ArtaBerryHome Improvement Blog..

The tone is set, the year 2012 will be colorful! The world want the joy and prove it by daring bright colors, so far neglected in favor of more sober tone. In this socio-economic climate, light, energy and good humor got more than a special place in the house. Two color experts gave us their views on these new palettes to use without restraint. However i must say that indigo is one of the tones catch suddenly by heart this year. Here are some reviews about 2012interior designers favorite color.

The personalization of honor
The wave of intense colors and sweeping across our habitat is not ready to stop! The trend “color block” began in 2011 will grow a little this year, as outlined by many interior designers & brand awareness specialists. In a difficult economic environment, the habitat becomes a cocoon, in which one must feel good. It is therefore important to personalize and embellish it.  Adjust the colors to his mood and lifestyle is also the spearhead of Patrice. The real trend is primarily a matter of personal choice.

The return of tints tonics
Blue, yellow, green, purple..The bright colors are back on the stage. To meet this need for energy and good humor, Most of the interior designer launches new range of shades reworked in tune with the times, that fully meet deco desires of the moment. However, Its better to choose a nice color quality rather than a sustained loud tone, which can quickly tire. Indigo is one of the tones suddenly of heart this year, next to which it will not pass! The palette of blues in store because of surprises in decor.

The gray color
This will undoubtedly be one of the flagship colors of 2012! The gray is a perfect indicator of color, totally in tune with the times. It is used to blackmail the range of bright colors, which used alone would not make the desired effect to you, therefore, to choose your own gray among the many existing lines declined. The new neutral tone, which replaces the beige in the basic colors, can be used perfectly to your decor to enhance volumes and colors. In the range of basic tones, whites are also broken in the foreground color trends. More elaborate and sophisticated than ever, they come in many variations which are added a few points of color in your brushes.

Interior design is such an important part of designing your home – it can really make the whole house feel beautiful and homely – so here are our tips for the hottest interior design trends to look out for next year.

1: Simplicity.
Using the concept of simplicity is one which surprisingly quite hard to grasp. The key is to get rid of all clutter from your home – or alternatively, find clever ways of disguising the clutter. You can purchase great draws and storage which can slide under your beds or sofa which offer this solution and means you don’t have to throw things away. The key to this trend isn’t to make the house look good, but it is to make you feel good. Simplicity is all about clearing the mind and allowing you space to think and function in your home.

2: Modern Metal.
A new trend for 2012 is the concept of modern metal. This trend can be achieved in many ways – you could purchase some art, perhaps a metal sculpture that would look fantastic on your coffee table, or maybe a stainless steel dining table instead of a wooden one. Another way to embrace this trend is to change your electric heating systems and bringing in new radiators. Radiators are a fantastic thing to change round when you want to give your house a new look: get rid of those boring white ones and invest in a modern metal one which will really add some interest to your home interior. Who’d have thought electric heating systems could have so much hold over the look of your home? It is really key to remember they offer a contemporary yet subtle design option for those seeking to create a modern aesthetic.

3: Light.

2012 will all be about the celebrations of light and how much your home can benefit from it. Another major trend, lighting will be something that completely changes the way you house feels and how it effects the way you enjoy being at home. For something modern and quirky, try purchasing a “light bulb chandelier”. They make a room look instantly arty and stylish and can give any room a “NYC loft” kind of feel. Perfect to liven up any home!

4: Mismatched colour schemes.
Lastly, the most fun of this year’s design trends. The key to this trend is to coordinate your furnishings using only colour. Try for example choosing one colour (for the purpose of this, lets pick Blue) that you really like and then instead of buying 5 cushions which are all the same shade of Blue, you buy 5 different cushion which are all blue, but that are all very different shades. By doing this you get a lovely boho look and country feel. And it works for more than just cushions! Try buying lots of different shaped photo frames – but making sure they’re all white in colour. It’s a really cute way of giving your home personality.

When decorating a room many things have to be considered; the colour scheme, the furniture and the type of window treatment to use. Roller blinds are extremely popular within households and are available in a variety of designs, colours and styles. However, you may still struggle to find the suitable one. You may have an idea in your head of a pattern or design that you want but just can’t seem to find anywhere. Then why not create your own?

DIY kits for roller blinds are available from most hard ware and retail stores which include step by step instructions as to how to do this. However, it is important to remember that the fabric needs to be bought separately. Visit clearance sales or look out for online deals on plain blinds. Remember to choose a colour that you are happy to be the background to your design whilst sticking to the colour scheme and décor of your home.

Measure both the width and the length of the window frame, jot it down and take it with you when purchasing the blind. It is essential to buy a roller that fits correctly to avoid the blind becoming wrinkled and untidy.

