Choosing Colours For Your Interiors!

One of the greatest things about interior design is that you can opt for any style you like, it's your home and you should feel comfortable in it! You do not have to keep up with the very latest design trends to have an interior which is stunning.

If you can't decide on which colour you like best or simply have to have them all then simple aspects such as painting your cupboard doors all a different colour can look striking and very stylish! In order that the look is not overwhelmed opt for plain white blinds which enable you to control how much light and privacy you want or need.

Using Venetian styled blinds in a kitchen is ideal, particularly if they are made from metal which has been coated to help reduce dust build up as well as being very easy to keep clean, as they allow plenty of natural light to flood into the room creating a homely, bright and airy space when stacked at the top of the window or when the louvres are tilted open. If you have small windows you can further maximise the use of natural light up slightly tilting the louvres upwards which enables the light to bounce off a white ceiling.

Keep things natural in the kitchen by having easy to clean flooring around the working areas. If you have a table in your kitchen you can opt for a rug made from natural materials to keep the theme coordinated and bring a sense of homeliness as well as cohesion to the room.

Image: Avant-garde Design

Can';t Find The Curtains You're Looking? - Simple, Make Your Own!

If you're looking for a particular style of window dressing and are fed up with not being able to find exactly what you're after, then why not join this years interior design revival of making your own curtains or blinds? Further still you could even opt for second hand curtains and add your own personal touches with trimmings.

Making curtains is really not that difficult as long as you have the basic skills of being able to use a sewing machine; having said that you could even cheat and use the latest haberdashery and take up hems using iron-on tape! If you want Roman blinds these are available in kit form and all you need is a kit and the fabric!

With those parts out of the way you can begin with contemplating colours and/or patterns for your curtain project. Neutral colours are easy on the eye and can look good in nearly every space - they will also enhance on light or give the impression of light.

Colours create moods too so think about cool tones for bedrooms and bathrooms, warm tones for kitchens and dining spaces. It might be easiest to go with an existing colour palette that you have in your room. With large windows or rooms you have more options when it comes to bold patterns but with a smaller scale you should look for delicate details or stripes.

Image: Absolutely Beautiful Things

Are You Wearing Your Curtains?!

I couldn't help but smile when I saw this image! It reminded me of my mother who used to pass comment 'that looks like she's wearing her mothers curtains! Well, how times have changed and today wearing and being inspired by fabrics is bang on-trend. I was obviously born ahead of my time!

There are some stunning curtain fabrics online witch provide a cornucopia of beautiful patterns, styles and colours to make your own soft furnishings, curtains, blinds, cheap cushion covers and if you so wish a dress or a skirt!

The choice of fabrics is also expanding and today we dress our windows with the finest silk curtain fabric, sheer voile curtain fabric or more traditional damask and jacquard patterns, mixing them together to make fabulous window treatments which enhance the look of the windows and the home.

Thank goodness window treatments are also top of the interior designers agendas, rather than being at the bottom as they were in the past; they have become an integral part of room's design and are no longer looked upon as an after thought.

Image: Belle Maison

Living Room Interior Design Ideas: Creating Zones

I thought I'd do a little more on creating zones in an open plan living room - or a large living room by giving you a few hints on how to start new interior design ideas.

It could be that you have all your main furniture and are just thinking of ways to arrange it all and make the most of each item. It isn't a bad idea to start with some graph paper and a pencil, downsizing your floor space to fit on your notepad and playing around with the possibilities of floor plans - just focusing on larger pieces to begin with.

Split the main part of your living room into a relaxing area and an entertaining one. The relaxing side may have some extra comfy lounging seats/sofas, a bookshelf, fireplace and small coffee table. Your entertainment half will have more seating, a unit for placing the television,gaming consoles and a clever storage unit with ample lighting provided by an assortment of table lamps UK.

There are some fabulous ideas to take inspiration from; along with colour schemes and how to make the most of what you have by using re-vamping existing soft furnishings by purchasing curtain material online to make cheap cushion covers or Roman blinds. The possibilities are endless if you let your imagination run wild!

