Posts Tagged ‘design’

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The Basics Of Making Quilts

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

If you have never done any quilting before, you may be forgiven for thinking that it looks fairly simple. The fact is that it necessitates a lot of patience, skill and diligence to create a quilt. It really is not as simple as it looks. It takes practice and attention to detail. Given that, you must use good quality textiles if you are considering manufacturing a quilt.

Cotton is all right for the task, but it ought to be the lowest you will go. No polyester or other man-made fabrics. If you do use these cheap fabrics and spend weeks making your first quilt, you will simply regret it. If you make mistakes, but the cloth is decent at least there will be that one saving grace.

Once you have chosen your fabric, you can choose the style or pattern that you want. This may seem backwards, and that is OK. If you want, you can choose the style first and then a fabric to match, but I would recommend that you just stick with cotton for your first quilt.

Next, you have to get hold of a pattern. This is very straightforward. You can either become a member of a local quilting group, where people will give you conventional patterns or sell you modern ones; or you can go on line and look on Google or Yahoo for ‘free quilt patterns’ or you can go to your neighbourhood craft shop and buy one that suits your requirements.

You will also require a good set of tools to make your quilt. It is a good idea not to scrimp on these tools as they are not costly; will make your job a lot easier and will last a very long time. You will need at least one rotary cutter. ‘At least one’ because the large blade cutters are very good for straight cuts whereas a small blade cutter is better for corners or shapes. By the way, these rotary cutters look like pizza cutters.

Because these cutters are sharp, you will also need a cutting board. This can be as simple as a sheet of plywood, trimmed to suit your table top or you can just lay it on the floor. Without a board, you will ruin your table or carpet. You will also need dress-maker’s scissors and large shears. Further requirements are pins, needles, cotton, straight edges and markers.

Your pattern will explain about batting and a back fabric and you must pay a great deal of attention to the recommendations in your pattern.

This article cannot be a ‘teach yourself quilting’ manual, but I hope that it has shown you that you do not need a great amount of apparatus to make very passable bedding quilts. However, with only a little adaptation of the pattern, you could make some beautiful duvet covers. Not many people make duvet covers, so you could either make them exclusively for yourself or sell them.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now concerned with king size duvets. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

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The History Of The Pillow And The Cushion

Friday, June 10th, 2011

In American phraseology, the words ‘cushion’ and ‘pillow’ are virtually synonymous, but in the remainder of the English speaking world, a pillow is used on a bed for supporting the head and a cushion is used on elsewhere for supporting other parts of the body. A pillow is normally much larger than a cushion nowadays.

The cushion and pillow were most likely first used by well-off Asian men to lounge on. They would probably be referred to as throw cushions nowadays. However, we are going back so far in history that dyes and fabrics were very expensive, so pillows and cushions were just for the wealthy and the patterns were so elaborate that they became pieces of art in themselves.

Needlework became a skilled profession as did weaving. Cushions were large sacks or cases filled with feathers, hair, wool, straw or something equivalent. These days they are more likely to be filled with man-made fibres such as polyester. Down is the most costly filling especially down from the eider duck.

Due to international trade, the idea of the cushion started moving westward and had arrived in Egypt by the time of the Pharaohs. Cushions have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs. By the Middle Ages, cushions were to be seen in all the royal palaces of Europe. Cushions were still regarded as representing wealth.

The cushions of the royal palaces were substantial enough to sit in, a bit like modern beanie bags, and even started replacing traditional chairs. In those days, cushions were very substantial sacks manufactured of leather, many of which had needlework designs on them.

Cushions were also used in churches for the wealthy to kneel on when saying their prayers. These special but small cushions were called carreaux because they were square (from the French).

These days cushions are everyday objects because they are much cheaper. Most cushions in the West are 17 inches by 17 inches and the reason for this is the traditional size of a roll or bolt of fabric. A roll of cloth is traditionally 54 inches wide, so it could be cut into three pieces of 18 inches, allowing for seams, this permits the manufacturer to make a 17 inch cushion.

Japanese cushions were much larger and still are, but they have a different role. In the West they are used for support, whereas in the East they are used for sitting on on the floor. In Japanese they are called ‘zabuton’ and measure 20-30 inches square by a couple of inches thick, which is less than a quarter of the thickness of traditional Western cushions.

Zen meditators will frequently sit on another special cushion known as a zafu or meditation cushion, which is placed on top of the zabuton. A zafu can be round or square but is small, often just 8-10 inches in diameter and 4-8 inches thick.

