Designing a modern living room

Choose a Paint Color

Living Room

Whether your particular style is country, modern, or classical, the colors that you choose for your living room are critical. Color must work in a complementary fashion with the character of your living room. A rich color on the wall sets the stage for the contemporary comfort that you are seeking. If you want a room that makes you feel warm and cozy, then choose warm reds and browns to affect your mood. If you desire a living room that is peaceful and cheerful, choose cool blues and greens to set the perfect tone. For a nice mix that is both warm and cheerful, a soft yellow can be painted on the walls.

Focus on Shapes

All kinds of shapes including square, rectangular, circular, and even triangular designs can be incorporated into almost any living room. Of course, smooth straight lines and rounded curvy lines can also contribute to the mood of the living room. Typically, it’s the mixture of all of these shapes and designs that produces the most aesthetically appealing living space. Throw pillows are a great way to incorporate a mixture of shapes, fabrics, and patterns into a living room. In addition, a rectangular couch can be mixed with a rounded accent table and a square table lamp. Vases and bottles can also add to the mixture of shapes in the room. Finally, add a few complementary framed pieces of wall art to complete the room design.

Accessorize with Chic Additions

Well-planned accessories can help the layers of your living room come together. Inexpensive throw pillows, decorative rugs and blankets, and colorful vases all complete the look. One of the best living room design techniques is to display the items that you love the most in bold and creative ways. Use those sentimental accessories to tie the theme of your living room together. You can even buy some thrift store vases, plates, and decorative sconces and paint them yourself for an added burst of style and creativity. The most important chic addition to your living room will be your light fixtures, so choose designs that work well with the style of your room. In general, larger and more colorful lamps will make a more dramatic statement. In no time at all

You can add one layer at a time and when the project is complete, you have a tasty living space. To create a modern living room, you must start with the design and layout of the room. If comfortable living is your goal, then furniture and accessory placement are the keys.

Posted in Living Room |

color of your walls can give your living room, bedroom, or dining room a brand new look and feel

Tired of ogling the latest styles in brand name home furnishing stores and catalogues, only to find that the price of one little coffee table equals more than half your monthly salary? Don’t be discouraged — with a little ingenuity, your home can be as beautiful and stylish as a Hollywood celebrity’s, for just a fraction of the cost.

* Start with the walls. It’s easy to forget that sometimes just adding a fresh coat of paint or changing the color of your walls can give your living room, bedroom, or dining room a brand new look and feel.

Wallpapering is another way to jazz up a room — but don’t break your budget hiring a contractor. Consider wallpapering just one wall, or only wallpapering borders.

* Create atmosphere with Light. Don’t overlook the power of a lamp. The right lighting can transform any room. Forgo overhead lighting for lamps, and stay away from halogen unless it fits into your modern decorative scheme.

Wall sconces are another great way to add a stylish touch to any room. Look for the type that lends itself to easy, self-installation.

* Accessorize. Another inexpensive way to create a designer look is to buy a few key accessories, like silk pillows, chenille throw blankets, and fresh-smelling candles. Choose an elegant centerpiece for your dining room table or coffee table, like floating white candles, fresh flowers, or a ceramic or glass fruit bowl.

Pictures, photos, prints and paintings can be hung around a room to create whatever look or feel you desire. Shop flea markets and thrift stores for prints and interesting photographs, or go to a discount store for frames and hang some of your own creations.

* Buy furniture that won’t break the bank. Shop smart for couches, lamps, tables, entertainment centers, and more. Estate sales, consignment stores, flea markets, junk and thrift stores can be gold mines for second hand but stylish furniture.

If you don’t want second hand, shop clearance sales or online. Online furniture stores can be treasure troves for good deals, since they generally have little overhead and therefore don’t pass those costs on to you, the consumer.

* Can’t afford a new couch? If you are somewhat handy with a sewing machine, use discounted fabric or beautiful sheets to sew yourself a couch cover. Still have energy? Create more cheap but beautiful “new” furniture by sewing upholstery covers for your armchairs or dining room chair seat cushions.

If you can’t sew, buy a shabby chic slipcover or tuck in a large beautiful sheet or blanket for a homemade slipcover. Finally, consider simply rearranging your furniture — finding a different wall to put your couch against can create a whole new look for your living room.

Use any or all of these tips to achieve the style you want at a low, low cost. Amaze your friends and family with your stylish home, then dazzle them with the shoestring budget you had to work with. Go ahead! It’s your home and you deserve the best without having to spend the most.

Posted in Living Room |

window blinds

window blind is a means of screening a window, achieving similar results to those obtained by fitting curtains. Blinds are typically the same width and height as the window itself or slightly wider and taller – depending on whether they are fixed inside or outside the window’s reveal (i.e. the wall recess within which the window itself is fixed).

Window blinds have varying thermal effects: they can block unwanted heat of the summer sun and they can keep in heat in cold weather. But in both of these applications, they also reduce light to varying degrees, depending on the design. Many kinds of blinds attempt varying balances of privacy and shade. Blinds can be made of a number of different materials and manufactured in a number of different ways. This usually determines the name by which the blind is commonly known.

Blinds made of fabric can either roll up around a metal batten (roller blinds), fold up thanks to a thin cord and small horizontal slats (Roman blind), folding blinds with no horizontal slats create a less structured look (Austrian blinds). Wooden blinds are generally known as Venetian blinds. A number of horizontal wooden slats are joined together by corded pulleys which can either gather all the slats at the top of the window to reveal the view or simply angle the slats while allowing some light to travel through the blind yet retaining some level of privacy. Wooden blinds come in a number of finishes (determined by the type of wood used, which ranges from painted to most types of solid oak varieties) and sizes (determined by the width of each slat which is usually available in one of three widths – 25 mm, 35 mm or 50 mm). Wooden Venetian blinds are also available as vertical blinds. These are usually made up of wider slats and operate in virtually the same way as their horizontal counterparts (i.e. instead of being drawn upwards to reveal the window, the draw to one side gathering in a vertical bunch).

Faux wood blinds are an alternative to real wood blinds. Made of a composite of man-made materials and natural wood particles, faux wood is also a less expensive choice than natural wood. These blinds have become more popular as the products have matured, becoming cheaper and more versatile at the same time offering more of a natural wood look. Current faux wood blinds are more warp resistant than ever before, have UV ratings as high as 500 and come in many colors that would be hard to find in natural wood blinds. Because of their resistance to warping, faux wood window blinds are a great choice for areas of extreme temperature swings. They are also the ideal choice for places with high moisture, such as bathrooms and kitchens, since they do not warp as easily as natural wood.

Posted in Interior Decoration |

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