Image: belle maison

Beautiful Bedrooms 2 – The Comfort Zone

We all need a good nights sleep to be able to function properly the following day. Today's bedroom are seeing the removal of high-tech gadgets and moving back to bedroom as being a place for relaxation and sleep rather than being overloaded with plasma TVs, DVD players and built in sound systems.

Black out curtains or blinds can be your saving grace when it comes to sleeping at night. Outdoor street lights or going to bed early in the summer months can make it difficult to rest. You don't have to sacrifice style when using black out curtains or blinds as they come in a wide range of colours and patterns as you would find with normal window treatments. You may also consider layering your window treatments and combining wooden Venetian blinds with curtains for a more luxurious and finished look.


More and more contemporary bedrooms are seen with floor to ceiling wardrobes on one wall as opposed to lots of separate drawers, wardrobes and shelving. With everything tidily and conveniently in one space, there is more room to manoeuvre around and less clutter to have in sight. Built in bed storage has also proved to be a clever system to keeping your belongings neat and out of the way – the 'no clutter rule' applies if you want a relaxed mind which is conducive to sleep.

Image: Small Space Style

In High Spirits 2 - Maximising Space in Your Home

As we pack away our festive decorations we also look at the improvements we can do to our homes – maximising space is one of the biggest problems. However, whilst we're still in high spirits and still on the 'wave' our New Year's resolution now is the time to give serious consideration to the space we call home!

The idea of maximising space is becoming more and more common as home owners require space for their work/study area. Open shelving takes up the free wall space and a slim desk fits snugly under the stairwell . Make it all the more seamless and less obstructive by choosing light neutrals over colours. Wherever your windows are, you might need to consider some ready made blinds to have control over the light flooding into your new home office space – this could also be your opportunity to bring in some colour.

You could also use the space under the stairs for storing outdoor gear, shoes and school bags – just do it tastefully rather than throwing it all in the nook! Build into the nook an exact fit unit that has vertical compartments and a bench seat at the bottom which protrudes out from the nook. If you are a family of four for example, four compartments would give everyone their own space to hang up coats and scarves. The bench seat below could even be an Ottoman offering more hidden storage for sports equipment or shoes.

Image: Atticmag

Get The Look: A Bold, Graphic Bathroom

 In this post I'm going to share more interior design ideas for creating a stunning bathroom which is more suited to modern and contemporary styled homes.

Contemporary and elegant, the graphic bathroom is high shine - so sleek and smooth! This would be so much better if you have the advantage of a large bathroom, where you can squeeze in a Chesterfield style sofa in white leather (it is good to dream!) and to have enough space that your bath isn't squeezed into a corner or even against a wall.

The bathroom suite is really seductive with its matching pieces of black toilet and sink, a white bath and all three with gloss finish. Lines are clean and modern, only subtle curves are seen in the bathroom suite and your statement sofa or armchair if you had to downsize!

Polished white tiles on the floor and a focal wall with either black polished tiles or metallic wallpaper. Finishing touches include a contemporary light source where abstracts come into play and a large mirror on your focal wall.
As with the previous post try and use full length ready made curtains if you can; alternatively opt for high shine aluminium or white Venetian blinds to enable lots of natural light flood into the room.

Image:

Interior Trends of 2011 – Emotional Austerity

 Due to the financial recession the world of interior design believes that people are asking themselves questions to what they believe they need to live well. This is or has led to the emergence of simple living styles, formal or severe designs which mixes the fundamental basics and old with the newest modern and high-tech ideas. To put simply – Vintage, Modern is an interior design trend which will be seen throughout this year.
To get the latest looks you'll need to do some forward thinking by looking back in history as these time periods will be at the forefront of new trends and colours.
Tudor: This era was rich in voluminous velvets, tear-drop pears and tapestry accents.
Mayan, Inca and Hopi: Tribal influences will be seen in the use of geometric floral fabrics, trapezoids and early images of the sun.

1940s: This decade will once again influence interiors by featuring light maple, pecan and walnut, with fabrics such as seersucker, jersey and cable knits for home-made cushions and throws, curtains, blinds and soft furnishings.

Vintage, modern is an eclectic mix of old and new which enables us to revert back to old ways of hand or home-made to save money and be bang on-trend.

