to remove the soap residue. Then let it dry. Generally, you can brush the sculptures from top to bottom once in a while. This is to prevent the accumulation of dust. This will also make it easier for you to do an in depth cleaning on the statue when it is scheduled. With these tips, you would be able to keep your sculptures in tip-top shape for a long while. With these tips, you can ensure a clean and beautiful sculpture.

Bookshelves are functional furniture pieces. Their primary purpose is to keep or store books. They may look simple and unimportant but they play an essential role in keeping your home organized and tidy. Majority of homes have bookshelves and if you have one and reading this article, you may be looking for excellent tips to style your bookshelf. Read on to get valuable tips that can transform your bookshelf from simple to a dashing piece of furniture. Regardless if your bookshelf is freestanding furniture or one that is built-in, these 7 tips will certainly help you improve the look of your bookshelf and at the same time enhance or improve your home’s overall décor.

1. When decorating the bookshelf using the books that you currently have, one factor that can help improve its look is how you place these books on the shelf. Use your creativity in placing the books. You can arrange them vertically or horizontally or you can arrange them by size and color. You can use bookends to keep the books in place. If you are not using the bookshelf solely for keeping the books, you can just choose particular areas of the shelf where you can place the books and use the other areas for placing other items.
2. Style your bookshelf using figurines. There are hundreds of varying methods that you can style your bookshelf using figurines. When choosing figurines to put in the bookshelf, choose those that matches the overall theme and style of the entire room. You can also use these figurines to keep the books in place.

3. Placing picture frames on the bookshelf is an excellent styling idea. These frame can either have you or your loved one’s photographs or place art masterpieces.

   
   

4. Use flowers and plants to style or decorate your bookshelf. You can put flowers on a vase or use a small indoor plant. They can not only add color to the bookshelf but at the same time, they also lighten and liven up the room.
5. When choosing a color scheme that you want to use on your bookshelf, make sure that it complements the overall theme of the room.
6. Another styling idea that you may want to consider is to change your book collections on the bookshelf according to the current season.
7. You can also make some adjustments on the heights of shelves to be able to make a space that reflects your personality. This will give a personalized style to your bookshelf. You can place bigger books on a space that has a larger height while small items or books on the smaller spaces.

There are other different ideas out there that can help make your bookshelf more interesting and functional. There are plenty of great bookshelf styling ideas these days which means that you are not limited to using and seeing the typical rectangles and square spaces of bookshelves. Your bookshelf should not be a boring piece of furniture. Just be creative by utilizing the excellent tips provided above and of course your imagination.

Decorating your home is fun and exciting. But, when you want to put so many things together or insist on getting your way, the results may not always be to your liking.

1. Color, Color; Toil and Trouble!

   Many people had decorating horrors because of painting their place. One liked purple so much they painted the whole room with it. They regretted it not long after because it felt like Barney vomited all over the place. So remember to do test pots first – and in various places!

2. Too Big For the Doorway

   Before buying furniture, make sure to get the dimensions of your place. That includes the doorways! One bought a beautiful mahogany dinner table. But, when they were trying to get in inside the house, it would not fit the doorway. The table had to sit stuck in the garage for a year.

3. Size Matters

   Always, always check the measurements! Someone bought a headboard for a queen size bed. Unfortunately, when she installed it, the headboard was a half inch short on both sides. When she checked, the headboard’s measurements had Mexican standards. Her bed had US standards. That’s what made the difference.

4. Too Much Clutter

   You may have collections or decorations that you want to have displayed on your living room. But, displaying too much might do more harm than good. Remember to organize your things. Don’t forget that less is more. This way, you would avoid getting your living room looking like a curio shop.

5. Uncoordinated Art Pieces

   Adding variation is something that must be noted when you are decorating, but not on everything. For example, you three art pieces of landscape. And then, a portrait of reclining women next to them. It’s not pleasing to anyone’s eyes, really.

6. Print on Print

   You know how print on print does not look well on clothes? That’s the same thing with furniture, especially themed upholstery. Although you may want some theme on your house, don’t apply it to your upholstery. Don’t make the mistake of having themed upholstery and then putting a patterned cushion on it. Terrible! Go for neutral or solid colors for your upholstery and add spice through your cushion.

7. Artwork is Too High or Too Low

   Placing an artwork too high or too low defeats the purpose of placing an artwork in your home. Remember to place it at eye-level. Guests wouldn’t mind admiring a beautiful work if they have to strain their neck.

8. Everything Goes Together

   As previously mentioned, variation is something that you should keep in mind when decorating. You don’t have to make everything match. In the long run, it will look to dull. Find things that work together and reflect your style.