Zabuton are used in all aspects of Japanese life particularly those facets that have religious overtones or traditions such as sumo. Spectators of the sport will sit on zabuton when watching the bouts. If there is a foul or a dispute, spectators frequently throw their zabuton into the ring in revulsion.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with decorative sofa pillows. If you would like to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

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Approaches To Landscaping A Garden

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

If you think that your garden is getting a bit scruffy, perhaps it is a decent time to give the whole thing a thorough make over. If you make a decision to go down this path, you have several alternatives available to you. These choices vary from simply adding a few new plants and other garden bits and pieces to the garden to hiring a landscaping firm. However, you would be better off looking at some landscaping ideas before you start any major alterations to your garden.

By looking at these landscaping suggestions first, you have the chance of seeing what items you would like to have in your back yard garden. These ideas will also let you see how you can reasonably modify your garden, no matter how big or small it is, into one that reflects your personality. You might make a decision that you would like a water feature like a pool or a shallow pond in order to attract wildlife.

One of the best means to finding great backyard landscaping suggestions, is to look at magazines which handle this area of gardening. You can also acquire lots of suggestions for a great looking garden from exhibitions sponsored by landscaping companies.

As these places are always on the lookout for new customers, they will have the most contemporary ideas and trends featured in their shows. If you are very lucky, you might get one of them to come and give your garden a free make-over as part of their advertising campaign.

There may be times when you will have the chance of purchasing an device, which can help you expand an concept around which your landscaping theme or style can evolve. As the key to a fantastic looking garden is how well all of the things in the garden fuse together, you will need to think around where all of the things ought to be put before you start transforming your back yard or garden.

It is important for your landscaping ideas to turn out in the way that you would like. You can make the theme of the garden by sectioning your garden out. This sectioning out can be done on a sheet of (graph) paper or you could use one of the numerous landscaping software programs available. These software programs permit you to see how different ideas can be integrated together.

As the program will merely give you a rough working idea, it is even better if you look at each section of your garden and work out how you can alter the garden’s look bit by bit. Now if you feel like it, you have the chance to make sure that each bit of the garden has some interesting object, feature or plant in the various seasons. This seasonal garden look is merely one of the many landscaping ideas that you can attempt to create.

There are various landscaping concepts that you could try out.. However, whilst loads of these ideas may require you to spend loads of money there are others that you can attempt on a far tighter budget. These different landscaping ideas, whether they are easy or complex ideas, all have the same goal in sight and that is to make your garden look unique.

If you are looking for stylish landscaping ideas , then you really ought to go along to our web site for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and gardens.

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Kitchen Design And Lighting

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

If you have just moved into a new, old house, one of the first things that you will probably want to do is refurbish or remodel the kitchen, especially if you like cooking or spending a lot of time in the kitchen. If you use a kitchen a great deal, you will probably already have a good idea of what you would like the kitchen to look like in the end.

One of the first decisions to make is whether you are going to do it yourself or oversee it yourself. There is a lot of work in a kitchen refurb and I have seen amateurs spend years, literally years, doing what a professional could have done in weeks. This always leads to family tensions. Once that I know of, it even led to divorce. It seems that everybody wants to boast that they are having refurbishments done, but no one actually wants to go through the hassle of having it actually done.

If you are not completely sure what you want your kitchen to look like, it is a good suggestion to visit show kitchens at home improvement stores and even pick up brochures there to look at at home. You could also buy a few magazines and surf the Internet for ideas.

Once you see a few examples that you like, be sure to cut out the pages and print off the image files after downloading them. This way you can build up a folder of the things that you would like to integrate into your new kitchen..

Once you are happy that you have all the components you like, you have to collate them. This does not have to be to scale or exact, but just as good as you can do with what you have. Take a large sheet of paper, say A3, and mark in your kitchen’s windows and doors.

Then cut out the pictures of the items you want from the magazines and brochures and stick them in place. If you think that this is not realistic, draw them in and label them clearly so that you can refer back to your picture file.

You need not stop at one design, you can play about with it. If you cut the images out, but do not glue them down, you can move them around until you are contented. You may also want to get the input of other members of the family and have a brain storming session

When you have finished, decide how you are going to illuminate the kitchen. Do you want a hanging light over the table? Do you want spots pointing at the cooker and the sink? Do you want hidden down-lighting to shine on the work surface? How are you going to see what you are doing? It is a very important question. Wall lights are good for ambient lighting.