Image: atticmag

Quick Tips To Creating A Home Work Station

Get the lighting and the mood right. If there is too much light, get some Venetian blinds. If there is not enough light, get a table lamp UK. It's tiring and counterproductive to work in too much light or too little light. Depending on what your work is, you might not need anything but a little bit of sunshine. The blinds will help you regulate the light coming in and out of the room and then you can electronically regulate any more or less light that you might need. In addition, leave out the TV and the radio. Some people claim that they can't work without some background noise, so a relaxing waterfall or a noise machine might be in order, but do not put anything at your work space that will visually or aurally distract you.

Get a comfortable chair to sit in while you work, and take care of your desk! It is impossible to get anything done if you are constantly worried that your desk is going to fall apart. Make sure that your workspace is sturdy and ready to be used for what you need it for. In addition, place any appliances or work related items you need on your desk and take away any distractions or non-work related items.

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to organise your things and remove anything that isn't needed. This will make your work space a real work space and make everything else fall into place. If you are a stickler for décor, don't hesitate to look for appliances or a Venetian blind in a style that matches or compliments your desk.

Image: A Life's Design

Order of The Day – The Dining Room

 There are several ways to getting your dining room in order. Decide on your colour scheme and what kind of furniture you want, and then accessorise properly. Remember that the table is the centre of the room and every thing else can revolve around it if it is relatively simple and easy to dress up. Curtains and curtain poles can be purchased to match the colour scheme, even if it is metal. The next meal that you have in there could be the best one yet - considering how many compliments you could get if you choose your décor and accessories carefully!

Once you get your colour scheme and decide what kind of furniture you want, you can pick out your accessories, including the window dressing. Kitchen blinds are ideal if your window is situated above your sink as they won't get in the way when pulled up or down.

If you prefer curtains metal curtain poles are ideal for a contemporary styles kitchen. The best thing about metal curtain poles is that they can be purchased to match whatever your kitchen looks like. If you have a lot of metal and glassware the curtain pole brackets and ends can be clear or brushed glass, or even brass or silver depending on what you like or what matches your décor. The best part is that they are relatively inexpensive and can be a great addition to any décor to give it the 'wow' factor!

Image: AtticMag

Interior Design Ideas - Snow White

 I know it's a little premature to be thinking of snow – but couldn't resist sharing this beautiful white lounge with you. You have to admit that it look stunning with the touches of gold adding an elegant touch.

Furthermore this lounge isn't swamped by swathes of curtains and drapes and proves a point that a vertical blind can make a superb window dressing. The vertical blind slats give hight to the room along with an extremely versatile approach to privacy and fabulous light control.

All white rooms are still being favoured by interior designers this season; especially if rooms aren't that large as white enables a room to appear much larger, however the stark and clinical approach is subtly being made into a warm and friendly home look with the addition of soft grey rugs and statement table lamps.

Of course there is no room for clutter (my obsession which I haven't mentioned for a long time!) - having a beautiful lounge is easy to achieve on a budget as white paint is probably the cheapest wall and ceiling paint; paint flooring white will also help to highlight your rugs in an understated natural way.

Autumn/Winter Interior Design Ideas

 

 
It's well known that once the fashion industry shows it's latest season that interior designers will also be guiding us to the latest styles and designs which emulate the catwalks.

This season there appears to be two styles which are 'must haves' in both fashion and interior design.

The first is layering up – which means you can use a whole plethora of windows dressing at the same time if you want to be bang on-trend! Layering window dressings is nothing new – it's been around for some time the big difference this year is the amount of layers you you. Basically the more the better!

Begin with roller blinds fitted within the window casing – if you have problems with privacy Venetian blinds can be used instead. Then have full length curtains hung from either curtain poles or curtain tracks; the next layer is a sheer fabric such as silk curtain fabric or voile curtain fabric. Choose a complimentary colour which allows the alternative coloured curtains to show through and you'll have a trendy window dressing which will also help to insulate your home.

The second aspect is lace – and lots of it! You could return to net curtains as your main staple – however to be on-trend you should choose modern designs, colours and patterns. Again, use lace to layer-up your window dressing. Lace would be an ideal replacement for plain sheer fabrics and will add a touch of rough luxe to your room, especially if you steer away from white and opt for ivory or even black lace!

Image: Belle Maison