Methods
Appliques can be either bought or hand made. These allow you to cut out motifs, patterns or shapes and transfer them onto the blind. This can be done by either using double sided iron on applique fabric or glue. If using glue, be careful not to clump it in areas and ensure all edges are firmly stuck down onto the fabric as they will begin to fray after a while.

If using iron on appliques follow this route:
Iron a sheet of applique fabric onto the back of the purchased fabric and cut out the desired shape or design. Either follow the instructions on the DIY kit or place the patterns onto the roller blind fabric using a hot iron. (It is important that you check whether the roller blind you are using is suitable for ironing). Repeat this method for each blind you wish to customise.

Ink prints, stamps and fabric can all be used to decorate your roller. These can either be bought or hand-made. Household objects such as soap, potatoes and wood can all be used to carve out the desired shape you wish to implement. Simply dip the stamps into the paint, allow the excess paint to drip off and press firmly onto the blind to pattern.

Ideas
A particular favourite amongst households is the use of leaves and flowers. Use an applique or stamp to transfer the leaves or flower heads and then, using a thin paintbrush, carefully create stems for added effect. If decorating a children’s room, why not use their hands as a stamp instead? That way a room can be personalised whilst also clean and polished.

Painting or creating your own custom-made roller blinds can also be a great way of sprucing up old and tatty window treatments. With a thorough clean and a little extra detail, these old and lifeless blinds will be transformed into delightful centre pieces for any room within your home.

The thought of pumpkins, fiery leaves and hot cider are difficult to imagine during these oppressive summer days, but nothing makes us more eager for the refreshing cool of fall than planning ways to celebrate the season at home. Here are four trends with project suggestions to liven your home with the love of autumn.

Borrow from Nature: As leaves fall and the woody structure of shrubs and trees are exposed, borrow from their natural beauty. Snip a few branches from a tree with smooth wood like willow and display them in an angular white vase. Taller branches can be displayed from the floor and liven up a corner.

Project Suggestion: Gather a set of 6-10 spent stalks of daylilies that have dried since the mid-summer blooms. Spray paint them rustic orange or white and allow to dry (if your decor is more natural, you can also leave them paint-free).  You now have several options: bundle them together and tie with a contrasting ribbon or twine and display as an accent piece on your mantle, or place two stalks each into 3-5 slender white vases and line them up for a contemporary centerpiece.

Pair Neutral Colors with Bold Accents: Brilliant, fiery red is a hot color this fall. Paired with more muted wine tones and taupes, it can create a coziness that beckons to any houseguest. Other color combinations to consider are com husk yellow, chartreuse, and earthy brown, or even navy blue and gray with accents of dandelion orange. One of the simplest ways to integrate color without redecorating an entire room is to focus on the small accent pieces.

Project Suggestion: Create curb appeal with an autumn-inspired front entrance. Find a set of 5-6 old flower pots or check out end of summer sales at a local garden center. Choose your favorite fall flower: pansies and mums make fantastic options. Limit yourself to no more than  two different colors of flowers, repetition of color will create a more harmonious look. Spray paint the old pots the color of your choice to give them new life and pot your  flowers. Arrange in sets of 2 or 3 down your front stairs for a welcoming splash of color. What colors to try? Orange mums with navy blue pots, yellow mums with muted orange pots, and red mums with taupe pots all make good combinations

Indoor plants provide an exciting opportunity to add some green to your interior decor for a brighter look in your home. Plus, you get a chance to try out your green thumb even if you don’t have the time or inclination to create an outdoor garden.

While you have several options that you can use to add a few indoor plants to your home’s interior, incorporating hanging planters and succulent plants into your home’s decor is a popular strategy among homeowners from all walks of life.

Hanging Plants

Going vertical with your plants and making use of the space in the upper area of a room is a great idea, especially if the room is small or the window ledges are narrow. Not only can you add some greenery to the room’s decor, but you don’t need to sacrifice valuable space needed for something else.

Hanging planters are available in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, so you can easily find one that fits in with the room’s existing decor. It’s important not to hang your  plants too directly above heating vents or near drafty openings. Hanging plants are perfect for adding a welcoming touch of color to bland walls or corners of the room.

The Rising Popularity of Succulent Plants

Succulent plants are popular for use as indoor plants. In fact, pairing two or more succulent plants together in a large planter is so popular that many home-and-garden stores sell them as one in a single container. If you decide to pair up a few succulent plants on your own, you need to make sure that each variety requires the same type of growing environment. Otherwise, your plants are going to suffer when one receives the right treatment and care and the other plants do not.One of the nicest features about succulent plants is that they are slow growing, so it takes a longtime for them to outgrow their perch in your home, “mistype of plant does not require a great deal of watering, so it is easy to take care of this style of vegetation without much effort at all.