In conclusion, you have to choose a colour scheme and you are almost ready to begin, unless you are using a contractor and then you will have to select one first, but that will make up the contents of another article.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece writes on several subjects, but is at present involved with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light

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Why You Should Use Contemporary Fine Art In Your Hotel Decor

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Businesses of all kinds have come to realize that contemporary fine art makes fantastic, yet inexpensive decor and the lighting necessary to illuminate them is useful for lighting corridors too. Hospitals, hotels, airports, restaurants and bars are jumping on the band wagon as well.

There are all types of paintings and objets d’art, so many in fact that you will always be able to find something to fit in with whatever style of decor that you have. You can use contemporary fine art to give barren walls an interest and to keep people interested while they are waiting for something to happen.

For example, contemporary fine art displayed in a restaurant will prevent diners from becoming bored while they are waiting for their order. Contemporary fine art in a bar will give solitary travellers something to do while they are passing an hour or two in your establishment. Likewise for hospital patients, looking at contemporary fine art might help relieve anxiety and stress.

Hotels and Guest Houses.

When people come to check in, you want to offer a warm, yet stylish appearance to them. Many hotel guests travel alone and spend time sitting in the lobby to pass their evenings or weekends. An interesting display of contemporary fine art will keep them interested for hours.

Put your paintings or and objets d’art at regular intervals around the walls, but do not crowd a wall. You should pick a warm, yet neutral colour for the wall’s emulsion. Lighting is also very important. Up lighting, down lighting or back lighting are common methods of illuminating pieces of art work, but you can also use spotlights to highlight something out of the ordinary.

The lobby can also contain a few plants and a coffee table or two with an interesting wrought iron lamp on each. A matching lamp shade helps to create a warm, co-ordinated effect.

You should also put some contemporary fine art in the guest rooms, because, once again, many travellers are alone and have to spend hours sitting in their rooms alone. If you are stuck for a theme, think about your location. Is it near the sea or is the town famous for something? Does it have a well-known historical association? Once you have your theme, you will surely find pieces of contemporary fine art to decorate it with.

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the average person who comes to stay or eat at your establishment. Is he there for business or pleasure? If it’s pleasure do families come or is it mostly singles? Whatever the type of hotel, guest house, restaurant or pub, you will find a theme and the rest will follow because there is so much choice of contemporary fine art.

Consistency is a good thing when you are decorating a hotel or guest house. Try to keep everything ‘on topic’. The colours, the furnishings, the plants, the contemporary fine art – the lighting should be subtle and the whole decor must be in the same theme, if it is to be wildly successful.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article writes on several subjects, but is at present concerned with researching wrought iron floor lamps. If you would like to know more or check out great offers, please go to our website at Wrought Iron Light

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Making A Comfortable Office Environment

Monday, November 8th, 2010

If you want to run a cheerful office, you have to show respect for the people working in it and one of the means that you can do that is by keeping them comfortable. People like to feel appreciated. If people feel appreciated they will put more effort in when it is most needed, when the chips are down and you require some extra work done.

This is not difficult to understand, in fact it is pretty obvious, but the funny thing is that this strategy works on oneself as well. Even if you are the only person in your office and you get to keep all the money you earn and blow it on yourself alone, you will work harder if your office is comfortable, if you have some status-items and self respect.

Psychology is funny like that. You can push buttons just as easily sitting on a feather cushion on an orange crate, but it will never be the same as sitting on a leather executive swivel chair. So, if you are searching for office furniture, you have to look for comfortable office furniture. And appealing office furniture too.

Whether you are the only one in your office, you have permanent staff and particularly if you use temporary staff, your chairs should be adjustable. That is the first priority, because it has been proven that the only way to maintain the right posture when sitting at a desk is to be able to place your feet flat on the floor with your thighs parallel to the floor. If this is just not feasible then you can use a footstool or a cushion under the feet.

Most people like their office seat to have casters so they can move from the phone to the filing cabinet without getting up. An adjustable office chair will permit anyone coming in to work there to be comfortable within minutes.

If you apply this principle further, you should be able to look at what you are using to work with square on. You have to be able to sit in the middle of its width and look straight at it.

If this article of equipment is a monitor and keyboard, then the monitor and keyboard must be directly in front of you and you must be able to look at the monitor with it square to your face. If you do not have this set-up, you will frequently get reflections and glare which can cause you to squint or have to dodge about and that is not good.

Most screens are adjustable for angle of elevation, so turn the monitor to face you directly and then tilt it forwards or backwards until you are looking at it at ninety degrees or square on. If a exposed light bulb or tube is still being reflected on the screen, then get a shade or a diffuser for the light. If that fails, you can get a non-reflective screen to place in front of your monitor.

