Bohemian curtains... the burst of colors in your home

You don’t have to be an all-the-way minimalist.  You could maintain that crisp clean minimalist style in the living room.  But then, why not surprise yourself by a burst of colors when you enter.

Bohemian style is all about contrasting colors.  Curtains are one of the staple accessories of a bohemian style bedroom.  Hang colorful curtains of different fabrics, texture and designs on your bedroom walls

Romantic touch with colours

Adding an air of romance to your home can be done with colors that are poetic and enchanting. These colors range from charming, comfortable country colors to fanciful hues. We can always use these kind of different color hues to define our decor theme. Romantic and luxurious atmosphere, we can always establish on a wall or by a fabric furnishing, piece of furniture or may be with an accessory. Here we have got some real romantic, colorful rooms just for you and just imagine the pleasure you can have by owning one of these rooms in your home.

Curtain Trims for your desirable home

Curtain trims or passementerie is high quality decorative textile bands, which are an easy way to provide detail and smarten up a simple curtain or drapery. They range from tassels to cords, lace, velvet and ribbons. The most important thing to remember is to keep the scale, weight and proportion in keeping with the dimensions of the curtain.

To follow are a few types that are available, most come in natural fibers and synthetic fibers, the luxury end of trims are often made from silk or linen. Often rayon or viscose is added to cotton or wool to provide sheen to them.

Braid

Is a woven ornamental trimming that has two finished edges, it is a flat border. It was popular for placing over finished edges of upholstery on chairs.

Gimp

This has looped or scalloped edges and is a narrow type of braid. It is often used to cover over upholstery tacks on chairs.

Piping

Piping Is a product that can be stitched into the seam of a curtain. It is a fabric-covered cord in a pipe like fold over cord with a narrow flange. It provides a subtle detail to drapery and is a good way of introducing a highlight color. It is used extensively with cushions and not as popular with curtains because it is labor intensive to make.

 

Buttons

Buttons can be covered in fabric or selected off the shelf, they are used to pull two pieces of fabric together for example a cushion pulled in the center, or create a design – the back of a chair can be buttoned creating a padded look i.e. Chesterfield.

With curtains they can be used with French Pleats to hold the pleat together at the base and create a stunning look if used in a contrasting color. They are often used on tiebacks, and are a decorative feature on valances when used to hold tassels.

Cord

This comes in almost any fiber imaginable and multiple colors, is usually thick and twisted rope, generally used as a tieback, it can be used as a simple trim. It can be one color or several colors twisted together. It is used for tiebacks and tassels.

Jacquard Border

A flat braid that has been woven on a jacquard loom.

Tassel Fringe

This is a looped fringe with a tassel skirting. It creates an effective finish to the leading edge of a curtain, the bottom edge of a blind and is frequently used on the lower edge of scarf drapery and sometimes decorative valances.

Frog

Loops of silk covered wire or wrapped cords of oriental decent.

Curtains – The “ins and outs” – How to Select the Height or Length of Curtains

There are only a few simple rules to follow for choosing curtain height or length

The length or height of the hung curtain should be to the floor or the windowsill.

Anything in between looks rather odd.

There is a trend today of puddling curtains, this is where they are made longer than the height required and “puddle” on the floor, this requires a skill in fabric selection, so that they sit well. It is used commonly in living rooms and bedrooms.

With puddled curtains on a hand drawn track, make sure that the width of the curtain is not excessive as they become heavy and difficult to draw back. They are also prone to picking up all the fluff from your floor, so a little bit more attention is required to keeping them looking smart.

The top of the curtain (the heading), for all curtains can be at ceiling height, above or at the top of the window frame or flush with the window reveal.

It all depends on the space that you have. Do keep your choice constant in your home as it can look very odd if some curtain heads are fixed at different heights to others, especially when you can view through from room to room or worse, in the same room.

The finished length of ceiling to floor curtains should leave a 10mm gap, so that they don’t catch the floor and are easy to draw back, the gap for finishing at a windowsill only requires 5mm.

For safety reasons, never cover radiator heaters with curtains, look for another solution, either stop the curtains short of the heaters or use a blind as an alternative style of window treatment.

Consistency in design of the window treatments allows for a symmetrical form to be created here in this photograph. The head of the curtains are all the same height and the window swag and tail valance details are all the same and they are all held back at the bottom of the window sill which provides a regular frame for the windows and creates a flow and rhythm to the window treatments.

Check this out......Fresh Rooms

5 Ways to Design an Amazing Bed

I have always believed that good interior design can change the way you live your life and how you experience it. Recently, several friends of mine have been going through some life changes which have now lead into home changes. Suddenly, they’re ready and interested on getting organized, living more simply and bringing some design into their lives. I have noticed already how it is beginning to change their lives and their outlook at home. Even in the early stages of simply planning interior design updates to their spaces can change things.

Getting up every day and making your bed is just one of those things that make you feel good about the start of your day, unless you’re dressing your sad bed. If that’s your dilemma, here are five ways to make your bed look amazing.

1.    Add or Swap Out Your Headboard

We know you’re out there. You know who you are. Some of you are out there living without a headboard! Its okay, I’m not proud of it, but I’ve done it too. Let’s move forward by adding a beautiful new headboard to your bed. If you already have a headboard, maybe it’s time to swap it out for a new one.