If you have pets that live in the house with you, it is important for you to check whether or not the plants are poisonous before you bring them home.  If you don’t have any experience with plants, it is a good idea to start out slowly with just one or two  planters until you get the hang of caring for indoor plants.

While thinking about a place called home, we came to know that it is the place where we get best level of comfort, safety & satisfaction.  talking about bedroom in particular, we cant deny the fact that we spent one third of the time of our life in the bedroom to sleep. everyone want to have a perfect sleep & spend nights dream. but not all of them achieve this. yes! to get this you need to optimize your bedroom. the design of our bedroom depends on our personal likes & dislikes. but here i must say, apart from mental stress & depression, things like bedroom design, decoration, bed & lightning plays an important role that can influence perfect sleep. here are some ways to make your bedroom comfortable, tidy & positively an ideal room to sleep.

Started with the decoration of the room, make sure that the decoration of the room is complete & balanced. the bed, bedside table and a chair. each of these elements has its importance, furniture like bookcase, desk, shelves, & dresser should be placed in proper descipline. avoid extra furniture & stuff like sports & exercise machines in your room & no television or computer as Internet and other electrical appliances badly effects sleeping habits. one the other hand the room must always be dedicated for sleeping only where you limit activity to sleep and nothing else. Organize an airlock decompression before sleep. Noise, light and temperature also effects sleep. however total silence causes anxiety & bad for falling asleep but noise also disturbs the sleeper.  So think the best way possible to soundproof your room from the hustle and bustle outside the house. you can can cope with noise up to some extent by double-glazed the windows & lying carpet on the floor. one the other hand Light is another factor that can interrupt your sleep. for this use curtains or blinds according to your taste about darkness. similarly temperature of the room is also a key to a good sleep. An overheated room, the confined air, disrupt sleep. So think to ventilate your room during the day and evening just before bedtime. The ideal temperature of your room, even if it depends on the habits of each, is around 18 ° C. This keeps the heat exchange between body and air.

Comfortable Bed is king of bedroom & so of deep sleep. you can use any kind of bed, Single or king size, soft or hard, however to get better sleep, be sure to position the bed to be smooth. place it where you will feel better but avoid placing it under a window. ensure your bed & mattress provides best level of comfort. always use luxury mattress from a reputable brand. in short, your task is to make the sense of security and comfort in your room. For colors, i always suggest neutral colors & avoid bright colors. colors like gray, light blue or white are good, however the colors selection must be familiar to you and put you at ease. Choose a smart lighting with two lights, one for the room and a more subdued for the sleeping area. take care of bed sheets & pillow covers & wash them regularly.

A heritage wall is a featured location in your home where family photos and ancestry memorabilia are displayed as a cohesive collection. This is an attractive and informative way to present family both  past and present for friends and family members to enjoy. This is a particularly good idea if you are preparing to host a family reunion event at your home.

Select a wall in your home that is normally ignored. Hallways, landings, and staircases are often a good place to consider. A room ideally with sash and case windows, the wall should be large enough for twenty or more items to be positioned in close proximity.

Bring out your family photo albums and select photos of family members of the last five or six generations. Download an attractive family tree that gives you room for the same five or six generations as well as locations for photos. Fill in the names of the family members.

Scan your historical photos into your computer and crop and resizing your images to fit on your family tree display page. Print out each person on a good photo paper with your printer. Trim and glue your images to the family tree display page. Repeat this process for your partner’s side of the family so that you have two similar size and organized larger display pieces favoring each side of your family. Frame these pieces identically.

Select other interesting family photos, some old, some new, along with newspaper clippings, announcements, invitations, old love letters and other frame able items that will add interest and color to the overall arrangement. When possible, always frame a copy of the original so that the original item will not fade from exposure to sunlight. Frame these items in a variety of vintage and new frames. Locate vintage frames in antique stores, garage sales, flea markets, and attics and from friends and family members.

The use of stencils can bring colour and interest to even the plainest of walls They can add additional colour to blend in with the colour scheme of a room, or they can help to expand a “theme’ in a children’s bedroom. Stencils are performed by the use of a template and are available in many different designs You can purchase them from most  DIY stores, art and craft shops and through the internet. Alternatively, you can buy sheets of pre-drawn stencils that you can cut out yourself, or you could even  design your own

Before you begin stencilling, you will need to look at the surface of your walls. Stencilling works best on flat paint surfaces, wood and non-vinyl wallpaper. Think carefully about the stencil design you have chosen, as some stencils are obviously going to be easier than others Some will require more than one color of paint,  which could be very fiddly if it is your first attempt at stenciling – even though stencil paints do dry quite quickly.