Scatter a couple of cushions too. Some people might like to use them but be afraid to ask for fear of refusal. A few decorative cushions around the office can look lovely anyway.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now involved with decorative sofa pillows. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

categories: office,furnishings,furniture,interior design,equipment,style,design,comfort,business,decoration,fabrics,crafts,other

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A Guide On How To Make A Quilt

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Constructing a quilt takes patience and precision, because there is a great deal of stitching to be done and that stitching has to be neat, straight and even. The material itself needs measuring and cutting and that is to say nothing of choosing and purchasing the material itself and the batting or stuffing.

You could leave out the stuffing if you want your quilt to be a duvet cover, but more on that later. In this piece we will take a low-level look at how to make a quilt.

The first step in making a quilt is designing it. You can do this yourself, but if you are a novice, it would be easier to select a quilt pattern from a craft shop or craft web site. You ought to attempt to train your mind to envisage the final product, the completed quilt. Some people have this ability naturally, but I think that it can be learned.

Do you want a plain quilt or a patterned one? Do you want a patchwork quilt? Patchwork quilts are more of a problem than just using three sheets of cloth, of course, but otherwise the principle is the same.

Once you have purchased your cloth, wash it as you usually would, dry it and iron it. Cotton is lovely and easy for the novice, you can move on to other fabrics later.

Once you have your design or pattern and you have your cloth, you will need to start measuring and cutting. Now, it is a good tip here to get some good tools. You could make a quilt with your son’s school ruler and a pair of kitchen scissors, but you would be making things hard for yourself.

Ideally, you need a long, at least three feet, plastic rule and a comparable size metal rule. You require a rotary cutter, which looks like a pizza cutter, dress-makers’ scissors and a pair of shears. Never use these cutting instruments for anything but quilt or dress making and never, ever cut paper with them. You will also require a large sheet of plywood to lay on your table, so that the rotary cutter does not damage it.

You will also need quilter’s pencils for marking the cuts. There are different kinds on the market ranging from chalk to lead to soapstone. You will also need pins and needles and thread. When you have these tools and accessories you are ready to baste. Instructions on this will be with your pattern. There is a device to help you do the pinning, because your fingers can get fairly sore after a while. Do not pin your quilt to the carpet.

Quilting is the procedure of sewing the three layers, the patterned quilt top, the batting or padding and the backing together. This can be done by hand or by machine. Sewing by hand is traditional, but sewing by machine is stronger. and faster. Then you are ready to do the binding. This also helps to give your quilt a professional look. If you want a duvet cover, you do not need batting and you can not quilt the fabric.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with king size duvets. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Modern Throw Pillows For Sale.

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Ideas For Interior Design

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Redecorating your house really isn’t that simple and it only becomes even less so when you become stuck for ideas. The only real way to get over this shortage of interior design ideas, is to sit down, put your feet up and have a cup of tea or coffee.

I’m not joking, there’s no better way of getting a fresh perspective on things than taking a break from what you are doing. In the first place, you become more relaxed, and in the second place a steaming cup of tea or coffee is always welcome.

Once that you’re sitting down comfortably and are suitably relaxed, close your eyes and create a mental picture of the room that you are going to do up. Even if you are redecorate more than one room, it’s always a good idea to start with one room first, working your way logically through to the next one and then the next one.

Before you commence your journey through the maze of interior design ideas, get yourself a notebook and pencil so that you can jot down any good ideas you have before they are forgotten

So, just sit back and picture the room in your mind. Try and see it as you want it to look. And if that’s too hard, then first try to replace separate bits and pieces. This is always a good way to work. If you’ve still got a mental drought on interior design ideas, then leaf through some interior design catalogues beforehand so that you have at least a working idea of what you can do to change your room.

The interior design catalogues need not be anything more grand than your free local department store catalogue, turned to the home furnishing pages. Then again, these days you also get specialist shops which deal only with redecorating. If you have the time, a quick trip down to one of these might also help to end the lack of interior design ideas, and will probably get you started again.

These stores will have staged sets of many designs, giving you a good idea of what your room could look like. However, if you’re going to one of these places, be prepared to spend some cash as no matter how tight a hand you keep on your wallet, you’ll always find something you want to buy.

This is not necessarily a bad thing to do, but unless you watch out you could end up buying things you don’t need. And without a proper idea of what you want the room to look like, this can turn out disastrous. Not to worry though, if you keep your goal in mind, you can go back home and get a start on redecorating your rooms the way you like.

And now that you’ve managed to get at least some interior design ideas of what your rooms should look like, your whole redecorating project should be that much easier and that much more fun.

If you are looking for stylish interior design ideas, then you must go along to our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more.