9. Reviews are Important

   When you’re buying furniture online, do not forget to check the reviews of previous customers. A user bought a couch online, with all the fancy upholstery and matching cushions. Unfortunately, the couch was too uncomfortable, they let it go in a jiffy!

10. Keep Something You Dislike

    Some people find it difficult to throw out something they don’t like. But, remember, when you hate it, discard it! Don’t torture yourself seeing that stuff for years.

There are many people that live in homes with small spaces and it is very common to see that their kids share bedrooms. When talking about shared bedrooms, it means that you would have to have two or more quantities of everything. From bed to dressers, each of the kids should have one of these bedroom furniture or items. When your kids share a bedroom, it is time to find creative solutions that will improve the décor of their room without having to compromise the space as well as your kids’ preferences or tastes. Here are valuable tips that can help you on how you can decorate your kids’ shared bedroom:

• The first thing that you should do when decorating a shared bedroom is to redecorate it with a type of theme that all your children agree on. You can ask each of them for their preferences or taste and try to suggest to them a kind of theme that combines the kind of style they like.
  
  
• To save space, you can either purchase a twin bed or a bunk bed. You can either decorate or dress these beds with similar beddings. However, if you choose to use beddings with different styles, make sure that they complement the overall décor or theme of the shared bedroom.
• Matching furniture is the best option when decorating a shared bedroom. However, you have the option to add additional furniture that gives a fun vibe to the room such as bean bag chairs.
• For storage, you can buy cubes or boxes that can be stacked. This not only serves as storage space for your kids’ belongings but at the same time helps save room space.
• When it comes to the wall paint or design, as much as possible convince your kids to pick wallpapers or colors that coordinate with the theme of the room.
• Since your kids are separate individuals, you can personalize each of their area based on their preferences and taste to give some kind of distinction.
• If your kids want to have some privacy from each other, you can add hinged paneled screens. This allows you to divide the room without having to actually put in a dividing wall between them.

The most important thing to put in mind when decorating the kids’ shared bedroom is to always ask for their tastes and preferences. You can also ask them to get involved in the room decorating and designing activity to better enable them to incorporate their own style and this makes them love their room.

The simple steps provided above are some of the creative decorating solutions that you can incorporate when decorating or designing the shared bedroom of your kids. Use your creativity but also make sure that each of your kids is able to enjoy their personal space. There are many online stores that you can visit for excellent bedroom products and furniture perfect for shared bedrooms. Visit one of them now and you will see that you have plenty of choices to select from.

Developing a plant section is essential to having a garden that is low in maintenance. Some people think that plants just grow if you leave them in the garden, but this is wrong. There are plants that need to be fertilized, paved and mowed regularly like lawns.

If you want to choose low maintenance plants for the garden that you want to make, you need to ask people who are knowledgeable in this field to give you advice. Low maintenance plants will still depend on the climate and soil in your area, so it will still differ from place to place. This article aims to give you an idea about the top 6 low maintenance plants that you can choose for your garden.

Lomandra

This is a plant that is easy to take care of and is usually found in Australia. The Lomandra has strap like leaves that are narrow and has creamy flowers that grows on stems that are spiny. It grows up to 3 feet high and requires almost no maintenance once you get it growing. The new variety of Lomandra is called Tanika and it usually grows on any type of weather and can withstand heavy winter seasons. It remains green all throughout the year and are suited to all types of soil.

Camellia

This is a very attractive plant with glossy leaves and beautiful pink, red and white flowers growing from the stems. Because they are very gorgeous, people think that they are high maintenance plants. The truth about Camellias is that once they are already established, they will continue to bloom for many years.

Nandina Domestica

Nandina, as others call it, is evergreen in color and is a standing shrub with bamboo stems. It has a beautiful flora and usually have while flowers with red berries growing on it. These plants are mostly found in most places in Australia and is very tough to kill because it does not need much care to grow. These plants that boast a bamboo looking foliage can change its colors to orange and scarlet tones when as the cooler parts of the year approaches.

New Zealand flax

This plant has long leaves that are shaped like swords which differ in color according to their variety. Most of the varieties of New Zealand flax are tough and can go through winter season or any other harsh climates.

Bird of paradise plant

This is yet another tough plant much like the New Zealand flax. Strelitzia as it sometimes called, has green-grey leaves that are shaped just like spoons. It also has elegant orange and blue flowers that are pleasing to the eyes and are the reason why they are called Bird of Paradise.

Oleander

This is the best out of all the tough plants and are mostly found in Mediterranean regions. There are many varieties of this plant and the flowers can range from white to light pink to red. They can grow in sandy, salty, dry soil and will live through drought. The parts of the oleander, however, are told to have poison in them.