Always try your stencil out on a piece of paper before you start, to ensure that it is going to give you the desired effect. Once you are happy with the effect, you will need to consider the pattern area on the wall and then mark it out using your stencil and a pencil. Then carefully tape your stencil to the wall to hold it in position – check that the tape is not going to ruin your wall surface first.

Ifyou are using the same colour you can use a roller brush, but it may be easier to use a paintbrush or special circular brush, which is designed for stencil painting. This brush will help to get the paint into all the corners more effectively. Take care not to get too much paint on the brush in case it runs down and do not move the stencil to the next position until the paint is dry, or you make risk smudging your design.

Home owners and decorators alike know just how much style a window treatment can lend to a home’s decor. With this in mind, many are now opting for the modern and sophisticated style of Roman blinds. Like the name implies, Roman blinds have been around for centuries. Their popularity continues to grow, namely because of all the wonderful benefits Roman blinds have to offer when compared to traditional window treatments.

Roman blinds are available in a variety of materials, each one lending its own element of style and purpose to any home. Roman blinds come in vinyl, plastic, fabric, and even bamboo. All varieties of Roman blinds can be raised and lowered vertically, either manually or remotely. With an unlimited range of colours and textures, any room in any home can be magically transformed with the addition of Roman blinds.

There are two main types of Roman blinds. These are louvered blinds and single-panelled blinds. Louvered blinds are reminiscent of the traditional blinds in many homes. There are multiple horizontal slats that can be opened or closed by turning a rod, and they can be raised and lowered vertically with a pull cord or remote control. When raised, the slats “stack” on top of one another in order to customize the amount of light entering the room. Single-panelled Roman blinds are one all one piece and are generally made from fabric. Either option has the capability to transform a room or an entire home, yet remains versatile and functional enough to become anyone’s window treatment of choice.

Style is an important factor in choosing a window treatment. Fabric Roman shades come in a range of contemporary styles, colours, and patterns. Plastic and vinyl versions come in any colour imaginable, while bamboo shades lend a style all their own to any home. Any Roman shade can be custom made from nearly any material in any colour, and they can be fitted to any size and style window. Because there are so many choices, there are Roman shades for any budget. Manually operated Roman blinds are generally less expensive than their remote-operated counterparts. Bamboo tends to be more expensive because of the materials themselves, and because of the difference in the way they are manufactured.

Roman blinds are available in just about every home furnishing store. There are also internet websites that specialise in window treatments, and even a few that only deal with Roman blinds. This may be a great option for the highest levels of customization, but after shipping costs, may be more expensive than purchasing pre-packaged styles and sizes of blinds.

Roman blinds are definitely one of the most stylish options available for window treatments today. They are affordable and practical, and are very easy to install and clean. Virtually infinite numbers of patters, colours, and shapes provide the highest level of customization in any home. Changing the decor of any home can either begin or end with the selection of window treatments, and Roman blinds are always a wonderful choice.

Updating your home with a new look can be an enjoyable task. After all, the options are so varied that the results can range from a simple upgrade to an entirely new look. One of the easiest ways to provide a new look to a room is to concentrate on the woodwork within the room.

When you decide that it’s time to redo the rooms in your home, do it one room at a time. If you focus on only one particular room, you will be less likely to miss an important aspect.  Customizing a room with wood involves some very specific planning. Take the time to do your research so that the project is completed properly.

Customizing a room with wood can be as simple as redoing the woodwork or as complex as installing a deluxe wooden bar or several bookcases or shelves Size up the room and take into consideration the other items that you want to include in the  room. For example, what other pieces of furniture will the room include or what electronics including television, stereo, or sound system are going to be located in the room?

Building wooden bars and back bars into a room requires some special considerations as far as location goes.  If you are installing a wet bar, then you need to check into your plumbing possibilities. Certain areas of the room are going to be more amenable to the installation of pipes and sinks.  Additionally, if you are going to include a refrigerator with your set up, special electrical requirements might be involved, particularly if you have an older home.

Deciding how many stools you want to set up at the bar is another consideration. Is there sufficient seating capacity in the area of the room that you have selected for your bar’s location? If not, then you might want to consider selecting a different spot, doing without the wet bar to free up your options, or lower the number of seats that you want to include. The configuration of the bar is going to be a combination of your personal preference and the configuration of the selected place in the room.

Wooden bookcases and cabinets can add an elegant touch to any room. With these items, your biggest concern will be that of proper measurement. You need to measure the height, width, and depth of the area that you have to work with to ensure the bookcase or shelves fit into their intended location. Also, you need to take into consideration the location of any electrical outlets or switches since a large wooden bookcase can easily block them. Plus, the presence of doors and windows should be taken into consideration so that they so not become partially blocked either.