Adding Style & Personality to Apartment Walls

Last Updated on Monday, 17 May 2010 05:05 Written by admin Monday, 17 May 2010 05:05

Blank walls can cause a design mental block for anyone, but for apartment dwellers, the challenge can be especially daunting. Many apartment renters are restricted from painting or wallpapering and being surrounded by all white walls feels impersonal and inhospitable. But there are ways to bring interest, color and personal style to apartment walls without violating the lease agreement. Here are some solutions and suggestions.

Add Texture and Color with Tapestry Wall Hangings

Choose colorful fabric tapestry wall hangings to bring style and texture to your walls. Whether you love the look of an open air café in France or an abstract geometric design, a woven fabric tapestry gives the appearance of a wall mural and has large scale impact. Fall in love with a tapestry and make it the focal point of your room that will influence your other furniture and accessory choices. Best of all, when it’s time to move you can simply take the tapestry down, roll it up and take it with you.

Original Paintings

Rather than decorate with framed prints that are massed produced, shop at galleries or art shows for original paintings that will lend an air of permanence and sophistication to your apartment. An investment in quality art never goes out of style and if you choose pieces that you absolutely love they will be appropriate in any future home as well. A large original painting hung over a sofa or used as a focal point is an excellent choice that will inspire the rest of your decor.

Wrought Iron Wall Decor adds Drama

Wrought iron wall decor is available in every imaginable price range and style. It has the unique ability to add depth and dimension to a wall and underscore any theme. The black matte finish of wrought iron will unify a color scheme. You can choose pieces that are ornate and elegant or streamlined and minimalist, with a flair that can range from traditional, to colonial, to ethnic or modern. Choose a large piece for a focal point or add accents of wrought iron in wall clocks, sconces, wall grates, mirrors, frames, decorative wall hooks and shelves.

Decorative Wall Clocks

A decorative wall clock is an often overlooked option in wall decor, but let it be a focal point and you’ll be amazed at the elegance and polish it will bring to your plain white walls. Large enough to stand alone, wall clocks can be used above a hall table or sofa. Or choose a smaller decorative wall clock and make it part of a grouping that includes wall sconces and candles, a wall shelf, wall plant vases or framed mirrors. For example, a large English train station wall clock in black and parchment can make a country statement when combined with tin and mirror wall sconce, or it can take a casual approach when hung off center above a buffet or desk.

Metal Wall Art

Add depth, shadow and interest to your walls with metal wall art. Any style of decorating can be enhanced with these three-dimensional works of art. When combined with wall sconces or even candlelight from below, metal wall art glistens and creates an interesting silhouette, making it easy to create a focal point in a living room, bedroom or entry. Available in any theme or style, metal wall art adds color as well. You will find in a variety of hues that will accent any color scheme and style preference.

Home Decorating-Old World Style

Last Updated on Friday, 14 May 2010 10:38 Written by admin Friday, 14 May 2010 10:38

The “Old World” Style of Decorating is one that brings all of the elements of nature into play. Metals, clay, stone, wood, and countless other elements combine to create an atmosphere that is as charming as it is ageless. This is what old-world means in a modern kitchen. Despite the idea that this would be an inexpensive method of decorating the truth is that this style of decorating for a kitchen, probably more so than any other room in the home, can add up fairly quickly. The good news is that the results are typically breath taking when all is said and done.

The kitchen of a home is often the family center. This is the room in which meals are prepared and sometimes eaten. It is also the room where families congregate and discuss plans for the evening and the events of the day. It is often the location in which homework is completed and heartaches are commiserated with pints of ice cream. Your kitchen is the one room in the home that will probably experience more emotional moments than any other room in your home. For this reason it makes perfect sense that it would be the most expensively and extensively decorated room within your home.

When beginning with the walls for an old-world kitchen you may want to consider plaster or some soft of faux finish that looks like plaster in order to give the walls of your kitchen a truly ancient appearance. Aged yellows and shades of gold are an excellent choice for these walls as it will blend nicely with the terra cotta and stone accents that should grace the remainder of the kitchen as well as the darkly stained woods. Of course the walls are just the beginning.

You will want to insure that the lighting doesn’t go against the old world home decorating that you are incorporating by being too modern and bright in appearance. Wrought iron light fixtures and chandeliers as well as low light wall sconces work wonderfully in an old-world style kitchen. Keep in mind that many of the old style home decorating ideas can spill over into the rest of your home from your kitchen or can be used in order to set your kitchen apart as the warm center of your home. Either way a kitchen such as this will make a stunning impression.

Candles may also be used in order to enhance the old world appearance of your kitchen. Of course candles are a great touch in every room of the house as far as I am concerned. They can be used to create an atmosphere, set a mood, or simply as a method of adding a subtle hint of fragrance to the air. In addition to candles, grapes are another great addition to an old-world style kitchen. From wine to the simple pleasure of grapes straight off the vine these tasty fruits are almost a must in a kitchen of this nature. Wrought iron wine racks large and small are a common addition to most kitchens of this nature. These racks may be used to hold wine as intended or can be used for other creative purposes such as to hold kitchen towels or some other creative means for those who do not drink wine.

