Tips on Balancing Walls With Wall Art Decor

Tips on Balancing Walls With Wall Art Decor. Spice up a boring room with some decorative artwork. Learn how to balance the pieces hanging on the wall with the furniture in the room to create a finished and well-accessorized look. Balance space and different sizes of artwork to get the most from a bare wall. Turn a naked wall into a decorative wall by hanging artwork into symmetrical or asymmetrical groupings.

Test Out Groupings

Before hanging photos, paintings or other artwork on the walls, test the artwork in the room to see if it goes. Martha Stewart, in her article "Arranging Pictures," says that most groupings will have a common thread that ties the pieces together. Color, a particular style of frame or a type of art may bring a sense of cohesiveness to a room. Look for pieces that help define the message or the room, whether it is casual or stimulating.

Balance Artwork Evenly on Walls

Help a viewer make sense of a room with artwork by balancing the pieces on the wall. Distribute the visual weight evenly to bring structure to the wall. A symmetrical arrangement will mirror each half of a grouping. Complete a sense of balance in a room by placing several art pieces spaced evenly on a wall. Keep pieces of the same size in groups of two or four; flank two wider pieces beside a long, narrow piece for even balance.

Consider the Negative Space

Look at the rest of the wall you are decorating to balance artwork in a room. "Arranging Art Groupings" in Rental Decorating Digest recommends placing your hand with fingers together between each piece of art for easy spacing measurements. Normal spacing between pieces ranges from 4 to 6 inches. A tightly spaced grouping will have less than 2 inches between prints. Keep the space of the wall in mind when working with multiple pictures.

Choose Unusual Groupings

An asymmetrical arrangement can be just as aesthetically pleasing as a symmetrical one. Play with different picture sizes, frame colors and spacing to give a room a vibrant feel. Remember to follow a common theme such as a particular style or color to keep the arrangement looking purposeful. Create simple shapes such as a triangle or circle on a wall with various sized mirrors or prints. Choose a circular piece of art and balance it with several smaller square-framed pieces and hang them in a straight line. Mix it up with hanging arrangements and get a feel for what you like by testing out unusual groups to see what makes a room pop.

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Lakehouse Interior Design Ideas

Lake houses are usually summer residences, places where people retreat for vacations or long weekends to get away from the daily grind of their jobs and busy lives. Therefore, comfort and practicality should be foremost in your mind when decorating your lake home, as well as versatility. Since you will probably entertain houseguests from time to time, you'll want a relaxing place for both you and your guests to kick back. Some interior design ideas for your lake house follow.

Paint

Paint your lake house interior with muted neutral tones or pastel shades. Various hues of white, beige and taupe will give your house a light, airy, relaxing feel and will open up the interior space.

Decor

Keep the lake house clutter-free. The more simplistic your decor, the better. The goal is to give your home the feeling of the outdoors. Decorate using wooden, hand-carved sea gulls and sailboats for a nautical theme, or consider an animal theme using prints of animals such as deer.

Furnishings

Lake house furniture should be comfortable and functional. Living room couches often double as a guest room, so purchase a good-quality sofa bed for your guests' comfort. Purchase practical furniture pieces such as end tables and coffee tables that have drawers for storage and can keep hidden extra bedding.

Floors

Think practical when it comes to floor space. Linoleum and easy-care tile and wood floors work well in lake houses. If you want to carry your decor theme to the flooring, but don't want to use throw rugs, consider stenciling a design on your floors or painting floors for a rustic, aged look.

Light Fixtures

Lake houses often utilize vintage-look decor, so extend this look to your light fixtures, wall sconces and lamps. Use wicker, rattan and weathered-looking pieces to create a casual, warm ambiance.

Walls

Walls should not be "busy," with lots of floral wallpaper or too many pictures. Add wallpaper borders with a cozy pattern that matches your decorating theme, or add wainscoting or bead board to enhance your painted walls. Use framed pictures or photos of lake and forest scenes to bring the outdoors indoors.

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How to Choose Southwestern Decor

Choosing southwestern decor is not difficult. The American southwest is a pleasant place to live. People have often drawn inspiration from the places that mark the southwest such as deserts. Use the colors of this area to help create the perfect evocative living room filled with southwestern style.

Paint the walls of the room white. White walls are a hallmark of southwestern decor. White walls add a warm and pleasant touch to any room. Choose a white with a hint of another color. Navaho white is a good choice to use on walls. Navaho white gives any room a feel of warmth yet at the same time does not make the room feel closed in.

Pick out rugs. Rugs are an essential part of southwestern decor. A good rug should have a multitude of colors in a pleasing pattern. Southwester rugs are noted for taking the colors of the landscape and using them effectively. Look for rugs that have reds, tuquoises and browns in them to call to mind the surrounding area.

Pick out furniture. Look for furniture that brings to mind the southwest. A good piece of southwestern furniture will have clean lines and solid woods. Mission style furniture items are ideal for this purpose. Choose a sofa that is clean and easy to use. Add cushions in bright colors such as oranges and blues that bring to mind this area.