This doesn’t mean you have to go out and spend thousands on a fancy new headboard. Headboards can be painted or decals, old doors or even keep upholstered! Don’t assume that when you need or want something new for your space that you’ll have to run out and spend a bunch of money on it.

2.   Punch it Up with Pillows

Punch up your bedding with pillows. A bright pop of color, mixed with different textures and patterns will make your bed look its best and help you start your day off on the right foot! As you can see in the example above, you can readily mix patterns, textures and colors as long as they have similar cohesive elements. That will help you create more visual interest.

3.   Add Some Drama with Draperies

Up the drama ante in your bedroom by installing draperies in the form of a canopy. This can be accomplished with the use of a canopy bed or a four-poster bed. In addition, you can simply purchase crowns that will allow you to drape fabric near the head of the bed only.

Depending on the fabric you use and the style you select, bed draperies can be utilized with any design style – not just for formal spaces. In the example above you can see that by using a lightweight, white fabric creates a more relaxed, romantic feel in that bedroom.

4.   Add Visual Height

So, you’ve got a low headboard and no funds to purchase or desire to build your own, taller headboard. Fine, no problem! You don’t have to, you can create height visually above that low headboard through the use of art, a mirror or any other wall-hanging. Even though what you’re hanging on the wall isn’t part of the headboard, the great thing is that the eye automatically registers it similarly. You’ve created the same visual height as a tall headboard without actually using a headboard. If you want to take it further, try a glossier finish on the walls as they’ve done in the photo above. Just make sure your walls are free of imperfections as glossy finishes will make them even more noticeable.

5.   Put All of it Together

If you’re really ready to go full force, put all of the tips together for maximum impact! Using the example above, see how all of these tips come together to create a dream bed perfect for any magazine cover shoot. Let’s look at what makes this bed area special:

    Texture, pattern and color on the bedspread and pillows create maximum visual interest for this bed while still keeping a cohesive theme throughout. Punching it up with pillows!

    An upholstered headboard brings shape and structure to the bed, while the dark color allows it to recede into the space, allowing the bed linens to do the talking.

    The tall drapery behind the headboard creates the visual height, while the color matched to the headboard allows the two to recede into each other.

    Finally, more visual height, texture and color are brought into the space through the use of the bedside lamps and accessories. In addition, the black nightstands blend into the headboard and drapery to allow the accessories to have an almost floating affect. They’re certainly made to be the focus of attention in this space.

Try some of these tips to dress up your bed and give more life to your bedroom. I’m willing to bet that if you implement any of these tips, you’ll be more likely to make your bed daily. After all, who wants to make a sad bed?

OVERALL HOME ORGANIZATION (Q & A)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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i thought i should start the week with a Bang!!!  Home Organization with suggested questions and answers that could be considered useful.

Q. How can a well-organized home affect a homeowner's overall mood and performance in various aspects of everyday life?

A. We all lead busy lives, and if you're in a muddle at home, looking for things you need, can waste a lot of time. If you have a place for everything, putting away clothes or filing everyday paperwork becomes less of a chore. And whether we realize it or not, we all feel more relaxed sitting or sleeping in a room that is calm, tidy, and well-organized. If you have children, your organizational skills will rub off on them, and they will learn good habits from the start.

Kitchen Storage on a Budget

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Q. What's the best way to improve kitchen storage if there is no budget or space to expand or remodel?

A. The key is to reorganize the interiors of the cupboards you already have. Scrutinize the entire contents of your kitchen cabinetry and make a list of categories: from pantry-shelf foods to fresh vegetables, cooking implements to crockery, and so on. Then strictly allocate particular cabinets, drawers, or shelves to each category, ensuring that the things used daily are in the most accessible places

Media Storage

warm brown sitting room

Q. I am planning to purchase a media-storage unit for my family room. How can I make sure that what I buy keeps up with changing technology?

A. The most versatile choice would be a freestanding media cart. Many discount stores sell inexpensive versions, including trendy designer-style varieties. Choose a piece with a top shelf for the TV and one or more narrow shelves below to accommodate elements such as a DVD player and video game consoles. Coordinating shelf units can store other items such as board games, DVDs, and toys.

Basement Storage

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Q. My bedroom closet is tiny, and the only place I have to store off-season clothing is in the basement. What's the best way to do this?

A. Invest in zipper bags and storage boxes so your clothes are neatly put away in the basement until next season. Clear shoeboxes make it easier to spot what you have, and hats, handbags, and accessories such as scarves should be neatly stacked into smaller boxes and labeled for easy access. Remember to include some mothballs to prevent problems.

Hallway Storage

  Hallway Storage

Q. I don't have an entryway, and mail, purses, school bags, cell phones, and chargers all wind up on the kitchen table until suppertime, when they get shoved to the counter. Is there a simple answer?

A. The best place to keep these items where they'll be ready to go in the morning is in a hallway. If you have enough space for a narrow console table or even a dresser in a hall, then this is the place to store them. If you have narrow hallways, the best solution is to install a small, wall-mount cupboard or galvanized-metal racks.

Catchall Room

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Q. I'm thinking about converting my guest room into an office. I'll still need to accommodate my mother-in-law when she visits. Any ideas?

A. First, you will need a single bed permanently in place. Rather than keeping it made up, consider a divan with a few pillows so that most of the time it looks like a smart daybed. This can become the perfect spot to sit and think when you're not at your computer. Of course, it will be essential to have a desk and an office chair. Just ensure that your work stuff can be put away when your mother-in-law arrives.