Pottery and terra cotta are also welcome additions in this type of kitchen. They, much like the plaster, the colors, the wood, and the stone add another degree of warmth to a room that simply exudes warmth and charm to all who enter. Use pottery to hold commonly used utensils, straws, toothpicks, fruits, and vegetables that do not require refrigeration. Use platters as art and terra cotta planters to hold herbs that are growing along the windowsill. In other words, let your imagination soar when creating the old-world atmosphere in your kitchen. You just might be surprised at where it takes you.

Bedroom Wall Decor – Fun Step for Your Distinctive Style

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 May 2010 06:20 Written by admin Tuesday, 11 May 2010 06:20

Many people neglect the bedroom and put more focus on home decor to the more visited rooms of the house. There are four types of bedrooms that maybe in your home. The masters, babies, teen and guest are all places where someone relaxes or sleeps. Today we are discussing the master bedroom where most of all your personality should shine through your choices of décor. This is your place of peace in other words your sanctuary.

One of the first things you notice when you walk into a room are the walls. If your walls are drab and bare so is the feeling that encompasses you. You need to make one or more walls the focus point to your bedroom. The walls should be designed with comfort and relaxation in mind. The bedroom should become your stress free haven.

Acquiring any form of wall décor is a fun step in the process of turning a house into a home. For any new project it is important to first determine your destination. Then determine the best path to reach your end vision. This quest can be difficult but I do hope to provide you with some guidance that will allow you to make the decisions that fit your home décor interests.

There are a vast variety of options to allow your walls to come alive with exuberance. From innovative lighting techniques to a collage of your family portraits can give you the outlet to let your creative juices flow. You need to choose a theme; color scheme and style then let your imagination run wild. Most importantly the beauty of the end result will be totally unique and will express your personality.

It use to be a privilege of the very wealthy to spend on original artwork. Today on the internet or at craft stores you can find a wide range of inexpensive canvases, paints, kits and frames to create original striking pieces of art. This outlet lets you become expressively creative in harmonizing with your other décor in the room. You might consider painting a small picture on one wall. Certain finishes such as faux can be used to create a pattern of design to make the wall vivid and interesting. This technique will inspire all those who view it.

Stenciling offers the opportunity to achieve a personal finish. Stencils have grown in popularity due to the ease of applying the design using the proper techniques. You can buy stencils and pick your dominant colors from the rest of your furnishings and put them in a restrained way on your walls.

Wallpaper murals are a great alternative for those interested in a picture as the focal point but do not have the talent or time to do this themselves. Wallpaper murals can transform your bedroom into a spring garden or into a balcony that over looks the ocean. Many murals use certain colors that can be drawn deeper into your room which will extend the texture and dimension of your room. What ever theme you choose the wall mural will add beauty and truly make your bedroom a sanctuary.

Lighting in a room is very important. There are three types of lighting general, task and accent. The use of these different types of lighting will change the way you see and feel in the room. Using accent lighting will add drama and will highlight the areas you wish to bring into focus.

Mirrors, wall sconces and clocks add a touch of glamour to any space on your walls. Bedroom mirrors create the illusion of more space and elegant living. Wall sconces with mirrors add a great deal of texture, interest and modern design to your walls. By adding a clock to an empty wall can make your walls go from boring to brilliant. Wall sconce candle holders with their mystical glow can change the entire mood of the bedroom. It can change your plain bedroom into a haven of romance or allow your mind and body to relax. Fragrant candles can make you feel like you have been whisked away to another place and time. They add a soft subtle light and distinctive style. Wall candle sconces are one of the most affordable decorating options that will never go out of style.

Bedroom wall shelves makes for an appealing wall and keeps you organized. The wall shelf gives you additional storage space and helps you display your books, knick knacks and collectables. Most wall shelves are easy to attach to the walls, increases the value of your home and adds a decorative element to the room.

Wallpaper is ideal for making your bedroom walls take notice. Light colored wall paper is perfect for smaller rooms. For larger rooms darker shades give you a cozier feeling as long as you have sunlight streaming in through your windows. Horizontal stripes makes the room look wider while vertical stripes make the room look longer. There are abstract designed wallpaper that can give more of a contemporary look and a floral print always gives you that pleasant effect. Wallpaper borders are an essential accessory for wall décor that is sometimes over looked. A wallpaper border is a strip of wallpaper that runs parallel to the floor on the wall at the junction where the wall and floor meet. They give a sense of finality and completeness to the wall. Some wallpaper come with matching borders. Some are of patterns while others are solid but both will enhance and highlight your walls. Borders seem to add that dramatic and sophisticated look and finish.

A beautifully woven wall tapestry may be all you need to pull the room together. Most of us can’t afford to go on vacations every day but a tapestry with a stunning theme can take you away for a short time. They seem to elude tranquility; romance and a means of escape that we need for our bodies to replenish daily.

There are no limitations in front of you. Let what’s inside of you inspire you. You will rise with the end result and triumph with an exquisite masterpiece.