Find the right artwork. The southwestern United States has been a notable inspiration for artists for a very long time. Look for items that call to mind the works of artists such as Georgia O'Keef who brought this area to life with images of scenes from the area on large canvases.
Use the right accessories. Look for items that call to mind the southwest. Brass artwork that showcases the feel of the west such as pictures of men rounding up horses or cattle are excellent. Use additional accessories to call to mind the southwest such as pottery and sculptures that have the colors of this area in them.

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7 Ways to Incorporate Art Into Your Home

Art is a simple way to bring character and a little personal touch to the interior of your home. If you have found it difficult to add it to your home, perhaps these seven ideas will give you a place to start.

1. Hang paintings. Paintings, small or large can easily be added to any room. Paintings can be added above the sofa, on small walls, on the ceiling, above the mantel of your wood or gas fireplace, above the bed, or grouped together with other paintings on a large wall. They can drastically change the look of a room by adding texture, color, or shape. Whether a Van Gogh or a favorite piece you or a loved one has created, paintings can easily add character and a personal flare within the house.
2. Install a wood, electric, gas fireplace. Wood, electric, and gas fireplaces all add beauty and charm to a room. It is easy to find mantels and surrounds that match your décor. You can also find electric and gas fireplaces that offer a variety of log set and sculpture designs, flame styles, and decorative liners. All of which add an artistic touch to any room. Decorative safety gates for your gas fireplace or tools for your wood burning unit are also considered art pieces that can easily be added to the room. Wood and gas fireplaces placed outdoors help enhance the beauty of the exterior of your home.
3. Utilize photographs. For some, photographs are the most important pieces of art a home could hold. They preserve memories which can bring deeper meaning and feeling than other pieces could. Photographs can be displayed in frames, on magnet boards, or in decorative photo albums. Photographs can be placed on a shelf or other flat surface, on the wall, and above the mantel of your gas fireplace. With the use of modern companies and smart printers and devices, photographs can also be displayed on decorative items such as candles, throw pillows, blankets, mugs, vases, canvases, or metal surfaces.
4. Add a few sculptures. Sculptures come in so many varieties that you are sure to find at least one piece that will compliment your home's interior. A simple sculpture can be a stunning art piece that catches the eye of all in the room. Because sculptures come in all shapes and sizes you can easily incorporate them throughout the home.
5. Change or accent the architecture. Walls, arches, high ceilings, tall doors, and wide entryways are only a few items that architecturally add an artistic touch the room. Base boards, paneling, crown molding, cabinets, cupboards, doors, painted walls, gas fireplaces, hanging fixtures, pressed tin ceilings or walls, rugs, and wall décor can all help accentuate the architecture of the home. In doing so, the architecture becomes the focal art of the room.
6. Incorporate coordinating furniture. The variety of textures, colors, styles, and various designs of furniture can make each piece one of art. Furniture can also greatly complement other items, such as your gas fireplace, cabinets, or architecture in your home, making it come together as one grand masterpiece. Custom designed furnishings will make a big impression on those who enter your home. They will also create a unique and personalized touch to the room in which they are in.
7. Use lighting to highlight. Lighting can do amazing things. Dimmable lights, light fixtures, colored lights, lights that flicker, lights from your electric or gas fireplace- they all can accentuate the art in your home. They will also produce a unique sense of feeling.

One of the great things about art in the home is that you can add as much or as little as you want. You can also add piece by piece over time until you have reached the artistic feel you want for your home.

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How to Choose Vertical Blinds for Our Homes

Home decorating is a very vast creative area that we should all take time to explore. As for creating the perfect home for our families with a touch of each and every member's personalities, there are many fixtures and home accessories available in the market that can help us to do so.

Window treatments are one of the aspects in home design that we could try to explore when it comes to home decorating. However, for some, they still prefer to stick with the design basics, just like vertical blinds.

Vertical window treatments add height to a low ceiling room. These types of blinds are ideal for patio doors, bay windows, and sliding glass doors or windows. Plus, they are much easier to clean than horizontal blinds, thus making them a favorite option among home decorators.

Before buying vertical window blinds, though, you must consider the budget, the style of your house, and how long do you expect your blinds to last.

Choosing one boils down to your aesthetic preference. Here are some quick advice you can follow.

How long does it have to be?

Measure first your window frame. Blinds must cover the entire window to have a maximum privacy and proper control of light.

Primarily, you must know the two styles of vertical blinds: the inside-mount and the outside-mount blinds. The inside-mount sits in line with the window frame. While the outside-mount hangs outside the window frame. It looks bulky and spans larger area.

For inside-mount blinds, measure the window frame's length and width. However, for outside-mount, you could decide how long the blinds would be since you can drop it longer than the window. But to be safe, you might as well add up 1.5 to 3 inches on either side to ensure it overlaps.

Decide on materials.

Wood vertical blinds

Wooden blinds bring elegance to a room. It's popular in many homes, though wood is prone to mildew and easily fades with sunlight. It is also not advisable for covering multiple windows as it would be too expensive.

PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) blinds

This synthetic material is durable and comes in various colors. PVC is flame-resistant and ideal for your child's room.

Textile vertical blinds

Those who wanted to combine the softer feel of curtains and the sleek structure of blinds opt for fabric vertical window coverings. A vacuum cleaner could remove its dust, though stains are harder to clean.

Aluminum blinds

These types of material do not rust over time and are easier to clean. However, they could be noisy upon closing doors or when it's breezy with the open window.

The cost of vertical blinds varies with the materials, length, and the number of the windows where it will be installed. You can let the store staff do it for you or you could install it on your own.

Your windows are one of the most important areas in your homes that should be given proper attention to.

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Tips to Brighten Up Your Home

In our modern world, home improvement and decoration have become a fascinating necessity. Everybody loves to come home to a clean, well-decorated and refreshing interior décor. But brightening up a home is never easy. It demands your creativity, skills and preferences.

With the ever-increasing essence of home decoration, you can gain thorough knowledge by going through a plethora of sources. To name a few, magazines and online-based home décor sites are some useful sources. Apart from this, you can get new ideas by exploring a number of homes manually. For instance, visiting your friends' or relatives' home and checking their home décor style is always an effective idea.

When it comes to your home, it has three major areas; namely - living room, bedroom and bathroom. To ensure proper decoration of home, you should focus on each area on the basis of priority. Moreover, the three sections require different types of decoration ideas. Hence, here's how you can brighten up your home sequentially.

As the living room is the area where your guests sit, you should begin with the decoration of this section. To start with, you should buy attractive, designer sofa sets that pushes the wall colour into the background. The furniture should fit well in your living room so that the guests can sit comfortably for hours. After this, you can decorate the floor with carpets and the walls with artistic frames. Moreover, you can place attractive flower vases or electric fountains beside the furniture to amuse the guests.

After the living room, it's time to decorate your bedroom. Bedroom decoration involves various things such as the bedding, curtains, table lamps and time piece. To begin with the bedding, your bed should have comfortable and elegant bed sheet. It should go well with the room's theme and provide comfort to everybody who chooses to rest. Apart from it, the curtains should offer utmost privacy so that no one can see what is happening in the room from outside. You can further improve the appearance of your bedroom by covering your empty walls with an elegant time piece, photo frame or wall sticker.

When it comes to bathroom décor, you need attractive wall tiles, a splendid shower curtain and some vibrant bathroom accessories. Moreover, the bathroom should have a fresh feel, so that you can spend quality time while taking a shower.

Brightening up your home is a creative procedure that improves with regular practice. You should look out for the best interior décor ideas to master the art of brightening up your home.

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5 Rented Apartment Decorating Tips Without Breaking Rules

So you've shifted into your rented apartment, and are wondering what you can do to spruce up its interiors. It's not so easy decorating your rental as there are so many rules you need to abide with. For example, you are not allowed to paint, add tiles, hammer in nails and do anything permanent.

However it's not necessary that you live in a dull home because of these rules. There are a few but big impact and low commitment decorating ideas you can implement to your home and be proud of your home even if it's a rental.

Spice up the place with accessories
Though you can't paint your home or add tiles to beautify it, you can show your personality using all types of fun accessories. For example you can add a personal touch to your home by adding cushions, lighting, covers and even books where required.

Choose to use only accents which relate to you by reflecting your style. To top it all, you need not worry about spending money buying these accessories, as you can take them with you when you move out to use in your next home!

Alternative wallpaper
White walls don't look nice or attractive in homes. Homes look better with color, pattern and texture. As you can't paint your walls, use these alternative options to brighten it up. Use wall decals which come in various sizes, shapes and patterns to personalize your space.

With so many wall decals to choose from, you are sure to find something suiting your personality. Removable wallpaper adds instant life to any living space as they can be easily waxed on when required, and removed like a sticker when you move out!

You can make a statement and reflect your style on plain walls with gallery displays. Command hooks make for easy installation and removal of photo frames as required.

Add greenery
Plants are great for adding life to an apartment, with minimal maintenance effort. Place some potted plants or terrariums to make your apartment feel like home. If you don't have the time or patience to look after real plants, fake plants will do as they create the same effect!

Additional storage space
You can't think of getting customized cabinets for your rental if you don't own it. To top it all, most rentals lack storage space. This doesn't mean you still can't' get your additional storage space to store your belongings!

You can maximize space using affordable DIY bookcases, wall shelves and vertical storage like hanging boxes. Baskets also serve as great mobile storage options to be used for storing magazines and books, or a general clutter box.

Add colors
Adding colors throughout the apartment is a great way to turn an apartment into a home. You can use anything to add this color like throw pillows and area rugs which can also be easily changed if and when you get bored of seeing the same colors all the time!

Whatever you do to spruce up your home, remember to return the apartment to its original state when you move out. The best way to do this is to take pictures of the home when you'd first moved in so that you needn't keep wondering what your home looked like when you move out!

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