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Bathroom Remodeling Ideas

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

So, you have made up your mind to remodel your bathroom, you have some bathroom remodeling ideas and now and you are hoping for that perfect bathroom design. You know the one you are looking for. It has got to be just right for you and it has to last for years with grace. The colours shouldn’t clash, and you must be able to bear the sight of it day after day from when you finish it for many years to come.

The perfect bathroom design should include every amenity known to man and you should still have enough room to move around without bumping your head or your elbow on some protruding edge. Your perfect bathroom design should also pass the test of time and still look as charming as when you first remodelled it. Its not too much to ask really, only a minor miracle on the scale of feeding the 5,000.

All right, let’s be completely honest about it, they are the kind of bathroom remodeling ideas that everyone is searching for, but which no-one has yet found. Or at least not to their full satisfaction. So, there is really only one thing you can to do, and that is to cut corners here and there on your perfect bathroom design. It might become slightly imperfect but at least you will still have nearly all of your bathroom remodeling ideas from your original design.

Sometimes, you might find that you have to sacrifice some great bathroom remodeling ideas for the sake of practicality, but don’t worry about that, it can also be fitted into your bathroom design without too much of a problem. And most probably you will not even notice too much of a difference, unless of course you wanted to move the bath right across to the other end of the bathroom, but can’t due to logistical reasons.

In this case the whole of your bathroom remodeling ideas may need to be revised. Having said that, there’s really not too much that can go that wrong if you stick to a really simple bathroom design. One that is easy to implement and is also easy on the wallet. Something else that you may want to think about is simple maintenance.

Even a bathroom the size of an aircraft carrier should be easily maintainable. This does not need to be anything elaborate and can even be something as simple as getting a small bathroom caddy on which you can place a number of your necessary items.

For sure, you could always go to the other extreme by taking away all your old stuff and replacing them with state-of-the-art, easy to clean gadgets instead.

The bathroom remodelling ideas are all yours and it really depends on what type of bathroom remodelling ideas you released within yourself when you first started your quest for the perfect bathroom design.

But remember that once you have started redecorating it is hard to stop. So, check out all your options first and then implement bathroom remodeling ideas in a way that will bring you closest to fulfilling those bathroom remodeling ideas you have for the perfect bathroom design.

If you are searching for more ideas on Stylish Home Decor, then you really really must visit our website for more free ideas on Interior Design Ideas and more.

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Country Decorating Ideas

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

For us who live in the country decorating ideas are not difficult to come by. Personally speaking, I find that a lot of my inspiration derives from the world around me. When I say that, I don’t mean to imply that I use the most obvious aspects of the country around me, only that if you look hard enough you’ll always find a subtle mixture of country decorating ideas that you will be able to incorporate into your own stylish home decor.

Doing your home up with country decorating ideas is great but if you don’t make it blend in naturally with your surroundings your house will stick out like a sore thumb intruding upon the glories of nature. Haven’t you ever looked at a house in the country and thought to yourself: how beautiful and peaceful it was, and how much you’d really love to live there?

Have you ever wondered why this was so? Undoubtedly, it was for its simplicity and elegance, together with the fact that it blended in so well with its surroundings. If you live in the country, you’re probably not sure what I’m talking about and you are wondering why I ‘m going on about it.

Maybe you’ve been living in the country most of your life and you really can’t understand what’s so special about the old country decorating ideas and homes that blend in with nature. After all, a country house is much like any other house that you’d find anywhere else. Or so you might think.

Well, I think you’d be wrong on that count! Country houses are a sight for sore eyes for those people who have been living in a concrete city. So, if you’re fortunate enough to live in the country enjoy the it.

When you own a home in the country decorating ideas should be flooding into your head every moment of the day and with only a little planning on your part, you can make your everyday country home into a cozy country retreat.

The only drawback I’ve found with this so far is the number of ideas I get from my surroundings. That might not sound like a bad thing, but trust me, there’s nothing worse than having country decorating ideas pouring out of your fertile mind with almost no pause and not being able to implement them all.

However, when this flow begins to happen, I just lie back and let it overwhelm me. I’ve always found that there is no use fighting against the inevitable, although a little dreaming never did any harm. If the ideas I’ve had are really amazing and grab my attention, I write detailed notes about what I’d like to do.

So, no matter whether you want to change your home into a country retreat, or whether you want to redecorate the home you already have with country decorating ideas, they should be easy to come by and just as easy to put into practice. A country home is just the place to be to rest and relax from your hectic working day.

If you are searching for stylish country decorating ideas , then you must visit our website for more free ideas on Stylish Home Decor and more.

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